I watched just a few minutes of the Tour de France this morning before we left for Starbucks and church. I had NO idea the shifting on high end bikes is now electronic! Cables are apparently out and wires, tiny batteries, and electric shifters are in. I read they are more reliable, never go out of adjustment because of stretched cables, and are more certain and responsive.
And...hydraulic disc brakes are the new thing.
Next thing you know they'll be putting motors on these things.
I went between Tour coverage and the men's final at Wimbledon. I missed seeing his fall but did catch Cilic in tears during a crossover. So far no explanation of why. It wasn't because of any injury because he wasn't treated by the medical staff. The announcers speculated it might have been a panic attack. Whatever the reason it was heart wrenching to watch.
I was, however, pleased to see Federer won in straight sets. Oldest man to win Wimbledon and his eighth time to do so, a record. He's amazing, and such a good guy.
I did an oil/filter change on Sally this afternoon. This is the same engine I had in our '65 Falcon wagon and an oil change is every bit as easy on a '66 Mustang. Never had one more accessible or simpler.
I'm a little bothered by the blue smoke I see at start-up. If it's just valve guides I won't worry about it, but now I can track how much oil she burns and how quickly, and find out if it's a rings issue. If it is....engine rebuild. But I can put in a lot of oil before I've come close to the cost of a rebuild. And the plugs I changed a couple of weeks ago didn't show the signs of fouling that typically comes with burning oil from bad rings.
In the nearly two years we've lived on Baker Rd. I've gone through stretches where I had more physical work than time and energy. When I was restoring Fred (the cabin), or cutting the trees into rounds, then splitting and stacking, or building the barn I got up each morning to do physical work all day, and collapsed into bed at night exhausted. But I like hard physical work. I can't do it at the speed I used to 30 years ago but still find it invigorating.
Here we are mid-summer and the physical part of life on Baker Rd. is in a lull. The garden, the fruit trees, and even the goats are rolling along smoothly with only minimal work required. But in an interesting twist on life I've felt mentally challenged the last couple of months.
[No, not that kind of challenged. Shame on you.]
Part of it has been the challenge ofgetting that requested journal article done. And in the wee hours of this morning I decided to add another brief section.
I'm speaking in Michigan on 8/6 in a setting that is both a lot of fun and difficult. There will be 1,000+ people at the service representing a very broad range of cultural and theological backgrounds. Prepping that message has my brain working overtime.
I've been wrestling with what I should be doing in terms of ministry. Too long and complicated to describe in any detail here, but I've wondered if I should be doing more in service than I have been since retiring, especially now that my overseas trips are in hiatus. So I've prayed about it a lot; "Is there something I should be doing?"
I'm suspicious of my own motives, so I determined that I would not go looking for things to do, but rather wait for God to bring them to me. That keeps my ego out of the process. If something came up I'd start from the presumption that it came from God and go from there. I might still decide it wasn't a good fit, but I'd at least know it wasn't personal ambition in any sense.
Last week I got an email from Brett, our pastor, that included a good-natured jab, telling me to get rid of my "stiff-neckedness" and agree to be on the list of fill-in preachers at UFC. I think he's feeling the need for a break.
If you remember my first (and last) experience preaching at UFC you know it was arguably the worst of my 43 years of preaching, and I vowed to never relive that disaster. I couldn't preach there again with any sense of enthusiasm or freedom. I'd told him I'd pass on any future request.
Then, out of the blue, his email. Now what?!
I told Brett this morning that to ask God to put me where he wants me, and then say No when something came up seems pretty wrong-headed. So, "Let me know if/when I can help by giving you a break."
That next one will be hard. I'll have to do some serious praying and focusing to get the last experience out of my head if I'm going to do a good job. But sometimes telling God yes involves struggle. That's to be expected. If it was always easy it wouldn't be called serving.
Alisa died this morning. I don't think I've ever prayed with the faithfulness or intensity as I have for the last 6-8 months, asking God to heal Alisa from cancer. For reasons I can't fully understand, never mind explain, I just felt very strongly about this, and James 4:2 got ahold of me.
This evening I'm sad. Sad for Duane and Len, her parents whom I consider dear friends. For her three sisters, and especially for her husband Rick and their two sons.
But I'm not sad for Alisa. She was a sweet lady instantly liked by everyone and I'm glad she's finally free of the struggle. God's taking good care of her!
And I don't feel the least bit upset or disappointed that God didn't heal her.
He did, in the best way possible.
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