Archive | February, 2010

A One-Picture Post

8 Feb

This was posted on FB yesterday by my friend, Eric Grizzle. A church sign from New Orleans.

What ELSE did we do this weekend??

7 Feb

Well, since the braintrust was there, Jake, Drew and I took the old handrail off Dad’s garage steps and built a new one. Who knew, in doing this, we would also have to replace THREE brick that were worked loose from where the old handrail was anchored?? (They were already loose, and demonstrated so when they popped right off as I removed the old rail). Hmmm …. I had never done that before.

Here is the finished product:

It was great to see Jake and Donna (his mom, my sis) this weekend. If only we’d had Jills (his sister) and Elaine and Karl there, it would’ve been AWESOME!! Well, maybe next time …

The Saturday Night Special

7 Feb

A phrase that means many things … The first time I heard it, it was referring to a snub-nosed .32 caliber pistol. One that would easily conceal and get many a man in trouble on a Saturday night. But that is NOT what this title refers to today!!

Many years ago my dad, in his HVAC business, helped a butcher with his cooler. He gave dad a few steaks as a thank you. AND THEY WERE INCREDIBLE!! I mean, we’d had steak before, but I thought I’d NEVER had anything like this!! Soon after this a tradition in the Wike family was born … every Saturday night, Dad would grill out steak!
Over the years, the tradition lived on. No matter where we kids were, we knew two things: If we made it home on Saturday night, we would have steak! If we called on Saturday night, we didn’t even need to ask what was for supper. Mom and Dad have never been demanding or picky, but they love their steak! And it has always been a tradition …
Recent years and Dad’s health have prevented it a few times, but not often. Even the weekend after Christmas we’d planned to have an SNS before my family returned to Florence. And that never happened. But the steak for that weekend was in the freezer!
Sometimes I feel like these quick trips upstate are really wearing me out. But this weekend was indeed special. My nephew, who I haven’t seen in over 2.5 years, came to town. He is going into the Air Force into fighter pilot’s school in April. This might be the last time I see him in a while. And we had a great weekend! We fixed some stuff at the house and did some other work for Mom.
And then we executed the ultimate plan: We cooked steak for supper last night, packed it all up in a way that would keep it warm, and caravanned over to Greer to have the Saturday Night Special with Dad! And it was good, and it was fun! Nine of us had supper together in the rehab center and Dad ate. Mom said more than he’s eaten in days! And he loved it!
And THAT was the most rewarding thing I could’ve done this Saturday. I hated to miss the Wild Game Supper at Ebenezer, but I had an appointment with the Saturday Night Special. And I had to keep it!

Something special this weekend

5 Feb

This weekend, Dad gets a special surprise. My nephew (from Dallas and now Memphis), whom we haven’t seen in over 2.5 years, came to Easley last night and is here with my sister for the weekend. Jake is going into the Air Force in April, and this will be the last chance we have to see him for a while. And Dad is thrilled!!

As for progress, he IS making progress, but it is slow. And he is impatient. If Dad could choose when to go home, he would’ve chosen yesterday. But he is not ready. He is not strong enough to go it on his own, and Mom is just not able to physically handle him. But he IS getting there, just needs a little more patience.
It all makes me wish I could talk them into coming to Florence for a while.

The Work of the Holy Spirit

3 Feb

The Holy Spirit is active all around us in the world. And in our lives. And in our hearts. One of the roles the Holy Spirit plays in our lives today is He convicts us of sin.

He is that still-small voice that tells us what we are doing is wrong. His voice often invokes guilt when we are engaged in sin. He is there to gently remind us of God’s will, and maybe remind us even LOUDER when we ignore Him!
As a pastor, I see His work firsthand. Sometimes its really ironic how He works through all kinds of channels to get His job done. Convicting us of our sin is just a small role He plays, but a very meaningful one to us as followers of Christ.
Will YOU listen to Him today???

Update from sunny Greer, SC

2 Feb

That is where Dad is in rehab. If he has anything to say about it, not for long!!! Physically he continues to make great progress. But he still has quite an uphill battle to be ready for home!! Sometimes he seems to be patient and understand, and sometimes he doesn’t. And Mom is there, faithfully by his side trying to help him every step of the way.

This is one of those rough spots of life. All we can do is pray and hope Dad continues with his progress and with his “I want out of here” attitude.

A New Week

1 Feb

Each of us have one … A NEW WEEK and a new opportunity to serve God!! What will you do with YOURS??

Much of this depends on your outlook … Is the glass half-empty, or half-full? Will you put a positive spin on things, or dwell in the negative? Will you lift others up around you, or point out their flaws?
YOU MAKE THE CHOICE. YOU CHOOSE HOW TO APPROACH THE GIFT OF GOD THAT IS THIS NEW WEEK.
Make it count!
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