Wednesday p.m.

I'm back, tired, wound up and hoping writing a bit will help me wind down! I got back about an hour ago, I guess. I left yesterday afternoon to make my way to Defiance, Ohio, but I stopped in Indy for the night. I got to Lester and Maddie's place in time to go out to eat.

We made our way to the Monon Food Company (MoFoCo - really) for dinner. It was a neat place and the food was good. The company was better than good! I love my kids! After we finished eating, Lester and Maddie returned home, and I went over to Butler U.

Butler was hosting a lecture about the Russian Orthodox Church since the fall of Communism. I know, I know, it sounds boring and weird! But, hey, I am interested in Russia and the Orthodox Church. I did some research along my educational path and wrote a paper about icons. Of course, I went to Russia in 2008 to look at some icons and visits some really cool and old things. Oh well, the lecture was really good. They had 3 scholars present papers and then a discussion followed. I never got bored during the 2 hour presentation.

After that I went back to Lester and Maddie's place. Lester had made some yummy popcorn, which I consumed with delight. Following a brief visit, it was off to bed. This high performance machine has to have down time. (Stop rolling your eyes!) I slept well; I always do at their place for some reason.

This morning I got up and drank a bunch of Lester's coffee, visited a bit, and then took off for Ohio. The drive was messy -- lots of rain and mist, but I still enjoyed it. I got to Defiance in about 3 hours and in plenty of time to coordinate with everyone participating in the funeral. The funeral was for Carol Jones, the mother of one of my former students. I've been ministering to them for the last couple of months and thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Carol.

The funeral was good. It was celebratory and personal. There was some great music and lots of people shared during an invitation to an "open mic." I felt like Phil Donahue, scurrying all over the place with a handheld microphone. The funeral was in the building of the Defiance Christian Church. They have a beautiful building, and the ladies there provided a nice meal afterwards.

I guess my trip home took about 5 hours, but I enjoyed it. It provided a lot of time to think, pray, listen to music, and to talk to people on the phone.