vacation to now

summer came and went really quickly.  i'd like to say i had a vacation, but it was more like a working vacation as i did a lot of traveling over a couple of months.  we took a few days to drive back to seattle in July. i flew back to SD and drove down iowa to go to synod school.  came back home for a couple of weeks, then flew back out to seattle.  once in seattle, i was able to spend some down time visiting family and friends.  toward the end of my time there i flew out again, this time to louisville, ky to attend the mindpoint meeting of the for such a time as this program through the pc(usa).  i flew back into seattle and then took a few days to drive back home with the family... many miles both on the ground and in the air logged this summer.

and even though it was vacation, it is difficult, being a pastor, to not think about the next sermon, what directions to take in ministry, congregational care issues, etc. these things are always on a slow simmer in the back of my mind... and since the trip was punctuated with ministry related  meetings and trips, it only served to stoke the fires a little bit more, keeping those thoughts brewing. 

it was nice to spend time with family and reconnect with friends back in seattle.  it was refreshing to worship back at presby and not have to worry about setting the order of worship and preparing the sermon.  it was a good trip, but i have to say that it's also nice to be back in town and back to a more normal routine.

fall is in full swing again.  there's a chill in the air - a reminder that winter is just around the corner.  the news is that the farmer's almanac predicts 200+ inches of snow for the area - we'll have wait and see about that. farmers are starting to harvest again. fall ministry is up and running with a lot of excitement and momentum.

life has been busy since being back... today is probably one of the first days that i've had some down time to get things taken care of around the house and to actually have time to compose this...