Tuesday night

I am home and too busy but very happy.
We just had a board meeting at church and found out that things are going okay at the church financially. That is always good news.
We are doing some new things which all make me excited in various ways.

We just started our afterschool program yesterday. We are working with the YMCA which is next store and middle school age kids come over after school for snacks and for tutoring. We supply the snacks and the Y provides the tutors. The tutors are really good and it is great to see them with the kids. And I love interacting with the kids. Today we had about a dozen kids and it was just fun for me to be there. I am sure that this is going to grow - what a great start for the church!

We are going to try something really new for a stewardship campaign this year. We will do a big lunch after church that is going to be catered and bring in a guest minister to work with the leadership team on the program. And Daryl's brother Herb is going to be the guest minster which is wonderful! It all feels to good to me. I am excited.

I presented to the board my idea for a sabbatical in 2 years - which would be to go around the county studying churches that are involved in healng ministries. I will be submitting this to the Louisville Seminary program this week to try to receive a grant of $10,000 for the program. It is hightly unlikely that I would get the money - but it has made me do some real thinking about wat is important to me and certainly it is in developing healing minstries.

Finally , I started my classes in spiritual diretection on th 22nd of August and I really really like the readings and the class time. Often, as a pastor, it feels like I am in sales - trying to sell people on the possibility of the spiritual life - let along getting to show them the ways that we all grow siritually. This classis a chance for me to be with people who are all really engaged in the journey itself. I am not in a leadership position - but learing. Learning so much.

Over and over I want to say.... God is good, all the time.

One more thing - our life has changed in a big way in that Manie and Reagan and Addie have moved in. Surprisingly, (I suppose it is surprising!?) we really enjoy having them. Chuck loves cooking for them and we both enjoy their company. The little girls are just a delight. Who knew how nice it would be for us?

We don't know what the future is going to bring, but for right now - it is all very nice. All of it.