Weekends with Friends

I've been preoccupied or pooped, and the blog has suffered. But I want to remember how we spent the last two weekends.

The FOUR-Day Weekend: Labor Day

Our four-day weekend began Friday afternoon when Wendy Wagoner came to see us. She did laundry, and we ran out to supper, followed by a stop at the Cone on the way home.
Evelyn made pumpkin-pecan pancakes for breakfast, accompanied by a bowl of fresh blueberries and raspberries. Better than First Watch!
Saturday afternoon we mowed grass and I did some other yard work.

Then we got cleaned up and left home by 5:30 for dinner and a movie. I had a Groupon for Kenwood Theater, so we saw the film Boyhood after a delightful visit to Dewey's pizza, just a couple of doors away from the theater.

I'm glad I saw the movie, because it achieved something unique, filming the same cast each year for 12 years, with a script to portray the life of a boy from ages 6 to 18. The film was well-acted, I guess, and the premise was unique enough to keep us watching. But I'm not sure I'd go so far as to recommend it. 

For one thing, there's a lot of rough language, especially in one particular scene featuring a circle of teenage boys trying to impress each other with how crass they could be. I'm not a prude about such things, but it did get wince-worthy more than once. 

And then there was the message of the film. Or the lack thereof. The main characters in the movie lived generally hopeless lives, battered by their poor decisions and those of others around them. I figure it's very true-to-life, at least life as many people live it, and so I guess I should say, "See the movie and then go love your neighbor." But many of the non-Christians I know aren't as messed up as these folks were.

Sunday I led worship in the Classic Service and was really blessed to get to do so. Not only by the chance to plan it and recruit a couple of volunteers to take a special part in it, but also by Trevor DeVage's hope-inspiring sermon about Heaven, the last in our 31-week journey through The Story.

Sunday evening we met Dave and Carol Ray for supper at First Watch. We met at 5:00 and had to be kicked out when the store closed (early on Sundays) at 8:00. We stood on the sidewalk and parking lot still talking till after dark, and then a young, thin woman accosted us with a long story about being pregnant and kicked out of the house where she lived and she could stay at the Days Inn for $52, but she had only $24 and she swore she wasn't lying and she really didn't want to lose this baby and could we please help her. Evelyn and Dave and I gave her cash, and on the way home I think we all had "buyer's remorse." One side of me wished we had offered to follow her to the Day's Inn and pay for her room for her. I wonder if she would have let us.

Monday was a rainy day and a quiet day around the house. Jennifer called us late in the afternoon (a nice visit!), and by then it was raining steadily off and on. Instead of cooking on the grill as we had planned, we ran to El Rancho Grande for a quick Mexican fix. I was surprised to see a big crowd there on a holiday evening.

The plants always look prettiest in the morning. The light rain made them seem even healthier.
By Labor Day some years, the pot garden is looking pretty scraggly. But I was taken by how
nice it looked this year, first thing, on Labor Day morning.

Last Weekend: Road Trip
Once or twice or three times every year we get together with Todd and Lyn Dillon and Terry and Shirley Wuske, usually spending overnight Friday at one of our homes. This weekend we picked up Wuskes at 4:00 on Friday and headed to Dillons' place in Plainfield, Indiana. (I took off the whole afternoon so Evelyn and I could enjoy a long lunch with Bob and Sue Willson who were in town for a quick visit. We sat at McAllister's with them for at least 90 minutes.)
Todd and Lyn are the consummate hosts, and we couldn't have enjoyed more sitting around their table with them Friday night. Lyn said she bought all the food already prepared, and it was yummy. The laughter and the talking were even better.
We chose this weekend for the visit because Saturday was the Penrod Arts Fair, a one-of-a-kind event meeting on several acres of the grounds surrounding the Indianapolis Museum of Art. It is a juried show. The presenters of painting, pottery, leather work, metalwork, leaded glass, woodwork, handmade jewelry, and more are all top-quality. Add three areas of eclectic food offerings plus several performance stages featuring everything from bluegrass to ballet and you have a day more than worth the $15 admission--especially when you can browse the grassy aisles with good friends. (We arrived midmorning after enjoying breakfast treats--yogurt parfaits created by Shirley and homemade cinnamon rolls baked by Evelyn--along with healthy portions of coffee and conversation.)
Actually the grass turned to mud in several spots, because it rained hard overnight and drizzled off and on all morning. We wore long sleeves and carried umbrellas (we only actually used them a little), and weren't daunted at all by the weather. Actually it was nice to have a cooler day without beating sun.
We were back at Dillons for a wonderful supper of cauliflower soup and chicken salad croissants. It was pleasant to enjoy the meal on their screened-in back porch, and again the good food was enhanced by the good conversation.

