We moved to Jerseyville nearly a month ago and it has felt like home very quickly. I jumped into the ministry of the church fairly quickly after our arrival here, so there are still some boxes yet to be unpacked, but life has been so very good, it is simply hard to describe.
The church has welcomed us in amazing ways and With today being "thanksgiving sunday" it seemed appropriate that I would express my thanks in this forum. I am thankful for so many things this year that there simply isn't room here to list them all, but I will hit some highlights (in no particular order):
I am thankful for a home in the country where I can walk out in the yard and see the stars so clearly pretty much any night and sunsets nearly every evning like the one in this picture.
I am thankful for a church family that appreciates and responds so well to my feeble attempts at ministry in their midst.
I am thankful that my children have adjusted so well to our new setting and seem to be thriving.
I am thankful that my wife has been such a trooper in adjusting to new surroundings in her ongoing effort to keep me happy and fulfilled.
I am thankful for all of the locations offered to me for deer hunting (we will have venison to eat this winter).
I am thankful for neighbors who are there for us whenever we need anything and for neighbors who I hope will be willing to call on us for the same.
More than anything, I am thankful for the grace of God which continues to amaze me day by day.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Monday, September 27, 2010
Bethel Baptist here we come
Starting November 1, 2010 the "Country Parson" will actually be a COUNTRY parson again... We are moving to the Bethel Baptist Church in rural Jerseyville, Illinois. In the brief time we have spent with the folks at Bethel we have simply felt drawn to them. I have most definitely layed out the fleece on this whole matter and God has consistently shown us his will and how clearly it has unfolded. We've been blessed by the Bethel family already and are very much looking forward to getting better acquainted with our new church family.
Of course, it is bittersweet as we leave some good friends in Wood River and the surrounding area. But, when God is clearly involved, the call is irresistable. Such is the case for us in this move to Bethel. The new chapter begins in our lives in just over one month and I for one can hardly wait!
Of course, it is bittersweet as we leave some good friends in Wood River and the surrounding area. But, when God is clearly involved, the call is irresistable. Such is the case for us in this move to Bethel. The new chapter begins in our lives in just over one month and I for one can hardly wait!
Thursday, July 1, 2010
The Keys to Life, Love and Happiness!
After a layoff from directing or counseling at camp for nearly a decade, I decided it was time to say yes to the invitation to direct a camp. Something about finally having a child of camping age made that decision a bit easier. Joey went to camp where I went as a child and she seemed to have a really good time. I find myself thinking and sometimes saying things that I never thought I would say like "When I was a kid..." Well, when I was a kid, the cabins were grafiti-laden, non-air conditioned, hot, leaky, primitive places to sleep at night... times have certainly changed from those days!
The camp has improved a lot from those days with the addition of lots of modern amenities and attractions including the zip line Joey is riding on in this picture. I simply LOVE this picture, because the smile on her face is so huge. I cannot believe how much my baby girl has grown. As Will is just now starting to walk, I remember when Joey was that age and how amazed we were at her development even then. It seems each new stage brings more and more Joy in watching our children develop and grow. Of course there are challenges in parenting and in many ways, we would like to keep all three of the kids small forever so we could protect them from the inevitable hurts that they will face in life. But, it is also a great joy to see the joy and the zest that they posses as they live their lives. How much better would this world be if we could all retain just a bit of that child-like enthusiasm and unadultrated joy in our daily pursuits?
What a blessing our children are and how very much they enrich our lives. It seems I am more in love with the three of them with each passing day. God has blessed me richly with them and with a wife who brings nothing but blessing to my own life. While I may not have much in terms of money or power, I am an immeasurably wealthy man in terms of the love I am shown each day by the four most important people in the world to me! They teach me again and again what life is really about and how to be a happy man at the core. Even when the world around me brings challenges (several times a day it seems) my family reminds me again and again what is needed to possess a joy that carries me through the present struggles and to keep things in proper perspective. Thank you Jenny, Joey, Ian and Will! I love you all more than I can ever say!
The camp has improved a lot from those days with the addition of lots of modern amenities and attractions including the zip line Joey is riding on in this picture. I simply LOVE this picture, because the smile on her face is so huge. I cannot believe how much my baby girl has grown. As Will is just now starting to walk, I remember when Joey was that age and how amazed we were at her development even then. It seems each new stage brings more and more Joy in watching our children develop and grow. Of course there are challenges in parenting and in many ways, we would like to keep all three of the kids small forever so we could protect them from the inevitable hurts that they will face in life. But, it is also a great joy to see the joy and the zest that they posses as they live their lives. How much better would this world be if we could all retain just a bit of that child-like enthusiasm and unadultrated joy in our daily pursuits?
