Par for the Course

My conference went very well today, and the Lord gave me the strength to get through it. Thank you for your prayers, they were definitely felt! I have to drop Doogie off at his dad's and pick up Molly from school in an hour or so; after that, I can collapse into a puddle of goo. I'm looking forward to it!

I love my job; I love that I get to work with so many great people. I'm the pastoral care coordinator at the local hospital. In essence, that means I make contact with all of the area pastors and make sure that the hospital has their contact information in case of emergency. I also put CareNotes in the waiting rooms for patients to grab; I send out sympathy letters from the hospital when a patient passes away. If there's something to do with God at the hospital, chances are that I get to do it. The clergy and the hospital are natural partners. The clergy works to heal the soul, while the hospital heals the body; neither is complete without the other. How many people have a job where they feel like they actually make a difference in other people's lives? I'm blessed to have one of those. The conferences I put on are held quarterly for the pastors and members of hospital staff. It's an opportunity to let them know what the hospital is doing for patients' spiritual health and get feedback on it. For the last year, I've been bringing in speakers on different topics to make the luncheon an educational opportunity as well. I'm lucky enough to have a job that I feel excited about going to, and my boss understands my illness and makes accommodations for it. I only work a few hours a week, but what I do in that little time helps to make my community a better place. I love it!

Par for the Course by Ray Blackston is another arrow in Blackston's quiver of satirical Christian books. Chris Hackett, owner of Hackett's Golf Learning Center is South Carolina, is trying to make ends meet doing what he loves best when political analyst Molly Cusack takes a golf lesson and makes a suggestion to boost business. Hack takes her advice and invites political groups to whack golf balls at a guy shouting political diatribes while driving a modified golf cart. Liberals, conservatives, atheists, even rival schools show up to listen to abuse while striking and driving the balls. But Hack pays a high price for the increased profits: someone accuses him of being biased and burns down the entire center. Blackston excels at creating delightful characters engaging in sparkling banter, and this book is no exception. Hack's faith is evident in his treatment of Molly, and their relationship grounds the book. Mystery aside, the book brings up excellent points about the divisiveness about our politics and how it bleeds over into other areas of life. Blackston brings the point home about how God views these antics without ever pummeling the reader with proselytizing or spouting aphorisms.

My reading stack is growing a bit out of control. Sometimes when I'm laid up for a few days, I reserve books on the library website, not giving thought as to when they'll come in. Last week when I was stuck in bed, apparently I ordered a LOT of books. My library stack has outgrown its shelf and is starting to spread to other areas!