I pulled out of the driveway at 6:15am to drive around Lake Michigan into the breezy climes of Western Michigan — and arrived in Sawyer to speak at Harbert Covenant around 9:30am — their time (not Chicago time). Gave me plenty of time for prayer and preparation for the sermon. I met Joel Kruggel, the pastor, and we chatted in the church library as we got ready for the service.
The spirit of the folks was good, and they embraced my informal style (and clothing) and let me walk around instead of getting frozen behind some big pulpit. I spoke on surrendering to Jesus, and then we had a question and answer time with some of them in Fellowship Hall. They are reading Jesus Creed.

Joel did the children’s talk, and he began by pulling out a Canadian flag, which all the kids recognized; then he pulled out a flag I thought might trip the kids up — which it did. It was blue and yellow, and at this point some of those little Covenant kids knew they had a leg up — Sweden one of them said. But, it was not quite a Swedish flag, for it had some red and a star, and I knew what it was: Aruba! Turns out Joel and Victoria are avid windsurfers and they’ve found an island Kris and I also found (though neither of us have ever wind-surfed). Then an Australian flag — and then a white flag: you got it, he spoke about surrender. I had a hard time thinking about surrender at that time, because my mind flew to Aruba with its warm breezy winds and what is called by the natives, “The Happy Island.”
I saw some slate-colored juncos on the church bird feeder; reminds me that Michigan is cooler than Chicago. Our juncos flew north a few weeks ago.