Over The Fence Ponderings

This morning, I traveled to Hayward to conduct our usual Wednesday morning Bible study at the assisted living center. The Bible study was a lot of fun and a blessing. When I can in I was greeted by the resident dog, who barked and barked and then licked and licked. We sang several songs and then I shared about "The Touch of the Master's Hand." When it was time to go, one of the ladies looked at me and said "Your a good looking man". I was flattered and the other residents gave her a hard time about how I was a married man. What a delight to be considered a "good looking man" by a lady that is 92 years young and has cataracts with very poor vision. Either way, I really enjoy ministering to them each week and getting to know them.

Nose Job

The last couple of days have been quite interesting and somewhat amazing. I was scheduled for nose surgery to remove polyps and if necessary a couple of other procedures. What was so amazing is to see how God put everything together. We didn't want to drive up early this morning, so we looked online for a motel in Superior, Wi. We stayed at the Superior Inn, just across the bridge and maybe 7 or 8 miles from the hospital and it only cost $39.00 for the night (with tax). They just happened to be running an internet special. Originally, we were scheduled to get to the hospital at 8:15 am, but on the way up to Superior, they called and said there was a cancellation and we needed to be their by 7:15 am, which was even better.
There has to be a joke here somewhere, but "how many hospital staff does it take to do one nose job?" There was the receptionist at the front desk, several nurses who did things like put the IV in, took my blood pressure (several times), ask the same questions over and over again, the nurses in the recovery room, etc... not to mention the anesthesiologist and his assistant, and of course the doctor who actually did the surgery. Actually the hospital was very efficient and ran like clock work. I really salute the doctors and staff at Miller-Dwan.
They not only took very good care of me, they also gave me these colorful bracelets, which only cost a few thousand dollars each.
The procedure went very well and I am doing fine, except being tired and a little weak yet. The hard part is not being able to blow my nose for a few days, which in my family is very big thing. We appreciate all those who prayed and continue to pray.

Hayward Bible Study

A couple of months ago I started doing a Bible Study at an assisted living home in Hayward, Wisconsin. There are 4 ladies and 2 men. It is interesting listening to them talk about life, family and experiences. The 2 men are both in their 90's and the older man is the "younger" man's uncle. Bets, the older man has a great voice and has played several musical instruments in his life. His daughter, Carol started the Bible Study and I am filling in until spring when she gets back from sunny Arizona We are doing a series on the 23rd Psalm and learning a lot about tending sheep and how it pertains to our life following the Good Shepherd. A couple of them have no family left at all, so they are all alone, except for the people at the home. If it wasn't for sharing with them the Good News of the Good Shepherd, this ministry could be very discouraging. It amazes me that my goal has been to teach them, but they always end up teaching me more than I teach them. That is the Joy of ministry!

Quiet Days

Today was one of those quiet winter days that I used to catch up on things in the office. I made a few phone calls that I have been putting off, worked on the computer for a while and even straightened up my file cabinet that has way too much junk in it (oops, I mean important files). This afternoon I spent some time re-organizing some files on the laptop. Quite a while ago I bought an external hard drive for the sole purpose of storing and saving needed files on.
As you may know, we have a new grandson, born a little more than a month ago. The picture is our grand daughter, Afton, mothering her new brother, Miles Mason Distad. I really think this is a great picture of them, taken either by Kevin or Jennifer recently. We discovered the world of Skype, where we can talk with and see Kevin's family using a web cam. It truly is amazing!

Christmas SNOW!!!

One of the things I am learning during these winter months is that sometimes you just have to sit back and wait for the weather to break. This morning we were supposed to have our church service at Barron, but we canceled because of the snowy roads. The snow from yesterday had quit and the sky was clear, but the windchill was below zero and the roads were very slippery. Instead of traveling 42 miles south to church, we traveled about 1 mile to Trego Community and joined them today. Linda went to their Christmas program tonight. Linda's mom called tonight and told us that Linda's nephew and his wife and child were in a 30 car pile up on Highway 94 this afternoon. Their car was totalled as it was hit from behind and in the front. Scott lost 3 teeth and his face was cut up and they are keeping him overnight to check for a concussion. Lornell and the baby are all right.
I thought this picture of the bush in our yard was quite interesting with the red berries showing in the snow covered bush. The Lord was reminding me that even in the midst of snow storms there is life and blessing.

Olivia'a Birthday

A couple of weeks ago, Linda and I went over to the Twin Cities to help celebrate our grand daughter's 4th birthday. Jennifer made Olivia a beautiful "Little Mermaid" birthday cake. After we had lunch, it was time for her to open her presents. Olivia had it planned out to the letter, just what we were suppose to do. She would go into her room, wait a little bit and then come out. As she did we would yell out "Surprise" and "Happy Birthday". Of course, she wasn't really surprised, but she still loved the attention. It is always a delight to help celebrate their birthdays. I think we are just as excited as they are sometimes.

An Aamzing Week!

This past week has been one of those weeks where there was something happening every day. It was definitely a busy week, but a very good week. It actually stated last week when I traveled to south east Wisconsin to be a part of 2 different mission conferences and make a couple of visits. The first conference was Wednesday night in the small town of Fulton, Wisconsin. It is a small town, but Fulton Church is a good size church with a very active membership. On Thursday I traveled to Union Grove to stay at Shepherd's Home, where they minister to Cognitive Impaired adults. They not only provide housing and work, but a great source of spiritual leadership. I came away with a great appreciation for how they work with C.I. adults and respond to their needs. Friday I was involved in a 3 day mission's conference in William's Bay at Calvary Community Church. It was amazing to see missionaries from all over the world and here in the USA.

That was last week. This week involved 3 adult Bible Studies (Linda has a Ladies Bible Study on Monday, I have one at an assisted living facility in Hayward on Wednesday and we both took part of the Bible Study at Hanson's Group Home in Barron.) We also had a Bible Study tonight with our adult group in Shell Lake.

Thursday after school, we hold a Bible Club in Haugen Elementary School. This was our first week of club for the year and we had no idea how many kids would be coming. In the past we were able to send notes home to all the kids at that school. But this year we had to send out personal notes to the kids that attended last year. Praise the Lord, we had 11 kids come and had a great time with them. God really answered prayer!

Friday night was the night of our Teen Youth Night in Barron at the Barron Area Community Center. Instead of going all night, like we have done in the past, we went from 7 - midnight, which was a lot easier for us "old people" to handle. There were 29 teens and 11 adults. Paul Frey handled the games and devotional for the night. One of the games he played was "Chariot Race", where each team had a blanket for a chariot which they placed someone on and pulled them around the gym and raced chariot style. The kids had a blast!

Today was our annual "Praise Celebration" at the Barron Church. The music group "Reachin' Out" sand and played several songs and we celebrated God's bleesing during the year. Our attendance was nearly doubled with 41 people attending and enjoying the potluck dinner after church.