Leslie and Jimmy working on this new dice game... the intricacies of which escaped me at the moment. 

Angelica and Leslie. Her due date is in August, but she has a feeling the baby will come sooner than that. We asked her to call us after her contractions were 5 minutes apart for half an hour to an hour, not ... 16 hours, there IS an hour's drive to the hospital to take into consideration. :-)  

Roberta and John Kennedy. 

Eusebia and Jessica (the one that Leslie took to the hospital and got there half an hour before Jessica was born). We went to visit them this afternoon.  

Volleyball is the game of choice. ALWAYS. 

Cecilio and some of the other guys from White Stone hanging out on the monkey bars. 

had an encuentro today here at jbc, it was an awesome time. had a group of 10 people, youth and James, the youth ministry intern, along with one of the parents (in the middle in the picture - Willard and Marian Bowen's daughter Cindy) joine us for the afternoon. they helped with the clothes closet as well as the food pantry setup. i think they really enjoyed getting to know the folks and meeting the youth from JBC who came. :-) I'm bushed!!!  

Hannah doing the rock climbing thing at Rivahfest in Tappahannock. she made it all the way up twice. the first time was on the hardest section, the second was (i believe) an accident ... the attendant thought she hadn't gotten very far (it didn't take her long at all), so i'm thinking he thought he'd give her another shot on an easier wall. 

caleb and judson enjoying the view across the rappahannock on the grounds of St Margaret's school. i'm putting this picture on my desktop. the orange thing on Caleb's head is a balloon hat made to 'be' a tiger. 

Caleb at his last T-Ball game this morning. see the ball on the far right side of the picture??? *I* thougt that was pretty cool!  

Leslie with Cecilio ... i think we were getting ready to make a run to Hyacinth and Callao apts and a couple of other places to let folks know about the encuentro the next day ...  

Cecilio came over last Saturday and spent the day and night with us, then went with us to the encuentro at Rappahannock Baptist Church, along with ... 22 others. had a wonderful time. forgot to take the camera. will try not to do that again. for a long time i thought it wasn't working. turns out we'd inadvertently turned off the display screen on the back. (ugh) ... ;-)  

the game tonight was rained out. LAST friday i wasn't able to play. I needed to be at Margaret Franklin's visitation prior to her funeral on Saturday. most of the team did go out and play, against another team that, like ours, had not won a single game so far this season.

Guess who won? :-)

So we broke with tradition.

Let's see how long the winning streak lasts ;-)

Leslie is at PassportKids camp through Sunday. She and another man from the church, along with 3 kids (none of them ours) left early yesterday morning. so i've got the kids.

so far it's been fairly benign. only one serious blow up. still, not good, having hoped for none.

more later.

g & p

Hannah sitting across the table from me yesterday at the breakfast ... she is SO precious!  

the salt fish and hush puppies at the salt fish breakfast yesterday. there was still some left over. guess what is in a baggie in our freezer? :-) (btw, there were plenty of other 'normal' breakfast items available - scrambled eggs, coffee, hash browns, grits (really GOOD grits) and ... biscuits ... and sausage ... yeah. plenty)  

Caleb and Judson mugging for Hannah (behind the camera) at the salt fish breakfast yesterday morning.  

For Margaret
Saturday, June 12th, 2004, 2PM
Jerusalem Baptist Church

One of the great benefits i have in my life is that my three college roommates are or have been in some form of ministry, and we still find ourselves bouncing things off each other and exchanging ideas, even today, just as we did in college. One of them, Jay, a United Methodist Minister in Nashville, wrote a couple of days ago in his online journal the following notes about what it means to be in ministry at a time like this. His thoughts put into words my own in facing you today.

"There is something sacred in our encounters with the dying, something life affirming in the midst of death. When I am home in the shower and that shiver runs up my spine as I ponder my own mortality, the unknown of death sometimes seems overwhelming. Yet, when I am sitting beside the bed of the one who is facing death, for some reason the fear leaves and there is recognition of God's presence.

Death puts everything else in perspective. It places us in relationship to one another as the power dynamics that so characterize our lives are torn down. On the surface it may not seem so, since one party is dependent on the other for such basic needs and hygiene and the quenching of thirst. Yet, the caregiver finds him or herself in a place as helpless as the dying. No matter what we do, the outcome is still the same. We work to alleviate suffering, while knowing that the ultimate power of restoration is not in our hands.

I continue to be amazed that this power of ordination, this being called to Pastor a congregation, leads others to invite me into their most sacred moments. How many times have I been a fly on the wall, being present for a family as a loved one dies only to know that I am receiving much more than the family? The ministry of presence is a powerful gift -- both for the other and for the one being present.

We watched yesterday as the funeral of Ronald Reagan progressed in all its glory. The National Cathedral was full of men in black suits and women in their finest attire, and a coffin draped with the flag of our nation. It was a national moment of recognition, a ritual in honor of a life.

Yet, the most sacred spaces are not filled with pomp and splendor. They are happening today in bedrooms, hospital rooms, and hospice residences throughout the world. The words aren't flowery. There are tears and blood and sweat intermixed. They aren't particularly pretty. But God is present in the midst of them, helping some into a new place of being, and comforting those left behind."

As Christians we are called to be ‘little Christs’. In that, each of us presents to the world our individual ‘take’, our individual flavoring of Jesus. Some of us are more like ourselves than like Jesus. Some, more and more like Christ.
I knew Margaret briefly while she was still relatively healthy, but for the most part, I have known her in her illness.

What I drew from the time we spent together was not only from her, but from hers and her family’s relationship. To watch Ritsy and Cindy time and time again carry her to the hospital late at night, to watch them trade off time spent with her and William, caring for both of them, and to watch as William tended to and stood watch over his companion of 53 years, spoke to me so strongly about what it means to be family, to be present, to be giving. It so deepened my understanding of what Jesus meant when he commended us to each other … to be family to each other, that in that deepening came a challenge to find more and more ways to carry that out to the fullest that I am able.

In the passage I read to you, beginning with the second verse of Chapter 5, Paul says

“For in this tent we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling – if indeed, when we have taken it off we will not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we groan under our burden, because we wish not to be unclothed but to be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.

We know that Margaret’s passing itself was peaceful. The time leading up to that, was less so. This Robe I’m wearing is a symbol of the role I hold as a minister. But I am not the robe. When I wear it, some will see the robe and not the person. In a similar way, Margaret’s body was not who she WAS. Her body was what presented her to us, it was what helped us recognize her while she was with us. But what made her who she was was on the inside. That is something that is recognizable in any form.

In the same way that I can remove the robe and present myself as the person I am, not just the calling I follow, Margaret has now shed her body and is face to face with Christ, who has known her and has welcomed her into his presence.

