DAY
TEN
It is very refreshing to wake up to
fall-like temperatures in the month of August.
It has been very pleasant being here since we arrived but this week has
been even cooler than last week. We woke
up this morning with the thermometer showing 56 degrees. Last week the morning temperatures were in
the low 60s with daytime it reaching in the mid-70s but this week each day
begins in the 50s and may reach 70 by the time the sun goes down. Yesterday it was 64 degrees as the sun set
and we expected it to be in the 50s this morning since that was the evening
temperature.
Most people who know me know that I
am not a hot weather person. I prefer
cooler temperatures over hotter ones, most likely because as I grew up in the
Beaumont, Texas area and the weather was usually hot and humid there I always
longed for cooler weather to come. So,
when I can be in a place that has cool weather I enjoy being there.
Since we had a busy day yesterday
doing chores and driving to Digby, which is about 25 miles from where we are
staying, we plan to stay mostly around our cottage today. I am reading more here than I get the
opportunity to do when I am in Weimar.
So far, I have read two books—A Separate Peace by John Knowles (a
book the owner of our cottage has on one of her shelves) and The Mockingbird
Next Door by Marja Mills (which is a biography of Harper Lee, who wrote To
Kill a Mockingbird). I brought that
one from home. It was just recently
published and is a very good read about the life of Harper Lee. I am currently reading Learning to Walk in
the Dark by Barbara Brown Taylor. I
most likely will be using examples from these books in my sermons in the
future.
I am also doing sermon planning for
the next few months during some of my time here. I have planned most of them for the fall and
may continue to plan for 2015 as I have time.
I try to plan three months ahead so that I am always prepared for
preaching as it happens and do not have to try to decide weekly what I will preach
for that week. Some pastors do what I
call “Saturday Night Specials” where they are up late on Saturday nights trying
to decide what they want to preach on the next morning. I do not like doing things that way. I like to read the text on Monday and let it
live inside me throughout the week, discussing the texts for the next Sunday
with our Bible study group and then let the text speak to me during the week in
connection to what is going on in the world around us.
So, this day promises to be a little
quieter and less active, a Sabbath for the soul as well as the body, not
straying too far away but allowing the Spirit to speak to me in ways that I may
not normally take the time to comprehend.
Having time away is a gift, which I truly appreciate. It renews our spirit and recharges my emotional
batteries and gives me a new perspective on ministry, life, and the task we
share as coworkers together for Christ.
“All who are with me send greetings to you. Greet those who love us in the faith. Grace be with all of you.” (Titus 3:15)
It was a very relaxing day, first
around the cottage as I planned worship and sermons into the new year. Then, after lunch we drove into Annapolis
Royal and walked down the street looking around. First, we had coffee from a small coffee shop
and drank it while sitting in a park overlooking the Annapolis River. The air was cool and it felt nice to sit at a
table under a tree and enjoy our coffee while looking out at the river
below. Then, we walked down the street
looking into the shops here and there and visiting with merchants and other
shoppers.
Our dog Bo was a hit again. Doris began by going into a small gift shop
and I stood outside with Bo and put his face up to the window so that the
merchant could see him looking in. She
invited us to come in and she wanted to see Bo and play with him. That worked again at a bookstore down the
way. Bo was invited in and the woman
behind the counter came out and petted him and talked about how cute he
was.
Bo even was invited into a store
where they sell homemade chocolates, despite there supposedly being a ban on
animals in stores that sell food. A man
in the entrance to the store saw Bo and told us to come inside saying that the
owner loved dogs and would want to see him.
Doris visited with the man and his wife a bit and found out that they
had small dogs and were part of a small dog rescue group. We told them about our dog and how we got him
and they were interested in hearing our story.
It is amazing how one can find
common ground and connections when you begin to talk to others about your life. In the coffee shop, the young man who made
our coffee told us that his parents and brothers had attended a wedding in
Weimar, Texas and he knew where Weimar was.
He said he had lived in Houston for a short time and had come through
our area on his way to the hill country.
We have met several people who have Texas connections. That helps us feel more at home.
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