Time it was,
And what a time it was
It was . . .
I have a photograph… – Paul Simon

Six days and nights at one Airbnb left us really invested in the location – not just all our stuff strewn in every corner, but emotionally too. Our rental was, as I wrote in the review, just about perfect for the family.

So we got moving early Monday morning, cleaned the house as best we could and packed up the Subarus for the drive back.

One more item remained and that was to take a family photograph before we left. So we lined up, put the old people in the chairs, and made sure to get the lake behind us.

Look at the beautiful set of four grandchildren Rebekah and I are blessed with! No-one really wanted to leave, but this ongoing summer adventure has a few more stops on the agenda so it was time to head a couple of hours south for a couple of nights at the A-Team’s Midland headquarters.

Andrew and Alicia may have been back in the United States only a few weeks, but we can already tell the difference at the house, both inside and out, as Andrew has reworked the patio and is beginning to do some serious gardening too.

It is good to see how the family is establishing a home here. Midland is in many ways an idyllic community and we believe they will make a positive and lasting impression in this place.

There is so much to be concerned with in our world, and so many people we love are experiencing heartbreak – but here In Midland we know one small family that, along with our Florida grandchildren, helps us to see the possibilities, the hope and the promise for tomorrow.

Our opportunity (mandate) is to shine!

It is only natural that people turn to the light, so I see our mandate as people of faith as this imperative to shine. Shine, shine with integrity, shine with goodness, shine with kindness and with love.

Then, as one of my favorite and most often used quotes from Philippians 2 puts it, “You will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life.”

In love and because of love – DEREK