Who Needs Sleep?

We had a great time visiting our families in North Carolina this weekend. In addition to our usual routine of seeing our parents and having fun with siblings and nieces, Sandi's aunt and uncle were in town. Since they live south of Savannah, we do not get to see them all that often. I invited her uncle Mike to our usual Saturday night gaming session, but he was unable to make it. In case that was not enough to fill the docket, our longtime church had its homecoming services on Sunday. As must always occur when large numbers of Baptists gather (seriously -- check the bylaws), a fellowship meal was scheduled in the evening. During the festivities, the current staff was called onto the podium to be recognized. Here comes the interesting part: the church now has three or four people who do the things that were mostly my responsibility alone. I am still trying to decide if that is a testament to the growth of the church or to my incredible awesomeness.

Unfortunately, amid the joys of the weekend lurked a monster. As is customary for our return trips, we stopped along Interstate 77 to give Ranger a chance to do his business. Sandi took the opportunity to dig her phone out of her purse -- and found it was not there. I had called her phone before we left to make sure it was in her rather full purse, and I heard a clear ringtone come from the pocketbook. I failed to notice, however, the pile of stuff underneath her purse, which was the actual resting place of the blasted phone. This meant some backtracking was in order. Thankfully, Joyce and Mike were willing to meet us several miles up the road from Winston-Salem, so not all our progress was undone. It has cost us quite a bit of sleep over the past couple of days, though . . .

Little else of note has happened since our triumphant return to Bristol, but I want to pass along a pair of prayer requests. Firstly, our pastor in Winston-Salem was involved in a motorcycle accident on Saturday, and he is still in the hospital. Also, my good friend Steve, who was discharged from the Army a while back, is being recalled into active duty.

Have a great week, everyone!