Hits and Misses (February 2-8)

Here's a look back at the week that was.

HITS

• I am thoroughly enjoying my time at Marion First Baptist. Last Sunday, I was introduced to the song Just As I Am…..I Come Broken by Travis Cottrell.  It has become my anthem in so many ways. It's a song that I expect more and more congregations to begin falling in love with very quickly.
• I am slowly working my way through Beth Moore's Bible study on The Patriarchs. The story of Jacob wrestling with God for a blessing came alive in my quiet time this week. I'm so thankful that we can return to familiar passages time and again and find new revelations that speak to our present circumstances.
• As the weather grew colder, some of my non-traditional students found themselves ready for opportunities to explore ideas in their educational setting. It's thrilling to watch students jump into an open dialogue and face topics that are outside their comfort zone in an effort to discover truth.

MISSES

• I finally made the decision to attend a Sunday School class at MFB.  Despite its advertisement of having classes for adults of all ages in the early session, I quickly discovered that the classes are designed for senior adults. While the class was sound, the poor attendance and lack of discussion certainly made it more difficult to decide to return.  
• On Tuesday night, we lost power at home. Despite a generous gift of a generator, my father had failed to take the initiative to retrieve the gift. So my parents and I spent a very cold night (and the following morning) in our home without heat.  Despite the weather, classes continued at MSCC the next morning. I'll spare you the gory details, but I can assure you that I took a minimal "shower" in the cold and dark in order to get through the morning.
• Because of the chill, my sinus and bronchial infections relapsed. I was forced to return to the doctor on Friday morning for another round of antibiotics. (Mother has also had a tough week and will return to see the doctor today. We are desperately anxious for good health to visit our home again soon!) While I was with the doctor, I reported some numbness in my forearms at night. The initial diagnosis is that my carpal tunnel is progressing; I am now wearing braces while sleeping each night in the hope that the splinting will allow my arms to rest properly during the night without furthering the damage.  If there is not significant improvement in the next few weeks, I will have a nerve test performed (but I'm really hoping to avoid this at all cost).