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This is gonna be one of THOSE Mondays

12 Apr

I can already tell. Yesterday was one of the longest Sundays on record. I think it was a 26 hour day. When I woke up this morning, I felt like someone had beat me senseless with a bag of nickels. Come to think of it, Diana did have a huge smile on her face while still sleeping.

And there is already much on the docket for today. Several in the hospital. Funeral home tonight. Heaven knows what else in between.
So bring on the coffee and KEEP IT COMIN!!!!

The Sunday after Easter

11 Apr

Ebenezer, you surprise me … Usually the Sunday after Easter is the LOWEST attended Sunday of the year. And you almost couldn’t find a seat at the 8:30 service. THAT IS AWESOME!!

It COULD have something to do with the fact that I almost DARED you to show up today …

It COULD have something to do with the fact that Florence School District One had its Spring Break the week BEFORE Easter, so everyone is back and settled into their routine …

It COULD be a sign of great things to come …

or

It COULD have something to do with the fact that a huge combined Children’s choir sang today.

Who am I kiddin?? I KNOW its the KIDS!! But it is GREAT to see a FULL HOUSE on the Sunday after Easter!!!

What’s going on with Dad THIS WEEK?

7 Apr

Dad had a follow-up visit to the neurosurgeon yesterday. I was unable to be there, but DID fax some questions in …

Our basic problem now is that Dad has only had one really good day since his surgery over two weeks ago. He has been n a rollercoaster, with very few peaks since then. He seems to be losing ground in every way. His rehab days are almost up and he actually is worse off than he was when he first GOT to rehab.
I wonder if the shunt is working properly … (Dr Nelson does, too. He ordered a CT scan and a recheck next week) I wonder if we have reached the ceiling of recovery, if things really aren’t going to get any better.
Ever since Christmas Day, this has been our lot: Tons of questions and very few answers. Hurry up and wait.

Conviction VS Venom

5 Apr

YES … sounds like a Marvel Comics double issue!! But it’s not …

After a little chat with a friend today, the idea of exploring the difference between conviction and venom was born. I hope thinking about all of this benefits us all!
CONVICTION:
A FIXED OR FIRM BELIEF. We know character is DOING WHAT IS RIGHT, NO MATTER THE COST. When the Holy Spirit shows us clearly what we need to do, CONVICTION is that still small voice leading us to actions of character. Conviction is a key component in DOING THE RIGHT THING.
VENOM:
A “bad guy” in the Spiderman comic book series. Uh …. no … wait a minute … Venom is a poison, ejected with the intention of harming or killing another. When we think about venomous creatures, certain snakes and spiders come to mind. But venom comes from PEOPLE, TOO. A venom with no chemical makeup, but just as poisonous and just as deadly.
OUR VENOM consists of slanderous words and actions, meant to harm our fellow man and woman. Our venom resides in rumors, gossip, and lies, spoken to bring others down. Venom is born in ungodly thoughts, selfish thoughts about others. At times, we inject venom into situations that frighten us or towards people by whom we feel threatened.
We don’t like to admit this, but ALL OF US, at times, have spewed venomous words that came from venomous thoughts we had about individuals or organizations. AND IT IS TIME FOR ALL OF US TO GROW UP, EVALUATE OURSELVES, AND STOP.
In other words, “Check yourself before you wreck yourself.”
When we spew venom, we only reveal ourselves to be people of questionable character. And when those of us who claim Christ as Savior do it, we not only bring ourselves down, we do damage to the witness of His Kingdom.
What we are talking about here REALLY IS Conviction VS Venom …
WHICH WILL WIN IN YOUR LIFE?

A blog about a lot of stuff

5 Apr

I haven’t had the time to blog lately … So here goes the MEGA UPDATE:

DAD
Dad did pretty well in his recovery last week at the beginning of the week. Was walking more and more, did not let gout get in his way. As the week went by, he seemed to plateau a little. He has not had a good weekend. Mom is starting to realize that she will need help to take Dad home, and his rehab window is running out. Much prayer is needed for this, because lately he won’t let her out of his sight.
EASTER WEEKEND
Immediately after Maundy Thursday service, Diana, Drew and I drove to Easley. We got up early Friday morning and completely emptied Mom and Dad’s bedroom to clean the carpet. We then went to Clemson to get Krissy and came back over to Easley, then Greer. Drew and I took Dad out for a long walk around the campus and sat on the porch for a long time. We went back in, had supper with Diana’s family, and went back to the house to paint one of the bedroom walls that desperately needed it.
On Saturday morning, we put the furniture back in, headed over to Clemson, then to Greer. Then home. (MAN I WAS TIRED)
Sunday was AWESOME at Ebenezer. I count myself grateful to be part of a REAL NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH. NO ONE can match my Ebenezer family.
FRIDAY’S TWEET
I tweeted Friday about being tired of Southern Baptist bashing going on in Florence and was amazed at some of the responses, both on Facebook and in personal emails. I KNOW GOD WILL DEFEND HIS CHURCH. That is all I need to say about it!!!

Dad’s Latest Setback

29 Mar

Dad seemed to be rocking along pretty well in his post-operative rehab. And then, a visit from an old friend … GOUT.

