New Role

In case you missed it, here's the first part of this post.

In case you didn't know, we moved here (Coffee Springs) because we felt that we were following God's will for our lives and transitioning into a new ministry role--Associate Pastor. Now many people may ask, "What exactly does that mean?" and I have to admit it is difficult to define. As a youth pastor it was simple: I work with youth. But as Associate Pastor, I'm more of a Utility man. Whatever role I need to fill for the church, I'm here.

God has definitely stretched me in this new role. When I moved here I have no office (just a storage closet with a desk and power outlet). There is no Internet at the church--which I found that I had become quite dependent on for just about EVERYTHING I do ministry wise. Fortunately, we've been able to get the internet at our house now, so I no longer feel handicapped by that. And I'm basically having to flesh out a job description. Like I said, Associate Pastor is the utility guy, but I'm trying to make a tangible, day-to-day responsibility for this new role I've found myself in.

But I must say that I am super happy in this new role. All ministry presents challenges. That's part of what makes it fun. It's what keeps you on your toes and makes you creative. And the people here are simply wonderful. They've shown so much love for us and have made our transition an easy one. They're excited to have us here, and we're excited to be here. Ultimately, we're all excited about what God is going to do here.

I had hoped to have some pictures to post of the church, but I guess I'll just have to post them later.

More to come...

Haven't Seen You in a While...

...and for that I apologize. Ever since the move, my Internet access has been very limited, but, no longer! Thanks to the help of one of the wonderful members of our church, we upgraded to wireless internet at the house. Now all I need is a Mac and a cup of Starbucks--scratch that, Dakota Coffee--and I'll be certifiably cool!

And since it has been such a long time since the last time we spoke, I want to catch you up a bit. Of course, it will take of couple of posts, but I promise not to make you wait two months for the rest of the story.

We now live at what I have begun to affectionately refer to as the "edge of the earth." Seriously, if the earth were flat, we'd be teetering on the edge. We are that far out. In fact, right now you're probably thinking to yourself, "It can't be any different from any other small, rural area in Alabama. Probably not much different than Vincent." You would be mistaken...ask Scottie, Janie, Robert, and Josh Sims. And I have to admit, when we first got here, I wasn't too hot on the location. I like cities. I like the life, the culture, the energy. Even though Vincent was a small town, it was so close to B'ham and the burbs that it carried a little of that vibe too. Wide open spaces and slow speed limits aren't my thing. But, in time, this location has grown on me.

The sun rising over the flat farm land adjacent to my house is stunning (which to use the word 'stunning' really cheapens it. In fact, any word would fail to capture the beauty and majesty of that view. I love how when someone comes creeping along in their truck (or tractor), that they ALL wave. I love how everyday is sunny. Even on days when it rains, it seems that as soon as the rain stops, the sun pops out. I love our little house. Its small and old, but filled with warmth and character.

So needless to say, I've grown to enjoy living here. But that's not the end of the story. More to come soon...

Benaiah Aiden

Wow! What a weekend. This has definitely been one of the highlights of my life (as if you couldn't tell from the pictures :)) Amanda and I both apreciate all the prayers and for all the kind words/visits and gifts over the past few days.

I'll try to recap as best as I can (which really isn't all that good because words really can't describe ow great this has been):

Abouts 2am Saturday morning, Amanda woke up. She wasn't feeling well and she was having some spotting. She waited around til 2:30, but she was still spotting, so she woke me up. For the next half-hour, we tried to see if her condition would get better. We even called the OB/GYN, and he sayed we should be ok. Of course, Amanda was worried that something had happened to the baby. I knew she wouldn't be able to sleep until she was able to talk to a doctor face-to-face. So we loaded up in the car and headed to Brookwood at 3:30.

When we left the house, I fully expected to be back home in just a short while. Amanda was not having contractions and the due date was over 2 weeks away.

When we got to the hospital (at 4) and got out of the car, Amanda froze in pain. I tried to pursuade her "Come on, we're here now. Let's just get inside teh door." We got inside and they put us in a room (probably because Amanda said, "I think we may be having a baby today.") We got in and when they hooked Amanda up to the contraction monitor and then checked to see if she had dialated. When they did, her water broke. And we discovered that the pain that Amanda had experienced in the parking lot was in fact a contraction. In fact, they were starting to come every 5 minutes or so. So our "quick trip" to calm our nerves turned into "Wow, we'll have our baby today!" :)

Our doctor was on vacation, so we met Dr. Gams who would be our substitute physician. After about 2 hours at the hospital, Amanda hadn't dialated any more, so they gave her a hormone that increased the rate of her contractions. She also got an epidural, so from about 5a on, she was pretty comfortable.