So what I would ask you to do as we say farewell to Margaret is to draw from your own knowledge of her, and find that part of you that she touched, and look for an opportunity to share that with William, or Ritsy, or Billy, or Lou, or Cindy, or any of the grandchildren or the rest of the family. Let them know that there are ways in which Margaret has touched your lives that they would recognize the ‘Margaret-ness’ of them. Share memories, stories, and thoughts with them. Let them know just how many lives she DID touch, and make a difference in, just as Christ made the difference in HER life.

Let’s pray.

Margaret Sydnor Franklin
November 10th, 1928 - June 10th, 2004
(the day after she and William celebrated their 53rd anniversary) 

this was taken this morning. it is amazing how much they've grown!  

this was last september 3rd, the first day of school for Hannah (2nd grade) and Caleb (kindergarten) 

i'm not sure what to say (if anything) about the typos on the award ... in this case, it truly was an amazing thing!  

golden dragon

so we go to the awards ceremony this morning at richmond county elementary. caleb's is first, then an hour later, hannah's. caleb gets awards for math and music. we are thrilled.

then hannah's comes around. we go through the math and science, reading and art, then get to the music. mr washington, the music teacher, also directs the dragon singers choir. hannah was invited to be in it. it starts at 3rd grade, but he always invites 5 2nd graders to come into it each year. he also gives out the golden dragon award to the student who has best exemplified the discipline and focus that he requires of the members of the choir.

usually it goes to a 4th or 5th grader. today, for the first time in the 10 years that he's been directing it, it went to a 2nd grader: Hannah.

you can imagine that Leslie and I were puddles. :-)

we are REALLY PROUD of her.

i wish i could tell this story

but i'll have to wait ...

Leslie drove Eusebia to Fredericksburg last thursday. Eusebia had been in labor since 6:30 the night before. the pains had been coming five minutes apart since 9 o'clock that morning. they got to the hospital roughly half an hour before the baby (Jessica) was born. Fredericksburg is a little over an hour away.

Fill in the blanks.

Leslie preached at Currottoman church yesterday morning. She told the story there. i'm sorry i didn't get to hear her. i hope they taped it, because i WANT a copy! When I get it, i'll transcribe it to here.

I was wondering if I had changed much since first taking this test ... 19 years ago ...

INFP - "Questor". High capacity for caring. Emotional face to the world. High sense of honor derived from internal values. 4.4% of total population.

Take Free Myers-Briggs Personality Test
personality tests by similarminds.com

Guess I haven't. Still the same type. (thanks Jay for the link)

This past Saturday at Kilmarnock's Rivahfest. Hannah had just finished marching in the parade, and we were getting ready to head down the main street to see what wares were for sale. A beautiful day. I have an ever-darkening farmer's tan to prove it! :-) 

Leslie will be 40 a week from today. there's no way i can say anything that would do justice to either how i feel for her or what she means to me ... (which may be saying the same thing, but in my mind it isn't exactly that) ... with a little hesitation, i have to say (and i will qualify it if you need me to) that she has been ... my salvation. i'm not taking Christ out of the picture, but in a very real way, she has been Christ's presence in my life over the last nearly 13 years.
 

GLORY

Leslie made this quilt for the niece of a woman we worked with at Thalia Lynn in Va Beach. She (her niece) and her husband were heading to Thailand to serve as missionaries. Their 'call verse' was Habakkuk 2:14: "For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea." so Leslie quilted this wall hanging for them as a ... commissioning quilt.
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about the game

We came dangerously close to winning tonight. we play seven inning games. top of the 6th, we were ahead 6-3. bottom of the 6th, the team from melrose UMC had scored 8 runs on us. at the top of the 7th we went three up, three down, and that was that.

Two REALLY COOL things happened, though. Tyler and Ricky showed up to play. Tyler has had a really REALLY rough last couple of months ... more. Ricky injured his knee last summer - playing softball, in fact, and had to undergo extensive surgery and rehab ... I let Tyler play right field, and I sat out as an extra batter, then let Ricky hit in my place. He got a base hit. And Tyler caught a pop fly to right field to throw a guy out.

The let down was palpable ... but we still had fun.

maybe next time. :-)

M&M's, Sue, and the Christmas get together. there are as many stories to tell of our years as roommates in college ... funny, it really only turned out to be ... just under 2 years, if i sit and think about it ... fall of 82 to spring of 84, with stacey having bailed out of 1357 and into marriage ... :-)
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the nativity was a christmas gift to Leslie. at our hanging of the green service, sunday school classes were responsible for the hanging of the greens, we invited guests and visitors to take a piece of the nativity up and place it on the table. worked out pretty cool.
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The Sanctuary where Jerusalem Baptist Church meets, in Emmerton, Virginia. This was shortly before Christmas of last year. That is why the front of the sanctuary has all those poinsettias.
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Tuesdays with Judson

Judson, our 4 year old, went with me to History Land Nursery on Newland Rd. this morning/afternoon. He sort of enjoys tagging along. He's gone with me to 3 or 4 of my visits to the worksite at Greenfields, on Rt 17, and is more comfortable there. A couple of the guys live in a trailer home onsite, and we stepped in to visit with them while they finished up their lunch. Judson went into 'intro' mode - burying his face in my shoulder, and not answering any questions or making eye contact with either Jesus (Chewy) or Daniel, his brother. It was a little offputting, but they seemed to understand, and didn't seem offended. (sigh)

The devotional went a little longer than usual. It lasted about 20 minutes. Usually I'm done in 10. it went well, though. told the story of Joseph, giving thanks in all circumstances b/c we don't know going in what good will come through them ... not to NOT allow complaints, but to realize that most of what we live through makes us stronger, or maybe wiser (hopefully) or at least ... gives us life experience to move forward ...

Our encuentro on Sunday went REALLY well ... we had 35 men and women show up, along with 20 or so members of the church -- and THEY ENGAGED EACH OTHER!!! FINALLY It was a pretty animated game of Dominos. But hey, whatever works. :-)

Dr. Morris and the congregation were incredibly gracious and welcoming. After the Devotional (which Leslie gave ... I translated for her when she got in a little deep :-)) Dr. Morris shared in song - he sang 'How Great Thou Art' ... and got an ovation from the group.

One note. Three of the guys left right before the worship/devotional time. Partly because they were tired, but mostly (I found out later) because they just became so homesick. :-(

I can REALLY identify with that. I hope to reach them over the next couple of weeks - before the next Encuentro, to hopefully start to ease that... we shall see...

grace & peace

let's see if it goes this time ... :-)
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got to do the devotional outside as well.
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these were all taken at totuskey baptist church in haynesville va. it was a perfect spring day.
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this is a little over a year old, but this is us. :-)
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How do you catch a six year old?

it was hard to get a rythm going, but for a few minutes there we had it. throw. catch. throw. catch. throw. bounce.:-) we moved around each other as we stepped and reached to get the ball to whap into the pockets of the gloves. we ended up going around the face of the clock. at one point, caleb asked to move into a shaded area of the yard, since the sun was full on his back (though low in the sky).

he'd been asking me all afternoon to do this. we finally were able to. i intentionally waited until later in the afternoon (close to 6), so that the heat wouldn't be such a factor.

