Weekend

It was a nice weekend. Saturday night we attended the last 'Rock the Plaza' at the downtown library. It was actually called "Zepfest" on this night. They had four bands playing nothing but Led Zeppelin songs. The first two bands were all under 18 years old. We missed the first one, but the second one was pretty good. Can't remember their name, but they were 18, 16, 14, and 13... and they ROCKED!!! The next two bands were much more seasoned, and pretty darn good. The last band was the Tone Junkies, with Brian Lemmert playing guitar with them. Their singer is awesome, and Brian was a maniac on guitar. It was much fun. And the crowd was incredible. It was by far the biggest crowd we've ever seen at one of these. The poor Pint & Slice people were running out of EVERYTHING. They had somebody running back and forth from the store the entire night getting more food, water, beer, etc. In fact, while Jane and I were craving one of their hamburgers, we finally ended up just getting a pizza to go from Toscani's. It was a good night and I am sad that these are done for the year.

On Sunday we went to yet another church. Jane and I had actually been to Grace Gathering in New Haven once before when I had a Sunday off, but the Feipels had never been there. We went to the 11 am service. This was their first time switching back to two services (they only have 1 in the summer). It wasn't overly crowded, but there were still quite a few people there. This church actually does know how to welcome people. The building itself is very welcoming, they have greeters at the door who aren't obnoxious, and someone approached us and introduced himself (Clem) when we got inside. He explained things for us and said to let him know if we needed anything. We got a table in the back so we could save seats for Drew and Carrie. They took Anna to the nursery but kept Bennett with them since he had a cough. I like their services, because they have tables and chairs, and they're set up so you see on another, as well as all the various screens around the room - other than just looking forward at one person. The band plays kind of off to the side and in the dark, and they are really good. They did all songs we were familiar with, and do them in a real easy, mellow way. They were also some of our favorite songs. The main pastor was actually gone (competing in an Iron Man competition), and a staff member named Scott (I think) spoke. The preacher just stands in the middle of the floor. It's kind of weird if you can't see them, but we were fairly close and it wasn't so bad. Again, so the focus isn't just on one person. It was a good message. Afterward the guy who preached came up and introduced himself. He was super nice and easy to talk to. I explained that I had been in a huddle with Chris, and used to be a pastor and we were now in this lost/transition time. He said he had went through the same sort of thing about 5 years ago, and that was how he came to Grace, actually. He was so much more understanding that a lot of people. So... I dunno... I think we all felt pretty good about this place. We will likely go back some more and see what happens.

After church Jane and I then made a mad dash to Anderson for a late lunch with Ricci and Isaac. We went to this little pizza place and ate outside. We also worked out the details for their wedding ceremony coming up THIS SATURDAY!!! I think things are pretty well in place now and I am looking forward to it. We had a nice lunch, and oddly enough we forgot to pay when we left! I didn't think of it until we dropped them off and Ricci said, "Thanks for lunch." So Jane and I stopped back by on our way home and paid. The people were just laughing. :) Whew. Glad we remembered. We did also check out the new digs where Isaac and Ricci will be living. The basement of the Exodus House had been converted into a full-fledged apartment. It has a kitchen and bathroom, living room, and two bedrooms. It is small, but pretty nice.

We ended the day by watching the Cowboys game on TV, and they actually didn't blow it in the end. So it was a pretty good weekend all the way around. Now I need to prepare the message for the wedding this weekend, do some yardwork, clean the house, and... you know... whatever else comes up.