A dog gave birth to puppies near the road and was cited for littering.

See last night's post - this is what a bag clip looks like after getting melted in an oven.

Whew!
This morning I got a light and three curtain rods hung. But before, during and after that dad was clearly not doing well, and getting noticeably worse as the morning progressed. I took him to his 2:15 dr. appointment and even with my help he barely made it from the car to the office.
The diagnosis is congestive heart failure and fluid on his lungs. That’s not surprising given the swelling in his ankles. He got an injection of a diuretic while at the dr.’s office and two Rx’s to take that will continue the process of clearing his body of the excess fluid. His dr. of 30+ years says he should be much better in a couple of days. In the meantime he shouldn’t stray far from a bathroom.

I’m VERY glad I was here to help. God is sovereign and good. I made this trip now because I wanted to spend time with them when things were going well, not wait until a medical emergency required a trip that would be dominated by that situation. Turns out God knew I could be of help transporting and caring. Part of me wishes I wasn’t leaving early tomorrow morning but I leave knowing the situation is going to improve, and by his next appointment Monday afternoon he should be almost completely better.

It’s raining again today. The forecast has rain every day for the foreseeable future. I understand that’s what makes this place so green, but after living with sunshine 360 days per year it would sure be hard to come back to this much liquid and gray.

I forgot to mention that I finished Ivanhoe last Tuesday. Interesting ending; not what I expected. I think that’s one of the differences between today’s best-selling novels by the big name authors and the classics of yesteryear. They were about characters whereas contemporary novels seem to be about the action. So the latter end with a big action scene and a page or two to wrap up details. A classic like Ivanhoe has plenty of action but the end of the book is more about the characters and how they resolve the conflicts between each other and inside themselves. I don’t think one is better than another, it’s just helpful to keep the difference in mind lest one be disappointed that the book didn’t live up to expectations.

I’m debating whether to read Robin Hood next or to get the Condoleezza Rice autobiography and read that. Either one will wait until I get home. Either one will wait until next week, because as soon as I’m at the airport I’ll get to more serious work on Sunday things. I’ve got the bulletin done and half of my sermon, and the music is ready to go, but there’s plenty left to do.

Years ago I set strict deadlines for myself re. when I would begin sermon prep and when I’d have it written. (I would type “completed” except I work on it in my head until 30 seconds before I start to preach.) I allow myself, however, to violate those deadlines when God clearly lays urgent and important tasks before me. This week has clearly been one of those times, and as I said above I’m thankful to be here right now.

That said, I can’t help but grin when I think about my message for this Sunday. If (!) it works it should be fun for preacher and preachees alike, and instructive to life as we live it.
Deo volente.