Saturday (Almost!) Shout Outs!

Whoop whoop! Welcome to another edition of the Saturday Shout Outs! Yes- I know it's Sunday, but that is a detail you will just have to get over! My name is Carl, and for the next 9 bullet points I will be your guide through exciting adventures, prayer requests and random ramblings on this lovely Sunday morning. So strap in and hold on tight- and let's get this show on the road!!!

• Marilyn & I had to bid a fond farewell this week to the computer that had been the home of this blog since August of 2009. The new model is all loaded up and ready to rumble. And it is so stinking fast!!! We also have a new washing machine which seems really slow. The ups and downs of new technology, huh?
• My dear friend Teresa Reep Tysinger has not been feeling well and the doctors are still trying to determine the "why?" Please keep her in your prayers. And if you know Teresa, please let her know that Matilda is a fine name for her new car!
• To all of my friends in faith who insist on using Old Testament scripture to proof-text your own beliefs, here are a couple of things to remember. First of all, if you are going to hold to OT law then you need to give up shellfish and pork, straighten the tassels on your robes and find some unsuspecting lamb to sacrifice. Either Jesus changed everything or he did not change anything. Scripture is not a collection of short stories, it is a continuous narrative. The revelations of the living God did not end with the canon of scripture; God is alive and working today. And if Jesus didn't change everything, if we are under law and not grace, then there is no Good News. Thus endeth today's sermon.
• My friends Jun & Jennifer (Bob) Kuramochi have been living through a rough week over which they have no control. Keep them and their church in your prayers.
• Lisa Kraus Spires and Sara Thacker Reiter celebrated birthdays yesterday, and I hope both had a marvelous day! Insert your own "Craft Nazis" joke here!
• Last weekend the sadly misguided folks from Westboro Baptist Church came to Orlando to protest the funerals of some of the people murdered in the Orlando shootings. You may have seen on the news that they were met with a peaceful intervention by a group of citizens dressed an angels who stayed between the WBC group and the families of the victims. It was an incredible display of meeting hatred with love. What you may not know is that one of the organizing angels was Colleen Martin Hooks, a member of my Youth Group Hall of Fame. She (and her mom Cindy) was already one of my favorite people. Now she is my hero. Thank you Colleen for reminding us all that we can make a difference.
• Max Rees, who was Senior Pastor during the years I served Springfield Friends Meeting, would have been 88 years old yesterday. I think of him often, and of his children and grandchildren even more frequently. It was an honor to spend 8 years as a part of that amazing family.
• Will & Michelle rode both the new version of Soarin' and the new Frozen Ever After attractions at EPCOT on Friday. They give them both 4 thumbs way up- and that is saying something, because Will REALLY wanted to hate that Frozen ride!!!
• We hope you all are having a great summer! If you are among the bazillions coming to central Florida in the next couple of months, let us know. We'd love to see you!

That seems like a good place to quit. By the way- there are gators in Florida. Our state university mascot is the Gator. We have a road called Alligator Alley. We have a theme park called Gatorland. This is not new information. My mom and dad used to have gators who would sun themselves on their driveway. Respect the gator, but don't let recent events scare you. They have always been here. It was their state first! Take care, be excellent to each other, and let's get together again soon!

Because of Jesus,

Teacher Appreciation Time

This is Teacher Appreciation Week all over this great land of ours, and I wanted to take a few minutes today to thank the many teachers who are and have been a part of my life. I think of my Mom, who taught kindergarten and first grade for many years. I am thinking today of former students from my youth groups who have gone on to be teachers- people like Ken Hill, Todd Farlow, Beth Brown Meadows, Lisa Kraus Spires, Caitlin Esry, Josh Fry and many more. I think of one of my very best friends, Lisa Jewett, who teaches first grade here in Tampa.  I think of educators like Donna Haynes Myers, Debbie Davis and Dana Schmidt who have been such good friends to us over the years. I know how much these great teachers care about their students, and I want them to know how proud I am of them all. They put so much of themselves into what they do, often against insurmountable odds and under incredibly difficult circumstances. They seldom get to truly teach anymore, spending most of their time preparing students to take tests that they have nothing to do with. It is a frustrating life for many of them. But yet they love it, because they care so much about the students.

