Strip It Off

I think we all carry too much weight around. No, I don't mean the pounds that plague our collective midsections. I'm referring to the stuff of life -- or maybe it's the stuff IN life. We have, we want more, we grasp, we hold tightly. We bring things along with us -- things that happened to us long ago but we won't let them go. They all weigh us down; they keep us from being the people God intended us to be. We need to get rid of the stuff -- to strip it off -- to run the race called life with as little extra weight as possible.

This morning I preached. You're getting the overflow. The Bible in Hebrews 12:1 advises us to "strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that hinders our progress." To demonstrate a contrast to "strip off," I started the sermon dressed in wading boots, a heavy wool coat, plus a wool cap with a funky tail down the back (like a lizard tail). It was fun; it was also hot. I found a place to ditch the stuff near the beginning and finished the sermon in my stocking feet.

We stripped off some of the stuff this week. What we ditched was the work load and feeling that "I have to be there." Monday was a holiday of course. To celebrate we stayed home most of the day. Our big outing was to Wal-Mart where we spent $3.00 on a plant for our courtyard; then a stop at the A&W drive thru for a couple of cherry limeades. What a day!!!!

Friday is supposed to be our day off. I finished my sermon, then we went for a drive to see this part of the valley we have never visited before. We discovered there are 5 covered bridges about a half hour from here -- we saw two of them and will pick up the other 3 on another day. We also found a neat little cafe where we had lunch. It is in Scio (you'll have to have a real good Oregon map to find that) and appropriately named the "Covered Bridge Coffee Shop." Good clam chowder!

Did we do anything constructive this week? Well certainly. We're not slackers all the time. Wednesday evening we had our first Family Night. It was simply a get acquainted, have fun, eat and play games. I told a brief story as our devotions at the end. This coming Wednesday we'll get serious with age-level groups. Saturday was all-church work day. About 14-15 people showed up and we got a LOT done. We organized rooms, got rid of junk, cleaned cobwebs, fixed non-working lights, painted places that needed touching up, and generally wiped, cleaned, and vacuumed. Somebody said this hadn't been done in 3 years. I can believe it. I've never seen so many cobwebs in a church! But it looks 1000% better now and I think the people feel good about what was accomplished.

Trevor and Shanette left this morning for a new pastors conference at our church headquarters in Indianapolis. The reason they left Sunday morning is a long story that involves confusion in booking flights. They will return Wednesday night.

Well, that's about it. Just ask, I'll preach you a sermon anytime. This was a good week and the coming week will be lots of work.