Thursday Night

Grilled chicken and zucchini, brown rice, salad with fresh tomatoes, fresh green beans... supper was really good and pretty healthy to boot tonight. We've gotten into a pretty cool routine at least once a week this summer. We get home, Virginia fixes a salad, some brown rice, and maybe another vegetable. I get some kind of meat ready to grill (usually chicken or fish), slice and season some zucchini and put it all on the grill. I usually finish about the time Virginia is wrapping things up in the kitchen, and we thankfully sit down to a simple and yummy dinner. Another nice thing is that there'll be leftovers for probably two more meals... in some form or another. Who knows, some of that chicken and squash may end up in an omelet Saturday.

We took my car (96 Camry) and dropped it off at the shop tonight to get worked on tomorrow. It's actually running well, but the brakes are acting a bit squishy, and that's nothing to mess with. Plus, at 121000 miles it's time to have a few other things looked at. That's not excessive miles for a Camry, but that preventive maintenance stuff is invaluable. Sooo... I'm expecting to have to plunk down a chunk of change tomorrow afternoon.

Speaking of tomorrow afternoon, Virginia is going to the 25th annual Bay Area Women's Retreat at Day Break Camp this weekend. She always enjoys the time, but she's been so busy with her schooling that she'd just as soon stayed home this weekend. But, she committed to go, so she's going... that's just her.

Supposed to be another gorgeous day tomorrow. Can't wait!

Surprises

Yesterday and today I felt pretty normal during the day... a little stopped up but able to get quite a bit done at work. So, I was surprised when I pretty much ran out of gas last evening... I mean I was really zonked by the time I got home from our elder/staff meeting.

I felt better today, but I was again surprised this evening... hardly had a voice for praise team practice. I was surprised because I had been able to sing earlier in the day. Guess it's just that evening stuffed up thing.

I was also surprised at praise team practice tonight. Sunday we're doing a couple of prayer song sets that include "Father and Friend" and "Prince of Peace..." The surprise was that most of the singers didn't know either of these songs. That happens sometimes. Churches have always developed their own repertoire of songs over time... even in the good old days. While there are many songs in common, it's always surprising to learn the unique differences.

What wasn't surprising was that we worked on the two songs and they both came together nicely. Working with our praise team is, to borrow a phrase from a friend, working in an ego-free zone... I love it!! And the glory all goes to God.

Virus

Last night after I finished with the bathroom work I noticed that I noticed that I began to feel a bit sluggish and congested and my voice began changing to more of a bass. Earlier in the week Virginia began feeling symptoms of some bug that is "going around" among folks at the PD, and I suspect I've contracted whatever it is from her.

It doesn't seem to be too bad a bug, but things like this usually hit me harder than they hit VJ... guess she's just tougher or something. Anyway, I felt pretty bad when I woke up this morning, so I decided I'd just sleep in and work from home. I think that was probably a good choice, because, while I'm still sort of stopped up, I'm feeling better than this morning. Viruses come and go, so this one will pass as well.

Which raises the question about the plural of virus. Viruses just didn't sound right, so I looked it up. According to Wikipedia, the preferred plural is viruses, and the less frequent variations of viri and virii are "virtually unknown in edited prose and and no major dictionary recognizes them as alternative forms." How about that... viruses it is!

Well, here's to hoping your next virus is short-lived. :-)

Sunday PJR

Today Eastside experienced our first Sunday PJR... post Jarrod Robinson. While Jarrod and Lauren experienced a new beginning with the Riverside congregation in Coppell, we were taking our first steps as a church family after sending them on to their next ministry. I think any time a minister leaves a congregation, the church family gets to choose how they will respond, and Eastside is responding in healthy ways.

We have new elders and deacons to install in a couple of weeks... Kyle is doing a great job connecting with the youth... our fall ministry efforts are underway... new Family Circles are forming... there is a real sense of anticipation of what God will do next among us. I pray that we continue to remain open to His leading... that we pay attention to where He is working and have the courage to join Him there.

The upgrade of the downstairs bathroom is almost complete. I guess is started back in the spring with a refurbish of the wood cabinet. Then we had the vanity top, sink and faucet replaced when we did our kitchen counters. A couple of weeks back we took down the mirror and metal cabinet and started the process of patching and painting. We found this mirror that we both liked and repainted the chrome to match the wrought-iron look. Yesterday we made a trip to Home Depot and picked up a new exhaust fan to replace the really loud old one. We got one with a light in it to increase the lumens in the room. We also got dark switches and a dark metal faceplate to coordinate with the new look.

I spent some hours Saturday figuring out how to take out the old fan and get the new one in. The instructions said these are really better installed in new construction, but it could be installed if I had crawl space access. Well, because of the location of the bathroom, the stairs, the upstairs floor, etc., I had no crawl space access. So, I got the old one out, cut the whole bigger to match the new fan, took the fan unit out of the mounting box per instructions, and let it set so ideas could percolate in my head until this afternoon.

