The Way

Last night we attended the McGavock Choral fall show at McGavock High School here in Nashville. One of my best buds in the whole world, Mitch Fuller, is the choral director there and he leads the students to do two shows a year. Last night's show was really refreshing. They sang a bunch of old 70s tunes plus some more current stuff. Mitch has them signing, dancing, running and jumping all over the place. He is very good at getting the best out of kids he works with. I was entertained and blessed. He always does a gospel run in the middle somewhere and last night's was no exception. Mom seems to deteriorate more and more each day. She told my dad again today that she is so very tired. She has rallied some before, but it really does seem that we are entering her "home going" stretch. To be honest, I am very sad about mom's condition, but am ready for her to go on as she sees fit to do so. She does not seem to be in much pain, but is so very tired. I fly up Sat. afte...

Sometimes I envy the snail and the turtle. They both seem to go at it pretty consistently, albeit, slowly. Heading into the Christmas season, I am really going to try and adopt this slow and steady mantra. There are about a hundred things I can fill my calendar up with, but I am choosing to not do that. Some things I am going to do - enjoy my family rest a little encourage people read contact some people I have not talked to lately spend as much time with my mom as I can be thankful The list could be much longer, but I am not filling up my list either. Mom seems to be slowly deteriorating in some key areas. She is really struggling right now with the whole thinking process. Many things just do not compute for her. She is sleeping much more, but continues to eat decently. Please pray for my dad, Charles. He is beginning to really feel the strain of mom's process of dying. He is so good with her. It is really amazing to see him care for my mom. On another note, our jv team won last n...

Not since 1960, has Missouri been ranked #1 in football. It may only last this week, although I think they have a good chance of beating OU in the Big 12 Championship on Sat. What I do not get is all the whining going on around Division 1 football. LSU lost twice and coulda/shoulda lost a couple of other times. Ohio State has the luxury of not having to play any more football until a bowl since there is not championship game in the Big 10. West Virginia could go down to Pitt. Mizzou beat a pretty good KU football team. The best sign at The Border War this past Sat. said, "KU football: A tradition since September". I am glad it is some different teams at the top. I am thankful Notre Dame is still out is Siberia somewhere. And . . . I am enjoying Mizzou being on top even if it is short-lived. It's been before I was born since they have done very well and I am an old guy. Stop whining and relish the fact that the Denver Broncos lost a heart-breaker. You do not hear me whinin...

We are getting some much needed rain today. We are still way behind for the year, but the new grass we planted about 6 weeks ago is liking it alot. I only wish I had gotten the leaves raked up yesterday but I was lazy and did not do it. Church and Sunday school were alot of fun today and we headed out to lunch with some friends at Sakura. Japanese food is always good. It was fun to watch the last half of the MU-KU game last night and was even better to see Mizzou win. And . . . today they are rated #1 in the AP poll and I am not sure the BCS rankings are out yet. The MU-OU game should be good for the Big 12 championship. And UT squeaked by UK yesterday in 4OTs. That game was nuts. Talked to dad today and he sounded pretty good. Said mom was doing fair and is sleeping quite a bit. Seems to be her m.o. right now. Thanks for praying for my mom and dad.

Yesterday we drove to Columbia for a noon basketball game against Hickman Co. and won by 20. Then we headed home, put on some warm clothes and rode with some friends to Jamestown for a state quarterfinal football game against York. We won 34-12 and really enjoyed the game. Got home around 1a this morning and slept a little while and then sort of took it easy most of the day. Drove back to Columbia for a 630p girls' basketball game against Wayne Co. and we lost by 9. we started out pretty slow but played pretty good the last three quarters. Looking forward to being at church tomorrow. Looks like it could be a busy week coming up with basketball games on Tues and then our football team plays Fri. night in Alcoa in a semi-final match up. Alcoa is the two time defending state champion. They are pretty good to say the least. Mom was doing pretty well this morning when I talked to her on the phone. It is up and down big time right now. It was good to be with mom and dad this week. I will...

