Quick update on Kathy

Kathy was kind of worn down this morning. Better in early afternoon. Tired when I left this evening--up & down. Still has IV.
Thanks for the prayers.

Service--When It Is Needed:

(Report on Kathy at the end of this post)

If you have followed this blog for the last few days you know that I have spent a lot of time with people who help--nurses, aids, doctors, etc. I have very much appreciated the help that these folk have offered to Kathy & me. I think one reason I am so appreciative is I am very aware of the need that we have.

• Kathy is dealing with pain. They offer relief.
• We are dealing with issues that we don't all-together understand. They give us answers.
• We afe beset with issues that tend to drive one to worry and be in despair. These folk offer the soothing message that things will likely be fine.

I appreciate the compassion, competence and concern that is offered.

I find some great lessons for the church in all of this. Your comments are welcome.

Kathy is progressing slowly. She is still hurting. She has been drinking some juice today. She has been for a walk 2x already today. No news on when she gets out.

Two kinds of progress: one quick & the other slow:

Kathy is doing OK.
The folk here at Good Samaritan Hosp., in Lebanon PA, have been very good to us. I think Kathy is improving, though not yet to the point that she feels it. She is still nothing by mouth. She enjoys her few ice-chips. She is quite sore. Getting up to go to the restroom is quite a chore. She walked 2x today out in the hall.
She is still on antibiotic and painkiller in her IV.
No word on when she gets out, yet.

Thanks to all for the calls, emails, flowers, etc. She hasn't been up to talking on the phone, yet.

On the other progress:
I hear that the folk back home are making great progress on the Worship-Center remodel. I look forward to being there Sunday. Hope to see you.

My experience this last weekend, as well as the reports of Farrah Fawcet, Billy Mays, and Michael Jackson's deaths have reminded me how uncertain life is. Live for Jesus!

Things Change Quickly:

As I said in the last post, we very much enjoyed Bethany and Robert's wedding.
Our plan was to go from the wedding to Chad and Tanisha's home (our son & daughter-in-law), & spend the rest of the weekend with them.
We did arrive at the kid's house, but then our plans changed.
Kathy had not been feeling well all weekend. We decided that we should take her to the ER last night. About 4:30 this morning she had an appendectomy. She is at Good Samaritan Hospital in Lebanon (home of Lebanon Bologna), PA.
Her appendix was not ruptured, but was gangrenous--there was a good bit of infection. She will be in the hosp. for a couple of days.
Thanks for your prayers.

Romans 8:28

I'll keep you posted.

Howard

A lovely Couple:

One of the answers that I have learned to give, is: "I am not in the marrying business. I am glad, however, to help people build Christian Homes.

It was my privilege earlier today to take part in Mr. and Mrs. Robert Gingerich's wedding.

Rob. and his bride, Bethany (Barzee) are graduates of Patrick Henry College, where they met.

The wedding took place in Ithaca New York. .

Living in Construction Kind of Reminds Me of Life:

As you can see from the picture when we met for worship this past Sunday our Worship-Center looked a little different than it did just a week before, and, I hasten to had, how it will look in a short time.

(In honor of DADs we had a picnic Sunday after church. [below]

Can't let a little construction get in the way of a great meal.)

It's like life. Life goes on in the midst of construction. We are all figuring it out as we go along. This past Sunday, as we met under a partially finished ceiling surrounded by patched and unpainted walls, and over a carpet that will be removed in short time, we continued to look at the portion of Ephesians that describes how we ought to "walk." That is Paul's metaphor for living. A current term that is similar is, "journey." Both terms imply a process--even an adventure.

Sometimes the fact that we have to figure it out, deal with the old, and build the new, while we continue on with life can be frustrating, but the Lord has promised to walk with us. Look at Ephesians 5:15-21 for some insight on this process.

(At the left, our drywall contractor, Mike Averill, works on patching a bad spot over the stairs in our foyer. No hymnbooks were used to get Mike up where he could work on this spot. :)

For the CBC family (The rest of you might want to stop here.):

This Sunday we'll still be in a transition, but it is exciting to see the progress. Bill Schuit the Global Ministries Director for Liebenzell USA is working us in between trips to Germany--where he is now--and Papua New Guinea--where he will be early in July. Bill is a great guy and on target preacher. I encourage you to come and hear what God has to say to us through him.

In the mean time, if you would like to get involved in the ongoing remodeling project, drop me a line at covbc@ntelos.net, or call the church at 540 965 4256.

(Continued progress on the ceiling. Moving upward 6 inches at a time.

Sand, brush on and wipe off tung oil out in the picnic-shelter & tent. Let them dry. Move them in, and put them up.)

Continued Progress:

We are mostly past the tearing down phase.
It is good to see things going back.

I had the privilege of taking my Sunday School class, the Jr. Hi Class to Lake Moomaw. It was a lovely outing to a lovely place. Also a great group group of kids.

A Couple More Pictures of the Remodeling Project:

We are using the picnic shelter together with our party tent as an area for finishing the tongue & groove, pine boards that are making up the new ceiling in the Worship-Center

Here are couple of our CBC ladies working on the finishing project.

