• Awake at 4:30AM. Up at 4:45AM.
• Coffee and a bagel thin (Toasted. Butter and jelly. Strawberry, of course).
• Devotions.
• Read the news.
• On Facebook long enough to wish friends “Happy Birthday,” but get off before seeing someone’s conspiracy theory or how a pastor in California is a dope.
• Do Wordle. “Scour.” Three tries. (FYI… today’s Wordle took me six tries. Ugh!)
• Work on sermon. Last “Odd Man In” sermon. (No spoiler alerts, just come on Sunday)
• Exercise.
• Pray while on elliptical and exercise bike.
• Shower. 
• Dress. 
• Help take down the beds—new carpet installed in the bedrooms today.
• Leave for the church.
• Listen to Louis Armstrong, “What a wonderful world.”
• Detour to Starbucks.
• Get to church.
• Talk with Deb, my super assistant, about events for the day and week.
• Spill my mocha drink all over the floor.
• Am I more upset that coffee spilled or that my $5.25 drink is now a big fat stain on the floor?
• Try to clean it up. Deb helps too.
• There’s still a stain. Ugh!
• Call in the “dream team of clean.” (Our facility crew)
• Apologize for being uncoordinated.
• Quickly answer a few emails. 
• Meet with Vi and Tim McIlvoy to discuss Del’s funeral. 
• 95 years of life. 55 years of marriage.
• Wore out four or five Bibles.
• A great man went to heaven.
• More emails and a few texts.
• Leave for Brighton to have lunch with a pastor.
• It’s pouring outside.
• Head pounding.
• Hope it doesn’t rain like this on Saturday for our IN FLINT work day. 
• Will Panera’s cream of broccoli soup help my head? Can’t hurt. 
• He shares.
• I share.
• Hope the conversation helped.
• Back home to put up the beds on newly installed carpet.
• Tigers on the TV while working.
• Tigers lose (Shocker).
• Find a house on Zillow that looks interesting. Hello Judy Cox.
• Going to move? Probably not. Maybe. 
• Supper: Soup and grilled cheese. (rainy days are soup-for-lunch-and-dinner days).
• Back to the church. 
• Try to figure out a closing song for the choir service with Nate.
• Love divine all love excelling.
• You can’t go wrong with a Charlie Wesley ditty.
• Lizzy Benjamin sticks her head in to say “Hi.” There’s great teenagers at Central.
• Go to the family center where people are eating Deb Pruitt’s tasty dinner (Italian and headaches isn’t a good combo. But it looks good).
• Go from table to table talking with those gathered for dinner.
• Dennis Johnson is doing great after so long in the hospital with Covid. A walking miracle.
• Quay brought a toy truck. He’s letting Dennis Freeman play with it.
• Jessica Roland, future missionary, did great the night before sharing with the church board her hopes and dreams.
• Boston and Pastor Amanda are eating with some of our great teenagers.
• Eat a piece of cake with Deb, Sam and Mary Ann.
• Shhhh… I’m on a diet.
• Meet with a young couple for pre-marriage counseling. Hope they have as happy a marriage as Vi and Del. I think they will.
• Listen to tail end of choir practice. 
• Did you hear that Dr. Joe Ewing died?  Funeral is Saturday. Joe was my dentist. I also used his Michigan Football tickets a time or two. He was a good man!
• Say my good byes and head home.
• Watch a little basketball then the Adam Project on Netflix with Karla. It’s so so. 
• Bedtime.

Why the daily run down? Pastoring is full of many activities. Old folks. Young folks. Death. Life. Marriage. Worship planning. It’s a smorgasbord of life. That’s why I love it. Today will be different than yesterday. Whatever happens I hope Psalm 118 rings out true for you and me: This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it. (Psalm 118:24).