All Good Things Must Come to an End...

I did it again.
I killed my phone battery and the dead alarm didn't ring in the morning.
Once again, Don woke me up with an admonition about people waiting for me.  How embarrassing.

I raced into the bathroom, showered, and screamed down the stairs and into the kitchen.  I grabbed a coffee and headed out onto the deck.

We had a guest.  The youth and worship pastor of Sunbury Bible Church, Matt Combs was with us, as well as Dalton again.  They were just chatting, so it wasn't as bad as I had feared.

Matt and Don sort of double-teamed the devotions, and we had a great morning.  Don asked me to share my testimony with everyone, and I gladly obliged.  Matt was really interested, he has sort of the same story, and interestingly enough, graduated from Liberty a few years back, and is now going to take his Masters there as well.  We really connected, and he suggested a few authors that are too deep for many, and just right for some.  Guys like RW Glenn and John Piper.

When we finished, Scott went off to work, Dalton and Brad went out with their new bows, and Matt went off to the church.

This left Don, Jeff and I to our own devices, and we decided to take in Bucknell University.  The campus was only a few minutes away, and we had driven past it a number of times.  So we dressed and headed off to find a place to have a coffee and chat.

We couldn't find anywhere!  We checked the campus and the main street and even the GPS.  Every time we thought we had a lead, we found an empty store or a closed shop.  What we did finally find was the campus Barnes and Noble book store.  And guess what it had in it...

So we all grabbed something to drink, and I grabbed what had to be the most awesome piece of cheesecake ever.  Not simply because it was the most delicious, but also because of the concept.

ORANGE CREAMSICLE CHEESECAKE!!!

We ate and drank and talked about the spiritual equivalencies of moral sins- what we do, and how that effects our relationship with Christ.  It got pretty deep, and pretty informative, and very illustrative.  It was a great talk.  From there we went to Dick's sporting goods- Don was shoe shopping, then to Bed, Bath, & Beyond- to buy coffee for Shelley and Scott (seeing as we had consumed so much over 3 days).

We came home and crashed a bit before dinner.  We awoke to corn-on-the-cob, salad, and about 300 types of meat and cheese.  Oh, and lots of leftovers!  Epic and awesome.

We ate and chatted and then got ready for the final day at the clinic.  I went with whites again, and we raced off to the clinic site.  Jeff and Don and I went together and met Scott in the gym before the games started.

I haven't really talked about the gym yet.  The gym is cool.  It has a poly-tile floor, non-latex rubber 1x1 tiles that interlock and and can be replaced if there is ever an issue.  It's the first one I've seen in person, and really neat.

The Christian school uses the gym, and has posters and sayings everywhere, and a full kitchen off the side of the stands.

Each day before the clinic, Don, Jeff, Scott, and I along with Greg, the Pastor, met for a moment of prayer for the clinic, for the kids, for the parents, for the families, and even for us.  We took turns praying and voiced our concerns and best wishes and hopes.  It was a great bonding experience.  On the last night, we prayed a prayer of thanks- for a whole week of opportunities.

We took the field and for a final time, Scott introduced Jeff- who gave an introductory lesson in the mechanics of bunting for a sacrifice.  He tied that in with his lesson on what sacrifice means, and about what true sacrifice entails.

We then broke up into our groups and prepared for 'Game Night'.  Each age group was broken into two teams, and those two teams were each assigned a coach and a diamond.  My team played against Scott's on a diamond that was set up facing the gym.  It was great.  First Scott pitched to my team, and then Jeff came in and pitched to both.  After a few innings of 'everyone bats' baseball, Jeff left to pitch at another diamond, and I took over at ours.  It was a great game, and we played about 5 full innings.



When we were out of time, we all convened in the gym to hear Jeff give his final lesson of the clinic- this time, an all-encompassing speech about love, and devotion, and committment to Christ in the face of all that we deal with.  He talked about the Scripture and about how we can all find solace there, and about how we can all be Christ to someone else.  It was very moving, and Jeff's best lesson of the week.

When he was done, the coaches at each age level took turns awarding the top three players from the night before- based on points from Olympic Night.  Everyone applauded as the winners names were read and they came forward to claim their ribbons.

