I Like "The Grind"!

Summer is over.  Fall is just around the corner and I hear people talking about the grind. They talk about it like it is a bad thing - but I like the grind.  In my rear view mirror is summer.  My summer was filled with travel.  I live in central VA so a trip to Alabama at the end of June and a trip to Boston and Maine the first of August required some vacation time.  Sprinkle in a few trips to PA (for family) and a day at the beach (VA beach) and summer was no kind of grind.  It really was a few thousand miles of driving to see stuff.  That was cool, but I like the grind.  When I look out my winshield, I see Thanksgiving and Christmas coming.  That is a time for some schedules to be disrupted and a time to spend a lot of money.  So I like the grind.  What's so wrong with some "regular office hours" and some time on the golf course, hunting or going to kids games?  I kind of like "the grind".  In fact I am really looking forward to the grind.

Boston

This week is a vacation / work week.  I am in Boston, MA for a wedding on Saturday, but thought I would come early and spend a little time checking out the great northeast and the history of Boston.  - traveling a little in the northeast US.  Yesterday we drove into Boston and walked around the "Back Bay" area.  We found a great local place for lunch and experienced some local flavor.  After lunch we went to the "Top of the Hub" which is an observation deck at the 50th floor of the Prudential Tower in Boston, MA. The view from the "Top of the Hub" was amazing.  We discovered several things we wanted to "see" and we headed down to the street level.  I was amazed how different the view was "on the ground".  From "The Hub" it was easy to see everything we wanted to see, but on the ground we had to get our bearings again.  But then we were able to see the great Fenway Park.  The Boston Red Sox had a game so there was some great energy in the place.  Well, anyway I have collected about four good sermon illustrations and had a great time watching the many people of Boston. 

Get ready...Get set...Go!

A long time ago a friend asked me if I would be willing to perform their wedding ceremony in Boston, MA.  I said yes - like right away. I have never been to Boston, but I thought this would be a really neat excuse for going.  My wife who gets really stoked about history was very excited.  Well the time for the trip is just around the corner.   We have made some preparations for this trip.  Hotel rooms had to be booked.  Travel routes selected.  There is a little excitement about this trip.  But on the day we actually get in the car and start driving, my wife will not be so excited.  She doesn't like to ride in a car.  I checked into flying.  It was real cheap.  The car rental for a week was real expensive.  We will be driving our own car.  She will be bored so she will sleep.  We will tell people we enjoyed getting away and spending time together.  I wonder what that means. 

Catching Up...

At the end of June I went to spend some time with my grandkids. (I also spent time with my daughter and son-in law). I came home and renovated my office and then I left for a two day annual conference. Now I am catching up. For three weeks I was not in my "office". I was not at my phone but no one could tell. My office phone is forwarded to my cell phone. I have a Blackberry so I get my emails instantly (as long as the server is working). I have the Facebook app on my Blackberry so all my Facebook messages where instantly relayed. My cell phone was buzzing away, but I was three states away with grandkids or I was in meetings from 7:30 am to 10 pm. While I was with my grandkids I really had no interest in "staying in touch" with the work. While I was in the meetings, I could not return the texts, emails, facebook messages or phone calls. Of course the meetings I attended generated more opportunities for more contacts and more meetings. So I am "way behind". But in our modern world that's just the way it is. The creation account in Genesis talks about God taking a rest. According to the account, God completed the creation of the world and then He rested. When He was done resting He did not have to catch up on anything. Not one thing. No emails, phone calls or texts to return. No contacts to follow up on. No paper work to process. No leftover bills to pay. No mail to respond to. Nothing!! He just started the next day all fresh with nothing on the "to do list" highlighted in red because it was past due. If I waited to have everything "completed" before I took a rest I would never take a rest! I see some more "catching up" in my future. I have some out of town meetings in the next two weeks, and I am taking a trip to MA. When I get back I will work on "catching up". I will never get "caught up". I have accepted the fact that I will always be behind...I guess that is why I was never any good at track.

A Good Interruption

My parents tried to teach me to not interrupt other people when they were talking. They were very successful in teaching me I don’t think they were successful in training me. I know you are not supposed to interrupt, but I don’t always apply what I know. Now I am an adult and wonder if some adults were ever taught that lesson. I really wonder why people get so bugged when kids interrupt, but not so bugged when adults interrupt. I have to admit I prefer the kids’ interruptions. They are usually more spirited. I even hear people complain about how poor our manners are when it comes to cell phones. Well yesterday I was having a conversation with my wife. My cell phone vibrated and I let the person calling me interrupt the conversation I was having with my wife. I mean my wife was interrupted mid sentence. I was not bothered one bit by the interruption. I did not ask my wife permission, I did not say, excuse me but I have to take this call. I just quit listening to my wife and started talking to the person who called. Do you think that was a problem? Absolutely not. I was not bothered by it and my wife was not bothered by it. It was not a scheduled call. It came just as I was finishing lunch with my wife. The call was a complete interruption. It even kept me from my first afternoon appointment and I loved it!!! You see it was my granddaughter who called me. My wife wanted me to take the call. She sat and listened with me to every exciting detail of life; told as only a five year old granddaughter can tell it. It was the best interruption I have had in a while. You know I wonder how many times God would interrupt my day with some very exciting details of life if I would just acknowledge He called?

Eye Glasses

I recently got new eye glasses. Never had them before. Funny thing but I really thought when I got glasses I would be able to see better. I actually could see better without them. Everybody I talk to that wears glasses has told me it will take a while to get used to them. That is just like life. It takes a while to get used to most new things. I like to think I am one of these modern kind of people that adjusts to change quickly and even lives for the adventure change brings. But my attitude toward a new thing like eye glasses has shown me that I am just like a lot of other people. Change is hard. I really complained about the glasses. I blamed the eye doctor and I criticized the place that gave me the eye exam. I think that is real ironic.
I am a pastor and I would be offended if people blame me for changes the church needs to make in order to see things a little clearer. I am offended when they critize the church for the changes that God requires.
So I am getting used to wearing glasses and I am learning about being less critical of people who are trying to help me see things as they really are and I hope I am learing about being less critical of the people who are trying to help me see my world a little clearer.

Snow Days

In Lynchburg, VA we have been hammered with snow. Now I know that people who get a lot of snow might not think of our 32 inch season total as a lot of snow, but in Lynchburg, VA trust me that is a lot of snow. Some students have missed nine days of school. One of my Facebook friends posted something about snow days not being as fun as they used to be. I thought that was a great observation. I don't remember my parents running to the grocery store to purchase bread and milk whenever we heard about a snow storm coming, but I also don't remember thinking about the cost of a snow storm as it relates to lost work, adjusted schedules, child care, etc. When I was in school a snow day was an unplanned day off. We didn't have to walk 5 miles up a hill both ways in sub-zero temperature through a foot of snow. Nope! Not at all! We saw six inches on the ground and school was canceled. When I was a kid that meant a day to grab a sled and enjoy the day off. It meant we could go outside and play and get so cold your pants would freeze stiff and your toes would go numb. But it also meant a cup of hot chocolate when you came inside.
But now snow days are different . Now when the snow day is announced plan B goes into action. Kids have to be cared for, dinners have to be made, work still happens.
I guess snow days remind us that as we grow older we assume some responsibilities that require us to work while others play and we still have to pay attention to things others take for granted. But a snow day should at some level grant us permission to step away from the routine and reconnect with some other things that are really important: relationships with family and friends.
So I don't know if it is snowing where you are but how about you take a snow day. Exchange the routine of schedules and deadlines for the freedom of enjoying a cup of coffee with a family member or a friend.