"great catch!"
"good throw!"
"keep your eye on the ball all the way into your glove, and bring your other hand into the glove after the ball!"

it's odd. don't remember doing anything like that with daddy.

i suspect we WOULD have, had we had the opportunity. but as it was, i don't remember owning a baseball glove growing up ... and it wasn't that big a sport in chile anyway.

to be honest, it seemed kind of boring, watching it at grandaddy and grandma's ... almost like golf still is NOW ... :-)

picture this: the sun going down, a slight breeze blowing. not too many bugs, caught one mayfly on the strip on the back of my ball cap, and mostly blue sky above. and your six year old son spending time with you because HE wanted to.

it's not iowa. it really IS heaven.

getting with the program ...

so i've downloaded hello (http://www.hello.com/index.php), but there seems to be some sort of network error. can't login to the app. :-/

maybe later ... will try again.

oh ... made it through the night ok. didn't sleep. the boys fell asleep around 4AM. we pulled into the driveway about 6. Leslie and Hannah were getting ready. Good to at least say bye to them before crashing for 3 hours.

then up and rush to Caleb's T-ball game. that went well as well. not sure who won, or if they even keep score. there was a nice breeze, so the sun wasn't too terribly hot.

came home and laid down on the bed. the boys were more interested in watching TV than in sleeping. Judson is now asleep. Caleb is waiting for him to wake up so we can 'go do something'.

we'll be visiting harvey, then coming home to play some catch, hopefully.

wonder where the leftover spaghetti is from last night?

pray for me. i'm off to a lock in with Caleb (6) and Judson (4) and about 50 other screaming children and teenagers. just got home (for a minute) from the softball game (lost 11-6 ... no major foulups. only one, really. happened to coincide with the one time the ball came out to right field ;-) )

tomorrow caleb has a t-ball game at 10, not sure how well he'll be up for that. but anyway. i've still got the message perking ... and then sunday afternoon we'll have an encuentro at Shiloh.

had a good good visit with cecilio and cirilo last night. looking forward to seeing them tom ... uh sunday.

grace & peace.

What IS It About Forgiveness?

it didn't go where i thought it was going to end up. i ended up telling the story of jacob and esau, and how esau's response to the reunion after 20 years said more about forgiveness than pretty much anything jacob did. there's an amazing verse, it's jacob speaking to esau, after esau welcomes him with a big hug and crying together:

Genesis 33:10
"Jacob said, "No, please; if I find favor with you, then accept my present from my hand; for truly to see your face is like seeing the face of God--since you have received me with such favor."

beginning text remained the same. then shifted. that happens a lot. i know i need to start working on my sermons earlier in the week (read: NOW, TODAY, RIGHT THIS MINUTE) ... i don't know if it is procrastination (or i do and would rather not admit to it) or if it is bona fide 'letting it perk' throughout the week.

it still came out to a full 7 pages. translated into 35 minutes. didn't feel like it, intended to pick up the pace, but it didn't happen. let everyone out at 12:10. it'd be interesting if the congregation were exposed to the services i grew up with in santiago - 45 minute to hour-long sermons the norm rather than the exception. especially sunday evenings ... usually LONGER on those nights.

Elwood came up to me yesterday evening and said that the sermon was my best yet.

i hope that doesn't mean i need to keep making them long.

visited shirley and pete for the first time this afternoon while taking them lunch. shirley fell a couple of weeks ago but didn't tell ANYONE. actually didn't want to go to the hospital, even though she heard her ankle crack on her way down (as she fell). correction: they DID tell their youngest son, who lives in Urbanna, but also swore him to secrecy. the sisters and older brother were all consequently angry at him for keeping the secret. their granddaughter in Topeka was getting married this past saturday, so they drove out over a 3 day period (1,400 miles one way). kept the leg elevated, but it still didn't do it any GOOD, according to the doctor. it was good to get to know her and them a little better. pete doesn't come ... though somewhere in the back of my mind i seem to remember his visiting once over the last year ... not sure though. their granddaughter graduated highschool at 15, college at 19, and med school will be this coming saturday. she's 24. her father is a heart surgeon, her mom (shirley's daughter) raises horses.

harvey's sister passed away last night. viewing is tomorrow evening, funeral wednesday 1 PM at totuskey. Margaret, though she was sitting up, doesn't look that good. she is still confined to the bed and the wheelchair. i suspect there is more going wrong with her than just the fungal meningitis would account for.

there's a sparrow that builds her nest in the front door right-side wreath every spring. this year there were 5 eggs. all hatched. one chick fell out, but i put it back. she still cared for it. apparently they don't reject babies that have been touched by humans after all. the chicks are getting bigger and bigger. their feathers finally started to come out overnight on saturday. they now look up at me and just stare. it's been fascinating to watch them grow. don't see the mama ... or rather, don't startle the mama away that much anymore. apparently she's spending more time gathering food away from the nest.

they should probably be ready to fly in another week or two ... max.

theological reflections?

nah. i got nothin'. :-)

Kori and Anna Kiss spoke last night at family night, about their ... trek ... their ... pilgrimage from Hungary and Romania, respectively, to Budapest and the international baptist lay academy, then to prague for the international baptist seminary, then being told they had to find another school, since all the faculty was being fired from that one (another form of ethnic cleansing, if you ask me).. and ended up at BTSR in richmond and then ended up being called to pastor Bethany church in Callao, VA. Amazing stories. reminded me of what it means to live by faith ...

On A MUCH Lighter Note ...

We lost our game last night against Henderson/Carmel UMC, something like 15 to 20. It was actually close there for a while. Then I ran from first base to the dugout to get my glove, thinking we'd had our third out, only to realize that we HADN'T ... but I got to fill that position on my race back TO first base ... :-/

Somewhere along in there I either pulled or strained my ... hamstring? (not sure, whatever it is that is on the back of my thigh ...) it HURTS ... but that's what I get for not warming up and stretching more before the game started ...

Still and all, it was a fun game ... I need to pick up some cleats. The game started shortly before 9:30 PM (scheduled to begin at 9, but the game before ours ran a little long). Our game lasted an hour and 8 minutes. By that time there's a good bit of dew on the grass. That can only get worse as the summer goes on.

Interesting to feel sore like this ... I really REALLY need to get in shape ...

I DID score two runs, and got hits each time I was up to bat.

Two low flies came out to right field, and I was too far back, and the sneakers I wore just weren't cutting it.

I think the guys on the team who don't know me too well are not sure how to treat me ... they realize I'm the Pastor, but they don't yet rag me like they do each other. Let's see what I can do to help them get over that. :-)

The images ... even the THOUGHT of the images, are ... are ... there's no word that is adequate. Discomforting sounds like a pair of too-tight underwear. Appalling seems too snobbish. Unsettling is an understatement. Heart-rending comes closer ...

