Our shipment arrives!!

"Be warned, my son...
Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body." (old wise man Ecclesiastes chapter 12)

SIX Precious Boxes

Our shipment arrived this past week! SIX boxes of the most precious things we own:

--100% cotton sheets (the difference between cotton & polyester is huge in a tropical climate)

-- Towels & washcloths (as the weather warms up we are taking a LOT of showers)

-- Sandals

-- Jeans (and other pants that Dr. Wayne now fits into for the first time in years. Pre-arrival worries about teaching has had a marvelously trimming effect on him. Wish I had a similar challenge :)

-- more t-shirts

-- our green & gold Go Packers! miniature wooden go-cart that somebody very special made for us (hello out there & thanks again, Dick Bahr)

-- youngest son's X-Box (He's able to play "X-Box Live" from here in Hong Kong and life is worth living again)

-- 3 pots, 1 big heavy duty frying pan

-- pictures of the boys left behind (eldest son just turned 21 this week. Did he miss his Mom & Dad on his 21st birthday? Are you kidding? Free beer on tap in Madison on his birthday... I don't think he missed Mom & Dad. He did, however, report that he made it to his 8 a.m. class the next morning, so that's very good, right?? We've raised him well, right???)

ok, and now for the other

Thirty-two Boxes of Books

What were we thinking?

And where are my spices? My mother's afghans? The pictures for our walls? Our forks, spoons & knives, for heaven's sake?

No, we did not pack these things. What did we pack? Boxes and boxes of books. Bibles. Books about the Bible. Books about philosophy, psychology, pastoral care, Christian education, marriage & family counseling, sermon-writing, and yes some Shakespeare and various novels thrown in for good measure.

But why did we bring so many books? Why did we bring 32 boxes of books? And where will all these books go? Not in Dr. Wayne's miniscule office up the hill at the seminary, I don't think they will all fit up there.

So they sit in our hall way. And little by little we plan to give them away, or sell them for cheap, or... read them again. Some of them.

Remember those disciples who just left it all behind when they went to follow Jesus?

I'm thinking they were pretty smart.

Thanks to all of you for supporting us even in our bouts of madness. Thanks to all of you who kept your mouths shut as you watched us packing up all our boxes and boxes of books... and even helped us carry them! Thanks to all of you who will just laugh with us.

I'm going to go out & buy some spoons tomorrow.