End days.

So... it really has been a month, hasn't it? I suppose we got a little less than enthusiastic about blogging during these end days, for many reasons. Busyness is the big one, and it's everywhere, in every little corner of our lives, coming through every door and spilling out of every cupboard. We don't get much time to open the windows, which is sad because we have had some gorgeous weather lately. Some days, it is incredibly springy, other days feel like autumn... and then there was February 8th, the day we went to Dublin to get our visas renewed (it worked!), and it snowed all day. It was a day of mess and slush and wind and cold in the midst of an otherwise tropical February. Figures. So, since we have Irish visas until the beginning of April, we really do get to go to Europe. Until then, we were kind of thinking that this dream was going to go all Heathrow on us--let the reader understand--like every other plan does. So, it's happening, and now we actually have to get everything planned out. Yes, of course we started that a long time ago! Why would we be finished yet? There's far too much else to do besides!

A few highlights and lowlights from the past weeks: Last Sunday was a special "Youth Sunday." We have around three, maybe four, times a year, so they're meant to be unique, special, and very youth oriented. What happened last Youth Sunday? Nothing special really, except that the youth pastor preached--nothing wrong with that, but not terribly different. So Tim and I decided that this one would be different. It was quite amazing to see how it came together from its conception to its realization. The most unorthodox bit of it was either the liturgy, the photo-acting, or the musical reflection pieces. There was a worship band, as usual, though it was unusually good. We read about 14 lines of "His love endures forever," as well as the entire story of Jonah. Tim came through in the early hours of the morning to deliver a fine sermon, which just tied the whole service together beautifully around the theme of God's great compassion. There was some spontaneous open worship from the congregation, which was quite a blessing to be a part of, and then Foy Vance sang "An Indiscriminate Act of Kindness" to cap off the morning, accompanied by an artistic slideshow of Swords put together by Dave Wiley which, I'll admit, brought a tear to my eye.

As for the lowlights: Ash fell ill this last weekend and had a sudden craving for Tater Tots. Fortunately I found a suitable substitute, or Ireland's dynamic equivalent: Croquettes. It sounds French, but it really isn't. Also, we're going to miss our cat. Finally, last Saturday night's Impact was very nearly a big, worrying disaster. The idea was that everyone is too busy to arrange a Bible study, so let's just watch a good ol' film, something clean, and rated for 12 year-olds, just to be sure. Like Adam Sandler's Click. We really thought it would get better, but 25 minutes into it, we were all blushing and cringing and exchanging meaningful glances, and finally Eric said, "Well, I think that's enough of that." So we played a game. But it was the saddest thing, to find that a film that was rated for 12 year-olds wouldn't pass our very reasonable filters!

That's all I've got to say right now, because I need to get back to other work. By the way, does anybody else still have a shelf full of leftover Christmas sweets?