We have been doing two batches a day. The boards get finished with a coat of tung oil and begin drying under the picnic shelter & tent. They get transferred to the Activity-Center to finish drying, from there on to the ceiling.

It is amazing how deceptive a photo can be. You might look at this one and think we are done. No, far from it, but we have a good start. Really, just a few boards have been put up. But I think they look nice.

I have always like the look of natural wood. It is God's artistry on display.

You can see the real product on Sunday.

Pictures of the CBC Remodeling project and some thoughts:

I wasn't around when most of the activity in these pictures was going on. I am impressed with the result!

At the left you see the Gospel Heralds, from Appalachian Bible College. They shared a concert last Sunday night. Note the drawings on the wall behind them. A crew showed up to remove the paneling from the front wall just before the concert.
The GH members took the opportunity to create an artistic background.





Note the congregation is sitting in the pews.


Here you can see the pews that were dismantled after the Gospel Herald's Concert on Sunday Night . They are now (Tuesday) on their way to Michigan. The GH artwork, as well as the sheetrock that was below the paneling is now gone. You'll see where in a moment.



Monday night the ceiling came down. As I type, some teens are upstairs pulling the nails that remained in the trusses.

The boards on the tables in the Activity Center will soon be part of the new ceiling. Stacked on the left you can see the new chairs that will be the new seating in the Worship-Center.

Here is the old ceiling, or part of it.

We won't be finished Sunday, but we'll be meeting in the Worship Center. The AC and sound system are fine. I am told that the carpet will be up, so we'll be on plywood. There should be some new Sheetrock to replace some of what we pulled down.

We want the place in which we worship to be of praise to our Great God, and to give forth the same warmth and welcome that exists in our hearts. Join us

Join us Sunday and stay for a picnic in honor of Dads.

Just a couple of thoughts:

• The paneling and sheetrock that came down. I helped put up, almost 30 years ago. I'm reminded that all things down here are temporary. My prayer is that we at CBC will be doing that which truely lasts.


• A friend of mine reminds me, regularly, that excellence reflects the nature of our Lord. We ought to offer God our best.


• I am at an age at which most of those I desire to reach for the Lord are younger than me. I want our surroundings to be open and welcome to younger folk. I know that what is in our hearts is what matters. I would like to think that what we are doing in our Worship-Center (and other parts of our building) is a reflection of our heart. We are updating the delivery vehicle.


• Things have a way of sneaking up on us. We talked about--and in a right sense argued about this project. It was "gonna happen, gonna happen, gonna happen," then wham it is here.


• I'm already looking forward to the end.

hm

Remodelling Project:

I thought I would use this blog space to let you know about a remodeling project our church has undertaken.
Our Worship-Center was built in 1981. We really hadn't done much to it since. We decided several months ago to undertake a remodeling project. We want the environment in which we worship our great God to be as warm and welcoming as the hearts of the people who gather there, so we undertook, what is really a fairly modest project, but one that wil give an entirely new look to our surroundings. When it is done it will include:

• A new ceiling,
• New seating,
• New lighting,
• New floorcoverings,
• A refurbished foyer
• New paint and other decor.

A contractor had intalled new floor in our foyer a few weeks ago, and our new chairs for the Worship-Center have been on site for several weeks.

This weeks some of our church family and even some guests from the Appalachian Bible College Summer team, got started on the big part of the project in a big way.

I'll post some pictures in the morning when I get to my computer, but for now, let me simply say that we are ahead of where I thought I would be. Way to go gals and guys.

Just remember, after we remodel it--or really while we do the work--we need to work on filling it.

See you Sunday. We won't be finished, but we'll be cleaned up & ready.

DOING something good:

A friend of mine, Greg Alderman, didn't quite revolutionize our church with a message last summer, but he did plant a thought that we haven't been able to get out of our hearts. Partly the reason for that is because Mike L. and some other folk at our church keep reminding us about the concept.
Very simply the idea is that as a church we ought to actually do something good. It has been great to see activity in this direction.
This evening we had an emphasis on doing some things that are good in a practical way.

• One Sunday School class set up a simple fun/outreach time targeted on a group of kids who very much need some love.
• Another group got a head-start, by reaching out to a group of youngsters in an apartment complex. Some folk baked cookies, others went and played games and/or led in a craft time. The report is a good time was had by all. I'm impressed that a group of kids, who might not otherwise do so had a good, good time--it was worthwhile and it was fun.
• Another Sunday School class met at a classmate's "new" house. Really the new house is fairly old--surrounded by overgrown bushes, and in need of various kinds of TLC. A neighbor stopped and thanked one of our folk for helping to improve the property. More of God's people ought to be caught doing good.
• The class I am a part of didn't do a project this evening--though several of us helped with some of the others. We are going to get together later this week to work on the landscaping at our church. We'll pray for our neighbors as we do our project. We want our grounds to be a testimony to our community.

Thanks Greg and Mike for encouraging us in the right direction, and thanks to all of you CBC folk who were caught doing good.