Permit Me a Bit of Pollyanna

Rarely, and I mean hardly-ever-close-to-never, do I appreciate having a public laundry room 3 floors below me rather than my own personal washer and dryer. But today, with 5 loads of Back to Reality laundry facing me, I was inordinately happy to find 5 open machines, toss all the business in, and be done with the whole thing in about an hour.

It's amazing what a few (80 degree and sunny) days in Florida can do for one's spirits.

Steve and I were at a church planting conference in Boca Raton, so we were certainly not just lying in the sun the whole time (tho a very uneven and streaky sunburn on my left forearm proves that we did go to the beach at least once). Our host in Boca was the welcoming Spanish River Church, a thriving community of Christ which has been supporting and encouraging fledgling churches like City Fellowship for 20 years. More than the sun, we basked in the energy and creativity that flows when you bring together 50 church planters from around the globe.

We were surprised to find how our nose to the grindstone viewpoint had become a bit heavy, weighing on us more than it had the right, and causing the joy of our call to be once removed. It was good for us, and probably for the church, to look up for a few days and see the panorama of God's work in the world.

It was also good to enjoy a margarita on the beach. Just saying.