Growth

Other than a lack of rain in the afternoons, we are really close to summer. The temps are in the upper 80's and the lows are in the low 70's. We did have some rain Sunday morning and a brief shower this afternoon, but it was next to nothing in the rain gauge. However, the plants and flowers are spectacularly beautiful. The second of our gardenia bushes is in full flower. If the scent were edible, it would be completely decadent! Our Rangoon Creeper (what a misnomer - it doesn't creep, it lunges!) is flowering also. Flowers are white in the morning when they first open and by afternoon they are pink. The second day they turn red and maybe last a third day. I have already trimmed it back once, and it will need more pruning in another week. A neighbor down the block gave us a small datura. They are in the brugmansia family and related to nightshade. The bush can get 10 to 15 feet high and has bell shaped flowers about nine inches long. This variety has a pale throat that shades into pink on the bell end. I planted it in the back yard near the west end; it's close to the laurel oak but will get sun in the morning and late afternoon. I'll post a picture when it blooms, but for now check out this site: http://www.abads.net/

The bamboo we planted in early January have both sent up new culms. The Asian Lemon culm is about 3 weeks old and over six feet high. I noticed a new 3 inch culm for the Black Timor today and it is no more than two days old. Each succeeding culm will grow higher than the older ones. Asian Lemon grows to about 25 feet high, and the Black Timor can reach 40 feet...we'll see about that!
We have 11 days of school left with the kids. They are hanging in there quite well. This is the last full week of school. Man, this year flew by quickly!
Gayle and I are hosting a Wednesday evening Bible study for three young Christians in our church. We have supper together and then look at some themes by way of verses. We're trying to get at a Christian world & life view. Last week's topic was Who is God? and this week we will look at Who am I? We had a work morning at the new church last Saturday, and a couple dozen volunteers spruced things up nicely. We still have many things to do. When a new group comes in with fresh eyes, there are a great many things that can be done...a little at a time. We will have two adult baptisms in a couple of weeks, and we continue to have new people come to our service on Sunday.

The new Black Timor culm is a little hard to see, but it's on the left side of the picture. A caladium shoot is between the culm and the two original canes.

It's a Go!

We heard today that CCPC has been approved by the USA Presbytery to lease the old Conway Presbyterian Church USA site. We have a few little details to take care of yet, but we hope to be in by this Sunday. Lake George Elementary's cafeteria has served us well for over 3.5 years, but now it's time to grow into a new place. The new site is less than 2 miles from where we were, and a mile closer to our house. We may have a moving bee Thursday evening. I did take some pictures at our service last Sunday -- I thought that it could well be our last time in the cafeteria, so I wanted a pictoral record of the service. God is so good! More to come...

We Love Presidents' Day!

Today is like an extra Saturday, an especially long week-end bonus. We had a really busy week with the usual meetings for church and school. My 5th graders had the responsibility for chapel this week, so we practiced for our chapel on Thursday. The really nice thing was that by giving the chapel on Thursday, the topic was a lock! It was easy to tie in Jesus' love for us with Valentine's Day! We had another all-school program on Friday; it was Grandparents' Day. It was one of those good-but-tiring times. You're always "on" meeting the most special people in the students' lives, which is enjoyable but we're grateful when it's finally finished. The kids were gone by noon and we had a quiet afternoon to prepare for the short week ahead.

Saturday I "vacuumed" the yard, i.e., put on the grass catcher and sucked up all of the oak leaves while cutting the grass. I had not cut the grass in six weeks, so it was time. I'm also in the process of repairing the ledge in front of the kitchen window. It's about 24 inches deep, fairly flat, and was rough stucco so it trapped rain water, which then begat mold. I've been filling it in and smoothing it, and giving it just a little slope to easily drain water. One more thin coat should do it. I also have to trim the hibiscus by the bathroom window. Little squeaks and scrapes on the window when the wind blows tell me that it's been growing again.

Yesterday we had a celebration for Vanessa McKenna after church. She became a US citizen this past week. We all wore red, white, & blue to church and her in-laws brought a cake for us all to enjoy. In the evening about a dozen of us met at Don & Tracey Bailey's house. I led a SWOT analysis on Conway Community Presbyterian Church. We need to get a focus for the year's challenges and opportunities. This was a good way to begin that process. We spent about two hours talking through the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to CCPC. Next step is to develop some strategies that will, in God's good grace, effectively move us forward.

Gayle finished her class quilt for the TCS auction on March 1. Every one of her students did a square for the quilt. She's working on her wall hanging and some other stuff today...I hear the sewing machine! After I get the outside stuff done, it's time to do the taxes...Tomorrow I will attend a seminar put on by Christian Schools of Florida. The topic is teaching from a Christian worldview. It's being held in Maitland at Orangewood Christian School. It should be a good day.

Growth

This past Saturday Gayle and I trimmed the hibiscus and bougainvillea next to the back of the house in between the rain showers. That got me thinking about the way things looked just a year ago when we re-worked the backyard triangle between the house and the waterway. Just look at the difference a year makes! Gotta love that Florida growing season...all 12 months!
In related news, we had our particularization service for Conway Community Presbyterian Church last night. After more than three years as a mission of the Central Florida Presbytery, we have become a bona fide church in the PCA. We have about 50 charter members - those who have gone through the new member classes - and about 18 baptized children. We also have around 40 regular attenders, so that makes for a good fellowship on Sundays. We had a number of guests from other area PCA churches at Sunday evening's service. There were three pastors and four ruling elders present who constituted the commission for particularization. In addition to the regular service, we had a vote by the charter members to call Don Bailey as our teaching elder, and a vote to accept another man and me as the initial ruling elders. Don and I were installed (I am already a RE in the PCA from a term in Ft. Myers) and Brian, my fellow RE, was ordained. A charge was given to Don, Brian, and me for our work with the members, and the charge was also given to the congregation. We had a fellowship time after the service. It was a thoroughly delightful time!
I'm going to my first Presbytery meeting with Don next Monday; I'm taking a personal day from school. There are about 35 churches in the Central Florida Presbytery, from Dunellon, Ocala, and Lecanto in the west to Ormond Beach, Port Orange, and Vero Beach on the east...and many points in between. We're meeting in Longwood, about 15 miles north of Conway, so that should be an easy ride. We will have our organizational Session meeting next week also. And then the work really begins...