Monday, December 29, 2003

11:20 PM Among the visitors Sunday morning, I met Jim and Sue Nicodem and their children Emily, Rachel and Andrew. Jim is the pastor of Christ Community Church in St. Charles, one of the most dynamic churches in the Midwest. Jim told me that he and Pastor Bob Boerman go back a long way together. 11:15 PM Quick Renovation Update: Gym floored completely cleared, ready for installation of the permanent surface … Final painting and carpeting underway in new classrooms/offices … Roof almost finished in the portico … Air conditioning installation in West Wing proceeding … New nursery nearing completion. 11:14 AM Big church event of the week: The New Year’s Eve Prayer Party in the Dining Room, 7:30-9 PM. Join us for an informal, interactive time where we think about all the ways God has answered our prayers in 2003. We schedule the prayer party early so you can go to other events later in the evening. 11:12 AM Special thanks to Mike Jebb and Greg Bowman for putting together the excellent video on family devotions that ran in all four services yesterday. Kudos to the CMC stars of the program: Bob and Denise Weller, Joan and Frank Edwards, Mark, Valery and Sharon Dodgson, and Donna Baer. 11:10 PM GE has seen the light regarding Paul Harvey. 11:08 PM Glad to be of service to my good friend and fellow blogger Kevin McCullough. 10:58 PM Marlene and I had a blast the annual staff Christmas party. Usually we have a meal at a restaurant, but this year we met (almost 30 of us) at the home of Dave and Lynette Hoy in Elmhurst. After a fine meal, and with much laughter, we had a White Elephant gift exchange. Rob Gaskill ended up opening four presents because people kept taking away the gifts he opened. Most popular gift: A nice punch bowl with matching cups that went from Rob to Betty Dylong and finally to Nate Steinman. Most unusual gift: Several entries here, including a Christmas ornament with Bob Boerman’s picture from 1974 (when he had hair). It was inscribed on the back from Jean to Bob when they had been married for a year. Probably the only one in the world. Someone suggested that Glen Gale should try to sell it on Ebay. Vern Henriksen ended up with a “Wild Turkey” video from the “Wild Turkey Association.” Evidently it was a hot item back in 1997. Rob finally ended up with a teardrop-shaped glass filled with pickled vegetables. Again, a collector’s item, if that’s the sort of thing you like. Marlene and I contributed a “Praise the Lord” clock that someone gave us last year. It has a speaker that says, “Praise the Lord” on the hour. The clock was still in the box because we never got around to trying it out. 10:55 PM Here’s a link to what’s happening at Urbana03, the triennial missions conference that draws 20,000 college-age students from across America and around the world. Kathy Duggins mentioned that Katie is attending the conference. I’m sure there are others from Calvary who are there as well.