This is also a week to think back many years on the teachers who impacted our lives when we were in school. I was blessed with many great teachers, but here are a few recollections of some of the most memorable...

• My 2nd grade teacher was Mrs. Ware, who used to sneak up behind you when you were misbehaving and smack you on the top of the head with a wooden ruler. Back then it was good teaching. Now it would get you put away for child abuse...
• I remember 3rd grade and Mrs. Jarvis, who liked me so much she named her son Carl a few years later. I don't know that it actually had anything to do with me, but that's my story and I'm sticking to it.
• Mrs, Brawley was my 4th grade teacher and I loved her. But what really matters was that Jamie Huffling was in her class too. My first big-time crush!!!
• In 5th grade I had Mrs. Mullis, who was the first teacher I ever had who tried new things and was extremely creative. She rewarded good behavior and good grades by letting us sit facing our best friends, which made a good class great. She had a huge impact on my life. And for reading I had Mrs. Gillon, who was famous for saying, "If you don't get quiet, you better!" Never did figure that one out. She was also the only teacher to ever spank me. Memories...
• Some of my favorite years were grades 6-8, or junior high school as we called back in the day. And one of the primary reasons for that was our great Principal, Howard Cross. He taught us so much about being in control without being a tyrant. Plus he once myself and two of my friends out of class for a whole day just to wash the activity bus. How cool is that?
• My 7th grade homeroom teacher was Ms. Tuttle. Whenever you would try to give her an excuse or whine about some perceived injustice, her favorite sarcastic response was, "My heart pumps peanut butter for ya."   
• In junior high school one of my teachers was Mrs. Ferrell. She taught me typing, language arts and was the school newspaper advisor. I was the sports editor. Looking back I would have to say she was my favorite teacher ever.
• I had Mr. Robinson for U.S. history in 9th grade. He was a wonderful teacher with a great sense of humor- his battles of wit with another great history teacher, Mr. Brown, whose room was across the hall, were legendary. He was also the creator of The Purge. If he saw someone chewing gum (in those days a serious offense!) he would stop class and call for The Purge. He would announce he had seen someone with gum. He would then give anyone who was chewing gum opportunity to turn themselves in. If you pleaded guilty, you would receive a minor punishment, like bringing in a recipe for spaghetti sauce. If you were the person he had seen and did not confess, you would wind up writing a 5 page paper on the industrial revolution (or something like that). It was always amazing how many gum chewers he would catch every time Coach Robinson did The Purge! (Side note: My friend Steve Semmler would later use The Purge to sniff out some cheaters in a college class he was teaching. Worked like a charm, too!)
• And finally, there was only one teacher in 12 years (I am too old to have attended public kindergarten in NC) who really didn't like me. Mrs. Hopper taught high school math. I barely passed geometry under her watchful eye. Other students joked that the entire class could be up talking and goofing off, but if I got up to sharpen my pencil she would yell, "Sit DOWN, Carl!" I had her again for Algebra 2 (not by choice) the following year, and I would still be in that class had she not gotten pregnant and turned the class over to teacher (Mrs. Wagoner, who deserves a post all to herself someday!) who knew even less than I did. Just before she went out on maternity leave, the class was asking what she and her hubby were going to name the baby. Me being me, I raised my hand and asked if they had considered Grass as a baby name. You know- Grass Hopper. The class laughed hysterically. Mrs. Hopper did not. She left without killing me and my grades improved greatly under her replacement.  :)

Teachers were so important in each of our lives. In today's world, they face greater challenges than ever as they seek to mold young minds under very difficult conditions. They should be appreciated every day. But since this week has been set aside, do something special for the teachers in your life. Let them know they are loved. Be liberal with words of praise and hugs. Happy Teacher Appreciation Week to all teachers everywhere!!!