We began a discussion Wednesday evening during prayer time that i need to continue tomorrow morning - on forgiveness. I cannot walk in the shoes either of the prisoners or of the Berg family. I cannot walk in the shoes of the guards, or the masked perpetrators of the beheading. I can approach the event with ... a broken heart.

I can't help but cry for the families of the dead. I can't help but cry for the desensitization ... the dehumanization that the guards and the masked men have suffered to bring them to a place where they can commit the acts they committed and still function, in whatever twisted way we can define the word 'function' that means.

Tony worked on my brakes yesterday morning. I sat with him, being mechanically challenged as I am, and just visited. He and I are the same age. He was in the Navy, he has two teenage sons. His wife teaches our children gymnastics. He works for a local defense contractor. He saw the video on the website. He said what surprised him was the intensity of his response -- and it was sheer rage. He wanted to go and kill the men RIGHT THEN.

So the passage for tomorrow is from Matthew 5:

43"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.?

Pray for me. I'm not sure where this is going to end up. I just know that that is the passage I need to preach from.

grace & peace

Monday ...

feeling the pain from Friday night's softball game a little more today than yesterday, and a little more than Saturday. Feeling my age and realizing I REALLY need to get in shape. Oh Well. Something for next year's resolutions. :-)

Actually had a good time. Shocked everyone, most of all myself, by hitting a double my first at-bat. Slid into First my second at-bat, but the runner that was going from first to second got tagged out there, so didn't get to follow through.

Jerusalem Baptist Church (Emmerton) has a long, illustrious history of NEVER winning a game. I don't intend to tarnish that record in the least. It's made for good, clean, fun every time they've gone out to play. Schedules have simply not allowed for the team to get together TO practice.

Mother's day was good. Had an Encuentro at White Stone yesterday afternoon. 22 there. Smaller group, but we all knew each other. There WERE two or three brand new guys there, but they were related to men from last year, so there was already a connection.

Next time, we meet at Shiloh. First African-American church in the association to host a gathering ... I'm thinking it may be the ONLY African-American congregation IN the Association. Dr. Morris is the moderator this year. Neat, neat people.

Sorry. I know I should be adding some thoughts that are perking ... and I will, but I just don't have the energy right now.

Midweek ...

Started the day off loopy. Bubble not in the middle. took the pager back to the hospital, as part of going off-call on the chaplaincy rotation, which i do every tuesday. took judson with me, ran home to check mail, delivered appropriately to the various slots in the office (youth, treasurer, WMU, Music Director, etc), then met Leslie and Soozin at Northern Neck Gourmet for lunch. still feeling odd.

Got home and there was a wonderful, warm message from Elwood, just calling to wish me a good day, glad we are here, and just hoping that i'd be able to get out and enjoy the day and the beauty of it (it was in the low 70's, sunny and clear for most of the day - absolutely gorgeous!). funny how one message can work to turn the whole day around!

This evening at church i introduced Celebration of Discipline, and will begin going through it next week. small group. Linda, Wilson, Kitty, Jack, Soozin, Pat, Jean, Margie, Leslie and the 3 kids ... John, and ... Cliff ... I think that was it. Hilda and Herbert are in England, Jim and Mary are in North Carolina ... Sam and Annie Mae come periodically, and I'm not sure about Tony and Janice ... or George... still, a good comfortably-sized crowd ... at home with each other.

Nice to feel like a family.

not a lot to write about ...

I mean, i'm sure there's TONS of stuff to write about, just not in the frame of mind to do it.

sorry.

ALMOST MISSING IT

Last Friday evening Caleb (our 6 year old son) and I made a loop to visit several of the places where Hispanics live in the area to touch base with them about the Encuentro (Gathering) that was held Saturday.

We stopped at Hyacinth and visited with Salvador, Jose and Abraham. Then we drove into Callao and visited with Felipe and several of his friends who were gathered around, after running into Carlos as he was pulling out of the parking lot. Then we drove to Lottsburg and visited with Cecilia, who got back from Mexico week before last and had a terrible time in Atlanta's airport.

As we were leaving Cecilia's, I realized I'd left the calling card that Cecilio, one of the guys at White Stone, had asked me to pick up for him. We drove back to the house and I ran over to the other car, grabbed the card, and climbed back into the van and we headed down Rt 3. We got to White Stone, and saw Mundo and Cecilio and Oscar and Gumaro and Lazaro ... had a good though short visit with them.

As we pulled away from the plant, we'd gotten a little ways down the road when Caleb, who was sitting in the seat directly behind me (on his booster seat), said "Daddy, I want to be just like you when I grow up."

I swallowed. Hard.

"Thanks, Caleb, but what do you mean?"

"Well, like, your hair and your skin ... well ... not your skin, 'cause that's different from me and you, but ... the way you are ... the things you do ... the way you are with people ... just stuff like that."

"Thanks Caleb, that means a lot to me. That was very kind of you to say."

If you've never heard "Lord, I Want To Be Just Like You", by Phillips, Craig & Dean, find it and listen to it.

However you feel about God, it gets to you when your child says 'I want to be just like you' ...

On some level, it is frightening. He is watching me. I am modeling for him (and his brother and sister) what it means to be ... a father, a husband, a brother, a son ... above all, a Christ-follower ... so I don't do this alone. I can't.

Grace & Peace

Corrottoman Encuentro

we had an awesome encuentro today.

let me back up.

first we had a really neat, small, sweet wedding. my second. (i mean to perform) got to wear my robe for this one.

all told there were maybe 20 people in the sanctuary. brian and ellen are expecting. they've been engaged for 18 months. i was happy to affirm the committment that they've already made. 'make it official'.

then the gathering. the pastor asked me on thursday night if it would be appropriate to ask the folks to begin the devotional time by reciting the "Hail Mary" ... i said it would be entirely appropriate. his welcome was very much in the liturgical tradition, and once the recitation was over, we proceeded with the singing and the devotional and prayers like we usually do. at the end, frank asked that we share the Lord's Prayer together, and after that he gave the benediction and made the sign of the cross over the congregants.

the weather was perfect, the food was good, the games were fun, the laughter was genuine. we had 4 guys that will be leaving before the next gathering (actually, next saturday) so at the end of the devotional time we prayed over them, that God would keep them safe, return them to their families safely.

all in all, an awesome day.

now i need to write my sermon for tomorrow!!!!

Countdown Week

Tonight was the last night for Covenant Group. I'd not seen anyone since the 26th of March, at our Spring Retreat. Didn't get the paper done (started it, but didn't get it finished) in time to deliver it. Will be working on it and the others and get them delivered via email or by hand next week, at the last session of Old Testament.

Yesterday went ... well ... I think. The delivery I felt went well ... (read: people HEARD me) ... but I'm afraid something was off kilter ... hopefully Leslie can tell me later in the week.

