Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

April 29, 2010 – Thursday: Vacation day at last…I think. Alarm clock went off and she does not know I am on vacation. It is a normal day for her except I stayed home and did not leave which always messes up her routine…haha. On Wednesday I went to a ladies home and anointed her with oil and prayed for her to be healed…well the reason I went was because her neighbor is a friend and they are getting ready to move to Florida. Well they are downsizing and had a nice electronic piano, looked brand new, so I offered to buy it…and they accepted. Anyway went over this afternoon and paid for it and several other items…not sure why. But now I will have to start taking piano lessons…can you say :”teach an old dog new tricks”? After returning I power washed my deck and cleaned up all the furniture getting it ready for some activity as the weather is getting better each day. Cooked some BBQ chicken on the grill and added some shaved ham and a pineapple ring to mine and thought I was in Hawaii, having Hawaiian chicken on a bun…it turned out to be good. Rest of the evening I relaxed and watched the movie Apocalypse from the Bible Collection. It is about Jesus’ revelation given to the Apostle John. It was very good. Our Pastor is preaching from the book of Revelation for several more weeks and this movie played along the same lines as he is teaching from. I would recommend it to you. Now we are awaiting on the grandbabies to arrive as we will be starting out early tomorrow morning for our trip to New York, NY…it’s her 16th birthday and we are going to “do the town”. Should be fun…so, for the next couple of days will be out of range of the computer so the blog will have to await my return. See everyone then!

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

April 28, 2010 – Wednesday: Back to normal with my little alarm clock. I guess she is happy. Went to the office this morning to help a lady with benevolence and then had a couple with marital problems right after that meeting. Had some time with them and God showed up in a big way and some relief came into this relationship. Will have several more meetings with them but communication seemed to be the real key. Pastor Paul was seeing a man also with marriage difficulties and they wanted me to sit in on some of the discussion. Afterwards Paul and I went to visit a lady who is suffering from cancer and needs an operation this Friday. Her neighbor, who comes to our church, volunteered me to come and anoint her with oil and pray the prayer of faith over her. So, Paul and I went and had a good meeting with the family before we prayed. I traveled back home and picked up my lovely wife so we could return to church and teach our Wednesday evening class. Had dinner on the way and the class went great. Arrived back home near 9. I was supposed to be on vacation today…guess I will have to take it another time…PTL.

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

April 27, 2010 – Tuesday: This morning I was up before my alarm clock which threw her clock completely out of wack…but, she had to go outside and do her thing anyway. I was up early because I was going to meet a young man whom I am mentoring. We met close to his job site for about an hour before he started to work. The Lord led me to tell him some of my personal testimony on how I was first called into the ministry and then years later experienced the sending. He is starting to feel the call so it was a beneficial meeting. I then went on to the office and got settled in for my appointment at 10. This lady is suffering from several diseases and her husband has left her. I have been meeting with her several weeks and today I told her she needed to get out and get back into the work force. I offered for her to some into the office for a few hours every day next week and help me with some purging of files and doing some filing, just to get her used to getting out of the house. After this meeting we had our monthly all staff meeting and heard about the finances of the church from the Executive Pastor. Things are actually not so bad but summer is coming and when the people go on vacation the tithes and offerings go down so we need to preserve cash…so, we still need to be very careful which is not a bad thing. I couldn’t stay for the afternoon Leadership Team meeting as I needed to take Jeanette to the doctor to have her legs checked as they were really hurting. We are going to New York this weekend with our grandbabies and it will be a lot of walking. We pray she will be able to make it as I know she and the girls are very excited about the trip. After the doctor’s visit we headed to a Gideon banquet but on the way received two phone calls about two couples having marital difficulties and it seemed to come to a head just as we were entering the banquet. Prayed with them on the phone and they agreed to wait until the next day so I could try to meet with them face to face. The banquet was very uplifting and lifted my spirits. On the way home got a call from the young man I mentor – he and his wife were at the hospital as their little girl of one year had a seizure and almost died…she was ok now and stable in the hospital. I had some prayer with him and his wife before arriving home to drop off Jeanette. Looking forward to getting some sleep before the next day starts, which I am scheduled for a vacation day but do need to minister to those families and that will take up most of the day…oh ya, almost forgot – got a text message from a family who wanted me to come tomorrow and pray for their neighbor who is dying of cancer. She is a young mom with three small kids so this lady and her husband said her pastor (me) would be glad to come and pray for her and anoint her with oil…and I will, day of vacation or not…be glad too and will expect God to minister to this young family…PTL!! Another busy day with the Lord…

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

April 26, 2010 – Monday: Today I took a day of vacation. Had a few things I needed to address early today at the office (did it via phone) and then got my haircut. On the way home I stopped at Homedepot and picked up some filters for the furnace as it has been several months, more than I want to count since the last change. Started cleaning out my garage and got ready for a garage sale coming up soon. I am starting to downsize…really going to make my life simple. Had a relaxing afternoon. I am suffering from “dry skin” on my finger tips…someone suggested I get some gloves and put them on with the hand lotion and leave them on for at least 2 hours…did that and it helped during the night but now Tuesday morning is here and the dryness has returned…imagine that. I might have to go to the doctor soon.

