Reflections...

It’s Friday evening.  Renae and I have been gone all week on a fishing trip to Lake Talquin near Tallahassee.  We left last Sunday after church and have had five days away.  It was a great trip.  We went with two other couples, renting a cabin together on the lake.  The cabin was on a high bluff about 40-50 ft high overlooking the water, with live oaks providing lots of shade.  It could not have been a nicer location.  I posted a few pictures earlier in the week that gives you an idea of how nice the place was.

More importantly, it was a much needed get-away for me and Renae.  We’ve been very stressed lately and this trip was timely. 

After four or five days I finally started “settling in” to the routine of a slower pace of living.  We would get up about 5:30 AM, eat breakfast, go fishing until mid-day, come in for an afternoon nap, then go back out in the evening to fish again until dark.

I could live in a van down by the river :-)

Between the six of us we caught more than 260 fish.  Very exciting.  Renae and I caught our fair share too.  Well worth the trip.

We took hundreds of pictures.  Mostly of wildlife or nature shots.  Lake Talquin is a very beautiful place.

On the trip home today we avoided the interstate and traveled along hwy 20 and hwy 90.  It was very scenic.  Along the way we stopped at a few hardware stores and antique shops to shop for unique items.  Renae ended up with twenty antique milk bottles that she intends to use for flower vases (or wine carafes (;-).

We had lunch in Mossy Head along hwy 90 at a place called “Something Good, Country Cookin.”  It was a local favorite and a very positive experience for us.  We interacted with the owners and had a pleasant visit.  During the exchange, the owners’ son gave us a couple of small containers of their homemade BBQ sauce.  As he gave it to me he said, “We are very proud of this sauce.  Dad worked on this for decades until he was finally satisfied with it.”  I said “thank you” and went out to the parking lot where Renae and I dipped our finger in for a taste.  It was so good we wanted more, so she went back in to ask if they sold it by the bottle.  They didn’t, but he did sell us a quart of the stuff in a jar!  It was a great experience.

When traveling we love to visit diners that appear to be local favorites.

After being away for the week I was concerned about our garden.  As soon as we got everything unloaded from the truck we went to the garden to check it out.  There was plenty to pick (the picture is what we harvested today) and I spent about an hour watering.  In the next week or so I will be picking purple hull peas (family heirloom). Yea!

LAST SUNDAY’S SERMON.  If you were in attendance you will recall I talked about the difference between the word “Christian” and “disciple.”  All I can say is “wow!”  The response has been enormous.  I think this message stimulated a lot of thought.  The text was Matthew 10:24-25.  This Sunday we will expound on v.26-31, and next Sunday we finish the chapter by expounding on verses 32-42).

This current series (Becoming a Disciple) has been a game-changer for a lot of people.  I intended it to last for 2-3 weeks, but we are now on week seven!