Monthly Archives: September 2012

I get to do a lot of things as a pastor that are not pleasant.  Death and discord, decisions and drama.  All come with the pastorate.

At the same time, I have the great opportunity to living with people who celebrate life and death together.  I have seen this in action with the recent death of my wife.  What joy in knowing others support me and listen to me and laugh with me and live life with me.

And yesterday, I celebrated with those who have new life in their lives.  I dedicated the children of two couples – Ryan and Sharon Lee (Isaiah Timothy is their son), and Curtis and Rachel Kornelson (Sierra Lynn is their daughter).  As I listened to the earnestness of each couple in committing to bringing up their children to follow God, I also sensed that each of these children are destined for greatness in God’s kingdom – Isaiah as a peacemaker and Sierra as a visionary.  Let’s see where they go!

Check out the job that I was about this afternoon!

The idea was to take a few minutes in put in a new kitchen faucet tap.  I was also going to insert some taps under the sink that would allow me to shut off the water while I worked on the sink.

As I went about the work, I remembered why I had declined to take on this task seven years ago.  I found this was going to be more work than it might be worth!  

I had to take out the sink (not a usual thing in replacing taps).  Which created a small flood.  And then I had to find a way to saw off some of the pipe.  And then put the sink back in – sturdy enough to not move.  And then attach the kitchen faucet tap tightly enough to not move.  All this while recognizing that the work space was mere centimeters, not inches or even feet.  And of course, this is all being done upside down looking into the sky (or the bottom of the sink!).

Five hours later the task is done.  If I can be proud – here I am!!  Of course, I’ll check for leaks again tomorrow.

The saga may not yet be over!!

Rice pudding was on my radar yesterday.

Thursday night our young adults potluck had a rice night.  There were leftovers.  A good bit of leftovers.

Now, I enjoy rice pudding.  Others may not.  But I do.  With lots of raisins and a hint of cinnamon.  At least, that’s what I think of from my childhood.

When I Googled the recipe for rice pudding on www.allrecipes.com (quickly becoming a favored site of mine), I found a five star recipe.  Printed that off and gathered the ingredients.  Thankfully they were all available!

Following the instructions, the concoction was soon simmering over the stove.  But, as I looked closer there was no cinnamon included.  I knew that five star recipes would be good (I’ve tried some others).  But, I also knew that I would be missing a certain taste.  With some flourish, I emptied a bit (I realize that more than a bit makes bitter!) into the pot.  Later in the evening, as I ate the pudding, I sat back and just enjoyed!

Which brings me to a quandary in my life.  I am beginning to really enjoy this cooking thing – I think it was passed on to me from my wife.  Also, one of our values in life was hospitality.  So, as much as I enjoy my “tastes” in life, I’m also trying to gather a sense of others’ tastes.  When those friends arrive, flavored to my liking is secondary to their desires.  I want to set my table with others in mind.  And when I am with like minded “tasters” – I’ll go hog wild on the cinnamon!