G&P

Easter Aftermath

It's hard to believe it is already Friday after Easter. The week has been an odd one. Monday and Tuesday were just ... gone. Holy Week was NOT as full as it could have been, but in some ways it was anyway ... Though community Lenten services were being held, including Maundy Thursday services (and I suspect I could have found a tenebrae service on Friday if I'd tried) ... There were other things to be tended to. Irene Hinson, a lifelong member of JBC, passed away on Tuesday morning. The funeral was on Thursday. Irene was the woman I had just visited last June when I was hit with my own personal realization that this (pastoring) is what I was born to do. Her passing somehow leaves a space. Visiting her each week gave me a touchstone. Her illness made it hard to communicate freely with her ... Correction-- made it hard for HER to communicate freely (she had Parkinson, and was not able to speak very much) ... But despite that trouble, our visits were still meaningful. Her mind was intact, and never missed a thing. She would rate my sermon each week (she got tapes), and she always threatened to steal me away from Leslie. :-)

There was a real sense of ... anxiousness ... facing Easter Sunday. Worrying about 'getting it right' ... or more appropriately, making sure I didn't FLUB it. As it turned out, we held a sunrise service, but because it was rainy, we had to do it indoors, in the sanctuary, rather than in the park next to Totuskey Creek. Maybe next year. Morning service was full. The children's choir had their Easter cantata ... and did a WONDERFUL job - in a simple, straightforward telling of the Easter story, they got the message across better than I ever could have.

The first part of the service is what we played with. Right after the welcome, and giving everyone a chance to greet each other and visit for a minute, I had the children's sermon. From that, we went right into the responsive reading and wove it into the serving of communion. Rather than having the usual arrangement, we shuffled things around a bit, some seating was different for the Deacons, and the order of service was a little off kilter. So there was a little fumbling, a little hesitation, a few looks of 'what comes next?' ...

That was the whole point.

Easter catches us off guard. Things that die are supposed to stay dead, not rise again. God catches us by surprise if we really think about Easter. So we are a little uncomfortable with it. That's a good thing. We NEED to be less smooth ... less polished, more spontaneous, more extemporaneous. We need to take the notion to heart that we really don't know what's coming next, in the grander scheme of things. So facing it on a smaller scale will hopefully help us to deal with the 'grander scheme' better.

For the afternoon, we hosted a 'flipped' Encuentro. Flipped in the sense that we flipped the order of activities. Generally, we've had the first hour and a half dedicated to simply having fun - board games, outdoor games, checkers, dominos, things like that, followed by the meal and then the devotional time. Sunday I asked to do the Worship time first. We didn't start until 2:45, an hour and forty five minutes later than intended. But that was okay.

We got to share communion. I prefaced the serving by comenting that, regardless of what Christian tradition you come from (most if not all were from a Catholic background), the sharing of the Lord's supper was a central part of the faith - a central statement and proclamation of what it is we believe and we practice as followers of Christ. I served it by intinction. And was able to call most of them by name, and say 'the body of Christ and the blood of Christ.' As the line was coming through, at one point I was looking down at the bread and the cup, and when I looked up, Jimmy, my brother, was there. He had tears in his eyes.

Talk about a Holy moment!


Grace & Peace.

It was an eventful Sunday. Mondays are becoming more and more 'recovery days'. Depending on how they go, I'm wiped out (in the BEST sense of the word) come Monday morning.

Actually finished the message at 1 AM, so I got more sleep than I have usually been getting before getting up to unlock the lock on the front door of the sanctuary (the building was broken into Friday night after Isabel paid us a visit last September, some cash was taken, and the front and office doors were both busted in at the locks, and we've just now gotten the office door replaced. We're going with metal replacement doors on the front of the building, but with the sunburst windows in the tops ... they should be arriving within the next 3 weeks or so ... HOPEFULLY).

After church we ran over to Totuskey church for a farewell luncheon for Jane and Jimmy Dunn, who've been there a little less than 13 years, then ran back here to get ready for and go to the Encuentro at Menokin church.

Had a wonderful time, played longer than we usually do, but needed it, since we usually don't get to play as long as we'd LIKE. They put on a fish fry for us, and that was great. Devotional/worship time went well also. Menokin is one of the older buildings in the association (1837) so it is on a very small scale ... sanctuary is maybe 25 feet from side to side, and maybe 40 feet front to back, with a balcony ... very close quarters, made for a real sense of intimacy and closeness ... read from 1 cor 12:12 & ff, about diversity in the body of Christ, and how it is a direct reflection of GOD's creativity to be able to look at each other and SEE the differences - the skin, the hair, the language, and still know that we love and serve the same God, and hold the same Lord.

Made Leslie cry. Always a significant determinant factor. ;-)

After a Year

It's hard to believe ... and at the same time it VERY believable, that we've been involved in this Hispanic work for a year now. It really does seem like just a few weeks ago that we were pulling up to the parking lot at Coan Church and there was already a small crowd gathered, some hitting a volleyball around, others kicking a soccer ball, with more inside, just visiting. Back then there was a sense of excitement and anticipation that is somehow still present at every Encuentro.

One experience in particular seems to exemplify how our ministry has taken shape in the last year. One evening, at Wal-Mart, we ran into Armando, one of the area nursery workers. It had been a couple of weeks since I had seen him and he asked me, "When are you going to bring Church back to us?" Leslie and I have worked intentionally at relating as pastors to our friends at every event, expressing a genuine love and care for our Hispanic brothers and sisters on the Northern Neck. We probably don't look or act like the pastoral presence that they've been traditionally accustomed to, but we can tell by the way they act around us and how they refer to us and our children that we are making a difference one life at a time.

But then, it's not about us, it's about them and YOU as an Association. As the year has gone by, the people have gone from being names and faces to being friends and family. We've gotten to know and love many of them, found out about their families back home, or their families here, and have been able to form bonds of love in the name of Christ that transcend the distances that result when they are gone. We find ourselves dreading their return to Mexico, and anticipating their return to the States. There have been moments of tragedy, and moments of joy. Having the opportunity to show them the face of Christ, to be his hands and feet, to lend an ear, provide comfort and counsel, to cry with, laugh with, and live with his children has been an awesome and wonderful thing.

Through the meetings that Leslie and I have attended and at which we’ve shared, we hope we’ve been able to convey to you that YOU are as much a part of this ministry as we are – we’re not doing this on our own, we do it as an extension and an expression of YOUR love, YOUR concern, YOUR desire to reach out and minister to the Hispanic Community around you.

Thank You, RBA, for this last year for the blessing you've allowed my family to partake of, and for the vision that you have for what God’s kingdom should be.