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

April 25, 2010 – Sunday: This morning when I woke I said to Jeanette that she was late for work as I thought it was Monday…I was really tired the night before and slept very hard, if you know what I mean. Of course she didn’t have to go to work – I did, it was Sunday and I was the one who needed to go to work…so, that is how my day got started. My little alarm clock was up by then and of course needed to go outside and take care of business. That’s how my day started and from then on I was pretty busy. When I got to church I had to set up for my last class on the truth project and also set up for my marriage class as I was going to train some new mentors to help with my pre- marriage ministry. I attended the first service and had a chance to pray with a lady whose husband, after going on a mission trip, told her he had lost interest in her. She was of course devastated and I told her I would meet with her and her husband as soon as possible so I am now waiting for a call. Something happened to him and the devil is wrecking havoc in his life and trying to ruin his marriage. Went to my truth project class and got it started then moved next door and taught the baby dedication class for couples getting their babies dedicated on Mother’s Day. It looks like we will be having 20 or more families with at least two sets of twins. It should be a very interesting day and this is one of the better things I get to do in the ministry. After this slipped back into my truth project class just in time to close out the dvd and have some discussion with the class. Soon after this class ended I started with the training of 7 couples who will be helping me in the pre-marital ministry of which I am very happy to have them on board. This class ended at 3 then I headed home to rest for a couple of hours. My daughter came by to say hello and we spent some time with her before leaving for our small group meeting. Our small group all went to the GUSH fellowship at church for our time of fellowship. We had our bible study at the beginning of our small group time and pushed the fellowship to the end. Got home around 8:30 after stopping and picking up some milk at the store…wow…that seemed like a busy day, hope I don’t have too many of those in the future. As I write this blog entry it has begun storming and rain has started coming down…I like sleeping when it is raining, seems peaceful. Looking forward to a good nights sleep.

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

April 24, 2010 – Saturday: Relaxing start to the day, at least for my alarm clock as she was wide awake at her normal hour and wanted to be taken out. So, up I came and did my daily chores to make her happy. Then had some coffee while sitting on my deck and reviewed my message for the funeral today. Around 10 started getting ready as I needed to be at the church for an appointment with a lady who is struggling with her faith in the Catholic Church verses her new knowledge of Jesus. One of her friends invited her to church last Sunday and the Holy Spirit was very direct and quick with her but she was afraid to respond. Short story she called my office and needed to speak to someone about what was going on inside of her. Of course God directed her to me so I shared about his love on the phone and I do believe she was ready to commit right then but her husband came home and she became afraid of what he would say or do so she hung up rather quickly…she did call back but would not make the commitment right then. So, she agreed to come in Saturday and meet me…again her husband entered into the equation and she backed away…BTW, he knows nothing of what’s going on or that she even visited our church…she is just scared. Satan has her and he does not want to let go…but he has already lost and she will commit to becoming a follower of Christ. So, she called and said she couldn’t come but I got her email and will send her something for her to study and read. Now back to the funeral…it was a good thing we changed it to the main worship center…at least 400 if not more showed for the service. It flowed very well and the Special Olympians showed how much they loved the deceased by bringing their medals to the front and placing them on the table beside his remains. This was a very moving time in the service as about 50 came forward. Overall the service was very good and the reception was well attended by over 250. Many of the Special Olympians came to me during the reception and told me how much they appreciated how well I spoke of their friend and they all loved the service. That meant a lot as I know it came directly from their heart. Several told me they were going to start back to church because of the message and some said they wanted me to come and visit their church. It was very touching. I must say God brought many of our volunteers out to help with ushering and with serving. Several stayed to help with clean up and Lynn and Nancy were wonderful!! I really don’t know how we could have pulled this off without the tireless efforts of these two…this is two weekends in a row we have had a funeral. Then two members of our church had invited Jeanette and I out to a Blue Collar Comedy show. We went and had a wonderful time…never laughed so hard…I really needed the release and once home…wow I crashed hard a be woken to the tune of my alarm clock shaking herself and her tags rattling…indicating she was up and it was now time for me to get out of bed and start my Sunday…

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

April 23, 2010 – Friday: This is my normal day off, today and Saturday. It was a beautiful morning and my alarm clock went off, as usual, at the normal time so I was up early. Today Jeanette is driving my car to work so I can get the oil changed in hers. Had an appointment for 8:15 and I took my little doggy with me so she could get in some different smells…I also met a lady who was getting her oil changed who works for Orbital. She said they are hiring and have just posted several pages of jobs. Got her contact info and invited her to church. After making a stop at the post office I headed back home so finish the preparations for the funeral message. After lunch I went to the office to get a notebook that my admin was finishing for the marriage class I am teaching this coming Sunday. Took care of a few things while waiting and then headed home. Had a nice dinner with my wife, relaxed some, watched some TV and went to bed for a nice relaxing sleep. I have been feeling a little run down lately, little sluggish so I need the rest. I am looking forward to next weekend when Jeanette and I will be taking our grandbabies to New York City to celebrate Kelsey’s 16th birthday.