Well, after a lot of thought, a call to my electrician friend, Bruce, quite a bit of sweat, and about 3 hours, I managed to figure enough work arounds to get the fan/light installed... and it works!! I also managed to get the new switch and outlet installed.

As is often the case with my home improvement projects, this one took at least twice as long as I thought it might, but at least I didn't have to make extra trips to Home Depot... and Virginia was proud of me because she didn't hear me yell even once.

We got the mess cleaned up, and the bathroom is almost done... just need to install the little wrought-iron shelf that Virginia ordered... when it gets here... and we'll be done. Although she did say something about a new light fixture.... hmmmmmm.... I guess we'll see.

Beautiful Thursday

Man-o-man... today was one of those beautiful days... blue skies, not too hot, nice breeze from the north. It was definitely a nice day for a run... and the old Achilles tendon is slowly getting better.

Didn't get too much done around the house other than the laundry, but I did fix an interesting concoction for supper. We let one of the zucchini grow pretty big before picking it (about 18" or so) and had it in the fridge. I split it length-wise, scooped out all the seeds and pith, stuffed 1/2 with a taco meat-bean-corn mix, put mozzarella cheese in the other half, put the two halves together on a cookie sheet, and baked it in the oven for about an hour. It was yummy... and pretty healthy to boot I think. And... we'll have left-overs for a couple of days. Good thing we both like zucchini.

Tomorrow will be finalize sermon day for me. I've had an outline in my head for a week or so... put it on paper Wednesday... sort of talked through it while I ran today. I just need to make sure I'm prepared enough to not go too long.

Family Circles are coming together well. We'll have at least a couple of new ones and a couple which will focus mostly on ministry this year. One of the new groupings will be a young adult group. We've needed something in that 20-something age (mostly single) range for a long time, and now God seems to have raised up a nucleus of folks to get something going. Virginia and I will mentor the group as they get started and figure out just what they're going to be. Prayers answered on this one... please pray for this new ministry as it forms and grows.

I mentioned earlier that the breeze today was out of the north. Well, as the high pressure north of us shifts to the east, the winds are supposed to shift as well... from the northeast and finally east... over the next two days. As a result, they're declaring a Red Flag Warning starting tonight here in the East Bay. That may mean no trail run Saturday morning if they close the trails. We'll just have to wait and see.
Hope your week ends well. Blessings...

Monday, 9/18

Well, today dawned... the first Monday in the office after Jarrod's and Lauren's departure. I wasn't sure what it would feel like... and it was a bit weird getting out of the car, looking across at the now empty parsonage, and going into the building. Ruth came in a bit later, and she had an OK day too even though she was pretty worn down by the weekend's events.

I told a couple of people today that in spite of the fact that I'm sad at their leaving, I have this feeling in my gut... this anticipation... that God has plans to do some pretty amazing things with this Family of Faith.

I'm not sure what all is around the corner, but already Kyle is recruiting volunteers and having a wonderful impact on our kids. Our reformatted Family Circles seem to be coming together. Our new adult classes are off to a good start. There is a new and eager interest in getting a Young Professionals group up and running. God is at work... on September 18.

A Saturday of Variety

Today was a good day. About the only thing that I'd have wanted different was Virginia here instead of in Sacramento for her class. However, with her gone the day had a definitely different feel than most Saturdays.

I ran about 6 miles over at Contra Loma, and my Achilles felt good. It was simply a beautiful day for a run. Blue sky... not too hot... nice breeze. Then, later I got an email from my brother, Kent, wit a link to some pics of Ryan's (nephew) cross country race. Early season on a warm day, and he ran about as well as he did all last fall. Hope he does well this season.

VJ and I are on the September cleaning team at church, so I rode my bike up to church and cleaned for a while. It was perfect weather for riding as well.

The sports pundits were calling today Separation Saturday in college football. I think that's because so many ranked teams were playing each other. There were a lot of games on TV, and I watched some of several of them. I guess I watched more of the USC/Nebraska game than any other. Sure enough, there were some upsets and other surprises, and... exactly 1/2 of those ranked teams that were playing each other got beat. Imagine that!!

As I posted Thursday, tomorrow is the last Sunday for Jarrod and Lauren. They are moved totally out of their house and stayed last night with friends. Jarrod's mom flew in to fly with him to TX where they're teaching a class together at the ACU lectures. Lauren's dad flew in as well and will help her drive the car to TX. Jarrod's mom is staying with her daughter tonight, but Jarrod, Laruen and her dad are here with me. I think we'll all get a restful night... big day in many ways tomorrow. God bless!

Final Sunday

Well, I've tried lots of things... holding my breath... pacing around... plugging my ears and talking loud... not turning the calendar page... none of it has worked. The time has passed by (as it always does), and this Sunday is the final one for Jarrod and Lauren to be with us.

It will be a good Sunday... we'll celebrate their time with us, how God has shaped us all and worked through us to His glory... we'll give gifts and reminisce and share in a meal together, prepared with loving attention to detail. There will be lots of smiles and stories and laughter and some tears. We'll all relish the time of celebration.