After that, Scott thanked everyone for a great four days, and dismissed the children and parents.  He also invited all the kids to stick around and get autographs and photos from Don and Jeff.  There was a table set up for them, and they had cards and photos from their playing days that they signed for all the kids.

Oddly, they asked me to have a seat at the table and sign and take photos for the kids.  Who wants a Lyn Bain photo or signature?  It was odd, but just goofy enough to be enjoyable.  I signed about 100 autographs and posed for about 10 photos.  Weird.  I signed each autograph with the verse that Don had pointed me toward last year when I struggled with qualifying salvation-  Philippians 4:7 - And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. 

When all the kids were gone, we expressed our thanks to everyone who had volunteered, and packed up what we could, and left.  We drove back to Scott's home, and were absolutely shocked at what we saw. There were no fewer than ten cars in Scott's driveway and on Scott's lawn.  We joked that soon he would have to open a second parking deck.  There were a number of coaches and volunteers invited back- really, almost everyone was invited as is the Billings custom!- for a 'Thank You' dinner of pizza and wings.

The real question on everyone's mind was whether or not a neighbor and his son would come by.  Scott had noticed the man playing baseball with his son, and had driven by, and then felt moved to go back and tell the man about the clinic.  Surprisingly, the man had agreed, and he and his son had taken part in the clinic, and had stayed to hear the gospel.  Don and Jeff and Scott had all invited the man back to the party afterward.  We were all hoping that they would stop by.

Once inside, we again ate, and thanked all those who came by.  I struck up a conversation with Matt Combs, and we discussed Liberty University and professors and all sorts of stuff.  As we spoke, the father and his son came in, and I excused myself from Matt to bring them over to Don.  I returned to Matt, and he presented me with a gift.  It was a copy of the book we had discussed earlier.

I thanked him profusely, and he gave me a brief overview, and requested that I let him know what I thought of it once I was done.  I promised that I would, and we both went off to socialize.  The night wore on and we all talked and shared, and at one point Dalton came by to say goodnight.  He was off, and would not be back in the morning.  We exchanged a handshake and a hug, and best wishes for the future, and he left.

One by one, the party goers offered their thanks and wishes for safe travels, and went home.  Eventually, it was just us.  Don, Jeff, Scott, Shelley, Brad, Danielle, and Holly.  We chatted and told stories and made plans into the early hours of Saturday morning.  Just as everyone was about to go off to bed, I presented them each with a gift.  The same gift, incidentally, that I had given the Coach Madison and the organizers in Harlan, KY on the first day.

To Scott, Jeff, Don, Brad, Danielle, and Holly, I gave a red metal bookmark.  It had leaves etched into it, as well as a personal message.  It read "Sincere Thanks for Including Me in Your Outreach Ministries", it also had "July 2013", and my name etched into it.  It also had a silver tassel.  It was a very small token for a very large debt.  They all thanked me, but the pleasure was all mine.

To Shelley, for her hospitality, I gave a small pewter wall sconce.  I had purchased it a Christ Church in Philadelphia before I ever knew the Billings family.  Before I had spoken to Scott, or knew of Shelley.  It had stamped into it on both sides-
 Whoever you are, wherever you find yourself on your journey of faith, you are welcome here.
She was very appreciative, and it was a nice end to an amazing night and a phenomenal week.

It was not until I readied for bed that I noticed the inscription on the inside of the book from Matt..

And that was the last thing on my peaceful mind when I went to bed.

My verse for Thursday-  Proverbs 27: 17
Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.

"...All the Way From Canada..."

I was woken up Thursday morning by Don Gordon.  He was standing over my bed, asking where I was, because everyone was looking for me and waiting on me to arrive downstairs.  Devotionals were scheduled for 830, and my alarm was set for 730, so I was confused.  I quickly looked for my phone/alarm, gave up, showered crazy-quickly, and raced downstairs.

Shelley was alone in the kitchen, and offered me breakfast.  I declined, noticing that everyone was already out on the deck.  I grabbed a coffee and apologetically went outside and sat down to meet with Don, Jeff, Scott, Brad, and Holly's boyfriend Dalton.

We read excerpts from Ephesians and talked about men's pitfalls and responsibilities in the church and in the home.  It was a great way to start the day.  We all added to the discussion and spoke and listened.  Then we ate again!

