West Cocoa Chat

Good morning family. For us here in beautiful downtown West Cocoa we're at 3 days and counting before our week of Camp begins. It will be no doubt a week that will involve the subject of "change." Many of our campers are returnees (including my son) so they will no doubt compare our new camp with the one we used to attend.

I guess I was doing that last night. As I watched and engaged in the “festivities” of Steven’s 17th birthday I was in the comparison mode. Here are some things I noticed:

1. Not one time did any of these high school age boys go into our pool. This could have been due to “water saturation” having just had a weekend of pulling on tubes and knee boards across Moss Lake.
2. The boys sat at their own table and thoroughly entertained themselves. If fact, these boys are old enough now that they were engaging in a bit of nostalgia, story-telling about things they had done in the past. Our youth minister Chad came by and he was helping the boys engage in this because he has been the planner and inspiration for many of their pranks.
3. I-pods dominated their time. From downloading music to discussing who had the best one and their many nuances.
4. O.K. ladies, (I say “Ladies” but I know Greg will love this too.) you’re going to love this one. At 10pm the boys told me they were bored and they wanted to go to our local Super (Yes, we here in beautiful downtown West Cocoa have our very own Super Wal-Mart) Wal-Mart!” I told them to be back by 11:15pm, anointed them with a spending (Steven wanted to take all of his birthday money.) limit, and sent them on their way with the admonition to behave themselves.
5. The final difference – When kids are young they can run you ragged but in the end, most of them get tired and you can put them to bed. At 11:45pm they were putting Barb and me to bed. As Greg would say, “Geezer time” is in the morning, not the evening when the world belongs to teens.

I think my experience can apply to church. In my years of “church leadership” most people are like me when it comes to “change” of any kind. They remember the way it is or was and it gives them security. They might even (like me) ask “why” do we need to change? The number one obstacle to “change” (as my fellow elder Javier once coined in one of our meetings) is “fear.” Pure and simple it is fear of the unknown. It is fear of ________ (blank) happening if we do ___________. (blank)

In Matthew 25 the only slave that is punished by his master is the “One Talent guy (OTG).” In the text Mr. OTG clearly states according to Jesus, he was “afraid.” Family, when it comes to us as individuals or as a church we shouldn’t allow “fear” from stopping us to being relevant to a lost and dying world. So today’s admonition is go out and be fearless. Have a good day family.

Matthew 25:14 "For it is just like a man about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves, and entrusted his possessions to them.
:15 "And to one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey.
25:16 "Immediately the one who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and gained five more talents.
25:17 "In the same manner the one who had received the two talents gained two more.
25:18 "But he who received the one talent went away and dug in the ground, and hid his master's money.
25:19 "Now after a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them.
25:20 "And the one who had received the five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, 'Master, you entrusted five talents to me; see, I have gained five more talents.'
25:21 "His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful slave; you were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things, enter into the joy of your master.'
25:22 "The one also who had received the two talents came up and said, 'Master, you entrusted to me two talents; see, I have gained two more talents.'
25:23 "His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful slave; you were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.'
25:24 "And the one also who had received the one talent came up and said, 'Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed.
25:25 'And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground; see, you have what is yours.'
25:26 "But his master answered and said to him, 'You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I scattered no seed.
25:27 'Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest.
25:28 'Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.'
25:29 "For to everyone who has shall more be given, and he shall have an abundance; but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away.
25:30 "And cast out the worthless slave into the outer darkness; in that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

We just said good-bye to Bob, Shelby, and Nathen. Bob and I have been friends for over 40 years. I had our openning announcements at Church yesterday so I gave a shout out to Bob and his family. I told the church that Bob was under a "gag order" so questions about all the trouble we got into as kids and teens were off limits. Do you know that some of my "friends" warmly greeted Bob and then preceeded to ask him about all the trouble "Cecil" caused when he was a kid. Can't even trust church members.

Saturday Bob and I took his son Nathen to meet Steven at Moss Park near the metropolis of Narcoossee. Brett (our Deacon of Youth / Mohawk Haircuts / Chicken Coops) and his wife Sharon have organized campouts / boat days for folks at our church over the Memorial Weekend for years. We had about 60 people show up for the boat day. Our "West Cocoa" version of boat day includes 4 boats pulling folks across Moss Lake on tubes and knee boards. Here is a picture of Nathen coming in on a tube.

