the silence

Two and a half weeks have passed since you last heard from me, and for good cause. A semi-cross country move, a new place of service, a new home, changes in the family. I even had to change banks. So busy is not quite enough of a word to capture. But it is OK.

Because although life has surely taken turn, I find it to be a turn for the better. I am so stoked about this community, about the potential here, about the new friendships, about the dynamic opportunity that lies before.

Change is hard, change always brings stress and uncertainty. But change is necessary. If we never change, we never grow. If we never face new circumstances, we will simply remain the same old thing that we have always been.
Why do folks hang new curtains in a house, even when the old ones are fine?
Why do we buy a new car or take a new job, even when the old are satisfactory?
We need the change.
The change does us good.

As we translate that line of logic to the church, why then does the crowd balk? Why does change and progress and new circumstances in the church cause crisis, fear, and resentment?

Seems kind of silly to me.

Tuesday Morning Football

I stand corrected.

Monday Night Football.

Packers at the Vikings.
Brett Favre, get ready for your whoopin'.

Coming down to it now.

Just a week left in my Louisiana home. One Sunday remaining to worship the Lord with these friends who have been my family for so long. One more chance to tell them about Jesus. I expect a lot of hugs and a few tears.

I suppose that it is a good thing that folks are sad to see me go. It should be a bit of a heartbreak. It is a testimony to the love my church has for me. It is a monument to the hard work and effort I have devoted to this community. I guess it would be a whole different story if they were happy to see me get the heck out.

And then begins a new adventure, in a new place with new friends and new challenges. I am thrilled, honored, and humbled at the prospects of being invited and welcomed to Charles Town. All the necessary pieces are coming into place. Moving van on stand by. House ready and waiting. Offices being prepared. Most importantly, people.

It is going to be great.

Whirlwind

Ok, So I flew to New York on Friday, and came home last night. Kim flew to West Virginia to scout out a home this morning. Moving in a week and a half. Dad is dying in hospice care at the VA hospital. Teenager comes home with a tattoo. Much turmoil. High stress. Why do I feel so calm?

In spite of the whirlwind of life, I feel perfectly at ease. I can handle whatever the Good Lord lays on my plate. And I can only do that because He is with me. in fact, the higher the stakes adn greater the tension, the more I sense His divine presence with me. And the greater the comfort and peace.

Life is funny. But life is fun.