The View From My Perch

Hi, it's me "the pastor's wife", hijacking the blog for just a moment. It's 1:15 am Sunday morning. Darrin wouldn't want me to report that the sermon is finished, or rather has just been finished. He'd want you to think that it was finished at about 4:30 this past Thursday afternoon. That simply wasn't the case this week, however. Some weeks are just like that.

It seems to have been a struggle to get this particular sermon down on paper, both figuratively and quite literally.

All weekend, sermon prep has been going on around the fringes of "real life". Real life being ball games, meals, playing outside, all those things that tend to jump into the middle of one's attempts at completing a project. The end was finally in sight this evening at about eleven o'clock yet, just as things were coming together on the page Darrin's pen blew up...exploded...all over him. Ink actually splattered all the way up to his elbow.

My pastor often says that God causes him to "live" the sermon the week before it is to be delivered. This week I guess he had to "wear" it too!!

The Sabbath

Tomorrow is the Sabbath. Some refer to it as the Lord's Day. Taken from the early church who would gather on the first day of the week for fellowship, worship, and instruction. It is a day that is to be set aside for rest, reflection, and worship. From a pastor's perspective, it is a day of worship and work.

Sunday for me begins on Saturday. At some point in the afternoon pre-message syndrome sets in. If you were to ask my wife about it, she would say that a hazy look comes over my face, and I begin to "zone out". The message begins to way heavily on my mind and heart. As evening approaches, we try to get all of the children cleaned up and in bed on time, with their clothes and accessories for Sunday picked out, hanging on their bedroom doors and ready to go. Then, I do the same with my suit, shirt, and tie for the next day, getting the final okay on the combination from Gretchen (so I don't have to change in the morning). I rarely sleep well on Saturday night, because I am thinking about what will happen the next day. I usually rise early on Sunday and try to have some "quiet time" before everyone else begins to stir. During this time, I pray for the service and for those who will be there, and I also pray through my sermon. Finally, I read some devotional thoughts and passages of scripture to prepare my heart and mind for worship.

Once everyone begins to wake up and come downstairs, the pace picks up. Breakfast must be served, and teeth brushed. Dresses must be put on, and the girls must be cued up to get their hair done. Cole has the easy job on Sunday mornings, and is pretty self-sufficient. Once Gretchen opens the beauty shop, I turn over the kids and begin to get myself ready. My two oldest daughters always come into the room as I am tying my tie to give their approval or disapproval of my ensemble.

All ready, we get into the car and head down the hill to church. The oldest children are looking at the clock in the van and discussing how late we are. You would think that living so close to the church we would make it one time. However, I am a firm believer that Satan comes and visits our house on Sunday morning, and thus we are rarely on time.

As we arrive at church, I begin to look forward to Sunday School and Worship Service. We love our Sunday School class, and we think we have the best worship leaders and praise team in Wheeling. So Sunday School and worship are always a delight.

I learned from some of my mentors many years ago that it is vital for a pastor to make the most of Sunday's. Therefore, after worship, our family (and those loving volunteer child-wranglers) stay to speak to everyone who wants to talk or visit, many Sundays for 45 minutes or so. Visiting with our church family has become one of the highlights of our day.

When we leave church, we usually grab something to eat, and spend the afternoon as a family. Gretchen says that after I eat, I am pretty much worthless for the rest of the day. Her exact description is that I have the "personality of a rock" on Sunday afternoons.

While Sunday is not really a Sabbath for me, I would not trade it for anything. I get to go to church with my family whom I love, I'm privileged to worship with the church that I love, I'm allowed to do what God created me to do, and I'm humbled to shepherd the people that I love. I understand why the writer of Hebrews wrote, "And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near."

Dads And Their Daughters

The dreaded moment that every dad hopes he will never experience happened this past weekend. The day that your daughter is embarrassed to be seen with you. Life has been very busy for me lately (well busier than normal), which has caused me to get behind on yard work. So, on Saturday morning after putting the finishing touches on my sermon, I changed clothes and headed outside to work in the yard. After mowing the grass twice, I was sitting on the porch with my family eating lunch and discussing our plans for the rest of the day. Gretchen had been working on some projects of her own, so I volunteered to take Katie to the birthday party she had been invited to. After volunteering to take Katie to her party, I hear Katie say, "You're not going to wear that are you?" I was blind-sided. I was used to being asked that question by my wife, but not by my four year old! I thought that I had at least four or five more years before I would experience such a question from one of my daughters, but I was wrong. After regaining my composure, I asked, "Why Katie? Are you embarrassed to be seen with me?" It has been three days since that discussion and I am still waiting on her answer! It is a hard pill to swallow when you realize that your daughter doesn't think you are as cool as you think you are.

Watch Your Life And Doctrine

In the spring of 2006, I had the privilege of attending the "Together For The Gospel" conference. One of the messages given at the conference was by a pastor I had never heard of before, C.J. Mahaney. He spoke from 1 Timothy 4:16 on the subject of "Watching Your Life And Doctrine". This message was very powerful, and made a great impact on my life. Since the conference back in 2006, I have listened to this message many times. In fact, the message by C.J., and the scripture taken from 1 Timothy 4:16 have served as the inspiration for the title of my blog.

I can think of nothing more important than watching our life and doctrine. I believe the key to finishing our race on this earth well is found in these two pillars. If our lives are not right, we will be disqualified. If our doctrine is not right, we will be derailed. So, it is imperative that we give careful consideration to both how we live, and what we believe.
Now you know the theme and history behind my blog. As I write, I will be sharing and reflecting on those two twin pillars of life and doctrine, and how we can persist in them. So, as Paul says we will be able to "save both yourself and your hearers".