When they checked Amanda an hour later, she had dialated to 7cm. Every time they checked it got closer to the goal. By 11, she was at 9 1/2 cm (or so we thought)

About 12:45, the Dr. popped in again and checked to see if she made it to 10cm. But, he delievered some discouraging news: Amanda was not at 9 1/2, she was at 7, maybe 8 at best. He said that the labor had stalled out and that we would have to have a C-section.

There's a verse in Job that sums up how I felt in the moment: "I am terrified." That's actually probably an understatment, but I don't know if there's a strong-enough word to describe how I felt. I tried to be calm and brave because Amanda was even more shaken that I was (obviously). She had never had surgery at all--or even been admitted to a hospital. So that compounded the fear. They set the time for 1:30p to do the surgery.

During the down time, we tried to comfort each other. I got to put on my surgery scrubs. They wheeled Amanda back and came back to get me a little later. It was probably only 5 minutes, but it felt like 30. When I got to the operating room, they had Amanda sliced open. I got to sit at her head behind the curtain (thank God for that because I would have straight passed out). It took only 3 - 5 minutes and we heard the most wonderful sound I have ever heard. Little Benaiah Aiden was here (at 1:47p) and he was letting everyone know about it. Because he was a C-section baby, he had a lot more fluid in his lungs, so his first yell sounded like he was under water.

Amanda's cousin Amy--who works in the NICU at Brookwood--was in the room and was one of the nurses who handled the baby. She even got to give his official weight (7 lbs. 8 oz.). Then mommy got to hold the baby for the first time. Then daddy got to take him to the nursery to let everyone else see. Amanda's dad lucked up and found our path so he got a sneak peek.

After everyone got to see him through the window for a coule of minutes, we carried him to the recovery room, were the nursing staff gave him a bath, checked his temp., gave him a shot or two, measured him (21 1/2 in.), put medicine in his eyes, etc. Then Daddy and Aiden got to wait for mommy. About 20 minutes after we got in the recovery room, they wheeled mommy in and she REALLY got to hold baby.

We stayed in recovery for about 2 hours. I know it killed our family because they couldn't come back. Then at 4p we moved into our suite and the family got to see baby and Mommy for the first time.

So many other small things happened that would take too long to explain. But needless to say, we are overjoyed (an understatement indeed) to have little Benaiah Aiden with us. Also, August 1st happens to be my late grandmother's birthday. So God gave us a little poetic miracle in that too.

Insights from "The Monkey and the Fish"

Just finished reading The Monkey and the Fish: Liquid Leadership for a Third-Culture Church by Dave Gibbons. This book really challenged me and it also reinforced some things that I already have been exposed to. Here are some excerpts:

"I believe that today God is calling us in the church to become a different kind of movement, known for our kisses of compassion rather than our condemnations."

"I think we {the church} are preoccupied with big."

"We cannot be fully human alone."

"...questions should lead us. Questions, not answers."

"'You put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into the bottle, it become the bottle. You put it into a teapot and it becomes the teapot. The water can flow. The water can crash. Be water my friend' [Bruce Lee]"

"While an answer may fork in a specific situation, questions can guide us to the answers is all kinds of situations."

"Where is the other side of the tracks in your cit or region? In other words, who are the marginalized or the outsiders near you, people whom you feel pain for?"

"What will draw most of the world to Christ is not simply a prosperity gospel but a gospel that takes a real look at the beauty and the bane of suffering."

"Any worthy endeavor is constrained by our worst fears."

"Our {the church's} party should be the best.

"...create unity among diversity."

"We need to learn to walk in the blur and in the intersections of cultures, to bust the walls that separate us from a world of colliding cultures and generations, and the shifting of roles, responsibilities, and influence."

