So nice to get away!

So, Bridgette and I went away for the weekend. We celebrated our 5th Anniversary (the last before our first baby arrives) at a Bed & Breakfast in Westbrook, CT called Angel's Watch Bed & Breakfast which was awesome. The food was delicious and in very large portions. We had a two person soaking tub in our room, which allowed us to enjoy a nice, relaxing time each evening. It was so nice to get away from everything at home, especially Hebrew. Even though I took a bunch of vocab cards, I actually FORGOT about them, never even opening them until we arrived at home.

Not only did we have great accomodations, we enjoyed a couple lovely dinners at Cafe Routier on the actual night of our anniversary and Alforno Trattoria where we ate Saturday night. We also enjoyed tremendously our visit to Chamard Wineries where we were able to do a little wine tasting (well, I was able) and tour this quaint little winery. The wines available for tasting were very enjoyable... and beyond that, I would just sound silly if I tried to explain them. I am no wine expert. But we bought a couple bottles... so who knows!

Two things though, were very thought provoking on our little trip. The first, is a comment that Bridgette said while we were leaving on Sunday, and the second is something I'll talk about later, having to do with our little jaunt to Yale. Anyway, as we were driving away, Bridgette questioned whether we had been faithful witnesses or not. Now, normally (I say normally, but truth be told, I'm not sure I qualify as someone who knows what "normal" is in regard to B&B's) it seems that you may not have a lot of interaction with other guests, when you're staying somewhere. But here & Angel's Loft, they served breakfast PROMPTLY at 9:30am (which meant we never slept in) and encouraged us to introduce one another and really talk around the table. We did so, but never got too far. I mean, we didn't talk too much about ourselves beyond where we'd been, and our expectant child. We talked briefly about me attending seminary and answered the question "what are you planning to do after" with -"fulltime pastoral ministry." But, nothing really of the stuff that says - "what we live for is Jesus, and you need to know about Him."

Now some people might say, good, one less pushy preacher is awesome, but I'm not sure. It's something that I always struggle with. What is the line between being pushy and being timid? I want to be authentic, but I don't want to hide anything. I don't want to be a salesman, but I don't want to hold back on something that I believe is more precious than anything in this world.

And I must say, this website is that way too. I didn't put this out as some kind of proselytizing place, nor do I expect that there are enough people reading it for it to be effective. But I want to be honest. It's a fine line. I want to be forthright, but not obnoxious (of course, I probably couldn't help from being obnoxious no matter what I do). Suffice to say, I struggle daily with the question of how to spend my time and talents in a way that reflect eternal significance. I don't believe it to be something I'll probably ever feel like I've mastered, but I do hope that I'll be able to grow and listen for that quiet prompting... problem is, I think right now I do a very good job of shushing it up...