Because of Jesus,

The Dean of Them All

I awoke yesterday to learn that Dean Smith, the longtime men's basketball coach at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, had passed away. He was 83. Social media and ESPN were filled with remembrances, stories and tributes. And all of them were well deserved.

Dean Smith was a great basketball coach. He was the head coach of my beloved UNC Tar Heels from 1961-1997 and for many of those years they were among the nation's elite programs. Dean was an innovator, constantly changing the way college basketball was played and coached. The late John Wooden of UCLA, considered by most to be the greatest coach in history, once said that "Dean Smith was the best teacher of the game of basketball he had ever known." Dick Vitale often referred to him as "the Michelangelo of coaching," and I always loved that description. He was indeed an artist. His teams played in 11 Final Fours and won 2 NCAA championships. He also coached the 1976 U.S. Olympic team to the gold medal. Dean Smith was a winner.

But he was so much more than that. He taught team first, always. He coached many great players over the years, and they all loved him. Up until he got sick several years ago, he not only remembered all of the stars by name, he knew every recruit, every walk-on and every equipment manager that had been a part of the Carolina basketball family. He also knew their wives and their children by name, and often sent notes throughout the year. No matter how famous a player became after reaching the NBA, they were never too busy to turn down a request to come be part of his basketball camps in the summer, or to come teach current players more about the "Carolina Way." Michael Jordan has said that Dean Smith had more more influence on his life that anyone other than his parents. His players graduated. He made college athletics everything it can and ought to be. And he was a tireless behind-the-scenes worker for civil rights and human equality, including recruiting Charlie (The Great) Scott (pictured below) as the first African-American player at a southern university. He was a great man.

Growing up in NC and being a Carolina fan, Dean Smith was one of my heroes. I will never forget things like the 4 Corners Offense, the huddles at the foul line, the changing defenses, the raised hand to signal a player needed a rest and the infamous "Carolina spurts" in which their press and their fast break would blow opponents out of the gym. I will remember the 8 points in 17 seconds comeback against Duke- BEFORE the time of the 3 point shot. I will remember the time he called a timeout after cutting Florida State's huge lead to 17 in the second half and knowing- KNOWING- that FSU was going down. And they did. I will remember lots of things. And so I just want to say "thank you" to the Dean of them all. College sports was better because of you. And in so many small ways, so was I. May he rest in peace, and prayers go out to his family and his former players. I join with MJ, James Worthy, Vince Carter, Bobby Jones, Phil Ford and so many other players I loved in saying farewell to the greatest Tar Heel of them all...

Farewell, Captain

"Take a good look. This is a baseball player."  -Billy Crystal

My love for baseball has been well documented on this blog over the years. And like every baseball lover, I was watching the other night to see what Derek Jeter would do for his final curtain call at Yankee Stadium. It seemed obvious something wonderful would happen; it has so often when the moment was big and Derek is involved. If you care at all, then you know what happened. He delivered a "walk off" game winning hit in his final at bat in Yankee Stadium, wrapping up his career with the same type of clutch performance we had seen so many times before. It was so perfect, so in character that upon seeing it all I could think of to tweet were 4 simple words and a hashtag: Of course he did. #FarewellCaptain

A couple of days before that hit the great Billy Crystal recorded a tribute to his friend The Captain. It is a brilliant and very personal summation of Derek's year and his career. All baseball fans feel like they know Jeter. Personally, I saw him play as a Class A minor league player for the Greensboro Hornets in 1993 and then several tims in Spring Training over the seasons here in Tampa. He makes his off-season home here. Rob Thomson, for many years now an instructor and coach for the Yankees, had a daughter in my youth group in the early 2000s who told me stories about her friend "Jeets." His individual accomplishments are impressive, but he was always about the team and always about winning. He is class personified, both as a human being and as an athlete. I leave you with Billy's tribute and these final thoughts. Derek Jeter is not the greatest baseball player who ever lived. He is not the greatest shortstop ever. He is not even the greatest Yankee of all time. But if you could somehow take all of those "greatest" players and put them all in a clubhouse as teammates, I have no doubt that they would unanimously elect Jeter as their captain. And that, my friends, is what #Re2pect is all about. Farewell, Captain. Baseball will miss you.

