Monday morning bike ride

I awoke this morning to the sound of a static-marred radio station at 5:45. Amazingly, I hit the snooze. Sunday, I had big dreams of going to bed early and getting up early to "get into my groove" for the summer after a busy spring that yielded little time to ride. Those dreams were not realized in their fullest form, however. I did get up and get moving at about 6:05 and rode at a moderate, I've-been-off-the-bike-for-two-weeks pace. I felt sluggish at the beginning but settled in and felt good pulling into the driveway an hour later. It was warmer this morning than it has been in a couple days. (It was like early March all weekend!) That in itself helped the fact that I still really wanted to be in bed. Good start to a (hopefully) good week.

Proverbs 17:1 says "Better a dry crust with peace and quiet than a house full of feasting, with strife". For most of my life, my family has sat down to eat dinner together at the same time in the same room. There was a time when we didn't, however. For most of the time while my sisters and I were in jr high and high school, we were usually on our own to find whatever we could to fill our tummies with until the next morning. Our schedules were so different in that time that we rarely had time to sit down with each other. Now that we're out of that stage, any time we're together, we sit down together for a meal and enjoy each other's company. We've never had a whole lot, but we had (and still do) just what we needed. If you watch TV much, you can see all the decadence and the "bling bling" that attracts people to a lifestyle resembling a rock star or movie star. They eat very well, drive very nice cars, and dress in very nice clothes. It's really sad, though, as you watch the news or strole through the checkout lane at your grocery store of choice and see stories of these people who have it all and read or hear stories of divorce, drug problems, papparazzi, and bankruptcies. I can't imagine that dinner time in those big houses is nearly as enjoyable as dinner around my family's meager little table in rural Illinois. We're far from the perfect family but we're certainly not the Osborne's. I hope you can enjoy your dinner this evening with people you love with happiness and the joy God provides.

We have almost filled our list for Youth Sunday (May 30)! Keep your eye on the mail box because our summer schedule will be out soon. People of Prayer will meet at 6 pm Saturday May 29 for youth and young adults.

Enjoy your Monday!

Later