Saturday, January 31, 2004

2:10 PM We ran into Dick and Ann Baer at Cliff’s party. They are in town because of the birth of a new grandson. They have 19 grandchildren—17 boys, 2 girls. Dick said they are heading back to Florida tomorrow. 2:04 PM Marlene and I went to Cliff Raad’s big 80th birthday party at the church this afternoon. It’s a come and go affair featuring lots of good food and some amazing pictures of Cliff and Phyllis from the 1940s. I saw a wonderful picture of Cliff with long sideburns. And there was one of a dapper-looking Cliff when he graduated from high school in 1941. Marlene loved the picture of Cliff and Phyllis on their second date. They are leaning against the front or of a car—and Cliff is leaning toward Phyllis. “He’s already moving in,” Marlene said. That’s Cliff. He knew Phyllis was the girl for him. And he still feels that way almost 60 years later. 2:02 PM Just received the following e-mail:

Hi Pastor Ray, I went for a nice 30 mile bike ride this morning through the mountains. It was about 78 degrees and sunny. Wish you were here! Jeff McQueary from Costa Rica

Well, Jeff, I wish I was there, too. Last night the temp dropped to -3. This AM the cold water pipe to the kitchen sink was frozen shut. First time that has happened to us in the 15 years we’ve lived in Oak Park. The mercury currently stands at a toasty 15 degrees. I thought about going for a bike ride, but decided to wait until it hits the 20s. Or maybe I’ll take a quick trip to Costa Rica. 9:04 AM Interested in listening to some British sermons? Here’s an archive of over 450 sermons from All Soul’s Church in London. John Stott pastored this church for decades. The archive includes quite a few of his sermons.