#TBT: The Vern Dome

This post first appeared on this blog in July of 2010. I share it today in memory of Vern and in honor of a great church staff with whom it was pure joy to work and share life. Enjoy this Throwback Thursday...

In 1996 the youth ministry of the First United Methodist Church of Kissimmee immersed itself in strategic planning. This is a process through which you develop a scenario of what your dream ministry would look like in 5 years by beginning with a preferred future, and then through a process of refinement and voting select two or three aspects of the scenario that you will work towards in the coming year. One of the things that came out of our planning was the need for a "gymnatorium" at FUMC-K. Our idea kicked off a whirlwind of discussion at the church. The staff began planning how such a facility would benefit our school, our child care center and our congregation. Church members were buzzing with anticipation. Architects were brought in to draw up plans for the building, a new vestibule (gathering area) for the Sanctuary and a walkway that would connect it all. There was a ton of excitement. There was a need. The big question, of course, was how would we pay for it...

Even before we were first discussing the idea during our strategic planning session, our dear friend and faithful bus driver Vern Watson had announced that when he won the lottery, he would buy us a gym. His only demand was that we name it after him. I wrote an article for The UMYF Enquirer in February of 1996 encouraging students and parents to come to the meeting at which we would introduce the scenario and vote on our final goals. Accompanying that article was the picture you see on the left- an artist's (you will see Miss Take got the credit, but yeah, it was me!) rendering of what we had come to call The Vern Dome. That little drawing and article stirred up huge discussion not only in the youth ministry but in the church as a whole. I ran into a church member in Albertson's one afternoon. This was a lady from a wealthy family; in fact, her family had just a few years earlier given over $600,000 to pay off the debt on the church's administration building (see Video the Bishop). She told me that she would be VERY supportive of a gym facility with a raised walking track for business men to use at lunch and for senior citizens to use anytime. I went back to work and told Rev. John Willis we needed to add a walking track! It was an exciting time.

FUMC-K never got their gymnatorium. A variety of circumstances (money, problems with the city and failure to include the raised walking track among them) prevented it from going forward, and it finally died for good after over 2 years of work with the pastoral change that brought in The Pastor Who Shall Not Be Named. The amazing facility plans that a wonderful staff (John Willis, Debbie Davis, Jill Augenblick, Andrew Lewis, Ginny Johns and more!)  had labored on went to waste. Vern never did win the lottery, and he passed away shortly after we left Kissimmee. But if the day ever comes when FUMC-K does build a gym, I will be there standing next to Barbara, Becky, Brad, Brian, Dr. Jill and so many others. We''ll be armed with picket signs and bullhorns, demanding that the new facility be named The Vern Dome. I trust all of my faithful readers will join us on that day! 

Because of Jesus,

Heroes: Prudence Irwina!!!

Yesterday I was praying for my dear friend and former Springfield Friends Meeting (1986-1994) youth grouper Ashley Goad as she embarked on yet another mission trip to Haiti. It is her 18th trip to Haiti (http://ashleypgoad.tumblr.com) as she has worked diligently to provide clean water to the long-suffering people of that impoverished nation. I was texting with Ashley on Saturday, and one of the things that makes this trip unique is that she will not be going back until next July. As she said to me, "that's a long time without going home!" You may think, as I did for a moment, that she is taking a break from her travelling. After all, she recently moved to Louisiana and began work at a new church as their Missions Pastor. She is currently working on her doctorate. She has numerous excuses for wanting to slow life down a bit. But that just wouldn't be Ashley. On Saturday she told me what she has lined up in the months ahead, and I was flabbergasted. As I thought about Ashley and prayed for her team yesterday, I came to the realization that Ashley has gone a step beyond her already earned Hall of Fame (see A Very Special Wing) status in my life. The young lady I used to jokingly call Prudence Irwina (pictured on a retreat in 1993) has reached HERO status, in my life and in many others.  Let me tell you why.

