I'm Back!

Its 9:15 on a Saturday night. Soon going to call it a day. Despite the rain-it was a nice day. My sisters are in town visiting. They took Sam & Grace bowling this afternoon. Both had a better score than I usually get. Its feast or famine for me on the lanes--gutter balls or strikes! Very few spares on my score sheet. For dinner Lori's Mom and Dad joined us and we squeezed the 8 of us around the table. It felt like an early Thanksgiving. Lori made some great homemade Mac & Cheese along with ham. Good meal!

What made the day great was Penn State's win over Minnesota with Ohio State losing to Purdue. Iowa is definitely in control of the Big Ten right now. They are going to have to lose 2 down the stretch for Penn State to win the Big Ten title. I am certainly glad Terelle Pryor is at Ohio State (excuse me, THE Ohio State) instead of making turnovers for Penn State. I'll take Darryl Clark any day over Pryor. Kevin Newsome, the back-up QB is a great prospect by all accounts so, the Nittany Lions should be in good hands for awhile.

Anyhow, moving on to some more random thoughts:

Faith
*Last weekend, Lori and I traveled to Houghton College in New York Sunday evening and Monday. We attended a youth ministry seminar with Mark Devries which was very good. We also got to visit with Chelsey and Hannah (from our New Covenant Youth Group). It was great to hang out with them and to meet Hannah's boyfriend. We saw them Sunday night at the Inn where we stayed and then joined them for chapel Monday plus Chinese for dinner before heading back to New Castle. Houghton is a great Christian college and a lovely campus. The town is very small and you're about 30 minutes from any larger community. Nonetheless, a great place.
*Mission Conference is this weekend. I'm looking forward to spending time with Mark & Lori and to hear the great things that Mercy Ships is doing. It will be cool to have our own members on the mission field return to share their ministry. Plus our mission committee always plans some fun times for food and fellowship. Its far from a boring mission conference!
*Alpha Phi has a campfire @ Brandon's coming up. Then a Corn Maze trip and the Fall Retreat. Check www.alphaphi.org for more information. The web site is completely up-to-date. The mission conference schedule is there as well.
*Tomorrow, after services, I will be heading to Salem VA for a District Board of Youth Activities meeting on Monday. My son will be traveling with me. I took Grace along with me in Feb. Its a great opportunity for me to spend some one-on-one fun time with my kids and to involve them in my ministry which is something Lori and I have always done from the beginning. The Board is responsible for all of the retreats and camps. I enjoy the trips and seeing all my friends who are on the Board. Its a great group to work with.

Family
* As I said earlier, my sisters are visiting. On Friday, we spent the day in Pittsburgh. The kids were off school Thursday and Friday. Lori had an appt. with her MS doctor. All checked out well. She does have some old lesions on her spine which were discovered in her May MRI. This explains the pain that she has in her hands every morning. Its like arthritis pain but goes away in a few minutes. She also has pain in her elbows esp. in the morning. This is another side affect of MS. Overall, she is doing well.
*We spent the afternoon on a driving tour of Pittsburgh since it was a cold, rainy day. It was fun checking out the different neighborhoods. We found a great place to eat on the South Side called the "1889 Cafe". Its on Carson Street.
*Keep me in your prayers. I have to contact my surgeon as the symptoms I had before my "brain surgery" have returned. Over the past week, I have felt many of the same symptoms especially in my feet and legs. At first, I was hoping it was something random but yesterday it was very bothersome and definitely couldn't deny that it was the same symptoms. I'll call him this week to see what he says. I guess he didn't get "the jerk" out!

Fun
*A couple of weeks ago, I read a column by Tom Purcell in the Sunday Pittsburgh Trib about how we don't let kids roam the neighborhoods anymore. I thought about how things have changed so much even since I was a kid. Its true, my kids stay close to home. I would not my want my kids roaming as I did. When I was not much older than my son, I loved riding my bike (still do). I loved the freedom of it. I would ride all over my small town of Wormleysburg. My friend Danny and I would ride to the ball field at the other end of town. Though I was not allowed to, I would often ride my bike across the river to Harrisburg and up Riverfront Park. I would also ride my bike to my friend's house in the Allison Hill neighborhood of the city which would be like the Hill District in Pittsburgh. Once I rode all the way to Linglestown which is like riding from my house to New Wilmington. My kids would be in so much trouble if they did that today. However, my mom would just let it slide when she found out what I did. How times have changed and its not like I grew up in the glory days of the 1950s!
*Food for thought: Chick-fil-a, besides having great chicken sandwiches, has THE best milkshakes anywhere. My favorite meal is a chicken sandwich, fries, carrot & raisin salad and a chocolate milkshake. Please come to New Castle-Chick-fil-a! BTW, they're not open on Sundays--something I forgot-twice!! That's a story for another time.
*I see the MLB championship series are underway. Does that mean the Pirates' season is over. I tuned out sometime in August. 2010 will be the break-out year--maybe!!
*Where did Lady Gaga come from? Didn't know who she was until i saw her screaming on the steps of the Capitol the other day. I read a good blog on her by another youth pastor. I'll try to post it soon or at least a link to it.

Hey, thanks for checking in! Have a great day in the Lord!

Pastor Russ