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

April 22, 2010 – Thursday: Again today….I am on vacation or at least I am suppose to be. My alarm clock went off a little later this morning…maybe she was afraid to wake me as she dreamed all night of the “beauty parlor” experience. Early in the morning I finished putting final touches on my message and practicing it a few times. Later in the afternoon I had planned to finish with some other parts of the service, such as the opening remarks. The family would like to come forward and light a series of candles in memory of their son’s life so I had to make sure I could fit that into an appropriate spot in the order of worship, which I did. Their son was very involved in the Special Olympics as he himself was slightly handicapped, so about 100 Special Olympians will take part in the service as they will bring their medals and place them on a table next to Lance. He was a special person to them and to a lot of people. I had to make the call to move it into the main worship center as over 500 are expected. Two people from our body needed some help from our benevolence fund and asked me to meet with them so I did. I had a meeting I needed to be at, so I scheduled them around that meeting. One of the families I was able to help with some bills, not enough I am afraid and the single mom I had to put off until next week as our funds are quite low. The meeting I was telling you about was our annual Ministerial Counsel. I am one of 5 Elders of the church and we give oversight to those within the church, and some outside, that have a minister’s license or are ordained that fall under our church’s umbrella of authority. It was a short meeting as those we give oversight too had turned in the proper forms that we ask for and there seems to be no trouble. After that meeting and some discussion with my Admin I left for the remainder of the day. I spent the remainder with my wife and our little puppy.

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

April 21, 2010 – Wednesday: Today….I am on vacation or at least I am suppose to be. I knew I had to make a visit to the office for a little while…notice I said little while. My alarm clock was on time but she was in for a surprise as today she goes to the “beauty parlor”…gets a bath, smelly stuff, nails cut, pretty scarf around her neck and comes home all prissy…man the life of a dog…must be good. When I picked her up she was very glad to see me and immediately forgave me for leaving her in this place…For me I had to start on my funeral sermon then go to the office to take care of some quick items. The quick items turned into more hours than I wanted but necessary. Had a meeting with our volunteer SWAT team leader and ask for some help in a move coming up in May. Said he thought they could handle. He is also a softball coach for a church team and I had to ask him to move a team member to another team. Could not give a reason at this time but he understood and made the change right away. Thanks for an obedient leader…then had one benevolent case I needed to deal with and one left over from the previous day…then back home to relax. Got several calls from the church as the family I am dealing with needed to make some changes to the order of worship so I set a meeting for 6:15. The funeral is turning out to be larger than our chapel will hold so had to make a decision to move it into the main worship center. The family appreciated us being flexible as I could see stress leave their faces as they are very appreciative of all the church family is doing to make this a memorable memorial service for their son. Then it was on to teach my FPU class and got into the class just in the nick of time. Now have arrived home and all seems well. Tomorrow I will put the finishing touches on the message and then will probably need to go back to the church…I am on vacation…I think -:)

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

April 20, 2010 – Tuesday; Again the day started pretty normal, alarm clock woke me pretty much at the normal time and needed to go outside to relieve herself and then eat and then back out again. After devotions I left for the office early as I had many things on my mind. My first appointment was scheduled with the family of the 39 year old man who was found in a local pond several days ago. We planned the memorial service…it was sad as their son was a little handicapped and very active in the Virginia Special Olympics. He was a good person who had many friends and the service will be well attended. The family had their best friends included in the discussions and it was nice to see friends and family working together. I am sure it will be an uplifting service…only thing…I am not sure of his salvation as well as his sister and mother and dad. It will be a challenge for me to share the gospel in such a fashion they will understand and receive it from God. Soon after this meeting Pastor Paul and I headed to another family in our church who are going through some rough financial times…seems like the whole house had water problems and it has been discouraging to the family. They are now looking at several thousand dollars in repairs and no income…they will have to trust that God will pull them through. After meeting with them had to return to the office and attend our weekly Leadership Team meeting. Got in late and got called out early to handle a lady who came in and needed some pastoral help…she was crying because her husband left her without saying goodbye or why he left. She needed some reassurance that God loved her and would see her through this time…she used up almost a whole box of tissues as she was able to get the emotions out and then let the Holy Spirit in to minister to her. Just as she left one of the pastors who served with me until about a year ago came by to say hello but could only spend a few minutes with him as another appointment walked in the door. This couple is long time members of the church and he has been unemployed for over a year. Have used up all their savings and 401 money to pay bills and needed some help with two overdue utility bills. Had a chance to minister to them that God is faithful and will see them through this rough time…she has a job and with her income and some savings and family they have been able to survive…I was very happy to be able to help with these bills in order to relieve some stress from them…temporary but good for the moment. Left the office a little after 5 and headed home. Jeanette and I were meeting with daughter of our close friends who is in trouble and needed some help. We had dinner with her and discuss how we could help. After taking her home we finally had a short down time and then off to bed…but not before we had to give our little dog her nightly treat. She has a funny way of asking…almost every night she gets in my lap and just stares at me…she is telling me look into my eyes…now get me my treat. I let her stare for awhile and then give in…she then is happy and ready to turn in for the evening. All is well in her life….ahhhh the life of a dog…