Ashley was in elementary school when I first met her back in the 1980s, and her life was always complicated. There were family struggles and major health issues. She often struggled to fit in in those days, even at youth group. She didn't go to school with most of the other students and often felt excluded from the standard middle school cliques that so often occur in those settings. But Ashley was nothing if not a trooper. She was always there, always participating, always smiling and always talking my ear off!  And I loved her. She had moved into high school by the time I departed High Point in 1994, and over the next few years she became a real leader in the youth ministry. She was often in my prayers after I left, because there was such potential for her circumstances to overwhelm her. They did not.

Ashley attended college and followed in the footsteps of many a hero by spending a few summers working as a counselor at Quaker Lake Camp. She then went on to work as a youth pastor in small Friends Meetings in NC before moving on to serve a Presbyterian church in Texas, a Methodist church in Virginia and the living in Las Vegas for a time while serving the mission Solar Under the Sun as one of their directors. It was through that organization that she developed her great love of Haiti and the people there. Everywhere Ashley has gone she has made a difference by living out her mantra- "Love God, Love People!" And now she has arrived at FUMC-Shreveport...and the world may never be the same!

In her new calling, Ashley has found a church that shares her vision (and the Gospels') of taking Jesus to the world. She is not going back to Haiti until July, because between now and then she will be spending time helping to establish missions in every corner of the globe. The scope of what she will be working on is truly amazing- you might even say HEROIC! Ashley has had her share of personal struggles. She still has health issues to deal with. She could have thrown in the towel on any number of occasions. But she has persevered. And God is using her to do amazing things. The first Quaker, George Fox, encouraged us all to "walk cheerfully throughout the world answering to that of God in everyone." Ashley Goad heeds that 350 year old call every day. 

Ashley and I share a great deal. We are both fans of the Beach Boys and Jimmy Buffett. We both love baseball, Disney World and UNC basketball (despite that abomination of a Dook sweatshirt she is wearing in that old picture). We are both Quakers at heart who have found ourselves in ministry with various denominations and groups as we seek to serve Jesus. And we both love exclamation points!!!   She was once a student in my youth group who needed my love, support and guidance. Now I often count on her for many of those same things.  I don't throw the word hero around too often. But I use it freely and gladly today. Blessings on you and your ministry, Ashley. I am so proud to be your friend and prayer partner.

Because of Jesus,

"Oh Them Lions..." (A Vintage Post)

"The human spirit is stronger than anything that can happen to it."  - Chinese Proverb

I confess that I dread days like this.  Things like marking the anniversary of the September 11th attacks are exactly the kinds of things that we USAmericans so often get so wrong.  We produce countless documentaries so that those who suffered the greatest losses can watch those planes and buildings blow up over and over again.  We profit from their pain, selling souvenirs disguised as remembrances.  And we focus on the wrong things.  Today is not about the terrorists, or conspiracy theories, or poorly thought out government responses, or military success.  Today is most certainly not about patriotism.  Today is about remembering those who through the most random of circumstances lost their lives 11 years ago today.  And today is about those who, that day and in the days that followed, stood with God and with great faith refused to allow the human spirit to be crushed by the events of that horrible morning.  This is my tribute to those people.

I watched that morning, completely stunned like the rest of the world.  I hear many people talk about how surreal it seemed to them.  It was very real to me almost immediately.  I was living in Chicagoland, and rumor spread quickly that the next target was the Sears Tower.  My wife Marilyn worked downtown, and almost immediately the evacuations began.  Panic and chaos were the words of the day.  As our church staff sat in our weekly staff meeting and tried to figure out some way to respond, we learned a local youth pastor had been on one of the planes.  It was all too real.  Three days later Marilyn was flying to Tampa to check out our new home.  Going to the airport and feeling the tension, being scared of something that had never scared us before, made it all too real.  As we watched for weeks as workers sacrificed, struggled and died in the hopes of finding even one person left alive in the aftermath, it seemed like life would never be the same again.  But eventually, we moved on.  We remembered, but we moved on.

