If vacations were as short as your time away, the car wouldn't even be
loaded yet hahaha. Good to have you back. I heard a wise message this
morning, well actually two, one came from a preacher, and the other came
from my dog. Dog? Did I hear him say dog? Yes dog. And I'll tell you what
my dog told me this morning over coffee in another post. But the lesson I
learned from the preacher was about making the journey. Along with other
points that are indeed important, the one which I'll mention here stood out
to me, and even Phil, applies to your return. The point of making the
journey that make the other points which were things like, knowing that we
are in fact on a journey, knowing where you are going, recognizing the road
you are on and if it is in fact leading you on the desired journey, the one
point that stood out and became so responsively attractive is the point of
knowing that as you make your journey, you will undoubtedly, and without
trying, bring others along with you on your journey. How? By simply their
watching your life, your response, your direction, your habits, and all the
things they see in you, which they feel they have need to follow based upon
your quote, unquote, success. Success, there is that word again. But I'm
sure you know the intent of that word in this context. Surely we all have
people we admire spiritually, and wish to attain to that level of maturity
and etc., so we tend to liken ourselves to their way of dealing with
things.  So, knowing that my, and your, journey in life could well attract
others who need a leader to follow, if even for a short time as perhaps
they may pass you up even, but being we may have, and hopefully will have,
an impact on others in our lifetime, that brings a level of responsibility
to let others see our lifes as an open book. As we have seen recently, that
can well open up for less than desirable affects, but without that open
book of our lives, would we each be  much poorer a person, a leader or a
follower of those who shared their life by example to us? We do not display
our lives as a prideful means of show and tell, or to be leaders for the
sake of making ourselves feel superior in anyway, but that in fact to
humble ourselves and put ourselves in a position of accountability as well,
and to know, just as Paul knew when he was praising in the prison cell,
that the other prisoners are watching. So in your journey of life, take
heart that there may be those that have no other example to follow than the
road you are on. Keep that road humble before you with God as captain, and
realize to be a  great leader, one must first know how to be a great follower.

Brad