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

April 19, 2010 – Monday; The day started pretty normal, alarm clock woke me pretty much at the normal time and needed to go outside to relieve herself and then eat and then back out again…pretty much normal. After devotions I checked my email and noticed an email from the HOA about one of our previous neighbors who lost his son. Further developments revealed that he and his wife moved away about 3 years ago to Gainesville and their son, 39 years old, was living with them and left home and did not return. Several days later the police found him in a pond near their home. I am saying this to further say…they went to our church many years ago and still considered CFC their home church…my phone started ringing and almost immediately I was planning another memorial service for this coming Saturday. Two Saturdays in a row. When I got to the office I had several meetings for benevolence scheduled but before they came in Chris Cole, a local counselor, came in to see me. He was a staff member when I first joined the staff…anyway he is easy to talk with so I just started talking and about an hour later I had to stop as my first appointment came in…guess I needed to unload some things…glad he stopped by. After the last meeting of the morning I had lunch with our associate pastor just to get caught up on ministry and some personal things, then back to church for two afternoon meetings. Ended my last meeting at 5 and went home to eat dinner with my wife before returning to church for a school board meeting. Meeting lasted to 9. The school is doing great, we talked budget and were able to give teachers a small raise plus give them their tenor pay. Enrollment is ahead of schedule and the hardest decision we had to make was how many foreign students we wanted to allow in our school next year. We left it to the teachers to come back with a number they could deal with without slowing down the other students. Overall it was a great meeting. Now some relaxing and then on to bed…PTL!!

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

April 18, 2010 – Sunday; This was a long day…church in the morning, meeting for visitors right after church and then Sunday night service…finally got home around 9:30 PM and shortly after that it was bed time. My day started pretty normal with my alarm clock waking me up and needing to go outside…I guess each day is the same for her…no difference, same routine, same food, same walking distance. She has her day planned out for her..she even knows when it is time for her evening snack…7PM. But she gets so excited when Jeanette or I come home…it’s like we were gone for a long time and we came home. Yes, she is part of the family and we love her as one of us. Pastor had a great message this morning as he continues to teach us from the book of Revelation. He was so caught up in the ending of the message he forgot we were going to serve full communion and invited everyone to the tables like it was a normal Sunday. The GUSH team stepped up and got the elements into the correct place and hardly anyone recognized the mistake…great team effort. Had a good number of guests for our welcome luncheon, one couple shared they needed a Japanese translator as the wife was having a hard time following the message. This is an opportunity for us to meet her need and I am sure God will provide. Later at our evening service we had some great worship and a good word from God. It resulted in almost everyone coming forward for prayer. As I said earlier got home a little after 9:30 and shortly afterwards headed for bed and some sleep. I think I need to do some adjusting of my time schedule…plate is full.

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

April 17, 2010 – Saturday; Today started as normal with my alarm clock waking me at the normal hour of 6:30. Today I had to conduct a funeral for a young 8 year old twin girl who died from cancer in February. We put off the service so people could come and because her dad is also suffering from cancer and had to have some treatments and surgery so they wanted to have it in between so he would be strong enough to come. Our chapel holds 200 and it was full…standing room only. It was a great service and very upbeat and very alive with memories and life. The parents and kids shared during the service and it was very uplifting to our Lord. I think everyone stayed for the reception and I begin to wonder if we had enough food…shame on me…God provided just enough…had about 12 sandwiches left over…does this remind you of the loaves and fishes parable??? Everyone had a great time and one young man sang a song for the family and another read some poems and shared some about how their daughter touched their lives. Lynn and Nancy were very valuable as they made sure the flow of the pre-service and the post-service flowed smoothly. Lord please bless them as they worked very hard. Got home around 2:30 and was drained emotionally and crashed on the couch with my little dog sleeping beside me…for about an hour. Just enough to refresh my batteries. Jeanette went to my grandson’s birthday party and represented us both. She took our granddaughter with her and they had a great time. Now time to relax and wait for her to come home…

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

April 16, 2010 – Friday; Last night I slept in my bed…good nights sleep. Of course my alarm clock went off at 6:30, I patted her on the head and said just one more minute…about a minute she was back so up I got up and helped her take care of business. Later in the morning had to go to church in order to meet some with the family as we put the final touches on the funeral service for Saturday and I was serving communion to the pre-school and school teachers and staff. Pastor Paul and Pastor Tony helped as we served them some communion juice grown and bottled in Cana of Galilee. Had lunch with them before returning home to take care of little Penny and relax before returning to help decorate the worship center and the reception area for the funeral and reception tomorrow. The family brought about 15 people with them to decorate and set up for the service so it didn’t take as long as I thought. Lynn Eisele was there guiding all the activity…she has a great servant heart and loves doing ministry. Not sure I could have accomplished all that needed to be done without her…then on to home, dinner and a walk in the rain with my dog as she needed to have some outside time. Did some finishing touches on my message for the funeral and now off too bed…

