West Cocoa Chat

When Steven and I arrived home last night, my lovely wife (once described by myself as the ultimate “Fellowship Machine”) had dinner waiting on us. How’s this for an eclectic selection, we had “Chili Relano” and “Mustard Greens.” She also made Steven’s favorite desert, “Banana (“nanner” in the south) Pudding.” Needless to say it was good to be at home last night.

I had several phone calls that I had been promising myself to make but hadn’t made time for them this week.

#1 was a wayward member / worship leader who was rumored to be worshiping with our neighboring (and more traditional) congregation. I was unable to reach him. Our preacher had speculated that he was screening his calls. My intention wasn’t to “beg” him to come back although I would have liked a second chance. Don’t we all? I wanted to let him know that we still loved him and as Bill Glasser would say, “I needed some information.”

#2 was one of our dearest senior saints. Doyle is about 6 foot, 5 inches tall and a Korean War Veteran. He has been a long time usher for Central. He’s been suffering with rest-less leg syndrome. He told me that it keeps him up most of the night so he gets little sleep. The lack of sleep has also exasperated his heart condition. I told Doyle that “we all” missed him. There are certain people you’re used to seeing in certain places and in certain roles at church that are like a security blanket. Once you see them in their “spot” you know all is well.

Unlike my potential phone calls screener, Doyle seemed encourage by my call although he did start to cry when I told him how much he was loved by all of the folks at Central.

Isn’t that the kicker? My first “callee” is younger than I am and apparently became ticked off by the dreaded sin of; I hate to type it, yes, clapping in (apologies for the sarcasm) worship! One crossing of “his line” has led him to withdraw fellowship from us. And then there’s my Korean War Veteran brother, many years older than I. His lack of “fellowship” is due to a debilitating disease that he has no control over. His reaction to not being able to fellowship with us is tears.

Don’t you wonder sometimes how two people thrown into the same “church environment” can come away with 2 diametrically opposing impressions and commitment levels?

Have good weekend my fellow “blones.”

What a whirlwind these last few hours have been for our family. One caveat - In the grand scheme of life, making Varsity or J.V. Baseball pales in comparison with most of the “curve balls” life can throw your way. But when one of these curveballs hits your child, it seems like the world has momentarily come to an end.

To fill in more detail from Tuesday, Steven was in the batting cage the day on Tuesday with some other players as the rest of the team were hitting on the field. Steven asked an Assistant Coach when he should report to the field to hit live pitching? The coach fired back, “You J.V. players need to learn your place. You’ll wait until the Varsity is done.” Steven replied, “J.V.?” The coach said, “That’s right “S.Walk.” (his given nickname on the diamond) You remember how it was on the J.V. last year.”

It was this gruff announcement that rocked my son’s world on Tuesday.
You know how we reacted from Tuesday’s blog. I appreciated your comments and your prayers on behalf of Steven.

All day long I was praying to God to give Steven something that would encourage him today (Wednesday). As you all know, our God is a God of “extremes” when it comes to our prayers. Sometimes that’s a good thing and other times it doesn’t seem to be very favorable, at least from our frail human perspective.

After being in almost continual (probably the standard state of most teacherss) prayer yesterday, I left for the field to catch the last part of practice. As I drove up to the field, I saw Steven playing third base with what I would consider the “other varsity” players. When Steven saw me he tried to signal something to me but I’m terrible at reading lips! Then he flashed me a huge smile and made the “V” sign with his fingers. That’s right, THE BOY MADE VARSITY!!!!

To say that we were happy would be an understatement. I asked him about Tuesday’s events and here’s what he told me:

He said the Ast. Coach was in a bad mood that day. Duh! He was in such a bad mood that he mixed up the hitting rotation. When Steven saw the Head Varsity Coach yesterday, he said, “S.Walk, we screwed up the hitting rotation with the Varsity players. Sorry about that. We’ll make sure you hit on the field with the Varsity today.” Steven said, “Varsity! Coach, I made the Varsity?” The coach said, “Sure, didn’t you know that?” Steven told him he was happy but that Coach Rottan had ruined his day yesterday. The coach’s response was classic, he said, “My bad.”

“My bad?” “My bad” lasted for about 12 hours from Tuesday through yesterday! But praise God our boy who has been playing baseball since he was 4 years old made the Cocoa High Baseball Team as a sophomore!
You know what Steven did to make me really proud? Several things:

1. He told me most of his hurt feelings from yesterday were due to the fact that the Ast. Coach had hurt the feelings of not just him, but several of the boys. He said, “Dad, I don’t want to play on the J.V. but if I have to, so be it. But that wasn’t any way to treat my friends and me when we’ve been paying the price since September.” Steven has always had great empathy for others.

