Fried Fowl Foils Formula

Yesterday, I came in early to finish up some last minute details for Saturday service. I arrived at 2pm and by 2:05 I'm trying to track down why emergency lights are on and has any damage been done. By 3pm, Ohio Edison has been notified that we are without power (one phase at least) and we have service so it needs to be an emergency call. I finally get the chance to finish what I came in early to work on, but...no power means no server. Guess where all my files are to work on for the service? Yep, on the network which I can't access without the server. Now, I have a system in place to have everything ready for service by Friday morning. But this week, a lot of extras have kept me from my formula.

So, it's time to go to backup plan number 1...recreate slides for the pastor from scratch. Luckily I had some templates sitting on my mac so I open up PhotoShop and get to work creating a new lower third graphic. Stop. Pray. Back to work. By 3:50, Ohio Edison get the power back on. Hooray for them! They responded quickly and efficiently. So I go ask the guy what caused the problem. We seem to have brown outs at least once every few months. He says, "a bird landed on the wire and tripped the switch at the box." A bird. With all the technology we have these days to make things work, a bird caused me to lose the time I expected to have when I came in early to work. A bird.

So, power is back on. I get the server back on. My volunteers begin to show up and power up for the service. Sound can't get the board to connect. Shut down, start over, it powers up! Video can't get the center projector on. Still need to replace the podium with a different one. 2 cameras are still in my office from a training session I did on Thursday. Get them back to their positions and can't get a picture on either one. Recheck the connections, recheck the power supply, they work! Still working on the center projector.

No AC in the youth rooms, elementary or nursery. I'll get to that problem when I can. 3 phone calls from volunteers. "I'm running late, but I'll be there." At least I know they'll be here. Still working on the center projector.

Pastor comes in for sound check. His signal is too hot. "Steve, can you check his pack and the transmitter and see if they can be turned down?" Ok, got that problem fixed! One of the slides is wrong. Back to PhotoShop. Easy fix. Got the manual out for the projector. Could it be the lamp? No, I should still have power. Nice view of the praise team from up here.

Check the outlet. No problem, power is good. Change out the power cord. Hey! I've got power. Try the original power cord. Now it works fine too! That's weird, but least I've got it working. On to the AC.

Johnson Controls. Jump start the units. Nope. It sure is getting warm in my office...80 degrees. I guess we have another unit not operating. Up on the roof. Several calls to Greg, our maintenance guy. He's at a wedding. Whispered answers to my questions. I feel bad bothering him but I can't help but smile at the mental picture of him discussing options with me while the wedding is in progress. Several trips to the roof and no luck with the AC.

I've missed the tech run through and service is about to begin. I better get back on a headset and be available in case something else needs to be done. Service begins and all is well. Lori is calling cues and everyone is here. Good service. Great worship! Great message! No more technical problems. In fact, someone thanks me for fixing the AC in the elementary room...??? I check Johnson Controls since I knew I had left it in "unoccupied mode." Sure enough, the air is running. Oh, it's because it got so warm that it reached the set point for the unoccupied setting. I switch it back to occupied and the temp starts to go down. Why didn't it work when I checked it 20 minutes ago?

Through all this, I'm thinking, it would be easy to get mad and complain, but I chose to go to God in prayer as I waited for Ohio Edison. I knew it was in his hands, not mine. I remembered what God has chosen me to do. I remained calm, even though I was rushed. But as I told Scott, my video director, with all the problems we're having now, service will go well. Sure enough. Thank you God. And to think, this all started with His sending a bird. Was he sending a message. Did I listen? I hope so.