Here Are Some Quotes...Again

I enjoy reading quotes. They often spark thinking in a direction that I would have never gone in, except for this short bit of inspiration. Here are some recent ones that caught my attention.

David Frost
"He's turned his life around. He used to be depressed and miserable. Now he's miserable and depressed."
Henny Youngman
"I told the doctor I broke my leg in two places. He told me to quit going to those places."
Oscar Wilde
"Scandal is gossip made tedious by morality."
Abraham Lincoln
"'Tis better to be silent and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt."
Takayuki Ikkaku, Arisa Hosaka and Toshihiro Kawabata
"Exercise relieves stress. Nothing relieves exercise."
Emo Phillips
"Some mornings it just doesn't seem worth it to gnaw through the leather straps."
Charles M. Schulz
"Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It's already tomorrow in Australia."
Judge Gideon J. Tucker
"No man's life, liberty or property are safe while the legislature is in session." (Does 700 billion ring a bell?)

And my favorite quote from this group:
G. K. Chesterton"If there were no God, there would be no Atheists."

A Big "But"

Psalm 3 is the conversation that King David has with God during the time that David's son, Absalom, is trying to take over the kingdom. David says "O Lord, how many are my foes! How many rise up against me!"

We are living in unsettling times. From a conservative Christian standpoint, I feel at times like many foes are trying to take over the kingdom. The financial crisis that our country is presently dealing with shows how even in this great country of ours, corruption and greed can affect so many people. As I listen to our leaders and presidential candidates pontificate about what "they would do", and what must be done, it is clear to me that no one really has the answers. Where it hits home is in the high gas prices I pay, the increasing cost of food for our table, increasing insurance and medical care costs, and the list goes on and on.

David goes on to say "BUT (my emphasis) you are a shield around me, O Lord; you bestow glory on me and lift up my head." The "but" is huge here. Later in Psalm 3 David says "I will not fear the tens of thousands drawn up against me on every side". David realizes that even though the situation is very dangerous and seemingly unsolvable, God is on his side. The word "but" draws a contrast between what may be and what really is. In other words, you may be reeling from all the uncertainty and confusion of the day, but, God can be a shield around you. Most of us have been raised to be very independent and not ask for help. Unfortunately, when we live like that, we also tend to be independent from God as well. For me, these are becoming humbling times, I don't have answers, and at times my heart is gripped with fear for the future. But, I'm asking God to help me depend on Him, and I'm asking Him to "be a shield around me", and my family.

Coincidence Or Divine Planning?

On Monday evening I drove to Chicago with a member of our congregation. Three years ago, this member felt impressed by God to begin giving regular donations for the purchase of a harp. In mid-summer enough money had been given to place the order and on Tuesday morning this member and I toured the Lyon & Healy harp factory and then brought our new harp back to St. Louis. It was very interesting to see these wonderful, hand made instruments in each phase of their creation. Our member, who is not a musician, was delighted beyond words to see the factory and to hear this new instrument played. Now, rewind to 1986. My wife, Kathy, played the harp professionally for many years. As a student she played with the San Jose State University orchestra and then the San Jose Symphony Orchestra. In every city we lived in, she not only played for our church, but for many civic, social and celebration type events. In 1986 she suffered an injury to her left arm and hand playing the harp that has made it almost impossible for her to play. In fact, we finally sold her harp because the emotional distress it created for her to see it every day in our living room and not be able to play was too much to bear. Fast forward to Sept. 16 and now there is a brand new harp in our sanctuary. No one at our church, and certainly not the member that gave the funds, knew that Kathy had a history as a professional harpist. Kathy sits down and begins to play. Coincidence? Divine planning? We are believing that God can heal her injury as she begins to play again. Can you help us pray for that? I can envision her sitting down one day to play and her realizing that not only is there not any pain anymore, she has strength in her hand and arm that has not been there since 1986. If you pray with us, I'll keep you posted on the progress. For now, I'm believing this is divine planning... :)

