Time 2 Talk
It has been a bit since I've blogged. After recovering from my "Killer Gout," Paula broke her right foot. Yes Indeed! She is getting around pretty well now. Let me get to the real reason why I want to Blog tonight. I really want to lay out some thoughts about my Men's Camp experience and some thoughts that have since sparked.
It was so amazing to see God use our ministry at Men's Camp. People responded to God's Word presented through Praise & Worship music. I heard many corps officers and soldiers say things like, "I sure wish you guys were part of our corps." Why is it that just about every corps in the division would love to have our Worship Team as part of their ministries, but our own corps would rather we hang it up?
We could argue and debate what worship is or what is appropriate to present to God as worship or whether or not what I present is based on preference or not. In fact, we already debate that, even within our own Worship Team. I am not in the mood to argue OR debate.
Very simply, God has created me a certain way. Within that act of creation, He has imparted within me certain gifts. Some of those certain gifts are better than other gifts he has imparted to me. Therefore, I am in a situation that the gifts I present to God can be nothing more than that which He has given me first.
With that said, who has the right to discourage my gifts? Who, Biblically, can stand in judgment of a gift that is not even intended for them? Who has been deemed the judge to determine that the gifts I give are out of preference or simply out of what I have to give?
I don't know about you, but I've yet to experience God asking for a receipt for the gifts given to Him so that He may exchange them. If from my heart I give, to His heart He receives.
I am really at a point of giving up. I have been in emotional hell before. I will not allow anyone else to put me there again. The only thing I can come up with is that those within our corps who practice discouragement instead of encouragement have mistaken self-righteousness for holiness.
Once I sift through my thoughts some more, I will discuss this some more. This is enough for now.
Wayne
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9:46 PM
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Attack Of The Killer Gout!
When I woke up on Tuesday morning, my right big toe was hurting. I dealt with it while getting ready. It did cause me to limp. I got to work and as I continued to work throughout the day, the pain increased.
After lunch I went back to work for like and a half hour and decided I needed to go to the doctor. The pain was so intense that it nauseated me and just about brought tears to my eyes.
TO THE URGENT CARE WE GO!
We waited for what seemed like for-stinkin'-ever to be seen. Once we got back to the room, we waited even longer. Finally the Nurse Practitioner came in and told me I have gout.
"What is gout?" you ask? Well it is caused by uric acid, which is produced by your kidneys. Either your kidneys are over producing it or not getting rid of it fast enough. This can be caused by hereditary issues (my dad has it a lot), obesity (yep, I am fat), eating a lot of red meat (I love my double quarter pounder), being on a diuretic (my blood-pressure med is one), or being an alcoholic (that one I missed). Anyway, this excess uric acid crystallizes on the joint in your big toe. OWW!
Well the meds they put me on came with these instructions: "Take one pill every hour until the pain goes away or you start vomiting or getting diarrhea, not to exceed 8 pills in a 24 hour period. I took 6 pills on Tuesday night and nothing happened. The throbbing diminished a bit, but the intense pain stayed.
When I got up on Wednesday, I took another pill and went to work. I took the eighth pill an hour later. The pain started to disappear throughout the day. I thought to myself, "Yes, I made it without getting diarrhea!"
Wednesday evening hit. I find at this point the sense of humor that God has. Diarrhea hits and now this morning, 15 hours later, I still can't stay off the throne. Can we say, "RAW!!"
Why does all the drama happen to me... I feel like Charlie Brown. Well off to the store to get some Imodium AD Advanced... Advanced because I need the hard stuff.
More to come in the next few days about what I learned or realized at Men's Camp.
Wayne
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10:03 AM
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Refreshed
We just back Sunday night from Men's Camp. We had an amazing time. I learned a lot about myself and about life. Learned some stuff about God too. I will talk about some of that in my next blog or two. For now, here are some of my favorite pictures from this weekend.
Here are Booth, Paula, and Sarah - our vocalists.
Here is my chubby self, doing what I do on the keyboard.
Josh plays accoustic guitar for us.
Jonathan keeps the beat for us.
Johnny is the electric guitar player.
Jason brings up the bottom on bass.
Tilden and Kristy cover us on cornet. Desmond slides in with his trombone.
This is my favorite picture. Men are lined at the altar. Lives were changed because men met Jesus. This is why we do what we do.
More to come soon about Men's Camp... I have a lot of thoughts.... I think.
Wayne
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9:34 AM
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