Louisiana Trip, Again

I just returned (12/20) from a quick trip to Louisiana. My dad was in the hospital when I arrived. He has a variety of health concerns. He was able to come home the day after I arrived. He was thrilled, but the health problems linger.

It was a rather melancholic trip. The picture above is of the pond behind my father's house. The tree lying in the water was blown over by a hurricane earlier this year. It represents a bit of what is happening with my dad. He has kept an immaculate "place". His joy has been mowing and sawing and raking and burning. But, he is not able to do those things now. I was able to do some. It is very enjoyable for me to run a chain saw - as long as I don't lose a limb. But, I am only there briefly. So, things like this tree in the pond go undone, at least for now. We shall see what the Lord has for the future.

It was good to see family. And, I did have some delicious food. Soon after arriving I had an oyster po-boy at Robbie G's - my favorite Louisiana restaurant. (See pictures below, jealous?) The place is not fancy, but that is not why you go there. The day we were there it was full of Louisiana State Police. The flight home was interesting. I was due to fly out on Friday but everything was canceled going into Bloomington. I did make it to Atlanta the next day but things were looking iffy about flying on home. I thought I had it made when I boarded the plane. However, the girl seated next to me said she was on the same flight the day before and had flown to within 20 minutes of Bloomington before the plane turned around and returned to Atlanta. PTL we made it home! It was wonderful to be greeted by my family and to have a celebration dinner together.

A Firehouse Visit

This past Thursday evening, December 11th, I concluded my Thursday evening class on "Spirituality". Before driving home from Champaign, I decided to take Bill B. up on his invitation to come by and visit him at work. Bill is a Champaign firefighter. It was exciting to go by the station and see his work environment. Station #3 has one engine, shown in the picture above. (The interior of the truck is in the picture below) Bill described the types of calls the firemen receive and how they go about responding to those calls. He also gave me a tour of the facility and explained to me a variety of the equipment he uses. It was all very fascinating and I really appreciated his taking the time to do so. The Lieutenant at Station #3, Jeff L, also spent time talking about what it means to be a fireman.

Walking into the station brought a flood of memories. My father was a fireman. Occasionally I would visit him at his fire station. Climbing in and on the trucks was always exciting. There was also an occasional event in which the families would be invited to a big show with the firemen. We would be standing in an open area and a large puddle of Av Gas would be lit. That, in and of itself, was pretty exciting! Then the fire trucks would come roaring up. It was like the cavalry charging over the hill in a western movie. The firemen would jump out and be dressed in silver suits with full helmets and tinted visors. They looked like astronauts. They would spray the fire down with foam. I always knew which one was my dad because he was so tall. Next, they would light the gas again and the truck would drive up to the fire and knock it down with a boom located on its front bumper. It was a great show - exciting for a boy to watch.

Being a fireman is a dangerous job. It can also be emotionally draining. Firemen sometimes are able to do what they really want to do: help people in some of the most difficult experiences of their lives. Sometimes, however, they are unable to spare people from the tragedy that threatens to envelop them. Serving people is at the heart of what they do. Just like Jesus. He came at Christmas not to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.

Numbers - What do they mean???

Some folks love numbers. They like fiddling with them. My wife is always writing numbers on scraps of paper she finds around the house. I don't know what some of them are. When the children were small I told them to not stand still for very long because their Mom would probably write a grocery list on their foreheads or scribble some numbers on them. She is a lover of numbers. Maybe it is not the numbers themselves, but what they represent. There are those who love to dink with numbers because those numbers represent money. Still others are always writing down numbers that represent dates. Numbers tend to be inflexible. That can be a little irritating at times. If only I could move the decimal on my bank account numbers or if, for just a little while, I could suspend the rigidity of numbers and make 10 times 100 equal 1 million. That would be nice.

I think about numbers. In fact, I was pondering numbers at 3:00 this morning. The numbers that I think about are church numbers. But it is not what you may think. I don't worry too much about the money. We have good and godly people in our church that do that so I don't figure I have to do that so much. But, I do have some prayerful concern (I would never admit to worry!) over the numbers representing our attendance. They are not growing, they are shrinking. Why? The attendance numbers are not the ultimate measure of God's blessing. But, neither should they be ignored. So, whether I like numbers or not, I am thinking about them these days. And, I am also thinking about other numbers - like Christmas Gift Numbers and the days I have left to buy Christmas Gift Numbers and the amount of money I have to spend on Christmas Gift Numbers and how much should I spend on Christmas Gift Numbers in light of the advancement of the gospel in the world. Oh my, numbers can really be upsetting at times.

Building Usage

This month (December 08) the Chamber of Commerce used our building for their monthly meeting. It is the coolest Chamber meeting because the Gibson City High School Jazz Band led by Frank Titus comes and plays Christmas music for the program.

I am very grateful for the building and thankful that we are able to use it for such events. It is an extension of common grace into the community. This past Sunday, for example, the community presentation of the "Messiah" was here in the afternoon. The building is a gift that we steward to the best of our ability to the good of people and the glory of God.

The final picture is a special blessing the staff received when we were visited by carolers from GCMS High School. They were under the direction of Benjamin Kelly

Let It Snow, Let It Snow!

Our first snow - this is Sunday morning, November 30th, 2008. I must say, snow still fascinates me. It did snow where I grew up in Louisiana, but it very rare and never did last long. Snow changes the appearance of everything. At night everything seems brighter and during the day everything looks cleaner - at least for a while. There is something "romantic" about snow - it makes me feel the way the movie "White Christmas" does. And, Hoss loves it. If you listen carefully you can hear him during the above video. He is flapping his ears. Snow energizes him. He runs and jumps and eats it. And then he tracks it in the house.

There is the down side. Driving in it can be dangerous. When it starts to melt it makes a mess and it requires the extra time to dress for it. Shoveling it can be a literal pain in the back.

But, I will take the down side of snow. For me, the positives far out weigh them. And, snow always reminds me of the Scripture that speaks of the Lord making us "white as snow, though our sins be as scarlet". Snow is a promise picture.