It is almost Advent season again. And, honestly, it feels like we were just here.  I read recently a sentence attributed to Fran Lebowitz where she commented that in adulthood, Christmas seems to come every five minutes. For some reason, that feels more true this year than any year previous for me. 

I told Mia today that I feel like I’m right in the midst of finals.  It was been such a full week!  And tomorrow it all culminates with an Easter message followed by an egg hunt with my sweet little nephews in the front yard.  I look forward to the feeling of completion.  Not because I want to get through this.  I look forward to the deep satisfaction comes in the moments of rest after having run further than you thought possible.

Traffic is insane today! It is Spring break, which means Laguna is flooded with tourists.  And tourists equal traffic.  And traffic equals frustration.

I had a nightmare last night.  I was sitting in the front of the church on Easter Sunday, realizing that I had nothing prepared for the sermon.  I began to frantically put together my ideas for my talk, but as I scrolled through my phone, trying to look up Bible verses that I could teach on, I wasn’t getting any cell reception.  My browser kept loading half way and getting stuck.   And it wasn’t one of those nice, short dreams.  It went on and on.  I actually got up to preach and found myself winging it.  It wasn’t a terrible sermon, but the feeling was.  I hate feeling unprepared.

I always dread answering a call from Patty minutes after she’s left the house.  I always fear the worst.  Most of the time she just forgot something…a grocery list or something like that, and I can just text her a picture of it.  But lurking in the back of my mind is always the fear that she’s been in an accident.

Several days ago, I received a letter from an old friend.    It was written by hand on good stationery.  It came to my home, addressed to Dr. Tacklind.  It was a letter of gratitude, and it meant the world to me.

It is wedding season.  Yesterday I did a premarital counseling session after church for one of my favorite couples.  This Saturday I’m doing a wedding for two incredible friends from my church.  And tonight I did a vow renewal for Patty’s cousin… two of our dearest friends.  And I am always so honored to get to be a part of such a sacred moment in two people’s lives.

There is an spiritual exercise that I have led several times that is called visio divina, or divine seeing.  Essentially, it is the incorporation art and prayer.  There is something truly powerful in the way that art draws us further and further in, layer after layer, as we patiently sit and listen with our eyes.  Some of the most powerful moments of my experiencing God’s voice have come when sitting before a beautiful piece of artwork.

Today I do pullups.  I’ve been doing P90X again and this is one of my dreaded days…legs and back.  Because pullups are hard, man.  Tony Horton goes around and asks each member of his team how many they are going to do in that set, and I’m always humiliated.  They throw out numbers that shame my own…22, 16, even 12.  And then there’s me…4!

I'm always exhausted by the end of Thursday. Here it is, almost 4 o’clock, and this is the first actual pause in my day.  It has literally been one meeting after the next.  Since 6:30 this morning.  And it doesn’t end until after the elder board meeting tonight at 9, and that’s if I’m lucky.  Probably more like 10ish.