Left the house this morning before 8AM. I arrived in Marion just after 9 and spent the first moments of my visit to check in with my mother-in-law up in the records department. I also visited a bit with Dr. Steve Lennox.

Our meeting was an “all youth pastors” meeting to talk about our district camps and how they function and how they could and should function better. It was a good chance to get some opinions out in the open and chat openly about how camp has been in the past. I think only good can come of what was discussed today.

After the meeting, I stopped in to visit Aunt Pam for a bit before heading over to Phil Stuller’s new apartment and visited a bit with him.

I am finally back in the office and it’s nearly 5! What a day!

Tonight at 7, the accountability group is meeting here, heading to Subway for some grub and then we will attempt the maiden voyage of the HoneyBee Radio Controlled Helicopter. If all goes well, a possible video clip could be uploaded tonight of her maiden flight!

Today was QUITE the day.

We were at the church from 8AM until 5:30PM. That, my friends, was a full-day at the church! Wow.

We had a great time in both morning services and then dinner there at the church and some great activities for families!

My favorite: the inflatable games we rented!

You’ve just gotta see the pictures:

The entire 48-photo photoset is available by clicking here.

Wow, today has been nonstop, except for an hour-and-a-half nap that I took this afternoon!

This morning, breakfast at the church was just what we all needed to kick off an exciting day of working around the church building!

I got my hands in various aspects of workday action, including powerwashing, cable-running, sweeping, television-fixing, and even picture-taking! Someone had to document what was going on today!

After the workday, I came home, ate lunch with Jess, napped for a bit and then it was back out again – this time for a fun-filled evening at Dan & Tina Warren’s home.

They provided an excellent meal, great fellowship, and the best pool in the neighborhood! I can’t forget to mention the excellent homemade icecream made by Chad Stiver, too! Thank you Dan & Tina for an amazing evening that we won’t soon forget!

More pictures of the pool party here. More pictures of the church workday here.

I also have to mention just how much the guys had tonight playing “Ladder Golf” – the name I have chosen to continue to call my PVC-made wanna-be horseshoes game. What a blast. First, Mike, Dan’s son, and I had a great time going head-to-head and then we were challenged by Dan and Chad for a match. We beat those “older gentlemen” 2 games to 1! Dan also helped me realize that I needed smaller diameter rope to make the game work better. I brought a dozen golfballs and made the necessary rope changes and sure-enough a better game! It’s sure to be a hit tomorrow at our afternoon church picnic!

Why is it that when you play a game and you team up the boys versus the girls, things can get pretty ugly?

Tonight the game was “bid euchre”. Dad Garrett, Rich, and me played against Mom Garrett, Jaymie, and Jess.

Game 1:
Guys are up 47 to negative-10 in a game to 50. Girls come back and stomp us 50 to 15.

Game 2:
Guys beat the girls in just 4 hands with a whopping 52 to negative-10.

Game 3:
The girls mentioned that we should play “best out of three”. We again stomped them 59 to negative-23.

Before the three hands of euchre, Dad Garrett served up an amazing home-cooked meal. We had italian sausage and pork roast with all the sides. Two salads, potatoes, and some of the best home-grown bbq sauce I’ve ever had.

What a night it was.

The drive home with Jess proved to be quite the sing-a-long to try and keep us awake WAY past our normal bedtimes.

Tomorrow morning I’m off to the church by 7AM. We have a “work-day” scheduled and there is a pretty big list of “to-do” items! I’m curious to see how many “faithful workers” show up tomorrow morning at that hour to work on the church!

This morning, I headed to Lowe’s like I said I would and picked up the supplies needed to make the “Ladder Golf”/”Hillbilly Golf”/”Redneck Horseshoes” or whatever you want to call it.

I was finished with the project and testing it out in the front yard by 3:15PM.

At about 3:30, Dan Warren showed up to pick me up for our afternoon of golfing. We headed to “Racoon Run” – a local golf course and met up with Thomas Young and Jay Godshalk. Thomas is an IWU Senior and comes to Warsaw Wesleyan when he’s home. Jay was on our softball team and also attends our church.

What a blast we had!

I haven’t been “real” golfing since I was in college, I think. This was truly a day-off treat that I won’t soon forget. $15 paid for 9-holes and a golf cart too!

We played “cart-best” so I was with Jay. Thomas and Dan played on the other team. If Jay hit the ball closer to the pin, I would pick up and move to his location and vice-versa. When all was said and done, Jay and I had fun, but were 10-over par (on only 9 holes, remember!) Thomas and Dan were just a couple over par.

At about hole 4, the clouds starting getting darker-than-normal and it poured like I hadn’t seen it pour in a long time in Warsaw.

We got drenched, and yet still managed to have an absolute blast on the golf course. Thanks to Thomas and Dan for getting me out of my “haven’t golfed in years”-slum this afternoon and inviting me along for a great time!
Tomorrow morning we have our monthly NETWORK meeting – this time at First Christian Church where my buddy Gary is the youth pastor. My other buddy Scott Greene is joining us for his first-ever NETWORK meeting. It’s always a great time when multiple youth pastors get together!

Tomorrow night, Jess and I are headed to Bluffton for “game night” with the Garrett Family! I’m looking forward to that!