K.C. Wahe

A little pic someone took @church on Easter.

Sunday morning Easter schedule

3:30am Wake up

4:10am Pick up church member

4:30am Arrive at church

5:10am Arrive here.

6:00am Sunrise service begins

7:00am Head to church to put out lilies

7:30am Finish song slides

7:45am The Fellowship Hall smells yummy with breakfast foods

8:00am First service begins.

9:15am Take a break, hang out with some cool church folks

10:00am Second service begins

11:15am Hang out with more cool church folks in the yummy fellowship hall.

12:00pm Go to church members house for brief Easter egg hunt

1:00pm Drive home quickly for family members to arrive for the “Official” holiday gathering and start prepping the munchies. (Must have beef salami with the cheese and crackers, wifey runs to the store)

2:30pm The HAM arrives, potatoes mashed

3:00pm Everyone eats

3:30pm Run to VONS, out of coffee, need coffee stat! Stopped at Starbucks for a quick Cafe Misto to relieve the nerves and to wake me up and bought two pounds of coffee for the family to have with the pies.

4:00pm The family watches “I am Legend,” Sorry Mr. Smith, hoped it would be a little better.

7:00pm Every ones is gone. Clean some with the wifey.

Sometime between 10pm & 11pm I’m snoring.

He is risen! He is risen indeed!

For a second year as a solo pastor I’ve had the opportunity to participate in a Seder Dinner sponsored by one of our families at church. Has to be my favorite event all year long and is a wonderful experience in preparing for this weekend in reflecting on what was accomplished for us on the cross by Christ and what was fulfilled for us on the day of Resurrection. Although the worship, the breaking of bread in the midst of community, the silence, the Word read and spoken were all reminders of grace, I felt though as if my soul was caught in the middle of a good ol’ fashion “tug of war.”

What was frustrating tonight as a pastor and I wonder if other pastors have felt the same, was the tension of wanting to be one hundred percent available and present for the congregation I serve not only as a pastor, but also being available and present as a husband and father for my wife and and kids. Let me explain. I really wanted to be cloned this evening and couldn’t because two of our three blessings of children had prior engagements. The middle dude had a baseball game and the older dude had a dessert where he was receiving an award for getting all A’s this last semester in his last last year of middle school. (The coveted Principals List for getting a 4.0.)

Anyways, Thanks to mom for juggling the rides and video taping the A list event and still having time to see the last half of the game. I wasn’t able to make these events. I tried but arrived at the field as they were turning off the lights. What was frustrating and it really is the first time I’ve gone through this as a solo pastor was that I wondered why Little League baseball and a public middle school had events scheduled during a week that the larger religious community sees as vital to their own faith journey. I wondered if there were other families and persons who felt the tension that I felt. I guess it didn’t seem right that there even needed to be a choice. Again, proud of them both. Just wish I could have been able to be at all three events, all important to my own walk with Christ.

He is risen! He is risen indeed! Woke up Easter morning around 3:20am. Showered, got ready for a beautiful sunrise service at 6:00am (of course it was the Antelope Valley cloud cover) Arrived to the church at 4:30am after stopping at McDonald’s for coffee. (I can’t believe I’m saying this, the coffee is actually better than Starbucks) Littlerock is also the quietest little place in the Valley at 4:30am. Finished one service got ready for the next two. It was a joy to be able to preach on Easter Sunday. Years past I’ve been on the other side listening to the preacher or I was always away doing some kind of youth group mission trip. This year was neat in that I got to be the one giving the message. My favorite sermon of the three was the one I gave to a bunch of folks at the Sunrise service in Juniper Hills. My sermon title was “it really happened,” and my text was Matthew 28:1-10. What was special about the day was that three of the churches from the area helped lead the service. Each of the pastors had a different role and it was a day where we were one church, the church universal proclaiming that Jesus is Lord. We also had a great day back at the church. I loved arriving to the smell of lilies and coffee. After the second service folks stayed and ate some Easter munchies and fellowshiped together. The parental unit in-laws joined us for church. It was neat to have them in worship. We ended the day with a feast back at case de Wahe. Yours truly cooked his first ham. It was also a blessing in that we’ve never owned a home until this year, praise God! We were able to host our first meal for our relatives. The best part once the meal was over and as I couldn’t keep my eyes open from being up since 3:30am and stuffing my face with easter treats was hearing the sounds of the “moms” outside with kids searching for plastic eggs filled with coins and than watching one of the kiddoes counting his loot. Anyways, praise be to God that we in the church universal get to celebrate “Easter” all year long…oh yeah! The dodgers swept the giants…a very cool day.Thanks for the reminder Scotty!

It’s hard to believe Holy Week is before us with Palm Sunday this Sunday. How come I feel like I just finished opening Christmas presents and leading a Christmas Eve Worship service? On Maunday Thursday we will have a service of worship and a Seder dinner. It will be my first time experiencing this with all of the trimmings. I’ve had a few friends who’ve talked about it in the past, but I’ve never witnessed what really happens. Palm Sunday branches should arrive today, and the Lillie’s are on their way for Easter Sunday. I’m working on my Palm Sunday sermon and the meaning of the word “hosanna.” What I love about preaching is that you get to learn things that you never really thought about as a follower of Jesus and a christian. Although, I’ve most likely heard the word  “hosanna,” talked about or preached about, it’s meaning of “save, I pray” is something I think we’ve all shouted on occasion. So, with Holy Week before us, let this be our prayer, “Lord, save us, we pray.” May it be so.