Life is full of opportunities! This week I spend a couple of days at a conference in Kansas City. There were about 5000 Nazarene and at least a thousand of them were university students. It is nice to know that you can't pick a Nazarene out in a crowd anymore. (Well. . .some you can!)

Among other duties, I presented two workshops including one on Worship Design. It was fun representing our church and what God has called us to be and do. Here are a few pictures from this event.

I also addressed a couple of dinner meetings about the Assessment Centers for church planters that I facilitate. There are a growing number of men and women in ministry who feel that starting a church is their only option. I don't know what will happen some day to the churches who have refused to change to minister to the culture. Someday they will run out of retired guys who are willing to do maintenance ministry. (oxymoron)

I am also including a picture from Union Station where Tevis, John and I took in the Dead Sea Scrolls which were on display.

Happy snow drifts and ice storm! I am mainly posting these pictures so my son can see what he is missing by living in sunny Nashville. Today I along with B. Haas removed enormous chunks of ice from my driveway. (See Pic.)

I cannot tell you how thankful I am that we didn't lose power overnight. Yesterday was a little too close to the Christmas we went without power for 3 days.

If you know me very well at all you will know that I enjoy bluegrass music. In fact, while I like all kinds of music I am very fond of bluegrass music and enjoy playing my mandolin every chance I get. For the four people who have made the effort and found this blog I will now let you in to my world a little deeper. You will find the musical me at www. myspace.com/mandolinwes.

My least favorite bluegrass instrument is the banjo. Of course looking at the pictures in this blog you can see why. Maybe only scary people play the banjo. Seriously, I don't hate it but I don't really enjoy it and never desired to play it much unlike dozens of other instruments I have played during my life. These would include but are not limited to: trumpet, trombone, french horn, guitar, mandolin, tenor banjo, recorder, accordion, pump organ, mandolin, octave mandolin, uke, harmonica, piano, melodica and juice harp (or Jews harp).

I wonder as I look at this evil man if he ever heard the song Hang Down your Head Tom Dooley? I think that featured a banjo.