Don't Forget To Sweep the Street

I know it is already 3 days after Father's Day, but I'm still processing how thankful I am for my father. May dad will be 89 years old on November 5th. He's moving pretty slow these days, and he has a lot of trouble hearing, but he's still going strong. I miss being able to talk freely with him. He has tried hearing aids, but I guess his doctor has not been able to hit on the combination that will help him hear better.

My dad came from simple folks. They placed a lot of value on hard work and passed on that work ethic to their children. My dad didn't get the chance to complete his high school education, he had to go to work to help support his family. I watched him work hard at various jobs throughout his working career. He also volunteered a lot of time at our church and had time left over to help people in need. I can remember going with him on Saturday mornings, for several years, to chop wood for an older lady who lived alone and cooked and heated her home with wood. He also had time for me. He passed on to me some of the most valuable knowledge that I have today. He taught me "street smarts", how to work hard, how to use my head and hands to do things that other people had to pay for and a host of other practical and useful things that are invaluable to me today. My dad always wore work clothes to work, he never got to dress in a suit and tie. On Sundays, however, he would "dress to the nines". When he retired and traveled to visit, he always got off the plane in a coat and tie. My children would ask me, "why does grandpa dress up" just to ride on the plane. My answer was, "he is an elegant man and he dresses up because he can." He has always been neat, clean and tidy. He keep his cars, his house and yard the same way. I still mow and trim my yard like he taught me, including the little things that made our yard always stand out. The last thing he always did was sweep the street in front of our house. That was the finishing touch that made our yard look so nice. It would never occur to him that you could just blow all the grass trimmings into the street and be finished. I taught the same things to my sons. Every time I finish my yard by sweeping the street, I think of my dad, and thank God for him. I am so blessed... The other day, Joshua, our second son, was telling me about working in his yard. My last question to him about that was, "when you were done, did you sweep the street?" His smile gave away his answer. Someday when he has a son and he's teaching him how to take care of his yard, his son will probably ask him, "dad, why do you sweep the street?"

Back In the Saddle Again

Vacations are great, but they come and go too fast. A lot of the fun is in planning and waiting for the time to come, but then the time passes so quickly, you almost miss it. Last week I had one day in the church office before we began hosting the Assemblies of God National Music Department for a conference with the Commission on Worship and District Ministers of Music from districts around the country. I have had the privilege to participate in 3 of these conferences and they are always great. Some of the best church musicians there are, attend these and the opportunity to "pick each other's brains" and learn from each other is tremendous. Next month I will attend a 1 day event in Nashville, TN for Assemblies of God church administrators and it is the same kind of environment. Learning, stretching, fellowship and all the things that go with "rubbing shoulders" with the "best in the business". (no pun intended) Here at WCAG, June is Christmas planning time. Sometimes it's a little hard to plan for Christmas when the temperature is 90 degrees and the humidity is close to that. I am asking God for an idea or a plan to get the maximum number of unchurched people into our building this coming holiday season. The statisticians tell us that today interest in religious and spiritual things is at an all time high, yet church attendance is at an all time low.

Oh God, we know your Word is all powerful and is the answer for our culture. Help us to present It in such a way that it is irresistible to people who would otherwise never darken the doorways of our church. You are the ultimate creative being. Allow some of Your creativity to permeate our praying, planning and presentation of who You are.

Hummers and Space Shuttles

Our vacation is nearly over. We had 2 events happen, one at the beginning and one near the end that were incredible "bonuses". On our first day, we spent part of it with Kathy's brother in Nashville, Tennessee. We had never been there and we wanted him to show us the city. On Thursday night we spent some time in the Opryland Hotel and then set a time to meet on Friday morning to "see the town". Imagine our great delight to see a 40' Hummer limo pull up to our hotel on Friday for our tour. Kevin, Kathy's brother drives part time for a limo company and he drove us around Nashville in style. We had a blast! Our two boys thought they were hot stuff as people pointed and stared. We made a Starbucks stop and two people asked to take pictures inside and outside the limo. What fun, but very "heady". I can see how people who have sudden upward life style changes can go somewhat wacko. After a few limo rides you could start thinking you were really someone special...climbing back into our junior-high-boys-locker-room-smelling mini-van brought us right back to earth.

May 31st was our first full day at New Smyrna Beach in Florida. NSB, as the locals call it, is a wonderful little town, somewhat protected from the hordes of Florida beach tourists. We rented a condo right on the beach. We were blown away to find out that on that Saturday the Discovery shuttle would be taking off from the Kennedy Space Center, just a short distance away from NSB. At 5:02 PM on Saturday, we stood on the beach with hundreds of other local residents and watched Discovery take off. It was incredible to hear the roar of the engines, watch the entire engine burn and then watch the booster rockets fall away. Being there was a once-in-a-lifetime experience! What a marvelous human accomplishment. And yet, later that evening, looking at the stars and looking out to sea, I realized again how small we really are. Earlier in the week I had been reading about our lives being a vapor, just a wisp, and then we are gone. We think we are the creative ones, completely independent, doing the things that amaze and astound the world. Yet, it is God who allows it, and gives us a small measure of His creativity. Someday, when we see the fullness of His creation, we will be constantly blown away by what He's done.