4. The Move – Moving is always a pretty big transition, no matter what stage of life you’re in. For us, having three children increased our load exponentially since our last move. (Seriously, how do you pack space-hogging junk like exersaucers and Little Tykes yard ornaments without going completely insane? The devilish inventors of such toys probably chuckle to themselves on a regular basis imagining the poor saps like me losing their religion while trying to cram them in the remaining nooks and crannies of the rental van.) In addition to the added junk (in spite of our countless trips to the Goodwill drop-off), we actually had to move twice. When our house sold in Charlotte, we still had not found one in Raleigh. So, we put everything in storage and moved in with some wonderful longtime friends, the Hambricks, in north Durham. Their finished basement became our humble abode for the next month while we continued house hunting. They were incredibly gracious to us and we were grateful to God for their hospitality. After four weeks, we finally landed on a great little house in north Raleigh in the quiet little Mayberry-type town of Rolesville—the kind of town where you know everyone on a first-name basis and the yocals in their pickup trucks insist on honking obnoxiously with every pass of your house. And heaven forbid you’re trying to check your mailbox on their way by, for the honking will surely not cease until you wave back. And I’m not talking about a friendly little courtesy wave. It’s gotta be the whole-body wave to shut them up. The kind that gives you an ice-cream headache afterwards. Anyway, we love where we live. It’s quaint and perfect for us. And my new argyle sweater I got for Christmas fits perfectly with the feel of the town. Thanks Santa.
A. Primarily so that I could take a position at Journey Church as an artist-in-residence. Journey has been a God-send for us and the partnership that we began with them almost two years ago blossomed into a very organic and natural relationship. Journey is one of the most kingdom-minded churches that I’ve ever known or been a part of. What they care about most is making the name of Jesus famous in our city, not the name of Journey or any of the peripheral issues that are so easy to get caught up in. That, among many other things, is what led us to Journey. They allow me to be gone two weekends out of the month (how many churches do that?!!) to continue pursuing this ministry of worship that God has given to Tasha and me for this season of our lives—to continue helping other churches develop their own worship ministries—to continue leading worship for student events and conferences—to continue writing and creating—to continue being the father and husband that I am called to be.
B. Family Support – There’s nothing in the world like having family close by. My three brothers and their wives and kids are all here in the RDU area. That's something we greatly missed in Charlotte. And now our kids get to grow up with their cousins, I get to work side-by-side my brother, Smooth, the student pastor at Journey, and we get free date-nights. Sweet heavenly savings!!
C. College sports are pandemic in the Triangle! Thank you, Jesus.
0 comments:
Post a Comment