It's wonderful to be able to laugh hysterically as well as talk about deep issues that concern us, all with the same group. It's an experience that provides encouragement and accountability, a sharing of Christian fellowship that can't be manufactured or programmed.
We left after 8:00, drove to Wuske's house to pick up our car and were home well before midnight. It was a short night because Evelyn and I had volunteered to be at the new Starting Point (replacement for the old Welcome Center) for its trial run at 8:30 Sunday morning.
Sunday afternoon included grocery shopping, bill paying, and a nice phone visit with Geoff.
Two great weekends--too nice to forget.

A Weekend in August

We ate dinner Saturday night with Bill and Verna Weber, Donovan and Jocelyn and Ruby and Nora, and the Webers' friends from South Africa, Phil and Irene Hughes.
The Hugheses had been visiting the Webers as a part of their four-month visit to the U.S. this summer. We had wanted to connect with Webers--we hadn't seen them since a couple of brief hellos at the NACC. They suggested we meet them on their way out of town (they had come to visit with Donovan's family for the day) and back home to Indy. So we drove over to the Bob Evans on North Bend Road and enjoyed a nice early supper with them.

"Thanks for coming over here to eat dinner with us," Verna said as we were breaking up.
"Hey, this is the high spot of our weekend," I said.
"Oh, I hope not!" Bill replied.
Well, maybe it was. But the whole weekend has been pleasant.
Friday we had a big night out with a Groupon-discounted dinner at Mimi's followed by frame shopping at Hobby Lobby.
Saturday I spent a couple hours weeding, trimming, and watering outside. I decided to take some flower pictures while I was working.. The pictures look better than the yard. We haven't had rain for quite awhile, and the grass is pretty brown.

Then I got a good start on my final batch of notes to folks to tell them about the Alaska trip we're helping host next summer.
After we got home from supper, we watched the latest Muppets movie via Movies on Demand from Time Warner.
Evelyn and I worked the Welcome Center at church, and she and I each had meetings at church at noon.
I went to the grocery on the way home and bought a can of soup to eat for lunch. Then I finished my Alaska invitations and took 'em to the post office late in the afternoon.
We had a nice talk with Jen on the phone after supper.
A simple weekend. A pleasant weekend.

Summer Shower

One thing we enjoyed about the house where we used to live was the front porch stretching across the front of it. Sometimes we  ate a light supper or drank a cup of coffee there, and we'd often adjourn from the dinner table to sit there with company on a summer evening. Jennifer spent hours there reading. And all of us loved to sit under its roof and experience the coming of a summer storm--the smell of the rain, the gusty breeze, and finally the summer shower.
Our tiny little porch now has no room to sit. And you'd most often need to stay pressed against the front door to avoid the rain in a storm. But once in awhile, even though Evelyn usually laughs at me, I'll stand or sit in the garage with the door open and watch the coming of a storm.

I did that tonight after racing through a few errands in the yard in anticipation of the storm. I got inside just in time to see the wind beating up the plants on my deck and turning all the leaves of the trees straight up so you could see the paler green on their underside.

