I have copied and pasted here some of the comments from my first blog attempt..
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Praise the Lord in ALL things
Have you ever had one of those days when no matter how hard you try you seem to always be behind? Today was one of those days. As a Bi-Vocational Pastor of a small church, every day kinda of starts off the same way. Hurry to get ready, hurry to get out the door. Get out to the truck and realize you left something inside and back in you go. I did that twice today. Having a funeral at 11am makes for a tight morning schedule. As I was preparing my morning ritual of running out the door to the truck, unlocking and getting things stored in the cab, I realized I had a thick layer of frost on the windshield. So I toss some items into the cab, place my Medic Bag on the tool box while I jump on the skid rail to scrape off the ice with my ID tag for work. Both sides have to be done so I run around to the passenger side and open the door, jumping on and off the skid rail like a mad man. I Look at my watch. If I hurry I can get to work barely on time. Off I go to make it to the office by 8am. Its now 7:40. Thank God it's spring break. So the traffic will be a little lighter. I Jump into the truck and take off for the office. I get there with no time to spare, it is now 8am. I get into my office and realize I have to take a new trainee to the Medical Center for A health Nurse appointment and then to the Police department to get his fingerprint card done. I decide we will go to the PD first, it is now 8:40. We get downtown and the time wears down as we get to see the desk Sgt. Praise the Lord he is not busy. We get the finger print cards done. It is now 9:15am. I advise my trainee that I have to leave the office by 10am to make to a funeral at 11am in another town. Now that we are finished at the PD we head toward the Medical Center. I get him into the building and up to the health nurse. Just as he goes in to see the nurse my insulin pump sounds off that it is empty. It is at that exact moment that I remember I left my medic bag on the tool box on the back of my truck. That's when the panic feeling strikes in. I forget about the trainee as he is big enough to take care of himself and I head out to the truck. All the while praying its still sitting on the tool box after that 25 mile trek around this morning. God if is trying to tell me to slow down. I get to the truck and the bag is not on the toolbox. I walk around and look into the bed of the truck. Nothing there. As I walk around I notice that the bag is wedged up under the tool box. God is good and all is right in the universe. Whew, that bag is very valuable and to have lost it would have been an expense I do not need. I go back upstairs and find my trainee is finished and looking for me. We walk out together and I share with him the story about the medic bag. We head back to my office. It is now 9:40. We get back to the office and I prepare to leave for the funeral. I get a phone call as I prepare to leave. Minor problem but still time consuming. I get to leave the office at 10:10. Still have to get to the church in time to warm up and prepare to play. I decide to go the interstate as it will be quicker and the traffic moves around pretty good. I merge onto the interstate. I-85 is at its usual quick pace. Time is now 10:20am. Only about 20 miles. I should make it. Traffic moving good. I get behind a slower vehicle and decide to pass it. I do with no problems. Two large 18 wheelers are at my 9 and 11 o'clock positions. A small car is ahead but is running slower in the middle lane. So I can't go to the left. Two trucks are there, I go right as we top the hill. That's when I see him. Trooper at my 1 o'clock. He See's me too. I look at my speed and see I am going about 10 miles over the limit. As I pass him he pulls out, gets into the far left lane. I figure he is going after the two trucks that were on my left side. Nope, he switches back behind me. I have already slowed down so I watch him as he pulls up and turns on blue lights. I pull over and I want to give him a large safety zone between him and the interstate so I pull well off the apron onto the grass along side the gully. He walks up behind the truck, felony style, stumbles through the debris in the gully and approaches the passenger side. I let down the window and give him the paperwork normally asked for in advance. He asked me if I knew what the speed limit was on this stretch of road was. I answered, 65 or 70. He asked was my speedometer working. I replied as far as I know. I bought the truck used and believe everything works properly. I advised him I was headed to a funeral and was to be there at 11am. He walks away after looking through my seats at my Bibles, Trumpet case and other items sitting on the seat. Time is now 10:35am. He returns advises me He is giving me a break and charging me with 9miles over the limit and not 10 as well as 2 points instead of 4 points. Tells me I can send in my $75.00 fine by Email or go to the courthouse and pay it there. Or wait till the day of the trial and settle it there. He warns me about the roadside condition and stumbles back across the ditch material to his cruiser. He was a very kind and professional Trooper. I can't argue or complain I was speeding and I understand the right of prosecution rule. I was the one he could stop the easiest so he picked my truck out of the crowd. No it is 10:42. I still have to get down the road. I did ask him which exit would be the closest to where I was going. He suggested one but with the point, I don't know much about the area. I head out and get to the exit with only 4 miles left. I am thinking about the morning, the stop, how to pay the fine and a thousand other things. I get to the church with 5 minutes to spare. As I get to the building doorway the funeral director meets me. Cutting it close, huh pastor. I shake his hand and agree. He gives me a program and advised me I was to play the trumpet after the processional. Nothing like knowing you are up first. I get inside with my trumpet and get the pastor to show me to a little room I can spend two minutes warming up in. I do so with a couple of extra minutes given as I realize my watch is 7 minutes fast. The funeral starts, the family files in. I realize after all my rushing around I did not get a sip of water. My mouth is as dry as sand. That's not a good thing for a brass instrument player. You need a little moisture to help the notes come out. The processional stops. It's my turn. I get up and start to play, Amazing Grace, How sweet the sound. I do two rounds of it and sit down. Worst I have ever played. The service goes on and we begin to leave the church. I get to speak to a couple of persons and head out to my truck. As I am sitting in the cab of it, still wondering how I am going to explain all of this and pay the $75.00 fine. I reach into my coat pocket and feel the program. I pull it out to find it is an envelope instead. I open it up and there is a check from the mortuary in the amount of $75.00. God has humbled me, slowed me down, and supplied my need. All at the same time. Praise the Lord in All things.
Posted by PastorT at 5:27 PM 0 comments
Monday, March 24, 2008
Late Night Thoughts
Sitting in my study trying to prepare for a funeral service for an members mother, Mary Ann Dobbins, an 84 year old, Sister, Mother, Grandmother, Great Grand Mother.The family requested I play Amazing Grace at the funeral on my trumpet. It's been a long time since I played the trumpet and honestly I am a little rusty. As I sit here and think about her life and family I realized that she is experiencing what John Newton was trying to elaborate on in his hymn. The Amazing Grace of God. She experienced the Mercy of God when she accepted Christ as her Savior and the penalty of sin was taken care of. For the Mercy of God is that we don't get what we deserve, as in the wages of sin which is death, but we receive the Grace of God in that we get better than we could ever have imagined. Today Mary Ann Dobbins is in the presence of Jesus Christ and has been reunited with those loved ones already there. Today she can really sing that song. Amazing Grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost but now am found was blind but now I see. The thought of what she is experiencing makes me a little envious of her.
Posted by PastorT at 11:24 PM 0 comments
Unleash 2008 Newspring CC
I attended the unleash conference at Newspring CC. This was my second year. To borrow from some of the younger pastors in attendance, It was off the Hook. Thanks to the Newspring Staff and the volunteers that appeared to be everywhere with anything you needed.If you are interested in the event check out their website at Newspring .CCI asked the executive assistant about getting the conference on the web so others who cannot make it could benefit from it. As I checked out the page I found they had in out and ready to play. Great response.More later this blogging thing is great.
Posted by PastorT at 11:13 PM 0 comments
You can teach an old Salt new tricks
blogging seems easy but is a challenge. Lets see how it comes out.
Posted by PastorT at 10:56 PM 0 comments
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