CHRISTIAN MEN'S RETREAT HODGEPODGE!

      First and foremost I want to wish Joyce, our beloved Queen of Queries, a wonderful birthday this week. Each week she comes up with a series of interesting questions that challenge both our thinking and our writing skills and sometimes exposes our lack in either one or both. So Happy Birthday your majesty! Now, the Hodgepodge!

1. I'm celebrating a birthday this week so a question relating to aging feels appropriate. Douglas MacArthur is quoted as saying, 'You are as young as your faith, as old as your doubt; as young as your self-confidence, as old as your fear; as young as your hope, as old as your despair." Would you agree? If not why not?

     I am a huge fan of General MacArthur. In my humble opinion he was the "Micahel Jordan" of warfare of his time. There were none better. Having said that, I have no idea what the general is talking about. Perhaps if I had more context I could fashion a coherent response. Therefore I neither agree nor disagree.

2. What remarkable feat, interesting piece of trivia, or historical event occurred on your birth day and month? Not necessarily in your birthyear, just the same date/same month.
     On April 17, 1934, the home of my beloved Boston Red Sox, Fenway Park, opened for the first time. The Red Sox hosted the Washington Senators...and lost. Since that date Fenway Park has become the oldest Major League stadium in the country. This year's Red Sox team has unfortunately carried on the tradition of that first day. I wonder how things would have been different over the years if they had won that first game. 

3. Describe a time or circumstance where you wanted to 'have your cake and eat it too.'
     I've got nothing! I really don't know.

4. What's something you do that makes you feel young? Something that makes you feel old?
     This question is so easy. Interestingly enough the answer to both parts of this question is the same...playing with my granddaughters.

5. When did you last do something that was 'a piece of cake'?
     Two weeks ago I had the privilege of delivering the sermon during our Sunday morning worship service. I preached a lesson from the Book of Ephesians. The Book of Epehesians is one of those books that essentially preaches itself. That was a piece of cake.
It went very well judging by the feedback I received after services.

6.  Beef, wine, and cheese all improve with age. What's something else you'd add to that list? (not necessarily food or beverage) 
     One thing that improves with age is marriage. I have been blessed to have found my soul mate. My beloved SWMBO has so enriched the quality of my life and it keeps getting better with each passing year. We still hold hands often. We love to sit together on the couch and cuddle while watching television. It has been so long since SWMBO had to open a door for herself that she may have forgotten how to do it. Marriage done right, the way it is intended to be done by it's inventor, improves with age.

7. If I were to have a giveaway when we hit Volume 200, what should I give away? By my calculations we'll hit Volume 200 on November 26th, the day before Thanksgiving, which means whoever wins would have whatever it is in time for Christmas.
     An all expenses paid trip to Hawaii comes to mind! Just kidding! A gift card to Barnes & Noble would seem to be an appropriate gift.

8.  Insert your own random thought here.
     Every year around the third week in September men from the churches of Christ from around New England converge on Ganderbrook Christian Camp in Raymond, Maine, for the annual Men's Retreat. Each year a speaker is brought in to give a series of lessons on a given topic. Besides the excellent teaching, there is wonderful fellowship. I love speaking to men from around New England and beyond and hearing their "Jesus Stories." It is really encouraging to hear how God is working in the lives of His people. It's wonderful to hear stories of struggles overcome. It's fun to catch up with old friends about changes in their life, their family, and the church where they worship. It is one of the highlights of my year!