Ministry Update
After basing for a couple of weeks out of Pine Forest Estates Baptist Church in Pensacola, FL, we headed across the panhandle into GA today. We left behind some new friends and some good memories: in a small church in Citronelle, AL last Sunday, a girl was saved. Tomorrow it is Leesburg, GA and next week we move to Jessup, GA before blowing back through NC on our way to OH.
My book has brought me more delays than I had ever anticipated, but I hope to have it available for purchase by March 25 of this year. Please keep that date in your prayers.
Family Update
UN-believable! That is my estimation of this day as I reflect back over it. It began when the church work day started at approximately 6:00 a.m., rousing me from slumber with slamming car doors, happy voices (I am not a morning person), and revving leaf blowers. After a futile attempt at going back to sleep, I finally crawled out of bed and prepared for the day. Before we left, I had to run to the store and get a few things. I hurried to the nearby store, and gathered my purchases, glad to find things that matched with my coupons. When I got to the checkout counter, though, the problems began. A manager was called, and things took about five times as long as I had anticipated. After one more stop, I drove toward home, deep in thought. I guess I was a little too deep in thought, since I passed the church and didn’t realize it until I reached the interstate. I turned around, mentally kicking myself, because I knew Paul was in a big hurry to get on the road. When I opened the trailer door, there they all were, sitting – waiting for me.
About an hour into our trip, we had to make an emergency “pit stop.” When I got out of the truck on the side of the road, little ones in tow, I looked up and saw the trailer awning sagging and partially deployed. I quickly ran back to the truck and told Paul we would be a little longer than we had expected. He got out and the fun began. We had to roll the awning out all the way to roll it back up. He ended up climbing on top of the trailer and unrolling one end by hand, while I stood below and pulled on the tarp. It took about ten minutes to fix, and then we were back on the road, grateful that we hadn’t lost this one on the side of the road like its predecessor.
A few miles down the road, another truck, pulling a fifth wheel, pulled alongside us and began honking and pointing. After recovering from the mistaken assumption that they were just “happy campers,” we realized that they were trying to tell us that the stupid awning was flapping again. We pulled over again, and saw that not only was the “sail” out, but the clips that hold the aluminum supports had snapped off, and the pull-down strap had disappeared. Now there was no way other than duct tape to hold the awning onto the top of the trailer, and we were running low on duct tape. Paul climbed back up onto the roof of the trailer to remove the awning. Then it began to pour down rain. I don’t wonder that no one stopped to help us. If I saw an RV on the side of the road with the awning out, a man on the roof in a thunderstorm, and a woman standing in the rain laughing and waving a long lightning-rod looking stick (the steel rod that grabs the loop on the awning to pull it down), I would have kept driving as fast as possible, too.
We finally got the awning off the track, and decided to put it in the trailer. It sounds simple enough, but have you ever tried to shove a wet 20-foot awning through a 26-inch door in a 38-foot trailer with the slides in? We decided the only way that it would work was if we were to extend the slide in the oncoming interstate traffic (speed limit 70 mph) because of the angle. Seeing that this was impossible, we hauled it back out into the rain and pursued the only remaining option which was to simply leave it: yes, it still sits neatly rolled up on the side of Interstate 10 Eastbound in the Florida panhandle. We have decided that we were providentially hindered from having an awning on our trailer, since now we have left two on the roadside within the space of three years. To be quite truthful, we were glad to be rid of the thing. Paul crowed with delight when we removed it, and broke into song, “Thank God, I am FREE, FREE, FREE!”
The rest of the drive was comparatively uneventful. That is, if you disregard the fact that the GPS decided that we had taken the road less traveled, and kept telling us to make a u-turn on the two-lane road. As if we needed anyone else talking in the truck! When we finally reached the church, I got out of the truck looking like a drowned rat that had been resuscitated by a tornado. My hair was dreadful, and my partially wet clothing was smeared with mud from the wrestling match with the erstwhile awning. Paul looked okay, since his hair is so short. I don’t even want to know what the pastor thought when he saw me get out of the truck! It was probably something like, “Aaaaakk! What is that?” or perhaps, “Man, I hope that barn gets some paint before tomorrow!” No comments were made, but the pastor kept asking if we were SURE there was nothing we needed… hair spray, curling iron, spare paper bag…whatever.
We parked the trailer, and lugged our remaining groceries into the church kitchen by way of a cooler. Did I mention that our refrigerator died this week? Talk about exciting! After deciding on supper plans, we sat down to the table and gratefully began to eat. “How nice to have a candlelight dinner,” Paul observed. “What’s the occasion?” I only pointed at the fixture above the table. It contains four bulbs, and to our complete amazement, three of them were blown! Some days, we just have to laugh – and then write an update!
