Saturday On The Coast...

As I sit here tonight, I can’t keep from thinking just how much things are different than what we’ve been used to. Here I am watching the fire dance in the fireplace, doing my best to keep a good fire burning. I’ve had to learn quickly how to work a fireplace. And I’m really enjoying it. It doesn’t hurt that our next door neighbor is the ‘king of the firewood’ in these parts. I love the atmosphere the fire gives off.

All three of us are extra chilled tonight. We spent the day up on Lake Erie doing some Christmas shopping. And the wind off of the lake was extremely icy. And right now, the wind chill is 20 degrees…brrrrr. But it’s a good cold, if there is such a thing. It was a wonderful day of family time. We’re now all in the Christmas Spirit…enjoying the Christmas lights around town…the Christmas music on the radio…it’s just different when the temps are colder I guess. We even had icicles on the eve of the house this morning before we left. I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen an icicle.

Most of the leaves have fallen off of the trees. Everyone around here has spent the last few days raking…and raking…and raking. There are leaves everywhere! And tonight, I saw a large herd of deer out behind our house, along the tree line. I can only image what those sites will look like when the snow falls. We have a large picture window in the back of our house where our dining room is, and the view is unbelievable.

We’re all excited to see what this week is going to bring. It’s the final week of prep work for our new church start. Next Sunday night is the opening night for The River Church. Lots of work yet to do, but the anticipation overshadows it.

I really missed having Bible Study on the campus this past week. The students have grown on me. They’re like part of our family now. I have talked to many of them over the holiday break, all seem to be having a good time at home. For many, this was the first opportunity to go home since the beginning of the semester. But I’m sure, that tomorrow evening, there will be a lot of happiness taking place as they return back to TU.

Guess I’ll go for now…everyone is already asleep. As for me…a fresh pot of coffee, and I’ve got to stoke the fire…