Christians and Politics Don't Always Mix

Like almost everyone, I get a few forwards every week in my email boxes with stories, videos and other media that support one cause or another. Most of them end with "don't let this end with you. Forward this to 10 friends or ______ will happen to you." (You can probably fill in the blank) I have noticed that as the political season is heating up, most of these forwards are becoming political announcements and denunciations of the candidates that are being supported or derided by them. In many cases these are from a "Christian" perspective or supposedly supporting "Christian values". I really think that Christians are called to a much higher standard than name calling and spreading political dirty tricks against candidates that we are not supporting. If a candidate that we do not support becomes the office holder, will we pray for that person with as much fervor as we passed along the hateful and sometimes dishonest information? On the national scene, the introduction of Sarah Palin into the mix has turned the presidential race upside down. In the avalanche of news reports, interviews, news commentator's assessment, etc., as a Christian, I am choosing to take the high road. I will not hate one candidate as I support another one. I will not be known as a Christian and then pass along information that confuses onlookers because my "living" doesn't match my "believing". One of our greatest callings at a time like this is to pray. I think in my praying, I can live out what Christ would expect of me in this political season.

Sin and Consequences

I really hate the consequences of sin. In my life I have had to deal with the consequences of my own sin, poor choices that led to difficult outcomes. When someone sins that has a wide influence, it spills out in so many directions and affects so many lives. Our choir recently began working on a wonderful song titled Healer. It was written by a young Australian minister who wrote the song in one sitting after finding out that he had an aggressive, terminal cancer. At one of our choir rehearsals we showed a You Tube video from Hillsong Church telling the story of the song and its impact at Hillsong. It was very moving and impacted each person there. Hillsong recorded the song on their latest CD. Earlier this week the world began to discover that this story is a total fabrication. There was no cancer and associated health problems. It was with great sadness that I told our choir last night about this terrible turn of events. While we want to be forgiving and compassionate, a lot of lives have been affected, and it gives people another example to point to when they say things like, "Christians are all hypocrites" or "If you can't get your act together and you say you are a Christian, how do you expect me to believe that there is anything to being a Christian." I hate the black eyes that these kind of events give us. And yet, at the same time it reminds us that God doesn't expect people to look to us for righteousness, He wants us to turn to Him. Even David, a man after God's own heart, was guilty of a heinous crime as King of Israel. Not only did he receive forgiveness, today we draw great strength and truth from David's Psalms. When the disappointment from this situation begins to fade, perhaps we'll work on the song again. It really is a great song. In the meantime, we'll try to keep our eyes on Jesus, just Jesus.

Life Can Be So Frustrating

I have enjoyed watching portions of the televised Olympics this summer. There have been some great victories and triumphs. And then there's been some shocking losses, stumbles and pure "choking". One of the poignant pictures is of Lolo Jones agonizing over her loss in the 100M hurdles. She was ahead, and favored for the gold medal, until she hit the second to last hurdle. It threw her timing off so bad that she could not recover before the finish line and ended out of the medals. Gymnasts had their troubles, divers and swimmers did as well. Even our undefeated ladies softball team choked and missed a gold medal. Both of our 400M relay teams (men and women) dropped their batons and were disqualified. Both teams were highly favored for gold medals. I can't imagine the frustration and disappointment of training and working for 4 years, and then not accomplishing what you set out to do. Some of these athletes will not have another chance in 4 years, their bodies won't let them. For others, life will take twists and turns that will not take them to London in 2012. But I do know the frustration of planning, working and trying to get something off the ground only to end in failure or defeat. God didn't promise us that He would smooth out our way and keep us from frustration and failure. He simply promised to be with us, to walk with us, to impart His wisdom and to be true to His word. I wonder if the little Chinese gymnast has any hope after falling off the balance beam? As the rude and uncompassionate cameraman zoomed in on her face, she tried to be brave, but tears began to trickle down her cheeks. Let's hope a Christian gymnast was able to love her, and allow Christ to show Himself through her. There's no denying it, life can be tough, but it's not without hope.

Here Are Some Quotes

I enjoy reading quotes. Here are a few recent ones from on of the blogs that I read.

