So, let’s recap…

Flew up to Wesleyan HQ Monday for a Tuesday meeting about Student Leadership Development.  Meeting was all day Tuesday and it was Matt and Deb’s anniversary.  They scored some great Pacer’s tickets and so we headed to Conseco fieldhouse for the game vs. the Hawks.  So, we are on the 7TH ROW and Larry Bird is sitting diagonally from us next to the tunnel to the Locker Room and Locker Room Restaurant which we have passes to.  With a few minutes left in the game we make our way DOWN TO THE COURT and around to the tunnel where we got in line and got Larry Bird’s autograph.  Pretty amazing stuff.  He even said,”You’re welcome” to Matt.  I sweat thru my 50 pound Costanza coat I was so nervous.  Then we went to the restaurant, saw some more players, and grabbed some grub.  Then on our way to the elevator a skirmish ensues.  There was a guy in a suit who reminded me of the foreign guy in the mummy movies(the good guy) except he had long hair.  The suit guy had bumped into another guy who was greatly offended that suit guy didn’t apologize.  Things had settled down when drunk guy says to suit guy “Why don’t you take off that wig?”  Suit guy is lead by his two female escorts(who were drunk and probably THOSE kind of escorts) into the elevator where he starts taunting drunk guy to “Get on my elevator.”  Drunk guy did and off they went.  All this time Deb has moved behind some stranger, away from the action, while I’m trying to get on the elevator.  We take the next one up and decide to follow the other group to see what happens.  Matt said,”I haven’t seen a good fight in a while.”  Sure enough, a hundred feet or so in front of us, the group is outside and suit guy and drunk guy are throwing down.  It lasts for about two seconds before security arrives.  It’s then that I think I hear “And Can it Be playing”, but Deb assures me it’s Auld Lang Syne, the New Year’s Eve song that no one knows what it means.  This was the “cotton” and “Tito Ortiz Darius Rucker” moment for this trip.  Sometimes my brain doesn’t compute the correct information or the information correctly.

Now, back to Student Leadership Development, I’ve been thinking about all the kids who have passed through my youth ministry in the last 11 years.  Sadly, I dwelled on the ones who went the wrong way more than those who are serving God and the church joyfully.  I think it really hit me this morning how badly I hurt for the ones who are searching for meaning and purpose in all the wrong places.  Some of them had the deck stacked against them, but many of them were from loving Christian families.  It reminds how hard being a parent is and how stuff happens despite our best efforts and intentions.  Many of these went to a Christian college, but that doesn’t gaurantee Christian faithfulness.  You can find bad company and trouble pretty much anywhere.  In some ways, I look at their failures as my failure.  I ponder whether their disobedience stems from a hidden disobedience on my part.  I know dwelling on this for too long isn’t healthy so don’t worry, I’m fine.  This happens every time I start looking around on Facebook and Myspace.  I usually don’t like what I see.

Finally, a prayer request.  My grandfather fell and broke his hip yesterday.  He was in the pasture when it happened.  He got back on his four wheeler, drove up to his house, called 911, then drove to the end of the driveway to wait on the ambulance.  They are doing surgery today which is always tricky but especially with an 89 year old man.  This isn’t the first time he’s gotten hurt while alone and somehow made it back to the house.  One time he broke his pelvis.  He doesn’t seem to have the “quit” gene that so many of us are hampered with.  Anyway, please pray for his recovery.  Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Well, yesterday we made the trek to Fredericktown, OH for the annual Robinson family Thanksgiving.  Karen’s cousins, aunt, and grandmother live here so it’s always a fun time.  I’m hoping to spend some quality time with the kids this week(which means blogs will be short), catch up on some reading, quit Mountain Dew cold turkey, and finalize some long range discipleship plans.  I feel like I’ve been traveling non-stop for a month, but it’s all good.  

Thanks to everyone who prayed for my grandfather.  He came through surgery well and they have inserted a pin into his broken hip.  He is a tough customer for sure.  Please continue to lift him and my family in prayer.

We had another great service at church yesterday.  God’s spirit has been evident and Charlie is in a good preaching groove.  It feels like we are clicking on all cylinders on Sundays with new families each week.  Now comes the part of inspiring people to use their gifts and get involved.  I’ve got an idea I’m going to pitch concerning this which I am “super” excited about.  More on that later.

Finally, I had a pretty bad scare yesterday as we were driving through Ohio yesterday.  It occurred to me that I never confirmed whether or not a ticket I got a few years ago here had been paid.  I faxed the form twice, and I remember seeing the amount debited from our account.  After all of my experiences with the police(real, mistaken, and staged) I broke out in a sweat as I thought about the prospect of spending Thanksgiving behind bars.  It was a George moment for sure and a reminder that some stories get better and longer with time.  ”No, no, no sir.  That ticket has been taken care of”…I think.