I confess that I'm feeling pretty whelmed and in over my head. I was awake at 1:15 a.m., my brain spinning with all the things I have to get done, many of which seem daunting. So I got up and worked on some of them. Yeah, it's been a really long day.
In the last 24 hours I've learned the IRS is on my tail. We got two letters from two different govt. agencies that said...I'm not sure what. One was about needing to file an amended return and the other referred to some form they'd rec'd from somewhere indicating ...????
I forwarded them to the CPA in AZ who's done our taxes for the last 10 years. He called and left a message yesterday (we were in town) and said he's totally confused. It was the strangest message I've ever heard, full of incomplete sentences, expressions of exasperation ("good grief"), and the statement, "this has something to do with Obamacare."
That's never a good thing to hear.
I'm supposed to call him back today to figure out what's going on.
I also got the phone call and a follow-up email from our insurance agent (see last night's post). I replied to her email with a note that said I don't think they mean balusters, but rails. I don't want to add balusters only to find out some yahoo behind a desk doesn't know his yin from his yang, and I lose my coverage.
In one month I'm in Puerto Rico for eight days of speaking. They're meeting today to plan my itinerary and the topics I'm to cover. I'll be speaking to 3 or 4 different groups for a total of about 10 or 11 presentations. I think. As soon as I get that email I need to get to work - immediately - on preps.
I'm going to Tanzania for the first two weeks in April. The details of that trip are almost more than my brain can handle. Just arranging the flights in and out is crazy complex, involving multiple airlines, three countries (think customs and visas), and coordinating with another pastor & his wife. (see last night's post.) I think I've got that all straight in my head thanks to invaluable help from a friend in MI who is also a travel agent. At least I hope so, because I paid for those flights this morning in order to get a special deal KLM is running that ends today.
I also had to submit a budget for the fundraising letter the mission will send out in the next week or two.
What do I know about the costs of being in Tanzania for two weeks???
I got help with this part from Brook, the missionary in TZ who's coordinating all of this (that other pastor's daughter), so I submitted a figure that I hope is reasonably close.
I'm feeling backed up with projects here. Fred hasn't been touched for almost a week. I've had a fan blowing 24/7 for five days trying to dry it out as much as possible and I think I've reached that point. And it's not good. I have to cut out and replace a lot of the framing.
I need to get that third bay of the woodshed closed in so I can get things currently stored in Barnette out there and locked up. That has to be done so I can get the truck into Barnette. And that needs to happen so I can finish it up and begin driving it. And that needs to happen so I can bring sheet goods home from Lowe's I'll need to complete Fred...once the studs are replaced. (It would also be nice not to transport 2x4's and 4x4's crammed into a Kia Sorrento.)
And I have to get a brooder built for the chicks we'll get two days after I get home from Puerto Rico. Six weeks after that - while I'm in Tanzania - Pam will transfer them out to the coop which is currently filled with tools and miscellany that will also go in the storage bay. After two weeks in the coop they'll be allowed out to the run. I have the six 4x4's in place but still have to put up the fencing and gate.
You may have suspected some bad grammar in this post's first sentence: "I'm feeling pretty whelmed." But it's a real, if rare word. I learned it from the hymn, The Solid Rock. Lyrics in the third verse include:
His oath, his covenant his blood,
Support me in the whelming flood.
Once I noticed that lyric and thought about it I determined I would never describe myself as being overwhelmed. Being overwhelmed suggests God is either not good or not sovereign. Either he doesn't care enough to prevent circumstances from overrunning me, or he cares and isn't able to prevent it. Yes, it's a fine point, but I'm a neat freak. And I believe my good and sovereign God will never allow circumstances to overwhelm me.
So at the moment I'm feeling whelmed. But that's OK. Aside from some sleep deprivation it forces me to focus my efforts, be a good steward of my time, and be more attentive to the discipline of prayer.
BTW, this post has been written in bits and pieces over several hours, and since I started it that email from P.R. has arrived in my inbox. I'm going over now and open it to see the specifics about my preaching and teaching schedule. But I won't start working on it until tomorrow after I've had a few hours of sleep.
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