Her card came in the mail.
It looked like a picture Christmas card.
Upon opening, I saw it was a change of address announcement.
The picture was lovely; it made me miss my friend.

There are so many ways we are connected.
First through a mutual friend.
Then from Bible study.
I remember the day she first told me that they were moving.

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If we are honest, we would admit that we get distracted from time to time.
Sometimes, distractions are a good thing.
They are little detours that break up the monotony that occasionally plagues us all.
Sometimes, distractions are not a good thing like when we are driving or operating machinery.

Distractions in church is another thing altogether.
Our mind wanders.
It doesn’t matter how wonderful the sermon is, our minds tend to go off somewhere.
Our mind goes to our lists, or the problem that demands our attention.

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The planning began after the creativity conference.
Someone had the brilliant idea to host events across the country.
The events would continue what was started in the fall.
The events would support what was close to many of our hearts.

The creativity conference was called HUTCHMOOT.
Those of us who are part of the community are affectionately known as Rabbits.
We are lovers of books, art, poetry, and music.
We are lovers of God.

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I was out of my comfort zone.
I was traveling by myself.
I was flying on an airplane.
I was renting a car when I landed.

For those who travel often for business or pleasure, what I did may not seem like much.
However, for those who know me, it was indeed a big deal.
My dear friend admitted that she never thought I would actually do this on my own.
I think it was surprising to many.

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For the first thirty minutes after entering church on Sunday, we sing.
We sing to the Lord.
We read Scripture.
We pray.

Each week, different worship leaders bring their own gifts to that special time.
No two weeks are the same.
I appreciate that.
Whether we sing hymns or contemporary worship songs, our focus is the same.

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I saved my money.
I could not wait to go to the store.
I went to buy what I had been waiting to purchase.
I went to buy a record album.

I remember coming home and carefully opening the plastic that covered the album.
I carefully pulled the album out of the paper sleeve.
I held the album ever so carefully around the edges so I would not scratch the record.
I tried to keep my fingerprints off the vinyl as well.

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It was my husband’s idea.
Let’s have a family vacation the week of your birthday, he suggested.
He sent a text to the family.
Everyone was excited and on board.

He rented the house.
We would go back to a place we had been over half a dozen times before.
Yet it had been five years since we had vacationed there.
Our children looked so young in the pictures from that vacation.

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The Save The Date came first.
The wedding invitation came more than a month ago.
There was no decision as to whether we would attend the wedding or not.
This was the son of our dear friends.

The passage of time astounds me.
This young man and his sister were in our home often.
They played with my children.
As many of our friends had children, the children soon outnumbered the adults.

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It was an impromptu barbecue.
It was an unplanned grilling of steaks.
It was an afternoon and evening with most of my children.
Spouses and my sweet granddaughter were here as well.

Impromptu gatherings are the best kind.
As long as you have a stocked pantry, a meal can be whipped up in no time.
My husband wanted to grill steaks, so I went out and bought a few more for dinner.
I made two large side dishes of roasted fresh vegetables and a large salad.

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Three young boys were at my house last week.
They are all brothers.
There is one more brother who was not there since he had sports after school.
It is impossible to be two places at one time so that is why I was called.

These boys have spent quite a bit of time in our house.
Our house is home away from home to them.
As they get older in their elementary school years, they are involved in activities after school.
They swim and play lacrosse, which keeps them and their parents very busy.

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