John Simons

Christ Community Church Update

We had the third Sunday evening worship service for Christ Community Church tonight. So far, the experience has been a lot of work, but all of it is worthwhile. Here is the rundown of a Sunday afternoon.
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The Bike Race

Yesterday was a Saturday. The Gator football team was at an away game in Kentucky (they won, 49-28), so there was no need for a trip to Gainesville this weekend. To have a fun adventure, my son and I went to Orlando to watch a bike race.

As I have talked about recently, cycling is one of my hobbies. I haven’t been able to ride much this year, and am getting out of shape, but it is still a hobby, interest, and love. Turns out, the interest is addictive. My son (10 yrs old) took up cycling as a way of spending time with me. He seems to enjoy it. His longest ride so far was a 50 mile marathon that we did a year ago, but that is another story.
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Missing the Bike.

I am a recreational cyclist. Every year, I put at least a thousand miles on my bike(s). Sometimes, I put in a couple thousand. This year, I won’t be able to do it.

Last summer, we went up to New Hampshire to visit my father-in-law. While we were there, I rented a road bike from a shop in a neighboring town, and planned on a 40 mile ride up past Lake Sunapee, where there is a ski resort, and then back to the town of Bradford where my wife and I were staying for our anniversary. It was a beautiful ride. For a flatlander, I did just fine climbing the much larger hills than what I was used to. I didn’t have a computer to know my actual pace, but my perceived pace was much better than I had anticipated. I felt good and was enjoying the scenery, the peace and quiet, the cool mountain air.
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Big Win.

The Gators managed to beat Tennessee. It was mostly defense, which played a very strong game. The offense struggled throughout the night to make consistent progress. They had one or two good drives, but had way too many penalties, and had problems blocking the Tennessee defense. Special teams added a couple great plays, and the Gators won 16-7.

My dad and I went to the game together and had a good time. Going to football games with him has been a great tradition since I was young. It is great when I get to bring my son to some of the games to start that tradition with the next generation.

Next up is Kentucky, the first away game of the year.

Katrina, Naomi, and the Saints

Well, I suppose that it is inevitable that I eventually talk about Hurricane Katrina in this blog. It is inevitable for several reasons. First, one of the initial reasons I thought about creating this blog was to process my reaction to Katrina. Another is that it is the pivotal event in current affairs right now. Pretty hard to avoid references to Katrina these days.

But first, a little aside. I have been downloading and listening to sermons these days. I listen in the car when I am driving around town, or going on a long drive. I went on a long drive last week to a nearby city and back. Along the way, I listened to a sermon by a pastor in Tallahassee about the last part of the book of Ruth. One of the points in the sermon was that God uses events to bring about his will. In Ruth, God used a famine to His own ends. As a result of the famine, Elimilech and Naomi went to Moab with their two sons. While there, Elimilech and the two sons all died. Naomi wound up a bitter woman, and returned to Bethlehem with her daughter-in-law, Ruth. Through providence, God brought Ruth and Boaz together, they married, and had a son, Obed. Now Obed was not just any man from Bethlehem; he was the grandfather of David, yes that David, the future King. It goes on of course, that David is the ancestor of the Messiah. So God used the famine to bring about the eventual salvation of mankind.
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