In March of 2003 I took a group of youth from Wesley Memorial UMC in Tampa to NYC for a few days, and while there we headed over to Ground Zero.  We expected to be moved by the destruction, the lists of those who died, and the remembrances of the horror of the day.  And we were.  But those things were not what we really remember from that visit.  It was our stop at St. Paul's Chapel that changed us all.  The little church on Wall Street, which backed up to the devastation, had been an oasis of peace and rest in the midst of the tragedy. It had become a shrine to the human spirit and the love of God.  It honored the dead, but also honored those who had given so much as first responders. It honored those who came as volunteers from all over the country simply seeking to help.  Pews in the sanctuary were damaged by the heavy equipment many of the firefighters wore that day.  Flowers, signs and banners were everywhere in honor of those who had served.  As you read the log books. watched video interviews and walked around the building, you could not help but realize that this was not an USAmerican thing; this was a GOD thing!  It was the loving responses of the many that would not allow evil to claim victory on that site.  

So how will I mark this occasion today?  By remembering these things- when despair overwhelms us, evil wins.  When anger rules, evil wins.  When revenge is our motivation, evil wins.  When faith, hope and love are all we are left with, then God wins.  There is a story told that a volunteer from St. Paul's tells of how he overheard one of the exhausted rescue workers coming into the church for a meal and a break, and he was singing.  The song he was singing was a youth group favorite by Lost And Found- "Oh them lions they can eat my body but they can't swallow my soul..."  And that should be our lasting lesson from September 11, 2001.  It's also in the Gospel of John, chapter 1.  "The Light (Jesus) shines in the darkness, and the darkness cannot overcome it."  For me, that will always be the story of 9/11.  Today, do not waste energy hating those who are evil.  Remember the fallen and those who were heroic in their selfless, sacrificial, Christ-like response.  That is what this day should always be about.

Because of Jesus,

Youth Ministry Heroes: Tim Vestal

My Hero

My dear friend and former student Ashley Goad Broadhurst departs today on another mission trip to Haiti, and I am her prayer partner for the day.  Please join me in praying for her!


Today I want to tell you about one of my heroes of Youth Ministry.  His name is Tim Vestal (pictured- I confess to swiping this from his Facebook page), and unless you are a Quaker living in North Carolina you may never have heard of him.  He hasn't written a book.  He doesn't speak at national conferences.  He doesn't do podcasts and he's not on Twitter.  He's not even really Batman- at least not as far as I know.  He is simply a youth pastor who has dedicated his life to serving teenagers in the name of Jesus.  And nobody does it better.


For over 20 years now Tim has served local churches (only 2 in all those  years) in NC.  He has often been a Youth Pastor, Children's Minister, Choir Director and Sunday School/VBS guru all rolled into one.  His youth groups thrive and grow because of his faithfulness, creativity and dedication and willingness to share his life with his students.  But that's only one part of Tim's story.  I first met him when he was a student himself, one of the leaders of the Young Friends Yearly Meeting (conference youth) in NC.  Since those days he has been involved with a youth choir called Serenity.  This is an ever-changing group of youth that gathers from all over the state for 2 weeks each summer- one week to rehearse and one week to tour.  In fact, they are touring even as I write this post.  This group has toured for 29 years now, and Tim has participated in 24 of them (according to his wife).  And for the past 19 years he has been their director.  In addition, for many years he has led the Young Friends Activities Committee that plans numerous events throughout the year for the conference, including a winter camp called Youth Tremors and the annual Yearly Meeting each Fall.  He does these things because he loves teenagers and he loves Jesus.  He does not get paid for these conference events;  they are his passion.  And I can tell you from personal experience that there have been literally hundreds of youth (including some of my own) over the years who have been impacted by his work outside of his own church.  Tim Vestal is a ministry superstar.


