So it goes...

I was one of the one million people in the Milwaukee metro area that was doing their shopping tonight. WOW, is all I can say. Sheer madness on the streets of WI. Despite scaling our Husband/Wife dollar amount to $50, I covered a lot of ground, and the whole thing took me four hours. I was frazzled by the time I got home and I have to believe that this is NOT what the season is supposed to be about. The whole experience made me appreciate my wife's role in doing the shopping for the rest of the family. She does four times what I did and all the while keeps a sanity about her. Well, most of the time anyway. This Christmas has taken on a new meaning for everyone in my immediate and extended family. With all that's going on with Rob, everything has been shaken into it's proper place. Worry about the economy, world affairs and politics has taken a back seat along with everything else to the importance and family. I've enjoyed being with my wife and kids more than I ever have...

I've volunteered to help out with Elmbrook's Middle School Mosaic Ministry http://www.elmbrook.org/students/middle-school.aspx on Tuesday evenings. They were desperate for leaders, and well I fit the bill for desperation, I guess. I had kind of resolved to quit leading after Boys Club last year, but was floundering a bit with not feeling right not doing anything. I was being incredibly selfish and self-righteous about "having served for four years" in Boys Club. "Look what I've done. Aren't I a good person?" All the while, feeling a restlessness with having both my kids and my wife still involved in some form of ministry. And so it hit me last week Thursday. I was feeling especially dumpy about the whole thing on my bike on the way to work. About a third of the way to work, I get a fairly clear signal from God, or the Holy Spirit or whatever that I NEED to do something. It was a bit like Jesus was on the handlebars or something. Back when I was a ki...