Happy Hippo

Jim, the lead pastor here at The Carpenter's has been in Germany for the past two weeks on vacation. His daughter is in the Air Force and is stationed in Germany. He arrived home late yesterday afternoon and this morning he brought in some German Chocolate for us to try.

I have to say that the Kinder Happy Hippo's are the bomb. They are a wafer shell surrounding a soft chocolate center. I don't know if they sell them here in the states but they are incredible. They're like a tiny flavor explosion going on in your mouth. They alone would be worth the trip to Germany.

Vicodin Is My Friend

Well, It's been a unique day.

It all started at 10:45am as I checked in to the Ambulatory Surgical Center at St. Luke's in Bethlehem. Within minutes, I was in the "prep" room, getting vitals and being informed as to what will be happening. By noon I was laying on the gurney, I.V. inserted, hair net in place, little hospital booties on my feet and a very small gown wrapped around me. About 12:30 I received an injection in the I.V. to help me "relax"as they wheeled me into the O.R. Then . . . I woke up about an hour later. I have no clue what took place during that hour but I was told that all went well.

After a couple of hours in recovery, 2 pieces of toast, some coffee and a very successful trip to the little boys room, I was told I could go home.

I've just completed a very long awaited bowl of chicken soup and will spend the next 48 hours or so with some new found friends. . . Vicodin and Ice Packs.

Thank you all for your prayers and I'll keep you posted over the weekend.

I'm Getting Old!

I've come to the conclusion that I'm getting older and there's nothing I can do about it.

I was on the phone the other day with a woman from our church. She is considering taking part in a Good Friday drama we are planning. I told her that I heard she did drama when she was in high school. She said, "Well, yes I did, but that was a long time ago." I proceeded to ask a question that I know is not politically correct but I asked her when she graduated from high school. (You see it's not politically correct because I could quickly calculate her age) She answered me and told me that she graduated way back in 1996. I responded with a laugh and said, "That's not a long time ago. I graduated in 1985 and . . . That's a Long Time Ago."

Tomorrow is a big day for me. My oldest daughter (Emily, 11 years old) is going on her first Youth Trip this weekend. The student ministry of Carpenter's is going on their "Winter Blast" trip and she is going to be with over 40 students from our church, 2 hours away from home, for 2 days, without Mom and Dad. Can you feel my pain? Can you see my sadness? It was only yesterday that I was rocking her to sleep in my arms. Today, she doesn't fit in my arms.

In addition to Emily being away, tomorrow I'm having Hernia Surgery. I've never had surgery of any type. I've never had an I.V. I've never been put to sleep and I've never had days of recovery from any procedure. So, I'm very nervous about tomorrow. From what I understand they are going make an incision and plug and patch me with a mesh plug and patching material. I don't know how things will go but I do know that God is in control. Check back on Friday or Saturday and I'll post some details and let you know how I'm doing.

Needless to say, with my kids growing up and my body slowing down, I'm realizing that I'm getting older and there's nothing I can do about it. My only saving grace is that I believe God has some big things in store for me yet. . . or at least that's my thoughts.

Christmas Eve in Canton

The following web site was referred to me today and I think it's awesome. It's getting some national press and while most if the press is from Christians who are up in arms about their promotional video, I believe that Ridge Stone is going to have a large crowd and will have the opportunity to share the gospel with hundreds of people.

http://www.christmaseveincanton.com/

Christian vs. Christ Follower

Well, it's been a long week. Actually it's been a long 10 weeks.

I came across this series of videos on YouTube called Christianity vs. Christ Follower. They are a parody of the Mac vs. P.C. commercials and they very much parallel my thoughts on the past few weeks.

Enjoy!