2. He woke up on Wednesday in a good mood and told me he knew this was all in God’s hands. Keep teaching me my son.

3. He was sad for his 2 friends, Devin and Ryan that didn’t make varsity. Say a prayer for those boys.

4. Ryan was back in church tonight, hanging out with Steven. Steven's celebration was tempered by his sensitivity to Ryan.

Thanks again family. Praise God!

Hi family.

I ask for prayers for my son, Steven today. In the batting cage yesterday, one of the Assistant Coaches indicated to Steven that he might be on the J.V. team this year. The “official list” still hasn’t come out but needless to say, he was devastated. It broke my heart when my “tough” 15 year old son told me in our car, his tears were tears of anger and not sadness. Trust me, they were sobs of sadness.

I pray that the Coach made a mistake or at the very least, Steven is designated a “swing player.” That would mean he would play J.V. games but he would also sit with the Varsity and have a chance of subbing in their games.

To his credit, he awoke in pretty good spirits this morning. He does have this noble habit of trying to be “brave” for us. Pray that something good happens to him today.

Thanks family. Love you guys.

I’m reading (yes, he’s reading again!) “Experiencing the Cross” by Henry Blackaby. He makes an interesting observation about the Lord’s Supper. He writes:

“When Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper, it wasn’t a public worship service and He didn’t open it up to everyone who’d ever follow Him. On the contrary, it was an exceedingly restricted occasion. It was only for those whom the Father had given Him, who had made an obvious commitment to follow Him to the end, and who He had carefully taught and instructed. They had a bond to Christ as Lord as well as a bond with each other.

So I came to view the Lord’s Supper as His special time of encouragement for His deeply committed followers, and especially for those who’ve been paying a price to follow Him.”

I have never given a lot of thought to “restrictions” concerning participation in the Lord’s Supper. What restrictions (if any) should we impose on those who attempt to participate in Communion? Should we communicate anything from the “front” (Can’t say “Table” since ours is now in the back of the auditorium.) of the auditorium as we start a Communion Service?
Is this a non-issue?

I await your input my little blog family.

We broke new ground for our church yesterday. I was involved in a skit to help kick off our Involvement (sorry about using the “P” word) Program. I played the husband of the Chuckster’s wife. I think Chuck was O.K. with it. I was tempted to use my “Hank Hill voice” but decided against it.

Don used our skit to springboard into his sermon on service in the Kingdom. At one point during our skit, I pretended to receive a cell phone call. As I was talking into my phone, my phone actually began to ring! Fortunately I had it set to vibrate and I kept saying my lines as if everything was copasetic.

When my scene ended I was able to check who was calling me in the middle of church and our skit. Who was the culprit? None other than my 15 year old son, Steven! He was thought it would be funny if I actually received a phone call as I was speaking on the phone. He had the biggest smile on his face after services.

I have to admit I wasn’t mad at the boy. I admired his sense of humor and timing. If I had been on my game I would have accepted the call and told Steven something along of the lines of, “No, I will not give you any more lessons on how to be cool like me.”

All in all it was a good day at Central.

This week has been the week of meeting for me. My week of meetings consisted of:

1. Monday – 7pm skit practice at church.
2. Tuesday – no meetings.
3. Wednesday –
A. 7:30am “feeder chain” meeting at Rockledge High with elementary and high school teachers.
B. Does “church” count as a meeting?
C. Evening skit practice after church.
4. Thursday –
A. 8am Leadership Meeting at school.
B. 6:30p.m. – A “Lay Down the Law to the Parents” meeting with the high school baseball coach. He kind of reminded me of the character from the movie “Stripes,” “Frances – aka “Psycho.”” His talk went something like this:
“If you complain about your son’s playing time, I’ll kill ya. You complain about my coaching decisions, I’ll kill ya.”
5. Today – 8:15am Parent Conference.

As we think about the weekend ahead, what was the worse “meeting” you’ve had the pleasure of being a part of in your lifetime. It it’s too painful, just ignore this blog. Have a good weekend.

First – Sorry for the lapse in news. I had a meeting before school yesterday with our High School (you should have joined us Steve) counterparts. As with all meetings, it generated unforeseen extra work.

I stayed late after church last night to practice a skit. We’re kicking off an involvement program (sorry Greg) this coming Sunday and I’ve been drafted to participate in a skit that will take place just before the sermon. Yes Alice, we have drama in Central Florida.