"All of the prejudices we've set up among cultures, among peoples of color, among backgrounds is so alien to the mind of Christ that it is the deepest kind of evil that I know. {Brennan Manning}"

Update

It's definitely been a up-and-down ride the past couple of weeks. I thought going into this summer that it would be a little more calm...no teaching every week of camp; no kids camp. But, I was wrong. This summer is also filled with personal tragedy (and NOT because MJ died).

Couple of weeks ago I went to the Buffalo River. Yes, I know, I never finished telling the story. Maybe when I get caught up on all the stuff I've missed the last three weeks, I'll finish.

Had an awesome time at youth camp. As expected, God did amazing things (hmm, maybe there's something about our level of expectation and God's reaction to it?).

Then I received some bad news this past Monday. My grandmother (Gammy as I call her) had to be hospitalized. She was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia back in March. In this form, her white cell counts were extremely low (as opposed to extremely high with most types of the disease). Of course, no white blood cells = no immune system; so, she had infection set in her kidneys that soon spread to her blood. Her spleen had also swollen.

By the time I got to the hospital Wednesday morning, she looked like a ghost. Fortunately, she still had the strength to communicate with me. We told each other "I love you," and she told me to "keep loving the Lord." From then on I witnesses a rapid decline. By Thursday (she got to come home under hospice care Wed. afternoon), she mostly just slept. By Thur. night, she couldn't talk with us anymore--just grunts. That night, we all stayed at her and my granddad's (Gangy) house. At 2:40am my mom's sister, Gina, came and woke me up. By the time I got to the bedroom where my Gammy laid, she was no longer breathing.

We had a memorial viewing on Saturday night at Sorrells Funeral Home in Enterprise (Great People). Over 200 people came to visit. Even more people showed up Sunday afternoon for the funeral. And then her body was committed to the ground in Old Tabernacle Cemetery...across the street from the church she grew up in (and that I went to in high school).

Please remember my family--especially my granddad--in your prayers. For all of you who have lost someone close, you know why.

I'll hopefully get back into the rhythm of regular blogging over the next week or so.

A Hot Day, An Army of Racoons, and a Broken Van

Been a long time since I've blogged last. [Sorry for the delay]. Last week, I went on the EDGE Men's trip to the Buffalo River. I will attempt to chronicle this great adventure below.

We left on Wednesday (June 17) at 8 in the morning. I [very wisely] chose to ride in the huge white bus--which now has a small narrative of its own, but that's for later. The air worked like 10x better than the A/C on the silver bullet. Had a great time texting Josh and Josh (Acker and Sims) about everything...from indoor plumbing to what if GW was still prez. Played on Josh A.'s iPod Touch. He has the dumbest, and yet oddly fun, apps possible.

Stopped in Hamilton, AL for a rest break (took Robert a while to figure this one out, despite the HUGE water tower). Saw a great advertisement at the Gas Station for "Dipped Ice Cream." [yumm] Resisted the urge to buy those great chicken fingers and massive potato wedges. Back on the road.

Stopped in Olive Branch, MS--home of former UA player Jimmy Johns--for lunch at Chic-fil-a. Took over driving for Pastor Mike for what would seem like several days. The A/C became decreasingly effective the hotter the day got. Drove around Memphis. Not nearly as impressive as I thought. The Pyramid and the Old School iron bridge over the mighty Mississippi were cool though. I've never seen so many 18-wheelers in one place in my entire life. Guess Memphis really is the shipping capital of the US.

Crossed into Arkansas for the first time in my life. Must say that it lived up to expectations--which weren't much (in defense of Hog Nation, I didn't visit any major cities, like Little Rock. Plus, Jonesboro was nice). In the southern part of the state, nothing but flatness and rice fields. In the north nothing but mountains and towns with populations hovering around the 600 mark (which even by Vincent/New Brockton standards is tiny!)

Asked for Jason and Terry, who were in the lead van, to pull over for a water break. They insisted that we were almost there. Two hours and 10 towns later, we arrived in Mountain Home, AR...population 10,000. Went to Wal-Mart where everyone in that town + us decided at the SAME EXACT TIME to buy a fishing license (which was a complete waste of $11 for me). Josh A convinced a sales associate that he really believed we were in Canada. Somewhere Tim Abbott is still laughing.

Left and went to the Ramada Inn and Convention Center, which from the outside looked like a roach motel, but once inside we found nice, large rooms that were all built around a ballroom and the biggest hotel pool I've ever seen. You could even dive in (well you weren't supposed to, but it was 9 ft. deep).

