A Busy Week!

It's been an interesting... and busy... week!

After church last Sunday, we shipped the kids off with the rest of the Youth Group for a week at Impact Virginia, a service and construction oriented project and retreat. Though the project was only 20 minutes from our home and didn't feel like much of a trip at all, it meant that Margo and I have had the whole house to ourselves this past week. Wheee!

Somehow, I envisioned the week being fairly quiet, with lots of time to just hang out with Margo and relax. But it didn't quite work out that way. We did get some time to ourselves along the way, but there were also a lot of projects and engagements to fill up our time. As a result, I'm actually feeling more worn out as the week draws to a close.

We managed to put up 4 ceiling fans this week -- one in each of the kids' bedrooms and one in our living room where our Hope Group meets. I know the kids will appreciate them when they come home on Saturday. They have been so used to having ceiling fans from our time in Arizona, and have missed them in our new home here in Virginia. Margo also pointed out that I've got a track record of installing ceiling fans now. Nebraska=3. First Arizona House=10. Second Arizona House=7. Virginia=5. Yup, that's a lot of ceiling fans over the years.

I finished several pieces of artwork for Hero Games upcoming Book of the Destroyer, which was fun. I get a kick out of illustrating, and it's always a pleasure to work with Art Director Andy Matthews. (And I'm really looking forward to sharing a weekend with Andy in Indianapolis next month.)

We had a great time hosting the Underwoods and the Martins last night for dinner -- what fun people! Of course, we ate too much food (2 entrees and 2 desserts!), so I'm paying for it today. I'm looking forward to getting together with them again soon.

Tonight we're heading to a barbecue with the Pierces' Hope Group, which should be a blast. But in the meantime, I'm knocking off work a bit early today so Margo and I can sneak in a movie together. Ah, at last -- some time to just hang out and have fun!

I've had a great time working on my message for this Sunday. Last week was a terrific time to just worship, celebrate communion, and reflect on the implications of the presence of God in our midst. We drew on the imagery of the ancient Hebrew Tabernacle, but there was SO much more that I wanted to say. So, instead of moving on to the next topic in our current series, I decided to linger one more week on the implications of the Tabernacle. I've had a marvelous time with God in study and preparation! I have no idea if my enthusiasm and discovery will carry over well in this week's sermon, but at least it's been personally fulfilling in a very satisfying way.

This weekend, we get to host Doug and Marian Eicher from our old church in Nebraska. I really, really love these guys, and I can't wait to spend some time with them! The kids will also be back tomorrow, so the house will suddenly feel very full and busy once more.