Dad now has gout in his heal. Rehab comes to a grinding halt as they give him his meds and wait for it to clear up. So the frustration continues …

A Technology Story …

27 Mar

This is TRUE, but I will withhold some of the names. HOWEVER, if you are a business person in Florence, you DEFINITELY need to read this:

Several months ago, Ebenezer’s need for a new telephone system felt the full fury of the technology team … And that is ONE team that solves problems!!! Robbie-Bob, Dean-Bob, Mike-Bob, and myself … SCARY!!!!
As we installed the new system, the fire alarm in Young Hall began to get an occasional dialer error. Of course we called our alarm company, who came out and said YOU HAVE A PHONE LINE PROBLEM … Gimme $100.
All four of us worked hard on this problem for the next few weeks, but our phone lines were FINE and we could prove it. As we finished the phone system and cleaned some things up, we tried a couple of different ways to get CLEAN POTS LINES down to the alarm, noting that NONE of the other alarms on campus were having any problems. We honestly thought this was a coincidence that started around the same time we started this install.
It all came to a head a couple of weeks ago. NOTHING we did could stop this pesky error … This was not a SHUT THE ALARM DOWN kind of error, just a pesky little chirp that had to be reset many times a day. Nerve racking to Omerea and our Weekday Staff, but the alarm was still functional.
I finally called the head cheese at our alarm company to talk to him about it. I wanted them to come out and help us. He said “Go switch the wires, unless you want to pay me to come do it.” I assured him that I’d switched those wires MANY, MANY times in the past few weeks. But that was his solution. “Call me back if that doesn’t work.”
That was on my day off, but I went up there and did what he said. And within 30 seconds of switching them, I duplicated the error. (At this point, we knew EXACTLY what to do to cause it to trip) I called him back and he said we had a bad board. No looking at it. No real conversation or consideration that we have very capable IT folks that had worked on this. No idea that I’ve done work like this for 30 years now (yes, even though I am a pastor. I’ve been running phone lines and control wiring since helping my dad DECADES ago. But don’t tell anyone!!)
That really frustrated Mike-Bob and me! Mike has worked on alarms for years. We decided that we would rather just buy the board and change it ourselves. And that we did! And after chasing all of the issues out of the new install (most of which were things done INCORRECTLY at the original install), we STILL had this phone problem.
So I called Lee at Simplex Grinnell. These guys did our alarm at the new youth building. I asked him if he would be willing to come help us figure this out …
His techs came out, chased a couple of goblins out of it, and finally discovered that it was in how the phone line was coming INTO the alarm!!! This alarm has been in the building, wired this way, for TEN YEARS OR MORE!! They said adding the new phone system pushed a tolerance that would force the alarm to be installed THE RIGHT WAY. IT SHOULD’VE BEEN INSTALLED THE RIGHT WAY FROM THE BEGINNING!!!
We re-routed the way the phone lines came in, and IT WORKED! Now, we’ve got to go look at the other alarms, because I just bet they are wired incorrectly as well …
The result of all of this: Simplex will be our alarm company from now on. They came out and HELPED US FIND THE ISSUE!! They were WILLING to come out!!! And they understood and explained how this thing was miswired by another company!
And, so far, we are living happily ever after …
The moral of this story is CUSTOMER SERVICE. That other alarm company seems to be too busy for us and just interested in collecting the monthly royalties they get off of our monitoring service. Well, all that is about to change …

Getting back on the horse

24 Mar

When Dad first went to the Cottage rehab (about 56 days ago), he made steady progress. He was walking, doing well in occupational and speech therapy. And as the fluid built up again, he slowly lost ground. THAT is the purpose for the past TWO surgeries.

NOW, its time to get back on the horse. Dad has a evaluation THIS MORNING at 9 am. Mom is convinced if he doesn’t show improvement that they will be forced to declare him on a plateau and send him home. There is NO WAY he could go home in his current condition. I believe, since his doctor said it would take a few days before we see a noticeable difference, and since he is still reeling from being knocked out for this surgery, that this must be a baseline. (I will be calling this morning to verify that with our case worker)
Regardless, Dad has to get back on the horse. And make progress. And yesterday, he was in pretty rough shape.

DDay + 1

23 Mar

Okay, we are one day out from surgery. Surgery did go well. Dad is still feeling the effects from being knocked out, but did NOT get sick last night. Well, he also didn’t eat anything, either. Dr Nelson has already written the order for us to go back to the Cottages at Brushy Creek (GHS rehab) and we already know it will be THREE O’CLOCK before that can happen. Transport and checkin red-tape, nothing wrong.

And now TIME will write the rest of this story. So far, so good. And my family, and especially my Dad, are VERY APPRECIATIVE of all the prayers, love, and support our friends and greater family have shown us over the last few days and months. Dad has either been here at GHS or at the Cottages since Christmas Day, and yesterday was his seventh surgery since Dec 26th. It has been a rough and wild ride. And hopefully we will see some smoother sailing in days to come!

Sitting in GHS once again

22 Mar

As I logged in to write this post, I just realized I’ve not posted in almost a week. I am sorry for that, just haven’t had the heart …

I sit here, in this same waiting room again. No news yet because Mom and Dad are still back in holding. His surgery won’t actually happen until around 1pm. Riding up here gives me plenty of time to think, and plenty of sights to see!! And the hillbillys were out today (I AM one, so I am allowed to say that!!)
In Laurens, this tough thug passed me and shot me a look that would’ve stopped a watch. Then I passed him back in traffic and saw why: There was a sticker on the back of his car that said “Lander Girl” and the tag on the front said “Diva” and I MADE SURE IT WAS A DUDE!! (At least, it looked like a dude!) If I was driving around in a car like that, I would give people mean looks, too!
The reality of all that takes place here today is pretty heavy: IF this works and makes a difference, Dad could really get back on the horse so to speak … If not, we have some difficult decisions to make. Decisions that could have a major impact on a lot of things.
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