Steven camped out for 2 nights with the Travis' as well as his friend Matthew. Here is a picture of Steven and Matthew displaying their tree climbing abilities:

Steven is the one with the same kind of abs that I have. O.K., so I'm embelishing just a bit. The 2 girls are from our youth group. The next picture shows that Steven and Matthew have more fun than a couple of teens on tubes.
After church on Sunday we celebrated Shelby's (Bob's wife) birthday at the Outback. You can't go wrong with the Alice Springs Chicken as well as the hostess taking your group's picture:

In the front row from left to right: Steven, Barb (my wife), Shelby, and Lee aka "Elly May" - Chuck's wife. Back row: Matthew, Nathen, Yours Truly, Bob, Chuck - Lee's husband

Steven with the guitar Greg gave him and his beloved surfboard in the background. Besides baseball these are his other "loves."

Steven in the "Home" white uniform.

Same pose but in his away "Texas Orange" uniform.

A scan of a article and picture in our local paper. Steven is in the upper righthand side with his glove being visible.

How about a picture for Judy. Here are our two beloved cats. Buddy is on the right and Cloe is on the left. Doesn't that just make you want to say "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh."

Slept in today! If you call 7am sleeping in then I enjoyed that rare treat of sleeping in today. Yesterday was busy with trying to shut down the school year. The shutting down was a bit more joyous knowing that our FCAT (Florida Comprehensive Achievement Test) scores were in and our Math Scores went up in both 7th and 8th Grade Math, both of which I teach. In the years of “Educational Accountability” my worth as a teacher has come down to a set of scores generated by 12 – 15 year olds who come from single parent, one income, who am I “staying” (Many kids do not ask each other “where” they live but rather where do you “stay?”) with homes. O.K., enough of how I dislike the current educational system, what did you do for fun on your first evening of summer?

I’m glad you asked – I grilled hamburgers, cheeseburgers, and hot dogs. Oh, what I nice family man you might say that I am. I would agree if my family included about 500 folks. Last night I was the “grill master” at Cocoa High’s Spring Football game vs. our cross-town rival, Rockledge. The school’s AD graciously gave the concession on both sides to the baseball team and me being the silly boy that I am volunteered to grill dead bovine and dead whatever goes into a hotdog nowadays carcasses for the crowd. I think I did O.K. when the police officers working the game came back for a second helping.

We’re looking forward to a visit from our good friends from South Carolina. Pray for them (Bob, Shelby, and their son Nathen) as they will be one of the ka-zillion crazies navigating the roads this Memorial Weekend. Our schedule includes a “Boat Day” with the youth group tomorrow, an all you can eat seafood buffet for Shelby’s birthday, and a little “grip it and rip it” time for Bob and me at a nearby golf course.

I would also ask you be in prayer over our potential merger with the DCC folks and our upcoming Bible Camp with starts on June 3rd. Have a great weekend family.

When I got up this morning I could not help but think about the concept of a “last day.” I don’t know which is worse or better, a last day expected or a last day that presents itself suddenly. With the death of both my parents I experienced their last day in each way.

In 1988 I was a slimmer version of my present self and sports dominated my life. I was playing basketball in our City League and my Dad was the scorekeeper. I played in the first game and then sat beside him as he kept score in the 2nd game. We had a great talk that night and although I can’t remember the content the tears in my eyes as I type remind me of how much I miss his wisdom and love. As my wife and I pulled into our garage the call came that my Dad had suffered a major heart attack and we needed to come to the hospital. He died that night and perhaps due to weak faith, it threw me for a loop that took some time to get over. I was hacked with God and anything that had to do with Him.

About 10 years ago my mother passed away. We knew her “last day” was coming because her lung (never smoked a day in her life) cancer had come back with a vengeance. We spent the last day in her ICU Room remembering the past, thanking her for her unwavering love, and telling her it was O.K. to go be with Dad. As a Great Uncle of mind once told me, “It’s one thing to lose your Daddy but when you lose your Mama, that really hurts. She’s the one that brought you into this world and she’s the one that always asked if you were hungry.” He was right but for some reason (again, it could have been due to a more mature faith) I weathered my Mom’s death “better.”

Working as a teacher for 26 years the “last day” is special. Now, it’s not because we want to get rid of the kids. No, I take that back, there are a few of them I want to get rid of, a very small number. I guess I’ll put it this way. I once had a Principal who said on the first day back for teachers, “This building is an empty shell without you and the kids. It is a glorified office building but when teachers and kids fill it’s rooms, it becomes a special place.”