This morning found me in a Leadership Meeting before school and again, more work generated. Are we ready to join me in a “pity party?”

All that aside, we have good news and no news concerning Steven and his endeavor to make the Varsity Baseball Team. This is what we found out yesterday:

1. Steven made “the” team. That would be the team of boys who will play varsity or J.V.
2. The coach decided to not tell them who is on the Varsity. He wants them to “practice hard” all the way up until the season.

Talk about your let downs! When I showed up for yesterday’s practice I was trying to read Steven’s expressions. He was smiling and taking most of the balls at third base. I thought this was a good sign. Silly me!

So keep the boy in your prayers as we experience the never-ending tryouts.

Today is the big day. Steven should know if he made the Varsity or J.V. Baseball team around noon time. He had what he thought was a good day of tryouts. Yesterday the coaches put them through situations to test their “baseball smarts” in hitting, fielding, and base running.

Steven was so nervous last night he told me, “Dad, I’m too nervous to do my homework.” I told Steven I have about 50 kids who must be getting ready to have a nervous breakdown if that is a reason to prevent you from doing homework. You might say he “nervously” did his homework.

Keep the boy in your prayers.

I wanted to give you an update on my son Steven. Today is the final day of the tryouts for Cocoa High’s baseball team. The Varsity and J.V. teams will be announced tomorrow afternoon. Yesterday’s practice focused on individual (fielding and throwing from the outfield and infield, hitting, and pitching if you were so inclined) tests. About 40 kids showed up for tryouts.

Steven seemed to perform well. What it comes to now is what positions are open and who do the coaches see as candidates to fill them. I’m nervous for the boy. I would ask that you lift Steven up in prayer. I probably won’t know until Thursday’s blog whether he made varsity or J.V..

The weekend was full of disappointment and encouragement. Until we found out about Monday’s tryouts, we were planning on visiting our good friends Bob and Shelby in South Carolina. We haven’t been there in a couple of years. Barb and I were really looking forward to the visit and the change of scenery.

We were able to hook up with our Youth Group who were on a retreat at the Central Florida Bible Camp in Mt. Dora on Saturday following Steven’s tryouts. It was a nice change to be at the camp when it was actually cold (36 on Sunday morning) and a little less crowded. Chad (our youth minister) did a nice job of building time for the teens to be alone in prayer and study. In fact, most of the teams cited those times as the highlight (besides hanging with me) of the retreat. Their honesty and zeal for the Lord was refreshing.

Have a good day my fellow blones.
Don’t forget to remember my son Steven.

I took Steven out to dinner with 2 of his buddies. My wife’s school held Parent / Teacher Conferences tonight. Most of the conversation centered around each one’s chance (not including me of course) of making the Varsity Baseball Team at Cocoa High.

Each one’s evaluation of their own chances took on a pattern of here are the reasons why I will make it, here are the reasons why I won’t make it, and I haven’t a clue if I have a chance. Steven was the last to participate in this self-(Bill Glasser would have been proud) evaluation.

When Steven finished he looked at his 2 buddies (Devin and Ryan - twin brothers) and asked, “Have you guys been praying?” There was some silence until Steven spoke up and said, “I’ve been praying every night.”

I want my son to make the Varsity. I want him to realize his dream. All of that aside I’ve already realized one of my dreams; My teen-age son has the faith to pray to our Holy Father and admit that in front of his peers.

I would ask that you join Steven and me in praying for him. The final day of try-outs is this coming Monday. Kind of ironic since it happens to be Martin Luther King’s birthday and he is best known for his “I Have A Dream” speech. I know Steven has a dream and he is praying for it to happen.

A couple of sidebars:
1. Keep Devin and Ryan in your prayers as well. They’ve been coming to church with Steven.
2. Don’t forget Keith’s son as he tries out for his Jr. High team.
3. Keep Steven and me in your prayers over the weekend. We’re going to drive to the Bible Camp tonight to spend some time with the youth group as they enjoy a Retreat. We’ll be driving back around 10pm. The trip is about one and a half hours.
4. We’re going to drive back to the Camp Saturday afternoon to spend the night with the youth group.

Have a good weekend my fellow blones.

First, I want to say thanks for all of the affirmations that came my way from you, my lovely “blone” family. You guys are great.