 I stood in the garage, admiring the gray and white clouds, enjoying the breeze, listening to prolonged, rolling rumbles of thunder from the distance, and waiting for the rain. When the shower finally did come, it really wasn't that fierce. I'm thinking some nearby neighborhoods may have received more of a downpour. But we're supposed to get more overnight or in the morning. It will be enough to water all the plants, saving me from hauling sprinkling cans today (and maybe tomorrow).

Evelyn tried a new recipe: shrimp with pineapple, sweet peppers, and onion. She had the marinated
ingredients arranged on the skewers when I got home from work, and I grilled them quickly for a tasty summertime supper.

Vacation Diary, Part Two

Monday, June 16
We left the 9/11 Memorial and Museum after noon, and we were hungry. We stopped at the first deli we saw and decided to go upstairs, be seated, and order pizza, instead of ordering sandwiches from the counter downstairs. The World Cup was playing on the big screens, and the place was busy. And the service was slow. The pizza was wonderful, but we were there at least an hour. By the time we found our way back to the subway, got back to Grand Central Station, and walked back to the hotel, it was well after 2:00. And then we had to wait for the car to be delivered. Bottom line, we weren't out of the city till after 3:00, later than I wanted to leave.
But we got through the Lincoln Tunnel fast, and the traffic on the Turnpike kept moving. We checked into our Residence Inn in Horsham and got to Jen's after 5:30, in plenty of time for a wonderful evening.
Matt grilled some of the best Italian sausages and barbecue chicken thighs we've ever eaten. And Jen had brought in every salad sold at the Giant supermarket deli. It was a wonderful supper. We took a walk through the neighborhood to use up a few calories. (All 8 of us, four Johnsons plus Evelyn and me and the Cartwrights.) And then we adjourned to Dairy Delite to enjoy a true delight native to the area, water ice. We ate our ice cream, lucky to snag a table when the place was crowded with other delight-seekers. It was a great way to end the day.

Tuesday, June 17
We slept in a little and relaxed in the morning and got to Jen's around 11:30. We went to lunch with Jen and Miles at a quaint little coffee shop/cafe nearby and then drove into the city to the historical district. We didn't have a lot of time; the museums all closed at 5:00. But we were able to see an introductory film, the Liberty Bell, Congress Hall, and Independence Hall. (All the free tickets for the latter were already gone when Jen had called several days earlier, but the ranger let us sneak in with a huge tour group of high school kids, and we were really glad we got to see it.)
We had good tour guides at Congress Hall and Independence Hall, and we enjoyed lolly-gagging through the adjacent Washington Park, under the giant shade trees, beside a sparkling fountain, and surrounded by colorful landscaping.

The senate chamber inside Independence Hall

We walked down to Penn Landing and looked across the Delaware River at Camden, New Jersey. Matt and Miles met us and led us to Sonny's, one of their favorite spots for the famous Philly cheesesteaks. Wow, what a good choice. They were really good--and larger than some of us could finish.

We drove back to Levittown and decided we needed something light and sweet to get the taste of the cheesesteaks out of our mouths. You guessed it--another trip to Dairy Delite. Two days in a row isn't too much for vacation!

Wednesday, June 18
Jen met us at our hotel, because it was on the way to today's destination, Valley Forge. After a delightful lunch of salads and soups (and a couple of cookies) at the Corner Bakery Cafe, we made our way to the national park.
It was a h-h-h-hot day. I think the temp hit 96 degrees that afternoon. But we still enjoyed the visit. We watched the introductory film and looked at all the explanatory displays in the visitors center. Then we took the trolley tour around the giant park. The guide explained how regiments from the various states built log cabins, many of them each sleeping 6-9 men. We were interested to learn there was no battle there and Valley Forge housed more than 20,000 people, including several hundred women and children who would have been destitute if they hadn't accompanied their soldier husbands to the camp.

This house was Washington's headquarters at Valley Forge. The beautiful grounds surrounding it
(pictures below) were the loveliest part of the park.

We drove to Newtown where we met Matt for dinner at a wonderful Italian restaurant there. Byron declared it was the "office party," meaning he treated for dinner. It was a very fine treat. We returned to Matt and Jen's place for more visiting and laughs before returning to our hotel to pack for the trip home.