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Monday, February 16, 2009
Matrimonial Musings
Ministry Update
One of the unsavory parts of evangelism is the reality of a cancellation. There is always a sinking in my heart whenever a man has to cancel a meeting. This week's meeting was canceled on short notice, just six days before. Like all cancellations, it was disappointing, but the Lord knew what He was doing. The Lord did open the door for me to teach/preach an adult Sunday school class today. That was a blessing. The pastor made it known to me that he was checking me out with the possibility of having me back, should the Lord lead.
We have been able to get to know the people of the church, having participated in a Valentine's banquet on Friday night. I even got to meet a vagrant who talked to the pastor about sleeping on the church property. ("Hey pastor. I am on my way to Oregon. Would you mind if I spread my sleeping bag on the church property?") He and his dog were offered a place in the bus instead of the ground. I wonder what this guy will do when he gets to Idaho later on this month. Will he still sleep on the ground? Anyway, when in Florida...
Family Update
Ahhh... back on the road again! We left Kings Mountain last week and headed for warmer climates - namely, Alabama and Florida. Our first meeting was in Tuscaloosa, AL, where we had some refreshing fellowship with the pastor and his family. Josiah seemed quite impressed with the pastor's six-year-old daughter. When we came back to the trailer after all the kids had been playing all afternoon, Josiah told me that he wanted to marry C-----. I told him that he would need to talk to her dad about that first. He thought about that for a minute, then asked if he had to talk to his own dad, too. I said it would probably be a good idea. Then he asked me what I thought. I told him she was kind of young, and that he should probably wait a decade or so. "Besides," I reminded him, "I thought you said you wanted to marry M----- (another pastor's daughter)." He sighed gustily and said, "There are just so many girls that I think I like! I wish I were in the Old Testament so I could marry them all!"
Abigail has made some new friends this trip as well. She told me this morning that now she has sixteen friends! She doesn't know their names, but they are her friends nonetheless.
Esther is enjoying her baby brother immensely. Sometimes I think her love for him stems from the fact that he is the only person in our trailer who can't tell her what to do. She loves to get in his face and laugh and talk very loudly and excitedly. Usually, it is something like, "AWWWWW! DANIEL IS SO CUTE!" Daniel, in the meantime, has nowhere to go, and must endure the blaring voice ten millimeters from his startled eyeballs. If he actually smiles, it is cause for more loud and excited talking, "MAMA! DANIEL SMILED AT ME! AWWWW! DANIEL IS SO CUTE! HAHAHAHA!" I usually rescue him when his lower lip starts to protrude - right before the big "Waaah!"
Daniel is growing like a weed. Tomorrow he will be three months old. He can hold his head up quite well, and is starting to try to roll over. He definitely makes his preferences known. He likes to be held sitting upright facing out or looking over your shoulder. None of this sissy lying down stuff for him! He also has a definite preference for his mother. He can be smiling and cooing, and the minute I shut the door behind me to run to the store all semblance of happiness disappears, or at least, that is what I have been led to believe. Frequently, I have received phone calls from the baby's father, who, when I answer the phone, holds the receiver next to the mouth of the howling infant. This is my cue to grab the rest of my purchases and head home post-haste. What would we do without the conveniences of modern technology?
I have been having fun the last several months with a new hobby of sorts - coupons! The Lord has enabled me to learn from some of the best, and I actually enjoy the activity! It really has made a big difference in our grocery bill, and I get a big thrill when I bring home several bags of "stuff" and a receipt for just a few cents. I still have much to learn, but I am confident that one day I will become one of those "gurus" that actually do so well that the store pays them to take home groceries! I have managed to save 40-60% of our grocery bill each month by this method, and with the sagging economy, it has been a big blessing, since we didn't get bailed out - yet!
We are currently in Pensacola, FL, and have had the opportunity to spend time with old friends as well as meet some new ones. Please pray that the Lord will continue to bring us into the path of good men and that we will know how to effectively minister to them as the Lord opens the doors.
One of the unsavory parts of evangelism is the reality of a cancellation. There is always a sinking in my heart whenever a man has to cancel a meeting. This week's meeting was canceled on short notice, just six days before. Like all cancellations, it was disappointing, but the Lord knew what He was doing. The Lord did open the door for me to teach/preach an adult Sunday school class today. That was a blessing. The pastor made it known to me that he was checking me out with the possibility of having me back, should the Lord lead.
