Summer, so far

So it's been a rainy summer so far, but productive in its way. I landscaped an embankment at the back of our property (hoping that the shrubbery will soon grow tall enough to block the view of our neighbor's giant pile of lobster trap buoys and spare tires). Laurie's calling it Bob's Bonnie Bank. I've also been getting into bread-baking every Saturday, which has been fun and satisfying.

A good friend of mine whom I haven't seen in a year came to town last week and it was a very large blessing to me to get a dose of his spirit. We talked a lot about church, of course. He now attends a mega-church in Colorado, but nobody is less mega-churchy than Tom. I would consider him one of the most authentically evangelical (tr. "good newsy") Christians I've ever known. Just being around him gave me a boost.

When it comes to church, I've been planning to look around a little this summer, but haven't gotten started on that yet. The whole project is rife with difficulties. The idea of "church shopping" is repugnant to me. Still, there's an Acts 29 church around here I'd like to drop in on at least once. And blogger Josh Otte's church, though it's a little too far from home for me to consider as my home church, is definitely on my summer agenda.

There was a time when I looked forward to Sunday morning all week. Now, I just long for a few close friends for whom the mission of God is of foremost importance.

[On this score, read Darryl Dash's sort of related musings -- Save Me from My Subculture -- and don't miss the first comment at the bottom.]

Going on a brief trip to Pennsylvania tomorrow to see my peeps. Don't know if I'll be in blogging range or not. Everybody have a really great Independence Day!