Busy day! But a good day.
I was up working on the curriculum by 5 a.m. and made good progress. I'm getting some great help from a couple of friends doing proof-reading. I'm making corrections as they find them and writing the last few pieces of the Teacher's Guide. I figure I have about six weeks to have it all in final form. Feeling the pressure.
Got a ceiling fan up over our TV chairs so we don't have to drag out the pedestal fan to blow across us. It does a good job but looks ugly and gets in the way. The fan's three 14-watt fluorescent bulbs throw off more light than the two 40-watt bulbs that were in the fixture I took down, but I had to remove the dimmer switch because you can't dim fluorescent bulbs. So it's either BRIGHT or off. Oh well. The boss is happy.
The best news of the day is that Abby was sent home. This little 14-month old has been very sick for a long time and had to be hospitalized because she was dehydrated and malnourished. They've run a whole bunch of tests and the good news is that they all came back negative. The results of the latest tests probably won't be in until Monday but they're allowing Abby and her mom to go home with a feeding tube to help with nourishment. A sick little kid is sad, and very tough on mom & dad. Brandie has been the archetypal mom, never leaving her daughter's side for days. They both need a break!
We'll continue to pray for all of them and that the dr.'s get to the bottom of this only to find something minor and temporary!
I did 20 miles on the bike today in beautiful weather. When I left about 10:30 it was 72 degrees and breezy. Nice ride up into Vistancia.
Late this afternoon we had a church picnic at Aleppo Park. I played "Washers" for the first time, and we won!! It's like horseshoes, sort of. We all had a good time.
Tomorrow in our worship service we'll look at the first half of First Corinthians 10. I'm looking forward to showing them some of the cool things Paul does in these 12 verses, a little maneuver that's easy to miss in the English translations but is very apparent from the Greek in which Paul wrote.
You know, if you've been here long, that I love to preach and teach. If I'm not careful I can love it too much and go on too long.
I hope I'm not speaking falsely here, but I think some preachers love preaching for the activity itself, the pure process of preaching. For them it's like a chef preparing and serving a great meal; sure, you want the people to like the food but the great joy is in preparing a culinary masterpiece. These preachers delight primarily in preparation and delivery for the joy those activities bring (and they do bring joy!).
While I really do like all of that, for me the greatest pleasure comes from feeding "my" flock - the sheep God has given me to shepherd. That is, I want to watch them eat and then grow as a result of the nourishment that comes from God's Word.
To illustrate, I've had opportunity to do some guest peaching. When we lived in Michigan I'd go up to Grace Adventures once a summer and speak at their chapel services. They were gracious enough to schedule me most years for one of the holiday weekends when they run two services, with close to 1,000 people in the first and another 750 in the second. I really liked that! Don't let any preacher lie to you; it's a thrill to preach to a big crowd. The energy, especially in that setting bounces back.
However, while I looked forward to those Sundays at G.A. I'd much rather preach to my own people. I know them, I love them, I care deeply about their welfare and spiritual growth. The best thing I can do for them is feed them God's Word. I don't think they realize how blessed I feel to care for them this way.
I know this is going to sound really corney, but this week as I thought ahead to the sermon I'll preach I thought, When I preach I'm giving my people a hug.
Thank you, Father, for the privilege it is to study your Word and prepare sermons. I enjoy the digging and learning. Thank you, too, for the opportunity to preach, to share what I've learned through that study. But thank you, most of all, for the privilege and responsibility of preparing and serving those meals to your children and playing a part in their spiritual growth. Months or years from now they'll need the strength and wisdom that comes from feeding on your Word. And it will prepare them to serve you in powerful ways. I am blessed to stand as your servant and theirs and feed them so.
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