Conversations This Past Week

I'm having a lot of conversations with a lot of you about what it means to only do larger gatherings once a month. I'm excited that many of you are diving head first into this journey and trying to figure out what it means and how to venture on with it.

I have to admit that I'm a bit perplexed that some of you have not heard or believed that this is where we've been heading for the past several years -- we really have been preparing for and talking about this stuff for several years.

I'm sorry that we haven't been better communicators. I think we started heading toward this, then kind of stopped, which may have been confusing at times.

I'm hoping that this will be the last time we have to resort to "us/you" language. Now that this major transition is the rear view mirror, we can all move together as a family. There shouldn't have to be "announcements" about stuff "we" decided and need to tell "you" about any more. At least I hope not.

We have much adventure in front of us. I can't wait to see what God does with us.

Ode to Doctors

I could never be a medical doctor. Pastor, sure. Attorney, let's hope. Lawn mowing professional, done it.

I've always know this. My hand-eye coordination is not good enough to stitch up the gaping wound of a screaming child. I realized this after Tori had an accident as a two-year-old. She got 8 stitches in her eyebrow. You don't want me trying to stitch up your two-year old if I have to be sure to miss her eye.

I don't faint at the sight of blood, but it's not something I'd like to be faced with on a daily basis.

The doctor who delivered Lucas came in at 2 AM to do so. He looked like hell. I wanted to buy him a latte and jump out and scare him just to make sure he was awake enough to handle the delivery. I wouldn't want someone else's life hanging in the balance of my actions if you woke me up at 2AM, that's for sure.

And, during the few times when I have put something together, I have often lost my cool and thrown a screwdriver accross the room in the process. I gotta think that aint a good trait for someone doing, let's say, quadruple bypass surgery, for example.

Today, during the time I normally would be eating lunch with Jeremy, Joe, Keith, & Veech, I instead witnessed Lucas' circumcision. The tools looked more like stuff you'd see in a woodworking shop than a doctor's office. I don't think you'd want me doing that to your baby. Especially when the little guy (and I aint talking about the kid) is that small. One slip of the knife (or angry, frustrated outburst) and the family line comes to a dead end, if you know what I mean.

So doctors and nurses, God bless you. I'm staying in law school.