8-20-16 Sat.

It was a busy week. There is just a lot of things that needed to be attended too which our church related. You know when I was teaching 3 Bible classes per week it was much easier than the actual overseeing is small church. Unfortunately operating a church is like a running a business. That of course is the business side. The other side of the business and I hate to even call it that, is meeting the needs of the people. Both parts are important. One is for the physical operating and keeping track of all expenditures for the IRS. The other part of course is so important because of the different needs within the church.

On a lighter note, my friend Andy has twisted my arm and is forcing me to go to Hawaii. And be has taken up the sport of kite surfing and he would like to go to Hawaii because of the great conditions there. So it looks like and He in his wife will come over approximately the 1st full week of January. I'm planning on being there for about 11 days during that same time.

A great story I want to tell you about concerning our friends Andy and Autumn. Approximately 7 or 8 years ago we are planning on making a trip to Hawaii and in he expressed interest in going there during that same time. But when it came down to it he said that he couldn't make it because of his business. But because we are going there during our anniversary, he said that he wanted to pay for our dinner at Turtle Bay Restaurant, which is on the North Shore of Oahu.

When the actual date of our anniversary came I remember it was raining that evening and I did not want to drive from the South Shore to the North Shore in the traffic and rain, but because we promised that we would be there Harriet and I made the drive. We got there when the restaurant 1st started serving dinner which would be 5 PM. They seated us at a window table overlooking the ocean and it was really beautiful.

Harriet and I were talking before we placed our order and all of a sudden Harriet stood up abruptly from the table. I did not realize it but Andy and Autumn surprised us and came through the door and my back was to that door, but Harriet could see. I thought I'd kick her leg under the table or something because of how fast she jumped up. We had a really nice dinner and they stayed for about 3 or 4 days. This was the neatest surprise. The picture below is of Harriet and Autumn. If you've been watching the blog recently or over the past year you'll know that the picture that I used for Harriet's memorial service was this picture, cropped so that only Harriet was visible.

I also made reservations to go to our nephew's wedding. Harriet's brother John's, son Caleb is getting married in October. So I made reservations to fly up to Oregon. Both Harriet's brothers John and Jim live in Halsey Oregon. After much thought I decided to fly into Portland Oregon and drive down instead of flying to Eugene Oregon which is a lot closer, but it requires a layover of hours and then a short flight of about 30 minutes. It's just hours faster to fly into Portland Oregon and drive down.

Tomorrow's message at church is  titled, "Why Pray?" That's really a good question. It will be thought-provoking message. I hope you can make it. Regardless of whether you're at Maranatha Bible Church in Santee, or another church I hope you go to the House of the Lord on Sunday morning.

Maranatha,
Frank