I’m NOT DEAD YET!

Just like the famous rock group I play in, I’m NOT DEAD YET! I’m out of the hospital, alive and well.

But, there WAS a little drama.

I had to preach at the WHC 5:00 service tonight. Should have been no problem, since I’d already gotten clearance to get a “pass” out of the hospital, assuming they wanted to keep me over another night. But, because I wiggled my toe during the MRI (a couple of times it turns out), and because the doctor had reason to be concerned that I’d gotten a “bone infection” (which is really not good), he wanted me to do the MRI over again. (Do you have any idea how hard it is NOT to wiggle your toe when someone tells you NOT to, especially when so much is riding on it? It’s tormenting!). So this time he wanted me to be sedated with Valium. Trouble is, because of scheduling problems, the MRI couldn’t happen until about 2:00 on Saturday.

Well, I barely made it out of the hospital in time for the service. And when I got there, I was a wee bit buzzed from the Valium, combined with some Vicodin they’d given me earlier for pain. I drank a quadruple espresso on the way to church to “sober up.” At the same time, I was putting the finishing touches on my sermon (which I had hardly gotten to since I’d been hospitalized for a couple of days).

Bottom line: The service went great! I certainly enjoyed it — though I don’t know how much of this was due to the Valium and Vicodin and how much it was the result of the Holy Spirit. Who cares? And somehow I managed to give a semi-coherent message that seemed to impact people.

When we are weak, HE is strong. Praise God!

Thanks for your prayers.
We’ll get back to the Old Testament violence issue soon.

Happy Easter!!!

Greg
p.s. It turns out I have a nasty staph skin infection, not a bone infection, which is very good news. A couple weeks on antibiotics and I’m home free!
p.p.s. Aren’t my friends terribly mean to me?
p.p.p.s. Don’t I have great friends — and an adorable grandson?