I agree with that statement whole-heartedly. Each year our building takes on a personality when the kids enter our halls. Ironically on the last day although there is great joy in looking forward to the summer on the parts of teachers and kids, there is sadness as well. Something that once had life is coming to an end and will never be in existence again. I pray for all the kids that have had me that they are somewhat “better” for having the experience.

I may complain at times about teaching but I love this job. It is my passion and I believe God wired me to be a teacher. I know I will miss it when my “last day” comes and I hopefully retire. Today is the last day for my son to be a Junior in high school. Starting tomorrow he will start this last phase of this part of his life. Its hard to believe.

Thanks for reading family.

My routine most mornings on my drive to school is to bounce around the radio listening to Contemporary Christian Music, Sports Talk Shows, Classic Rock, or listening to a C.D. If I’m in my “C.D.” mode lately I’ve started off with the song, “Have You Forgotten.” Probably not most people’s first choice off a C.D. but it strikes a chord in my “traditional / historical” heart.

Seems like “forgetting” is part and parcel of the human condition. The song “Have You Forgotten” speaks to the phenomenon of how we’ve so quickly forgotten the 9/11 Attacks. In Lynn Anderson’s book (give to me by Greg – good read buddy) “Longing for a Homeland,” he mentions a plaque / grave marker at a cemetery in England. On the plaque are the names of 50 young soldiers from New Zealand who were stationed in England during WW1. On the marker are the words, “We Shall Never Forget.”

Lynn writes about going to the local museum to inquire about the incident that inspired this plaque with such loft words. No one in the museum or in the town could remember the apparent sacrifice of these young men and so the plague in essence was a lie. They had forgotten.

I know, that’s a pretty extreme example but how many times has someone asked me to do something for them or better yet, pray for them and I’ve forgotten. I can blame it on my busy schedule or the fact that I’m almost 50 but nevertheless, I forgot. We had a new couple at our church a couple of years ago who invited us over for dinner with another couple. I accepted and said we’re looking forward to it. Guess what – I forgot. I still look at this sister today and cringe about that goof.

When I think about our weekly observance of the Lord’s Supper I know like some, I’ve said that if we’re not careful, our communion service will become mundane and we’ll just be going through the motions. Today I realize that the larger danger is that we’ll forget about the power that conquered death and then live like we’ve forgotten.

When you get a chance today, concentrate of the wonderful love of our father who manifested His love for us through His son Jesus and what he did for us at the Cross.

Have a great day family.
I Cor. 15:50 – 57
1Co 15:50 I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” 55 “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” 15:56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

This past weekend was one of those “step it up” weekends. That phrase (step it up) was one of my favorite or at least most used sports clichés when I coached. I can remember telling my basketball players that they needed to “step it up” on defense. I guess “step it up” implies you’re giving some effort but the task requires more than you’re giving.

Friday saw my lovely wife making dishes for a wedding shower on Saturday as well as frying up a “ka-zillion” pounds of meat for our Camp Spaghetti Dinner fund raiser we held yesterday. We did squeeze in enough time to have dinner with our good friends Chuck and Lee (aka “Elly May”) and their son Matthew. Steven and Matthew left early to go enjoy their common (love of guitars) sickness that they share with Greg. Later that night Steven brought his friend Kyle over so they could go surfing the next day. My one caveat to Steven was he needed to cut the yard when he got home.

Saturday morning saw the kids beating us up and out the door to catch the waves. Barb finished her dishes for the wedding shower and headed out while yours truly headed down to Wal-Mart for the coveted red mulch. I loaded up 14 bags in the back of my “Expo” (as Steven calls my Expedition) and headed home. My first task was to edge my yard by the road. Sounds simple enough except I hadn’t performed this task in over a year. I guess here is where I had to “step it up.” It wasn’t just a matter of running my edger down my yard line. Now I had to use the coveted flat shovel to cut away the “hang over grass” and wheel barrel it around to my back yard.

Then, like Greg cleaning carpet, I said to myself, “Self, the line looks good and the grass line is now even but the road is full of sand. Ah, time to get out the obligatory blower to blow the sand back into the yard.” I’m sure my neighbors appreciated my object lesson concerning the “Dust Bowl” of the 1920’s as my sand filled the air.

