First Day

Well it was a good first day here in Grand Haven. I say Grand Haven because I'm not sure what else to call this melding of a semi-metropolitan area. There a number of small towns that kind of all meld together. Spring Lake, Grand Haven, and Ferrysburg make up the bulk, but there are other areas around as well. The church is technically in Spring Lake, but its closer to the heart of Fruitport then Spring Lake, and near Muskegon Co. more than Ottowa Co. So it's hard to say where I'm at because I've been all over today.

Church went really well. I showed up 10 minutes late for my first day though, but at least I didn't hit any cars this time (another story for another time). The service went really well. Pastor Ben is doing a series on giving and I think it's really connecting with people. Offering was taken at the end as a response time and the response was really encouraging.

Afterward I went to the Vegh's house (Pastor Ben and Jessica's) for lunch. Logan, their son, just cracks me up! I bet that's exactly what Pastor Ben was like when he was a kid. Reagan, their daughter who is 8 I think (sorry Reagan if that's wrong) is adorable and sweet as can be.

After lunch we went in the backyard and the kids played with some neighborhood children on the trampoline while Pastor Ben and I bounced them. At 3pm there was a kids ice cream party as reward for something, I'm not sure what. Lots of kids turned out (10-15?) and we had a blast. I took pictures of all the kids to help me remember names and to email to Julie.

At 5pm the party was rolling to a close and I headed off for a park in a neighboring town where people form the church were going to meet to hang out. At first the turn out seemed a little disappointing, but more turned out latter. We played sand volleyball and had a blast. If Julie were there, I'm pretty sure I would have gotten one of my "tone it down a notch" looks, but as it was I probably embarrassed myself more than I realized. Oh well....I'll always be the rambunctious silly kid. It's no accident that Peter Pan is my hero--he never grew up. I don't want to either, and hope I never do.

Dont' get me wrong, I want to mature and grow wiser, but not at the expense of being able to enjoy life one moment at a time. I never want to lose the ability to gain boyish pleasure out of simple things that others might find trivial or unimportant. Too many people grow up and lose their sense of awe, wonder, and naive enjoyment of the moment. They're too busy thinking about their image, their promotion, the opinion of others that they miss the thrill of an unhindered laugh of a child. As we get older our laugh becomes more reserved, more respectable, draws less attention, and certainly seems more "grown up" whatever that means.

As I get older, I hope I learn how to use self control, how to manage my emotions, how to glorify God in my attitude, how to discern the time to laugh and the time to cry, the time to speak and the time to remain silent. I do not hope, and will fight against, the societal tidal wave that seems to swamp so many people until they are lost in a sea of worry, anxiety, and the fear of other's opinion. May I always be a child who understands the richness of unhindered laughter.

As one very wise man once said, "Bring on the clowns!"