Recoving from a another Long Weekend

This past Friday night, the Pastor’s Aide Team of Los Angeles honored me as their “Pastor of the Year.” The service was held at MSMBC. And several pastoral colleagues and sister churches were here to encourage me and others pastors. I deeply appreciated the kind gestures. But, most of all, I really appreciated the presence of Mt. Sinai. I have served this congregation for almost sixteen years. They are the ones who really know what kind of pastor I am, good or bad. But even though I enjoyed the service, it was rather draining for me. Being in those kind of settings take a lot out of me for some reason. There is such a sense of unworthiness that I feel. I am still a young preacher and pastor. I have a long way to go. Maybe thirty years down the road, I might be more deserving of such an honor. But I do really appreciate the encouragement. Mark it down: Preachers need to be encouraged. And, to be honest, many times I am desperate for it. I just want to know that what I am doing is making a difference. So it’s encouraging to have been considered, no matter what else did or did not happen. Thank you, Mt. Sinai, for every expression of your love me and Crystal. We love you.

Well, what do you do after you are honored as “Pastor of the Year”? You go to Disneyland! That’s what you do. Thinking I would be finished with my work, I promised H.B. and Natalie that I would take them to Disneyland Saturday. Crystal told me not to say anything to them. But I had to open my big mouth – the anticipation is just as much fun as the trip itself. So off we went – Crystal and I, the kids, and my pastor’s grand-daughter. It totally wiped me out. And I got sick. My sinuses started bothering me, and my head was aching. Crystal gave me some medicine. And it helped me to rest… to well. I overslept Sunday morning (something I basically never do). And in the rush to get myself ready, I got sick again. I struggled through the first service. Then I went home, ditching my Sunday School class. I intended to go home and stay, but my headache subsided enough that I came back to preach the second service. The Lord gave me strength to lead the service. But I was totally wiped out afterwards. I rested all Sunday afternoon. And I did as much of nothing as I could yesterday. I am back at work today, and I feeling a lot better. Thanks for your prayers and your notes and/or calls of concern.