Now it was time to cut out my non-existent flower bed (another task that had gone a long time without being performed) or as the title of this post, yes, time to “step it up” once again. This wasn’t too bad a job since my young son had weeded our flower bed recently. Once my flowerbed line was defined it was time to add the coveted, red mulch. 14 bags covered half my flowerbed so it was time to head back to Wal-Mart. By this time my young son had returned (waves were big but choppy) and mowed our yard so he volunteered to go off with his old man to help him load up another 14 bags of the coveted red mulch.

We returned to finish the job and with Steven helping me it made this round go faster. My wife returned home to the delight of seeing how her husband had “stepped it up” for the beauty of our yard in an attempt to match her marvelous inner beauty. How about it ladies, would that last sentence score points with you?

That night besides feasting on some Advil for my back, we feasted on some take home (no Sonny’s Randy) bbq from Kay’s. Barb made 2 more dishes for our Fellowship Meal / Graduates Celebration.

Sunday was packed with activity. I ran the Power Point Show for Mike who is about to finish up at Harding Grad while working for NASA. Yes, it takes a “rocket scientist” to work full time and get a degree from Harding Grad. We call Mike our “Angel Guy” since that is his area of expertise. His class was on “Discovering the Righteousness of God through a Study of Angels.”

Steven sang on our “teen praise team” which we use to open our services. Unfortunately I missed this due to having fun trying to shut down a stubborn lap top. This was our 2nd Sunday to share our preacher with Discovery Christian. The timing seemed to work out better and Don didn’t seem to rush through his sermon as he did last week. Chad, our Youth Minister, put together a video honoring our Grads that tore me up. One, because Steven will graduate next year and two, I’ve known most of these kids since they were babies and I had a full head of hair on top of my head.

We returned that night for our fund raiser for Camp. Barb’s spaghetti was outstanding as usual and the church stepped it up by donating over $1000 to help us pay for Camp. This on a weekend that including a wedding shower, a wedding, and graduation. I am so proud of our church once again.

Hope your weekend was as enjoyable but maybe not quite as hectic. Have a happy Monday. I know I will, just 2 more days with kids!

At this time last year, things were anything but encouraging. We had been asked by CFBC to un-invite Pat Pugh. I knew that God would have used Pat in a powerful way to reach our kids just as he had done the previous year at the Mid-Ohio Valley Work Camp. Of course the rest is history.

This year I joined the “Pat Pugh Club” by being un-invited from Camp just before the Pepperdine Bible Lectures which by the way came at a great time in my life. So, the thought of putting me, my Camp Partner Steve, and a Bible Camp of any kind together seem to be a distant dream. This would not happen in a 1000 years. Well, God has an interesting sense of timing.

In a conversation at Pepperdine, the Melbourne Youth Minister, Joe, told me he had found a Camp with our week open. At the time I wasn’t too high on his offer. I was in the middle of my own personal “pity party” and was having a good time. Then God began to open my eyes.

First came a Wednesday night meeting at AWP (Associated Women of Pepperdine) pie night with one of the Melbourne elders, Don. Don expressed to me how Melbourne was outraged by what had happened at Camp and they were committed to making Bible Camp happen. My eyes opened a little more.

Then I had a conversation with Steve who reiterated Don’s message, Melbourne was committed to making Camp happen. Then it hit me, hey, we can still have Bible Camp. I began to realize the funk I had been in was due to feeling sorry for myself because something that was such a part of my being, Bible Camp, had been taken away. My giddy up returned.

This past Friday our two Youth Ministers, Chad and Joe took a tour of the new camp. There were some things better and some thing “not so better.” But there were two keys I couldn’t get away from:
1. “Our week” was opened.
2. They (Camp Ithiel) actually wanted us. That was nice for a change.

This past Sunday my wife Barb, I, our Youth Deacon / Dean of Mohawk Haircuts – Brett and his wife Sharon made the trip to Camp Ithiel. Mike, the Camp Director was working in the Mess Hall so he gave us the grand tour. As we were walking the camp I tried to express our gratitude towards him in allowing us to hold Bible Camp on his campus. He looked at me, smiled, and then relayed how just a few weeks before, a week of Bible Camp had canceled their reservation for the week that we now had. He said one of his Board Members asked him what he was going to do. His answer was both simple and profound. He told the gentleman, “God will provide.” Then he said, “And then you guys showed up.”

Last year at this time I was wondering about God and His “providing.” It seemed that we were serving a God of “subtraction.” Now with the benefit of hindsight we can see that God was working, he was working to provide a Camp that would allow us to reach kids for Christ uninhibited by legalism.