Grace and Peace,

Kenny, Leslie, Hannah, Caleb and Judson Park

There’s a nighttime routine we go through with the kids at bedtime. Leslie or I will go into their bedrooms and help them into bed, or tuck them in. The routine is this: sometimes earlier in the process, sometimes later, when we first broach the subject of going to sleep, Judson will usually be the first to ask “can you sleep with me?” it used to stop at that, but lately it has become “can you sleep with me and can you sleep with me first?” “Sleep with me” in this context means you turn on the lullaby CD, and lay down on top of the covers for one, two or more songs, depending on what negotiation has taken place or what time it is or if you fall asleep within the first few measures of the song. On Hannah’s bed it’s easier, because there’s no bunk bed to crouch under. With Judson sleeping on the bottom bed of a bunk bed, it’s a little harder. There’s a crouching and turning and bending that has to happen in kind of a horizontal windmill move, where you lean forward, then bring your legs up onto the bed, then swing the upper part of the body back over to the left before settling onto the edge of the mattress.

This past Monday or Tuesday night, Judson had asked me to sleep with him. I don’t always. If I say ‘not tonight’ both Hannah and Judson just say ‘OK’ and go on, only rarely reiterating the request. This time I agreed. It had been, for some reason, a hard day between me and Judson. One of those days when I felt like I’d been anything BUT a good daddy. I agreed partly because of that and because it is SLOWLY starting to sink into my thick skull that in those situations, bedtime snuggles and quiet conversations can be a source of reconciliation and grace. That night, Judson was quiet for a little while (Hannah is usually the one to ask questions or talk about her day), and then he took my hand and held it up and looked at it. I remember doing the same thing with my father’s hands as a boy. At first I thought he was just going to look at it up close for a minute or two and then put it down. He didn’t. He took his right hand and closed it in a loose fist and turned it to where my hand was cupping his, and then he lowered both to his chest. After a pause, he brought up his left hand and moved it in next to his right hand, so that both his hands were nested in mine. He turned his face to me, gave me a quick smile, and then settled in and closed his eyes to go to sleep. A few minutes later, the song ended. I stayed a little longer, then he turned and I said “Goodnight, I love you”, gave him a kiss, got up and walked out of the room. Getting up is always a lot easier for me than getting down, I just drop off the side of the bed, into a crouch and stand up. That night, I wouldn’t have minded being the one to fall asleep first.

We were surprised by God.

It's been a full day. finished the message at 3:35 this morning, then to bed. woke up and went to church this morning. Leslie stayed home with Hannah, who is running a fever of 102.5 and surprised us last night after supper by getting sick all over the carpet at El Charrito. She hadn't eaten anything there, but it was still not good. Immediately after worship, we (the youth, a few of the adults, and I) ran downstairs and grabbed a bite of lunch before heading over to Tappahannock for the 1:15 showing of "The Passion of The Christ". Seriously gory movie. Seriously gory event. The identification of Mary watching it all happen as a mother watching her son suffering and not being able to do something about it seems to be what got to me the quickest. Afterwards, we went to the McDonald's across the parking lot and sat around and talked out the movie to some degree, though not to any serious depth. It was a good time to just sit and talk to each other, even so.

On our way back here my phone rang and it was Cecilia, letting me know she was on her way. I understood her to mean she was on her way here to the house to let me fax the form I gave her on Friday, so I said "no problem, we're almost home as well -- I'll see you there." We got back to the Church, and Keith asked me to take him to Brandon's house, in Rainswood, which is over near Callao. I did, and while I was on my way my phone rang again, it was Cecilia, telling me she'd just seen me driving down 360, and I explained to her that one of the youth had asked me to take him to his friends house, and that as soon as I dropped him off I'd head back and would see her there.

I pulled into the driveway about 15 or 20 minutes later got out, walked into the house, and a couple of minutes after that the home phone rang, and it was Cecilia calling on her cellphone, from the parking lot of Totuskey church, where we are scheduled to have an 'Encuentro' next Sunday. She had spent the morning traveling around to different apartments and places, inviting the people she knows to come to what she thought was the gathering we would be having this evening! We immediately told her to come here to the house and we'd have an impromptu gathering HERE. Leslie and I looked at each other and realized it might be more than just Cecilia, Felix, Emilio, Manuel, Grisel, Brenda and Berenice. Turned out to be two full minivans' worth of people. We had 16 people altogether, not counting us (5). Leslie and Cecilia made mexican rice when she came in, and we had chicken enchiladas from Friday's dinner, and I ran into town and bought 20 pieces of fried chicken from Hardee's, and we had an absolutely marvelous time! We sat and laughed and joked and just relaxed and had a good time together. Leslie asked me if I was planning on doing a devotional. Though I hadn't, it made perfect sense to DO one, so after we'd eaten, I came into the study and picked up a spanish Bible and took it into the living room and sat down. As the conversation progressed, we started talking about spiritual things, and it came around to me mentioning that Janet and Sydney and Summer (sister in law and her two daughters) were going on a mission trip to Acuna, Mexico next week. In that, I mentioned that both of the girls had made professions of faith in the last year, something Janet had mentioned in her email, and something Leslie was unaware of. THAT then led to the conversation turning to what it means to accept Christ, and we ended up with the Gospel being shared in a very natural and ... non-confrontational way.

Leslie made the point (which we have kept in front of us all along) that having a relationship with Christ isn't a question of what denomination you are, it is a question of the heart. We didn't have an alter call, but I sense that that turning point may not be far off for some.

The conversation turned to preparations for Easter, and we've made tentative plans for Maundy Thursday, as well as for Easter Sunday. I let them know that there is a gathering scheduled for that day here at Jerusalem church, and we've decided we'll have a spanish worship service at 1:00 that afternoon, followed by a gathering celebration that afternoon.

They shared a little about what is involved in a traditional Mexican Easter celebration, and we may incorporate some of those elements in our celebration.

We were surprised by God this evening.

It was great.

I feel like I can barely keep up, and yet, I find myself with time on my hands ... a sure sign that I'm not managing my time well ... I'm not a good steward of either my time or my energy.

OK. That's the tearing-down part of me speaking.

I'm overextended. I'm doing too much. I'm stretched taught, and don't have much more "give".

Last Friday, Leslie and the kids and I were at Wal-Mart (please, I know I'd rather be somewhere else, but it's the only show in town -- literally for 45 miles -- before there is a viable alternative!) and Armando, one of the workers at one of the local plant nurseries, recognized Leslie and struck up a conversation with her. I came into it after they'd already begun talking. It was good to see him. I'd not been by that worksite for a couple of weeks, and one of his first questions to me was "when are you going to bring church back to us"?

Bring church back to us???

Theological implications and the understanding of what Church IS aside, his phraseology struck me something terrible. I'd love to be able to sit down with a bunch of these guys and hash out what it means to be church to each other. That it doesn't reside in the presence or absence of a single person (other than the Holy Spirit, of course), that ... where two or more are gathered ... you know the drill.