Tried to get dinner at Western Sizzlin' at 8:05pm. Unfortunately, we forgot how far away from civilization we were, as the restaurant had closed at 8:00. Let that sink in. Crossed the parking lot to Pizza Hut. Enjoyed a great Meat Lovers'. Then it was back to the room to get a good night's sleep before the trek down the Buffalo. Started missing Amanda and the baby...a lot. Didn't sleep real well.

...to be continued...

Weekly Update

Well, I finally managed to get back on a "normal" schedule. For whatever reason, I had gotten completely out of sync and it was driving me crazy. Good to feel ahead of the game this week.

Speaking of this week: it's really busy. I'm exploding with excitement about tomorrow night's service. We always try to do something huge at the end of school. Last year we really didn't, but this year we're bringing crazy back. Rented some of those Sumo Wrestler costumes so everyone can Sumo Wrestle. It's going to be hilarious. Worship will be awesome and the message has already been a fun one for me. With all the info I was able to dig up, I could have made a VERY, VERY, long sermon. But I was able to deny the Teacher within and cut it down to what's most important (I think this is a desirable trait of a pastor).

I'll be in the office (or around somewhere, working) Thursday and then hittin' up graduation that night @ 7p. Congrats to Codie's brother Chase for achieving Valedictorian. I always get nostalgic at this time of year.

After graduation is over, we're bee-lining for my parents house. First thing Friday, we're making the quick drive from my parents to PC Beach. After an exhausting day, we'll head back to my parents and spend Saturday with them. Then we'll be back for Sunday.

Busy week. Exciting week. Exhausting week. It's going to be great!

What about you? What's your week shaping up to be?

A Life Lived Fully

Yesterday I had the privilege to take part in remembering an awesome woman of God. Mary Edgar is one of my heroes of faith. I can remember when I started attending youth group at El Bethel, how she would sit in services on Sundays, and--no lie--pray the entire service (mostly in tongues too, I think). She had such a passion.

But her story is so much more than that.

Though she came from a small town (or really out in the woods from a small town), she had a global impact. During her lifetime she went on 20 missions trips. She also had a passion for teenagers, serving with our District's Youth Camps for over 30 years. The stories I've heard (which probably come nowhere near accurately describing the impact of her life) of how she would pray and cry and laugh with people all over the world amazes me.

Sometimes, we buy into Satan's lie that we cannot do anything to change the world. We feel unusable. But, no matter where we're from, no matter how badly we may have screwed up in the past, no matter who are family is...we can still be used by God to bring healing to a broken world.

Maw Al did.

And if a woman from a little church outside a little town with no formal ministry training, can make such a GLOBAL impact, then surely you and I can too.

May her memory live on forever in our thoughts and deeds.

Mind Boggling

So I found this website that contains an item called the World Clock. It's a pretty interesting tool. It shows you stats (including births and deaths and total population) from across the globe. It can be broken down into different categories like Year, Month, Week, etc. It's also a sobering reminder of our mission. In the time it took my to type up this post 133 people were born but 51 died.

Check it out:

http://peterrussell.dreamhosters.com/Odds/WorldClock.php

Created in His Image

If we agree that God is a creative God, then surely we are creative too.

Genesis 1.26-27: Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness..."So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

The writer of this passage really wants us to understand that we are created in God's image. Really, really badly. He repeats it in a span of two sentences 3 times. And if we are created in God's image, that means we are creative like God. Now, yes, there are differences. We can only create physical things based on stuff He created (ex: glass from sand). But that creative desire/ability is in all of us in one way or another. Just because you can't draw or paint or compose doesn't mean you lack creativity. You may be the most creative budgeter ever. Or the most creative Life Group teacher. Creativity is not simply limited to arts, it pops up in everything we do--eating, working, shopping, paying bills, playing with the kids.

So the next time someone asks if you are a creative person, tell them, "YES!"