But when it's all over and the fellowship hall is cleaned up and the tables put away, it will settle in. An era in the life of the Eastside Church... and in my ministry life... will be over... and I will be sad. I will miss both Jarrod and Lauren... the people they are... the gifts they so willingly use... the integrity that shape their interactions with others. I won't be the only one to miss them... we all will... and we'll grieve.

But with their departure God will begin a new era in the life of the Eastside Church and, yes, in my ministry as well. And one by one all of us at Eastside will turn our thoughts and our prayers and our anticipating hearts toward what God will next do among us. Today I told someone that the last couple of months (leader selection, Jarrod leaving, new youth minister) felt like riding God's roller coaster, hanging on to the crash bar because I hadn't fastened the belt.... a bit scary... but definitely exhilarating.

Keep Eastside in your prayers... we need to really pay attention so we don't miss God's next steps among us.

Weekend and 911

Virginia and I had a wonderful trip to Houston to participate in the celebration of all God has done through the ministry of Mark and Karen Howell in the life of the Sugar Grove church family over the last 20 years. It was great to worship with our former church family... it was so good to see and talk at least briefly with so many with whom we ministered for almost 14 years... it was special to spend some quality time with many of those who are among our closest friends. Virginia's video was one of the hits of the weekend. What a blessing the entire weekend was!

Here's a link to a Comcast photoshow from the weekend. Enjoy!

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Today is also a special day in many ways... a day of remembrance for our nation. I'm sure each of us can remember exactly where we were and what we were doing at 8:46 Eastern time five years ago. You might enjoy reading Karen Koonce's account of her family's first hand 911 experience.

Let's all thank God for our blessings and determine to live as the hands and feet of Jesus in this broken world.

Trip to Houston

Well, Virginia and I will head to the airport in the morning and fly to Houston for the weekend. It's Mark and Karen Howell's 20th anniversary with Sugar Grove, and the church is having a celebration.

The video VJ did turned out great, so we're looking forward to sharing that with the folks at SG. We'll stay with Lisa, see lots of good friends, enjoy the fellowship, and be blessed by worshiping with our former church family. I'm anticipating a weekend full of blessings.

It's really special to have maintained such close ties with people at Sugar Grove. Not only are so many friendships special, but there's also a real sense that the Kingdom... our Family of brothers and sisters... in real and tangible ways is bigger than just where we happen to live and serve.

Paint and Video

Labor Day... that holiday day set aside to honor the American worker with a day of rest. Except that's not typically been our pattern, and this year is no exception. There have been years when we've done things like cookouts in the park or softball with friends or maybe even a trip somewhere, but out more normal Labor Day usually consist of... well... labor!

Virginia's been working overtime to complete the video retrospective of Mark and Karen Howell's 20 years with Sharpstown / Sugar Grove, and today was a full day as she put all the finishing touches on what I think will be a real treat for Mark and Karen. In fact, I believe everyone will enjoy it!

I spent the day prepping, masking and painting two of our bathrooms... the 1/2 bath downstairs and the one off our bedroom. We decided to paint them the same color, so I just treated it as one project. It took two coats in both bathrooms, but the end result is pretty good. There were so many little things to do and minor repairs to make that it took me all day.

But... we ended up the day with some wonderful grilled pork chops with squash and onions... ymmmm. Virginia even brought home some ice cream as a treat for all our hard work... thanks, sweetie!!

Happy Labor Day!!

Hills, Vacuums, and Burritos

It was soooo cool and nice at 7:30 this morning when I met Randy at the Contra Loma trail head for our weekly run back toward the Black Diamond Mines. That should have made for a great run... and it wasn't bad... but I was having trouble breathing... wheezing a bit... so it wasn't as enjoyable as it might have been. When the pollen was so heavy last spring the doctor gave me an inhaler to use as needed. Guess I probably needed it today. Still enjoyed the cool breeze... never enjoy the hills.

We don't have a janitorial service at church. I think we used to, but a number of years ago the church set up cleaning teams made up of members who are responsible for doing all the basic cleaning a month at a time. Virginia and I are on the September cleaning team with some other folks. Some teams try to meet together and do all the cleaning at one time. Our members, like most of the teams, come to the building when our schedules permit and share the cleaning that way. There's a really neat wooden thingy on the inside of the cleaning closet door where you slide blocks to the right when you do a job. That way everyone knows what's been done and what is left to do. Virginia and I usually don't make it until Saturday afternoon, so we get to do what's left. This week we did all the vacuuming at the main building, washed glass doors and took out all the trash. I actually like this system... one more small way to remind ourselves that we should be good stewards of our blessings.

On the way home we stopped at OSH to get some paint and other stuff. After running this morning and all that cleaning, we realized we were pretty hungry, so we decided on an early supper at Juarez, a small and really good Mexican food place not far from our house. It's a local establishment, and the food is basic fare, but it's authentic, tasty, and reasonably priced. VJ had a 1/2 steak burrito meal, and I had a full pork burrito meal... we both brought leftovers home. I love it!!