We enjoyed Thanksgiving with my parents and brother and sister-in-law, climbed in the car about 245p and made it home about 1a this morning. Mom did not have a very good afternoon and we all had a good cry, good meal, and more crying as we said our goodbyes. I am so thankful we had the time to be together. Thanks so much for praying for my mom and dad.

Sondra and the girls made it to KC late Tues night and we were waiting up for them. Mom had a pretty good day on Tues. She sat up in the chair some and watched some a little of her dvd movies she has. All in all Tues. was pretty good and fairly quiet. This morning we woke up to 30s and rainy and some prediction of a little snow. Not expecting accumulation but mom said a few weeks ago that she would be here to see the first snow. She has surprised all of us including her nurses. She usually is fairly clear in the mornings and carries on pretty good conversations but by early afternoon she is pretty tired and may say just about anything. She maintains a great sense of humor and really brightened up when the girls came in last night. I did too. With travel for work and coming to KC to help with mom I have missed being around Sondra and the girls. I know they understand and want me to be with mom and dad as much as I can, but it is hard on all of us. Here is hoping and praying that you hav...

A quick update from yesterday . . . hopped a plane in Nashville and was a little late leaving due to fog but got to KC in time for dad to pick me up and drop me off to stay with mom while he went on to preach at church. Mom is doing pretty well today. She did not sleep too well last night but that may be because she slept most of the day yesterday. She has eaten pretty well and sat up most of the day. The hospice nurse came in and checked her vitals and they were all pretty good. The nurse told me she was pretty surprised that mom was still here and doing fairly well. Dad is tired but pretty good. It seems to ease his mind some when either James or I am here. He is such a remarkable man in taking care of mom. Mom and I had a little incident today where she was convinced that I was lost and that she had lost me. It was pretty scary for her but only lasted about 10 minutes and then she realized that I was okay (and not a little kid), but I told her that I would have been upset if she tho...

This was one of those trips this week that I kept seeing seemingly famous people. It does not happen much, but I loaded up this trip. I am not one that gets star struck. They are really just people who have to put their pants on one leg at a time. All that to say . . . I respect all people and do not get enamored by much of anyone. When I met Billy Graham a few years ago and talked with him, I was pretty much awe stricken because I just really respect and admire him. On this trip however, I saw Lyle Lovett on Weds. in the OKC airport, sat next to Barry Switzer on the regional jet from OKC to DFW, and then met Toby Keith and most of his band in Dallas and Nashville. All of them were very nice and each of them initiated a conversation. Nice to know that some people who get in the spotlight are actually pretty nice. Mom is doing fairly well. It is really surprising the way she has been the last few days. I am thankful. I head up tomorrow morning and Sondra and the girls come that way on ...

I am still in OK today and head home tomorrow. I am spending some really good time with the youth ministry folks in OK and leading some conferences as well. I enjoy these folks. They are good people. Mom seems to be doing some rallying right now and there is no rhyme or reason other than she is a pretty determined lady. I am thankful that she is doing a little better and do know that all of this is temporary but we take the good days as we get them. My dad is still the coolest guy I know and my hero. He always has been but is proving himself more and more to be the guy I always thought he was. Thanks so much for praying for my parents. I am grateful to each of you.

I traveled to Oklahoma today to be involved in a youth ministry meeting that begins in the morning and runs through Saturday. A cold front pushed through this afternoon and the wind is blowing. It is Oklahoma though so I guess the wind is no surprise. I talked to my cousin this morning who sat with mom today and mom seems to be doing fairly okay right now. Dad had gone out to get his haircut and pick up some lunch and generally just get out of the house for a couple of hours. I am so thankful for my cousin Barb sitting with my mom and giving dad a little break. My brother usually sits with mom on Weds. evenings so dad can go speak at the church. I am assuming the same will happen tonight. I am planning on going to MO early Sun. morning. It will be almost two weeks since I have been there. Self-imposed guilt for not getting there this week but with work travel and needing to just be at home a little with my own family is my excuse. Our oldest was accepted to Union University in Jackson,...

