Today’s book signing at Spotsylvania Presbyterian Church was a great success. I did two sessions during Fellowship Time and sold more books than I planned. I also handed out a bunch of invitations to the upcoming release party at the Civil War Life Soldier's Museum and tentatively booked the musical act.

More importantly, I shared in worship with old friends, made a few new friends, and had quite a few people sign up for my course on ‘Stonewall’ Jackson. I even had a few married couples enroll, so I guess we’ll have a mixed-ministry study group. I usually attend the 11:15 service every Sunday, but today I had to be there when my wife starts working the nursery at 8:00! Man... I'm sleepy (yawn).

This Wednesday evening the family will be attending a special dinner at the church to kick off the fall semester and meet and greet our students. This particular course session will be extra special for the Aubrechts as my wife Tracy is also teaching a children’s class. She already runs the nursery on Sundays and Wednesday mornings, and is on the offering counting-committee, so it’s about time I start doing my part too. Although I led a small Sunday night men’s bible study at SPC for two years, this will be the first class that I lead as a teacher. I am blessed beyond words.

My goal with this 8-week history/theology course is not to have the students walk away well versed in the life of Thomas Jackson, he is just the platform. The goal is to have them leave with a greater appreciation for the fearlessness and strength that can be achieved through a resolve to live according to the Word, and how that can be applied in our own lives. The key question is what makes a man stand like a stone wall on a battlefield? The answer in my opinion is faith. I’ll let you know how the dinner and introductory session goes. The following class we will be watching ‘Still Standing’ before diving right into the book and workbook in anticipation of touring the Jackson Shrine at the end of the 8 weeks.

Tomorrow afternoon I will be driving around Fredericksburg delivering complimentary copies of “Houses of the Holy” along with party invitations and promo packets to the downtown churches as well as my friends at the National Park Service. I should also be getting some feedback on my proposal for the 19th-century baseball tournament from our local Sesquicentennial County Fair Sub-Committee of which I have been asked to assist. Right now however... it's naptime... (yawn)