High/Low for 2008
When my girls were younger and we weren't so scattered at dinner time, we would sit around the table and ask everybody to talk about the high point of their day and the low point of their day. Whenever we'd have guests over, we'd make them play, too. Shelby never had lows. Kelsey usually had two or three of each. Tracy often mentioned that her high point was "right now." On occasion, I'd use the time to tell everybody that they lied about what their high point was because I now had hockey tickets and we were leaving or that my high would be in 10 minutes when I took everybody to Braum's for banana splits. I kinda miss those days.
Anyway, I thought I'd give my highs and lows for the entire year:
January high: Hearing stories from my wife & daughter's whirlwind trip to Paris. Also, started teaching a Jeremiah series to the adult classes at our church and really enjoyed the study and the lessons I learned personally.
January low: Incredibly boorish behavior at weddings by everybody with a digital camera.
February high: Teaching the Jeremiah class was so much fun on Tuesdays & Sundays (teaching adults consistently was a big stretch for me professionally). I also preached a sermon that I believed in passionately, even if the congregation seemed to nod at politely. My sister and brother-in-law got me one of the best birthday gifts you could ever imagine for me.
February low: A dear friend passed away and caused a great deal of introspection as the spouse was in the midst of what would be an awful nightmare for me.
March high: A freak snowstorm in Dallas. Being a part of my friends Marky Mark & Kristy's uniquely fun wedding.
March low: My friend Dave came into the CBC offices for the last time.
April high: Another beautiful Opening Day with my daughter (a yearly tradition that has yet to get old). One of my favorite seminary professors came to my church & spoke at the men's conference. A great night at the Stanley Cup playoffs with Retrophisch.
April low: A serious hail storm that seemed to damage all my neighbors roofs enough for insurance to pay for them but putting mine in that in-between place of "is it worth making the claim to fix that damage once we pay the deductible?" And it racked all three of our cars, none of which have been repaired yet but insurance has cut us checks.
May high: Kid2 performed beautifully in her year-end ballet recital. Tracy and I went to a really cool wedding reception on a rooftop in downtown Dallas after sending Kid1 off to prom.
May low: I preached a really lousy sermon and wish I'd have a great, big do-over on it.
June high: BOTH of my children went on our church's mission trip to Juarez. I'm not sure I could've been prouder. I preached what I thought was a better sermon in big church. My best man at my wedding popped in for a surprise lunch together.
June low: My friend Nathan announced he was resigning from student ministry at CBC to move to Pittsburgh to be the youth pastor there.
July high: Celebrating 20 years with my smokin' hot shutterbug trophy wife. An enjoyable vacation with my wife's side of the family at the beach.
July low: Not having Kid2 in my house for six weeks as she was in Washington D.C. at various ballet summer intensive sessions.
August high: One of the nicest vacations ever, with a trip to the higher-order-barnstorming family's lake house in Idaho. This was immediately followed by a three-day concert in San Francisco, staying with the Rudds.
August low: My friend Nathan's last day on the job. Leaving an adult C.E. ministry that seemed to just get started and doing some cool stuff.
September high: Getting back in the saddle in youth ministry, man. No question. Being a part of my friends Katherine & Daniel's wedding, and getting to "work" that with someone I truly admire in their ministry.
September low: Getting a slow start in youth ministry because I'd planned vacation around an "adult C.E" schedule that actually has breaks where student ministers work.
October high: Hiring Charlie to serve our middle schoolers. Oh, man. That hire might prove to be one of the best things I've done in student ministry if the early returns are any indication. A great Pine Cove retreat for the middle school and a couple of work weekends for the high schoolers.
October low: My friend Keith, who I discipled and now pastors a church in Austin, had a seizure that was very scary at the time.
November high: My daughters cooking the Thanksgiving meal. New tattoos. Gas prices falling like crazy.
November low: Our church announcing layoffs. My friend Melissa's husband getting a job in Chicago and announcing she would be leaving our children's ministry at the end of the school year of 2009. An Auburn football team crashing & burning at the end of the season.
December high: The office vibe at CBC around Christmas and how much fun we have with the Festivus Cherub. A great Christmas office party for my wife's place of employment. Candlelight Christmas Eve services at my church for the first time in years.
December low: Not seeing any extended family at Christmas time.
Well, there's mine, folks...what were some of your highs & lows this year?
