Random Stuff

Okay, I’m back. Sorry it’s been awhile but sometimes life has a way of just happening without you realizing it. If that sounds like an excuse, it's because it IS an excuse! But it's the only one I've got for now.

The new job is going well. No work stories to tell. Well, actually there are, but I prefer not to write about stuff that happens at work or about the people there since that sort of thing could cause problems.

But the drive there and back? Now, that’s another thing entirely!

On the way home the other day, I saw what looked like a train crossing arm coming down where there are no train tracks.
A rusty old pick-up truck full of rusty old junk had apparently swerved to miss hitting the cars in the right hand lane, and it seemed he realized a bit too late that the traffic in front of him had stopped. He was able to avoid the car in front of him, but he took out the guard-rail and knocked the street light pole right off its base. The pole came down right on top of the car he tried to avoid running into. It also landed on the car in the next lane over. As I drove past (rush hour, all traffic was moving slowly) I saw that everyone involved had gotten out of their vehicles and were talking on their cell phones. The guy in the truck was still sitting behind the wheel of his truck, shaking his head. He tried to miss one and got two. Talk about a bad day!

This Power of Dad stuff is really hitting hard with me. I am learning about the awesome affects of the Power of Dad, but what about when you are the step-dad? The Bible tells us to train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not part from it. But what if you are dealing with children who have been affected by a dad who knowingly and willingly severely misused his Power of Dad? What can you do? I’ll write more on this one later. The Holy Spirit is really dealing me on this one.

Last weekend, our church threw a huge party called Hillfest 2007. We’ve done this every year for the past 7 years. There’s carnival/fair type rides, games, food and all kinds of fun that you would find at a county fair. And everything is free. Last year we had over 8,000 people show up. This year there was even more. Why do we do it? Simply to demonstrate God’s love to the community in a practical way.
We had a great time.

We’ve also been attending our church’s Connections class. The Connections class is where you go to learn about the church, the pastors and get all connected and stuff. We’ve been members for almost three years and are involved in a few of the ministries at the church, and this is the only class we haven’t done yet, so we figured we’d go. Everyone else in the class is fairly new (less than a year).
While we were at Hillfest (it’s called that because our church is located on a hill, the highest ground in the county, and it’s a really big festival type thing), we ran into another couple from our Connections class.
They’re rather nice people and Catherine and I seem to have a lot in common with them. While we were talking, my son and two of his step-brothers walked up to let us know where they were going to be. We introduced the boys and my son Josh stepped forward to say hello to our new friends and spoke with them briefly before hugging me and going on his way.
As the three boys walked away, the couple commented on what a fine young man Josh is. They said he was polite, respectful and considerate. He referred to them as sir and ma’am. They said that a 19 year old who acts that way is rare these days. They then patted me on the shoulder and said, “Good job, Dad”.
Wow. How do you respond to something like that? I know he’s a good kid, and a fine young man. He is a joy to know and I am extremely proud of him. But to hear someone complement him like that after just meeting him? All I could say was, “Uh……thanks”.
(They didn’t even mention the other two boys).

I’ll also brag on him a little and tell you that he just got a promotion at work this week. He’s only been working there for less than two months and they really like him.

During our Connections class this week, we got to listen to the Youth Pastor talk about why he enjoys working with Junior High kids so much. In college, he ministered to and counseled college age men. Most of those guys had some sort of sin issue they were dealing with and over the course of the year he worked with those men, our Youth Pastor asked them when they first started having their particular “issues”. Most of them said it all started in Junior High. He said the Holy Spirit impressed upon him that, although he was doing a great work for God with these men, that his ministry was reactive, not proactive. He felt God was telling him to be proactive with his ministry, so he began working with Junior High students. It really is God’s calling for him.
Ever since, I have felt a “tug” to go volunteer in our Junior High ministry. I know someone who is already doing that in her own church and loves every minute of it.

I’ll let you know how it goes.

Well, it’s getting late and I’m exhausted. Morning comes way too early! I’ll write more later. I promise.

More later.

See? I keep my promises.

Blessings.