Monday, April 29, 2013

Ho-hum

It use to be that I worried myself to death over an appointment that was coming six months down the road. The appointments are now rapid fire. The stress level is higher and more often. People want to know what I'll be preaching in six months in Germany or Singapore, or wherever. I rarely have a clue what I'll be preaching next week, much less months ahead. I guess I'd better grow up and get organized.

Occasionally, Janet and I get a wee break. After I preached in Longmont, CO, on Sabbath, we made our way to Silverthorne up in the mountains and spent the night there. It was peaceful and unhurried. (We have friends in the mountains who want us to use their house--more like a natural museum/palace.)

All is well besides. My lover leaves for Africa again tomorrow. That is a bummer. She is so useful. This time it is for only 2.5 months. She'll return a bit earlier to join me in Nova Scotia. I am to speak at the Pugwash Camp Meeting where Janet is to share her powerpoint presentation on her African project.

In the meantime, Janet and I did two big projects in our house. We cleaned out my home office--took the too big desk out of there and the freezer, and made it roomier. Janet bought two sofa chairs to make cosy. We also cleaned everything out of my exercise room and installed new linoleum. Spiffy! With that, she is all but gone.

The weather today is hot, in the eighties, but just last week, it was only 9 above Fahrenheit with two snow storms to add mud everywhere. Not complaining, however, Colorado is in a big drought. We need more moisture.

I'll try to write more often. I can't remember what happened two weeks ago. Everything is so humdrum.


Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Small Talk

Last week, we hosted Pastor Steven Grabiner at EVI. He preached a series of meetings on the book of Revelation for our students. Wish I had had time to sit in on those classes. Not to worry, they were recorded, and I look forward to viewing them. Steven's OCI Accountant, Harry Parsons, is here as a lifestyle guest. Out of shape big time. How would you like to sit in an office every day counting beans.  No wonder his vitamin D is only 9. (That is extremely low in case you don't know.)

My lover worked for Kevin Hogfeltd all last week. She has a terrible neck problem, but when she grabs a shovel she doesn't feel her neck for the time being. With Kevin and his son-in-law, Janet unload two semi-trucks per day of wood chips and manure, two days in a row. The pay is great, short term. She is beginning to prepare for her return to Africa. Finding someone to replace her there is not going to be an easy task. Too bad, because she does a great work at EVI.

Tomorrow, Janet and I leave to attend the Southern ASI chapter Convention in Dalton, GA. I am asked to speak there on Sabbath afternoon. It's suppose to be a challenge to the ASI members.  It was a major challenge for me to come up with a good sermon. The best I could do was plead with God for the message He wanted me to share. The Lord is so good. I've been sweating bullets all week because I needed to choose four titles for the series John and I are doing in Maine. I need to prepare a sermon for Wednesday Assembly and one for Steven Grabiner's church this Sabbath, plus ASI, and guess what? The Lord gave it all to me.

The GYC board was here on the weekend. It is always a blessing to hobnob with important people. The weekend, however, was uneventful. Perhaps I didn't mix with them enough.

My travel plans are filling up: Maine, Zambia, Pugwash, Nova Scotia, Germany, Singapore and Malaysia, and there is a good chance I will need to go to Hungary. That says nothing about the board meetings I must attend and the conventions. Oh, and the 1888 Committee wants me to speak at their meetings in WA. Next year, I should take a sabbatical. Yeah, right!

Keep in mind: The Lord loves you enough to sacrifice everything to save you. Do you think yourself an impossible case? Good. The Lord loves a challenge. Try Him, put yourself in His hands, ask for strength to obey Him, and watch how your life changes. You won't be sorry.

So says the Preacher to his Tribe.