Having spent the last week with our two granddaughters, I have once again been reminded of the beauty of a young child's innocence. Everything about them is so pure. Sure, they make mistakes and do things that perhaps they ought not do. But for the most part life is just one fun moment after another. Both of them ask more questions than anyone else I know. Their curiosity knows no bounds. Even when offered an answer, they counter with wanting to know 'why?'



From their early morning rubbing the sleep from their eyes to good night kisses before bedtime, it has been a non-stop litany of laughter and running and singing. As I have watched them, I cannot help but to wonder about their futures. Innocence does not last forever...nor should it. We are born so that we might 'grow up', but would it not be nice to hold onto the part of innocence that is fun? I have had a great week with the two granddaughters and our family. Those two little girls reminded me how important it is to have fun. Not watching...

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A group of folk in our church has been charged with finding the next person to be the Minister to Students at FBC. To say that they have taken their work seriously would not be to give them enough credit. They have done dozens of reference checks, fifteen phone interviews, eight face-to-face interviews with prospective ministers...and they ahve prayed a lot...asking for God's guidance. They are looking for that right person who will be a 'good fit' at FBC and with our youth. Tonight they meet once again to see if they can come to decision about whom to invite to join our staff. That decision has been made difficult because of the quality of the young people they have met...which brings to what I really want to say. Each of the candidates will graduate from seminary/divinity school this year or next. They are uniformly bright and articulate. Each of them will serve some church very well. That is exceedingly good news.



Much has been written and said about this generation of students not wanting...

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The purpose of a blog is to communicate thoughts on a range of subjects or ideas. Sometimes they are day to day kinds of issues. Others tend to be a bit more profound. But if one expects anyone else to pay attention, then they also have a responsibility to to have something thoughtful and/or interesting to say. Perhaps that is why I have proven to be such a terrible blogger.

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It always happens unexpectedly...this remembering of my late father and/or sister. Sometimes it generates a smile or laughter as I recall something one of them did or said. That is great when that happens. But sometimes it kicks up nothing but sadness in me.

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They say there is a first time for everything. Apparently that is true.

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While not original with him, my dad used to say "if we knew grandchildren were going to be so much fun, we would have had them first." He would then laugh out loud as if he had said something original...and funny. Don't get me wrong. I love my children dearly, but dad was right. There is simply nothing in the world like grandchildren. Why is this so?

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Willie Leiner died this week...and our church is diminished by her death. For more years than most of us can recall Miss Willie took care of the children in the two year old room at FBC. She took over from Frances Chappell twenty or so years ago. I wonder who the next 'Miss Willie' will be. We will certainly need one.

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For nearly twenty-three years I have been in and out of New Hanover Regional Medical Center virtually every week. The vast majority of the folk who work there do an amazing job. Nursing is hard work. So during a recent four day stay in that facility, I vowed to treat each person I encountered with as much respect and gratitude as I could muster. All of them seemed to appreciate it.

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Tonight one of our deacons (Dianne Jones) and I met with three families who are looking to make First Baptist their church home. One of them was a young couple with three small children. She told of how on Monday after their first visit her son said to her 'Mommy, don't you wish it was Sunday again so I could go to my new Sunday School. I just love it.'

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 It has been a struggle for me to adapt to the concept of blogging. But after being badgered...excuse me...'encouraged'...by Jayne Davis and Amy Cook, this is my first blog.

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