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Yesterday ushered in 4 1/2 hours of yard work. The exhilarating thing was that I went without much of a break – a few gulps of water, but pretty much steady work. Compared to last year at this time when I had to watch my wife clean up the yard, this is a higher plane!

The work to be done was simple. Dethatch the grass, rake up the clippings and cut down some branches off the willow in our back yard. I keep forgetting to wear a mask, so I could taste the grit of the dust gathering in our drought stricken land.

Since spring arrived, we have not had a steady downpour of rain. A few cloudbursts, but no gusher. So today will see some watering of the lawn.

Then we will await the miracle of growth!

In my eagerness, or stupidity — one or the other — I have chosen to translate from the Greek the passages I will be preaching on in the next two months.

This evening I sat on our sunlit porch and for an hour worked over 4 verses.  The final product is somewhat simplistic — I’ll hone it during the week.

What I found unexpected was that I had fun.  Not since my days of seminary (over 20 years ago) have I done such extended translation.  Flashes of those days came back in an instant.  The thrill of finding just the right English expression to capture the intent of the Greek.  The frustration of parsing verbs — thank goodness for analytical lexicons.  The joy of finding the core thoughts in a sentence.

Some people think I enjoy words.  And that is true.  But my real enjoyment is to find a way for words to form together in such a way that they open our eyes to a new perspective.  Not necessarily a new truth.  But a new way of delving into the truth!

And that brings joy! 

7:30 was bright and early as we set up skillets and cutting boards.  When the service of the food came at 8:30, the pancakes and waffles were great,  sitting next in line to the ham and scrambled eggs.  Fruit salad with cheese and muffins snuggled in nicely, filling up the counter space.  Juices, tea and coffee rounded out the assortment of food.

More food than I eat most mornings.  Delicious!

The conversation with around a dozen guys was easy and informative.  We learned a bit more about each other, and particularly about a new church-planting pastor in town, Scott Holloway.

And thinking is already being done about another breakfast.  Perhaps the end of June?  We’ll see.

The health food store is right next to a liquor store on one side and an adult book store on the other. Both of those stores have large sliding doors that invite everyone in. In the middle of these stores is an inviting store called “The Way”.

So starts my latest story held on my wordpress blog.  Check it out and see what you think.  Click here.