We arrived in the Smoky Mountains around 5:00 or 6:00, and Angie, Mindy and Sandy fixed us a wonderful Italian dinner. The cabin is fantastic: several bedrooms, nine bathrooms, a giant hot tub, and a wonderful view over the mountains. Although I tagged along as an excuse to get out of Springboro and enjoy the company of friends, I've been given the status of "sponsor," and with that tag comes along certain priviliges (for one, I'm allowed to use the Internet while the others are not; hoorah). This morning I woke up, fixed some hot coffee and ate a cream-cheese bagel while watching the sun rise over the mountains, the mist crawling between the trees. We're going to the Chimney Tops today; a four-mile hike roundtrip, but it will be amazing, methinks. Perhaps I will put some pictures of it on here tomorrow or something?

I am reading "a generous orthodoxy" by Brian McLaren. What an amazing piece of work. I love how it draws up more questions than it gives answers, and pushes the reader to think rather than subtly accept whatever McLaren says. I do enjoy the way he says, in essence, that Pentecostals and Church of Christs and Baptists and Catholics have just as much stake in the kingdom of God when they are centered on Christ. Too often we get caught up in silly divisions, forgetting the Messiah who is the Savior and Master of us all.