They Are New Every Morning

If you've never heard of a Segway, fix that. They are fun! Now most people don't have $5,000 to spend on a "Personal Transporter," but if people did there would be even less walking in our society. Our hosts for the week, Bob and Judy, have a couple and let us take them out for a spin. With a gyroscope to keep it balanced, all you have to do is stand and lean either forward or back to move. The farther you lean, the faster it goes. It's remarkably intuitive. Within a few minutes of stepping onto it I was zooming almost subconsciously around the driveway. Fun, fun, fun.

Our week in Paul's Valley was terrific when it came to our homestay and contact. Homecooked meals, walks around the pasture, dinners out, and all around wonderful company. Some weeks the non-work hours drag on, but this week we really enjoyed our time off. Paul's Valley, a small town of about 3,000, is home to the Toy & Action Figure Museum. We got a personal tour from the curator, Kevin Stark, who is a toy designer himself. He's designed the toys for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Simpsons, and the Toxic Crusaders (if anyone remembers them) among others. He was an excellent tour guide. Just imagine a huge room filled with all sorts of action figures. They even have a special Batcave room filled with all sorts of Batman items. Very cool.

While diversions involving food, toys, and segways kept us entertained, diversions such as talking, defiant seahorses, and a few trying kids kept us busy during rehearsals. Boy were there some pistols this week. Good kids, not always the best listeners. But by the end of the week, as always, a good show. Someone recently asked us if there are weeks when the show doesn't come together. That hasn't happened to either of us and if it does happen with MCT, it's rare. A big reason is that failure is not an option for us, it just isn't. Our job is to put on a good show at the end of the week so we do. The kids understand that as well. The only options on the table for us are positive ones. It's the same thing when we're working with the kids. We always focus on the positives with them, always pushing for something better. I had never thought of this idea of "success is the only option" until just recently, but I like it. And since we're with a new group every week, the definition of success is ever changing.

We're now in Manhattan, KS and will meet a new group of kids tomorrow. Who knows what they'll be like. Lamentations 3:22-24 says, "Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." While true that the Lord's mercies are new each day, in this job his compassion is felt more strongly on a weekly basis. Every week is encapsulated and insulated from the other weeks. What I leave behind is done with, what lies ahead is fresh and full of potential. In this job, the Lord is most definitely the Lord of Second Chances.