Stowe Away

As many of you know, I was inVermont this past weekend with some buddies of mine from college. (In Picture L to R: John (eyes shut), Joe (crouching), Scott Berry (always use his last name), Yours Truly, Afshin, and Clay) I get together with these other 5 men each year to encourage, pray, sharpen, correct and enjoy. It’s one of the highlights of my year as we gather together and share what God has been doing in our lives this past year and areas that we need prayer or encouragement. And of course, this past year has had lots on my plate! (Britton, graduation, ordination, baptism, plus a host of other non-blogging items) Each guy gets in a hot seat for about 2 hours and pours out their past year. Afterward, we probe and comment on items that need improvement or prayer. It can be a little draining but it is sweet to know you have men that have been with you through thick and thin, that can be honest and get in your face if need be. I always leave challenged by the takeaways and encouraged about our next get together. We end each person's time by laying hands on him and praying. It humbles me that God has brought men such as these into my life. I treasure their friendships.

This year my buddy Joe in Boston hooked us up with a place in Stowe, VT--and it was absolutely beautiful. We've had our gathering in Texas, Alabama and North Carolina in the past. We attempt to make good use of our time with some fun as well. Between Alpine sledding, biking, swimming, touring the Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream factory, watching the olympics and working out, I believe we did all we could do!

Funny story of the weekend: My brother (Scott) was able to book me a free first class ticket to Burlington which was not too shabby. Problem was my friend John was also on this flight but in coach. Because of my brother’s connections, they labeled me as a VIP in the passenger logs. A stewardess approached me and asked what made me a VIP? I decided I might get more play out of this if I played it quiet so I commented, “I’d rather not discuss it.” Boy, did that make her even more curious. She went to the pilot and shared about the mystery guest. I tried my best to impersonate George Clooney, but I don’t think they were ever confused by that. She then asked if I needed anything. I requested that they bump my friend John up to first-class as well since there was an extra seat.. At that moment, John approached and began schmoozing the stewardess and begging for a free upgrade. She gave him the big rejection. We then had a stop over in Baltimore so John asked to use the restroom in the terminal (off the plane). She obliged. When he left, she told me, "we’re gonna have fun with him! Go grab his bags and put them in first class but don’t let him know." When he returned with the rest of the people boarding the plane, I motioned for him to sit with me for a second. The stewardess gets on the loud speaker and states sternly that all passenger need to sit in their assigned seats—all the while glaring at John. He was completely embarrassed as she sternly shewed him back to the back with the peasants (what we refer to coach people when you fly first). About 3 minutes later, John frantically runs up--right before take-off in a panic screaming, “Someone’s taken my bag!!!”. I pretended not to care too much which infuriated him even more. The stewardess made him describe the bag in full detail (in front of all first class, many of whom were catching on that something fishy was going on). As she opened the overhead compartment, lo and behold, there was his bag. He yelped, “That’s it! That’s my bag!!!!!” At that point he saw that he had some been punked. Everyone laughed as he took his seat next to me. It was one of the funniest moments I’ve ever had on a plane. It is never boring when you travel with John.