I have to find a way to meet with them, to get to know them outside of the work environment. The owners graciously allow me to take whatever time I need to have a devotional time with them after their lunch time is done (usually no more than 15 minutes), effectively eating into the workday, and for that I am grateful. The problem with setting something up outside of the workday is that they are scattered all over, none living in close proximity to each other, so transportation immediately becomes an issue. I will try to get there at the end of a workday and perhaps ask to follow a group home, just to see where they are, and maybe find a place to start.

The friday night mini-gatherings here at the parsonage have gone well. the group that i go and pick up and bring from White Stone have developed into a relaxed, easy-going group of guys. We have a lot of fun on the drive back and forth (about 45 minutes either way), as well as while we are here.

It should be interesting to see how the choir does on the 19th in Richmond.

it's been a long week... a long COUPLE of weeks. Last sunday, our neighbor across the street lost her husband. he was a member of JBC, but hadn't attended in years. he had moved to philadelphia a married and worked his entire career there, then retired back to his "homeplace". he was diagnosed with throat cancer last september. loretta asked me to do the funeral. i'd visited them a few times, but hadn't really had an in-depth discussion with either of them, to the point of being able to say that i knew them well. it still came out well. the funeral was tuesday, primary day here in virginia, and since the fellowship hall at church is a designated polling place, it was not available to host the family after the funeral, so we gladly offered the parsonage for the event. that was really cool. to be able to open our home to the community ... leslie is an angel ... we were up until 1:30 the night before cleaning and straightening up. :-)

THIS week has been odd. busy, definitely, and eventful, but still a little discombobulated. visited margaret in the nursing home that is located on the 2nd floor of the hospital, and had a good time there, ran into charles, who's wife stacy was back in because she'd aspirated some blood when she bit into her tongue while having a seizure the night before ... (32 and has a tumor growing in her brain ... they have a 2 & 1/2 year old daughter)...

yesterday i drove into richmond to visit johnny at st mary's and nellie at home. johnny was in for back surgery, and nellie is losing her vision. she lives in richmond, has for 42 years, and has never moved her membership. every other sunday she drives back here to go to church. on the other sundays she goes to FBC in town.

as i was approaching richmond yesterday, my phone rang, and it was Valentin, he'd just gotten back from mexico, and was at the bus station. i picked him up, did the visiting, then brought him home to have supper with us, shower (he'd been on a bus from brownsville since monday), and then took him home after the deacon's meeting was over with.

this evening we had the group of guys from white stone, including valentin, and cecilia, grisel and manuel and berenice and brenda over for supper. we were GOING to rehearse the songs that the choir will be singing, but decided against it, since we'll be able to do it on sunday at the gathering at upper essex. cecilia let us know of ruben rubio, a friend of theirs (manuel had lived with him for 2 years before moving to heathsville) who had been working construction - roofing- in fredericksburg, and died in a fall yesterday. his wife is expecting their third child, and they have an 18 month old and a 5 yr old.

they had spent the afternoon, if not the day, driving around to people they knew or who knew ruben, and had collected money to send to his wife and his family.

busyness stops dead in it's tracks when we are confronted with ... mortality, among other things.

O God, help me be you to these people.

In regards to being witnesses for Christ, where and how do we trade "showing" for "telling", and is that even a valid question? I don't believe the two are exclusive of each other. In fact, they MUST go hand in hand, if I am to follow James' imperative (be doers of the word). Last night, at the Encuentro (Gathering) hosted by Fairfields church, at one point late in the evening, we (Leslie and I) found ourselves seated around a table, talking to Coni, whom we just met for the first time in December, when we hosted "Las Posadas" here at the parsonage, and several of the guys from White Stone. The conversation came around to a discussion about the differences in culture between Mexico and the United States, and Coni was making the point that there is a stronger sense of Community in a Hispanic context than in the normal context here in the States. I agreed with her, and commented that that was what we were trying to build in hosting the gatherings; build community among the Hispanics who are here, as well as (hopefully) build a cross-cultural community between the congregations in the Baptist churches in the association and the Hispanic population on the Northern Neck. More to the point, in forming community, in being IN community, we find ourselves breaking in the Kingdom of God. It is why we do what we do. Coni's response was "That is a lofty goal. You have to have a pure heart to do that." She then looked at Leslie and asked her point blank: "Why are you so good? Were you born that way or did something happen to you to make you like that?"(!!!!) There was a hesitation while Leslie tried to understand what she'd asked, and when she looked at me, I translated the question for her.

You have to know that, over the last several weeks, Leslie has sensed an increasing urgency to share the Gospel in word as well as deed, to call people to a faith response, to say that we can talk about shared concepts of faith, but when it comes down to it, being true to the Gospel and to our calling demands a response, a decision, a conscious choice as to how we are going to live our lives: for ourselves or for God. I had already planned on reiterating the basic Gospel message during our devotional time at the end of the evening, but this conversation was something that I couldn't even think of stopping. We sat there for 10 or 15 minutes, and between us explained that (though Leslie was talking about herself, what she was saying applies to both of us, so I will use "we") we were not good, that all of us around the table were sinners, separated from God, and that no matter how hard we tried, nothing we could do in and of ourselves could reconnect us to God. That reconnection with God came about through our encounter with Jesus Christ and our continuing relationship with him. That we do what we do in terms of carrying on the ministry is an answer to Christ's imperative. We must do this, in response to the love that we have experienced in Christ. We're not doing this out of a sense of guilt, or with the expectation of being rewarded for it. What we would consider a success would be to share this kindness, the Gospel in deed, and to know that they return to Mexico and once there, they in turn "pay it forward". We brought up the movie by that name to illustrate the point. We do something without the expectation of getting something back from the people we do it for, but in the expectation (and hope) that at some point in the future they would do the same for others, out of the love that they have experienced through meeting Christ in these gatherings.

For answering our deepest longing by providing communion, we give you thanks, O God.

Give us wisdom to recognize opportunities when you place them before us, and courage to stand in the gap and flesh out your word in our living. Amen.

We're hoping to have a gathering ('Encuentro') this Sunday, weather permitting. I don't know if the forecast is calling for it to do anything besides what it's been doing for the last three days, which is rain, but I certainly HOPE not.

I called Mundo and Gabino and Valentin in Mexico this morning, just to talk (I finally signed up for an international calling plan that wouldn't make it prohibitively expensive to place the calls). Mundo was completely shocked that I'd called. Unfortunately, Gabino wasn't home, so I left it that I'd call him Sunday morning at 9 AM our time. Valentin was in, and we talked for a good long while. Maria is doing fine, she'll have to go through a similar procedure on her other breast, but that will take place once Valentin has returned home (he's leaving there to come back here a week from Monday, and will be staying through the first of April).

