Month: September 2019

Just Skating By

Last night we had an All Church Skate Party at Fun-City SK8 & Play. It was a blast. Mind you we didn’t get the whole church; I don’t think 445 families would have fit. But we had a lovely group and it was fun.

Skate Party 1
Not our skaters, close, really very close, but not the same.

SKATING?

I didn’t skate. I can skate. I know how to skate but I didn’t. Mostly, I didn’t want to fall down a lot. There, I said it. It’s possible that I could have gone around without falling but it wouldn’t have been probable. What would have been probable is that I’d fall and couldn’t get up,

“Help, I’ve fallen and I can’t get up.” 

People would have helped me, at least the kids would have. There is nothing more kind, more sweet, or more reassuring than a pod of five year olds assisting you to your feet. Bless their skating little hearts.

THE QUESTION

Children of various ages asked why I wasn’t skating. Within the following responses is one honest answer. Can you discern which one?

  1. “I accidentally brought my ice skates instead of my roller skates.”
  2. “My skates have metal wheels and those aren’t permitted.”
  3. “My rollerskating skills would have intimidated you kids.”
  4. “I was a professional Roller Derby skater and now I have bad knees.”
  5. “Falling a lot would have been injurious to my ego and other parts.”

THE ADULTS

So, instead of skating I did what most of the adults did. I socialized while watching the kids, and some of their parents, go around and around and they did great. Hardly anyone fell. Well, one dad repeatedly fell and we tried not to laugh but we did.

CONVERSATIONS

Here are but a few of the conversations I enjoyed:

  1. Talked with a new family that’s been coming to church for a few weeks.
  2. Talked with a school teacher about her class and how it’s going.
  3. Chatted with a grandfather who was there to take pictures of his grandkids.
  4. Had some discussion with a couple of Dads who are in men’s group with me.
  5. Had conversation with some of our ministers who were there.

LEAVING

I left a little early. Went home to watch the Sunday Night Football game between the Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints. Cowboys lost 12-10.

I should have stayed at the party.

IN CLOSING

It was fun and I’ll go again. Probably won’t skate, again. Probably will stand and socialize with parents and interact with the skaters, the kids going around and around and stopping to tease me for not skating.

It was a sweet time with some of my brothers and sisters and some very fun moments with those to whom Jesus has pledged his kingdom.

Maybe I need to invest in a new pair of skates.

Maybe not.  

Skate Party 2

The mail comes about the same time each day, it’s rarely early and occasionally late, but about the same time. Getting the mail was once a big deal but now, not so much.

It’s not unusual for us to forget to check the mail and when we do to discover its packed.

Full-Mailbox

USED TO BE

The mail used to be about letters from loved ones and good friends. It’s how people stayed in touch, but not anymore. In this era the cell phone has become our connection point. It makes calls, can email and text and facilitates all kinds of social media.

The Mail Box is less about personal correspondence and more about:

  • unwanted catalogues selling every kind of thing
  • bills
  • flyers and shopping guides
  • promotions, political stuff and propaganda

The mail box has become a wasteland of useless junk destined for the local land fill. How many trees in my lifetime have been sacrificed to produce the tons of junk-mail I didn’t request or want to receive?

TERTIUS?

A man named Tertius once wrote a letter that needed to be delivered. It was an important letter, the kind that made it into the cannon of scripture, and we know it as the book of Romans. In those days such letters were delivered by a brave and trusted messenger for the delivery was fraught with peril.

I know, Tertius didn’t write Romans, it was authored by the Apostle Paul. Actually, Paul verbalized the letter and Tertius wrote it down. In fact, he said so in Romans 16:22

“I, Tertius, who wrote down this letter, greet you in the Lord.”

PAUL’S DELIVERY PERSON

But how did Paul get his important letter to the church in Rome? The letter probably  originated in Corinth, a trip of nearly 1400 miles. The person delivering the letter would need to be extraordinary.

  • courageous
  • strong
  • unimpeachable character
  • capable
  • smart
  • completely trustworthy
  • willing

The person Paul selected to deliver his mail was a Christian, which makes sense. Also, the person was a deacon, a special servant of the church known for being dedicated to the Christian community and committed to advancing the gospel.

Who did Paul choose? Who had earned Pauls’ respect to compete such a long and dangerous journey? Who did he ask to deliver his letter to Rome?

It was a woman named Phoebe.

TO CLOSE

I love the book of Romans. It’s easily one of two or three of the most important writings in the New Testament.

The mail at my house is nothing to get excited about. Imagine going to the mail box and finding a letter from Paul.

Thank you Phoebe.

The Crossover Kids

Sunday evening we hosted some 5th-6th graders for a pool and pizza party, and twenty-three kids attended. It was a great event and we had a really good time.

QUESTIONS

Here are some of their questions that I found amusing:

  1. “Has anyone ever died in your pool?”
  2. “Does your house have anything to drink?”
  3. “What should I do with my money while I swim?”
  4. “Can you hold my towel so it doesn’t get dirty?”
  5. “Can I have more than one brownie?”

And there were others.

They were sweet kids and I knew most of them but not all so was glad to get better connected. Our church calls them the CROSSOVER KIDS because they are too old for Children’s Ministry and too young for Youth Ministry, they are in the process of crossing over from preteens to teens. Each month they have a fellowship event and last night was the first of the new school year.

MOBY DICK

At the beginning I was in the pool and holding my own, but then the kids got in. I did okay with the first ten or twelve, but by the time fifteen or more got in they just sort of beached me like a big sad whale.

image1
Can you find me in the picture? I’m the one with thinning grey hair floundering about.

SOME OBSERVATIONS

  1. 5th and 6th grade boys live somewhere between wanton destructiveness and shyly asking for a second brownie.
  2. They used the pool “noodles” for sword fighting and for whacking each other and found all manner of other unimagined uses.
  3. At no time did the genders interact. The boys populated the deep end while the girls frolicked in the shallow end.
  4. As a rule, the girls manifested a more mature behavior than the boys.
  5. They boys were showing off for each other, and for the girls, while the girls pretended not to notice. I think they were doing a little showing off too.

IN CLOSING

After swimming for 90 minutes and devouring nine large pizzas and a big tray of brownies their parents arrived to pick them up. Before leaving they each came and thanked us for having them to our home.

They were well mannered and delightful kids. I’m proud to be their Preacher.

image1 2
We could tell they are getting good parenting. 

I think we will have them over next year!