Weekend Recap

Rich & Kris just left for home. They got here late Saturday. We all had a great time.

We did some shopping, ran some errands, went out to eat a few times, and went to the zoo on Sunday. It was very hot at the zoo, but we did our best to stay hydrated with the frozen gatorade juice boxes we brought with us, the water we bought, etc. It was supposed to rain on Monday tho, at least according to the forcast on Sunday, so we were better off going to the zoo on Sunday than Monday.

The only thing I didn't like about going to the zoo on Sunday was that we didn't go to church cuz of it. Mostly cuz our church's service is from 11-12:30, so, between that and lunch, we prolly wouldn't have gotten to the zoo till around 2. It closes at 5, and we weren't sure if 3 hours would be enough. So, instead, we skipped church and got to the zoo around 11:30.

I would have rather gone to church, but it seemed to me that I was the only one of the 4 of us who felt anywhere-close-to strongly about that, and I didn't want all the others going to church just for me, so we didn't. I didn't really see or think of it as caving or "compromising", more as being flexible and hospitable. I still would have rather gone, but at what point is insisting on(or being difficult/inflexible about) such things being selfish???

Of course, this gets into the whole subject of how "hospitable" one should be when one has houseguests(and if it matters whether or not the guests are family or "just" friends.). Rich & Kris have been to our church with us before, they know we go regularly, they don't mind going, and Rich has also had some very positive discussions with our pastor. So, going - in and of itself - was not and wouldn't have been the issue. It was more the timing/logistics question.

But I've already been wondering how "hospitable" one's supposed to be to/with houseguests, especially when they stay longer than a day or 3. Like, is it "ok" to have a baseball game on the TV if it's muted and you're just occasionally glancing at the "fox box" while you chat or do whatever everyone else is doing, just like you'd be doing if the game/TV weren't on? Is it "ok" to sometimes be in the other room on the puter while they're chatting(especially if they're your in-laws, and you want to give your spouse time alone with them)? That sort of thing.

And, perhaps the biggie; is it "ok" if you DON'T want to offer them your bed while you sleep on the air mattress? That hasn't come up for awhile, but Katrina often wanted to(and prolly still does, at least sometimes). But that would _really_ bother me, so we haven't.

I don't even really know _why_ it would bug me, I only know that it would, and more than just a little bit too. I don't understand it and can't explain it tho, so of course Katrina doesn't understand it either. She prolly thinks it's silly and it's prolly a good thing that it hasn't come up(as a suggestion or a possibility) for quite awhile now.

But we had a very enjoyable visit. There weren't even any snags, minor or major.

Both of them agree with me/us about Wanda's excessive phone calls. I don't think any of us could believe how often she called here this weekend. Maybe cheap long distance isn't always such a good thing? She and Gary have shown up at Rich & Kris's unannounced _often_, so, for them, the phone calls are the least of it!

Things are also continuing to improve, slowly but steadily, with Katrina & I in terms of communication skills and overall treatment of one another. This goes both ways; we both have our issues(mostly from our pasts and families of origin) when it comes to communication and "inter-personal dynamics", and we also each have our own faults and "blind spots" where our treatment of one another's concerned.

I actually _read_ the Bible I bought last Friday some on Friday evening. I read the entire Book of Romans, and "even" underlined some stuff and wrote some cross-references in the margins. I haven't read anything since, partly(tho not entirely) cuz of our visitors, but I'm still encouraged.

God's doing a lot in my life recently. It's really neat and encouraging to know/realize that He's doing just as much all the time; it's NOT that He's doing more recently, it's that I'm more able(or willing) to be aware of(more of) what He's doing!

Of course, I don't just want to be aware of it, I want to _respond_ to it. So, I think I'm gonna start some type of Prayer & Bible-reading Journal of sorts, even if it's just a list of various thoughts and/or things I think He's showing me or that I need to work on or think about more.