My musings are very different this morning since I was on vacation yesterday. We will see if I can get my mind engaged enough this morning to do any musing.

-Yesterday was the first Sunday in 9 months in which I did not preach. My body clock still woke me up at 4:30am as if I were home and going to preach. Fortunately I was able to go back to sleep for a while.

-Being a visitor is always an enlightening experience. It always reminds me of some things we need to do better so that our visitors have a better first experience. I made some notes of things to work on when I get home.

-The church we attended was good. I enjoyed the music, I was not a big fan of the theatre type seating, it felt to confining for me. They did an outstanding job of greeting and training their people to be very friendly as you entered. They have some real parking and traffic challenges that makes me appreciate our location.

-The focus on this Sunday was on marriage and there was a guest preacher. It was very good and I especially liked a couple of the illustrations that were used. They may, or may not, show up in a sermon back home in the future.

-I thought a lot about what was happening back home and prayed for the service and everyone involved.

-This was my first Sunday away from this church, so I was a little nervous wondering if I had all bases covered in my absence.

-It was nice to sit by my wife in worship. That is a rare occurrence for us.

-I did a reasonable job of not muttering during the service. I always have to fight the urge of critiquing when I am visiting another church. Not being critical, just observing and commenting. I don’t know if this is a good or bad thing, but it is a thing for me.

-The biggest moment of realizing I was on vacation is that when the service was finished my wife and I could just walk out and go on about our day. There was no duties to perform and I didn’t need to check to see if doors were locked and lights turned off. I think that is when my vacation really started.

I have a few more days away and I am trying to not mentally shift back into preparation mode until I turn my vehicle toward home. Here’s hoping you find some time to reflect and relax today. Excuse me but I believe a nap is coming on.

Dennis