Lately I’ve been avoiding Interstate 95 (or “The 95”) when I drive to work. I’ve been taking a surface street route that takes me through some country. I know Greg remembers “Plukebaum Road.” Getting off Hwy 520 at Range Road takes me by a dilapidated ranch that used to be known as “Moody Ranch.” All that remains are a house and vacant farm land.

Today the land and even part of the vacant house were covered by a thick blanket of fog. I remember fog rolling in on our Jr. Field (13 and 14 year olds) several times when Steven played Little League. The fog worked to our advantage in one game. We were behind by one run in the bottom of the 7th with a runner on second. Steven was the batter and he hit one in the gap between Center and Right Field. Steven ended up with an in-the-park homerun and part of the reason why was because when the ball hit the outfield, the outfielders had trouble following the ball through the fog as it rolled to the fence! You might call that home field advantage or maybe they we’re in “a fog.”

So I guess fog is sometimes a good thing? I remember when my Dad had one of his heart attacks. He actually coded while in the hospital following a previous heart attack. I was in his ICU room when he awoke. He couldn’t speak due to being hooked up to a respirator. He motioned to me that he wanted something to write on. I’ll never forget the words he wrote. He wrote, “What happened?” My Dad was in a fog. His last memory was talking to a nurse the night before he was scheduled to come home from the hospital.

Is it biblical to say that God is in a fog when it comes to our sins when we’ve been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb? I’m not a Biblical Scholar but I like to believe that when the “Book of Life” is opened at the great judgment, next to my name will only be one word, “Jesus!”

Love you guys. Have a good day.
Isaiah 44:22 "I have wiped out your transgressions like a thick cloud, And your sins like a heavy mist. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you."

Hello Blog Family.
Yesterday was an interesting day for me with respect to you. It was the first time I felt I was an obstacle to all of you. It was the first time I felt like dropping this whole phenomenon that has become such and important part of my life. However the event that I attended this evening served to end the day on a weird but somewhat upbeat note.

First let me say this and I say this with the most loving tone that I can muster -
Please feel free to email me directly at walkerc2@brevard.k12.fl.us
if I ever blog something or type a comment on your blog that you find offensive or negative. I can assure you that neither of the above are ever my intent.

As for yesterday’s blog, my intent was to relay an incident that happened in my life that showed me qualities like sportsmanship, humility, and being a positive role model are not dead. Not to mention having the kind of conversation I had with Rusty who had one of those rare experiences that all boys who grow up to be men dream about, a game winning hit in a World Series Game. The amazing aspect about my experience was it was with a guy who has every right (in the world’s way of doing things) to brag about his World Series experience. But he didn't and in fact, he evoked a time honored southern tradition, to make light and to minimize his performance.

In the course of our conversation he used a word that apparently some if not all of you found offensive. To that I apologize. Like Rusty, I, was trying to be funny. I thought we had broached this part of our relationship and so I took liberties where I shouldn’t had taken any. One of the positives of blogging is the aspect of being challenged by what you write and to that end I was challenged and forced to re-evaluate my humor.

But the Lord does have a strange sense of humor himself. I honestly believe that, just look at me. The Lord’s humorous side was displayed to me again this past evening at a surprise birthday party.

Jan turned 50 today. Her husband arranged a surprise b/d party at a local Mexican restaurant. There were about 50 of us in attendance. Jan is a great sister in Christ. She supports our youth group as well as our week of camp along with Teen Week.

As you would expect the usual “black” items were used to decorate for the occasion. As Jan was opening up her gifts in front of 50 of our members she came across a black gift bag. You can probably guess what was on the bag. It read, “Happy Birthday You Old ______.” (that word)
What did Jan do? What did the 50 people do in attendance? They laughed.
I didn’t for a moment because I was gun shy needless to say.

Maybe it’s a southern thing? I don’t know. I promise never to use that word in a blog or comment again. But it was good to laugh tonight.

My apologies to anyone who was offended by my last blog.
Poor choice of words.

I hope my poor choice didn’t mar the impression you have of me or Rusty.

Good morning Blones.
We're facing the coldest air in 3 years this weekend. We might actually hit freezing on Sunday morning. I know Judy, Keith, and Randy are laughing at me. Sorry guys. When the lows drop below 50 in Florida we think the state should close the borders and call out the National Guard.

May God bless Keith's father through the weekend. Keith, you're on my mind and in my prayers.

Greg- I can't believe Josh is moving out. It will be so weird to look at his bedroom and not see him. One of the highlights over the years for me was bunking down with Josh at night. Do you think Heather would mind if I continued this tradtion in Temecula?

