Off to DC

OK, it's not exactly DC, but Pastor Todd and I are headed to Reston, VA, just south of DC for a conference called The Whiteboard Sessions. The conference is all day on Thursday. I'm excited because there will be 8 speakers who will have 30 minutes each to present the most innovative or important aspect to the ministry of which they are involved. I'm sure that this will stretch my thinking and hopefully help me see some new avenues for ministry. It'll be good for PT and me to get away and dream a little. Pray for us!

Memory Lane

This past weekend my boys spent the weekend camping and fishing with their Uncle Chad. I was a little jealous that I didn't get to go, but I know that they had a blast. I know part of the fun is doing cool stuff with others in your life. Chad had gone fishing with his grandpa as a kid, and relived some of that this past weekend with my boys. I fished with my grandpa growing up and have to say that those memories are some of my best.

Sometimes as parents we get caught up in getting things for our kids, but we forget that one of the most important things that we can give our kids is memories. Perhaps a few things outside of the ordinary. Nothing spectacular, just thoughtful.

Thanks, Chad. The weekend you've given my boys will last a lifetime. How do I know? Let me tell you about the time my friend, Paul, and I went fishing with my grandpa when we were 11 . . .

What are you doing intentionally that will take folks down memory lane (with positive thoughts)?

Spring Fest Reflections

This past Sunday had our annual spring community outreach event called Spring Fest. It was really neat to see God's fingerprints all over this event, and how He blessed us. The weather forecast didn't look too good for last Sunday. Last Friday evening, the forecast called for 60% chance of rain.

You see, rain is a big deal because this was an outside event. We had 5 inflatable rides from Ragland Productions coming from Clayton, NC. They can't get wet, and they cost $$. We prayed. I even emailed the weather forecasters at two TV stations and both said they "wouldn't have it."

Well, Sunday was sunny and warm here in downtown Bagley Swamp. The weather was great. In fact, several got a little red from the sun. We also had a great turnout. A lot of folks brought their friends, we had over 300 folks enjoying themselves. A lot of laughter, a lot of fun!

Our purpose was to have a fun event where we could invite families that don't have a church home to come and have a good time. As I looked around on Sunday, there were a bunch of people here that I didn't know. So, it worked!

Our people were great! A lot of coordination happened to have hotdogs/hamburgers, drinks popcorn, snow cones, and cotton candy for everyone. It was terrific. We had plenty for folks to do: from horse rides, petting zoo, volley ball, rock climbing wall, 2 bounce houses, bungee run, giant slide and basketball among other games. Thanks to all who made it happen.

BTW, that's my oldest son and I on the bungee run. I think he beat me. I do have a big strawberry on my elbow from my experience.

Late Night Thoughts

A couple of thoughts running through my mind this evening:

• Amy and I dropped off our oldest son (15) at NC State today for a math, science and technology camp. That felt weird.
  
• I gave my son the names of two of my high school classmates who are professors at State in case he came across them. That felt weird, and old.
  
• On the way home, Amy and I noticed that we looked younger than most of the other parents dropping off their 10th graders. That felt good.
  
• Until she reminded me that we'd probably look kinda old when our 9 year old gets to that age. I guess it doesn't matter since I don't have much choice about it.
  
• I am now being introduced as "the husband of . . . " which is kind of a new twist for us. Being a pastor, most people we meet around here will have heard of our church or me. So, I would then say "this is my wife, Amy." Well, that changed somewhat last night when Amy was elected to our county school board. So it is now . . . "and this is my husband, James." That's cool. I think I like that.
  
• Time to go to bed . . .
  

Gas Prices

It seems that gas prices keep getting higher, and it seems no end is in sight. I read a great post on a friend's blog that puts it all in perspective. Be sure to check out the Little Man Syndrome and let me know what you think.

Snowball

I noticed yesterday that we received our "Rebate" from the government directly deposited into our checking account. Cool! What should we spend all of that money on? Maybe a cool new plasma TV? Or . . . maybe a gadget that Apple makes? Or . . .?

Na! We've decided that we are going to get out of debt and owe no one! So . . . as quick as the money went into our checking account - it left. We sent it onward to pay off some debt. It is what Dave Ramsey calls the debt snowball. We've been learning about how to handle our money in a responsible way through a class at our church called Financial Peace University.

It's basically a common sense approach to money (and it's biblical). Stuff that we heard our grandparents say. "Save up and pay cash for it." "Live on less that you make." "Live on a budget." We've decided that we are going to get out of debt and not get back in unless we buy a house.

So, thanks Uncle Sam for the help with the debt snowball. We're getting closer to the day where we will scream "We're Debt FREE!"

Simple Things

Life has been rather hectic lately. My last post indicates that I suffered a computer crash several weeks ago. As you might imagine, the crash itself made life hectic. It took me quite a while just where I could function with the work computer. You know, to be able to print something because I had the right print driver installed, stuff like that. Just to do something simple, like print or get email, wasn't so simple anymore.

Things have been busy at the church as well. Due to schedules, I realized yesterday that I saw my kids thirty minutes this weekend. That's not good.

This evening was the first evening that we weren't on the run for a while. A game was rained out and we spent the evening just hanging out. Nothing special. Watched the Braves. John Smoltz got his 3000th strikeout. The Braves lost. But, we got to be together. Laugh. Joke around. Enjoying the simple things.

Simple. Keep it simple.