Day 28-4, August 26

Day 28-4, August 26

After our morning prayers and quiet time and breakfast, we loaded up dirty laundry and went to a Laundromat to make it clean again.  I save quarters for parking in Savannah and brought them here just for this purpose.  They came in handy.  In a way the laundry is a metaphor for our sabbatical.  Over time the pile becomes deeper and wider waiting a time for refreshment.  Renewed by cleaning and sorting the clothes are ready to do their job again.  We feel sorted out, refreshed and ready for use again.

After lunch, Kay took a nap and I did some church work on the September newsletter and the Sunday School class I will teach on my return Sunday.  I always teach the first lesson of a new quarter to give an overview of the material ahead.  We will be using lessons for the Season of Creation, the four Sundays before St. Francis of Assisi Day (October 6).  For year C, the theme in creation is Oceans.

Later, Kay went back to Ingles, the grocery store I can’t keep her out of.  I finished reading web-empowered ministry connecting with people through websites, social media, and more.  It’s amazing how dated these books are even if they are just three years old!  Still, I am learning a lot of fundamentals that are important no matter the technological advances.

For our after supper walk, I found a park in Black Mountain that would provide some new scenery and maybe less steep hills.  It was right next to I-40 but had trails into the woods by the Montreat College campus athletic fields and along a rocky river with a disc (Frisbee) golf course.  A large group had to hold their shot until we passed by.  The clear sky near sunset reminded me to check for passes of the International Space Station.  There was a very bright pass coming in an hour.  I set an alarm in the app and we went back to our apartment.

The alarm went off one minute before the scheduled over flight and we went out in the dark wondering about bears that may be in the edge of the woods.  The ISS passed over the open sky just above us.  It was moonless and clear and after our eyes adjusted to the darkness I found some familiar constellations.

While writing this blog before bedtime, we got a FaceTime call from Russ and Holly in Oregon.  She was bouncing and demonstrated her crawling.  We are always thrilled to share our faces.

Bonhoeffer will have to wait for early morning.  It’s 9:30, past my new bedtime and I have other rituals to perform.