"You Know Mama, God is like a weed..."

Pastor's Log- Sabbatical Date: 2-2-4  - 22:15
(Recap of the week following Family Camp)

Monday morning, we spent time regrouping and recouping.  I went to have a blood test done and worked out with Rick.  We spent time with the kids and worked on the garden.  Gardening is something that I enjoy doing, but often times struggle to find the time to keep up with.  This summer is giving me more space for that.

On Tuesday, I caught up on some bills and worked more on the garden.  I worked out for a bit and Elam helped Beth with weeding one of our flower beds.  In the midst of that, he turned to Beth and said, "You know mama, God is a lot like a weed."  "Really," Beth replied, "how so?" "Well, mama, you can keep trying to pull him out of your life, but he just keeps coming back."  We weren't sure where he was going with that at first, but thought that it turned out to be a pretty insightful reflection.  That evening after doing a little more gardening, we watched the movie, We Bought a Zoo.

On Wednesday, we observed Independence Day by going to Gahanna to watch a parade with our sister-in-law and niece.  On the way to the parade, we passed a cemetery that was closed for the event.  I had never seen a cemetery closed for an event like this.  I later learned it was because of people going there to reserve spots for watching fireworks.

The parade itself was much more significant than we are used to.  It even included the Millennium Falcon and many people dressed up in Star Wars costumes.  We found out later that this had been the entry for the Vineyard church, but it was pretty strange to watch a parade and not see a singe tractor in it. 

After the parade, we went back to Stephanie's parent's house for lunch and some time in their pool.  The pool was quite a relief given how hot of a day it was.  After some naps and shopping at Target, we went to Beth's brother's church where he is one of the associate pastors.  They were hosting a festival and inviting people to come have some fun, eat some food and then watch the fireworks from their parking lot.  I had never been close enough to the fireworks to feel ash from them falling onto us until tonight.  On the way home, we witnessed God's heavenly pyrotechnics as we drove into and through a major thunderstorm that was rolling through the state.  That was probably the reason for the fireworks starting about a half hour earlier than they were scheduled to begin.