(I started this little series–my favorite things–a few days ago, and promised to end with this piece on my favorite places. We all have our favorite places. Here are some of mine, in no particular order.

Chartwell, the country home of Winston Churchill.

We were there in 1982 and I recall every detail of the visit. Roaming the campus, it was fascinating to see the brick walls Churchill himself had built (after working to learn how) during the 1930s when he was basically unemployed.  William Manchester’s second volume of the trilogy “The Last Lion” chronicles this period in WC’s life as “Alone.”  While we were there, I bought a book on Churchill and had Margaret snap my photo sitting under a tree reading it.  These days, I’m reading a book “Dining with Churchill” in which the author talks about the many meals at Chartwell attended by the greats of the world, what they ate and talked about, how those experiences affected history, etc. (In my den, you’ll find an entire shelf filled with books on Churchill. I’ve had to be more selective in buying more since several new ones come out every year, with no sign of stopping.)

Nauvoo, Alabama the family farmhouse and the surrounding environs.

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I know a lot about lazy preachers, being one myself. Every “prayer of a lazy preacher” below I have probably prayed in one way or another, to one degree or the other.

It’s easy to point at do-nothing pastors as being the anomaly and call for them to leave the ministry and stop being a blight on the name of the Lord. But in truth, many of us who work hard and long in serving Him are basically lazy and have to fight the urge to vegetate all the time. And, don’t be surprised if some of the real over-achievers found in the Lord’s work fight the same battles and are always working to compensate for those Beetle Baileyish desires to rest and then rest some more.

Consider these prayers of a lazy preacher.... (and, at the end, leave us yours)….

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“Preachers with sermons and children with laughter, deacons with stories and relative disasters…”

(In the previous post “A few of my favorite things,” we referred to the Julie Andrews song we all know so well. That started this little series and accounts for the not-serious attempt at song-writing above. Now, one explanation: In what follows, I am leaving out my best-loved people on the planet, my wife and children, our eight grandchildren, and all of my siblings but one, Ronnie, who just had to be mentioned.  Margaret says I’m going to slight some other well-loved friends by not including them. I assure her they will not mind, because anyone who calls themselves my longtime friend has been slighted by me so many times they’ve long since come to expect it, and nothing surprises them any more. So, why am I doing this list of a few of my favorite people? Answer: I have no idea. It just seemed like a good idea at the time. Next will be “A few of my favorite places.”)

I am what you would call a people-lover.  I am gregarious by nature (Ginger, that means I love being around them) most of the time, although after a while I’m ready to shut down and be alone. In the words of a friend-now-in-Heaven, Dr. Frank Pollard, I’ve learned to enjoy my own company.

But I love people. I love to talk with them and hear their stories, love to laugh with them and share their tears. I love to make new friends and renew old ones. And, I love to amuse myself remembering conversations with friends of past years who are no longer around to defend themselves. Up in Heaven, they are visiting with the great story-tellers of the ages–imagine sitting in a cluster at the feet of Moses or Abraham or Peter or Paul for a few years–and then, eventually someone turns to them and says, “Tell us your story, about the time you fell in the pond when you were preparing to baptize,” and they’re off and running.

I can’t wait.

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“….when the dog bites, when the bee stings, when I’m feeling sad, I simply remember my favorite things and then I don’t feel so bad…..”

If you are a songwriter, you make a list of your favorite things and include them in the lyrics and people everywhere know your heart and will sing your list.

“Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens….”

If you can’t compose songs, however, you may need to be more inventive to pass along your list.

Like, maybe, write about them in a blog.

So, on this Tuesday morning, the first day of President Obama’s final term in office (good news/bad news, depending on your perspective–“Lord bless and lead him, please!”), here is my favorite-things list. (Expect it to be followed with a list of my favorite people and favorite places. After that, we’ll see.)

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“You know the household of Stephanas, that they were the first fruits of Achaia, and that they have devoted themselves for ministry to the saints….” (I Corinthians 16:15)

Thank God for encouragers and healers in the church, those men and women whose calling in life seems to be to find a niche and fill it, find a need and meet it, find a hurt and comfort it. As they enter a room, their focus is not on who is present, what is going on, or who’s in charge. Rather, they are drawn to anyone in pain,in need, or in trouble.

They are godsends. They are living proofs of the goodness of God. They are the ones who keep overworked pastors and their stressed-out spouses from giving up and walking away.

Here’s William Barclay on this passage: To Paul in Ephesus there had come Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus, and they had brought him first-hand information which filled in the gaps in his knowledge of what was happening at Corinth. Paul’s commendation of Stephanas is very interesting. Stephanas deserved respect because he had put himself at the service of the Church.

Paul says three things about the ministry of Stephanas and his friends:

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