My Request - As I complain about freezing temps my son begins a 2 week cycle where the Cocoa High Baseball Team begins to choose a Varsity and J.V. Team. I was told last year by one of the coaches that Steven came real close to making the Varsity as a freshman. My request is that you pray for Steven to realize his dream of making the Varsity Baseball Team this year. He has worked hard since the summer I would love to see him achieve his goal.

Have a good weekend my fellow blones.

Good morning.
First, props to Texas. USC had an outstanding run but they had dodged too many (like your Fresno boys) bullets this season to not run out of luck and not to mention facing a stud QB like Vince Young. Texas – National Champs; seems fitting for one of the hotbeds of high school football.

On the way to school today I had to stop for a school bus. Out in beautiful downtown West Cocoa, the school bus drivers have an interesting habit. When you stop for a school bus that is picking up kids in the oncoming traffic lane, the driver does the same thing every time they begin to pull away. As soon as they driver pulls in the flashing “Stop” sign on their bus and begins to drive off, they will wave at the drivers who obeyed the law and stopped to allow them to pick up kids. I guess it’s a sign of respect (and perhaps gratitude) for allowing them to perform their job safely. I know I’m weird but I actually get a little rush when I wave back to them acknowledging their wave.

The same thing happens to me at night when we’re traveling down the interstate (freeway for you SoCal, MiddleCal, and NoCal folks) and a semi wants to pass me. Highway etiquette states that you should flash your high beams at the Truck-driver when he has passed you and can safely pull over. Does anyone know how the truck-driver is supposed to acknowledge your courtesy in the middle of the night? I’ll wait 2 lines for your answer.



That’s right; they are supposed to flash their tail and running lights at you to acknowledge the deed. You guess it; I get a major rush when I receive this sign of respect and gratitude in the middle of the night on a lonely interstate / freeway.

What is it with respect? How is it shown to you? Do you even care? Is this something that the Christian should even worry about not that I’m worrying, am I? I know the sports talk radio guys were talking about Texas perceiving a lack of respect before the Rose Bowl was played. How about now?

Have a good day my fellow blones.

It’s funny how our lives sometimes seem to be in a pattern of repeating themselves. It’s the 2nd Quarter in the Orange Bowl Game as I type this blog. FSU (#22) just returned a punt for a TD to tie the game with Penn St. (#3) 7 to 7. I couldn’t help but think back to the 1979 Orange Bowl.
The decade of the 70’s for the most part was a pathetic time for “Florida football.” U of F, FSU, and Miami were lucky to break even and forget about going to a bowl game. Then things began to change.
Bobby Bowden arrived in Tallahassee and in 1979 took FSU to the Orange Bowl game against #1 rank Oklahoma. Oklahoma was ranked #1 and heavily favored. The Seminoles kept the game close but ended up losing. But it was the beginning of the birth of “Florida Football.” Tonight’s game might end up being a blowout. I hope not. I hope that just like “Joe Pa” at Penn State, Bobby has one more “good season” before he bows out.

Our God is a God of re-birth. I hope you guys don't think I'm too weird tying in college football and scripture. I'll leave you with this:

Ezekiel 36:25 - 2736:25 "Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols.36:26 "Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.36:27 "And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.

Score now 13 to 7 on a pass reception. Go Noles!

Happy New Year everyone. It is hard to believe that this old teacher will be back in the classroom in a couple of days. The coming semester will bring the now
annual push towards our state’s high stakes test, the FCAT. “High stakes” in the guise of evaluation and bonuses for teacher, high stakes for the kiddos in the form of graduation or promotion, as well as choice of electives for the coming year. As my friend in the National Guard would say after having served a tour of duty in Afghanistan, everyone’s “pucker factor” will be high.

The coming year for our church will bring a new involvement ministry being headed up by a former elder of a Christian Church and his wife (Javier and Anne) called “U.S.S.C.” which stands for “United Saints Serving Christ.” In a few weeks our “recruiters” (deacons and any ministry leaders) will hold a recruitment drive following a morning service. Javier and Anne have interviewed each deacon and ministry leader to come up with detailed lists that each member can use to decide what job or jobs they want to sign up for.

The church is providing a meal on the day of our recruitment drive. This will give everyone a chance to eat and then sign up for at least one job for one year. Our goal is to have every member of our church responsible for helping with at least one ministry taking place at the church. At the end of one year we’ll have another recruiting / re-enlisting drive to start the new year.

I guess every new year is like this one in that it’s coming brings both excitement and some dread. What are you looking forward to and what are you dreading in the coming year?