Fifth Sunday in Lent

Back home earlier this evening after an energizing visitation to Redeemer, Cairo this morning (375 miles, six hours of driving). So, if you've been concerned about my absence from this venue since last Wednesday night, all is well. I'm alive and firing on all cylinders. Technology, with an assist from my memory, was the problem. It wasn't until I got to Springfield on Thursday night that I discovered I'd left my computer at home--all packed up in its case and ready to go, but forgotten nonetheless. I am theoretically capable of making blog posts from one of the office computers, but everything is so redundantly protected with app-specific passwords and multi-level authentication and the like these days, that I wasn't able to break through all the barriers Thursday night and Friday morning before I had to be available for a meeting. Then, since I had already decided that it was time to get myself a new iPad anyway, the absence of my laptop seemed to present an opportune moment, so I went down to the Apple dealer a few blocks from the office and bought one (with a case that has a keyboard in it, allowing it to function as a small laptop). But getting the new tablet set up pretty much consumed the rest of my day, save for some personal prayer time in the afternoon. On Saturday afternoon, I walked down to Charlie Parker's, and back, for breakfast, and, by the time I got cleaned up, it was time to hit the road for a 2:30 meeting in Carbondale, withe the MLT of St Andrew's, since they are shortly entering a period of transition in clergy leadership. Dinner with a couple of MLT members, then over to Marion for the night. This morning, I drove down for the regular 10am liturgy at Redeemer, where we confirmed four adults. Then the long trek home, where I arrived about 6:15.

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