Saturday

One of the great ironies of modern life is that vacation is often more taxing than the day to day stuff. And so when you get home in an already frazzled state to find a bunch of things requiring your urgent attention, well, you can get really tired.

After finding a roofer, replacing the water heater, cleaning out the flooded basement, and taking care of Jojo's urinary tract issues we spent the last few days resting and relaxing. I finished The Innocent Man by John Grisham and Thunderstruck by Erik Larson. Both are non-fiction stories of crime and justice, with a twist. Grisham's book deals with a murder and the pursuit of justice, not for the victim, but for a wrongly convicted man. Larson's book deals with a murder and hunt for the murderer, plus the invention and development of the wireless telegraph. If you are thinking "huh?" so was I, the whole stinking time I was reading this repetitive, bloated, and boring book. Apparently the telling of two distinct and barely related stories is Larson's gimmick, and I resented having to endure it. Comparing the two books, I think Grisham's could have been even longer and Larson's should have been much shorter. Like maybe the length of a magazine article you could finish in the doctor's office waiting for your turn.

On Wednesday night we checked out Classes @ Willow for the first time. Replacing New Community, the midweek worship service, with a variety of classes calibrated to beginner, intermediate or advanced levels is one of the ways Willow has addressed the startling results of the 2004 Reveal survey that showed a large number of people in the church felt that they had stopped growing in their faith. Anyway, the summer quarter kicked off this week and we decided it was time to give it a try. We didn't register because 1) I am a procrastinator and 2) I don't like to commit.

We showed up at 6:30pm for the optional praise and worship session that precedes class. I think this was the first time I have worhsipped in the lakeside auditorium since the new auditorium opened and it felt great to be there. Afterward we were told there was still time to register for a class, or we could simply sit in on one of two classes - Jesus, The Great I Am or The Case for Faith. We picked the first one. On the drive over Ross had said that if this so-called class turned out to be just a generic, recycled sermon he was going to be very disappointed. I had the same fear. So I was very relieved when Judson Poling got up to teach the class. I had read some of his bible studies and heard him speak before and knew that it was not going to be a run of the mill sermon.

Poling gave a quirky, provocative, and intelligent lecture. He asserted that the most important things Jesus had to say during his ministry were the things he said about himself, and that if we miss that, we are apt to get everything else wrong as well. And I learned the two most important dates in Old Testament history, 722 BC and 586 BC. So we will definitely be going back on Wednesday to hear the next installment.

I haven't talked about my garden much lately - I guess there hasn't been much to say. The ants have stopped working on my peonies so I haven't gotten any new blooms, and it will be a while before the lilies make their appearance. This means we are without flowers right now and I don't like it. My forget-me-nots seemed to have stalled but the marigolds are growing fast, so they may actually beat the lilies to the punch. Meanwhile the veggies are doing wonderfully. In the last week, thanks to the rain and heat, they have really shot up. It looks like we are going to have a bumper crop of peppers, and more than enough tomatoes (considering that I hate the things.)

We don't have our new roof yet. When we signed the paperwork we were told it would be done by the 26th at the latest. Now they are saying they will start on the 26th so I hope that it is just a one day job because it would stink to have a half finished roof over the weekend.

This weekend we are going over to Jase and Dee's for Joey's 9th birthday party. I remember being at his second birthday party. It is an amazing thing to watch children grow up. This is father's day weekend as well so it will be nice to see Dad there and get to hang out with him a little, I feel like I hardly ever see him anymore!

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!