MInneapolis - Day 1

Great lectures this morning and this afternoon by Dr. Phillip G. Ryken, Senior Pastor of Philadelphia's historic 10th Presbyterian Church.

In the morning session, he spoke out of Jeremiah 36 demonstrating that the Word of God is; written by the Spirit, received by faith, shared with courage, rejected at our own peril and preserved by God.

In the afternoon session, he spoke form Jeremiah 32:1-25. The lesson was about investing in the future, at God's direction even when it doesn't look like a good idea in the eyes of the world.

We had dinner with Angus at an Mongolian Bar B Q place........sushi! Yum! (I'm not sure Bob agrees with that perspective on raw fish!)

It was great to be able to just sit and talk for a while.

Worship this evening was interesting (challenging in some areas). Bill Hamel, president of the EFCA, spoke on the need to be open to diverse types of people. His theme was "Samaria, moving from nice to necessity". He maintained that going to "Samaria" was not just a nice idea but a commandment to us to reach out to those who are; different, distant, distasteful and discarded. It was a battle cry for the EFCA to move forward in spreading the gospel and embracing a multi-ethnic growth philosophy for the future.

I just got off the phone with my bride. We were talking about our vacation, coming up next week! As I look out the window of my hotel room, I can already smell the salt air of Topsail Island and hear the waves lapping upon the shore. It may be a bittersweet time for us as this may well be the first vacation we take without our kids. Jason wants to stay home (he has a new kitten, more on that later) and Ruth will join us but not until the second week.

Nonetheless, I am looking forward to the down time with Kelly. I love to read and bake in the sun, getting up every now and then to get salt water in my eyes and sand in my trunks. Vacations used to be activity packed but we've learned to relax and just enjoy each other's company. We always talked about what it would be like when the kids would no longer vacation with us, now it's here. Hmmmmmm. We'll see how this works!

Either way, with or without the kids, we view our vacations as a gift from God and have learned to use them as a time for renewal and restoration. I remember a friend telling me, a number of years ago, that we sometimes needed a vacation from devotions, prayer and reading. I didn't like the idea then and I care for it even less now. Our Sabbath rest should be devoted to Him not excluding Him.

Blessings to all. Remember to pray for our folks that are attending Creation this weekend!