"I have noticed that the people who are late are often so much jollier than the people who have to wait for them." E.V. Lucas

What do you suppose was in that container that caught fire out at sea?

I write this from the upstairs of Panera Bread, my old haunt here in Michigan. I didn't realize how established my presence here was. Leslie just popped by because she knew I was in town and figured she'd find me here.

Interesting to go from the desert southwest to west Michigan in the span of 6 hours. The differences are striking! I walked out of the airport here in Grand Rapids and immediately noticed the humidity. As I drove out of the airport I was struck by how green everything looks. They have leaves on the trees here! I'd forgotten what leaves look like. And grass everywhere, including the freeway medians. All those things we took for granted during the 17 years we lived here now look almost bizarre.
But earlier, as I drove over here, I also remembered what the freeway looks like - or rather, doesn't look like - during a winter white-out when the snow makes the road all but invisible.
Every location has its pluses and minuses. The only perfect location awaits his return.

My first flight was from PHX to Detroit (DTW). I dislike that routing because it adds an hour headed further east than I need to go, just to get on a plane to backtrack west to G.R. But it's all I could get.
I had a 45 minute layover, meaning a hustle through DTW, which has to be one of the most spread out airports in the country. But I didn't need to hurry. When I got to my gate, five minutes before boarding was to begin, I heard the gal at the desk talking into her phone saying, "I know, but I don't have any flight crew here."
We left 30 minutes late.

I'm not a fan of meetings. Unless a speaker really captures my attention I'm not so good at sitting down for that long. (Maybe that's why I became a preacher - 'cause I'd never sit through most church services.) So going to a conference would never show up at the top of my list of fun things to do during a week of summer weather. If it weren't for my curriculum I wouldn't have spent the time or $$$ to come here.
However, it's SO good to see people. (The people are the best part!) I had dinner with the Prices last night. They move to Alabama Saturday so this was a connection not to be missed. More people seeing today and tomorrow.
Years and years ago, on the eve of my departure from a church we had served for seven years, one of the gals said to another, "Why shouldn't he move. It's just a job."
I knew why she said that. She was hurt we were leaving for another church and her comment came from that hurt. But I chewed her out anyway.
The move was about ministry. Pam and I spent a year considering a relocation and finally decided it was time; I'd lost too much effectiveness as a result of a series of factors, some within and some outside of anyone's control. The move was about stewardship, about effectiveness in ministry. If it were about the quality of our relationships with those people we'd be there still.
Just as we would have stayed here.

One of the things I look forward to in heaven is the absence of geographical separation. We'll all be right there.