Nicolai returned from his Coming of Age vision quest which took place in New Hampshire over the weekend. Youth in our church our encouraged to develop their own understanding of spirituality and to create a personal credo reflecting their personal religious beliefs. Nicolai chose to spend a portion of his 6 hour solo adventure perched in a tree looking out across a beautiful lake. When he decided to climb even higher the branch he was standing on gave way and he fell 20 feet to the ground. Miraculously he walked away from what could have been a life ending fall with nothing more than minor abrasions. He informs me that his credo will start with the sentence; There is nothing like a brush with death to help you appreciate life. I believe that things happen for a reason and I hope Nicolai will learn a powerful lesson from this experience that will inform wiser choices in the future.

On a less dramatic note my soccer team produced a 2-1 win over the first place team in our division. I put several shots on net but each seemed to find the goalie and one powerful blast that rattled the cross bar but did not go in. It was a very physical game and I was fortunate to get the better end of several hard collisions and finished the game with no injuries.