Thursday, June 19
We were up early and had plenty of time to linger over the hotel's breakfast before leaving for the Philly airport. We dropped off Katie and Byron a little after 10 and began the trip over the Turnpike and across the Interstates back home to Liberty Township, Ohio. We were home a little after 8:30 p.m., plenty of time to sort through the mail, pull our few clean clothes out of the suitcases, and watch Monday's episode of Major Crimes before heading to bed, tired but happy.

Vacation Diary, Part One

We drove from our home to Harrisburg, PA last Thursday afternoon and evening (June 12), and then on to New York City Friday morning for a week of vacation in the Big Apple and the Philadelphia area, accompanied by lifelong friends Katie and Byron Cartwright and led by the ever-faithful and patient Siri. As I posted to Facebook: 

1536 miles. 2 lifelong friends. 2 wonderful kids & their 2 remarkable spouses. Miles of sights & sounds in 2 big cities. What a vacation!

Here's a rundown:

Friday, June 13

Katie and Byron had invited us to stay with them at the newly refurbished Wyndham timeshare in the heart of Manhattan, on 45th between 2nd and 3rd Avenue. We got there about 20 minutes after they did, unloaded the luggage, found the place to park the car, and ate lunch from the sumptuous food bar at the deli on the corner. I used my trusty Streetwise Manhattan to guide us for a walk to see some of the sites: St. Patrick's Cathedral, Rockefeller Plaza, Radio City Music Hall. It was muggy, and we were ready to rest. Thankfully, the room (apartment!) was ready for us after 2:00, and we could settle in, cool off, and wait for Jennifer who trained in from PA. She arrived a little after 3:00, and we left for Long Island by 3:30.

This is one of three groups Geoff led during the program.

The catalyst for our trip was Geoff's annual Jazz Night at Herricks, where all of his jazz bands perform for parents and friends while students serve up ice cream sundaes and other snacks. The traffic for the drive out of the city was terrible, and we didn't get to his school till after 5:00. He picked up Lisa at the train station and brought her and two huge pizzas for our supper before the program started at 7:00.

It was so good! And, as usual, we were impressed with the quality of Geoff's groups, the rapport he has with his students, and the command he had of the whole situation. He had decided at 4:30 to have it in the gym instead of outside, on the school's courtyard, because of threatening weather. The sky opened amid lightning flashes and rumbling thunder, just as the program began. Good decision, Geoff!

We drove back to Geoff and Lisa's neighborhood after the concert and enjoyed dessert on their beautiful terrace before taking the subway back to Manhattan by 10:00. (We parked the car in front of Geoff's apartment building Friday and Saturday nights, thus avoiding about $100 in parking charges.)

Saturday, June 14

We took the subway back to Long Island City and met the three Taylors at Geoff and Lisa's favorite breakfast spot, Cafe Henri. We enjoyed the wonderful Benedicts and omelets and other delights before stopping by Geoff and Lisa's apartment to pick up Frankie and take a walk through the parks lining the East River not far away. It was a marvelous day; the storm the night before had ushered in a cold front. The Manhattan vistas were striking, as always, and we enjoyed walking and chatting. We adjourned back to Geoff and Lisa's terrace for ice tea and cookies before taking the subway back to the city and our main event of the day.

Thanks to Lisa and Geoff and their tripod and excellent camera for this shot and the one above.

We had tickets for the 2:00 matinee of Newsies, which provided us an afternoon of energy and enjoyment. The production numbers, with their acrobatic dancing, were virtually spellbinding, and we had wonderful seats in the mezzanine to give us a perfect view of the show. It was wonderful.

Afterwards we walked back to Grand Central Station and caught the subway to meet Geoff and Lisa and Jennifer in an East Village neighborhood where the New York Taylors wanted to introduce us to a Korean restaurant Lisa knew. I ate the whole meal with my chopsticks! 