BTW – I honestly feel that God was not only doing us a favor but CFBC as well. The last thing I want to be is an instrument of irritation and it was obvious we had become that very thing to CFBC. May God bless each week of Camp this year, the Camp Director and Board.

When I called Pat up the other night to undo last year’s “un-invite” I said, “Brother, you and I have something in common now.” When he asked “what” I answered, “We both have been un-invited from CFBC.” Pat laughed and then we both began to get fired up as we spoke of God, His Will, and how He had this all under control last year when we felt everything was out of control.

I hope if we don’t teach our campers anything else, we impart upon them that God is in control. May God bless all of you.

(This is a 2 part series on my association with Bible Camp. Today’s post will be somewhat sad and disappointing but please come back for Part 2 if you really want to be encouraged by seeing the mighty hand of God move through all of this.)

“I’ve been doing Bible Camp for so long that I used to capture the flag myself.” I once told this to someone who asked me how long I had been coming to the Central Florida Bible Camp. My “career” at CFBC started as a Cabin Counselor in the early, early 80’s where I participated in all of the recreational activities including my favorite game, “Capture the Flag.”

After a few years I was asked to be one of the Coordinators for our week along with my good friends Greg England and Steve Puckett. For a few years we were known as “The 3 Amigos,” a moniker hung on us by the long time Camp Director, John Grinnell. After a few years Greg moved to Long Beach (cue the theme from the Beverly Hillbillies – “Cali-forny is the place you ought to be…”) and our week became known as the “Puckett / Walker Week.” The standing joke between Steve and I was who the “Senior” Coordinator was and who was the “Junior?”

For a few years, each Camp Picture featured Steve and me lying in front of our campers, proudly displaying our children who were babies and toddlers at the time. I remember Steven’s first act of independence at Camp like it was yesterday. We were cleaning up the Mess Hall following breakfast. Steven was two or three at the time. In the hustle and bustle of all that activity I felt a little finger tap me on the back. I whirled around to see my young son holding hands with one of our older campers. I said, “Yes, baby?” He answered in his little boy voice, “Dad, I want to play with the (pointing towards the outside and the playground) kids.” I think I said something like, “Wait for me or your mother and we’ll take you outside” but he insisted he would be O.K. by sternly telling me, “Dad, I want to play with the kids!” After getting assurances from the young lady he was with that she would watch him, I watched my toddler age son make his first foray into independence from his Mother and Father and all this occurred at CFBC.

This would have been Steven’s 18th year at the Bible Camp even though he will only be 17. Steven’s first trip to camp was at the age of 3 weeks and he had not missed a year that is until this coming year. Apparently due to our possible merger with Discovery Christian Church (DCC) in January 08, we were un-invited to Camp this year. This all occurred just a few days before the Pepperdine Bible Lectures and after we had come up with a theme (His Space) and staff. Our “un-invitation” is the second such incident to have occurred to us in as many years. Last year we were forced to “un-invite” Pat Pugh as a speaker to our week of Camp because a number of “legalistic terrorists” pressured the Camp

Winston Churchill once said of communism’s take over of Eastern Europe during the beginning of the Cold War, “An “Iron Curtain” has fallen over Eastern Europe." In this case a dark, dark “Legalistic Curtain” (LC) has fallen over the Central Florida Bible Camp. One of the sad aspects of this “LC” is that it doesn’t care. The end justifies the means. In the name of keeping the camp “pure” the Legalist will stop at nothing and yet by operating in the dark instead of the light of Christ (I John 1:7) his goal is already sabotage by his own Satanic actions. The legalist doesn’t care about the hurt that has been done to me, my wife, my son, or the countless other kids and adults who would have attended our week.

Just yesterday we were talking about Camp when I realized how hurt my son was. He said, “Dad, there won’t be anymore Highlands Cabin, walks uphill to the Mess Hall, standing on the basketball court watching others play Capture the Flag, and bonfires by the lake.” I had to answer him with an affirmative. There are times when change is good and there are times when change isn’t wanted. We did not want to leave CFBC but it left us.

For the record, I hold no grudges against CFBC’s Director or any of the Board Members. CFBC has been a vital part of our lives and it has played a vital role in my development as well as my family’s. I baptized my son into Christ at CFBC. There are many great weeks of camp at CFBC that I would whole-heartedly endorse as being good for kids.

