The weekend in review

I feel like most of you at some point realize that I had an awesome weekend. Tara and I really needed it after the rough week that we had last week. We lost Tara's 98 year old granny on Monday, did the viewing Tuesday, funeral on Wednesday and we had planned on getting away on Saturday in Georgia for some racing but weren't sure any of that would happen if we couldn't get enough help. It seemed almost as if everyone who had volunteered to help out with things Saturday so that we could get away backed out. But, eventually new help stepped up to the plate and blessed us with a day get away. I will start with Friday night, we were blessed with donated food for our football team meal at Pedro from Sonny's BBQ, so we ate good and it was all good from that point on. I was able to share a message from God's word, then able to travel with Alexa to Ponte Vedra High School where our Falcons destroyed the SHarks picking up a well deserved win for a coaching staff and group of young football players who have worked hard from day 1 last summer. Saturday, we got up and dad and I took off for South Georgia Motorsports Complex in Cecil, Georgia. We left around 6:00am arriving a little before 9:00 and it was freezing(or by our standards it was) cold. We unloaded the car and immediately they had trouble with their tree and timing system but they got it fixed in a timely manner and we were off and running. I was entered in 7.50 index, Open Comp and Pro and had every intention of winning one of NHRA's prestigious Wally Trophies in either 7.50 or Open Comp. As luck would have it one of the toughest top bulb racers in the South Eastern Us was there, Stephen McCrory, and that was my opponent first round of 7.50. I had the tree just a bit but he ended up having better brakes than me as we ran a double break out in his favor. I missed the set up a little bit in Open Comp as I usually try to hold .03, so I killed about .08 in my one time trial and that left me dialed in pretty decent. Problem was by second round of Open Comp it was a lot warmer and my holding 3 was dwindled to dialed honest. I got close to the stripe and felt like he was getting there so I dumped and turned on his win light as I was for the first time in forever unable to get there. I had bought back into 7.50 and made it all the way to the semi finals before a freak occurence took me out of that class. The car darted hard to the right, I mean hard right almost as if one slick was on ice and the other was on sticky surface. As the car darted I learned a valuable lesson, do not launch a car that lifts the nose high with your hand on the shifter in my haste to get both hands on the wheel I bumped the car pre maturely in second gear and I was never able to catch up. I was however .006 on the tree to my opponents' .000 which took some of the sting out of the loss. Now to Pro, in all honesty this is my weakest class. I have struggled in Pro all season, for three seasons to be honest. But for whatever reason first round of Pro I decided to try something, I started blocking out the top two bulbs and treating it like a pro tree, and sure enough it worked. I worked really well as I won round after round, driving the finish line like I usually do, but driving the starting line like I had not been able to in years. I rattled off great reaction times and my only bad one was a .035 against a red light so it was my night. I dwindled the field down to the finals where I picked up the win, and my third wally. It was an exciting night to say the least and the best part was the girls were there with us to enjoy it as well as some close friends of ours the Rhodens. Sunday, we got up and went through setting up worship, and we had a pretty good crowd. Honestly, one of the better crowds we have had in a while. I will confess to you the hardest part about reaching the unchurched is the inconsistency in attendance. But, today knowing that a concert, and softball, lacrosse, and a family trip had knocked about a good portion of regular attenders it was a great crowd. WOrship went well, Phillip and Tori always make it better, and T.J. is awesome every week the three of them together is perfect(to me anyway). But after the service we were approached and Tara, the girls and I recieved our first ever pastor appreciation gift. In the 5 years we have served here I have never even really thought much about it, but it is a huge blessing to recieve a gift from the group of people that we pour our hearts and souls into on a daily basis. We are so blessed with a great church family, I know I get frustrated and it shows. It is very frustrating the things that come before worship, I get frustrated when people share about other churches that they attend during the week and some of my sermon on the grass is always greener was aimed at that. You wouldn't know the grass was greener if you worked at making your own lawn, your own church and your own life better. But I am blessed, we are blessed and oh so thankful for all the people that God has placed in our lives at Freedom and in St. Johns County. We love you guys and hope to serve here for a long, long time.