Jeff and I had agreed to coach a catcher-specific clinic at 1030.  Scott had to run off to a service call at work, and Brad had an appointment, so Don and Jeff and I were on our own.  We chatted for a while, grabbed another coffee, then went off to the diamond.

We had all talked Wednesday night about a way to compare and contrast baseball with the gospel.  On the way to the diamond, I told Jeff and Don about an idea I had.  Don said he would bounce it off of Scott later.

We arrive to find 12 catchers.  Jeff taught receiving and positioning, and I helped out along with a local University student named Isaiah.  The kids loved it.  About half way through, Don came over and asked if I would share my testimony with the kids when we were done.  I agreed.

We finished and I told the kids my story.  The kids were receptive, and a lot of the parents thanked me.

We went back to the house and all three of us crashed.  Don and Jeff took naps and I read and watched the a bit of "National Treasure 2:  The Book of Secrets".

At about 3 we all reconvened and sat down in the kitchen. We chatted and joked and Don and Jeff told stories about the Big Leagues. and then got dressed and went out for a drive. Big shocker, we went to the Starbucks!

We sat for about an hour and a half and talked and discussed scripture and really had a nice time.  We went back to the house and met up with everyone for dinner.  Shelly had made two huge chicken pot pies- which were delicious.  We all talked and then headed out for 'Olympic Day' at the clinic.

Olympic Day meant all the kids competed in events and got scores.  I was moved from the hitting station to the outfield station.  I was going to throw fly balls for the players to catch- they got a point for each one they caught cleanly.

But first, Scott had agreed that I would give the opening message - a quick throwing/pitching lesson, and a scripture reading and life lesson.  I talked about how short cuts don't pay in life or baseball, and how we have a coach and playbook and guidelines in baseball, and a pastor or parent and bible and commandments. I compared baseball and life, and the ideas of  "my coach says....but what if I...?"  and "the bible says....but what if I...?"

The kids got it and Don, Scott, and Jeff thanked me.

I threw pop-ups for about an hour and a half, and then we all went into the gym and listened to Jeff deliver the gospel.

Jeff did a great job, and after the message- about giving you life wholly to Christ- we went back and ate leftovers and desert.  There were guests again and we all sat and chatted and shared our stories.

At about 12 we all hit the wall, and the guests went home and we went to bed.  It was a great day.

Thursday's verse- Psalm 66:16"Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul."

Please continue to pray for my friend's son.  They are seeing little improvements- every prayer for the family counts.

The 'Mendenhog' and Other Surprises

Day two (Wednesday) in Selinsgrove started off with a few surprises.

First, the aggressive bug bites that I had acquired in the swamp on the shoulder of I95 had mutated into horrible disfiguring marks.  Something would have to be done on that front.

Second, as I woke up, I heard...nothing.  No chatter, no pitter-patter, no anything.  I checked my phone to see what time it was, only to find that the battery had died overnight and and the alarm hadn't gone off.
I had my GPS watch in my bag, and checked it to find that it was 10am!  I hadn't slept that late in years!  I showered and rushed downstairs, remembering that we had made plans for 1030...but found no one.  Not a soul except the dog- Baxter- who seemed as shocked to see me as I was to see an empty house.  I had a bit of a 'Left Behind' moment, and started thinking- where are they?  Seriously.

Just then, Scott's son came into the kitchen and greeted me.  I asked where everyone was and he rattled of the everyone's itinerary and current location- it was fairly impressive.  Scott had gone to work quickly, his sister and mother were out, his wife was asleep still, and he thought that Jeff had gone for a walk.  We talked and got to know each other better over coffee, and before long the basement door opened and Jeff appeared- he had been downstairs with his bible and devotionals.

He joined our conversation, and then Scott came in.  Scott had a great plan for the afternoon- we would take in the Little League Museum and Stadium, then go for lunch at a restaurant that was famous for gigantic portions.

Jeff and I changed and loaded into the car and we were off to Williamsport, PA- about 15 minutes away. The field is exactly as it appears on TV- only better.  It is cooler than a lot of Major League parks.  It's the one that you see on TV every year.  A scaled down version of a pro stadium with unbelievable views.

We then walked over sand checked out the 'second tier' stadium.  Second tier?  Seriously?

