Only Grace

I woke a couple of times through the night, but fell back asleep each time. I finally rolled out of bed somewhere close to 7:30am. As I did, Mindy told me that I had been snoring loudly despite being on my tummy. Probably had something to do with all the vodka I drank yesterday afternoon. As I headed downstairs, I asked Mindy what time she wanted up. She said by 8:00am. Mindy was singing a solo at church and I was going to go along to watch. We’d have to leave the house by 9:45am. To make this happen I had to have my run done by 9:15am. I left the house for my run at 8:40am. I ran my usual Sunday route. I made it back home by 9:15am. Mindy was finished showering when I returned. I, in turn, got in the shower and readied for church. We left the house at 9:45am and were there before 10am. Service didn’t begin until 10:30am but Mindy wanted to practice her song ahead of time. To the choir room we went. The song is title, Only Grace and originally performed by Matthew West. Mindy had a karaoke CD to sing to. She did well in her private rehearsal but I wondered how she’d do later in front of the entire congregation. 25 minutes or so into the service it was time for Mindy to perform. Mindy got up confidently, walked to the front, adjusted the mike, faced the congregation, and began singing her song. She sang like an angel. I was moved and impressed. That took some balls! The entire church service lasted almost 1.5 hours. Their services are much more personable than most others, probably due in part to the comparably smaller congregation/church. Always a well though out & entertaining message from Pastor Steve. After church we scurried home and warmed some leftover pizza. We were both really hungry. I mean, hey, it was noon and all that we had eaten were a couple pieces of cantaloupe before church. After pizza, Mindy got ready to pick-up her mom for a shopping adventure. I dawned my home project uniform and gathered my tools for a day in the shed. The goal: move all non-motorized yard tools from the garage to the shed. To accommodate this change, I had to first hang 2X4 horizontally along the interior shed walls just as I had done ten years prior in the garage. A couple hours later I had successfully moved all the yard tools to the shed. I have plenty to do to finish the project but felt good with my progress. My goal is to clear the garage of all unnecessary stuff and powerwash the floor and steps. It rained pretty hard during my outdoor project but I was lucky enough to be able to do a lot of the labor in the shed itself. When I finished the sun came out in abundance and it got really humid as one might have expected. My next project was to work on the boat. First, I wanted to adjust the idle, which seems to slow and often stalls. Second, I wanted to check the work I did last week – the new belts, the solenoid, the air filter. Everything looked good from last week. Also, I was able to adjust the idle up a little, or so it seemed. Hopefully, now the stalling issue has been solved too! While working on the boat, daughter Lindsey and lil’ Rocky pulled up. Not long after mindy and her mom returned. Although we never discussed it, I figured that Gloria might be joining us for dinner. I would’ve urged Mindy to invite her except for the fact that I didn’t want her to see all the dysfunction often on display by Lindsey, sad to say. Minutes later Jim returned the children after their weekend. While everyone else got settled inside, I finished working on the boat and eventually gave it a thorough washing inside and out. I finished just in time to start the grill. We were grilling burgers. As a side, we had a fresh garden salad and baked beans. I cooked tow hot dogs to appease Jacob who didn’t want a burger. I had to relight the grill to ensure that his hot dog was burnt. He was happy. Today we serve Jacob on demand for tomorrow his life changes for 13+ years. He begins kindergarten. He’s stoked! Mindy and the kids took Gloria home after dinner. Lindsey and lil’ Rocky left to go play with Kaileigh. I took the boat back to storage alone. It was nice. Mindy and I arrived back home at almost the same time. It was bath & story time for the kids. Mindy insisted on reading tonight’s story. I sensed this was special one and it was. It was about the first day of school. Mindy’s as excited, or possibly even more, than Jacob. After the kids were in bed, Mindy and I retreated downstairs to print off a few pics and to share a bowl of popcorn. We were in bed before 10pm after a very busy but fun weekend. Matthew West, Only Grace There is no guilt here There is no shame No pointing fingers There is no blame What happened yesterday Has disappeared The dirt has washed away And now it’s clear Chorus: There’s only grace There’s only love There’s only mercy And believe me it’s enough Your sins are gone Without a trace There’s nothing left now There’s only grace You’re starting over now Under the sun You’re stepping forward now A new life has begun Your new life has begun Chorus: And if you should fall again Get back up, get back up Reach out and take my hand Get back up, Get back up Get back up again