Skip to main content

Processing...

Kim has had a difficult time this week and not felt very well. So I have have taken Michael with me the past several mornings to give Kim some down time. Thursday Michael and I bought a new office chair and then he helped me put it together. Friday morning we went to the beach (our usual Friday routine) and we caught the biggest blue crab I have ever seen at Rockport Beach. He was at least four to five inches across. He was also quite crabby -- aggressively crawling out of my net, pinchers reaching for me, spitting on me, calling me foul names, and stealing my Bible -- all in front of my son! Well...he did try to pinch me and then jumped in the water and ran off. I couldn't let that stand so I chased him down and caught him again just to show my son that his father was better than some old blue crab.

Michael allowed me to take him out into the deep water, past the last sand bar where it is up to my shoulders. The waves were not rough and he was able to enjoy it. He does not trust easily, but once trust is earned he trusts completely and quickly. I'll be speaking on that Sunday morning.

Friday afternoon I mowed our yard because I was already dirty from the beach. Not wise. The heat was brutal. I learned that we have all the descendants of the ancient Sleestak living in our yard. With so many lizards you would think we wouldn't have any insects around. But I think the lizards are eating each other instead of the bugs.

With caring for family this week I have fallen woefully behind in my schoolwork. I have two weeks to get everything completed before the fall term begins in August. I am taking a seminar entitled Jesus and Leadership, which requires us to read 8 books, write a 30 page research paper, and design a syllabus for a bachelor's or master's level course on pastoral leadership. All due by Thanksgiving! Hooray! I am also beginning theological German this fall. I hope to have my German completed by next summer so I can begin taking theological French. Ugh.

As our church nears the end of our time of self-study and planning, and as we begin to formulate specific steps to take into the future in obedience to God's leadership, my biggest concern is that we will chose to respond with pride (I don't want to do that! We've never done it that way! I want what I want!) and fear (That will never work! What if people drop out!? What if people stop tithing?! What if people start going to another church?!). I am praying that God will speak so that we know it, and that He will produce humility and confidence instead of pride and fear as we follow in obedience.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Eulogy for Dr. Evelyn Romig, Who Is Not Dead but Merely Retiring

How does one honor the career of a teacher like Dr. Evelyn Romig, who taught English and Literature for 44 years? I was her student four of those years at Howard Payne University in Brownwood, TX. Honestly, she teaches me still. I loved Dr. Romig fiercely when I was a college student. I took every class she offered. She was my adviser and I spent time in her office being advised on academic matters and other things. I often reflect on what her life means to me. My recollections and anecdotes here will be personal, but I do not think they are unique. I was 18 years old and a freshman when I first met Dr. Romig. I was a Baptist ministerial student, majoring in something from the School of Christianity. She was my British Literature teacher. Because of things I had done in high school and because of how well I tested on the ACT and SAT, I did not have to take the typical Freshman English courses. I had no way of knowing at the time how much this small woman, an English Literature p...
1 comment
Read more

Her Own Woman

Kathryn is here now. She was born Sunday night, 5:57 p.m., and weighed 7 pounds, 10 oz., and measured 20.25 inches long. Kim was in labor since about 9:00 a.m. Saturday. After hours of waiting and miles of walking around that hospital, Kim never progressed beyond 6 cm. Every time we came close to making a decision about what to do next, it seems Kathryn would change the game on us and we would have to wait for another couple of hours to see what would happen next. We almost went to the OR at least twice before we finally did because Kathry would do this or that. She was letting us know she was in charge. After whe was born I stood with her in the nursery while they cleaned her up and checked her out. She cried for a while and then got real calm and collected. I watched her as she sized me up with her eyes, took a good look around the room, and then looked at me and kind of smirked knowingly. I got the distinct impression that she was very much amused by everything that had gone on the ...
7 comments
Read more

Racing with Horses, Walking on Water, and Accepting My Weakness

I am tired of Hurricane Harvey. I am ready for all of this to be done and for things to settle down. I long for the routine, familiar, and predictable. I have had enough of trying to limit or mitigate the effects of Harvey on my family and property. I have become worn out trying to control and make sense of how my church is recovering from the hurricane. I am just about through with the ongoing, and seemingly never ending, management issues related to hundreds of volunteers funneling through my church on a weekly basis to assist our community in the recovery efforts. The logistics of making it all work week in and week out, the delicate dance of being the pastor to all the personalities involved, is exhausting. Add to this my broken heart for our community. I receive gut punches every day as I listen to the stories of evacuation, recovery, and rebuild. I steel myself to being able to do what I can each week and letting everything else go. I am sick of people saying the Lord will ...
3 comments
Read more