A get away...

I gotta tell you what Christel, my wife, did.

Sunday, I ended up preaching both morning services and I led worship and preached Sunday night. The night time service felt like the Tony Show. I get tired of myself quickly.

But what happened was as Christel and I got in the car to go home she turned to me and told me that her and my bags are packed to spend a night away and where would I like to go. The main thing was that it couldn't be about work. We decided to go to the Monterey Penisula (one of our favorite places). We called some dear friends, Kord and Jay Lazarus, who live in Pebble Beach, and told them we would be coming into town tonight and can we plan a dinner or lunch on Monday. Instead they told us to come to their house now and we can spend the night with them. They built a new house, actually it is classified as a remodel. In Pebble Beach because of a building moratorium, they cannot build new homes so they demolish all but an existing wall or such and build on the same foot print as the previous house. Jay has such an incredible style and high quality in the details that I spent much of the day just looking at the little things of the house. It was exquisite. Being around them has always been a wonderful experience for our spirit, soul, and body. We have wonderful talks about the Lord and what He is doing in their lives. It was Kord and Jay who introduced us to the beauty and power of the Catholic liturgy and eucharist. It opened our lives. They are important friends and we are continually blessed by them.

We had breakfast on their patio, a little cool but very nice. Lunch in Pacific Grove at our favorite Vivolvo's Chowder House. The best seafood bisque and calamari steak. Ask for extra garlic with the calamari! We then walked around art galleries and some shops and headed home. An overnight can bring much peace.

Christel's planning to get away again drew us closer and the drive provided wonderful talks about dreams, fears, explanations, jokes, stories, and silence. What a gift she is.