What a blessing our children are and how very much they enrich our lives. It seems I am more in love with the three of them with each passing day. God has blessed me richly with them and with a wife who brings nothing but blessing to my own life. While I may not have much in terms of money or power, I am an immeasurably wealthy man in terms of the love I am shown each day by the four most important people in the world to me! They teach me again and again what life is really about and how to be a happy man at the core. Even when the world around me brings challenges (several times a day it seems) my family reminds me again and again what is needed to possess a joy that carries me through the present struggles and to keep things in proper perspective. Thank you Jenny, Joey, Ian and Will! I love you all more than I can ever say!
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Daddy Daughter Date
I had to run a few errands today including a stop at the mall. So, I took Joey with me as a chance to spend some one-on-one time with her. WOW! It was a blast. We didn't do anything terribly exciting (although the cookie factory was pretty pleasant for both of us). As we were walking back to the car through Macy's she was unable to hold my hand due to needing both hands to eat the candy I bought her at the Hallmark store. Anyway, I looked down at her and was just amazed at how much she's grown and what a totally cool kid she has become. At 4 1/2 years of age, she can be downright silly most of the time. But, she has these moments when I look at her and see the glimpses of the incredible young lady she will become. In many ways I dread her growing up and facing the inevitable pain that she will face in her life. But, at the same time, it is an amazing gift to see this young flower unfolding right before our eyes.
Of course, that was a brief glimpse of who Joey is and who she is becoming and it does give me great pleasure and hope to witness it. But then again, as I was reading her a bedtime story tonight and she was insistent that she was a jaguar and not a human and spent most of the story time licking her "Paws" and growling, I see that we are still a long way off from full maturity. Still a joy none-the-less and it is moments like all of these that make fatherhood such a gift!
Of course, that was a brief glimpse of who Joey is and who she is becoming and it does give me great pleasure and hope to witness it. But then again, as I was reading her a bedtime story tonight and she was insistent that she was a jaguar and not a human and spent most of the story time licking her "Paws" and growling, I see that we are still a long way off from full maturity. Still a joy none-the-less and it is moments like all of these that make fatherhood such a gift!
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Another Goodbye
My father was buried this past week... In 43 years of life, I cannot remember a time that he ever told me that he loved me, or that he was proud of me. But, I heard other people tell me what a great person he was at the funeral. I hope and pray that my children do not have to hear from other people at my death how "good" I am.
I will not allow my children to go to bed at night without telling them that I love them, nor will I miss an opportunity to remind them how wonderful they are and how proud I am of them. My sadness is not so much for my own loss (you cannot lose what you never really had). My sadness is that my father never chose to have a relationship with me other than sharing a roof and a dinner table when I was growing up. My mother told me several years before she died that my father never loved anyone but himself. I actually doubt if he even loved himself. I cannot think of another reason why someone would be so totally focused on the accumulation of “things” and have so little regard for the people in his life.
We learn from our parents to be sure... either what TO DO or what NOT to do. I am thankful that I also had role models who taught me to love the Lord above all else and to share that love with others. The absence of a Godly father in my life has more than been compensated and I do my best to live up to a far higher standard for my own life. I fall short of that goal daily if not several times each day, but it does not excuse me from keeping up the attempts to do it right!
I will not allow my children to go to bed at night without telling them that I love them, nor will I miss an opportunity to remind them how wonderful they are and how proud I am of them. My sadness is not so much for my own loss (you cannot lose what you never really had). My sadness is that my father never chose to have a relationship with me other than sharing a roof and a dinner table when I was growing up. My mother told me several years before she died that my father never loved anyone but himself. I actually doubt if he even loved himself. I cannot think of another reason why someone would be so totally focused on the accumulation of “things” and have so little regard for the people in his life.
We learn from our parents to be sure... either what TO DO or what NOT to do. I am thankful that I also had role models who taught me to love the Lord above all else and to share that love with others. The absence of a Godly father in my life has more than been compensated and I do my best to live up to a far higher standard for my own life. I fall short of that goal daily if not several times each day, but it does not excuse me from keeping up the attempts to do it right!
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