What a day!

Can I just talk about my day yesterday? It wa a whirlwind, and I'd like to just put it down somewhere as an "official" record.
Well, yesterday started off a little differently than the normal Sunday. Our local association of Baptist churches was having their annual meeting, and I was responsible for putting up our Hot Hearts display (since I am the Publicity Chairman). So, I got to The Heights Fellowship (THF), where Caryn and I attend on Sundays, early yesterday so I could print some stuff for our monster display booth (one of those 9' tall semi-circle deals). While working on that, I remembered that Caryn and I were working in the nursery that morning, doing Sunday Bible study with the 2-3 year old class. No biggie. Cayla is in that class, so I'll get to watch her do life with other kids. It was great, by the way. But the big bomb came right before my stint in the nursery. Mike Martindale (the Pastor of THF, and one of my best friends in the world) came in and told me that the Key-note speaker for the annual meeting's Youth Rally had just backed out because of a death in the family, and with only hours to go, there was no one to speak. I then talked with Nick Watts (another of the greatest men in the world and a very close friend) and suggested a local guy. Nick had something else in mind. He suggested that I do it. Why not? I said sure. Then, it hit me. I would be speaking at a rally for around 300 students with little warning and even less preparation. Yikes! So, I went from the nursery at THF to the worship gathering. From there, I grabbed lunch on the run, hit Wal-Mart for some booth stuff, and headed to the church where the annual meeting would be (Oakwood Baptist Church). I immediately went to setting the booth up, and gave Miracle Max some mediea stuff I would need for my speaking gig that night. Miracle Max is Max Webb, my former Ministry Assistant from Bacon Heights. He's now the pulbicity guy for Oakwood. He, too, is one of my closest friends. It took some time to set the booth up, then I helped with the media set up for the rally, and then found out that I had to speak to the adult assembly about the current state of Youth Ministry. From there I went back to media set up and helping Max get my video clips ready. Next was the actual event. By the time it was all said and done, it was 8:15 p.m. and I made it home just in time to collapse on the couch watching the world series. By the way, did the Astros win last night? I fell asleep about the 7th innning with the 'Stros up 4-2. I vaguely remember my wife laying a comforter on me as she headed for bed. The next thing I knew, it was this morning, and Jeremiah was crawling up onto the couch for our daily routine of morning snuggling. Needless to say, Sunday wiped me out! I realized, though, what a day I'd had, and what a great role my friends had played in the whole thing. God has surrounded me with men who are sensitive to His will, and are great encouragers. I cherish these men greatly.
The rest of my week is going to fly by, too. I have a volleyball game tonight, and my father-in-law will be at the house for a while. He's great. A great man who believes in doing right by others and for others. He's been a huge blessing to us, and the not-typical father-in-law for me. He's been like a dad to me. Tuesday, some guys from our potential sponsor church will be here to meet for the day. I'm excited about them coming. They, too, are great friends. We'll spend the day together sharing our visions for our ministries, and how we can help each other. Wednesday I'll be speaking at FBC Anton. Wes, the Youth Minister there, is a solid guy doing ministry that reminds me of my ministry in the early days. Thursday, The Journey will have it's worship gathering at our house. Friday will be a day to breathe, and hang with a friend at Starbuck's. Saturday is The Journey's Community Meal at the Futrell's house. It'll be great! We have some new friends coming to that. It'll be a great chance to meet and love on new people. Then, Sunday starts a new week and a whole different bunch of events! So, I'll be posting throughout the week to keep everyone up-to-speed on what is going on, and how things are going. I'm also going to post some plain stupid stuff, too, to keep my mind from thinking too much. Thanks for all of your prayers as The Journey and my ministry take shape. Great things are looming on the horizon, and my body is a-tingle with excitement about the unseen horizon.
Keep it real,
Jase