I am disappointment in your grammar.

We need a govt. agency that approves all music used in commercials. How else are we going to avoid a situation like I experienced tonight, where two commercials play back-to-back, both using "Carol of the Bells" as their theme music? That song should only get used once a decade, never mind twice in the same program break. And "Let Me Be Myself" has been forever ruined by those annoying Geico cavemen. Hey, I'd outlaw Handel's Messiah if it was used in those ads.

Verizon sent me a text message today to tell me I was approaching my monthly limit on text messaging. Gee thanks, guys.

Did you hear about the latest woman who is really steamed at Tiger? His mother. Not only is she close with Elin, but Tiger's father was a bum who had several relationships during their marriage.
So where will Tiger be spending Christmas this year?

I heard Al bark this morning. First time since we got him almost nine months ago.
We noticed early on that Al doesn’t have the normal canine sense of smell. I’ve come home from jobs where I’ve played with other dogs and he doesn’t even notice their scent on my clothes. But that’s because Greyhounds are classified as sight hounds, dogs that hunt based on what they see. And their eyesight is amazing. When we went through the adoption orientation they told us that a Greyhound can spot something the size of a bottle cap 1/4 mile away. When we go for our walks I know there’s another dog walker up ahead somewhere because Al’s gait changes and his ears go up. He sees them long before I do.

I take Al for our morning walk around 6:30, when it’s still dark. This morning, just as we got back to our house, he stopped and tensed up. I knew what he saw, even though I couldn’t make out anything. Coyotes are the only thing out that time of morning. So we stood at the end of our driveway and sure enough, in a few seconds I could see two large coyotes walking toward us on the sidewalk on the other side of the street. They saw us, too; I could tell they were moving cautiously, looking our direction as they approached.

Coyotes here will attack dogs being walked by their owners but it’s always a surprise attack. They dart out between houses and will pull the dog and leash right out of the owner’s hand. But it’s always small dogs (almost everyone here has a yapper of some sort). So I wasn’t at all concerned for our safety. Al weighs 75 pounds, is bigger than a coyote, and there were only two of them. A pack is a different matter, but two coyotes aren’t a real threat. Besides, they could see I was NOT someone they wanted to mess with. So Al I and watched as they walked down the sidewalk right across the street from us. But Al was VERY alert! I relaxed his lead just a little bit and he took a half step toward them.

About 20’ after walking past us the coyotes crossed to our side of the street and went between our neighbor’s house and the one two doors down. Just as they moved out of sight Al let out a single deep, “WOOOOF!” It was as though he was saying, “Yeah, and don’t come back!”
Cool.

This is my third cold in as many months. I typically get sick no more than once a year and sometimes not even that, so I’m more than a little frustrated with this trend. And I decided I was going to get stuff done today even if it happened at a more deliberate pace. I worked on the curriculum and made good progress on the cabinet door frames. They’re all made, the outside front edges have all been softened with a round-over bit in my router, and all the joints are puttied and ready for sanding. I really wanted to go for a run today, especially because we’re supposed to get rain tomorrow. I changed into my running gear, did my stretching on the floor, stood up and realized my body was NOT going on a run of any length. Oh well.

As cruddy as my body feels my insides feel very good. It’s been a good day.

I had a Facebook conversation with a friend who now lives with her husband south of Atlanta. They attended our church, and she was our Sunday School Superintendent when I pastored in Prunedale, CA. Linda had one of those milestone birthdays over the weekend and in an exchange of FB messages we talked about how life has changed in the three decades since we lived there. She wrote about how much she remembers from my sermons and lessons, and how they have helped her grow spiritually.
Pastors don’t make widgets; our job doesn’t have measurable outcomes. So we spend a lot of time wondering if we’re accomplishing anything, making any lasting difference. Linda’s kind words were good medicine.

I’m also overwhelmed by the generosity and good will of God’s people. I am blessed to have served great people, and that blessing continues at Pathway.