For dessert, we walked to a bakery and restaurant not far away, Vaniero's. The hardest part of the experience was choosing ONE dessert from the PAGES of options. The best part was the uproarious laughter accompanying Byron's stories from our college days long ago. I think the people around us wondered how we got liquor into a bake shop!

On the way back to the subway, we stopped at the famous Strand Bookstore and spent almost an hour wandering the three stories of new and used books and other delights.

Sunday, June 15

We took the subway to the beautiful Salvation Army auditorium that is the meeting place for the Redeemer Presbyterian Church Downtown Congregation. We met Geoff and Lisa there. (Actually, we met Geoff on the street, walking toward the church, and Lisa followed by subway. He had driven Jen to Forefront Brooklyn, where she was the morning speaker. It was a tough decision to choose one congregation over the other for Sunday morning, but we figured this would be the only chance for Byron and Katie to experience the unique worship that is characteristic of Redeemer.) 

After church, we took the subway with Lisa to Central Park, and Geoff drove Katie and Evelyn there. He and Lisa had packed a picnic lunch for us to enjoy, and we really did enjoy it! The pasta salad and accompaniments was wonderful. The conversation was even better. And, as always, there was laughter, lots of laughter. We were inspired to a different pose, below, to help preserve memories of the day (thanks, again, to G&L's tripod, camera, and creativity).

We walked (and walked!) through Central Park and then traveled back to G&L's apartment, where we rested and cooled off a bit before the evening's adventure: a trip on the East River Ferry from Long Island City to the Fulton Ferry Landing, followed by exploration of the Brooklyn Bridge Park and a wonderful dinner of Luke's lobster rolls. Yum! The weather all day had been glorious--warm and breezy and dry, with a clear blue sky and puffy clouds. It was the perfect evening for the ferry ride and visit to the park. Lisa & Geoff recorded the ferry ride and the lobster roll dinner with these pictures:

Frankie accompanied us on the trip, and we enjoyed exploring the gardens surrounding a riverfront restaurant.

The sun was setting as we took the ferry back toward Long Island City, and I took lots of pictures, trying to capture the perfect view of the day.

The first picture, below, shows the Fulton Ferry Landing, from the ferry itself.

The second is the Manhattan skyline at sunset from the ferry as we returned to Long Island City.

Back at Geoff and Lisa's place, we went to the rooftop of their building and enjoyed the remarkable view available to them there.

We were tired after a long day, but when we got back to our timeshare, we couldn't ignore Katie's desire to see and experience Times Square one more time. Should we go then, at 10 p.m., or wait till Monday morning? We finally decided just to go for one more walk and experience the city at nighttime. We were so glad we did! 

The walk to Times Square from our place wasn't long, and you must experience Times Square at night to really experience it! 

We soaked up the bright-as-day aura of it all, surrounded by skyscraper flashing neon, jostling crowds, and the feeling that you really have come to the center of the earth. We traded iPhones with some tourists of Kentucky and took each others' pictures, looked through a souvenir shop, bought water from a streetside vendor, and were back "home" in about an hour. It was a great way to end the day!

Monday, June 16

We went to the 9/11 Memorial Museum Monday morning before driving to Horsham, Pennsylvania that afternoon. The museum is a sobering chronicle of all that happened on September 11, 2001. Everyone who visits New York should see it. Perhaps most compelling are the recorded stories from survivors, accompanied by projected diagrams showing where they were in the World Trade Center or the Pentagon when the planes struck. We spent at least two hours there; we could have stayed longer, but by that time all of us felt like we were on overload.

We walked outside to pause at the two large reflecting pools, marking the footprint of each of the original World Trade Center towers, surrounded by granite (?) plaques, each bearing the names of some of the 9/11 victims. And we came upon the marker bearing the name of Todd Beamer!

We walked to a deli for lunch, under the shadow of the imposing Freedom Tower, glad we had taken time for this experience.

What Else? The Weather!