Mom seems to be sort of holding her own the last couple of days. She did not sleep well last night but seems to have had a decent day. Dad sounded a little tired but I do think he got some rest today while mom was resting. My cousin, Barb, is coming down tomorrow to help out. She is a RN and is a great help for mom. Our girls' basketball season started tonight and they lost both jv and varsity by 4. Varsity took it to overtime and gave it a good shot, but came up short. Our outside shooting was pretty bad and that may be saying it kindly. We are going to have to get some outside shots to fall. I had a DCA board meeting during/after the game and the folks on that team are just good folks. The work we do is all volunteer and each one works hard. It is an honor to serve alongside of them. I head to Oklahoma City tomorrow for a series of conferences and get to meet up with an old college buddy who works for OU now. It is always good to see him and his family. It will be a busy few days...

I talked to my dad this morning and mom seems to be holding her own right now. He stepped to the back bedroom this morning and when he came back around, mom had gotten out of her hospital bed and made her way to the couch. It is probably 6-8 feet, but she has done little to no mobility on her own for quite some time. Dad reminded her that it would be best if she let him know BEFORE she decided to do that again. She is getting a little more confused on names as well, calling my dad, Gene, which is my mom's brother who passed away 20 years ago. I seem to think that mom is trying to hold on until Thanksgiving, but what do I know. About the time you rule her out, she goes on a little jaunt on her own. Thanks so much for praying for my parents. I am so grateful to each of you. Our girls' basketball season begins tomorrow night. Glad it is here and then it will end all too soon with this being Shelbi's senior year. Just going to enjoy every minute of it.

The class at NOBTS finished very well yesterday and I headed to Deanie's for a shrimp po-boy for lunch and then drove through the Quarter and then headed to the airport. Ran into a friend of mine who is the preaching prof at NOBTS and enjoyed catching up with him. Made it home on time and headed to some friends house for home made pizza. They do a good job. We tried to watch some football but never really got to interested. KU-OSU were on and KU is really a pretty good team. Florida and South Carolina were playing and I really can't stand FL and do not care for Spurrier at all so was not interested in that game. I was pulling for FL to lose but that did not happen. I am looking forward to being around home today after church. First Sunday at home in a long time it seems. Mom seems to be sleeping much more and generally deteriorating. I am going to try and get back up there late next weekend I guess. I am out of town this week on business and the girls have a couple of ballgames...

Mom is doing okay to day. She is sleeping much more and does not initiate conversation much, but she is not hurting which is good. Hospice says that her heart is pretty strong but the rest of her is waning. They suggested that probably within the next couple of weeks, she very well could be going home. Heaven, that is. Dad is doing okay as well. The reality is setting in that we are closer than ever every day and it is sad but he is pretty strong too. Thanks so much for praying for them. The class at NOBTS is going well. I have been up a bunch today. Seems like most of the day. I have one more session and I am finished for the day which will be good. It is a good class and the students are hanging in well. Pray for Austin Nicks who is a junior in high school and a friend of our family. He is in the hospital going through all the pokes and prods trying to figure out what is going on. Pretty cool kid having a tough time right now.

After a couple of down days, Mom is doing some better today. I talked to her and my dad for a few minutes and she seemed pretty clear and focused, just really tired. Dad sounded pretty good as well. I am in New Orleans for a couple of days teaching a class at NOBTS with a couple of buddies. We have 24 in the class. It should be a lot of fun. Parts of the city are still a real mess though. Still pretty depressing in some ways but the spirit on campus is very good. It is a short report today because I have much to do in a short amount of time before the class starts.

Mom seems to be headed downhill pretty rapidly the last three days. I talked to her briefly today and she was pretty out of it. She is sleeping quite a bit, eating less every day and generally is declining more rapidly. I talked to dad for a few minutes and he was trying to put a good face forward but he finally admitted that she is not doing well. I am thankful to my cousin, Barb, who is a RN who came and sat with mom today for about 4 hours. Dad did a funeral of one of his older church members and it gave him the opportunity to do some other stuff today as well. He is going to be at church tonight and my brother is going to spend the night of which I am thankful for as well. Thanks for your prayers. Pray for peace and no pain for my mom.