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

April 15, 2010 – Thursday; Today I start back home after a short visit with some close friends. As I prayed today the Lord said that the purpose of the visit was twofold…First for Carl and the team at the satellite church and second for Pastor Bud the senior pastor. Words God gave me like patience and trust and relationship all resonated in both groups; patience that God was really doing a great work for the people at the satellite location and trust in Him to accomplish the work in His time not theirs. As He builds relationships among the leaders His Will can be worked out better for the people He wants to reach. Carl and I talked as we ate breakfast and drove to the airport. It was a very good flight home…Southwest is a good airline and on time or early. I love the way they allow you on the plane…no assigned seating but done in a very orderly way. Yes I will fly Southwest Airlines again.

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

April 14, 2010 – Wednesday; this morning I slept in as my alarm clock was not at my location. I slept until 7 AM Louisiana time, which is 8 AM at home. Had a relaxing day as Carl showed me his church which is in a great location right on a main road where 100,000 plus cars come by each day. They are still working on the inside but are holding services each Sunday. They are getting ready for the growth explosion that God will be bringing to them in the near future. I played a round of golf with Carl’s senior pastor. He is young man who has a vision to reach the lost and is moving toward opening a nice church in a great location. We talked about many things throughout the day as he asked plenty of questions about what we do at our church and I spoke into him about trust and relationships among many other things. All in all we had a wonderful day and he appreciated my visit. BTW I shot very good and hit the ball very solid all day. Later when Kenna got home we went to dinner and had some seafood. Returned home and looked at some photos as we got caught up in each other’s lives. Tired and looking forward to some sleep…

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

April 13, 2010 – Tuesday; this morning started early like the previous morning but this time it was because of an early appointment to get my car oil changed. I took Penny with me and while the car was getting serviced I took her for a walk so she could take care of her morning routine…which she did and enjoyed all the new smells which she had never smelled before. Arrived at church around 9 and got material ready for the Wednesday night FPU which Jeanette will have to handle as I will be out of town. Speaking of being out of town, I am in Baton Rouge as I write this blog. This will be a short trip as a close friend invited me to come and minister to his pastor. Not exactly sure what will happen but will allow God to use me if He would like. Had a great flight on Southwest airline…service was excellent and the departure and arrival was right on time or a little ahead of schedule. Carl picked me up in New Orleans and as we drove back to his home he filled me in on some things concerning his church and told me one of the pastors would be at his home and wanted to talk over dinner. We had a very nice time talking over dinner and talked well into the night and ended our time in travailing prayer for the church and for the leaders of the both campuses. Once my head hit the pillow God gave me much needed rest. Looking forward to the meeting on Wednesday and a time of sharing…hopefully will get in some golf as well…matter of fact I will.

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

April 12, 2010 – Monday; The start of the morning was much earlier than usual. I was awake at 6 AM and my little alarm clock was a little confused. She looked at me and titled her little head to the right and then the left as to say…”did you just take 30 minutes of sleep away from me” and of course my answer was yup your little internal clock is going to be messed up today. Today was going to be an emotional day…starting with two early hospital visits for ladies having breast surgery to take care of cancer, then meeting with the mom of an 8 year old to put the final touches on her memorial service. I spoke about her in a previous blog….she was one half of a twin and contracted cancer and lost the battle. She passed in February but because of her father having cancer in the liver they wanted to wait until he was better to have the memorial service. So, after the morning hospital visits I spent a couple of hours with her putting the final touches on the service. I then met with a man who was struggling with some internal issues and assigned him a Stephen Minister then back to the hospital for the third lady having breast surgery. After that one I stopped at home and rested for about an hour. Took Penny for a walk which she was happy about and then back to church to get ready for the FPU free intro class we ran in conjunction with Dave Ramsey. Had 20 people from the community show and they loved the class. Randy and Suzanne Vel handled most of the program…I opened and closed it. Got home around 9 and went to bed a little early…full day. BTW…while Randy and Suzanne was teaching a lady came into the church needing to speak to a pastor…so, I guess I was supposed to be there last night. Good timing by the Lord…Amen.

