And it officially begins... now.

Well, here I find myself again, a youth Pastor's widow. Our summer schedule officially begins today, with Travis already on the road for his first event of the summer and Ryley and I at home. I'm not complaining, as I have some fun things planned this weekend for myself, but I am a little sad that he's gone. For all my pastor's wife friends, this is familiar territory for you too. The summer is such a fun time, but also a little lonely too. Camps, retreats, events, mission's trips, and various other things take our husbands away for considerable chunks of time all summer long. Sometimes I am able to go along too, but about half of the time I stay home to work and get some quality time to myself. Which isn't all bad by the way. I look at these trips as time to do the shopping that I want, to eat the meals I want, and to watch the movies I want. The first couple days are usually glorious, but the novelty soon wears off. This weekend isn't a big deal as Travis will be home on Monday, but I'm already gearing myself up for the biggest trip of the summer, a 10 day mission's trip to Peru in July. I have no earthly idea what I will do to get through that! But, no sense in worrying about something that's not here yet right? For now, I just have to get through the weekend.

If you think of it, will you pray for Travis and Jason as they drive to Kansas City today and back home Sunday night? They are taking our students to an all-day worship event called Paradise. They'll be joining thousands of other students from all across the country to do one thing from sun-up to sun-down....seek the Lord and worship Him. They're meeting in some huge field (this event is kind of a spinoff of "One Day" if you're familiar with that) and of course the weather forecast is not great there. I am excited to hear how it goes however. It will be unlike anything we've ever experienced before. The event is new and they have designed it to be as distraction free as possible. There will be some big-name bands there leading worship, but they'll be performing behind a black curtain, with no recognition. There will be no advertising, no merchandise, no media presentations, and nothing that would hinder students from focusing solely on the Lord. I think it's going to be great, but of course I'm always anxious while these things go on because of the responsibility on Travis and Jason's shoulders for all these students. They are obviously very capable, but it's different when it's YOUR husband who's name and job is on the line. But God knows my concerns and He has already ordained all of our days, so I have to lay weekends like this one in His hands and trust Him.

I'm very happy to be spending all day today scrapbooking, first by myself at home and then later with friends. The sun is shining, Ryley and I got to spend some time this morning with Travis and take him to Church, and now my coffee is brewing. It's going to be a great day and I hope for you too. Happy Saturday!