The Way

Who would have thought that people would gorge themselves on Thursday and then head to the malls (some of which opened at midnight around here) so they could shop for stuff that most of them did not need in the first place. I did my part to stimulate the economy with my $15 belt purchase last night at Old Navy. Yesterday was a good day with a 6-miler to the Y in Donelson where I met up with Sondra and Shelbi. Morgan had a basketball game at noon in Columbia (about an hours drive away) and they won. The girls came out from the start and played pretty well. Got up by as many as 12 I think and held on to win by 4. They play again this morning at 11 back down in Columbia so we will have to leave soon. My cousin, his wife and a friend are headed our way to spend the night tonight and then they are on to Gatlinburg for a few days. It will be good to see them. Sondra's mom has been here since Monday and seems to be getting caught up on some much needed rest. She seems to be handling thing...

Well . . . there are so many things to be thankful for that I am not even sure where to begin. It has been a year of great gains and two of the toughest losses we have ever experienced as a family. Mom was with us last Thanksgiving but was in very, very poor health. So thankful she was here but even more thankful that she is no longer suffering and is experiencing eternity with Christ. Sondra's dad passed in Sept. and is missed so much. What an incredible two lives lived by mom and Bernard. They are missed, but are reigning with Him already. How cool is that? It is good to have Sondra's mom with us and of course having Shelbi home is wonderful as well. Who would have thought that 18 years would have gone so quickly and Shelbi would be in college and home only every few weeks. I know that is what we prepare them for but it comes way too quickly. We are looking forward to our friends, Mitch, Christy, and Graham Fuller to come over soon for Thanksgiving lunch and of course, we are...

This has been a whirlwind week. Started out on Monday in Orlando, FL meeting with some of the finest student ministers in FL. They were working on a mentoring manual where they would take it and use it in helping younger ministers in ministry. Tuesday morning was a good run in Orlando and then a flight home with about 70 kids and 30 adults. I did manage to get upgraded and the kid behind me kicked my seat for about 30 minutes before his parents realized what was going on. Nice kid and nice parents but I was a little weary of the constant kicking. Tuesday night the Lady Wildcats kicked off the season against Harpeth Hall and lost both the jv and varsity games but looked fairly good for the first game of the season. HH is pretty good and one of the tougher teams we will play all year. Youth Specialties is going on here in Nashville this weekend and so my time is pretty much consumed by that. Did a podcast yesterday morning for BSFL and today do one for our KNOWN curriculum. Those are alw...

I find myself on the road again this morning headed to Orlando to meet with a group of Florida youth ministers who are trying to get at ministry in a way that is pretty Kingdom-focused which is very refreshing.Update: good meeting with the guys today. I really love what they are trying to accomplish. You will be hearing more from these FL guys for sure. I helped teach a class at New Orleans Seminary Thursday – Saturday with one of my former bosses and a very good friend, Clyde Hall. Clyde is one of those guys who has impacted youth ministry for the last thirty to forty years. It was good to be with him and the class went well. Ate some pretty good seafood as well and then visited Port of Call, which is an establishment known for their burgers and baked potatoes. It was pretty good but I guess the Monsoon drink they do is really what they are most known for. I am not a drinker but that was not the case for the majority of the folks there. Evidently money and drinking go hand in hand. Th...

How did it get to be Weds. already? I got back from MO/KS Sun. night and then got up Mon. am and drove to Jackson to spend the day with Shelbi. good times. We really did not do a whole lot but it was sure fun to hang out together. We did catch some coffee/hot chocolate and scones and muffins at Starbuck's and then she headed to class. I made my way to the campus coffee house to work on some class stuff for New Orleans this weekend. I sure felt a lot older around all those college students. We got Shelbi's skype stuff and webcam hooked up and then headed to Logan's for a good meal. We talked and laughed and just pretty much enjoyed one another's company. It was a great time. I left about 430 or 500 after getting a chance to meet Brett who is a young man Shelbi has been spending some time with. Nice guy and it was pretty obvious that I did not need to get my gun out. The pic is of Shel and me right before I was getting ready to leave. We both wore striped shirts. Weird. T...

It has been a great time in Kansas and Missouri this weekend. I headed to KC on Weds and visited with Mark Scribner and the gang at West Haven in Tonganoxie and then on Thursday met with Joe Nelson from Northland. These two guys are doing a great job of ministry and I am priviledged to get to know them better and hear about what is happening in ministry. Had a great conference with the folks in Kansas out in Salina. I led three conferences on student development and just thoroughly enjoyed meeting new folks and renewing old friendships. It was good to see one of my profs from Seminary, Wes Black and then a good friend in ministry, Richard Ross. Terry McIllvain is the state youth guy in KS/NB and it is always good to be around him. I am sitting at MCI ready to board good old Southwest and looking forward to being home. Tomorrow I am driving over to Jackson to see Shelbi and to do some work. It has been about a month since I saw Shelbi and am really looking forward to being with her. The...

Congratulations to the Democrats for soundly trumping a less than stellar Republican candidate and for hopefully waking up the Republican Party which has been pretty much on "checked our brains at the door" status for a few years. I did not vote for Obama (check that Bronwyn, - I did not vote for Obama) but will do all that I can to support him. His ideology is definitely different than mine, but I respect the office and will respect him in that office. Does not mean I have to agree with him and his policies but I will pray for him and his administration. I think it is great that an African-American has been voted as President as well. And . . . his two daughters are just precious looking. The Republican Party has hopefully learned from the past few years of trying to be Democrats that it does not work. Be Republican through and through while you are in office and in charge or end up where we are now. On the outside looking in. I am thankful that my hope and trust has not eve...