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

April 11, 2010 – Sunday; Great start of the day…as usual my alarm clock went off at exactly 6:30 so I reached over and patted her on the head for a few seconds before drifting off to sleep once again and then, much to my surprise it went off again…I thought I had hit the snooze behind the ears but no…no…no, she had to go outside and begin her normal routine once again. It was a beautiful morning…just right with the temperature. We walked and she did her morning “constitution” and back to the house. So, my Sunday started in the usually manner just like every other day of the week. We had a great service at church today as Pastor has started a new series on the Book of Revelation. Our first service was very full and we had some room left in the second one…not much but some. During the 11 AM hour I had to teach our baptism class and The Truth Project class at the same time…hum how was I going to do that…ahh, Pastor Paul stepped up and taught the baptism class which allowed me to teach the main class on the truth project. On the way to my office I had several people stop me to share different things but this one lady shared something that was a miracle from God. She only had 30 dollars on Friday and that evening she sowed 10 of it into the China Outreach Ministries and on Saturday morning she sowed 10 more into another ministry she visited. Well on Sunday she felt God prompting her to take a class which had a study book that cost 15 dollars and then told her to buy a book for another lady who could not afford to take the class because of funds…she didn’t know where she would get the money but took the books to the cashier at our bookstore at church and when she opened her wallet, instead of a 10 dollar bill it was a 100. Wow…she said she just knew that God had told her to purchase the book but did not know how He was going to pull it off…she was blessed beyond measure and so was I. Then on to the young man waiting for me at my office door when I got there and wanted to talk…he is having marital problems and wondering what he was going to do. After listening for awhile the Holy Spirit prompted me to share the love that Jesus has for him. He admitted that he did not have a personal relationship with Jesus so we prayed and he accepted Christ and the work He did for him…another one stolen from the snares of Satan. He is now embarking on a journey of hearing from God as to what he should do next. I will be following up with him as the weeks pass to see if he is keeping up with the things I gave him to study. Stopped on the way home to pick up some lunch and get ready for our home group meeting later…and also to watch some golf. Hope Tiger puts on a good show. He tried but Phil came through in the clutch and won his 3rd Masters title. Way to go Phil!! Had out small group meeting at our home so we had a great time of sharing in His Word and had some great fellowship.

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

April 10, 2010 – Saturday; It was my normal scheduled day off but went to a Stephen Ministry Regional Network group to get familiar with other church running SM. All of my leaders went and we really gleaned some valuable information from the roundtable discussions. Things I hope we can bring back to our ministry and put into practice. Later had a scheduled meeting with a coach who is gathering information on our leadership practices so he can help us as a church leadership team better function. This was a short session and afterwards Jeanette and I went to Warrenton to help celebrate our daughter’s 40th surprise birthday party. It was great as she was totally surprised. She has some great friends who love her very much and that touches’ my heart. She is a great girl…the host put together a slide show with music of her early childhood that actually brought tears to her eyes and mine as well. It was very good.

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

April 9, 2010 – Friday; My normal day off but not today, as I said yesterday I scheduled an appointment with someone who desperately needs some benevolence help. My day started as usual as my little dog (Penny) woke me at 6:30. After taking care of her “normal” routine I got dressed and headed to the church. I had a 10 AM appointment and then needed to get my hair cut. Please pray with me about this benevolent need. A lady with three children is now separated from her husband and he sold the home so they had to move. She has found a place in Leesburg and of course they want a deposit plus the first month’s rent and now her vehicle transmission is going bad and she needs that the be replaced. Plus the start up cost of having your utilities turned…she needs God to provide 6,000 dollars and she has none. I do not have that much in the benevolence fund…not even close, to help with the need. This is one of those moments where God must show up in order for the need to be met. I also learned of another family in our church in a more desperate way…their water line under their home is leaking and running up huge water bills and now both have medical issues pretty bad plus both cars are in really bad shape. He has been out of work for several years and the only income is from disability money from the government and that barely meets the necessary items for living…my cry is Help!! After leaving the office I went and had my haircut. My barber said I looked like I was in deep thought as she cut my hair. Life for some is very hard which makes me thankful for the things God has provided for me. Later my wife and I went to a fund raising banquet for the China Outreach Mission. It was very good – 180 people showed and during the evening they brought 18 Chinese students to the front and they all shared they had accepted Jesus as their savior and had been baptized…all by me at church. God always has a way of lifting your spirit just when you need it…

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

April 8, 2010 – Thursday; My day started pretty well…normal things like getting woken by my little dog wanting to go outside and then eat. She is on a strict routine…up at 6:20, get me up and downstairs and outside by 6:30 and then back inside to eat…then rest for 40 minutes and then back outside for her morning walk…so, my day started normal. Arrived at church close to 9 and had one appointment for benevolence for a lady in the community which we were not able to meet all of her need. Did some preparing for a training class I will be teaching on April 25. I had lunch with the Spanish Pastor which is a regular thing with us as we need to have some time to talk about our own cares. After lunch I had two benevolence meetings and was able to meet both. Both were from our church family and I am always glad when we can help. Today was not too stressful but I did make an appointment for my day off, which I normally do not do….but this lady is desperate and I am not sure how God is going to meet her need…guess we will see. Had a nice evening at home with dinner and relaxing with my wife…did check the internet for the Masters’ scores…had to see how Tiger did…and he did very well…2 strokes off the lead. Should be an interesting few days in Augusta, GA.

