Fireside

The first meeting of "Fireside", the new Ninth Grade Boys' group met this evening at the Halpert's house. Six of the nine boys in Rob's class and five dads and five moms came along with a sprinkling of little sibs. Total of twenty four of us. What a blessing!

The guys went straight to the family room for their Bible Study/devotional led by Bob. Not invited to join their 'fireside' discussion, we wives chatted around the kitchen table drinkin' sweet tea. The discussion part is to be a guys and dads thing, and we were fine with that. We wanted to talk about plans for a 'mission trip' for the boys to help at the coast anyway.

Bob told me afterwards that he just went over some basic doctrine with the guys, explaining that growing up in Mississippi, going to church and Christian school does not make you a Christian, that you cannot work your way to heaven, and that being holy is not about haloes or something you make jokes about: it is what Jesus died to make you, no matter what you do.

Romans 10:9,10 has two parts. One pertains to what you say, and the other part is what happens in your heart. You have to really believe deep down that Jesus died and is alive now, in order to be saved.

Following this short lesson the boys descended upon the assembled casseroles and sweet tea, and we ate supper, the kids gravitating to the picnic table or dangling their feet around the edge of the pool, while we adults found places to sit around the house. What a great group of parents and kids!

When we finished eating, some of the boys disappeared to the car and reappeared dragging a set of snare drums, a couple bongos, a pair of cymbals and a big bass drum, all of which they set up in our sunporch. They then gave us a demonstration of what they had learned in this afternoon's secret drum corps lesson.

After one more lesson, these darling Junior Varsity boys will surprise their football coach and the Varsity Team with several fight songs and some terrific rolls and rhythms. They got Rob to raise his arm and run across the room simulating a kick-off, while his buddies Zachery, Taylor, Mitchell, and Mr. Mark rolled the drums louder and louder, and, just as his foot hit the imaginary football, Scott crashed the cymbals.

Last game Rob's name was announced several times over the loudspeaker. After that kind of performance, our boy may just find he has the real job of kicker. I'm not sure how I feel about that. However, football games at our school are a fun family and school spirit phenomenon. With the addition of our new drum corps, next home game should prove even more exciting than ever.