Miguel called me this afternoon from White Stone and basically said "we haven't been working since Wednesday afternoon, we're bored out of our skulls, can you come and get us and take us somewhere so we can at least get OUT of here? (they live about 3 mile's walk from town ... and 'town' is White Stone, which is beautiful, picturesque, lovely to visit, but there's not a lot going on, if you're looking for excitement) I ran down and picked Miguel, his brother Cecilio, and their stepfather Martin up, and brought them here to the house and we spent the afternoon and evening together. Took them to the local Wal-Mart to do their weekly shopping, then back here to eat supper, then back to White Stone. The evening was fun ... we pretty much let them do what they wanted. Miguel played with Judson some, and Martin just sat and relaxed for the most part. We got some international rates for sending packages to Mexico. Cecilio's got some clothes he wants to send back home to his wife and two sons. A couple of the other men have other things they want to send back as well.


We got up and started to make motions to head out, when Miguel asked if I could make a copy of the CD we were listening to, Cecilia Echeñique's - En Silencio, a CD that either I picked up when we were in Chile in 91 or that Jimmy and Anne brought me back from their trip. I pulled it out of the player and brought it in here and dropped it into the pc to make a copy, and while I was doing that, we asked him to take a hymnbook with him to look through to see if he could learn some of the songs that they like to sing and play them on the guitar, for the Encuentros.

While I was working on the CD, he came in and had a question about reading music ... I tried to explain as best I could, and called Leslie in to help out ... for the next 20 minutes, heaven really did come down.

Leslie and Miguel sat down at the piano and started going over how to read music (he recently bought himself a keyboard, and is learning how to play, and he already plays guitar and sings beautifully) ... while they were engaged in that, I was in here doing all this other stuff, and Hannah and Cecilio started to teach each other their respective languages. Hannah came away so jazzed it was incredible. She and Cecilio apparently hit a groove, and were going through pictures she was drawing to explain some of the words and he was telling her what the word was in Spanish and she was explaining what it was in english ... it truly was amazing to see her investment in this ministry.

It is humbling, O God, to see your hand at work in the lives of others around me. Help me be aware of your hand in my life. Keep me faithful, keep me centered.

To clarify, Stacy mentioned below in yesterday's posting is not the same Stacey who's blog link I have on this page. Stacy in the blog is a 32 year old woman who has a two year old daughter and a grieving husband who is battling a brain tumor. The prognosis is not good. In fact, the Doctors were not expecting her to make it until Christmas, much less the end of January. She's been in the Hospital for the last 2 if not 3 months. Most of the time when I've stopped in to visit her eyes have been open, but rolled back ... or open, but not really seeing what is going on in the room. She will occasionally focus on your face. Shortly before Christmas, I stopped in to visit and there were about 4 or 5 other people in there visiting as well. She was awake and seemed to actually be engaged in the conversations. I walked over and smiled and sat down next to her and looked her in the eyes and asked what I could do for her. She had an immediate response: "Nothing." I just nodded and said "Ok".

But I still stopped in to see her. There is a woman who sits with her who is a friend of the family, Joyce Self, she is always cheerful, always talkative, she always calls Stacy her precious little baby girl.

I can't imagine what Charles, her husband, is going through. But I can bring him before God, so I do.

This evening, we started our winter Bible Study on Romans. Tonight was just an introductory session, and it went pretty well, I think. We're using Mark Olson's book, put out by Smyth & Helwys (http://www.helwys.com/abs/index.html). First book that I know of where I'm footnoted ... or rather, endnoted ... Fourth chapter is about the ethical implications of salvation vis a vis food sacrificed to idols and various and sundry other Jewish law issues ... The subtitle to the chapter is "Don't Sweat The Small Stuff". Mark was teaching the book as he was writing it last year while still at Thalia Lynn Baptist Church in Virginia Beach (http://thalialynn.com/indexw.htm), and I was attending those classes. I happened to summarize the discussion with that phrase, and Mark tagged it. He is now Pastor at Snyder Memorial Baptist Church in Fayetteville, NC (http://www.snydermbc.com/").

There's visiting to do tomorrow, thankfully I'm relieved of the responsibility to prepare a sermon for Sunday, since Leslie (my wife) is getting to preach. I suspect that, once they hear her, they'll want to hear MORE of her, which is perfectly fine with me!

For the unseen or unnoticed riches you have graced us with, we give you thanks, O God. Help our ingratitude turn to knowing and returning, and acknowledging, and giving thanks in all things.

There is something about sitting beside someone who is either asleep or nonresponsive that makes you THINK about exactly why it is that you are there.

There's something about presence, the actual, physical presence, that makes a difference. There were a few words exchanged today.

Stacy will probably be going home tomorrow, since the insurance coverage ran out last week. Home Health Care can do for her at her parent's what they are doing for her at the hospital now.

Margaret was in some pain with her hip, George was asleep, as he usually is. So was Alice. Annie had other visitors, so I chose to come back later. Irene was asleep as well.

I know there is a school of thought that says if someone is asleep, you should wake them and visit anyway. I'm not there yet. Sleep is a precious comodity, but then, I'm coming at this from the viewpoint of 3 little children running around the house, not having spent the last x number of years in a nursing home or an assisted living center, with few distractions, and fewer visitors.

I can hold hands, O God, and I can pray. I don't always have words to sooth, so I'm trusting your presence in me to do that.

It's been a while ... sorry.

Last Saturday Leslie, the kids and I drove up to Ocoquan to watch a gymnastics meet. Hannah and her friend Lindsey are in the gymnastics program run by one of the members of our church, and she encouraged them to attend to see what it was like.

Interesting.

Watching the athletes wasn't nearly as interesting as watching the parents. But it was a fun trip. We had to leave early in order to get back at a decent hour, and to return Lindsey to her parents, but still had a good family trip all in all.

Sunday morning Leslie and I kicked off the study of the book of Romans, with a visit from Phoebe and Paul. Phoebe, of course, delivered the letter, and Paul ... gave testimony to how Jesus had affected his life.

It was really well received. Lots of positive affirmations.

We left right after church to drive down to Va. Beach to celebrate Nana's 96th birthday, had a good time there, visiting with family, and didn't get back until almost 11 that night. Monday morning our brand new neighbor across the street (he'd moved in on Sunday) pulled out into a schoolbus with 10 or so kids on it, and hit the left rear wheelwell. The bus ended up sideways across the road (the driver did an incredible job of keeping it UPRIGHT), and fortunately everyone was uninjured, but it made for an intense morning. After it was cleared away, I made my way down to Irvington to spend some time with other Pastors in the association, and had a good visit with them. It always is good to see them.

Thoughts: it's hard to get back into the swing of things, after last week. I'm heading over to the hospital for my rotation on chaplain duty, and on my way back plan to stop and see the folks in town that I normally visit, so hopefully that will kick me back into gear.

It's a dreary, wet, cold day. Makes it slightly harder to get out in it.

There's something to be said for routine. It lends structure to the day, it helps me to know "what's next" ... and it keeps me focused.

Heading out to Riverside.

My thoughts, Your thoughts. My words, Your words, O God.

Grace & Peace