February 7 – “Scooping and doling …”

Yesterday was my first Sunday in a very long time that I was not officially in a church staff position, the last 26+ years, of course as a pastor.  Everything I have read concerning transitioning from one pastor to the next in the event of a retirement indicated that I should be gone for a week or two to give the new pastor a chance to establish.  Our plan was to be in Waco to watch the boys play some basketball and worship with Pastor Josh at Columbus Avenue Baptist Church.  That plan got weathered out when games started getting canceled because of accumulations of ice and snow.  Schools were even closing just the other side of the Causeway.  No sensible person would venture out into that kind of a mess.  So instead, we decided to go hear the “new” pastor at First Baptist Church.  I say new because I hadn’t met him yet.  He’s been there a year and a half. 

 

He was a nice enough guy, and we were accosted several times by people trying to get us to come to their Sunday School class.  I don’t mean they simply invited us.  I mean they kept on and on and on when we were trying to leave.  Pretty admirable that they liked the class so much.  They invited us to join several of the class members at a restaurant for lunch.  The teacher even invited me to join him and the pastor and another guy for lunch during the week.  Lots of attention.  But you know what?  We sure missed Seaside.  Nothing quite like it.

 

Last night we drove into Texas to join Kel’s bunch for supper.  Christina made some shrimp gumbo.  Or, in Jachin’s case, shrimp gumbo cut the shrimp … and okra.  He got his bowlful and spent his first few minutes scooping out the offending particles and doling it into the two bowls nearest his, in this case Kel’s and Micah’s.  It still had plenty of substance when he finished, though.  She also adds sausage, and rice is available as well.  Good stuff. 

 

Kel, Jachin, and Micah left after we ate to go play basketball at Bay Area First Baptist Church.  We stayed behind so Chris and Christina could do some serious planning toward our trip to Florida in May to watch Jachin play baseball in a homeschool national tournament.  They were looking for a house to rent for the week.  Apparently, the families all rent houses in the same neighborhood so the guys can hang out together in their down time.  I think they found one they both liked.  We’ll see if it is still available when the time comes to nail down the deposit. 

 

Jeremiah 29:11 says, “’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’”

 

Father, thank you for the enthusiasm of the folks at church Sunday.  Honor that in their lives, both at home and in the church.  Amen.