From there we went to "Haywood's", a restaurant famous for it's portion sizes and...well...the food sizes in general.

Jeff ordered the "Roethlis-Burger"- named for Pittsburgh Steeler quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. It was stupid.

 I ordered the "Menden-Hog"- after Rashard Mendenhall.  It was a giant burger topped with pork, melted cheese, and bacon!  Not much better.

Scott played it safe and had a big bowl of jambalaya- a switch from his usual order of "The Willie Stargell".

I ate the majority of the burger, and almost none of the fries.  Jeff SLAUGHTERED his burger.  For real.
Scott was disappointed in the jambalaya- which was a shame.  When I get the photos of the burgers, I'll post them in a separate entry.

We drove back to Scott's to discover that Don had arrived- he drove straight from Chattanooga, TN, leaving at 4am- and was napping.  We all agreed to take a quick crash- if for no other reason, to recover from the giant amounts of beef we had ingested.

I was awakened 2 hours later to the sound of a 'hog call' coming up the stairs- Don waking Jeff up.
Don poked his head into my room, said hello, and then told me he'd meet me downstairs.

I quickly dressed- whites again- and hurried downstairs.  We caught up on the drive to Starbucks, then grabbed a coffee and drove to the park for night two of the clinic.

Scott introduced everyone again, and went over the plan for the second skills clinic.  Then he introduced Don, who talked about running mechanics and then shared a short gospel message.

The kids were receptive, and we broke off into our groups.  It was the exact same as the night before, with Scott and I working with the hitters.  I had so much fun I was giddy.  What a relaxing, enjoyable, and blessed opportunity.

When we were done we went inside and Don spoke about forgiveness and repentance.  The crowd listened intently, and both Jeff and I noticed that a woman who had been sitting way off to the side reading a magazine all night had put it away and listened.

We returned to Scott's house and a few of the coaches and volunteers met us there.  We drank coffee and listened to funny stories and ate and ate and ate!  On more than one occasion, Jeff and I referred to it as a cruise.  Every time we turned around, Shelley was providing us with another amazing meal.  Both Scott and Shelley are blessed with the gift of hospitality and making everyone feel truly loved and welcome.

We finally shut it down at about midnight, and I went to bed.  After all, we had devotionals in the morning.

Wednesday's Verse- 1 Peter 4:10
"As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God."

"It's a 'Two-for-Tuesday'...I mean Wednesday!"

Okay so I wasn't able to post yesterday- I'll make up for it today.  Not with length, but with quality.  Deal?

I wrote my last entry on Monday night, following the tire and storm incidents.  I fell asleep at about 1am, and slept soundly until about 115 when the mother of all storms broke into a full-on thunder/lightning bonanza!  I managed to pass back out, but at 315 I was awakened by a way-too-close sound.  It wasn't coming from the street or even the hallway- It was coming from inside the room!

I listened a while longer, and was fairly sure I had pinpointed that the sound was a) in the bathroom, and b) water based.  I got up and walked to the bathroom to find water shooting UP out of the toilet onto floor, and then gurgling out of the toilet until it was empty, then repeating.  

I stared curiously, then called the front desk.  For 315am, they sure answered the phone quickly.  I told them what was happening and they sent two gentlemen up right away.  The two men explained that the problem was clearly a ghost...then they laughed and explained that no fewer than 6 rooms had reported the same problem, and that there was a huge leak in the roof of the hotel lobby.  Water was apparently everywhere, and the toilet issue was due to air in the lines.  "After all," one man asked "haven't you seen outside?"  I walked to the window and peered across the street.  What I saw was both confusing and amazing.

The hotel was located directly across the street from a 250 year old Quaker church/meeting house on a cobblestone yard with cobblestone steps between trees and a wall leading to the street.  I found a photo on google Earth.

That staircase was a full-on waterfall!  The rainwater was actually breaking over the tops of the steps and splashing into the air.  The street had a current.  The rain was unreal.  

The men emptied the toilet tank and flushed it a few times, and it seemed to rid the lines of the air, so I thanked them and they left.  I went back to bed and encountered no further ghosts that night.

