I'm a prayer partner at Bay Area Fellowship. It's one of the half-dozen ministries I'm involved in. Basically, during one of the worship songs, we PP's (yeah, I know...) go hang out in the aisle and people who want someone to pray with them go out and you pray with them. This was the 3rd weekend I did it (I was gone last weekend). The previous two times, shyness won out; no one asked me to pray with them. This weekend, though, a woman asked me to pray for her daughter. I can pray out loud, it's not a big deal. I'm happy to do it, but I like to have a bit to prepare. I feel more comfortable when I have more control over the proceedings.

Clearly, I'm doing it wrong.

The woman, who was sitting alone in the back, and I went up to near the front to find her daughter (a young married woman). I went in thinking, "oh, no! What am I going to say?!?" but the words just came out. I'm actually thinking "what am I saying, what am I doing?" while I'm praying. I guess I think God was just saying, "yeah, I'm using your voice here, so just hang out for a minute, will ya? Don't try to take control. It's cool. I got it." And, when the song was over, the prayer wrapped up just as the last notes faded. We said "Amen" and the women were crying. Tears. Normally, when I make women cry it's not because of an emotional prayer!

I'm not about to take any credit for it. I can hardly remember the prayer anyway, I spent most of the time marveling that it was happening at all. Note to self, shut up and listen more often.

A little later, during the sermon, I had an uncomfortable moment. Now, some people aren't going to believe me here, but this is true: I've always been faithful, even to the girls in junior high or high school. I've never so much as kissed a girl while with another girl. Doesn't make me better than someone who hasn't been faithful, it's just one of the positive parts of me, while there are many negative parts. Part of it is lack of opportunity - I didn't exactly have groupies, okay? - but also a choice because some of my influences growing up didn't show such restraint and I didn't want to emulate that person in that way.

So, in service, Pastor Bil says something like "men, if you think that you will be happy by sleeping with this one or that one -- a secretary, best friends wife, etc -- then be prepared for the guilt..." etc. It wasn't even close to the meat of the sermon, just a thought he tossed in there. I'm pretty fidgety. I don't sit still well. During this little 2 minute section, I had crossed my left leg over my right and it was about time to switch to right-over-left. My back was a little sore, too. But, I couldn't do it at that time! No way. My wife knows I'm faithful, but I was worried about what all the people around me would think. (((psst, 'look at that guy, what the pastor said sure made him feel uncomfortable!'))). Sigh. So, I sat there for a couple more minutes, until well past the point and he'd moved on to something else. Then I shifted.

That's me in a nutshell. I worry way too much about what other people might think.

Course: Woodway Park, Waco TX

This is a nice area... probably the nicest neighborhood I've seen a disc golf course in. It is right on Waco Lake and the views were nice. You could hear some people playing in the water. This is a nice, comfortable course. No place to really lose a disc (I love that). You could put a disc in the lake on #17, but it would take a fairly errant shot. Not impossible, but not too likely.

I had read online to be careful about over-driving some of the holes, because there is OB right behind some of the pins. I warmed up and put my first shot pin-high and laid-up a 40 footer and dropped in a par. I bogeyed #2 after a slipshot upshot (way off). I drove #3 within 40 feet and FOUR PUTTED. Arggh!! Stomped around for awhile, got it out of my system. +3 when I should be at par. Sigh. I can't putt, still, after all that practice. But, I totally don't putt like I practice. I don't know why. My drive on #4 was bad, but I pulled out a par. F.A.T. on #5 (F.irst A.vailable T.ree). Then my Roadrunner didn't turnover all the way and I missed a 35 foot putt. +5 already on an easy course!!! Argh!!! Birdied the 210 foot 6, nice drive on #7 but I missed a 12 foot putt. Stomped around again, spent a few minutes practicing my "putt" (but didn't make any progress... hmm, 10 putts and I'm not suddenly Ken Climo, strange). +6. Parked #8, birdied a 25 footer. Errant drive on #9, hit my own car, but bounced back I.B. Yeay, thanks car! Par. +5. Overshot #10 but hit easy par, birdied #11 after "drive" hit a tree root and got lucky skip. Pars on 14 & 15. Great seeing-eye drive on #15. Tiny little opening to drive through on #16, shot two mid-rangers for par. Slipped a disc on #17 and FAT again. Decent second shot, laid up for bogey. +5. Parred 18. +5 on new course, blind? I'll take it. But, I NEED TO LEARN TO PUTT! And drive. I need consistency. I have all the shots. I can make all the shots, but I need to do it consistently. I have no talent. I do practice, really, a lot more than you'd think a guy with a full-time job, lots of time dedicated to a church-ministry and 6 kids would be able to do. But I haven't had the results yet.

Course: Cameron Park, Waco TX

This is the non-"Beast" course. I didn't have a chance to play the Beast, but this park was pretty good.

I started out with no one behind me and I didn't have a chance to really warm up, so I just started and really tanked the first three holes -- taking a bogey on each. These are SHORT holes, around 200 feet each, but with some trees (not really "tunnels" just trees here and there) so I called them "warmups" and started again (#3's basket was pretty much right at #1's tee anyway). The second time around, "for real" I shot -1 for the three. This area is skip central. The ground by the baskets are very bare, minus some exposed tree roots, and anything that had some steam but wasn't high enough to spike would skip a long way. But, I was happy with -1. I parred 4, and#5 -- "Bogey Hill" didn't look too daunting. I drove pin high, but too far right and hit a tree with my 100 foot upshot. Still having about 70 feet to go, I overshot, then missed the 40 foot come-back badly (bare ground!!!) and ended up with a good 30 footer for triple-bogey and got it. Argh! +2. Then on #6 I slipped a disc and got stuck about 100 feet up a huge tree and took about 10 minutes to get it out. My shoulder was worn by then. I took the penalty, placed my upshot and took a bogey. +3!!! Dangit! I birdied 7 and almost parked 8, but missed the 30 foot putt, then the 30 foot comebacker and dropped in another bogey. Hit some bushes on 9, missed a 20 footer and got another bogey.

The back nine starts in a flat, mostly open (keep 'em low, out of the high cut canopy). I took another bogey, then had a par, birdie, par (missed a 25 foot putt), par. So, I was +4 teeing on 15, where I lost my old Pro Wraith. Hit a big tree branch and dropped a dingy ditch. When I was looking for it (no chance!) I found an old, unmarked Quantum something or 'nuther (grimey... seems like a "Champion Beast" -- even says "Innova discs" on it... hmm). I cleaned it and thought "why not" and shot it after my drop. Oops. Another bad shot. Ended up with a dbl-bogey. +6. Then I bogeyed 16 for +7 and parred out with a couple of decent drives. +7 on a decent course, pretty much blind? I'll take it. I need to work on my putting.

This is a fun course, and will be more fun when I play it next time after I can putt!!!