One Pastor's Perspective

Last night, Drew’s baseball team WON the Maple Park Majors Championship! They won the second half of the season and played the first half winner last night in the championship game. So, he has officially played his last game at Maple. WHEW!! I am glad thats over.

Drew played at Maple for NINE years, and I coached him for six. When we started out there, it was a great place to play ball. A good board was in place and it really was about the kids. I won’t comment about what it has become, but will just say that I am glad we are done.

And proud for Drew and his team . . . They really deserved it!

Today has been an interesting day to say the least . . .

It began at 7am when I dropped Drew off at prayer breakfast and decided to walk the Rail Trail for today’s exercise. Or, should I write EXORCISE. Because I have NEVER in all of my years had so many flies attack me at once! Walking at 7am this morning I felt like a planet with 100 satellites whirring around me. I think I will stick to the Y until some of these flies die.

The thermometer on the sign at the church said it was 100 as I left to go to lunch . . . The sign at Palmetto St Church agreed. 200 yards down the road, another sign said it was 92. I don’t really know what to make of that, but I think the churches were a little closer to reality.

Hope you are staying cool wherever you are!

And THEN, on to English. AT 6:00 AM!!!! Last night, Drew’s baseball team won the second half of the season. HOWEVER, we did not get to our hardcore studying until 9:30 or after. It was a long night, and will be a long morning. But it MUST be done! We need some good grades on finals. So, I am back in 7th grade science, and on to English.

I probably need the second one!!

Spent all day Saturday outdoors . . . That is not a bad thing, except for the fact that it was in the 90s for most of the day. As I usually do every other Saturday, I went out after breakfast to cut the grass. Unusually, the lawn mower (not even one year old yet) would not crank!

I went through the entire checklist . . . New gas . . . new spark plug . . . cleaned the air filter . . . sacrificed a whole chicken . . . NOTHING WORKED. I noticed the compression seemed weak as I pulled the chord, so I took the starter-assembly off and found that I could turn the flywheel, with NO resistance, in either direction as much as I wanted.

HELP GOOGLE!! Google put me into a troubleshooting app on the Briggs & Stratton website. I started following it step by step and found the intake valve stuck open.

To make a long story short, I spent half the day looking for a small engine valve spring compressor. THERE IS NOT ONE FOR SALE IN FLORENCE, SC! I talked to my dad and he told me to use a block of wood and hammer to tap it back in. SO, Drew and I hosed it down with WD-40 and worked it back and forth until it started working again. We reassembled it and cut the grass! Our neighbors cheered (for the grass being cut)!

Dad, along with several others, have advised me to get some valve treatment and that should help, along with keeping the air filter clean. Did Drew and I enjoy this?? YES, but I don’t want to do it every time I cut the grass . . .

How messed up is my head that I am excited about getting to cut the softball signs down last night?? We were finished a month ago, but waited until after the class softball games (which was a fundraiser sponsored by Varsity Softball). Those ended last night when the juniors beat the sophmores and then beat the faculty!! (On the other hand, rumor has it that there will now be NO valedictorian next year)

Am I doing flips?? Not really. . . that WOULD be pathetic. No, but I will no longer worry about them every time a storm comes up. So, I guess I SHOULD be a little excited about it!

I have two friends from seminary that are serving in China right now. Yes, they felt the earthquake and are in the midst of ministry there. They cannot tell me where they are, and in turn, I cannot tell you WHO they are to protect their identities. But this morning, I got an urgent request for prayer that I am passing on to YOU:

1. Pray that they will be successful in placing workers in the right positions for the coming school year, and the schools will cooperate with them.

2. Pray that their work visas will be renewed.

Cannot say more now, but the power of prayer is so important. Pray for them: GOD KNOWS who you are praying for!!!

Thanks!

GOOD NEWS AND BAD NEWS FOR A PASTOR (from Mikey’s Funnies):

Good News: You baptized seven people today in the river.
Bad News: You lost two of them in the swift current.

Good News: The Women’s Guild voted to send you a get-well card.
Bad News: The vote passed 31-30.

Good News: The Elder Board accepted your job description the way you wrote it.
Bad News: They were so inspired by it, they also formed a search committee to find somebody capable of filling the position.

Good News: You finally found a choir director who approaches things exactly the same way you do.
Bad News: The choir mutinied.

Good News: Mrs. Jones is wild about your sermons.
Bad News: Mrs. Jones is also wild about Ozzy Osbourne, “Desperate Housewives” and “Texas Chainsaw Massacre.”

Good News: The trustees finally voted to add more church parking.
Bad News: They are going to blacktop the front lawn of your parsonage.

Good News: Church attendance rose dramatically the last three weeks.
Bad News: You were on vacation.

Good News: Your biggest critic just left your church.
Bad News: She has been appointed the District Supervisor of your denomination’s region.

Good News: The youth in your church come to your house for a surprise visit.
Bad News: It’s in the middle of the night and they are armed with toilet paper and shaving cream to “decorate” your house.

(To subscibe, go to www.mikeysfunnies.com)

Daughter of Gospel Star Steven Curtis Chapman Hit, Killed by Car

All I can say is that SCC has meant a lot to me over the years, and today I am praying for him, for his wife and family, and especially for his son.