One Pastor's Perspective

I decree, on August 19th, that certain things SHOULD happen on my birthday. Here is the list, comply as you are able:

– I will immediately lose 50 lbs.
– Every problem and fire I had to deal with yesterday will not only be completely OUT, any signs of those fires WILL BE GONE.
– Every employee issue on my desk will be resolved without me having to do ANYTHING.
– There will be NO squabbles today that I will have to referee.
– The Braves WILL WIN today.
– In a miraculous move, somehow the Packers will reacquire Brett Favre and all will be forgiven.
– My cholesterol medicine WILL NOT bother me today.
– The new TV season WILL BEGIN TODAY, and not around the 1st of October.
– The Batman tv show WILL BE on the new network lineup, with brand new episodes.
– The Honda dealership will call me, insisting on an even trade between my Accord and a new, beta version of the Pilot that gets 25mph in the city and 32 on the highway. It WILL have a nav system.
– Apple will decide to give us four MacBook pros with everything we need to get into plenty of trouble with them. Deano will be so humbled with the gift that he will renounce Windows Vista and put one of those apple stickers on the rear window of his truck.
– The bank will decide that I have paid on my mortgage long enough, and in light of the fact that it is my birthday, they will FORGIVE all debts.
– Having recognized my coaching prowess, Roy Williams will call and BEG ME to join his staff at UNC. I will politely decline, but will somehow finagle a full ride for Krissy even though I declined.

This list could go on and on, but you get the idea, right????

It is hard to believe Krissy starts her senior year today . . . What is NOT hard to believe is that she has dealt with West Florence SIX times since registration and her schedule is STILL screwed up!! But, that will be corrected.

I am finding it hard to believe that the four year old girl we moved to Florence with is about to drive her brother to Sneed and then herself to the first day of her last year. All of those people who told me I would blink and she would be grown WERE TELLING THE TRUTH.

WOW.

Finally! I am ready to be home for a while. We had a great week, but it is great to be home. Since we had the condo until this morning, we stayed LATE last night and came home. Of course, when we got home and ran by to pick Krissy’s car up (which had been in the shop) it was dead as a doornail. Haven’t figured that one out yet, because we jumped it and it seems to be charging . . . Maybe a light was left on????? Time will tell.

After unloading, watching Michael Phelps win ANOTHER gold medal, and winding down a little, I got to bed around 12:30. Way too late for me. Good thing I don’t have to preach this morning.

As if it never happened, today is sunny, warm, and clear (so far). I guess we are about to go out and set up the tent . . . Ruskie the LG has already set his stuff up, but since it is later in the week, he is not setting as many up . . . He knows better.

I think I have just talked Krissy into walking to the pier. Later!!

No, I did NOT scrap with the lifeguard yesterday OR today. It is POURING rain right now, and at 9am the beach is deserted. Yesterday, if you were not down there by now, you did not get a spot. There is NO sign of life on Garden City Beach this morning, not even a Russian lifeguard.

There is something therapudic about watching the ocean churn and spray as the storm looms. I definitely would not want to be out in a boat on it, but it is good to watch from the couch of the condo.

Okay, I did the SAME thing this morning that I did yesterday. YES, once again Krissy just grunted when I tried to get her walk with me. So I went down, set the pop-up on the beach again (by myself) and went about my morning walk. When I set the tent up, there was NOTHING else on the beach. Coming back I realized I set the tent up too far back. The lifeguard was about 100 yards away from me setting umbrellas up at the other end of the condo. I thought I would move the tent a little forward (to prevent an umbrella from being set up in front of us). I moved it and realized I would need some help. As I was walking back up, I saw him come RUNNING down the beach with his t-bar. He started his first tent hole RIGHT IN FRONT of our tent. SHENANNIGANS!!!

I went upstairs and got Drew and Diana to go back down with me and move it. I got a little ill with him, but Diana said he must have been yelled at yesterday to have reacted that way. She is probably right, but if he keeps doing stuff like that, I will HAVE to mess with him a little.

If you go to our truthcasting channel and click on Events (BELOW Sermons and Youth on the left of the screen), you will see an entry titled BAPTISM and dated 8/10/08. THIS IS YESTERDAY’S BAPTISM!!! A little tricky to find if you are unfamiliar with Truthcasting, but worth a watch!

That link is:

http://truthcasting.net/player/truthcastingplayer.swf?channelID=100000030

Happy watching!!

I got up this morning, set our pop-up tent up on the beach, and walked to the pier and back HARD. Krissy was supposed towalk with me, but when I went to wake her up she squeaked out a weak “WHAT?!” I stood there for a minute and said, “I guess that means NO (you are NOT going with me).” She then powerfully vocalized a YES and went back to sleep.

Everything is hazy down here this morning, so I didn’t get the postcard sunrise I usually get when I walk . . . But at least I am down here! Time to cook breakfast.

Yep, this is the week my folks are coming to their condo at Garden City. We get a week at the beach and a chance to recharge the batteries before the rollercoaster starts next week. It is hard to believe that Krissy starts her senior year at WF next Monday, and Drew will be in the eighth grade at Sneed. Man, I am getting old.

I am sure this year will fly right by. And then, college for Krissy and high school for Drew. When I sit back and realize that he was one month old when I moved to Florence, it blows my mind.

So, Diana and I will take this opportunity to enjoy our children one more time, because times like these really are coming to an end and I wonder if I have spent enough with them. My children are growing up rapidly before my eyes and I hope and pray I am doing the right things as their dad. And, to all of my friends who have young children, SPEND AS MUCH TIME WITH THEM AS YOU CAN. The day is coming when you will sit where I am and wonder where all the time went!!!

Yep, WMBF launches today from Conway (of course). “We” finally have a local NBC affiliate. I have already checked my digital antenna and my dish, and it is not there yet. Their website has been unclear as to exactly what time they will begin, but it is alledgedly starting today.

I hope they will actually cover Florence instead of putting us on the back shelf as the other stations have done. Only a few years ago most of the major stations in our market were based in Florence. And we had great coverage. Now, I know everything there is to know about Myrtle Beach, Conway, and the big city of Loris, but the news I get from Florence is usually old news.

If I had the money, I would start a SuperStation from the metropolis of Florence, covering our city. I would have political commentary from Jimmy Norton. There would be home repair tips from Olin Bullock. I would have technology updates from L. Dean Lisenby. I would have cooking tips from Elaine Hutchinson (on entrees) and Betty Moore-Bell (on desserts). I MIGHT even let Kristina Plunkett cover college football (if she promises NOT to spend the entire time talking about Ohio State). And I would have a live, hidden camera following Paul Frazier around 24/7.

AND IT WOULD BE A BIG SUCCESS!!!! And, on Sundays, guess which church would be broadcast??? I might also have a “fictional” soap opera based on daily life at the office . . OOOOOO, that would scare some people. And plenty of reruns of Dragnet, Gilligans Island, Batman, Magnum PI, Hogan’s Heroes, Bugs Bunny cartoons, old SNLs, Braves games, and other fun stuff.

My version of “Florence’s Most Wanted” would be there to call out people who act horribly in our basketball league, softball league, and at places like Maple Park. My SportsCenter would talk about Brett Favre, but not 24/7.

And that, my friends, is why God sees to it that I don’t have that kind of money.