"I can't understand why a person will take a year to write a novel when he can easily buy one for a few dollars." Fred Allen

"Now I know what a statesman is; he's a dead politician. We need more statesmen." Bob Edwards

"My theory is that if you look confident you can pull off anything - even if you have no clue what you're doing." Jessica Alba

"The government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it." Ronald Reagan

"Start every day off with a smile and get it over with." W.C. Fields

"Every man serves a useful purpose: A miser, for example, makes a wonderful ancestor." Laurence J. Peter

"Discovery consists of seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has thought." Albert Szent-Gyorgyi

"Just about the time that you think that there is nothing new in the world, someone comes along and stuns us with a new discovery or invention. The most interesting ones are the ones that provoke the thought, 'That is so simple, I should of thought of that'." Louie Salazar

The Highlight Of the Summer

Every year at this time (getting ready to go back to school) I have fond memories of my childhood. When I was in elementary school my mother did not drive. A couple of weeks before school started each year, my two sisters, my mother and I got on a city bus and traveled to downtown San Jose. The bus would let us off right in front of the large JC Penney store. We would shop all morning and get everything we needed for the next school year. To this day, I still buy a lot of clothes, particularly underwear (can you write that on a public blog?) at JC Penney because of those wonderful experiences. For the second part of this great experience we would lug all our bags down the street to the Woolworth store. We would plunk ourselves down at the lunch counter and have a feast for lunch. Eating out was a rarity when I was growing up, so this was a real treat. In fact, to this day I don't drink many soft drinks because we did not have soft drinks in our home. I never got used to having them in my diet.

When I look back on my childhood, I never felt like we were poor, or things were excessively tight. But I also know that my parents had the kind of jobs that didn't require a college education or specific skills, which meant they probably had to do a lot of "juggling" to make everything work out. Now that I am raising a family, I have a huge appreciation for what my parents had to do in order to raise us in a wonderful home environment. I know they made a lot of personal sacrifices to make sure we had everything we needed. One of the huge sacrifices they made was to pay for music lessons for my sisters and me. I am a church musician today because of the foundation of piano lessons that my parents provided. This was a wonderful gift to me.

After we finished our feast at the Woolworth lunch counter, we lugged our new clothes bags back to the front of the JC Penney store and caught our bus home. My sisters and I usually fell asleep after our big downtown adventure. The only hard part of the whole day was carrying our treasures several blocks from the bus stop to our home. Those were great days. The sad part about this is that I can't share the Woolworth lunch counter experience with my children. Woolworth went out of business several years ago. It just doesn't seem the same when you drive to the mall, shop from store to store, eat at the food court and drive home.

The last part of this great adventure was wearing the clothes for the first time. I can't even believe that some kids wanted their mothers to wash their clothes before they wore them for the first time. I loved the smell of new clothes and I would wear them over and over again before the first washing because I didn't want the new clothes smell to go away. I think it probably went away faster then I remember, especially on hot days in late August. Writing this has made me very nostalgic. I think I'd better go buy a new shirt and underwear at JC Penney next week, just in time for school to start.

20% Turnout

I had a brand new experience on Tuesday, Aug. 5th, I was a precinct judge for the Missouri election. I arrived at the polling location at 5AM and finished at 8PM when I helped deliver our ballots and official materials to a central location. Here are some of my observations of this new experience:

1. I was surprised how political the process is. There had to be an even number of Republican and Democrat workers at the polling location. Every person who voted had to fill out a voter ticket and a Republican and Democrat worker has to initial every voter ticket. Then the voter signed into a log, and again, a worker from both parties had to initial the signature. When we began the closing up process, all the logs and record keeping documents had to be signed off by workers from both parties. Then, to complete the process, a Republican and a Democrat had to go together in the same car to deliver the locked and sealed ballots to the central collection location. This bit of bureaucracy slowed the voting process down considerably, and we didn't have that many voters.

