“This Week in Paradise” July 9
Last week marked one of the first of our recorded “weeks in Paradise” in which there were no stories about our son Michael. I can assure you, that was only because I did not record some of his many quips, with which he keeps us very entertained in our “old age”! We will remedy the lack of Michael stories right off this week:
From first to last, it had been a morning full of hugs. I returned to the 8:30 service at First Baptist, Moss Bluff, for the first time since I have been on medical leave. I saw a couple of people in the parking lot on the way in, and gave them a hug. As I walked in the door, I gave the greeter at the door a hug. I was met and hugged by several folks on our way in to find a seat, and even after the service had started, as we were sitting on the back by the entrance door, the latecomers (perhaps the majority in the 8:30 service!;) would see me and stop and give me a hug too. During the greeting time more hugs followed, and after the service, despite Cheryl’s protests, I stood for about 20 minutes, greeting everyone who left, and giving and receiving more hugs. As we left, I felt so uplifted. It was a great morning. And evidently, it spilled over after I left. Continue reading
I was diagnosed with dysautonomia, or POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome) a couple of weeks ago (June 2012). Since this may be a part of my life from this time forward, and a number of my blog posts will refer to it, I thought it might be helpful to introduce my experience with POTS – especially since many people are not familiar with it — indeed many doctors and medical professionals are not! I also hope that reading about my experience might help others who are dealing with the syndrome.
The Onset Continue reading
The “little paradise” we call the pastor’s home was marked this week by some of the lifestyle changes due to my illness, as well as starting to transition back to my office at the First Baptist Church of Moss Bluff.
Highlights from this week in the “paradise” we call the pastor’s home include some humorous moments from watching the Southern Baptist Convention, and an embarrassing incident from our trip to Houston for my doctor’s appointment.
Family In The Spotlight
Since I was not able to travel to New Orleans for the Southern Baptist Convention, I was grateful that we could watch the proceedings on streaming video at home. At one point in the meeting, the President of the Pastor’s Conference brought his family up on the platform, and introduced them all, including his little grandson, to everyone. As he was making the introductions, Cheryl said: “I always enjoy it when they do that.”
“Good,” I said, “Well, when I get back to church I am going to start calling you up on the platform and introducing YOU to everyone!”
Cheryl HATES the spotlight. “I’ll shoot you if you do that!” she said.
I just smiled. 🙂 Continue reading
“By The Time I Get To Houston” … I could probably finish that old song a number of ways, actually. By the time I get to Houston for my appointment at Baylor Hospital:
… I may be a bit nervous
… “I’ll be hun-gry” ( can’t you just imagine Glen Campbell singing that? 😉 My appointment is at NOON of all times! What is that about?!
… It will be about time — it seems like I have waited forever to get there!
… I hope to at least have finished this blog!
There are many ways I could finish that phrase, but I know I could add at least one more: by the time I get to Houston, I will have had a lot of people praying for me, and for that I am very grateful. I am well aware that prayers are being lifted up for us and that God’s people are coming to our aid — as a dream I had last night revealed.
Yes, another week in “Paradise” – otherwise known as the pastor’s home – has gone by, “like sands in the hourglass”. Several of the stories this week have to do with the seemingly ubiquitous power outages in Southwest Louisiana, as well as other aspects of living in “Paradise.”
I’m “Seeing Someone”
Because of the symptoms I have when I stand up, I generally stay in my recliner most of the day. One of the “treats” I sometimes look forward to is walking out to the mailbox. Wednesday I went out to check the mail – but I had forgotten that Cheryl & Michael had already picked it up when they came back from running some errands. When I returned to the house Cheryl asked: “Where were you?”
Me: “I went to check the mail.”
Cheryl: “I showed you the mail a while ago.” Teasingly she added: “Are you seeing someone out there?”
Me: “Yep. I’m ‘seeing someone’ in the front yard!” 😉
“A picture is worth a thousand words”, so I am going to save multiplied thousands of
words, and let the pictures do most of the “talking” on this post. One of FBC Moss Bluff’s VBS workers, Jolynne Dennis, gave Cheryl a whole sack full of “get well” cards that our Bible School kids made for me this week. This has not been the most exciting week for me ever, seemingly just “spinning my wheels” while waiting to go to Houston to see a specialist, so I can’t tell you how cheering these cards were. Many of them brought a smile to my face, and some literally made me laugh out loud. I thought you might enjoy seeing some of them. Continue reading
German
Just back from church camp last week, Michael began his summer “school”: Rosetta Stone German, Level 1. It took just a few minutes to set up, and he was off and running with it. The first day’s lesson was great fun for Michael, as the program showed him pictures and he had to pronounce the words he heard describing those pictures. When he pronounced it acceptably, it took him to the next picture. Michael jumped right in and caught on. Rare was the word he stumbled on; it is a good format for him.
Cheryl, watching, exclaimed: “It’s like a fun video game!”
Michael, between pronunciations: “Only I don’t get to blow stuff up!” Continue reading
I'm a retired Southern Baptist pastor of almost 40 years. My wife Cheryl & I moved to Norman, OK in March of 2025. I share a weekly overview for Sunday School teachers of the weekly Lifeway "Explore the Bible" lesson, as well as texts of my sermons and other articles.
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