Ten Reasons I'm Glad to Be Back.

10. A New Transmission:

The 7 quarts of fluid I wrote about in a previous post didn't save the transmission. They just leaked all over the road in front of our house.

9. A New Office Assistant:

Julia McBride started the week I left on this trip. She's doing a great job and is a great addition to our team. I've seen more of her than anyone since I've been back.

8. Music:

I played the drums on my first Sunday back with the family. That was fun. But more than that I am glad to have the piano and guitar playing in two different parts of the house as I fall asleep at night.

7. My Bed:

Speaking of falling asleep, I like my bed.

6. Rain:

We had only one day of rain on our trip, plus a few showers.

5. Elders:

I went to an elder's meeting on the first night I was back to work. They are great men with a heart to do what is right and to love people. That particular night they said "Thank-you" to the Montgomerys.

4. Staff:

Aaron Orendorff has started as an intern since I've been gone. Colin Mattoon has started as a Middle School intern, too. Matt V. has doubled the amount of time he spends with our high schoolers as is obvious from his recent blog posts while I was gone. I'm thankful for Pastor Bill even though he's on vacation now and I haven't seen him. And, of course, I continue to consider myself privileged to serve alongside Pastor Nathan.

3. The Privilege of Preaching:

I was blessed and challenged again as I prepared for the message from Mark 14:1-11.

2. The Growth of My Family:

We continue to talk about the memories we made on our trip and hear comments about how the kids have changed while we were gone. They were a delight to take on vacation as well as to live with day-to-day.and. . . .#1.

1. My New Office:

I knew it was in the works, but had no idea that it would be finished by the time I got home. A huge "Thank you" to Kim Brandstetter, Ken Weiss, George Milliken, Lee Bennett, and others who helped make it a reality. My whole family felt like we were on "Extreme Makeover: Office Edition."