Good Times At Chili's

Today was a fun day for my family and me. Thursdays are always relaxing for me church because Wednesday night has already been taken care of. This means that I have another entire week before our MidWeek Bible study. Sunday will always be a big deal, but as a youth pastor I have much more responsibility on Wednesday nights, so the pressure is on because it's all me. When Thursday roles around it is very nice and it also means that my two days off will soon start. What made this Thursday extra special was getting to have lunch with some friends of ours from New Mexico that recently moved to serve at a church here in Oklahoma. Ben and Elizabeth are a great couple and we really hated not getting to see them when we left New Mexico. Who knew that we would be serving in the same state almost one year later?

Ben, Elizabeth, and I attended a youth worker conference right before Thanksgiving and made plans to get together for lunch before the baby comes in January. Knowing that Christmas will soon be here and Theresa's due date is quickly approaching, we decided to join up in Norman for lunch at Chili's. None of us had eaten at Chili's in quite a while so this was a real treat. As far as I'm concerned, we could have gone to McDonald's today. Nothing against our Chili's food because it was great. I just mean that having lunch, no matter where it was, made it a good day. Not only are Ben and Elizabeth great people our age, but they are also "get us." By that I mean they have gone through and are going through many of the things Theresa and I have experienced in youth ministry. We don't have a lot of young couples at our church so it was just nice to talk to someone my age. And no offense to those who do not work at a church, but it is really hard to understand and "get" this lifestyle. The reality is most people look at pastors differently than they do other Christians. I'm not complaining, just stating a perception of mine.

A day filled with relaxation at work, good food, and definitely time with good friends is special in my book. I don't know what kind of day you had today. I hope that you had a good day or maybe and even better day than I did. If not, grab some friends and head to Chili's. I recommend getting the chips & salsa, and the Triple Dipper!