When I'm traveling and the event's done, I want to get home. No staying another night in a hotel. So though MinistryCOM ended around 5 pm (6 pm Hoosier time), and it was eight hours from Nashville to Fort Wayne, Ind., I decided to go for it. If I got tired, I'd get a motel. Until then...well, let's see how far I could go.

As it turned out, I had no trouble staying awake, with the help only of one of those quickstop faux-cappucinos and XM satellite radio. I listened to news and the comedy channel (the clean one, with guys like Bob Newhart, Dangerfield, Clower, etc.) until I crossed the Indiana border around 9:00. Ate in Jeffersonville, and headed out again, with 200 miles to go. I now switched between two XM stations that mix oldies with contemporary music, cranked the sound up...and it got me to Fort Wayne.

I crawled into my own sweet bed, already occupied by my wife and two cats, around 2:00 in the morning. So I made good time. Pam said when she would wake up, she'd say a prayer, "Keep Steve from getting tired." Ah, despite the late hour, God was listening.