Well this Sunday we attended the 8:30 am service at Benson Baptist Church. With the time change it was, as always, a bit more of a struggle to get everyone up and going and out the door. But I was surprised and it looked like all of the regular attendees were there perhaps slightly less bright-eyed and somewhat less bushy tailed than normal but there none-the-less to celebrate God's love for us.
When we got back home Gail started right in on working on her 'bags' she has a show in a couple of weeks. It's a show of local Artisans and their creations, and Gail has been working very hard to build up an inventory of her bags. She really does a nice job with them and they are very functional. The bags come in many different fabrics as well as various different accent pieces.
Maddie and I completed her FAFSA application and worked on her link on the University of Omaha web-site. She has applied and been accepted to transfer to UNO next fall and she is very excited about that. She's looking forward to being back home with us next year and maybe being able to have a part-time job again. For her the whole being away from home in a big school just hasn't worked out as she had hoped. I of course have no problem with my girl being back home for a few more years as the whole empty nest thing isn't to my liking anyway.
I started reading a new book yesterday, "Prodigal Christianity, Ten Signposts into the Missional Frontier" by David E. Fitch & Geoff Holsclaw. This is the book that they will be talking about at the upcoming "Prairie Pastors Conference" (Prairie Pastors Conference Web-Page) but in reviewing it I thought it might also be beneficial for the program I am attending this coming weekend in Hastings put on by Cotner College. This event is entitled "Ministry from the Pews" and I have decided to attend the session on "The Once & Future Church" being conducted by the Rev. Dr. James Gordon who is the current Interim Regional Ministry for the Disciples of Christ.
I've only just gotten into the book so I'll reserve comments for now but there is one chapter in particular that I am afraid I'm going to have considerable disagreement with. The authors have a background in the 'Emergent' and 'Neo-Reformed' movements and I'll confess that I have some issues with both. But in all fairness I will read the book and reserve all judgment until I have completely finished the text. It is entirely possible that these authors have addressed areas that have concerned me and if so I very much look forward to reading and then listening to David Fitch speak at the conference.
I am very much looking forward to the program this weekend, and I also look forward to visiting with Jim about any opportunities that might be coming up for ministry with the DOC. Jim is a fantastic individual and a very close friend of my good friend Dustin who is the Pastor at the DOC Church in Hastings. Actually Dustin's Church is hosting this event and I told him I was going to bring him a large box of books for his personal library.
Misc. Ramblings:
The last couple weeks have been a bit wild. I ran into a bit of an issue with my health which I think I have now gotten sorted out. I noticed in the morning on the Thursday before last that I had broken out in a pretty good rash. It was over my face, neck, shoulders and part of my chest and back. So I dropped out pretty much all of my supplements and started taking Benadryl. It slowly died down and I started adding back in my supplements slowly to see what had caused the reaction. Well by the next Wednesday I had gotten about half of my supplement regiment back in force and nothing had caused an issue. So I went into the gym and did my leg routine again. When I got home and as I was changing I noticed that I had broken out once again. Apparently, when I'm doing legs my blood pressure is spiking very high and I'm causing capillaries to burst.
I checked my blood pressure the next morning and it was at 142/85 which my wife tells me is not considered to be hypertension. BUT, that is high for me as historically my blood pressure has sat around 115/70. On my way into work I stopped to see my buddy Brandon at 'New Dawn Nutrition' and picked up a bottle of his supplement for blood pressure control. It seems to have helped as my blood pressure was down on Saturday to 128/75. I'll keep an eye on it to see if it won't come down a bit farther.
Brandon also gave me the name of a local Doctor who sees several other lifters here in town. I called and talked to his Nurse, she then faxed me a form to have my old Doctor release my records to them. Once they have the records and the Doctor has reviewed them she said she would call me to set up an appointment. Honestly, I am due for a general check up and I need to make sure there isn't anything more serious that is affecting my blood pressure spikes. It is past time for me to start dropping some body weight and personally I think that is a part of the reason for the elevated blood pressure. So as of Friday I started cutting and completely switched not only my supplement routine but my lifting routine.
Gail will be happy that I'm switching to higher repetitions and lighter weight for leg training from low repetitions and heavy weight. My legs have never been large in size but my legs and hips are very strong for my size and on leg presses I was hoisting weight that I've only seen two other lifters in the gym match, and both of them are a good 25 pounds heavier in body weight than I, and I know that if you add their ages together I'm still six years older than they are combined. Both are great guys and we all give each other a lot of grief (in a good way) at the gym.
In closing I will leave you with this wonderful poem that I came across the other day. May this day find you all well and blessed.
In His All Abundant Grace,
Roy
Little Country Church
Wooden, white, weathered and worn,
surrounded by hard pack, thistle and thorn.
Whitewash fades from warping walls.
The steeple bell no longer calls
the faithful in to find their pews
and be inspired by God’s Good News.
Stained glass memories of better days
create a multi colored haze
on unused pulpit, dust-caked floors,
a broken chair and open doors.
Tractor tracks gouge the gravel drive
where farming families once arrived
on Sunday morning and Wednesday night.
But now, the economic plight
has forced those families off the land
and into lives they never planned.
Weeds grow through the picket fence
that surrounds the congregants
who lay beneath once well kept sod.
Headstones proclaim their faith in God
and say they have gone on to Glory.
But, no one’s here to read their story.
The scene is quaint and some say, sad.
An empty church. But it’s not bad
because the seeds of faith they grew
have been transplanted someplace new.
The good news soon to be revealed
is of the increased harvest yield.
God’s field hands have been moved to where
they can witness, love and care
for those whose lives are in the lurch.
See, that building’s just a building.
God’s people are The Church.
Poem by, Jeff Hildebrandt
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