I did a little traveling this Memorial Day weekend.

Friday after work I headed down to Ironton, Ohio to spend some time with Kelsie and the kids . . . on Saturday afternoon I headed out to Oxford to spend some time with Cathy & Glenn and the Vertitas community.

Both my visits were good for my soul . . . the conversations, laugher and simple presence encouraged me in big ways.

Thank you Kelsie and Cathy & Glenn for your incredible hospitality and friendship.

Here is a little pictoral review of my weekend :

Grammy & Maggie on the porch . . . Grammy is a real cool lady . . . I am glad to have the privilege of knowing her . . . and Maggie, she is just a super sweet little girl.

It was good to get to hang out with Canaan (who was not a big fan of getting his picture taken) . . . my favorite time with him was at the park on Friday (which was in Ashland, Kentucky . . . there by being my first ever trip to Kentucky) . . . we "raced" down the slide. Which basically consisted of him going down before me, me exclaiming "Hey, wait for me!" and then sliding down after him. I think we repeated that game at least a dozen times.

What you are looking at is some of the finest bread in the world. Kelsie made me some cinnamon bread from the "Simply in Season" cookbook . . . it was absolutely amazing.
I mean it . . . amazing.

The drive from Ironton to Oxford took me through some of the most beautiful scenery I have seen in the state of Ohio. The majority of my three hour drive was spent on back, winding roads. It was a slow and peaceful drive . . . I soaked up every minute of it.


Somehow I left Oxford without getting myself a picture with Cathy . . . so my photo representation of Oxford speaks more to their community . . . Veritas. This the cup they use when they share communion. I got particpate in their weekly gathering on Sunday night. It was awesome to share a meal with them (turkey, asparagus, mashed potatoes . . .) and be a part of their conversation. I have really enjoyed getting to know this little community over the last six months.

There are some cool things happening in Oxford these days . . . these are some of the posters they processed some thoughts on during their retreat a few weeks ago. They are now up on the wall in their "community" room, where they meet for prayer every Thursday morning. The kingdom is coming in Oxford, Ohio . . . you can see it in the hearts and lives of Veritas.