Back Home Again From Indiana

After making the trip over for a wonderful weekend at the Indiana Fellowship Meeting, it is good to be home. But, it was difficult to leave church on Sunday. The last few weeks have been a whirlwind, and I was dreading the end of services - just as I dreaded the end of services of our own annual meeting the weekend before. (Already, it seems like that meeting was months ago.) That's the sad part about re-entering the "real world" each week... going back to work... dealing with the usual burdens of schedules, finances, traffic, errands... struggling to ignore the distractions that pull us away from God. But, the sermons, singing, and fellowship of weekend meetings and worship every Sunday do wonders for the soul in helping one remember what is important despite those struggles. Helping one remember Who to lean on in the midst of those struggles. Helping one remember Who will help in overcoming those struggles.

Thankfully, I was able to go to Sacred Harp singing last night, so the re-entry into the world was a little less jolting than usual. What a blessing it is to me to be able to sing praises, and it's even more wonderful when we have good friends with whom to lift our voices. I had missed Sacred Harp the last two times this past month. So, despite my tiredness of body, the singing did wonders for the tiredness of spirit that I felt from Monday.

Less seriously...

On Sunday morning, Miss Tressa and I spent some time out on the back deck with the cute kitties on the farm. As we looked across the road, Tressa was excited to see the giant "sprinkler" in the field (a.k.a. irrigation system.) So, when we headed back to the Mikel house that afternoon after services to pack up the cars, we were excited to see that the "sprinkler" had moved all of the way down the field and was then providing a nice spray of water onto the nearby country road.
Naturally, on that hot, sunny day, we all took a turn - in church clothes and all - and had quite a fun time together. (We're thankful we weren't wearing any "dry clean only.") Rian remained in the safety zone back on the porch. Abi wasn't quite sure about it at first but loved it in the end. Then, we headed inside to change our clothes for the six-hour ride home.

After our goodbyes, we were on our way. But, we didn't get too far before taking a picture of the Incredible Inedible Egg in nearby Mentone. (I thought our good friend jsarber would enjoy seeing this "highlight" of our driving trip. Yiiippppeee!) This egg is listed along with two others on the site for Roadside America. All are battling it out to be the "world's largest egg". You can also check out the site for more information on the battle of the cows, chairs, Popeye tributes, watermelons, and water towers with smiley faces. If you're setting out on a road trip, you might want to consult this site. You never know fabulous or unusual attraction could be hiding just a few miles off the beaten path.

P.S. Thanks to Elder Mike Montgomery, this weekend, I also learned a new word: ignominious.