On the Road, Sabbatical Style

Thanks, Fran Henderson, for our little
solar powered hula girl on the dashboard

Well, we've made it to our first "destination" for our sabbatical, Myrtle Beach, and even getting here was different.  We left around 11 am on Saturday, having packed over Friday, adding the things we found we had forgotten to pack on Saturday morning.  And unlike our normal "vacation" travel, we didn't even push to get here in one day--we stopped and spent the night along the way!  A comfortable little Holiday Inn Express near Hillsville, VA was a restful stop along the way. 

Comfort food!

We also had our introduction to a ubiquitous southern institution among restaurants--Shoney's.  I can now say that we have eaten there, and actually liked it.  I knew it would be a hit when we saw the special--fresh strawberry pie, one of Kathy's favorites.  Yes, it is comfort food heaven, and on the road it was just right for a first night out.  I don't know that it would be a good steady diet for me, if for no other reason that I don't want to be twice the man I was when I left!

Community Bible Church
High Point, NC

This morning we got up and had breakfast and hit the road to go to church--and what a switch to go to church and a) not preach, and b) be a visitor!  We headed about 100 miles down the road to High Point, NC, where we had found Community Bible Church, a thriving congregation in the midst of a growth spurt.  Pastor Rob McKeehan preached a message on "Ridiculous Prayers" from Luke 11:1-13.  His main point:  our God can do anything for anyone at anytime, so we are to pray audaciously.  It was a great reminder to me of something I know I've preached but not always practiced--praying big prayers that only God can answer.  

[BTW--I'm praying like that for Brian and Mandi Hanson now--and I hope all of you who know them are, too, that God will bring in their support by the end of July so that they can hit the ground running in their new ministry in August.  Of course we can't just pray--some of us need to be giving too!  I know that they shared at Grace today, and I trust many who heard will be praying AND joining their support team!]

Sitting right behind us at church was the Pastor of Adult Ministries, Tom Black.  He and his wife Sue made Kathy and I feel at home as we chatted about our lives and ministries.  It was a great start to the day.  

From church, we stopped for sandwiches to go and headed on down the road to Myrtle Beach--arriving this evening, unpacking, and getting ready to RELAX!

Thanks, everyone, for praying for us!