It was meeting day at LifeWay so that made for a long day but a productive one. Our team really does a good job of getting to the point, making decisions and then moving on. I finally got my luggage from the airport late this afternoon. American evidently left it on the belt late last night, it was picked up by the airport police and checked out. Thankfully they did not blow it up thinking there may be explosives in it. I got it from the airport authority and then went down to the AA baggage area and told them what happened. The agent seemed to be shocked and genuinely sorry that they did not keep up with my bag. All my stuff was still in it so no worse for the wear. Cold has hit middle Tennessee with lows in the high 20s tonight. I did a 12-miler this morning and it was cold and breezy. It was good to run with my buddies today and not be running by myself. Mom has had a pretty poor day today and has had two poor days in a row. It really is not a very good time for her right now. More ...

It was an interesting trip home today. Not the usual straight shot from MCI to BNA on Southwest but routed through Chicago on American. Lots of Cheeseheads in the Kansas City airport who were headed home to Wisconsin after beating the Chiefs on Sunday. And . . . once in Chicago, AA told us all kinds of reasons why they could not get us out to Nashville on time. They did finally get us on a plane and home only an hour late, and my luggage did not make it. Who knows why. They had an extra hour to lose it I guess. Got home in time for a major storm to blow through with tornadoes in the area and lots of lightning, wind and hail. We need the rain but not the blown down trees. When we were flying in you could see the front coming in. Pretty wicked. I left mom doing fair this morning. I tried to get a bunch of stuff done around the house before I left like vacuuming, laundry, dusting, changing sheets, etc. Dad will try to do all that stuff when he should be resting. Thanks for praying for mo...

I stayed with mom today during church. I was scheduled to preach for my dad but since he missed last week, he decided to preach. Gave me some good time with my mom. We watched Adrian Rogers together and mom commented that he did a great job for a guy who has been dead awhile. Pretty funny girl. Adrian did preach a good sermon though. Mom has had a good day today. Had some company come to see here one of them being a cousin and her husband that mom had not seen in quite awhile. People come to comfort mom and she ends up comforting them. Pretty amazing lady. I am looking foward to being home tomorrow. It is good to see my folks but I miss my wife and Shelbi and Morgan. Thanks for praying for my mom and dad.

I made my way back across Kansas today after a good conference in Salina. Terry McIllvain is the state youth associate out there and a great friend. He is a solid, encouraging guy and does a great job in the Kansas/Nebraska State Convention. I traveled back I70 today and got into the KU traffic coming out of Lawrence. They were one excited bunch of folks after thumping Nebraska 76-39 or something ridiculous like that. Lots of Jayhawks on the road. I am glad to be back in cell phone service but miss the wireless internet. Dial up is a tad bit slow. Mom is fair today. She slept really poorly last night and has been up most of the day and is really tired tonight. Dad is tired also since he was up with mom most of the night. Glad I am here to help out tonight. Looking forward to an extra hour of sleep tonight but not looking forward to it being dark at 5p each night. Thanks for praying for my mom and dad. Pray especially for rest for both of them.

I am in Salina, KS tonight where there is no Verizon phone service, but I have wireless internet. It is a weird world we live in. Had a good drive over from MO this afternoon after spending a good morning with my mom and dad. Mom was pretty clear this morning after a pretty good night's rest. Hospice was coming out today for their normal trip and mom always gets sort of geared up for them. I am here tonight and part of tomorrow and then head back to be at my mom and dad's until Monday morning. Thanks for praying for mom. She seems to be doing okay for now.

I have a conference on Fri/Sat in Salina, KS so I flew back up to KC today to give my dad a little bit of a break. Mom has done pretty well after a really rough Monday, but this afternoon seems to be fading again. She is just so very tired and weak. Having the hospital bed helps alot and looks like we will have to make some other decisions within a day or so about taking care of bodily functions. I know it must be very hard on my mom. She is just so incredibly sweet and easy to care for, but there are some things that need to be done. I so much appreciate you praying for mom and dad. I am thankful I am getting to spend some time here. On another note, I started my 16th year at LifeWay today. Hard to believe they would let me hang around that long. I will do my best to keep you updated but it will be Sat. at the earliest for the next update.