We have been able to get to know the people of the church, having participated in a Valentine's banquet on Friday night. I even got to meet a vagrant who talked to the pastor about sleeping on the church property. ("Hey pastor. I am on my way to Oregon. Would you mind if I spread my sleeping bag on the church property?") He and his dog were offered a place in the bus instead of the ground. I wonder what this guy will do when he gets to Idaho later on this month. Will he still sleep on the ground? Anyway, when in Florida...
Family Update
Ahhh... back on the road again! We left Kings Mountain last week and headed for warmer climates - namely, Alabama and Florida. Our first meeting was in Tuscaloosa, AL, where we had some refreshing fellowship with the pastor and his family. Josiah seemed quite impressed with the pastor's six-year-old daughter. When we came back to the trailer after all the kids had been playing all afternoon, Josiah told me that he wanted to marry C-----. I told him that he would need to talk to her dad about that first. He thought about that for a minute, then asked if he had to talk to his own dad, too. I said it would probably be a good idea. Then he asked me what I thought. I told him she was kind of young, and that he should probably wait a decade or so. "Besides," I reminded him, "I thought you said you wanted to marry M----- (another pastor's daughter)." He sighed gustily and said, "There are just so many girls that I think I like! I wish I were in the Old Testament so I could marry them all!"
Abigail has made some new friends this trip as well. She told me this morning that now she has sixteen friends! She doesn't know their names, but they are her friends nonetheless.
Esther is enjoying her baby brother immensely. Sometimes I think her love for him stems from the fact that he is the only person in our trailer who can't tell her what to do. She loves to get in his face and laugh and talk very loudly and excitedly. Usually, it is something like, "AWWWWW! DANIEL IS SO CUTE!" Daniel, in the meantime, has nowhere to go, and must endure the blaring voice ten millimeters from his startled eyeballs. If he actually smiles, it is cause for more loud and excited talking, "MAMA! DANIEL SMILED AT ME! AWWWW! DANIEL IS SO CUTE! HAHAHAHA!" I usually rescue him when his lower lip starts to protrude - right before the big "Waaah!"
Daniel is growing like a weed. Tomorrow he will be three months old. He can hold his head up quite well, and is starting to try to roll over. He definitely makes his preferences known. He likes to be held sitting upright facing out or looking over your shoulder. None of this sissy lying down stuff for him! He also has a definite preference for his mother. He can be smiling and cooing, and the minute I shut the door behind me to run to the store all semblance of happiness disappears, or at least, that is what I have been led to believe. Frequently, I have received phone calls from the baby's father, who, when I answer the phone, holds the receiver next to the mouth of the howling infant. This is my cue to grab the rest of my purchases and head home post-haste. What would we do without the conveniences of modern technology?
I have been having fun the last several months with a new hobby of sorts - coupons! The Lord has enabled me to learn from some of the best, and I actually enjoy the activity! It really has made a big difference in our grocery bill, and I get a big thrill when I bring home several bags of "stuff" and a receipt for just a few cents. I still have much to learn, but I am confident that one day I will become one of those "gurus" that actually do so well that the store pays them to take home groceries! I have managed to save 40-60% of our grocery bill each month by this method, and with the sagging economy, it has been a big blessing, since we didn't get bailed out - yet!
We are currently in Pensacola, FL, and have had the opportunity to spend time with old friends as well as meet some new ones. Please pray that the Lord will continue to bring us into the path of good men and that we will know how to effectively minister to them as the Lord opens the doors.
Wednesday, February 04, 2009
Book Update
Ministry Update
The Lord has been good to keep us safe through all of our travels. Safe and sane, too. Have you ever traveled in a vehicle in which every seat was filled? It is close fellowship, to say the least. We pulled 13 ½ hours that way on Saturday on our way to our meeting in eastern NC.
Many have asked about the status of my book. The electronic edits are now over and I have only to review a physical copy of the book and approve it before it will be available for sale. It would be nice to have the book before we head to AL. I will let everyone know when it is available for sale.
Thank you for your prayers.
Paul
The Lord has been good to keep us safe through all of our travels. Safe and sane, too. Have you ever traveled in a vehicle in which every seat was filled? It is close fellowship, to say the least. We pulled 13 ½ hours that way on Saturday on our way to our meeting in eastern NC.
Many have asked about the status of my book. The electronic edits are now over and I have only to review a physical copy of the book and approve it before it will be available for sale. It would be nice to have the book before we head to AL. I will let everyone know when it is available for sale.
Thank you for your prayers.
Paul
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