When the first week of June rolls around I will miss being at CFBC. Part of my heart will be on the grounds while my body will be else where. It was my dream to live long enough to see my son come back as a Cabin Counselor for our week. He would have done that next year. He was prepared to do one of our evening devotionals this year at CFBC. And like the time that Greg, Steve, and I took over for Paul Breakfield and Don Hall, I was looking forward to the time when we could have turned our week over to someone younger and ready to make their mark on this most special place for kids. That won’t happen now but I do trust in the Lord.

I’ve said this before so I will say it again. Since all of this transpired the words of Job in verse 1:21 have given me the strength to carry on as well as the song (Blessed Be Your Name) that uses these verses –

And he said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, And naked I shall return there. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord."

Stay tuned for part 2 to be encouraged and to see the mighty Hand of God move through all of this.

We had a busy and productive weekend. On Friday we held the Cocoa High Baseball Team Banquet at our church. We had numerous complements on our facility and our willingness to allow them to use it as well having used our bus earlier in the year to drive to an away game. We even had a couple of parents who said, “I need to visit you sometime.” You never know how seeds can be planted for the Lord.

On a personal note, Steven was awarded his second Varsity pin as well as receiving an academic award for “Outstanding Academic Achievement.”

Then we did one of my favorite activities on Saturday – Garage Sale. Not! But nevertheless I still had fun. The proceeds went to our youth group to pay for their fuel and lodging at the Mid-Ohio Valley Workcamp. We held the garage sale on the front steps of our church that faces U.S. 1. It was a great location and we literally had a bus pull over to the side of the road to peruse our wares.

In the course of all the hustle and bustle of a garage sale the Lord allowed ministry to take place. In one case an elderly lady from the local Assembly of God Church, felt comfortable enough to ask for prayers for her Grandson, Niko. I loved how she started the conversation, “I don’t know anything about your church but would you pray with me?” Her 23 month old grandson has leukemia and is going through chemo treatments.

The lady that organized and ran our garage sale, Lee, got the attention of several of us, allowed this dear sweet lady to tell us about Niko, and then suggested we go over to the side and pray for Niko. Jesus shows up in the strangest places sometimes, even a church garage sale.

Sunday was a great day of worship at Central and it marked the first Sunday that Don started preaching for not only us but Discovery as well. Keep us in your prayers as we continue to work towards the unity that Jesus prayed for in John. Hope your weekend was as exciting.

I started to post one of those “poor old me” blogs today. There are times when my “second job” seems to be at best, not worth it. I could go into more detail but I’m afraid I would hear a collective “Boring” from Blog Land.

No, this post is about my unsung hero or rather heroine, my wife, lover, and friend, Barbara. God truly blessed me when he allowed me to marry a “good friend.” Good friends share things in common and that would describe us, both of us are teachers, we like having folks over to our home, we both have a passionate love for our son, Steven, and we’re both heavily involved in our church.

What I do goes without saying. My wife however, is part of the glue that holds our family and our church together. She was blessed with an overabundance of the gift of hospitality. She cooks for the church every Wednesday night. She cooks for our annual Christmas Party and baby does she cook. How about this for a choice, Prime Rib stuffed with garlic or Alice Springs (of the Outback Restaurant variety) Chicken. She coordinates our Fall Festival other various events. She teaches Sunday School and generally supports me in what ever I’m doing with and for the church.

These past few months have been tough on her. With the advent of our potential merger have come many, many meetings. She has been supportive through all of this as well as worrying about me. There’s nothing like having an advocate to come home to.

So, this post is for my lovely wife, Barbara. Without her I would be lost. I love you Baby.

I meant to blog about this conversation last week at Pepperdine but I got distracted. I know, what’s to be distracted by besides the mountains, the Pacific Ocean, the cool weather, or rooming with the Puckster, Joe Carr, Keith, and Greg?

Any way, the Sunday I was at Greg’s in Long Beach I decided to call my soon to be 17 year old son, Steven. When I first came to Pepperdine some 16 years ago, to talk to Steven meant Barb had to hold the phone and the extent of our conversation was, “Hi Daddy.” Oh do I miss those times.

16 years later our conversation on Sunday went something like this:

Me: Hi Steven. What are you up to?
Steven: Mr. Brett (our Youth Deacon) is giving me a Mohawk.
Me: Oh, Really?
Steven: Yeah, Mr. Brett is cool.
Me: Yes (as I’m wondering if an elder can “fire” a deacon for giving his son a Mohawk) he is.
Me: Ah Steven, do you mind telling me why Mr. Brett (who up to this point was a good friend of mine) is giving you a Mohawk?
Steven: Because I’m going to help him get a chicken coop.
Me: Oh, well that makes sense.
Steven: Well Dad, I have to go so Mr. Brett can finish my Mohawk.
Me: O.K., well I love you and tell Mr. Brett (I’m going to kill him) I said hello.

