Midweek Check-in (July 22, 2026)

Good afternoon, church family!

Let’s pause for a midweek check-in. There are certain skills that I, as a middle-aged dad, have developed out of necessity. Most of these skills deal with lawn care and light bulb maintenance. But an essential skill is leading the family road trip.

Some call it vacation. That’s quaint.

Vacation starts when you arrive at your destination. It’s wonderful, refreshing, life-giving.

That is NOT how I describe a summer road trip.

Let me offer my road trip wisdom as a seasoned, experience husband and father. My household has three ladies, and I accepted the high and holy calling of driving them to our vacation destination earlier this month. Here’s what we learned:

First, the composition of a properly-packed mid-sized SUV is essential for any family road trip. There’s the luggage, which must be arranged with the big, heavy suitcases on the bottom, followed by non-essential items that will be used only at the destination (towels, life jackets, a paddleboard) then the smaller bags that can be smushed (gently) into the remaining available space. That covers the cargo area. However, when you eventually have a flat tire the mechanic will summon you to the garage bay in which you will need to unload half of your belongings to get to the hidden compartment that contains the locking lug nut key – all while the mechanic watches you and provides helpful commentary like, “Ooh, Red Vines” and “That’s a lot of Squishmallows.”

Yes, Brian, it is a lot. Thank you.

Of course, when packing, you have to leave space for the children themselves, who are young, agile and flexible but not as smushable as you’d think. They require proper restraint, adequate pillows and blankets and, of course, all manner of roadtrip snackies.

Which roadtrip snackies? All of them. Every single one. No two children on the face of the planet can agree on which roadtrip snackies are acceptable, yet they will, eventually, fight over the privilege of holding each bag. This means you’ll need to purchase all the roadtrip snackies. The Red Vines AND the Twizzlers. The Cheez-Its AND the Cheese Puffs. The gummy bears AND the gummy worms. Is this overkill? Absolutely. Will they all be eaten? Of course not. Most of the bears and worms you’ll find at the end of your trip smushed and melted under the seats, between luggage and, probably, inside the clutch assembly of your transmission.

All of these snacks, of course, will NOT limit the number and size of drinks that will need to be purchased at every gas station stop. Soft drinks, slushies, big gulps – these will be consumed by each member of your traveling party in quantities that assure that, 45 miles down the road, you’ll hear a weak voice from the backseat say, “Daddy, I need to go potty.”

You, as the driver, must look out your windshield, take in the rich landscape of endless, Kansas pastureland as far as the eye can see and then say, “OK, I’ll look for a place to stop.”

Followed, two minutes later, by “Dad, I REALLY need to go potty.”

“Um, OK, as soon as we see an exit.”

And then, 90 seconds later, “PLEASE PULL OVER RIGHT NOW AND MAKE A RESTROOM APPEAR IMMEDIATELY MY EYE BALLS ARE FLOATING AHHHHHHHHH!”

All this will happen before you get to Salina.

But you must persist, dear weary traveler. Beware of wildlife, which is fun to see, until they stop being cute parts of nature and start being roadway obstacles. You see, the typical American deer has the IQ of an unplugged toaster. It will, at random, fling itself at your vehicle. Stay alert.

Also, make sure you have proper drink and snackage for yourself. A can of Dr. Pepper Zero and a six pack of peanut butter crackers usually work for me.

In the end, you’ll make it. The road goes ever on and on, down from the door where it began. That’s the beginning of a song from one literary journey shorter than our road trip.

After a wonderful family vacation, we hit the road again to return home. We covered 851 miles in one day. We braved construction, a brief landspout, backseat arguments and sudden stops for impromptu mountain photography.

And when we finally pulled into our driveway at 1:30 a.m., CJ and I gathered the girls and got them to bed, left the luggage and smushed gummy bears for the morning and used the last bit of our exhausted minds to thank the Lord one more time.

I will lie down and fall asleep in peace

because you alone, Lord, let me live in safety.

-Psalm 4:8

It's good to be home.

Your pastor,

Billy Byler

ICE CREAM SOCIAL AND ANNUAL REPORT: Join me this Sunday evening as I bring my annual report and we enjoy an evening of ice cream and cookies. We’ll get started at 6 p.m. in the foyer. Bring your favorite ice cream flavor to share!

2026 DISTRICT ASSEMBLY: Woodland Lakes Community Church has long been a part of the Church of the Nazarene, and each summer Nazarenes from all over Kansas gather at the annual District Assembly. This year it will be downtown at Wichita First Church of the Nazarene (1400 E. Kellogg Dr.). All are welcome to attend! Here’s what to expect:

·      Thursday, July 30 – The opening worship service starts at 7 p.m. and will feature District Superintendent Kendall Franklin giving his annual report. I’d love to see a great turnout from our church in support of Pastor Kendall.

·      Friday, July 31 – The annual ordination service begins at 7 p.m. This is a sacred, holy worship service in which General Superintendent Gustavo Crocker will bring a message and we will witness the ordination of three ministers and honor one retiring minister.

·      Saturday, Aug. 1 – The annual EQUIP Day runs from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and features plenary speaker Selena Freeman plus several workshops on specific ministry topics. All are welcome, and you can learn more about the workshops and register here.

BACK-TO-SCHOOL SUPPLIES: We’re collecting school supplies for the upcoming school year. We want to be a blessing to local students who need some help. Please bring your donated supplies to the church by Sunday, Aug. 2 then stick around after the morning worship service on Sunday, Aug. 9 to help us pack the supplies in backpacks!

PRAYER: I’d like to know how I can best pray for you. We have a way to submit prayer requests online anytime day or night, which will help me join you in prayer.

JUST FOR FUN: Hey, you read Pastor Billy's midweek check-in all the way to the end! As a reward, check out these crazy stories I came across recently:

·       Would you like to try this delicacy? It’s a 52-year-old pot of soup, and people think it’s delicious!

·       A project completed last month has produced a world record for a town in Minnesota: the world’s largest nutcracker!

·       It’s really hot in parts of China, but there’s a solution thanks to an ancient Chinese remedy: let babies cuddle with melons.