Pictures of the Day: As I'm posting these pictures, Evelyn is reading me the weather report for Philadelphia (close to where Jennifer and Matt live) and Long Island City, NY (where Geoff and Lisa live). Each has has 11+ inches of snow in the last 24 hours with 2 or 3 more inches predicted overnight. That makes my little snow report seem inconsequential. But, nevertheless, Evelyn and I did wake up to driveway covered with at least 4 inches. We shoveled from 6:30 till 7:15, and by the time we were through, the wind had blown drifts back over a large part of it. Before leaving for work, I brushed snow off the back window of my car that was parked INSIDE the garage, because the blowing snow had blasted a covering over it while we were outside shoveling.
Evelyn awoke to a text saying classes at CCU were delayed till 10:00. Then another text came saying chapel at 10:00 was cancelled. Then another text: Classes delayed till noon. And before I finally left for work before 10:00, CCU had given up for the day: all classes cancelled. This was the first day of the new semester, in which Evelyn is teaching two classes, going in on Tuesday and Thursday.
I decided to go to work late and cleared out old e-mails (left over from my time out of the office) from here.
My trip to work was relatively uneventful; roads weren't clear, but they had been treated, and traffic was light.
Evelyn, bless her, decided to reshovel the driveway late in the afternoon. It had drifted to at least 6 inches in some spots, and the temperatures were in the teens.
The fruit of her work:

We watched the weather on TV just before supper, and Tim Hedrick says we'll have lows in the single digits and highs in the teens for the rest of the week till Saturday and Sunday—and then there's a chance for "significant snow." The high temperatures next week will be back in the teens.

Quote of the Day: From a radio newscaster reporting on the icy punch the northeast is getting tonight: "Well, the good news is we have only two more months of winter."

TWO MORE MONTHS! That's at least 6 weeks too much!
(Actually, I think it's bad form to complain about the weather. But it's my diary, and next year I want to remember this.)

Today's Laugh and Yesterday's Pictures

My best Facebook Update of the Day: 
Flying to CVG fr Orlando with Cinti newscaster Clyde Gray and his family sitting right behind me. And we are NOT flying 1st class. 

My Biggest Dose of Endorphins for the Day: 
Facebook friend Gayle Ertel commented on the above:
Ha, that is so funny because Clyde Gray posted on Facebook about 3 hours ago: Flying to CVG fr Orlando with Cinti publisher Mark Taylor right in front of me. And we are NOT flying first class. 

Pictures from Yesterday:
We went to the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World with Jennifer. In the middle of Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, the place was PACKED. We got FastPasses for three rides, waited in line for FIFTY minutes or more for Jungle Cruise (Really, I don't think it was worth it.) Snagged a place for a front-row seat for the Electrical Light Parade (is that what they call it?). And that gave us a great place to watch a fantastic light show on the face of Cinderella's castle followed by the best choreographed fireworks display I think I've ever seen.
The best thing about the Magic Kingdom, I think, is how beautifully landscaped so much of it is.
The day started chilly, progressed to almost warm, and ended downright cold. We were v-e-r-y tired by the time we got back to our hotel after 11:00 p.m.

Jennifer says Pete the Magic Dragon is her favorite float in the parade.

Facebook God Thoughts and Gratitude

Sometimes gratitude to God comes in the midst of well-planned worship services. Sometimes it surprises you at times you weren't expecting. I've had plenty of the first experiences, but today, it was the latter.
I was at church, but "backstage" during the second chapel "classic" service. My duty today was to "host" at both chapel services; one meets at 8:30, and a second identical, sparsely attended service meets at 10:30. That's a LONG morning, and when I host in both, sometimes I  bring my laptop to work or catch up on Facebook before time to lead the Communion service and offering and announcements at the end of the second service, about 11:15.
When I scrolled through my Facebook News Feed while the church sang hymns on the other side of the wall, I discovered:

• pictures and posts from my son, Geoff, and his wife, Lisa, reporting their successful climb to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro; 
• a picture from Forefront Church in Brooklyn recording a women's event there yesterday when my daughter, Jen, was the guest speaker; 
• and a tender obituary written by Amanda Mays Bledsoe describing her grandfather's life of faithful service and witness. He was father to my former classmate, Christian leader Roy Mays, who died prematurely several years ago. 

