People of God,
Something I feel I really needed. Thank you for honoring my vacation. Thank you Eloide for covering my absence.
Since I have never blogged and don’t know how to, I thought I would tell you about some of our vacation.
Sunday, April 27 – Patty and I pretty much left right after worship service. The first part of our journey took us to St. Louis to visit Kayla (my daughter) and her family. She is the mother of Charlee who some of you know. It took us a little over three hours to get there. We thought we were in trouble because our butts were hurting after this first leg of the journey. We checked into our hotel and walked over to have dinner with the family. Here are a couple of observation:
- Charlee is still Charlee. We did a word search and a little coloring while we waited for our dinner to come. She sat in between Patty and I so we had to give her a group squeeze.
- I have always known my children have loved me. It is true for my grandchildren also. But, I have also known that my daughters have always adored their mom (I am perfectly fine with that). The interesting thing is my grandchildren are beginning to adore their grandmother. Most of you don’t know her very well because she is very active in her coaching and teaching. I wish you would be able to see this quality in her.
- I have been listening to Revelation Song by Jesus Culture a lot lately. I know some of you don’t like this kind of music but for those who do, I would encourage you to give it a listen. The singer talks about adoring God. It is one of my future goals. I love the Lord. Adoring, to me, is so much stronger of a word. I know many of you love the Lord, but can you say “I adore you.” Another phrase in the song is “you’re my everything.” I wonder how many people can say this also. Sorry, your pastor can’t…yet.
- Construction is not just an Illinois thing.
Monday, April 28 – The drive to Chattanooga, Tennessee. It was a long one for the Redigs. It took us a little over six and a half hours. I know for some of you, this is a walk in the park. Not for Patty and I. We went to Chattanooga to visit our nephew who just got married about a month ago. We had a very pleasant visit together. I was introduced to roasted okra. I would recommend it.
Not sure if I have ever been to Chattanooga. It is a pretty cool city. I would describe it as sprawling. Many places to explore. The river runs through it and they have many cool parks. The one thing I didn’t notice was people. For a big city, there didn’t seem to be many people walking around.
This is also a place where my daughter Kayla may be moving to in the fall. She wanted us to check it out. Tomorrow, we hope to do this. Patty and I were both very tired and we actually slept through the night. Can’t tell you when we both did this. For some of you who are Medicare age, you may understand what I mean.
Tuesday, April 29 – We are off to the Aquarium. Who would have thought they had one, but they do. We saw some giant river fish. Sort of freaked us both out thinking as we swim in the river, they are lurking below. Had a nice relaxing day. Went to dinner again with my nephew and his new wife. Just a lot of fun talking.
My daughter wanted us to check out some property on top of a hill. Very scary ride with the sharpest hairpin turns I have ever seen. Had to take turns using them. Pretty scary. Wasn’t impressed with the property mostly because you would have to take this ride ever day. Not for us.
Wednesday, April 30 – We started our way back to St. Louis. Had the opportunity to have lunch with a teacher friend of mine. They live in Franklin, TN. Many stories I can share. I once ran over him with my bike. You had to be there. It was great to see him and his wife.
We continued our drive back. Not a big fan of long driving any more. Met my daughter and Charlee later than what we had planned. Charlee had a sleep-over with us.
Thursday, May 1 – Can’t believe I wrote May 1st. The year is moving right along. We had fun in the hotel pool and then Charlee had to go to school (late). Off we go to our house in Varna. It is about a three and a half hour drive. We made it!
Truth: Only by filling up with God’s love, do I have love to share. (Living Lutheran, March 2023)
Pastor Tom
815-223-1144
Readings for the fourth Weekend of Easter – May 10 & 11
Acts 9:36-43 Psalm 23 Revelation 7:9-17 John 10:22-30
Reading the Bible in a Year- Monday, May 5 to Sunday May 11
Day Isaiah Psalms Proverbs 2 Corinthians
Monday Ch 1-Ch 2 105:1-11 Ch 5:11-Ch 6:2
Tuesday Ch 3-Ch 5:7 105:12-22 Ch 6:3-Ch 7:1
Wednesday Ch 5:8-Ch 8:10 105:23-36 Ch 7:2-16
Thursday Ch 8:11-Ch 10:19 21:27-31 Ch 8:1-15
Friday Ch 10:20-Ch 13 105:37-45 Ch 8:16-Ch 9:5
Saturday Ch 14–Ch 16 106:1-115 Ch 9:6-15
Sunday Ch 17-Ch 19 106:16-31 Ch 10