Good to be back in NYC

We just arrived back in NYC this morning and I must say, it is good to be back, bitter cold notwithstanding.

Even so, it was really good to get away for a while. New York City has a way of taking over one's life, or rather I have a way of getting caught up in it all, and it was psychologically salubrious to be in a place where I could get a bit of distance and perspective on everything. After having done so, I am even more encouraged about our church plant than before I left.

For the last 10 days, we were at Jaime's parents' ranch up in Northern California. Montague, to be exact, near Yreka. It's a high desert valley with Mt. Shasta looming over, very much like in the picture, just about as far away as you can get from NYC in every imaginable away, and while I was out there, suddenly many of the worries I carry with me every day in Manhattan started to seem quite inconsequential.

I know that, before long, I'll be swept up in the craziness once more, but the past week-and-a-half have been a must-appreciated reminder of the need to get away every so often, espeicially to a place where you are loved.