Friday Download

What a week it's been. Here's a recap of a week that has flown by:

• Visited Kingwood Church in Alabaster Sunday. Had a great time. Love the people there. Several of their staff have invested a lot in our church and I for one am very grateful for their efforts/sacrifice.
• My brother, Daniel, came up Monday to stay with Amanda and me for Spring Break. Pretty amazing what God is doing in his life. Just wish I would have started living for God at that age.
• Filled out my tournament bracket. So far I'm 12 for 16 (not all that good). I have a tendency to try to pick too many upsets. Of course, I didn't help that favorite Clemson got beat by Michigan of all teams. Their basketball team suffers from the same "do-awesome-the-first-half-0f-the-season-and-then-completely-melt-down" thing that their football team usually does.
• Got to help some of the youth make a video for Fine Arts. I may be a little biased, but I'd be surprised if it didn't advance to Nationals.
• Had a great service Wednesday night. There wasn't a whole lot of people there (Spring Break), but the worship was very powerful and raw and I felt like the teaching/preaching time went well.
• I tried something new with my sermon this week. At the end, before I gave an altar call, I opened it up for Q+A. It's easy for people to get lost even when you think you've covered all the bases. Teens get to ask questions everywhere except church...so why not let them be more informed about spiritual things?
• Went bowling with Amanda and Daniel. I had a pretty decent second game--for me anyway. I think the baby was throwing Amanda off because her bowling ball kept veering all over the place.
• This pregnancy is going be really fast. I thought it would take forever. But it's already almost here. Yes!
• Got to watch some NCAA tournament action last night. Thought American was going to pull off the upset but in the end we see why Villanova was a 3-seed and they were a 14-seed. Great teams always find a way to win games.

The WAY of Christ pt. 3

The concept of way doesn't just refer to us living our lives. It also shows how following Christ means allowing Him to change our world-view. Here's another definition for "hodos" (Greek for way):

1. a course of conduct
2. a way (i.e. manner) of thinking, feeling, deciding

Following the way of Jesus means that our sinful nature has been transformed to be like His Spirit nature (Galatians 5). It holds to the thought that sin is not simply just something we do (i.e. adultery, murder, stealing), but it a part of our nature...a part of who we are. We have been conditioned by sin to react through a sin lens. However, once we begin following the way of Christ (having asked Him to forgive us and transform us) we move away from the sinful nature (Paul called it crucifying the flesh) and become more like Him.

The WAY of Christ pt. 2

John 14:6:Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me

The Greek word for "way" in Jesus' statement is hodos. It can be translated a couple of different ways (two of which we'll look at next time), but one of them is a travellers way, journey, traveling. In his own words, Christ is painting a picture for us of what it means to be "Christian." It's the picture of a man traveling to a distant land. It the image of a woman, with her backpack on her pack, climbing through a mountain range. Christianity is not a static existence. It really isn't a noun. It's a verb. It's something we do and something we are. To be Christian means that you are a traveler on your way to become more like Christ--to go where the Holy Spirit leads and to do the work of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Pt.3 -- The WAY and Our Minds

Finding the Sweet Spot

I am by no means a baseball player. The one year I played (5th Grade) I had a .000 batting average. I generally love to watch and play, and I usually understand sports of all kinds: football, basketball, golf, ultimate frisbee, tennis, etc. But I'm not particularly fond of baseball. I know that saying that as a resident of Vincent is on par with blasphemy, but that's the way it is.

Despite my lack of enthusiasm for America's Game (let's be honest, baseball hasn't been America's game for at least a decade--thanks NFL and March Madness), I do understand some concepts. One of those is the "sweet spot." It's the place on a bat that provides the best power, acceleration, etc. that leads to greater hitting distance (i.e. more homeruns). But, the sweet spot isn't all over the bat. In fact it's just in...a spot. There's a balance between the regular spots and the bad spots and at the center of that balance is where you want to be.

Ministry is very similar. So is faith. There is a danger than I believe almost ALL ministries and believers fall into of going too far in one direction. All grace or no grace. Meeting on Sundays vs. never meeting. Republican or Democrat. Faith or works. Most disciples gravitate toward one extreme or another. My desire (although it is a great struggle for me) is to be balanced--to find that sweet spot that is the right location between two extremes. I think that's what God meant be "narrow [is] the road that leads to life." (Matthew 7.14)

So I guess the moral of the story, or the challenge is this: to find the sweet spot in your faith. Don't be blown back and forth between two extremes, but find that balanced, narrow sweet spot where God desire you (and me) to be.

Babies Don't Quit

"...I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."  

