I'm so sorry to those who have been anxiously awaiting this post.  Today alone, I have received several complaints that it has been far too long since I promised to have this done.  Though I will not rest on excuses, I have just recently begun graduate studies at Bethel College, and the reading is intense.  I will attempt to maintain an average of one posting a week, and hopefully will have time for more, but we'll have to see.  Forgive me for how long it's been.  Anyway, here's what you've been waiting for...

A boring trip home, is there ever such a thing?  When your last name is Morton, I assure you you'll never experience what some may call a boring trip home.  My past few days in the wonderful Lonestar state have exponentially intensified my feelings, as my mother was the most laid back person I met on this trip, which she'll agree, cannot be said often.  (Love ya, Mom!)  Though I was only in TX for a few days, I fit well more than a week's worth of friend, family, and work time into a relatively tight timetable.  Those three days took me through a 3:30am drive to Chicago, airport panic, spring cleaning, brotherly bonding time, two church services (one a bit larger than the other), wonderful lunch meetings, great Starbucks trips, a whollop of a thunderstorm, a busy business meeting, and an Israeli who loves to cuss (a southern word for "swear").  Needless to say, my trip was breathtaking, both in the literal fashion, as I was running everywhere I went, and in the figurative fashion, as I was awestruck by the Lord's goodness in so many ways and at so many times.

The primary reason I ventured home was for some good family time.  This is the second consecutive year I have remained in Granger over the Easter weekend, and though I have a wonderful time, I do miss the family events/drama.  This year, I decided to make time for a family event even before Easter weekend, for the sake of my own sanity and my mother's.  The time we spent together was surprisingly relaxing.  Most times when I come home, there's a lot to do, since we know it will be another few months until I'm home the next time.  We cram a lot of work into a little space and see what we can get done.  This trip, we took it a lot easier on ourselves.  My mom still worked a bit, but my only job at home was to clean the living room and shine the floors, which is tremendously fun when you realize how slippery it is with just socks on.  For the first trip in a long time, Mom, Tommy, and I were able to enjoy each other's company without getting into any kind of dispute or emotional breakdown.  I'm proud of us, really.  We made a big step!  Haha.

Before I even entwined myself into family time, I had an amazing experience upon arrival in Dallas on Sunday morning.  Over Christmas break, I met a friend in McKinney and we've somewhat randomly kept in really good contact.  It's not often that you meet a person one day in McKinney,TX, and see them a couple months later in South Bend, IN.  Anyway, when my flight landed in Dallas, I realized I had enough time for my brother to zip me up to Stonebriar Church in Frisco, TX, where I was to meet my friend, Jordyn, for the 9:30 service.  Well, we met up, we caught up, and we stayed up (awake that is...harder for me after my long morning) and decided that we'd head out to lunch with her family.  It was such a blessed afternoon, having the opportunity to sit at On the Border with Jordyn, her brother, her mom, her aunt, and my brother.  We ate, we chatted, we laughed, and we touched on some major points of conversation.  I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to invest further into a growing friendship.  It's not every day you have the ability to do that.

As the days rolled by, I found myself with another welcomed blessing.  Every time I venture south of the Mason-Dixon line, there is a girl in TX who seems to know it before I even have the chance to tell her.  Gabrielle and I met up here in Indiana, but she is currently attending seminary at Southwest Baptist Seminary in Forth Worth.  She's also a tremendously gifted writer, with a regular focus on the "Modern Girl."  You really should check out her website, Chick Chat with God!  (No, she did not pay for that plug)  Now, though Forth Worth is more than an hour away from McKinney, it is a no-brainer of a drive for me to make, whenever I wind up in the wonderful Lonestar State.  Each and every time I've been home in the past year or so, Gabrielle and I have found a local Starbucks to grab a drink and spend large amounts of time discussing our lives, callings, and aspirations.  I've told her this, so I feel fine writing it, but she never ceases to amaze me with what she has done, is doing, and is wanting to do for the Kingdom of God.  I am always convicted and inspired by her passion and fire for Christ, and it's more than refreshing.  Honestly, if I would have known while she was in Indiana that we would have conversations like we've had, I probably would have held hostage her shoe collection to keep her from leaving.

On top of simply meeting at a Starbucks with Gabrielle on Monday evening, I was blessed with the opportunity to join her at her church.  It is a church plant called Body Life Church.  Until that evening, I'd never been in a church with a population less than 100, so walking into a living room filled with about 20 people was surely something new.  But for a church so small in attendance, the collective heart of the body was so large and strong.  As one of several new faces, I felt incredibly welcomed and increasingly appreciated.  I felt my words were more than tolerated, but rather listened and held on to.  Please understand, I am not suggesting that we all need to turn away from our more mainline method of church, but we needn't be afraid of following a call from God to a smaller body such as I experienced at Body Life Church.  In this church, I found a pastor that would rival any pastor in any church across the country in speaking ability, and has so far outgrown others' ability for love and kindness.  I found a congregation committed to the passionate pursuit of Jesus and His teachings that far exceeds so many bodies of Christ I've seen before.  It was a pinnacle of prayer, preaching, accountability, and intergenerational fellowship.  I cannot say enough about the Lord's blessing that came in the form of a Monday night church service in Lake Worth, TX.

My final day in Texas was the one that brought forth the most stress.  It has been years since I've been in the midst of a thunderstorm the size of what I saw that Tuesday.  No matter how fast the windshield wipers were on, the water came down that much faster.  The creeks and rivers flowed at record-breaking levels, and the streets looked like rivers themselves.  It downpoured, and it downpoured all day.  It rained so hard that Dallas-Forth Worth airport cancelled 90% of the flights departing that night, including my 9:30 flight back to Chicago.  After 10 minutes of sheer panic, 40 minutes of being on hold, 15 minutes of negotiating with a customer service representative, and 12 more hours at home, I flew out of Dallas at 9:30am on Wednesday.  When I arrived in South Bend, it was 3:15pm, and I had very little time to get back to the grind of my work week...but at least I was back.

My trip home was wonderful, from beginning to end.  There weren't highs and lows, but rather a continuous feel of excitement and fun.  I learned so much about so many people over the course of the trip, and I sure hope I get to make another trip here in the near future.

Thanks for taking the time to read!

Bobby