Tomorrow morning I will be posting a short story. It was an illustration that I originally wrote for the sermon last night. I am doing a series on the book of Numbers and last night we were in Numbers 9:1-14.

The illustration turned out to be quite long, turning into a short story, which I’ve decided to post here.

The basic idea I was trying to illustrate was this: what is it like when someone says, I like God, I just don’t like the church? Or, I’m a Christian, but I don’t have to go to church for that.

In Numbers 9, God makes it clear to the Israelites, if you don’t partake in Passover, you have no place in the congregation, and if you have no place in the congregation, you have no part in me.

Check back tomorrow.

At the risk of being accused of worshipping dumb idols, I’ll admit that we – as a family – are regular viewers of American Idol. (Some people just need to get over the name. Please.)

We have our favorites. Last night I thought Jason Castro was one of the best. He’s not the sharpest knife in the drawer. But I like his sound. And something about him reminds me of a friend of ours. (What do you think, Rachel?)

Just to clarify, our friend IS a sharp guy. Still, there’s something…

Happy 97th Birthday to my friend, Wayne Hagopian! All kidding aside, R. Wayne is one the smartest people I know and I’m happy to have him as a friend. He’s aging well, don’t you think?

BUSY weekend. Here are some pictures from our annual All Church Picnic, the one that happens to always fall on the same day as some big football game. Of course, because of the picnic, we have to cancel the evening service.

Really. It’s the picnic’s fault.

But we always have a TON of people. The free hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken breasts, and soda probably has something to do with that. And people bring a lot of other food, too.

I’m in at 6:30am – Jack, our breakfast chef, always beats me in – and I’m last out, about 5pm. It’s a long day, with a lot of work in between.

But everyone has a great time. Glad it’s over.

Picture #1: The guys wait to test their muscle.

Picture #2: Sam gives his “Of COURSE I’m going to hit the bell” look.

Picture #3: Pastor Pete, master of the fun.

Picture #4: Dalton is SO STRONG, he bends the handle! Or my iPhone doesn’t do action photography. One or the other.

Picture #5: Sam hits one out of the park. Or to the cat. Again. But not the bell. At least he was happy about it.