Hayden come home...

It is late Wednesday evening....I have been on the verge of death for 3 days....no joke. The above photo was from our first trip to the Bay following Katrina. My sister Hayden, a registered nurse had to give me an IV in order to keep me hydrated. As of Tuesday I am unsure if I had any fluids left in my body- I would have given away almost anything for a liter of saline. What a week... I would ask for your prayers for me, life is quite heavy right now, suffice to say that my physical afflictions have been paralleled by God's desire dehydrate me of EVERYTHING but Himself. There is an old hymn whose chorus is 'what ere my God ordains is right'- that is so true. In all of that it is abundantly clear that He does indeed love me, protect me, cherish me and truly free me to be honest with Him and others. Oh, these blessed days in the Bay- dear friends I can tell you with absolute resolve- the God you have read about is REAL. He is alive. He will not be restrained. He is NOT safe and He will do as He pleases. It is good and as a dear friend told me recently, "God will take care of everything." So simple, yet profound. I will rest (perhaps collapse) there- it is all that I have and that is a good place to be (at least that's what I keep reading in His word- smile...). P.S. That photo above was taken in September of 2005 - 13 months ago- I think I've aged 10 years....scarry.

Long day...

Well, the preaching went well today. I spent the afternoon with a good friend, Kevin Teasley who is the RUF campus minister from Wake Forest University just about 30 minutes from here. He and I got together and watched the first part of the Ole Miss game and then I got back to the hotel talked to my lil' sis on the phone and am trying to get boarding passes, etc. online- It was funny to chat with Hayden she must read the blog daily (I guess so she's been the star right?) She said, "Hey, did you go back for Chinese last night?" I laughed- someone noticed my food fetish- perhaps this evening dear Hayden Hoffman...perhaps...Okay- I'm running- check out the links I posted to the hotel in last night's blog- it's also got a link to the conference promo page at the church- yee-hawwwww

On the road again....

Well, it's 9:37 p.m. Larroux body time...10:37 p.m. Greensboro, N.C. time- I'm staying at the O'Henry hotel in Greensboro preaching at a 'Christian Life Conference' for Christ Community Church (ARP) in Greensboro. Tonight was a great night there was a concert at the church preceeded by yours truly (the concert was better...) and the church is very warm and welcoming. So far I am quite impressed with the O'Henry Hotel- wow, you should see this place- a far cry from the Bay, it is swanky----I fit right in, although 'table for one' at dinner tonight was a bit 'awkward'- oh well, the life of an itinerant preacher. I am going to be preaching twice in the a.m. preceeded by breakfast at the hotel (can you tell I'm such a food conniseur?- is that spelled right?) Speaking of...I walked around downtown today, stopped at Eckerd drug store grabbed some contact solution that I couldn't take on the plane and found a great little Chinese place for lunch- it was unreal...I wanted to go back tonight, but you'know gotta branch out- maybe I'll sneak over there late night, mmm. Okay- sorry for no photo I'll grab some tomorrow.

My Sister's Wedding.....

Mr. and Mrs. Steven Hoffman were married on Saturday, October 7th in Charleston, West Virginia. The dress was J. Crew, the bride was stunning and the surroundings were provided by Hayden's father in heaven. They were married outdoors in one of the most appropriate settings I have ever seen.

It is obvious from this photo, but it must be said- Hayden and Steve really have a passion for one another that is striking. The three of us all wept at different times during the ceremony struck by the beauty of what was being said and the life awaiting them. It would be impossible for me to convey all of the thoughts I had- such beauty, such mercy from God. When He gives a gift it is beyond our wildest expectations- Steve and Hayden are both that gift for one another. On a side note: my sister has to be the most LOW-MAINTENANCE bride in history she got her hair done 4 hours before the wedding by a stylist she'd never met at a salon that she chose because it was 'close to the hotel'- when the caterer asked her about the cake she replied, "Oh, yeah- I guess we do have to have one of those- let's do carrot!" (and they did by the way!)

This is my favorite photo from the entire lot- Hayden and my dad. What an appropriate picture! Hayden's face says everything.

Father Jean? Father? Jean? Okay, okay before I get e-mail confessions let's just say that not only priests wear collars- this was a great occasion to break out the ministerial collar and I got endless abuse from cousins, friends and my children. I hope you like it- I wish we could do a blog poll....We all got used to it- aren't my girls adorable?

Just so no one mistakes the beautiful, serious photos for a stoic time, that Larroux sense of humor is unstoppable- Hayden and my new brother in law- "Dieter" Hoffman never missed an opportunity to ham it up. This is the prom chair I used in 1987- something old, something new right?

A worthy exception...

Okay a designer never makes a rule he doesn't allow himself to break...the blog has a scheme...the photos all are similar (sepia tone) but then Our Father in Heaven decides to paint on His canvas and I just couldn't strip out the color- it was too profound. These are the photos of the Bay that I'll cherish forever- so peaceful, such beauty. Stolen moments like this are so vivifying- It is good to remember the Artist and to know that each moment of this day He was planing this picutre until the moment it expolodes in the sky with fervency and beauty. Come to the Bay! Come BACK to the Bay- join us for a sunset or a Lazy Magnolia or a ride down the seawall....blessings.