2. I was surprised that only 20% of the registered voters in this precinct actually voted. And, not everyone who is eligible to register and vote is even registered. It is disappointing that such a small group of people elect our leaders. I guess the moral of the story is, "if you don't vote, don't complain about the leaders performance". We had a supplemental list of registered voters. These are people that registered to vote at the last minute, and their names were not in the pre-printed logs. In our precinct, no one on that last minute list voted. Why bother to register?

3. This was really an enjoyable process. It was great to greet so many people I didn't know and assist them to participate in our democratic process. I think I want to work for the general election in November. It will probably be a "zoo" because the turnout rate will be very high. Even though this precinct only has approximately 1,000 registered voters, the results from this precinct really matter, and I had a small part in that.

My Rock, Fortress, Deliverer

"The Lord is my Rock, my Fortress and my Deliverer, My God is my Rock in Whom I take Refuge." (Psalm 18:2) This picture and scripture were sent to me last Sunday by Dan Arnold, a member of our congregation. We had sung "It Is Well With My Soul" in our morning services, and Dan was recounting God's protection of him through a very difficult health situation. Dan said "I feel that I am the guy in the lighthouse with everything swirling about me, yet I am safe because God is my protector." Wow, how powerful is that! While I have never had to deal with a serious health issue like Dan, I have felt the same way regarding serious situations in my own life. Even though I felt like I might be swept away by the power of circumstances beyond my control, I could identify with the writer of the Psalm, "God, You are my Rock, my Fortress, my Deliverer". If you are reading this blog today, and you are up against a difficult situation, God is on your side. Ask Him to be your Rock, your Fortress, your Deliverer. Jesus once said, ""You have not because you ask not" (James 4:2). Do you need physical healing, a relationship restored, wisdom for a major decision? Take a moment and ask God. He is listening and ready to move on your behalf. If you need help praying and believing God, let me help you. Post a comment and we'll call on God together. Blessings.

Christmas In July

I have a pile of new Christmas music on my office shelf. It is 98 degrees outside and the humidity makes it feel 104. Somehow this isn't very conducive to "hearing angels on high". However, one thing you need to know about me is that when it comes to Christmas, I am still such a "kid". Right next to my computer screen I have a small pewter Nativity scene and on a shelf to my left side I have another larger, more traditional manger scene. On another shelf is my Santa mug and on one wall is a small watercolor of Santa with the phrase, "I Still Believe". Next to it are two Terry Redlin Christmas prints titled "Heading Home" and "The Sharing Season". So there, I'm out of the closet. I am a 356-day-of-the-year-Christmas-celebrator. I can hear the Bud commercial now, "Hey 356-day-of-the-year-Christmas-celebrator man..."

So why am I working through the pile of Christmas music now? As of today, July 25th, Christmas is only 153 days from now. Since we do a couple of Christmas concerts and programs earlier than Christmas Day in December, we need to begin rehearsals and preparations in early September. I must admit that even though "the weather outside is frightful" (hot and humid) and there is no "fire is so delightful" inside, I love this process. I am still intrigued by the Christmas story. I love re-reading the various accounts in the New Testament and trying to put myself into the story, to fill in the blanks that the Gospel writers do not cover. Christ coming to earth was indeed the greatest gift to us, and somehow again this year, I want to make sure that whatever we do to share the story, people who have never received this greatest gift, come into contact with Christ. So, another CD goes into my player and here we go..."Son of God, purest Light, Lord on high is here tonight..."

Living Far From Your Children is Tough

Yesterday morning Kathy and I took our daughter Aimee and our 3 grandchildren to the airport so they could fly home to Eureka, CA. They were able to spend 2 weeks with us and the time flew by. The thing that made saying goodby very difficult is that we don't know when we'll see them again. As they flew home, Aimee was going home to some big changes. In my last blog I wrote about her husband, Jason, spending a few days in the hospital and the senior pastor they work for resigning. Life is never dull...

