The Week in Review

I spent Monday in Fort Myers hanging out at Cypress Lake UMC to Zoom for some meetings and then head to another meeting in the area. 

I got back to Sarasota in time to attend the rehearsal at Church of the Palms for The Messiah concert. And then I walked the labyrinth after practice. 

Tuesday was super super cold! I had the day off and went to yoga and then snuggled under some blankets on the back porch with the dogs and the firepit - I sat and read for a while. 

Tuesday night I had the chance to go to the worship night at the South Florida Wesley at USF - this ministry is finally relaunching as a UMC presence. Such a wonderful evening of worship and to raise cash for the ministry - and we already have some students attending with an interim director. 

Afterwards I drove to Winter Park to get ready for a meeting there the next day. And I hit the gym to finish getting in my steps. 

Wednesday morning I went to the Harry Leu Gardens in Winter Park for a fundraiser breakfast to celebrate the ministry of Crave - which is run by a United Methodist deacon and has other UMC clergy involved. It's a leadership development incubator that has tremendous community impact. I was one of the mentors for the founder and she asked me to come and give the opening prayer. 

Then I drove to the conference office for several meetings. I capped off the day by attending an event at Florida Southern with Rev. Adam Hamilton and Bishop Berlin. And Latricia was there too so I got a hug!

Thursday I spent at the district office and then Daryl and I went to see the Sound of Music at the Venice Theatre - where Pastor Sarah and her daughter Ami were both in the cast. They were fabulous as one of the abbey nuns and the youngest Von Trapp daughter Gretl. 

 

The 50/56 Test

Tuesday night we went out to IMG to support Wesley at the Track team's 50/56 test. All the boys had 50 seconds to try and run 400 meters and the girls got 56 seconds. They had a DJ and announcer and put everyone's information up on the big screen at the end of the stadium. 

Wesley's not a runner, but he gave it his all! He managed 379m in 50 seconds. 

 

Davis Decorating

Davis has been reworking his room a lot to accomodate his new collections of cars and models. 

 

A Little Trip Down Memory Lane

I worked on Friday until late in the afternoon at the West Ohio Conference Center. And then I went on a little road trip over to Indiana. On the way I popped by Piqua Ohio just long enough to drive past the house where my Grandma and Grandpa Larger lived - 815 Caldwell. 

Then I met up with Rael and her fiance Wesley in Richmond Indiana for dinner before going back to their house in Liberty for the night. In the morning, their front yard was a beautiful carpet of leaves! 

Rael and I got to walk her dog Cooper through downtown - so incredibly beautiful with all the fall leaves and the crisp weather. 

I drove south after that to Franklin County to Bath where my Grandma Keller was born and raised. The old Miles family farm is still there - both the main house and the small house. My grandparents were married in the big house on January 1, 1942. 

Around the corner is the Springfield church. Unfortunately it's no longer UMC. This is where Grandpa and Grandma's funerals were in 2004 and 2007. You can see the marker still over the door showing it was a Methodist Episcopal Church when Grandma's family helped build it. 

Just down the road and up a hill surrounded by farmland is the Springfield cemetery. Most of Grandma's cousins are buried here, people I knew and loved growing up - Marjorie and Donald Finch, Carlos and Adelpha Miles and Mary Jeanette and Morris Drake. The Drakes lived across the street and we visited with them often and stayed at their house. They also came to Florida for our wedding. 

Bob Martin is buried there too. He and his wife bought the old Miles family farm and used to let us visit it. His wife has moved away to live near kids. 

Then I drove south a bit more to Mr Carmel where Grandma and Grandpa Keller are buried right next to her parents. There are bunch of other Miles, James, and Seal relatives buried there too. 

Then I drove back to Columbus and met up with one of my Larger family cousins Rebecca. It was SO good to be able to see her in person and hear the wonderful stories she had about the family. She has three boys too and her oldest is getting ready to graduate from high school like Wesley. 

I closed out the day with a visit to a labyrinth at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Columbus.