Another hurricane for Frank

We've corresponded with Frank (Mario's younger brother), and they are going to ride out the storm in their home in southwest Houston. They've stocked up on canned goods and water and will likely endure high winds and a lot of water. Gotta have hope here.

I have joined the fitness room at Blessing Hospital. Since I have finished my time with the PT, I need to do something to continue the exercise program that has helped me a lot. When I signed on to volunteer at the hospital Tea Room several years ago, one of the benefits is free use of the fitness room. It has all the machines and bike that I used in the past year, so I go a couple times a week. I ride the bike for 10 minutes and use light weights for about 20 reps on each machine. Sure won't get skinny doing this, but I will fulfill the doc's order to "keep moving!" :)

I did a little work for my church Thursday evening. We are a pilot church for a new program called Best Practices for Parishes. There are three groups: Prayer and Worship, Ministry to Family and Pastoral Care, and Stewardship. I worked in the last group. Lots of good and interesting conversation among the five of us. We evaluated how well our parish is performing in each of the areas of stewardship. We're trying here, but there are lots of areas where we can improve. We have 1500 families in our parish, but our weekly mass attendance is about 40%. I don't know how that stacks up with the average, but what are the other 60% doing on Sunday morning? Hm.

I finished my TEC talk on the Paschal Mystery. Haven't timed it yet. It's supposed to be 30 minutes long. I use more of an interactive approach than just straight talking through it, so the time will go quickly. I just hope they get the point! Teens Encounter Christ. It's an awesome thing to witness.

Chris is leaving for a weeklong trip to Germany on Saturday. His boss Barry and 3 others are going on the trip. He has to make a number of travel connections to trains and planes moving about the country over the course of the week. He told us the names of several companies they are recruiting (if that's the right word) to bring their businesses/industries to Phoenix. He loves the work. He and his family will be here the last weekend of September for Ike's wedding, so I will get my hands on that babydoll again:) Now that's something to look forward to!