On this trip, I met JJ for the first time. He was born in January and Kathy went out for a couple of weeks. By the time we see him again he might be walking, and shaving. :) Our neighbors that live across our street from us have 3 children that all live close by. Most Saturdays one or more of them visit and bring their children. Sometimes Kathy stands at our door and wonders what it would be like to visit with her grandchildren whenever she wanted. While I realize that a lot of people, from all walks of life and vocations, live far from their children, full time Christian ministry is the reason that our family is so spread apart. On one hand we all have tried to hear from God and work in the place that He has lead us to, but, the downside is that it never seems to be very close. Our second son, Josh and his wife Kelly, are preparing to travel to other countries with Book of Hope. Visiting them will be a challenge. I wonder if God has designed it in heaven for families to live close to each other. Wouldn't it be cool if multi-generations of families could live close enough together to get to know each other well. I would love to know some of our relatives that lived before my grandparents. I know a little about them from my parents and grandparent's stories, but that's about all. That would be the ultimate in genealogy research! For now, we'll save our pennies and Google map our next trip to see our kids.

This Didn't Surprise God

Life changes so quickly. Our daughter Aimee, our granddaughters Madelyn and Elyse, and our new grandson, JJ, are visiting with us from Eureka, California. Aimee is the children's pastor at her church and her husband, Jason, is the associate pastor at First Assembly of God in Eureka. Aimee and our grandchildren, and Kathy's (my wife) parents, were here last Sunday and celebrated Kathy's birthday with her and the rest of our family. What a treat, and so much fun. But things change so quickly. By that night, we got the word from Eureka that Jason had been admitted to the hospital with severe stomach pains and a high temperature. Later the diagnosis came, a perforated colon. We had anxious hours as we prayed and waited for the results of tests and changes brought on by medication. By Monday morning there had been some improvement. Later on Monday, however, the senior pastor that Jason works with came by to see him. This was not your normal pastoral hospital visit. His pastor told him that later that evening he was gathering the church board together to announce that he was resigning his position as senior pastor and moving to Sacramento, California to work at another church. So Jason gets to deal with a "kick in the pants" and a "punch in the stomach". Going from concern about his health to concern about his and Aimee's future. As we talked about this on Tuesday, Kathy's mom said something that put it all in perspective, "this did not surprise God". She (Marjorie Ferrin) was so right. Regardless of our independence and self-sufficiency, God isn't surprised or incapacitated by life. He really is in charge when we allow Him to be. This is Thursday and Jason will probably be released today. Tomorrow he gets to start working on the future of First Assembly of God in Eureka, California. God is right there, He knew what was going to happen, both with Jason's health and the health of the church, and He knows what to do now. Wow, what a stress reliever. Aimee has been a real trooper. I wouldn't have been surprised if she had decided to go home early. But Aimee has learned that God is not surprised, he really can be trusted, and things can really work out for the best when we rely on God. So Kathy and I are excited, we get to enjoy Aimee and our grandchildren for a few more days. We'll be concerned about their future, but trusting God sure makes it easier.

I Love Fireworks-Thankful For Heroes

Last Sunday evening we held our church's 2nd Star Spangled Spectacular. This is our version of an old-fashioned patriotic picnic. We had good food, lots of great conversation, activities for kids to do, great summer weather, patriotic music and we capped it all off with a wonderful fireworks display. The fireworks were set off in a field right behind our church property. Right in the middle of the fireworks display I had a wave of thankfulness go over me. Thankfulness for the opportunity to be happy, safe, and to celebrate our freedom in a manner that we had chose. Thankfulness for the people who make our freedom possible. In our highly politicized society, we are emotionally shoved back and forth as the merits of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are debated, and the military is either praised or demonized. But something that cannot be debated are the heroes, throughout our history, who have placed their lives on the line for this country and have given us the privilege of celebrating our freedom just like I described earlier. Consider one hero, Marine Lance Corporal Jake Knospler. On November 12, 2004, Jake was leading his fire team during the fight to liberate Fallujah from terrorists. An enemy grenade hit Jake in the face, blowing away his jaw and part of his skull. he miraculously survived his terrible wounds and more than a dozen surgeries. Even with these terrible injuries, when Jake was asked about his future, he said, "I have to get better. My country, my Corps, and my family are counting on me."