I have known Tim for many years and consider him to be a dear friend.  We shared many great moments at the National Youth Workers Convention over the years (see The Banana Splits).  He brought me to NC as a guest speaker several times and we always had a blast.  I know that he is an expert on the Muppets.  I know that you rarely catch him without a toothbrush somewhere on his person.  I knew of his feelings for his lovely wife Sarah way before she became his lovely wife Sarah.  :)  I have loved him as a friend for a very long time.  But it has only been since my ministry ended that I have realized that Tim is my youth ministry hero.  And here's how I know- I wish so badly that my son could be in his youth group.  He does it well, and he does it right.  He's the most creative person I know.  He has built so many relationships and helped so many students discover the love of Jesus.  So here's what I want you to do today- whether you know Tim or not, I'd like for all of you to be praying for Tim and Serenity.  Better yet, leave an encouraging word for Tim as a comment here and I will make sure he gets them.  The world of ministry could do with fewer celebrities and more Tim Vestals.  In fact, now that I think about it...maybe he is Batman. Tim has a special place in my youth ministry Hall of Fame!


Because of Jesus,

My Heroes

Happy New Year's Eve!  I am certain that the year 2010 has had many heroes in the areas of politics, sports, entertainment and public service.  But this is my blog, and this is MY list!  These are some of the people who were heroic in my life this year.  And it's been a really good year...

• Any list of my heroes must begin with my amazing wife, Marilyn.  She is the backbone of our family in so many ways- financially, spiritually and emotionally.  I am so thankful that God looked down on me almost 30 years ago and thought, "He is going to need someone special; better send Marilyn his way."  I am so blessed.
• Likewise, my son Will is my hero.  He puts up with my lame humor and our occasional lack of resources with a loving spirit and a great heart.  He does all of this while being 15 and somehow avoiding being obnoxious!  I could not have asked for a better kid.
• Jerry Hanbery.  You cannot be a better friend to anyone than Jerry has been to me.
• So many of you have helped make this blog so much fun for me in 2010, and all of you who read and send me notes and comments on a regular basis are my heroes.  But there are 2 old friends- Meagan Hill Halquist and Brook Teoli Elaine- who have supported and encouraged me in ways even they don't understand.  I always know that no matter what else is going on, I have 2 readers.  Thanks, ladies!
• Todd & Kristin Willis have lifted me in ways I cannot even begin to explain.  It is often said that true friends are the people who know the worst things about you and love you anyway.  That applies to many of you, but it has been especially true with Todd.  His efforts have been heroic in small but marvelous ways.  His old buddy Jocelyn Sessions Ward has also been a wonderful inspiration to Marilyn and I this year.
• Rick Bundschuh and Ken McCoy got me re-involved in ministry through writing this year. Thanks guys.  You'll never know how much that meant to me.
• This year I have been honored to visit with Ken Hill, Jennifer Minnigan Kuramochi, Lisa Kraus Spires, Jeremy Godwin, Caitlin Esry, Bethany Esry, Julia Pribyl and Lauren Carr Cacciatore.  It is not always easy to see me these days, because you pretty much have to come to Tampa to do it.  Their efforts to get together with us have been heroic, and I cannot express how much it meant to me to see them.
• As I mentioned earlier, there are so many people who make writing this blog everyday an exercise in great joy.  Comments from very old friends like Ashely Goad Broadhurst, Charles Freedle and Jamie Robinson and Connor Lewis always encourage me.  So many different friends from my FUMC-Kissimmee family bring me joy each week.  It's been great to keep up with births and weddings and other special occasions.  But I close this list of heroes with one of my oldest friends, Susan McBane Tuggle.  She and I worked together at Quaker Lake back in late 70's, and she has made a number of comments on the blog over the past year.  She has been fighting breast cancer for the past few months and doing it with a faith and an attitude that is nothing short of heroic.  Boom-Boom, you are my hero, and I love ya.

That's my list for 2010.  It is only a partial list, but I hope all of you who been part of my life this year know how special you to me.  I wish for you all a blessed 2011.  Come back tomorrow to get started right.  It's not about resolutions- it's about a revolution!

Because of Jesus,