points in my world.

• Well, it is Memorial day today. And yet I will be spending most of my day at the Ball park for a double header of my son's Baseball team. Lathering up the sun screen, and Bob is putting up the canopy. But yesterday, Bob and I put together a picture board for Memorial day and invited others to do the same. I'll see if I can get them together to show you later. It was very moving.

• It was Pentecost Sunday yesterday, and the person bringing the announcements told them I would explain Pentecost to them. I used the children's sermon to tell them about Pentecost and the Holy Spirit, and explain how the Holy Spirit helps us to become Christ Like which tied into my sermon. I wasn't preaching Pentecost lectionary passages. We are doing a series on the Purpose Driven Life to go along with the Book Study. We are at the third purpose of "Becoming Christ Like". I have to tell you after attending the Festival of Homiletics, listening to the "Rock Stars" of the Preaching World, I really felt humbled about my preaching. And I got the idea from what the Bishop said in his lecture on the last day about preaching, that he didn't care for the Purpose Driven Life or the style of preaching that Rick Warren preached. I really felt anxious. But the Bishop said something that I do agree with, that when the Holy Spirit shows up it is awesome, disconcerting, powerful, well we don't have the words to describe it, at least I don't. But I think God is there in the church and its us who don't always show up, or we may come to church physically but not in the whole. Our minds and hearts are often elsewhere, including myself sometimes. My prayer was that I showed up and that we showed up to receive the word we needed to hear.

• Yesterday, we said goodbye to our Youth Director. It was sad. We gave her a gift card and a gift. She tried hard to work with our youth. She tried different means of working with them. But in the end it did not work. But we wanted to thank her for her time with us and our youth and ministering to them. So we said goodbye and thank you. We prayed over her and for her future. She is getting married, and finishing her graduate degree. Anybody in our area looking for a youth director? I can recommend one. We have a different youth group. We have some members of our church who are youth. Then we have youth whose parents don't go to church. We also have the young men from a local children's home. Good boys at heart, but boys with lots of needs, lots of pain, and no parents around. It makes for a hard youth group. So, Abi is working with the youth along with another man, Bob and some other people who said they would help until we decide what direction we are going in.

• Last night we came home from Sunday night church to see our beautiful male cat, Prince Aiden on the side of the road. Yes, we lost another cat. He was breathing but not really responding. Bob took him to the emergency clinic and they put him to sleep. Bob brought his body home so we can bury him and have a little burial service for him today. The girls were just in tears as was I. He slept on Kate's bed, and was one of the most loving male kitties I have ever had. The Vet told Bob that our street was known as "death road" for pets. We have a fenced in yard, but that doesn't keep the cats in, except for big cat. We have a pet door for the dogs to go in and out. I guess we may have to think about getting rid of the pet door, and just let the dogs in and out. I don't know.

• But the truth is, a pet's death is not a human death. It is not the same. It is grievous, but not the same. And it is not the same as the sacrificial deaths of our military. So today we take time to remember our military and those who died in war. I have a great Uncle who died in WWI. Bob has an Uncle who died at war also. Probably there are others, I don't know. I think Grand dad told us his brother died in the Spanish American War. Here is a link to a Memorial Day prayer that I like. Did you know that there are this many US deaths in Iraq:
• U.S. Deaths Confirmed By The DoD: 3441
• Reported U.S. Deaths Pending DoD Confirmation: 14
• Total 3455 from IC website.
• This doesn't include contractors, journalists, other nation's military(here are British Numbers), nor does it include the Iraqis' deaths.
• And let's not forget we got another war going on, that has heated up again, Operation Enduring Freedom.
• Here is a list of American War Casualties for all wars.
• I think it is important to put a face to the number, go to the Washington post for that.
• Whether you agree or disagree with the present administration and it's policies, take time to remember those who have died for your right to agree or disagree.

• And last point in my world. yesterday the local paper talked about the KKK coming to Tuscumbia on Saturday(You can't read the article anymore if you don't have an account, but you can see the pictures.). I didn't know about it, nor did I go, I was at the ball park all day and had a spend the night friend over for the girls. (That's another story.) They were there to talk about illegal immigration and their usual topics. What was neat was that there were protests about them being there. They say there were a lot of young faces in the crowd of protesters. The protesters were nonviolent and held up signs that said "Love thy Neighbor", and "God's Love is Colorblind". They had to cancel the cross burning due to the Fire alert we are under. In the end they had to leave due to the crowd who were gathered singing a few verses of "Jesus Loves the Little Children". Can you imagine it was the singing of that sweet little children's hymn that forced them to leave. In light of what the Festival of Homiletics theme was on, "Preaching for Transformation", a sermon was preached yesterday. Don't be fooled by their talk about illegal immigration, they still spew hatred, and racism. Instead pray for them, protest them with nonviolent protests, love them as the Bible tells us too, and sometimes sing that sweet Song; "Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world, including the KKK...."