WHEW! Finally finished up our adventure in refinancing today! We’ll be able to save a significant amount on our mortgage, and with the savings (no new debt, thank you very much!), we should be on our way to being debt-free (except for the mortgage) by year’s end! Very cool!
Category: Adventures (page 4 of 7)
I’ve been notoriously slack in setting – and achieving – good effective goals. I’ve been thinking about that over the last couple of days. I figured up that just a little over 12% of 2008 has already passed by, leaving just under 88% of the year to accomplish some goals. In what’s left of this year, here are some of my objectives…
- Stop looking at the wind and the clouds
- Be debt-free, except for the mortgage
- Get serious about training again – physically, spiritually, etc.
- Learn something new every day
- Encourage somebody every day
- Re-kindle my passion
Overheard another conversation this morning that went something like this…
Person #1: So, you got a big weekend planned?
Person #2: Oh, you know…the usual…honey-do list and all that.
I decided I don’t ever want to answer that weekend question like that ever again. My answer of choice from this weekend on needs to be something like this…
Person #1: So, you got a big weekend planned?
Me: As a matter of fact, I do! I’m going to help change somebody’s life!
What about you? You got a big weekend planned?
Well, not right now, but it was blinking 12:51.
So why am I up, with the dregs of a pressful of Christmas Blend?
I really don’t know! We had some strong wind come through tonight, and apparently the power went out for a brief minute. Only long enough to turn off things like the microwave, the auto-programmed coffee maker, the computer, the clocks on the phones, stuff like that. So, here I sit. I got up, re-programmed all the clocks, and now I’m wide awake!
Love it when that happens, don’t you?!?!?
OK, so I was one of the wimp pastors who canceled our services today. My buddy, Gary Lamb, told me on the phone last night he canceled Revolution’s services today because of his concerns with his setup crews being out and about, dark and early, in unknown conditions. My response was that I was concerned about some of our folks driving in perfect sunny weather, so I sure wasn’t willing to take chance on the possibility of icy roads!
Anyway, a pretty good day around the old Just Charlie hacienda…
- Went “to church.” More than once. Got to hear and/or watch some of my favorite communicators and their services from recent weeks. Really challenged by Gary’s Confessions series so far. The best worship I’ve never experienced live has to be happening at New Spring. Perry’s messages aren’t too shabby either! Caught a little of Mark Batterson’s leadoff message in the How series.
- Slept late. Well, if you call 6:15 a.m. “late.” It is around here!
- Drank coffee. Lots of it…today’s variety? Community New Orleans Blend. Love that chicory!
- Had some just hanging out time with the lovely and gracious “Mrs. Just Charlie.” Ate lunch at our favorite little faux French bistro.
- Read some good stuff.
- Listened to some good music, some of which I’d never heard before.
- Still think it’s pretty cool to blog about discovering a band and having one of the band members comment on your post! (Great name, too!)
- Made a couple of pastoral care calls.
- Checked in on the NFL playoff games (who cares?)
That’s about how our Snowy Sunday went. How about yours?
My clock says 12:12 a.m. I haven’t been awake at this time of night in several weeks! I was dozing around 9:30 p.m., but now it seems some mysterious second wind has kicked in! Or do you think it could be the five cups of French Roast?!?!?!
Yeah, now there’s no school here tomorrow. Thanks a lot, all you guys who wanted snow! 🙂
…you got it! And I hope all you folks who wanted some winter are happy! Man! I hate – yep, that’s H-A-T-E! – that cold white stuff that’s steadily falling from the sky!
Funny, there’s already a massive shortage of bread and milk at our local mega-mart. Why bread and milk, anyway? I asked that question to no one in particular at our YMCA today, and people responded with some variation of the following…
Because you can always eat the bread and you can put the milk outside to stay cold if the power goes out.
What?!?!? There’s a lot of other stuff you can eat besides bread (Confucius say: Man does not live by bread alone; he must have peanut butter). And you can put anything – not just milk! – outside to stay cold if the power goes out! But there they were, lined up in our mega-mart, toting gallons of milk and loaves of bread! Go figure!
Anyway, if you wanted some winter, and if you think the snow and inevitable ice is a good thing, then God bless you! Personally, I’m praying it’ll turn 70 degrees before morning!
Just saw this little blurb on my buddy Tony McCollum’s blog…
I’m blogging from the road but I just wanted to let you guys know that we’ve got a little video we’re going to be showing during the service tomorrow that I think you’ll really enjoy. Don’t miss it!
Either it’ll be the return of “Ol’ Spooney” or I’ll be laughing so hard I won’t be able to speak! Or maybe even both!
Great! Thanks a lot, Tony!
Most of you loyal readers of this little attempt at a blog – both of you! – are also fans(?) of my buddy Gary Lamb, the lead pastor of Revolution Church in Canton and soon-to-be Jasper, Georgia. It seems I have more and more opportunities to invite folks to Revolution! (Can you “invite” someone somewhere you don’t go yourself? Hmmmm….good question!)
Anyway, I met a guy at the YMCA today who has just moved here from Arizona. In the course of our conversation, we started talking about churches and how he and his family haven’t found a church yet, etc., etc.
I asked what he was looking for in a church. His answer: Something upbeat with a great kids experience for his son. He asked about my church, and I honestly pointed him toward Revolution.
“What’s the pastor like?” my new friend asked.
I just laughed. “Just go Sunday and hear him preach,” I responded. And I laughed again.