June 22, 2014

A Good Sunday

June 22, 2014

A sparrow getting a drink at the fountain in the birdbath.

For some reason I was up early today and had time to work in the yard a bit before getting ready for church.  Our Sunday School class was great.  We had a good lesson with lots of discussion.  It is so great when the lessons sound like they could have been today's news headlines.  We have an outstanding group of people who know their Bibles well and can add to the lesson with insights and comments.

The worship service was also excellent.  I am enjoying them so much more now that I am using the cable with my Cochlear Implant sound processor to the little radio the church has for the hearing impaired.  It really helps.  The pastor was just back from the Southern Baptist Convention and as always happens he met people who have come here in the past to work for a week at our Mission Outreach Center (that is now called the Hendrick Mission Center in honor of a man who spent many years leading work in that facility).  They share with our pastor that the week they spent working here led them to surrender their lives to ministry or mission work or in someway to serve the Lord in full-time work.  God has blessed that ministry.  A group arrives tonight to work this coming week.  Future leaders of our convention may be in that group coming tonight.

During the service, a group of children who had attended a day camp at the Hendrick Mission Center (HMC) sang in the service.  Four of our grandchildren were in the group.  I think almost all of us know that when you get a group of little children up in front of the church, there is usually one child who stands out from the rest - usually for not doing what they others are doing.  Today that was our youngest grandson.  He had only been able to attend 2 of the 5 days of the camp so he didn't know the song well.  Someone must have told him to watch the little boy next to him to see what to do.  He did.  (That is our grandson in the white shirt.)

By the end of the song he was catching on.  The two older granddaughters were on the other side of the stage as was the other little grandson.  Ron could not get the other grandson in the photo but here are the two girls.

After an excellent sermon we decided to go to Wendy's for lunch.  I got a few grandchildren photos before we left the church.

The middle of the three girls.

The youngest of the girls.  

The oldest of the girls had already headed to the car with a friend.

The three youngest children.

The two oldest children.  The one in the green is the oldest. 

At Wendy's we had a relaxing lunch and enjoyed visiting as we had our hamburgers and fries.  Mostly, we talked about the changes that are in store for our son and his family.  He has accepted a new job in a town a little over an hour's drive from us.  I know that they will all quickly make new friends and find places to use their many talents, but we will really miss them - especially on Sundays.  Our son starts his new job soon, but they need to find a house before the family can move.  In the meantime, he will drive back and forth each day.  We will miss them, but we have always told all our sons to do what is right for their families.  Their decisions need to be based on their needs.  We are thankful to have had them in our same town for all these years, and are thankful that they won't be too far away.  Since they are home schooled, their schedules are a little more flexible.  They don't have to move by the time school starts, but they may find a house by then.

Our son has worked for our city in one job or another for most of his adult life.  While in college he worked summers in Yellowstone National Park, but during those college years he got training to be an EMT and worked for our city on the ambulances and then used those skills in Yellowstone.  He then took a law enforcement class to use in Yellowstone as a park ranger and later went to the Police Academy here in Brownsville.  As soon as he had returned from Yellowstone he went to work for our Convention and Visitor's Bureau.  He later worked as the assistant director for the city Ambulance Service, about the time they were combining them with the fire department.  From there he became the Emergency Management Director when the city created that position.  That was just before the time of the 9-11 attack in New York City.  Prior to 9-11, his job was mostly to deal with hurricanes and local emergencies like oil spills, etc.  Within a few days of 9-11, the position changed to encompass much more. 

He continued working with the Emergency Management even after he became Assistant City Manager.  He loves that work.  I tease him a lot about that Emergency Management job.  When he first told us about it, the focus had to do with preparedness for evacuating the city in case of a major storm or other major disaster.  Then a few days before he actually started the job, he called to say he was getting fitted for a bullet proof vest because he would be busy in case of a hostage situation or other type situation that involved several departments of the city workers.  It wasn't much longer before 9-11 occurred and then the anthrax scare.  He called to check on assorted shots that he had been given and what antibiotics he could take since he has a lot of allergies.  First responders might need to have small pox shots, etc.  The city has seen to it that he received great training for each of those situations.  Our city has good plans in place in case of a need for them. Jeff loves to work for the community.  He loves to help people and to solve problems.  He is great at his job and our city will miss him.

A relaxing Sunday lunch with our son.

Late this afternoon Ron and again worked in the yard.  I finished my flower bed.  I was hot and tired when it was done, but I am hoping the chicken from next door will leave it alone and that the ducks won't trample it.  I know the birds will love the new birdbath.  I will love the plants and the added bird attraction.

 

The flower bed!!!!

Close up of the birdbath, with a cat figure on top.

Today was hot and the birds really used the other birdbaths a lot.  It was fun to watch the young sparrows try to figure out how to use them to get a drink. 

It has been a long, good day and we did a lot.  Can't believe it is time to go back to work in the morning.  I do need to go to the Sprint store first to see if they will take care of my new phone that quit working.