When I hung up some of the SoCal folks asked me how everything was back home. My answer was, “Everything seems fine. Our youth deacon is giving Steven a Mohawk so he can help him get a chicken coop.” I know someone had to be thinking, “What kind of place do you come from?” My answer, "Beautiful downtown West Cocoa, Florida." It’s a place where kids can be kids and get Mohawks from their youth deacon for helping procure chicken coops for their yards.

Don’t you wish you lived here?

If you look to the far right you’ll see the “Rock” that Joe Carr and I ascended to earlier today. The Rock and visits to it have become an annual part of my Pepperdine experience. We discovered the Rock several years ago when we were housed in a vacant Faculty Member’s Apartment at one of the highest points on the campus. Ray was with us that year and being an infantryman he “reconned” the surrounding area and discovered a trail that leads to an outcropping of rock that overlooks the Pepperdine Campus, Malibu, and Pacific Ocean.

Last year the Chuckster (we miss you Chuck) and I walked from our apartments to the Rock. Most of the way is very steep and limits the length of conversations as you ascend. When Chuck and I were almost at the end of the road and at one of the steepest points on the way up, a Pepperdine Maintenance man made a comment to us which was probably prompted by all of the huffing and puffing we were doing. As we passed him he said, “Hey, we call this “Jenny Craig Hill.” I would have told the gentleman in a Christian sort of way to “shut up” but I was out of breath.

The Rock has been the scene of many a night were Greg, myself, and various other folks spent the night in prayer. There’s something about being up above most everything on the campus, being able to hear the ocean far below, and seeing the lights of the coast that drives you to prayer. We’ve shared a lot of things on the Rock.

A few years ago, the Rock was the scene of a conversation Greg and I had with Chuck concerning his walk with the Lord. I’ll never forget that talk for it was just a few weeks later that Chuck was baptized into Christ!

This year Joe (youth minister from Melbourne) and I made the hike. It was good to get to know Joe better. Joe has worked for us at the Bible Camp but our walk and stop at the Rock afforded time for deeper conversation. I’m so impressed with Joe as I have been over the years at Camp. I was thankful to God for his company and our conversation.

Tomorrow (Friday) we leave Pepperdine. Keith has to be at LAX in the morning so we’re driving him to the airport and then heading on down to Greg’s. I will insert myself into the England Family one more time with attending Jessica’s graduation for Azusa Pacific. I fly back on Sunday.

I’m going to miss a lot of things. As Greg resigns from preaching at Long Beach to work with Josh in Temecula, I’m going to miss the LB Church. This is a special group of folks that have become my second / west coast church family. I pray that God will send the right family to work with these folks.

I’m going to miss Greg’s home in LB. This home holds a lot of special memories for me. My son grew up here over the years of our visits and even my dearly departed Mother spent time with us in Greg’s home.

So enough of memory lane; I thank God that He has provided me with ways over the past 16 years to attend the Lectures at Pepperdine and to be with Greg and his family.

If you’ve been wondering where I’ve been (both friends and all of my non-commenting / share my blogs with others in attempts to slander me readers) I wanted to let you know that I’ve been hanging out here in “So-Cal.” The picture was taken at Josh and Greg's funeral home. Now there is a reason for me “hanging out” in a funeral home.

During my past 16 visits to Greg’s and the Pepperdine Lectures, Monday has always been kind of a hang out day. In the past we’ve gone to Catalina Island, been on the Tonight (as a audience member but you never know) Show, and played golf at the same Par 3 course that Tiger Woods grew up on. This year, Greg’s son Josh needed help hanging a “body lift” machine. So, Keith and I along with Greg made the 90-mile drive to Temecula to lend our assistance. We quickly discovered that the 250lb body lift machine was going to need it’s own lift to be able to steady it so we could mount it to the ceiling of the Prep Room. Josh’s Father-in-Law, Kevin, was nice enough to rent a materials lifter which we used to keep the body lift machine in place until we were able to get it mounted. Keith and I spent a copious amount of time in the attic attempting to bolt the Lift to a 4 x 4 that we placed in the attic.

