A Preacher's Kind of Day
I tell people all of the time that they would not believe it if I told them what I do every day. Of course, every day is different, but there is always a great variety and many surprises. Most days are full, but it is not all what you would think. Let me give you a little idea.
I rose at 5 AM for my unhurried time with the Lord, which took about two hours as it usually does. I ended that time with some reading and research to complete my message for Sunday, so I could give Eugenia my outline today. I used my Bible program to look up and print out a lot of references. Then, I checked the news and added my verse to Facebook. I took my shower and left for the church by about 9 AM, so I could get to prayer time.
When I drove up to the church, Greg was there working on the broken toilet, so I showed him the broken valve lid I had found Monday evening at visitation. We shared and prayed for an hour, as usual, on Tuesday mornings. Then, Joe and I had a conference on the Zoning report from the county on our property. Joe had read it over, and so we looked at the drawings and I sent an email and made a call to the lawyers to clarify some things. Finally, I rushed out to meet Phil for our mentoring lunch. It is usually on Thursday, but this is a short week, because of July 4th holiday. We ate and talked about all kinds of things. I drove to Southern Regional Medical Center after that to see Beverly. She had surgery yesterday. She was in pain, but doing OK, so we prayed, and I left her with her family. I made it back to the church at about 2:30 PM.
I checked out the emails in my office, and I played a new game I have learned lately. It is called phone tag. It is a unique way to communicate with men in the local jails. It doesn't work very well, but it is better than nothing. I spoke to Jeannie about some North Henry Academy business for about 30 minutes. Then, I went back to my office and finished my outline. I explained it and a couple of other things to Eugenia before I left for the house at 4PM.
I had been asked by a former church member to do a memorial service at 7 PM, so I was trying to be sensitive to what the Lord wanted me to say for that service at 7 PM. I took a short rest, ate supper with the family, and changed clothes. I left for the memorial service at 6:15 PM, so I could speak with the family beforehand. The service went until 8:30 PM. Chris had left me a message to get some groceries on the way home, so I got home at about 9:15 PM. I was about to do my blog when John called on Skype. We had a good visit with him and Gao Foua, since we had not been able to talk much since their trip. Now, I am finishing my blog at about 11:25 PM. It shouldn't be long until I am in bed. Then, it will start again at 5 AM.
That is a full day, but a very typical day in the life of a preacher.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Job 20-21 and Acts 10:24-48.
I rose at 5 AM for my unhurried time with the Lord, which took about two hours as it usually does. I ended that time with some reading and research to complete my message for Sunday, so I could give Eugenia my outline today. I used my Bible program to look up and print out a lot of references. Then, I checked the news and added my verse to Facebook. I took my shower and left for the church by about 9 AM, so I could get to prayer time.
When I drove up to the church, Greg was there working on the broken toilet, so I showed him the broken valve lid I had found Monday evening at visitation. We shared and prayed for an hour, as usual, on Tuesday mornings. Then, Joe and I had a conference on the Zoning report from the county on our property. Joe had read it over, and so we looked at the drawings and I sent an email and made a call to the lawyers to clarify some things. Finally, I rushed out to meet Phil for our mentoring lunch. It is usually on Thursday, but this is a short week, because of July 4th holiday. We ate and talked about all kinds of things. I drove to Southern Regional Medical Center after that to see Beverly. She had surgery yesterday. She was in pain, but doing OK, so we prayed, and I left her with her family. I made it back to the church at about 2:30 PM.
I checked out the emails in my office, and I played a new game I have learned lately. It is called phone tag. It is a unique way to communicate with men in the local jails. It doesn't work very well, but it is better than nothing. I spoke to Jeannie about some North Henry Academy business for about 30 minutes. Then, I went back to my office and finished my outline. I explained it and a couple of other things to Eugenia before I left for the house at 4PM.
I had been asked by a former church member to do a memorial service at 7 PM, so I was trying to be sensitive to what the Lord wanted me to say for that service at 7 PM. I took a short rest, ate supper with the family, and changed clothes. I left for the memorial service at 6:15 PM, so I could speak with the family beforehand. The service went until 8:30 PM. Chris had left me a message to get some groceries on the way home, so I got home at about 9:15 PM. I was about to do my blog when John called on Skype. We had a good visit with him and Gao Foua, since we had not been able to talk much since their trip. Now, I am finishing my blog at about 11:25 PM. It shouldn't be long until I am in bed. Then, it will start again at 5 AM.
That is a full day, but a very typical day in the life of a preacher.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Job 20-21 and Acts 10:24-48.