Afternoon Update: The winner of the organizing giveaway from over the weekend is: Jagette: timestamp Sept. 24 at 10:47 am. Send me your address at karen@proverbs31.org so I can mail out your prize! Congrats!

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I had fun catching up with your plans for the weekend. I hope it was all you’d hoped and more!

Mine was a whirlwind.

And it was also a blend of joy and concern.

Joy–Spending time with the fabulous women from Growing Women Ministries at gorgeous Lake Ann.

Concern– My decades long friend Debi’s dad lost his battle with cancer Friday, leaving behind a wife and so many who will miss him terribly.

Joy–Debi’s dad loved and served God for decades and is now with Him in heaven– whole, happy and FOREVER!!!

Concern– a friend who shared with me this weekend about her impending divorce.

Joy–My Mitch hurled one on the best games of his life against an elite travel team on Saturday. No walks. No men on base, not even a hit….except ONE!! Uggh!! Had it not been for that batter, he would have thrown not only a no-hitter, but what is called a perfect game and is very rare.

Concern– As always after a weekend away speaking, my Monday is packed full of unpacking, sorting books, going to the bank, doing school, getting my house around and other assorted hum-drum, yet somehow holy tasks.

Joy–Our daughter Kenna arrived home safely from her home in Charlotte, NC to stay for a month!! Todd took a Greyhound bus down there and accompanied her home so she’d have a traveling companion and second driver.

Concern–She needs to find herself a reliable but affordable car to purchase while she’s home because we need the car we’ve been letting her use back. It only has 109,000 miles on it compared to the 200,000 plus miles both of our other vehicles have.

Joy that had me a bit concerned– While teaching one of my breakouts in the rustic and stunningly beautiful chapel, surrounded by pines and field stones and God’s handwriting in nature, I glanced at the back of the chapel and one the other side of the glass doors stood a red fox! Since I have adult ADD (my diagnosis) I totally let it distract me and made the ladies in my session turn around to see it! Good thing there was glass between us!

Concern–Many items on my always-growing prayer list packed with the names of family and friends.

Joy– YOU and the upcoming topics planned here to connect over. I hope to spend time this week sketching out the topics and crafting interviews for the special guests who will join us.

Concern–Fitting all the topics in and keeping up with blogging without neglecting my family and my students.

Joy–The Life Links connection event at church last night. We recently changed churches, going from our church of 16 years just a minute or so down the road–that we love–to another one 15 minutes away (not a log drive in a big city, but in rural Michigan it means we drive to the next town) that we equally love. Change is never easy, but when you are certain God is calling you to action, it is always good! The event was all about getting in a life group (some churches call them small groups) with those in your geographical area (this church consists of folks from many small towns nearby as well as our state capital). The life groups….well, do life together as in the New Testament!  We are pumped!

Concern– the clock. I just looked up and realized I have to transport four Detroit area teens back to their mom soon and they, including my three, are still sound asleep! YIKES!!

I’ll hop back on later and announce the winner of the organizing giveaway from the weekend, so if you haven’t commented yet, scroll down. You can still enter.

While I’m gone, tell me…what joy or concern did you discover this past weekend?

Happy Monday!!