Wow, a week without blogging! Is there anyone still around here?

SBJ and I had a good week in Midwestern City in Two States. He slept poorly (extremely poorly) at night, but was sunny and easygoing during the day—which is better than the converse, I suppose. He put up with being passed from person to person, sleeping in the carseat under the table while we discussed lectionary texts for hours at a time. And we were in the “carriage house” of the B&B where we all stayed, which means I never had to worry about his late-night caterwauling keeping anyone awake. Except me.

On the home front, R did a great job, as I knew he would, because he always does when I travel… (can you feel the conjunction?) BUT! They did seem to fall apart a bit as the week went on. Poor dears. First the divine miss m got the same pukey stomach bug that little she-who-is had gotten, requiring him to stay home with her for two days. Then he hurt his back, which slowed him down a lot too. And as for little she, well, she had things falling out of her head! Just look!

I was SO sad to miss this Big Event. On the other hand, the Tooth Fairy came through with a Sacagawea dollar. C’s response? “This is a dream come true.”

And BTW, she is already trying to figure out the Tooth Fairy. Gotta love those nascent critical-thinking skills.

So, the clergy group still to be named. I realized how rarely I read the Bible outside of preparing a sermon. So even though at most* 25% of these papers will be useful to me in the coming year (seeing as how I preach monthly) I got a lot out of the group. We ate a lot, laughed a LOT. The morning worship was simple but meaningful. The hospitality of the host church was first-rate. A winner!

*I say “at most” because I actually left this experience questioning the utility of the lectionary even more than I have before. I’m just not sure it serves the people like it once did. But hey, Matthew 21 is Matthew 21 regardless of when it’s preached. Nothing is wasted.

It’s good to be home.