He had forearms like Popeye, a chest like a refrigerator & strength that broke 4 keys – in the ignition! For 18 of my 25 years directing Bible Camp, Dickie was a counselor. I’m smiling now thinking of him in the pool playing water polo, counselors vs. campers. He would have so many bodies draped over him you could only see a mass of straining teen boys moving through the water.

After his beard turned white, he became Santa Claus; let me make that clearer: he BECAME Santa Claus. Oh, how he loved kids!

He served as deacon, bus driver, camp counselor, repairman, chaperon & cook. He helped me take boys camping where he cooked for them & taught them to use a shotgun. When his legs got too bad to climb the hills at camp, we launched a new project: giant BBQ for all the camp on Thurs. evening. He loved it! He fixed houses for free, fixed cars for free, volunteered for anything he could handle. He later served our community as mayor & was up for re-election in November. He & Marsha opened their home & land for cookouts, fireworks, youth outings & fellowships. If they had it, they shared it.

There was once a group of boys with names like David, Doug, Ragan, Greg, Tracy, Willie, Tim, Scott, John, Jimmy, Julio, Brian, Eddie, Ethan, Troy, Todd, Jerry – the list goes on & on. These boys are now grown. They learned much about manhood from someone they called, with great affection, Bear.

Before I turn in, I need to pray for elders’ meetings in other places. I need to pray that others might have an atmosphere like tonight, one void of bossiness or jealousy or condescending or competitiveness or selfishness or one-upping or private agendas. I pray others can have an environment with men who love God & love people & love each other; men who, on their best day, know they don’t have the answers, but, even on their worst day, know who does.

9. Easier to fake a fever & skip school.

8. Less guilt buying a $2.00 plastic bottle of nothing but water.

7. 85 degrees feels pretty good.

6. You don’t mind getting sprayed by a water hose.

5. No noisy furnace.

4. Even the skinny sweat.

3. Rediscovering the joy of a shade tree.

2. You could be living on the Sun.

When the 4 stories of Jesus are overlaid, it is obvious that He accomplished a great deal & He accomplished a great deal in a short time. What was His secret? Yes, He prayed often. Yes, He kept His eyes on His mission. And, yes, He was the Son of God. But, He was still human. How did He cope with the 2-headed monster of weariness & fatigue? Finally, the truth can be told: our Lord……rested!

He didn’t suffer with ulcers. He knew that relaxing is not selfish, a heart attack is not noble & a nervous breakdown is not a badge of honor. He knew that rest recharges batteries & reorganizes priorities.

Steve Lyons played for 4 Major League Baseball teams & was a pretty good infielder. He should be remembered for this consistency, determination & .970 fielding percentage. But, we don’t remember that way; instead, our memory banks kick in with the words, “Hey, remember the time…?” That is how Steve Lyons is remembered. In a game against Detroit, he hustled to beat the throw on a ground ball, sliding headfirst into 1st base & was called safe. The Tiger’s pitcher contested the call & eventually Lyons got caught up in the shouting. During the argument, he felt some dirt trickling down his leg. Forgetting where he was, Lyons dropped his pants in front of a stadium of spectators. No place to hide!

In a wedding, I introduced ‘Mr. & Mrs……’ Nothing came to mind. I had to reopen my Bible & look at my notes. No place to hide!

In another wedding, I said to the groom, ‘Do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?’ No place to hide!

In a funeral for a woman named Colene, I called her Carolyn the entire service. No place to hide!

After her baptism, I introduced a young lady by her correct 1st name & a last name that was not even close. No place to hide!

In a recent sermon, I intended to say, “It depends on your perspective.” I said, “It depends on your perskeption.” No place to hide!

Sportswriter Dick Wade decided to measure how much ‘action’ occurred in a major league baseball game. With a stopwatch & a notepad, he tracked the amount of time from the ball leaving the pitcher’s hand until it arrived at home plate plus the time consumed on a hit ball until the batter or runner was out or safe. In a game between Kansas City & Washington, a game that produced 21 runs in a 15-6 KC victory & lasted 2 hours & 28 minutes, the total ‘action’ was…………….8.5 minutes! An entire game was defined by less than 6% of the total time; but, look at all that happened in that short span.

10. We had an unexpected ‘one more Sunday’ to tell the Caton family we love them before their move!

9. The newest member of our ministry team, Joe James, along with his wife Shaila & son Jett, were introduced to the family!

8. We welcomed campers & counselors from last week’s Green Valley Bible Camp session!

7. Guests joined us in early worship, Bible class & late worship!

6. ‘Coffee Connections’ was crowded; lots of fellowship was enjoyed!

5. Mazzio’s Pizza has no limit on how much you can eat from the Sunday buffet!

4. I was told, “I love you.” That never, ever gets old!

3. I learned Bobby Chappell hit a triple last week & actually went to work the next day!

2. The temperature was 95 degrees, the heat index was 105 degrees & ALL the a/c units were working!