Category: Life Page 3 of 6

There is a slight problem with anonymity.

It cannot be thanked.

We received in the mail today a Starbucks gift card simply labeled, ‘Thanks.’

It was in an envelope with no return address, and an Orlando postmark. Barb and I puzzled briefly over the handwriting on the envelope, but that led us nowhere. And so we were stuck.

We were stuck with a gift greatly appreciated and with no way to reciprocate with a bare ‘Thank you.’

There is an outside chance that the sender actually reads this blog. That’s not likely, since I know both of you who actually read this, but still….

I guess I’ll never really understand and fully appreciate this grace thing, this underserved and unreciprocated favor that comes always from God and sometimes from his people.

*Sigh*

Guess I’ll have to go ponder this over a caramel latte at Starbucks. This time, I’ll make it GRANDE!

I am writing this from a (surprise!) coffee shop (Green to Bean Coffee Roasters) in Hiawassee, Georgia. Thanks to the kindness of some friends in Bradenton, who provided the place, and of the congregation of Covenant Church in Oviedo, who granted the time away, and to our daughter in Lafayette, GA, who is watching our ten year-old son, Barb and I have been able to retreat to the mountains for a few precious days.

We have retreated to a bed and breakfast which sits on the edge of a small lake (or large pond – I’ve not decided) in a cove surrounded by mountains covered in autumn’s last attempt at color. We resolved on our way here to do nothing. And so far, apart from some ‘rum-running’ Sunday night, we’ve been largely successful. We have read, slept, talked, reflected, and ‘subsisted’ (fattening-ly so!) on two large meals a day. It’s been a lovely gift.

We begin the retrace of our steps tomorrow and jump back into life on Friday.

Rest is always a temporary respite, but is absolutely necessary (especially for those with a six, and sometimes seven, day work rhythm). “Come away and rest,” Jesus said at least once to his exhausted disciples, and I have been glad, in this instance, to heed him.

So, thank you to those who have enabled this for us. We both hope we are better for it.

+ + + + +

A note about the ‘rum-running’ is in order. I fantasize the following text message conversation between Paul and his young disciple Timothy, who is in Hiawassee, Georgia for a preaching engagement. Timothy complains to Paul of a stomach ailment, and the great Apostle responds here as he did in the first century. (1 Timothy 5:23)

Paul: Use a little wine for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.

Timothy: I can’t.

Paul: Why?

Timothy: The grocery store here won’t sell it to me.

Paul: Why not?

Timothy: The sign says, “No wine or beer sales on Sunday.”

Paul: You’re kidding, right?

Timothy: Nope.

Paul: Did you try the next county over?

Timothy: It’s in North Carolina.

Paul: That should work.

Timothy: k. Thx.

So that is what we did. 🙂

The new poster hanging on my wall:

(Inspired in a curious and indirect kind of way by this.)

We still have not settled upon the complete menu for our future Oxymoronic Dinner (click through, those of you who have no idea what I am talking about). However, I have found the place where we must hold it.

We will hold it outside, in the shade of some “live oak” trees (for some redundant effect), at the Little-Big Econ State Forest.

Not little, not big.

No. Little-Big.

And to make things fancy, we will add the king of oxymoronic dining features:

Settling in to Oviedo has been helped so greatly by the warm reception we have received here. People from the church have gone out of their way to show their appreciation and love for us. We are grateful!

The pics here are of a couple of women who dropped in on Barb a week or so ago. That was a blessing for her, and for Colin.

The church I now pastor, Covenant Presbyterian Church, has, at present, no building. Having no building, means, at this point, having no office. Having no office means the pastor has no study.

So, we improvise.

Currently, my study is an upstairs bedroom which has been configured for this purpose. In a pinch, a full size mattress and box springs can be situated on the floor for guests. But the rest of the time, it is my place for study.

Most of my library remains in boxes. I was able to extract some must have books, however.

It’s not bad, really. I mean, my commute to work is seventeen steps. Can’t beat that!

A weekly, if not more frequent, question we receive is, “Are you settled in?”

Are we? I’ve determined the standard by which I will be able to answer that question in the affirmative: when I am in the kitchen, and think of an item, and know instinctively which drawer or door to open in which to find that item, we will have settled in.

By that measure, I, at least, am not settled in. And since we are renting, which we have not done for a long, long time, it is harder for me to ‘feel’ settled. But I’m sure that will come as well.

To help those of you who know us but wonder what is up with us, I will string out a series of posts to help you settle in here with us. Stay tuned.

(The picture is of the house which we are now renting.)

I’m not sure there is such a thing. If there were, I’d be a charter member.

I think about this because I’ve had two comments this week about the pace of my posting.

The first was from a friend who also blogs and said that he has been amazed at my ability to keep the blog regular. No, I had to remind him, he was living in a past world, when I had something of a regular routine.

The truth comes rather from another who spoke to me this morning saying she could tell that I have been busy because of the irregularity of my posting.

I don’t have a routine like I had before. I still have observations I’d like to share. I still have thoughts that I think are worth pondering. But the routine that opened a slot for sharing those thoughts has not been there. If things don’t improve, I might do a ‘best of’ series and post some of my favorites.

When I get a chance.