This past Tuesday I had the privilege and honor of preaching at the Grove City College Chapel service. Well over a thousand collegians filled Harbison Chapel with energy and enthusiasm. I've gotten great feedback from some of the students (Alanna among them!) and am thankful for the opportunity. That was just round one of a preaching triathlon. Round three will come a week from Sunday when I am in California at the end of my week of study leave. I will be preaching at the morning chapel service at Paradise Valley Estates, the retirement community where my mother lives. There won't be anywhere near a thousand people in the congregation and their average age be more like four score than one score, but who's keeping score. The middle leg of the triathlon will be Sunday at Park with our six-generation congregation.

When this cross-generational preaching opportunity fell together several months ago, I decided that I would preach from the same text at all three services. I selected Titus 2:1-8. I've enjoyed the challenge of developing three different sermons for three very different congregations from the same text. The text and the sermon spoke clearly to the 20-year olds at Grove City. How will it speak to the four scores in California, and how will it speak to us?

Our work in Titus on Sunday will include some more on the guy who sold his soul on eBay. Plan on joining us!

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Monday morning I will leave for California and the West Coast Presbyterian Pastors Conference. Some of you will remember that I attend this conference almost every year and look forward to some great teaching from the speakers, some rest and relaxation under the redwoods and along the coast of Monterey Bay, and wonderful fellowship with friends I have known for many years. The first order of business at the WCPPC is "logging in." Monday evening the 250 or so pastors will be divided into four or five smaller groups – still 50 or 60 per group – and simply share one word to describe the year since the last conference. And then you get no more than 60 seconds to explain your choice; a difficult limitation for some of our number who will gladly preach a 40 minute sermon given the slightest opportunity.

I still don't know what my word will be this year. April 2006 to April 2007. I have some candidates. Maybe a name. Katie or Mabel comes to mind. I've thought of Wedding and graduation, though I suppose I ought to save them until next year. I've used a Portuguese word before and cachoeira might fit figuratively and literally (okay, it means waterfall; you can try to figure out its "year that was" meaning on your own). I've thought about both question and answer, but can't decide which fits best. Stretched might work, but so could relaxed.

Or maybe I'll just use that tired old word thankful, and use my sixty seconds to describe a year of being thankful for the gift of Becky and our kids, health and energy, good friends and the wonderful church family at Park, mission and purpose and things accomplished, the amazing grace of our loving God.

But I'll probably try to be clever. What one word would you pick to describe your year?