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

April 7, 2010 – Wednesday; It was another great sunrise this morning. Watching the airplanes leaving contrails high in the sky tells me we are still at peace. Not long ago 9/11 happened and for many days we did not see any planes in the sky and it was an eerie feeling. I will be taking the early part of the day off and playing some golf with our youth pastor. Our tee time was for 8:30 and we had a great time…the weather was just beginning to get hot as we finished…I out drove him on several holes…or was he letting me feel like I was hitting the ball better…hummmm. Anyway his strategy worked I felt like I was striking the ball really good. Arrived at church for my first appointment around 11:30 and we went to lunch. This man is struggling with some family issues so I have been meeting with him for several weeks. Today we talked about tithing…he sent me his budget later in the day “proving” to me that it just wouldn’t work. I have heard this so many times from so many people that my response now is “how do you know it won’t if you have not trusted God and just done it”, which was my response to him and it caused him to send me a copy of his budget “showing” me it would not work. I think I will let him mull it over some before responding back because I have learned that when truth is presented and you understand it then you have a responsibility to then act on that truth. Later had two other appointments that dealt with benevolence issues and was able to help one single mom with gas and food. We have some generous people in our CFC family and they give gas and food cards which helps me minister to those in real need and it also always gives me the chance to share the gospel. Some receive it and act on it immediately and some try to tell me they are already believers and just need some help. Received a phone call from a member of our church who wanted some prayer and advice to give a single lady who is going to have an abortion…he and his wife were trying to help her make the correct decision. She agreed to wait one more day so we prayed and I passed this on to our prayer network to intercede on her babies behalf…hopefully I will find out today that she has made the correct decision…I learned she is a member of our church body and has made a terrible mistake. If you are reading this pray for her. Later had a chance to minister to a man who is having some marital problems. His wife came to see me a couple of weeks ago and she insisted he come to see me…after 5 minutes of talking with him the Holy Spirit spoke to me and said he thinks he is a believer but he has never crossed the line and given his life to God. They have been married 15 years and he is the son of a minister and grew up in the church…as I spoke the gospel to him he realized for the first time he did not have that personal relationship with Jesus…so we took care of that which in turned changed to whole conversation. I pray that when he got home that night he would be able to share with his wife what has happened to him and she will begin to see a real change. So, he came in a non-believer and thought he “was right and his wife was wrong” and left with a much deeper humble attitude and in love with our Lord…another one stolen from the devil. Then taught my Wednesday evening bible class with a spiritual “high”.

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

April 6, 2010 – Tuesday; It was another great sunrise this morning…while walking our dog…a Silky Terrier who is very protective and loves to chase squirrels I needed some real advice from God on how to handle a situation with a volunteer and He showed me exactly what to say. It was received very well and things were resolved. God always knows how to handle things and when we ask He seems to always come through. Was able to finalize some marriage mentor letters and get them in the email system…ya fastly moving into another level of communication. My admin is way ahead of me in getting things done…very proficient. Just before lunch Pastor Paul and I made a visit to one of our elderly ladies in a rehab center. We had a nice time sharing and served her communion as she has been out of church since the first part of January. On the way back to the office had to make several stops in order to purchase some gas and food cards for the benevolence ministry. Once back had a surprise meeting with a young lady who has gotten herself in some personal trouble. It happens when we separate ourselves from God. I shared with her that God loves her and had never stopped. She really felt unworthy for His forgiveness and of His love. Sin does that to us…causes a breach in our relationship…but God is always right there and ready to forgive if we confess…His love is so deep…and so wide…and so high. Agape is the word I shared with her…she still is His child and nothing can separate her or us from His love. Arrived home a little later than normal but had a nice dinner with my wife as we dined on the deck and had some time sharing. After eating we had to make a quick run to the store so she could pick up some food for a lunch her office is having tomorrow…now on to bed as last night was late…watched a great basketball game with Duke coming out on top in the final seconds…

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

April 5, 2010 – Monday; It was a great sunrise this morning…just cool enough to be really enjoyable. My daily reading took me to Psalm 52. When I read verse 8 – “But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God's unfailing love forever and ever”. Last Wednesday if you remember I spoke to the Prison Fellowship Staff and part of my message had to do with opening our spiritual eyes. In the bible men are very often referred to as trees and I shared several points of scripture but not this one…anyway it just spoke again to me about us having 2 sets of eyes and ears. Well after arriving at the office had one scheduled meeting and had to handle several walk-ins. Pastor Paul came in and we went to make a hospital visit to a lady having gall bladder surgery. After returning to the office I had a meeting with a family who lost their twin girl two weeks ago and we are in the midst of planning her memorial service. Spent over an hour discussing details for the April 17th service for the 10 year old girl. Shortly after she left I went to our school and conducted an hour long bible study for the pre-school teachers. This helps meet their CEU requirements for certification and it gives me a chance to stay in touch with the teaching staff of our school. Finally left the office shortly before 5 and stopped on the way home and bought some hamburger as the weather was so nice Jeanette and I wanted to cookout. Had a great meal and now relaxing watching 24 on TV waiting for the NCAA men’s basketball championship…unknown Butler against a power house called Duke…should be a good game.