When my girls were younger and we weren't so scattered at dinner time, we would sit around the table and ask everybody to talk about the high point of their day and the low point of their day. Whenever we'd have guests over, we'd make them play, too. Shelby never had lows. Kelsey usually had two or three of each. Tracy often mentioned that her high point was "right now." On occasion, I'd use the time to tell everybody that they lied about what their high point was because I now had hockey tickets and we were leaving or that my high would be in 10 minutes when I took everybody to Braum's for banana splits. I kinda miss those days.
Anyway, I thought I'd give my highs and lows for the entire year:
January high: Hearing stories from my wife & daughter's whirlwind trip to Paris. Also, started teaching a Jeremiah series to the adult classes at our church and really enjoyed the study and the lessons I learned personally.
January low: Incredibly boorish behavior at weddings by everybody with a digital camera.
February high: Teaching the Jeremiah class was so much fun on Tuesdays & Sundays (teaching adults consistently was a big stretch for me professionally). I also preached a sermon that I believed in passionately, even if the congregation seemed to nod at politely. My sister and brother-in-law got me one of the best birthday gifts you could ever imagine for me.
February low: A dear friend passed away and caused a great deal of introspection as the spouse was in the midst of what would be an awful nightmare for me.
March high: A freak snowstorm in Dallas. Being a part of my friends Marky Mark & Kristy's uniquely fun wedding.
March low: My friend Dave came into the CBC offices for the last time.
April high: Another beautiful Opening Day with my daughter (a yearly tradition that has yet to get old). One of my favorite seminary professors came to my church & spoke at the men's conference. A great night at the Stanley Cup playoffs with Retrophisch.
April low: A serious hail storm that seemed to damage all my neighbors roofs enough for insurance to pay for them but putting mine in that in-between place of "is it worth making the claim to fix that damage once we pay the deductible?" And it racked all three of our cars, none of which have been repaired yet but insurance has cut us checks.
May high: Kid2 performed beautifully in her year-end ballet recital. Tracy and I went to a really cool wedding reception on a rooftop in downtown Dallas after sending Kid1 off to prom.
May low: I preached a really lousy sermon and wish I'd have a great, big do-over on it.
June high: BOTH of my children went on our church's mission trip to Juarez. I'm not sure I could've been prouder. I preached what I thought was a better sermon in big church. My best man at my wedding popped in for a surprise lunch together.
June low: My friend Nathan announced he was resigning from student ministry at CBC to move to Pittsburgh to be the youth pastor there.
July high: Celebrating 20 years with my smokin' hot shutterbug trophy wife. An enjoyable vacation with my wife's side of the family at the beach.
July low: Not having Kid2 in my house for six weeks as she was in Washington D.C. at various ballet summer intensive sessions.
August high: One of the nicest vacations ever, with a trip to the higher-order-barnstorming family's lake house in Idaho. This was immediately followed by a three-day concert in San Francisco, staying with the Rudds.
August low: My friend Nathan's last day on the job. Leaving an adult C.E. ministry that seemed to just get started and doing some cool stuff.
September high: Getting back in the saddle in youth ministry, man. No question. Being a part of my friends Katherine & Daniel's wedding, and getting to "work" that with someone I truly admire in their ministry.
September low: Getting a slow start in youth ministry because I'd planned vacation around an "adult C.E" schedule that actually has breaks where student ministers work.
October high: Hiring Charlie to serve our middle schoolers. Oh, man. That hire might prove to be one of the best things I've done in student ministry if the early returns are any indication. A great Pine Cove retreat for the middle school and a couple of work weekends for the high schoolers.
October low: My friend Keith, who I discipled and now pastors a church in Austin, had a seizure that was very scary at the time.
November high: My daughters cooking the Thanksgiving meal. New tattoos. Gas prices falling like crazy.
November low: Our church announcing layoffs. My friend Melissa's husband getting a job in Chicago and announcing she would be leaving our children's ministry at the end of the school year of 2009. An Auburn football team crashing & burning at the end of the season.
December high: The office vibe at CBC around Christmas and how much fun we have with the Festivus Cherub. A great Christmas office party for my wife's place of employment. Candlelight Christmas Eve services at my church for the first time in years.
December low: Not seeing any extended family at Christmas time.
Well, there's mine, folks...what were some of your highs & lows this year?
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