Thanks to Jake and thousands like him, we can count on them for the protection of our freedom. As we celebrate the 4th of July this year, we have a lot to be thankful for. There are countless heroes who have given their lives so that we can choose to do whatever we want on Friday. Let's stop for a few moments and thank God for these heroes, and their families.

Oil Fuels the Jihad

I am really struggling with issues related to oil, the price of gas and our government's seeming paralysis on this subject. I also really struggle with the fact that we are funding, with our outrageously high oil dollars, the Jihad against us. Ollie North, in his book American Heroes, says "Today's fiery leaders of "the religion of peace"-both Sunni and Shia-have instigated and sustained a Jihad, fueled with petro-dollars, paid by the very people they perversely describe as their enemies. Sheiks, imams, mullahs, and ayatollahs routinely expound the virtues of "martyrdom" and vicious treatment for Christians and Jews-and use the money gleaned from petroleum to finance the expansion of their Jihad."

The cost of drawing a barrel of oil out of the ground is less than $30. per barrel. The current price, July 1, 2008, is $142.49 per barrel. The difference between the real cost of oil and the price we are willing to pay means that despots, tyrants, and terrorists are awash in petro-dollars. Consider these quotes-"we love death-the Americans love life-that is the difference between us."-Osama bin Laden, following Sept. 11. "War is our best hobby. The sound of guns firing is like music for us. We cannot live without war. We have no other way except Jihad... The Americans love Pepsi Cola; we love death."-Maulana Inyadullah, Afghani Muslim fighting alongside the Taliban. Now consider Proverbs 8:36b, "All who hate me love death". We really are in a spiritual war, as well as a physical one. We need the wisdom of God to help us live in an increasingly dangerous world where we are hated simply for who we are and what we believe. In stressful times, people turn back to God. "Oh Lord, may we as a nation look to You again for wisdom, strength and direction. Help us repent of our independence and turning our backs on You. Restore to us a love for You and Your ways. Bring revival to the U.S. Oh God, You are our only hope."

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.

Inside the Big White Ball

I have only been in one other super-creative environment in my life. That was during the years we spent at the PTL Television Network. For all the bad press about the principal players, and the horrible crash at the end, during its heyday, PTL was unbelievably creative, and made a lot of room for creative people. Being at DW feels that way, "on steroids." I have been constantly amazed at the creativity here at Disney World, and the underlying message that you can "achieve your dreams". There is almost a spiritual message being given here, except that the emphasis is on you, instead of Christ. The principles, however, are the same. "If you can dream it, you can see it come to pass." Epcot is a wonderful place that blends science, innovation and a community of nations. On our final full day here tomorrow, we're going back to Epcot to spend some time in the various nation's pavilions. We've been able to see most of the things we planned, but there is so much more. The Spaceship Earth ride and exhibits inside the big white ball are great. That is Shawn in the picture with the sphere. It is interesting, though, our sons would rather ride the thrill rides, while and Kathy and I are enjoying the educational events. Nicole, our 16 year old, can go either way. Whatever you want to do, it's all here. It's very interesting, here I am on vacation, but I feel incredibly challenged to change some of my thinking and ways of doing things when we get home. This has been a restful "kick in the pants".

The Magic Kingdom Is Really Magic

Here I am in Disney's Studios, in the New York City part of the "back lot". We have been here 2 full days now and it is spectacular. Everything about Walt Disney World is 1st class. We've seen 2 evening outdoor shows, one at Epcot and one at Disney's Studios. Both of them had special effects that were unbelievable. It makes my attempts to jazz up our Easter productions with pyrotechnics look like a middle school science experiment gone bad. Several times I've wondered about the creative teams that put many of these events together. They must have had a lot of fun, in the middle of a lot of work. One of the things that makes DW stand out is all the little touches that you can tell really had the "customer in mind". I wonder what would happen if we approached our planning and thinking about the church with the same kind of open-ended creativity. This place makes thinking out of the box seem commonplace. While the focus would be different, and we'll never have the budget that DW does, we could do so much more. I hope to come home with a few good ideas that we can work on. Until then, it's off to Cinderella's castle...