BTW – There would have been no way that we could have spent the same amount of time in an attic in Florida. As it was, we came out of there fairly sweaty but with Greg putting on the finishing touches, the job was finished. Of course, when one completes a job one must test said equipment. Hence the picture. I also had the experience of sitting on one of the slabs in the Cooler. (“Colonel Hogan”) Josh rewarded all of us with a steak dinner, which was nice.

May I back up to Sunday at Long Beach. (LB) Greg asked me to do the Communion Comments. I used the verses out of Job 1 where Job says, “You give and take away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” The hit song by “3rd Day,” “Blessed Be the Name of the Lord” has become my theme song lately. I told the LB folks about our upcoming merger and the price I personally was being made to pay but nevertheless, blessed be the name of the Lord.

When I sat down Randy gave me a couple of reassuring pats on the back that I could tell were heart felt. Then Keith leaned over and asked me to tell Greg that he wouldn’t be using his slides that he had prepared for his sermon. I didn’t put two and two together until Keith got up to preach and said, “My brother Cecil has inspired me so I’m trashing my sermon to give you my testimony and some thoughts that are on my heart.”

Keith shared his faith story and how the forces of Hell masked as legalists have conspired in his area to ostracize him. I know this might sound weird but he inspired me with his words. Knowing Keith the way I know him, knowing what he has been through, and the man of God that he has turned out to be inspires me to persevere. Then the Long Beach Elders asked me to come forward and they prayed for situation, my Central, Discovery, and me. It was one of the highlights of my “church-going” life.

Speaking of life, I had what could have been a life threatening experience in L.A. Tuesday we left for Pepperdine but Keith wanted to stop at the “Dream Center” in Echo Park, which is part of L.A.

This is a huge ministry aimed at cleaning up the streets of L.A. by taking drug dealers, prostitutes, and gang members off the streets. The center itself is located off of Rampart (“Rampart, this is Engine 51.”) in a less than safe neighborhood. Greg suggested as we parked our van that someone should stay in the van with the 3 laptops and our luggage. I volunteered to be that “someone.”

Keith and Greg were gone for about 10 minutes and I dozed off in the first bench seat. Next thing I knew I could hear a scratching sound at the back door of the van. I rose up to see someone trying to jimmy the door open.
First dumb move:
I opened the side door.
2nd dumb move:
I yelled, “Hey, what are you (here’s your sign) doing?!”
Excuse me Sir; I’m trying to break into your van, duh!

Our would-be perpetrator ran off.
3rd dumb move:
I walked around the back to inspect the lock.
Then it dawned on me, our Mr. Van Thief might be going off to get some friends. Exit, stage left.

I jumped back in the van, locked the doors, fired up the van, and called Greg. I don’t remember exactly what I said but I’m sure it contained the phrases, “may-day,” “red alert,” “brace for impact,” and “Get your bu-tras back into this van or you’ll be calling a cab!” Greg and Keith came back to the van and I relayed how I was an audience of one at a vehicle break-in.

Pepperdine University must be the most beautiful college campus in the world. We arrived here to good classes and perhaps the best opening keynote address I’ve heard in 16 years. The best part of the Lectures is the fellowship. I’m rooming with the Puckster and his youth guy, Joe. Randall and Craig are bunking on the floor in our living room and being really good sports about it. Greg and Keith are in the other room.

Speaking of Keith, we had a great moment at breakfast this morning. Keith was demonstrating a feature on his cell phone that allows him to type a few letters of a word and the phone will suggest some matches so you don’t have to punch all of the keys. With Greg and one of his elders, Bruce sitting at our breakfast table Keith demonstrated. The demonstration went something like this:

Keith: Watch how I spell the word “stuck” just by typing the first few letters.
Us: O.K.
Keith: First I type an “s.” Look at my phone.
Us: I see an “s.”
Keith: Now I type a “t.”
Us: I see “st.”
Keith: Now I type a “u.”
Us: O.K., (with anticipation) now we see “stu.”
Keith: Now I’ll type a “c.”
Us: Wow; now we see “stuc.”
Keith: Now for the finale, I’ll type a “k.”
Us: (with much laughter) Wow, you just spelled the word “stuck” by typing the letters s-t-u-c-k! Amazing.

I think it took Keith a few moments to realize what he had done.

It’s good to be here but I miss my wife, Barbara, and son, Steven. Keep them in your prayers while I’m gone. Now I have to go try that cool trick Keith showed us on his cell phone.