In the morning, I called a few tire shops, and asked if any of them could help me out.  One was overly helpful and not very far away.  He went out of his way to get me info and make suggestions and called me back when he had to go look something up.  He told me he could help, but needed an hour or so to get the tires from his warehouse.  It was 9am, and I thought maybe I could squeeze in a few sights before I took my car in.  I changed and checked out, dropped my bags in my car, and headed for Independence Hall.  

En route, I came across the Liberty Bell center, and decided I'd do that first.  The line was maybe 5 minutes, but growing.  I jumped in and before long was face-to-face with this beauty.

Wow.  It's big.  And again, really cool.  And as I was taking all these photos of it, I look out the window behind it, and guess what I see....INDEPENDENCE HALL!...DUH.....

So I head across the square and see the huge line at independence hall, and settle for a few shots of the clock tower and the yard.  

Then I went to Starbucks.  What?  Don't judge!

I left Starbucks and walked back through Independence square and tried to decide where to go in the little time I had left.  I had to get back to the hotel, and there were a few sights along the way.. too many in fact. Every other building was the site of something, or the first something, or the home of someone.   I took a few photos of some of the buildings, and determined my ultimate destination.

On my maybe 20 minute walk, I came to the following conclusion:  I like Philadelphia.  But it needs help.  Almost every street had a fortune teller or tarot card reader or witch or shaman on it.  There were monuments to 'gay founders' everywhere, and there was a real 'coexist' movement in regard to all the different religious and spiritual representations in the city.  The city seems lost.  Ironically, my destination during this epiphany was Christ Church.

I entered Christ Church- the small 250+ year old church touted as "The first Protestant Episcopal church in the United States, Christ Church is the birthplace of the American Episcopal Church."  It was the place of worship for George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Betsy Ross, and 15 of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.  

I entered the church and was greeted by a woman who asked "are you on a scavenger hunt?" I told her no, and she said that a number of people had been, but that the church held no clues.   I chuckled and told her I was just a tourist.  She invited me to have a look around and take pictures if I would like.  It's quite a neat little church.  There are brass plaques on the pews that were used by the founding fathers.

I stopped in the gift shop and picked up a few small trinkets, thank the woman, and went back to the hotel.  I picked up my car, and tried consciously to plan to take the streets which were short and slow and would be easiest on my tires.  What my GPS didn't show me was that almost all of the roads I chose were COBBLESTONE and were just horrible to drive over.

While they replaced my tires, I went to the home of the Best Cheesesteak in Philly- Geno's!  I had "one-Whiz-wit."  A Philly way of saying "one cheesesteak with cheeze whiz and onions."  It was messy and great!

I went and picked up my car and hit the highway bound for Selinsgrove.  

Now I'm not sure that anyone will ever need a tire repaired or replaced in Philadelphia, but if any of you ever do, please, please, please go to Mid-City Tire & Auto.  These guys were awesome.  Absolutely the best.

I hit the road and drove as quickly as I could, confident that I saw almost everything that I had hoped to see in Philly.  Next stop was the Billings residence is Selinsgrove.  

I arrived at the house and quickly met Scott Billings, the organizer of the clinic and my host for the next few days, Scott's Wife, Son, Daughter-in-law (from Stouffville, Ontario!), and daughter.  Also there was Jeff Hearron.  Jeff is Don Gordon's best friend, and after a short time with him, I could see why.  What a great man and great believer.  Jeff and Don played together in the Minor Leagues and with the Toronto Blue Jays.

They left as soon as I got there, I changed and rode over with Scott's son and daughter-in-law.  We arrived to find nearly 100 kids in the field preparing for the clinic.  Scott called them all over to the main area, and gave a prayer and introduced Jeff. 

 Jeff explained the mission of the clinic- spreading the gospel-  and then gave a quick hitting lesson.  

We broke off into our groups- Scott and I took a hitting group of 7-9 year olds and had a BLAST!

I was teaching a skill I didn't normally teach to an age group I didn't normally deal with!

After the hitting lesson- soft tossing- Scott shared a quick testimony and scripture reading and one of the children volunteered to pray.  It was a beautiful and moving prayer about thanks and opportunity.

We went back to the house and had a great night of fellowship and laughs and making new friends.  I was truly happy and blessed to be included in such a great event.  I went back to the room they prepared for me, changed, laid down in bed, and CRASHED!

