...Let me begin with a quick recap of the last several weeks. 1) The Omaha World Herald published a pro-life op/ed piece of mine which drew a lot of attention. Historically, the newspaper has been anything but positive to my entries but there has been a few changes at the top there. This was the second op/ed of mine they published in the last couple of years.2) Several posts from Vital Signs Blog have been picked up by “big blogs” like Lucianne.com, Blogs Lucianne Loves, The Point and others which have not only driven our daily average to over 400 page loads but have created extra “spikes” in traffic that have gone as high as 1900 in one day! Wow.
3) We have begun a new series of P.A.L. Nights where we take advantage of the special punches that a handwritten letter creates. Always fun, always encouraging, and always helpful, these P.A.L. Nights really do make a difference. The next one will be Monday, May 24th at 7:00 P.M. at our place. Please consider joining us.
4) The sidewalk counseling on Monday mornings now involves two shifts: one from 7:30 to 9:15 and the other from 9 to 10:30. That usually allows 4 of us to be present at any time. However, in the summer, we lose two of our regulars. Therefore, any additions to the team would be most welcome.
5) The latest Book It! discussion covered Amity Schlaes’ The Forgotten Man and it was (both the book and the conversation) superb! Next in line is Randy Alcorn’s Money, Possessions and Eternity with the evening discussion scheduled for Monday, June 28th. Give us a call if you’re interested.
6) Our ministry of one-on-one and small group discipleship goes on as usual. For example, since the last LifeSharer, we have hosted nearly a dozen lunches or dinner meetings. And that doesn't count those involving visiting family, the Board meeting, the literary club, etc.
7) As I’ve mentioned before, we have seen a revitalization of our Mercy Ministries with our frequent visits to the nursing home where my Mom lives. We’ve made many friends with both residents and staff and we’ve really enjoyed developing those relationships. Whenever I’m there, I “work the rooms” a while which seems to be warmly appreciated by all though not as much, I must confess, as Claire’s frequent donation of cookies are! Other Vital Signs team members engaged in regular nursing home visits (that we know of) are Keith and Carol Moran, Quint Coppi, and Ruth Denzler.
8) I was honored to fill in for a friend when he needed a “substitute teacher” for a couple of his Old Testament classes at Grace University. But I had to hit the books for a few hours to be ready for whatever they might throw at me. It went very well.
9) We’ve had some intriguing correspondence in recent weeks from all over the country and from a few more far-flung places like Norway, Belarus, England and the Philippines.
10) Steve Young is nearing completion of his renovations of the official Vital Signs Ministries web site. It looks cool now but it will be even better when he launches the new one. Moreover, the site will also be more comprehensive (incorporating much of what is now on individual blogs), more interactive, more user-friendly and, probably most important of all, more Claire-friendly! That last bit means that Claire will be better able to add, subtract and otherwise regularly maintain the site...
Read the rest of the LifeSharer letter right here.
