Some Brief Monday Morning Thoughts

1. Last Wednesday I drove out to Winona Lake, Indiana. Saturday I drove home. 597 miles ... mainly interstate. Both trips took in the neighborhood of ten hours. Now I am sure it would not surprise you to know that during those ten hour trips I made a few stops. For starters, I like to drink coffee. Given that there are a number of Starbucks along the way (especially along the PA Turnpike), I can tend to drink a lot of coffee. This necessitates some of the stops. In addition, my car can only hold about 14 gallons of gas. At about 25 miles to the gallon you can see that some stops are needed to gas up. And sometimes ... I just feel a need to stop and stretch. All this to say, rest stops are often a welcome site. Now ... if I can just transfer that concept to my daily routine. All too often I am in the go, go, go mode. I admit that I am too driven. So ... I am making a commitment today to SLOW DOWN! I want to take Jesus up on the invitation that he offers (see Matthew 11:28-30).

2. I am grateful for the victory that my son-in-law enjoyed last Tuesday at the polls (66% to 34% margin of victory). Ryan Aument is the real deal. He is a man of integrity and cherishes the values that I cherish. The residents of Pennsylvania's 41st legislative district are truly blessed to have him as their state representative. I would ask you to keep Ryan in your prayers. Serving in public office these days is not an easy task. Thanks for your prayers on his behalf.

3. Yesterday ushered in the return to standard time. Now the sun will be setting prior to 5 pm! As the days grow shorter and the nights longer, cold weather is sure to follow. And even though I am a warm weather guy, there are some things I enjoy about the winter months. Like climbing into a warm bed on cold night or walking into my house to the smell of freshly baked bread (we tend to do this more so in the winter than in the summer - why, I don't really know!). And before we know it we will be changing the clocks again ... as we welcome springtime! That's the way life goes .... it just flies by. All the more reason to make today count for Christ and his kingdom!

Thanks for stopping by . . .

pj