For the second year in a row, I have juggled at a community outreach put on by the Kezar Falls, Maine Assembly of God church.  It is held in the Cornish fairgrounds, and they do it up big.  They have a free cookout, games for the kids, roots music bands, a rock climbing wall, face painting, hay rides and more.  Then, around 1:30 everything shuts down and I do a 45-60 minute show.  This event was yesterday, and what a difference a year makes.  Last year's event was 45 degrees and drizzly. Yesterday was 82 and not a cloud in the sky.

Regardless of weather, this is the type of event I love being part of.  It was multigenerational, a mix of church and nonchurch folks totaling around 200 people, and a laid back, all around good time.  The weather was great, but I performed in direct sunlight at the hottest time of day.  My first few routines went well, but by the time I got to my club juggling routine it was as if the sun sucked the life out of me. I felt like I was juggling with mittens on! It got better again after that, but I longed for the days when I could do three or four shows a day on the hottest summer days. Regardless, I'm pleased that I didn't get down on myself for the weak routine, which was my typical response in my younger days.

I did try some different things.  I've been reworking my routine about Elijah and the priests of baal back into my show regularly, and it was as good as its been recently.  I've also created an alternative club routine, too. In spite of the metaphoric mittens, I believe the overall effect came across.  There was a lot of good feedback and a tentative invite for next September already.

The highlight for me was running into a former student, Colby, who is now a married father of four.  We caught up on where God has led us in the past 15 years or so, as well as news about the old classmates as well.  It's nice to see him doing well and following Jesus in a local church.