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

April 4, 2010 – Sunday; Great service today. We had 3 services and I baptized 18 people today. It was a great day for the Lord. Pastor Kent preached a wonderful message and presented the gospel very clearly. All of the volunteers were great today, everyone really shined. Lynn did a wonderful job, she has a real spirit of caring for the people coming to visit our church as well as the volunteers. It really worked very well today. Communion was served to the whole church during our 3 services and it was amazing to see well it went. God got the victory today…Amen!! After church had Easter dinner with my daughter, son-n-law and my two wonderful grandbabies. Had a very relaxing and enjoyable afternoon. Jeanette and I took everyone to Friendly’s for ice cream to top off the day. Now, to bed as I get ready to start my week on Monday…need to make an early hospital visit as one of our ladies is having surgery in the morning. See ya tomorrow.

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

April 3, 2010 – Saturday; I received two phone calls during the night which is unusual. Had to make two hospital visits -- One of the ladies in our church passed out and was taken to the hospital and immediately taken to the heart ICU for observation…learned this morning that she will need a pace maker installed and they plan on doing it on Easter morning. The other call was about a man who really felt he was having a heart attack. His wife started taking him to the hospital but had to stop and let the ambulance come and get him as the pain was very bad. He is doing fine and the doctors could not find where he had a heart attack so they are adjusting some medicine and he will be released later today. One “funny” story regarding this is the EMT personnel tilted the gurney and he fell off…certainly glad it was not a heart attack. Spent the remainder of my day with my wife relaxing at home…we will be celebrating the resurrection in a little while…tomorrow we celebrate!!

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

April 2, 2010 – Friday; Wife is now home. Thank you Lord for brining her home safely. My daughter and grandbabies came over and we all went to the airport to pick her up…really surprised her. Well my golf game went as planned except I didn’t get a hole in one…but had a great time…very relaxing. The weather was great…what a day to be outside. After golf my daughter and grandbabies came over and we did some shopping for Easter dinner. Hung out at the mall while they did some shopping and just had a very relaxing day. After picking up Jeanette we had a light meal at Bob Evans before they headed home and Jeanette and I headed back to our place...she needed to get in her own bed...

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

April 1, 2010 – Thursday; one more wake-up before my wife gets back. Today was a full day but relaxing. I had one early appointment at the office with a lady who is suffering through an ex-husband who is fighting her for child support…some things I find hard to swallow like a judge taking a mom’s kids from her and then make her pay child support. It is breaking her and soon she will be on the street or living in a shelter…I paid her rent for April and ministered to her through prayer. Soon after this meeting I left with our seniors for lunch. About 12 of us traveled to Charles Town West Virginia to the Mountain View restaurant for lunch and fellowship. Great day for a ride through the country, sun was shining and everything looked very alive. The lunch was more than you should have to eat and the fellowship was outstanding. Stopped on the way back in Berryville and had some ice cream. Arrived back at the church around 3:30…day was great and very relaxing. After getting back to church had a meeting with a single mom who needed some help with rent and food. I was able to help with this need…I see a lot of this as the economy seems not to be getting better. All our trust needs to be placed in God as He and He alone will be able to sustain us in the tough times. So, today was relaxing, especially after such a full day yesterday. Arrived home around 6 and fed the dog and walked her for her nightly walk. Later I had to make one phone call to help with a slight mis-understanding between two of our ushers who are in leadership positions. It seemed to go well and I trust God will make things right between the two…now for some sleep as tomorrow is my day off and I have a 8:15 tee time. Let you know how I did in tomorrows update.

Continuing Series in the Life of a Pastoral Care Pastor

March 31, 2010 – Wednesday; two more wake-ups before my wife gets back. Today was a full day…awoke early for extra prayer as I was conducting devotions at the International Headquarters of Prison Fellowship this morning and I needed some extra prayer time. Prayed for the volunteers that serve in my ministry at church and thanked God for bringing them to us and for their service to God. Devotions went very well this morning. Had several comment how good it was and that they had not thought of Mark chapter 8 in that light…their praise team was very good…all in all morning went well. God showed up and touched some people and that really is the bottom line. Thank you Lord for coming and ministering to your people. Arrived back at the office to handle a couple of benevolence requests before lunch and helped one lady in our church get her car repaired and watched as her whole countenance changed as God met her need. I see this so many times as I watch how God meets people at their neediest point and proves He is faithful even when we are not. The remainder of the day was taking care of last minute details for the Jewish Passover Seder I would be conducting that evening. 45 people came to experience Passover Jewish style…it was great. The program went well the room was set just right and as the people came and went through the traditional hand washing you could almost see in their eyes the change taking place as they were experiencing for the first time something real that God had put together for the people to remember what He did for them. At times it was an emotional evening…12 readers took part, plus the youngest male there asked the 4 questions. We learned and enjoyed the evening as we tried the items on the Seder plate and later enjoyed Matzo Ball Soup…all in all the evening went very good. Many of the people took pictures and I am sure they will appear on Facebook…if I could learn how to post some in this blog I would…maybe that should be a project for me…got home late and crashed….body was tired but my spirit was overly refreshed…sleep came easy..