HOT! HOT! HOT!

During some "decktime" on a recent Caribbean cruise, I heard these words over and over as a steel drum band entertained the deck sitters.

Today, I was checking the weather in Arizona where friends and family members live.
Here's the scoop for the next few days...

4 Day Forecast for Phoenix Arizona
Today: Sunny High: 112 Low 85
Tomorrow: Sunny High: 111 Low 82
Saturday: Sunny High: 109 Low 82
Sunday: Sunny High: 108 Low 82

My friend Dan, who lives and works in the Phoenix area, tells me that it really isn't hot on days like these, because it's a dry heat. I think that means that when you spend time outdoors, your persperation will immediately dry and you'll just feel like you're spending time in your oven.

What's the difference between "dry heat" and "humid heat"?
HOT HOT HOT
DOM

NEW YORK CITY HIGHLIGHTS

Here's just a small list of the highlights from our recent five night stay in New York City along with 43 other people from Central:

-17 Hour bus trip (no mechanical problems, but frequent stops for restroom breaks)
-To the top of the Empire State Building upon arrival - 11pm
-Multiple room switches due to issues in the hotel (unacceptable rooms, uncleaned rooms, etc.)
-Ground Zero on Saturday - If I had to use one word to describe that experience, it would be solemn. I've been there a number of times but each time I visit, I'm impressed by how quiet people visitors are and how the now empty sight affects my emotions. We rode the E train in and disembarked in the recently opened Ground Zero site. As our subway arrived, I tried to imagine what it was like arriving that morning on 9-11.
-Central Park and lunch at Tavern On The Green - great location, great food and service, and a low price since it was "Restaurant Week in New York City!
-Subways, subways and more subways...our primary mode of transportation
-Brooklyn Tabernacle on Sunday and Tuesday evening. This is the reason we go, and also the reason we want to stay. I love what this church is doing to make a difference in their community.
-Fiddler on the Roof on Broadway - incredible
-Cheesecake almost every night: Twice at Carnegie Deli, once each at Stage Deli, and Brooklyn Diner. Passed on cheesecake at Junior's in Brooklyn.
-China Town and Little Italy...nothing quite like it.
-UN, Strawberry Fields, NBC, FOX Studios, Wall Street, St. Patricks, Trump everything, and on and on.

There's no greater city...
DOM(tired)

SUMMER WEEKEND

This past weekend, I left the city around 3pm and headed an hour and a half north with a group of 9 guys. This was a golf weekend, and I must have been invited as a chaperone since I was the oldest guy, by far, in the group. We played just nine holes on the way up to our destination, which was kind of a warmup. On Saturday we played 36 holes in Ludington on a course called Hemlock. This was a very challenging course, but fun. The day of golf was topped off by a meal at the Brown Bear Bar/Grill in Shelby. The featured special was a burger called a Big Bear Supreme. This burger had to be a pound and a quarter in size (or more), but also included an assortment of other "stuff" on it that I could only assume was edible. If you're ever in Shelby around mealtime, you have have to stop and order one of these monsters.

Sunday: A great Community Group time with an inspiring testimony challenging each of us to let go of the what the world has to offer and grab hold of what God has for us. This was followed by the morning worship service and a very evangelistic message. Outstanding! In the afternoon we hung out with Steve, Vickster and the kids...dinner and the beach -swimming and sand (everywhere). Sure glad we put in the outdoor shower! Sunday evening we enjoyed a George Benson concert at Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids. Great concert!

Still trying to sell my car,
DOM

LIFE and DEATH

This past weekend, I experienced something very unique. It all started when I made a hospital visit and stood with a number of family members around a bed, as they waited for their loved one to pass away. The loved one was clinging to life after all life support was removed. The result of this action was a quiet and somber vigil as the family waited for the inevitable. After spending a short time with this family, I left and returned to my car. When I reached my parked car, I found out that my niece had just given birth to a healthy baby boy in the same hospital, less than 5 hours earlier. Within 10 minutes I was standing in still another hospital room but this time, there was joy, not the heaviness of pending death. There was an atmosphere of happiness and excitement because of the birth of a healthy 8 lb. 13oz baby boy - entering the world.

Within a twenty minute time period, I experienced the realities of a sad farewell at death's door, and a joyfilled welcome as a new baby enters the world...a huge swing of emotions in less than a half hour. "He gives and takes away..."

Still processing,
DOM

INDEPENDENCE/DEPENDENCE

My wife and I have had the privilege to raise 3 great kids who are grown, married, and on their own. Each child was/is different, but one thing remained the same. As they grew up and matured, they took on more responsibility and slowly began to become increasingly independent.

Isn't it interesting that as we mature as believers, we become less and less independent and more and more dependent?

DOM

FREE AT LAST



Back to Neverland and back to business. What a distraction this has been for Michael. Why won't the law just leave him alone???

DOM(struck)

PISTONS FIRING ON ALL CYLINDERS



Mister Big Shot fires up and dispatches the Spurs to the sidelines in 7 games. If Shaq was playing for the Spurs it would be the Pistons in 4, but Timmy Duncan will make a difference and cause the championship series to go the full 7.

"Ball don't lie"

DOM

CHAUNCY BIBIBIBIBIBILLUPS AND BIG BEN



Chauncy, Ben, and the boys can flat out play basketball, the only way basketball should be played, that is.....DEEEEEEEEEEEETROIT BASKETBALL! Way to go Pistons!

Eastern Conference Champs. It's great to have one championship caliber team in the Detroit. We'll be waiting many more years for the Tigers and the Lions to reach respectability. But what's up with basketball in June???

DOM

WEDDING VOWS



Thirty-six years ago, on June 4, 1969 I stood in front of a church watching and waiting for my beautiful bride to slowly make her way down the aisle on the arm of her dad. I was 20 years old and had no clue whatsoever about the journey we were embarking on together on that warm June evening. I must admit that my thoughts were more focused on the honeymoon than on the wedding ceremony that was just beginning. Sweat poured from every pore of my body. Frazzled nerves, uncertainty, warm room? I'm not sure but the pastor was kind enough to swab my face with his handkerchief while we knelt before him during a time of prayer. From my perspective, the vows we repeated that evening seemed to be just words strung together that were a necessary part of a wedding and would allow us to move on to the honeymoon. With each passing year, these vows take on more and more meaning. They speak of an incredible commitment to each other, no matter what we're faced with, for as long as we live. These vows have become more than just words strung together, they have become an intregal part of our marriage.

Grateful for 36 awesome years of marriage and anxiously looking forward to the next 36. Thanks G! The best is yet to come!

DOM