(1) A great car ride with a dear friend—lots of great conversation

(2) Lots of hugs from my friends and colleagues in Western ND who I haven’t seen in a long time. So great to reconnect with so many of them

(3) A day of rest after Holy Week! So great and so needed!

(4) Celebrating 8 years as a Diaconal Minister in the ELCA

(5) A great night helping our friend pack; so blessed to have these ladies in my life!

(6) Hearing ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton

(7) An impromptu lunch with church staff. I was craving Mexican and they were at a Mexican restaurant.

(8) Receiving my latest issue of the Lutheran in my mail and seeing that they tackled the issue of mental illness; an important issue in my families life

(9) Friday Night Alive with great kids and adults at Camp Metigoshe

(10) Rain!!! I love the smell of rain…and it’s NOT snow!!

(11) Hugs from church kiddos—I feel loved!!!

(12) Wonderful caring conversation with the adults at Family SS

(13) One of the moms telling me an awesome story about her daughter. I preached today and then used a video of Brandon Heath’s song “Give Me Your Eyes.” The daughter was totally getting into the song. Afterwards we went straight into a hymn from the hymn book. The daughter turned, looked at her mom and said, “Seriously…we are back to church music!”

(14) Great conversation with great people this afternoon

(15) Mom getting to hear my sermon on the radio. I love that she can listen to me when I’m preaching cuz I know it means a lot to her

(16) Catching up with a good friend; chatting online

(17) The birth of a dear daughter to my friends J and R–so sweet! Also a new grandson for my colleague at my last call–congrats and blessings to their family!

That should do it for this week! See you in this same time and place next week!