From my seat in the dark in a corner of the chapel stage, I could hear the congregational song, "To God be the glory--great things He has done!" And I was washed by the realization of the great things God has done in my life, largely because of the people he has allowed to influence and bless me.

A few snippets to make my point:

Geoff's post:

Yesterday, Lisa and I started off from base camp (15,100 ft) at midnight. Wearing 7 layers and a headlamp, we hiked for 6 straight hours uphill, in the dark and freezing cold. At about 6:20 we reached the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro, 19,341 feet, just as the sun was rising over East Africa. It was easily the hardest thing I've ever done and my wife was with me every step of the way. She is one tough cookie!

And Lisa's:

After 5 days of trekking, we left Base Camp (15,331 ft) just after midnight on Saturday morning and began our ascent to Uhuru Peak (19,341ft). We hiked for over six hours up the very steep switchbacking rocky trail in the pitch black in sub-zero temps with a hostile wind that made our lungs burn as we gasped for what little oxygen there was. For hours on end, all you could see were the lines of head lamps stretching up the hill ahead and down behind. Finally, just before 6am, we heard a cheer up ahead as the hikers ahead of us reached Stella Point. We arrived at Uhuru Peak in time to watch the sun rise over East Africa. I cried with relief - it was the hardest thing I've ever done. 

The sappy bit: I loved experiencing every moment of this adventure with my sweetie Geoff Taylor

The thing that moved me about their posts, besides the sheer difficulty of their physical and emotional achievement, was the fact that the whole experience meant much to each of them because they reached the goal together. They're pursuing many goals--not only for vacations and not only in their work, but as Christians seeking an influence in the lives of other Christians and non-Christians around them.

Just a couple of the pictures Lisa took on their trek:

The picture from Forefront. That's Jen, in black, facing the large semicircles of women reached by this growing New York City congregation:

She had written earlier that she was looking forward to the chance to speak with these women about living a fulfilling life pleasing to God--whether single or married, with or without a man in their lives. (Planners had originally envisioned the event as for singles, and then they broadened it for any woman who might come.)

Evelyn and I are so proud that Jennifer is being recognized in several circles for her leadership and maturity and insight. And I thought of her good husband, Matt. While she was in New York he was faithfully finishing preparations for another Sunday's services where he has preached in Pennsylvania for quite a few years.

What more could a Christian parent want than for his children to serve God and love their spouses?


And a few details from Amanda's obituary:

MAYS Roy H., Jr, 91, received and accepted his homecoming invitation on August 9, 2013. To receive him was his wife of 59 years, Thelma Thompson Mays, his son of 54 years Roy H. Mays III, his sister Maxine (Howard) Hanks, his mother and father Roy H. (Rachel Elrod) Mays Sr., as well as numerous friends and a host of witnesses. He left a strong legacy of faith for his family to follow. . . . A lifelong Lexingtonian, he graduated from Maxwell Elementary, Lexington Junior, and Henry Clay High School, enlisting in the US Army Air Corps in 1942. As Staff Sergeant, he served during World War II as radio operator and navigator. A charter member of Southland Christian Church, he taught Sunday School for 37 years serving as Elder, Deacon and Elder Emeritus. President of both the Southern Little League and Dixie Babe Ruth in Lexington, he was a founding member of UK's Fellowship of Christian Athletes and loved investing in the lives of his community's youth. 

Every time I read an obituary I subtract my age from that of the deceased. In this case, it's a large enough number--large enough to still have some impact, large enough to still reach some goals, large enough to allow for quite a bit of spiritual and emotional growth, large enough to affect the legacy I'd hope to leave some day.

"Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, Let the earth hear His voice!
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, Let the people rejoice!"

I was rejoicing this morning, in the dark, with my laptop open, while I was browsing Facebook. It was a moment of worship I hope I'll remember for a long time, which is why I made the effort to record it here today.