Matthew 18.3

I don't know if you are like me, but, there are somethings that Jesus says that don't make a whole lot of sense to me.  Sometimes it would seem like--as a preacher--he would lose His mind.  He has everyone going, and the crowds are drawn in and then *BAM* He hits them up with a line like "unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood you cannot be my disciple." [John 6.53 paraphrased]  And the thing that always gets me is that last line, "you cannot me my disciple."  Almost every outlandish thing Jesus says is followed with that phrase.

I grew up with the general teaching that the living under the New Covenant was easier than the Old.  I disagree with that.  Yes, the Old had more technical things, but for the most part, they were doable (just mundane).  However, in the New, we're asked to do things that are basically impossible on our own.  Here are a few examples:

You have heard that it was said...'do not murder'...(Old), But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother is subject to judgement (New).

You have heard that it was said, "Do not commit adultery.' (Old) But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery...(New)

The verse at the top falls into this category in my mind.  How in the world are we supposed to become young again (unless of course you are Benjamin Button)?  Why would we want to become like a child, AGAIN?

I think God answered that question (or at least part of it) for me the other night.  On our way home from the Regional Tournament, the coach's daughter began walking up and down the bus (she's a little over 1 I think).  She's still grasping the concept of walking, so she often fell.  But when she did, she never cried, she didn't just lay there for ever.  She'd always get back up.  And then it hit me, "babies don't quit."  They fall all the stinkin' time, the hit their heads on stuff, and they struggle at doing almost everything that we do without thinking.  But they never quit.  I think that's why Jesus used the illustration of becoming like a child to follow Him:  because babies don't quit!

Wednesday Morning Download

For those of you who may not know, Wednesday is the biggest day of my week.  It always is (except on rare occasion). I absolutely love Wednesdays.  Today, is particularly busy, because on top of all my other "normal" tasks, I am going to the Speed-the-Light Luncheon at Joe's Crab Shack.  This is the annual event where we eat fish, listen to a lot of heart-gripping stories about people who gave boo-coos of money to STL, and then make our pledge that never quite stacks up to the little girl who walked through a blizzard and raised $20,000 last year.

Had an interesting breakfast this morning: pretzel sticks and left-over birthday cookie-cake (and a glass of milk).  Actually was pretty good.

Got my Alabama watch fixed this weekend.  It had been missing a pin that held one of the links together for over a year (and a half?).  Took it to the Galleria--on my quest to find some new Pumas, that failed--and got it put back together.

Sunday was my first Sunday in about 4 weeks to actually be in the main service.  It was great.  Really enjoyed communion and was in awe of the message in tongues and the interpretation.

Loving my Office calendars from Josh and Amy...I mean Michael Scott.  I have one huge one that hangs on the wall and is monthly, and one that sits on my desk and HAS A QUOTE FOR EVERY DAY OF THE YEAR :)

Well, I guess that's it for now.  I have to fix the sound order for tonight's service, which is going to be great by the way.

Peace!

P.S. -- Here's some more great tips I've learned about being a Dad:

Uncertainty or Adventure?

Well, 2009 has already come and brought with it a new set of challenges and opportunities.  To be quite honest, it's been a rough weekend (well really just the last half of Sunday).  A death in the family, new complications in the youth ministry...all these problems that demand attention.  Sometimes it can seem as if life's uncertainty is hovering over you as if waiting to murder you in your sleep [a bit dramatic, I know].  But there is another way to look at uncertainty.  Another word for it would be adventure.  And God is calling us to a life of adventure.  All of the "problems" and "concerns" are--many times--just chances for us to go on a new adventure.  

My prayer is that this year, we would embrace the adventure(s) that God sends us on.

*(The whole uncertainty/adventure revelation came from Mark Batterson's book Wild Goose Chase)

Quote of the Day

"Sin is not letting God be God"

(I can't remember where I heard this, but it's too good not to post)

Instructions

Found these great tips on Brad Leach's blog.  I think these will definitely help my parenting skills:

Weekend Update

So, I've missed a couple of days--my apologies.  Last Thursday, I went to Nashville for our annual staff planning retreat.  Had a great time staying in the Opryland Hotel.  Got home Saturday.  Unfortunately, I got sick with these bad boys:

This is a microscopic shot of the rotavirus.  They caused me to puke my brains out and feel like complete poop.  Thanks a lot rotavirus.