Ok, I lied.  Only one entry tonight.  I'm too tired and it's 133am.  2 tomorrow- I promise!

Verse for today?  Colossians 3:17

And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

And please keep praying for my friend's son.  Thank you.

It Was the Best of Times, It Was the Worst of Times...

My day started off GREAT!

I jumped up early and headed out the door to the Starbucks downstairs, then walked to the DC Metro Station around the corner.  My plan was the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, and the National Archives, then on the road to Philadelphia by 3, and to accomplish that, I'd need to take the subway.
For some reason, you aren't allowed to eat or drink on the Subway!?!?!  So I walked.  I walked around the block and up the street and down a bridge, and found the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.

First, IT'S HUGE!

Second, IT'S REALLY HUGE!

The Lobby alone has like 7 airplanes in it...HANGING FROM THE CEILING!

I asked the information guy for a map, and where to start if I wanted to view the planes 'in order'.  He looked confused.  I told him it didn't make much sense to see rockets before the Wright Brothers.  He agreed- and added that in that case, I should start with balloons!  He told me that the museum wasn't set up like that, but that if I didn't mind doubling back now and again, I could figure it out.

So I started at the beginning.  And worked my way through the history of flight.  I won't bore you with the all the boring details, but on a grand scale, here are images of the large areas.

As I said, there were a few highlights-

The actual Wright brothers Wright Flyer.

The actual Spirit of St. Louis.

The actual model of the USS Enterprise used on Star Trek.

But...there were THREE specific things that made my day awesome. 

In reverse order they are:

#3.  The Space Monkey Capsule!

#2.  I touched a piece of the MOON!

and #1.  I found SNOOPY!

I left the Air & Space Museum and walked about a mile to the National Archives.  

Unfortunately, I couldn't take any photos.  I saw the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the Declaration of Independence.  VERY cool.  My favorite things though, were the exhibit on how the documents are framed, and the letter to the dude that actually wrote the documents asking if he'd do it!  

I was way ahead of schedule, so I figured I'd hit one more sight on my way back to the hotel.  So I started walking.  I though about going to see the Capitol, but settled for a photo.

Instead I went to the Smithsonian Natural History Museum.  I literally raced through it.  Still found some cool stuff.  What an interesting place....

My favorite thing though, was whatever THIS THING IS!  

I Can't even look at it without laughing!

Having spent the day at two of the biggest and most visited museums in the US, I can make the following three statements.

1.  We are blessed to be so close to The Henry Ford.  It puts both of these museums to shame.  Seriously.

2.  Museums would be much better if there was less crap and more room.  They have to cram everything in there, and people leave early because of the awkward paths and routes to get to exhibits.  Open things up!

3.  This may be touchy, but I'll say it-  If your kid is still in a stroller, they're too young to appreciate the museum.  Don't bring them.  These strollers are gigantic.  And cumbersome.  And you can't stop to read exhibits with what amounts to a train car blocking aisles and displays.  Sorry, but it's true.

So from there I went back to the car, and prepared for the drive to Philadelphia, PA.  A short jaunt that was to take 3 hours.  I got into my car at 330.

I drove through DC, Maryland, and Delaware before arriving in Pennsylvania. 20 Minutes from my hotel I took turn on the highway, and heard a loud bang and saw smoke coming out of my car.  It pulled hard to the right, and luckily there was almost no traffic.  I pulled over amid the smoke and a horrible burning smell.
I walked around the car to find this.

To make things better, I was on a curve on a highway on a narrow shoulder.

Oh, and there was an AWESOME storm coming.

So I got to changing the tire, only to discover that the nuts were put on with a wicked torque wrench, and I cracked the tire iron trying to take them off.  So I called a roadside assistance company.  And waited.

When I finally got it off, it looked like this!

I checked into the hotel at 11PM having not eaten, being eaten alive by bugs, and with a huge bloody gash down my right leg- from having misjudged the height of the guardrail when I first hopped over it.
So I'm gonna go to sleep and pray on PSALMS 91:11
"For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways."

Also, could you folks please say a prayer for a friend of mine?  His son is very very ill and does not know the Lord.  My friend and his wife are both very faithful and right now they really need peace and understanding.  

Thanks.  Bedtime.