Back from Cornerstone!

Well, we're back from the 25th anniversary of Cornerstone! Tim went to some great seminars (I joined him for Miroslav Volf) and we all went to some wonderful concerts. All stages were closed on Friday night for the 25th anniversary special from the main stage. Candles and communion elements were passed out and we worshiped as Charlie Peacock led us in participating in the Lord's Supper. Several Cornerstone "old-timers" (Rez Band, Lost Dogs, Sixpence, Charlie, Over the Rhine, etc) were on stage for little bits, and The David Crowder band concluded the evening of music. At midnight we watched a spectacular fireworks show to commemorate the anniversary and the anniversary of our nation.

It was great to see my brother Roger and my nephews Derek and Ethan (and their buddies Ryan and Brad). Not too many mishaps--we couldn't find the bag for our screen porch poles when we were packing up (probably stuffed in the tent bag and we'll find it later), Roger had a flat tire (he's only missed one year in the past three or four of this particular car malady) and it was pretty hot the first day. But we had temps dip down in the 50s one evening and loved the cooler weather. We camped on a gravel site in the trees and I spent a lot of time reading my book for book club (Dragon Bones--a mystery set in China, which I finished last night).


Tim got to meet some locals as he went into Bushnell to locate a nozzle for our camper sink, deodorizer for the camper potty, and a pan for cooking. (I had several, but nothing of the three-quart variety...) He listened to one man's story of his wife's battle for cancer and their recent trip to Minnesota to the Mayo Clinic. When he went to the pharmacy to find baby aspirin for me, he encountered more locals sitting having coffee in the eating area of the drug store. They were talking about him! The man whose wife was sick was telling his Bushnell friends about this nice man from Minnesota, and how most Cornerstone goers were great people, with only a few "troublemakers" in the bunch. Tim ducked around a corner to listen. It was nice for him to hear from strangers that he was a nice guy (I could have told him that myself!).

Tim also found out that gas had been inflated a dime for festival goers. One station had gas a dime cheaper, but had the prices marked the same--all the locals were going to that station during the festival. For Tim's compassionate ear, the man who told him his story rewarded Tim with the advice about filling up at the cheaper place. It pays to be nice!

I'm glad we went, but it's good to be home. When we stopped at McDonalds in Cedar Rapids, Tim bought in his laptop and we checked email at this WiFi place. BTW, we noticed some devastation in Iowa by the recent floods--several buildings were boarded up, and blocks had trash lining neighborhood streets. Very sad. We hoped we helped the local economy by stopping and buying gas and food.

Will we go to C-stone next year? We'll see. If we do, I hope our boys will go--this year we only brought Christina and her friend Travis. We missed the boys' help driving back--I hate driving the truck pulling the camper, and we didn't want Christina to drive either. Needless to say, we spent a few hours at rest stops on the way home.

Tomorrow--back to work! It's also Luke's 23rd birthday! Wow, time flies! Cornerstone is 25, Luke is 23. I must be at least that old, since Tim and I celebrated 25 years of wedded bliss a couple of months ago....

Till next time,


Suzi