Almost Mid-Week...Preparing for Take off!

         

                                                The five masked children! 

                                                          Teen group on the back church lawn 

Sunday...gone. Monday...disappeared. Tuesday...today! Whew! It’s been a whirlwind off activity the last few days. Sunday was our first back-with-kids Sunday school class. We did not have a whole lot of children, as five of them were ours, but the time together was special. We are studying about Jonah. I never realized until I was studying for the lesson that when Jonah decided to flee to Tarshish, he was going 2500 miles the WRONG way! He did not just not want to go to Nineveh -he really DID NOT want to go! Yet, God still used the disobedient prophet and showed him great mercy. That mercy is the same for you and me. I don’t know about you, but I am praying often and fervently for God to have mercy on our land! 

Sunday night we had teen group. It was a humid and sticky night, but we all had a great time running around playing ultimate frisbee, roasting hotdogs and s’mores over the fire, sharing prayer requests and listening to God’s Word. I’ve missed these teens, and we were happy to see some of them again on Sunday night. 

Monday brought about a day off for Roger, some much needed rain, and lots of activities to get ready for our trip to Wisconsin! Emma packed about everything in her dresser for the trip, and Travis brought along a practically empty suitcase so he can bring “stuff” home! We are flying with Southwest, and since two bags fly free, we might as well have extra space. I don’t know about you, but nothing ever packs the same when we are coming home! We are looking forward to spending a few days with my family in Wisconsin. It’s been almost a year since most of our kids have been out to Wisconsin, so I’m sure it will be a delightful time. It’ll also be a crazy fast ten days! 

Tuesday. Our flight doesn’t leave until around four, but Roger’s parents were making a delivery in Maine about one and one-half hours from our house. It was kinda on the way to the airport, so we met up with them for lunch and then headed to the airport. It’s been a while since we’ve been able to see Rogers parents so it was good to have a few minutes to visit. 

Roger dropped us off at the airport early, so that’s where we are now...at the airport. We made it through security, even with the masks on! This was Garett’s first time wearing a mask, as he has not gone anywhere where he’d need to wear one. Garett hasn’t even been to Walmart since February. He hates shopping, so he’s only gone with Roger, church, and swimming,,,that’s about it! They all have plenty of snacks and water, so I’m sure that they’ll be eating their way to Wisconsin! I forgot that I had pepper spray in my purse, but I remembered before we went through security. I hated to throw it away, but such is life. Travis told me that he was so relieved that the beeping thing didn’t go off in security. He says, “I don’t like that because I feel like something is wrong but I don’t know how to fix it.” Ha. I know the feeling! Airport security personnel are not known for their friendliness to start with, but I’m pretty sure that wearing a mask makes them grumpier! All in all, we made it through security without any major hiccups and we are now waiting for our plane to take off. 

I’m not sure how you’re feeling these days, but I often feel like I am experiencing deep sadness and even grief for our nation. These are unsettling times, so I’m thankful that I rest in a God Who is unchanging, ever merciful and loving. I rest in that! 

We sang this song again on Sunday, and I have come to treasure the truths in this song. 

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