These last couple of days have been different.
Very different.
I’ve been home in Granite Bay/Carmichael, CA since Christmas morning, and it has been a wonderful opportunity to step away from the fracas of daily life in O’side and spend my days a little bit differently for a little while. I thought I’d share a few highlights and, um, “other”lights from my time here at home.
Christmas Day was interesting. I finally made it home from church at about 1:45 a.m., and then Christie and I didn’t make it to bed until around 3. We awoke at 5:50 to drive to San Diego, where we parked our car about a block away from a friend’s house, and then took a cab to the airport. We made it onto a surprisingly full flight, and arrived in Sacramento a little after 10. We were both deliriously tired. My dad picked us up from the airport, and we enjoyed what was left of Christmas morning with my family. My brother, Brad, is currently in New Zealand with YWAM, and he was definitely missed. Around 1:30 we headed over to Christie’s parents’ house for the Tedmon family festivities. We are certainly blessed to have our families live so close together. That being said, I think this is the last year we’re going to do the “stay up super late on Christmas Eve and then fly to Sacramento super early” thing. It makes Christmas a big challenge. I’ve done that routine for three years now, and I think I’m done with it.
Friday was a relaxing day that consisted of sleeping in, watching Dark Knight for the first time, and then having a Tedmon/Kiley dinner at my parents’ house.
Saturday was without a doubt the best day of my vacation. My dad and my sister, Shannon, and I went up to Sugar Bowl to ski for the day. Skiing was a huge part of my life growing up, but moving to southern California and taking jobs that don’t pay very well have make skiing entirely absent from my life for some time. The last time I skied was probably the 2002-03 ski season. Needless to say, I was very excited to get on the mountain. I was a little bit rusty, but skiing is a lot like riding a bike, and after a few runs I felt very comfortable. About an hour into the day we met up with my friend Lou and his father-in-law, and I actually spent the remainder of the day skiing with them while my dad and Shannon snowboarded on the bunny hill. The three of us had a great time. Lou snowboarded, I skied, and we were able to make our way all over the mountain. Conditions were great, the crowds weren’t bad at all, and we were able to log a ton of runs. The moguls pounded my legs and lower back pretty good. I honestly cannot remember the last time a day was that much fun. Yes, it was that good. By the end of the day when the crowds started to thin out, we were making it from the bottom of the chairlift, up to the top of the mountain, and back down in under ten minutes. It was great. All three of us are of similar skill level, so we spent very little time waiting for each other. I honestly don’t think I have ever skied so much in a day in my life. Needless to say my back is still pretty sore, but it was totally worth it. It definitely will not be five more years until my next trip to the slopes.
On Sunday Christie and I attended church at the church where we were married, Arcade Baptist Church. Their senior pastor, Jake Larson was giving his final talk as pastor. His primary text was Isaiah 1:17-20, in during the course of the message he also touched on Micah 6, Luke 4, and the Beatitudes, all of the passages we have been studying lately at Seven24. It was a tremendous message, and I am really glad I got to be there to witness it. It was kind of funny just showing up at 10:30 for a church service. My ordinary Sunday morning starts quite a bit earlier than that, and I almost never get the chance to attend a church service as a non-staff member. It was refreshing. It’s always great hearing other pastors speak passionately about issues of justice, and that is exactly what Jake did. Arcade will certainly miss him.
On Sunday afternoon several of us from both families played tennis, and in the evening we had our former next door neighbors the McCormicks over for dinner. When we moved next door to them they had two daughters, ages 4 and 2. Now they have four, ages 19, 17, 12, and 10. Where does the time go? We had a great time hanging out with the family. Tim, the father of the family, was in many ways like a second father to my brothers and I when we were growing up, and has been a great friend of my dad’s, so it was great getting to reconnect with him. What was weird was not being in Oceanside for Seven24. I think it was only the third Seven24 that I have missed in almost two years. I prayed a lot for the night, but otherwise was not involved at all. I certainly don’t want to make a habit of that, but it was nice to have a week off.
We’ve been at my parents’ house for the last three nights, and will now spend two nights with Christie’s folks before returning home. It has been a pleasant, leisure-filled week that has certainly served its purpose of re-charging my batteries before the new year. I’ve been able to play sports, enjoy conversation, read some good books (Soul Cravings and Snapshots at St. Arbuck’s, the latter of which is authored by my friend, Ron Gollner), and reflect on God, life, ministry, and my future. It has been weird being away from work, and I have definitely caught myself studying the passage I’m teaching next Sunday, but I suppose it’s good when you enjoy your work so much that you want to give it some attetion on your vacation. That being said, I’ve tried to force myself to limit my study and devote these days to rest so that I can come back ready to give God and our community my absolute best in 2009.
It’s been a great week for Christie and I (we’ve actually had common days off!). Having a few days for reflection and recreation is most certainly good for the soul. We look forward to two more good days, and we also look forward to rejoining our community in Oceanside on New Year’s Eve.
