And it's over.

The sermon/message this morning was SO good that I bought the CD recording of it. And ordered Thursday morning's message to be mailed to me. That guy? Awesome.

Then David Mainse spoke for 75 minutes. Man. He is full of stories. And wisdom. And passion for reaching the lost.

And then the workshops? Excellent. If you ever get the chance to hear the President of Vanguard Christian College speak - go and listen. Very gifted communicator. The hour just FLEW by.

At lunch I sat with a mom from Alberta who's sons were instrumental in bringing Snowboarder's for Christ to Canada. Turns out our sons (my older two and her younger two) were likely together in Fernie over New Year's. Small world.

The afternoon sessions I attended were called Communications in the Workplace and Something Something Web Site Something. I took away ideas that I can try to implement almost immediately at work, so that was cool.

We had to leave the banquet early in order to get to the airport on time. And on time we were. Hallelujah. Oh. In case you were wondering, I wore my new shoes with no nylons. Felt ugly and conspicuous. And the shoes? Still pinch.

As I was walking across the Abbotsford airport tarmac at 11:00 pm, Drew called me on my cell.
"Mom? Where are you?"
"At the airport. What can I do for you?"
"Can you stop at McDonald's on the way home? I'm starving. There's no food in the house and I haven't had anything to eat. And there's something wrong with my heart. It's racing and beating so hard. And it feels like something is putting pressure on it..."

I'm pretty sure that McDonald's food at midnight is not going to help him with his heart-attack symptons, but I drive through anyways. Because I love him and I didn't bring him back a t-shirt.

And so now I'm home. And I'm thinking about how Sandra had her children/parents driving all over the lower mainland to do banking, transfer funds, move vehicles, walk and feed dogs ...
Because at my house? I left a note on the kitchen table that said, "Max could you empty the dishwasher and Clint can you load it? When it's full, can you turn it on, please?" Can you guess what it looks like at my house? Not only were those two things not done, all the accumulated food stuffs and dirty dishes have been left on every surface in the house. Food wrappers never made it to the garbage can. Dirty clothes are exactly were they were dropped. The floor.... the coffee table... the counters....

THIS is my life. Not driving around in convertible mustangs listening to Neil Diamond, staying in hotel rooms that are tidied daily. I do love my kids. But living with their never-ending messes is getting to me. This is my home, but when I got in at midnight, I wanted to turn around and leave. Just admit defeat and say, "OK, fine. You guys can have the house and live in your filth. I'm moving out."

How can I go from being so carefree and high on life in the morning, and be so utterly discouraged by bedtime? These emotional swings are not good for my abdominal region. I just ate a bag of M & M's.

Three things I'm thankful for:
1. A refreshing, uplifting, joy-filled, wonderfully motivating 48 hours.
2. Friendly people.
3. It's Thursday. The new season of The Office starts tonight.

Shalom,