Sundays for the past three years have meant going to my church, sitting in the same general area in which I like to sit (where I can always see the screen, even though I don't need the words much anymore) and usually going back to lead the jr. highers after our designated time to sing worship music, most of which is written by our music leader guy, and all of which are just incredible songs that I can't even begin to explain to you how different they are from.. well, let's just leave it at that.

For the past three years, that's been my Sunday very consistantly. Last summer, I had a few weeks out of town and such so that I missed church four times in two months. That is, missed my church. I always made it a priority to attend a service somewhere. At any rate.. in times when I've had a car or have ridden with someone else to a concert or such event, I've been known on a pretty regular basis to drive back at crazy hours of the night so I could make it to church in the morning, because my church is just so good and missing it really makes me sad. Not because I'm addicted, though there is something about being at Grace that really helps me through the week even more than any church I've ever been has done. It's not like church is some crutch for me. No, it's that I love the people, the time there, the songs we sing, the messages spoken, the community. I love the fact that I can step inside this building and feel so very at home.

When I took my trip to FL right after Christmas in my "new" car, I missed two Sundays in a row of Grace. I did go to church elsewhere each Sunday, and the latter service was quite good. However, I did miss those two weeks, and getting back on a Monday and going through a whole week of familiar surroundings and events with a new car I wanted to show to folks I care about (not to mention a trip to DC right in the middle of the week) made it even more noticible how long I'd been away.

Not that I would've cut that trip short if I had it to do over. Just that I missed my church while I was gone. Anyway, the week before last I drove back at an insane hour from a concert trip, and last weekend I had been up late on Saturday talking to out-of-town friends and yet got to church on three hours of sleep.

This weekend, I'll miss church. That's what this whole post is all about, really. I have missing my church. I've found the best church I've ever attended, one of the best churches in the nation, I'm sure.. and suddenly I'm missing 3 weeks outta 5.

Oy!