The bird has landed

Well after almost 6 months of renting, we now can call Artesia “home.”  We are thankful and look forward to improving our new home in such a way that we feel more comfortable in it, as well as a more welcoming environment for those we invite over.  In the last few months we have been very busy!  Trish continues to commute to DFW about once a month so that she can fulfill her commitment to the Westwood School.  LT is slowly taking to potty training, and all I can think of is… “Great, we have new carpet!”  So far he has done well and I am very proud of him.  H continues his hard-living ways – at least as “hard” as you can live as a 2yr old.  The kid doesn’t sit still and would love nothing more than to put his head through a wall some days!  We crack up every time he smiles…

Mom and dad just left and we all now turn our focus to the birth of my sister’s first child, Jace.   We enjoyed their visit, but not as much as they enjoyed it as grandparents.  Naturally it is becoming harder to say goodbye.   The church is very active, and in recent weeks it has been even more active for me as I was called on to speak for about a month while our Senior Pastor was out for a knee replacement.  I enjoyed my time in the pulpit, but glad to be back focused on things that I was called here to evaluate and lead.  The days ahead are filled with promise as our staff looks to improve on what is already a great church! 

Lastly, at least for today, we are working on our summer vacation.  It looks like we are headed back to the Gulf Shores area of Alabama after nearly a 7yr absence.  We are fired up!  If LT learns of our destination for this summer, it will be CRAZY because the beach will be the ONLY thing he will talk about!  That’s a lot of beach talk for the next 4 months!

You moved me where?

I just glanced at the date of my last post and realized just how much has happened since last June.  It was about that time that I began speaking with the fine people associated with FBC in Artesia.  Little did I know then that the plant in my front flower bed that I had to dig up due to a plumbing issue in McKinney would end up being a Yucca plant… a real clue as to what was to about to unfold in my life.  It just so happens that the Yucca is the state plant/flower of New Mexico.  And if you follow the progression here, New Mexico is our new home.  Complete coincidence?  Yes, but can we at least refer to it as foreshadowing in the narrative of my life’s story?

We have just about landed in Artesia, New Mexico.  I won’t say that we have completely settled because our stuff is still in storage on a trailer somewhere in North Texas as we wait for our home to be built.  So no, we aren’t home just yet because I don’ t have all my clothes, files, etc.  Thankfully our house sold in just over a week and that my family is here with me.  It was a rough fall given that I was commuting and didn’t see my family except for once every 10-12 days.  Not fun… The boys have come to know this place as home, and it amazes me just how adaptable little children can be.  

We have found this quaint little town in SE New Mexico to be full of wonderful people and promise.  The church, too, fits that description and I look forward to going to work each day.  It has been a lesson in patience at times, and a lesson in discovery daily.  Though this community could easily pass as a West Texas town, yet it still has a distinctive New Mexican feel. 

As I have time, I will continue to fill you in on life here in the high desert/oil field region of Southeast New Mexico.  I promise it will be raw, honest and filled with humor.

Continuing on a similar vein…

On a good run of material relating to healthy application of the Gospel… just another good piece of clarity of how human-defined morals aren’t the answer to life’s trials.  

Dechurched… Thanks Shappy

I think the church in the Bible Belt has a HUGE challenge before it… detoxing ‘believers’ and reorienting them towards the Gospel. 

Swallow that comment

Ever thought something about church, Christianity, religion, etc. and was too afraid to voice it?  An innovative blogger asked this question some time ago and is now posing it again.  Read the responses here.

Yellow Joy in Africa

If joy was a color, it would be yellow.

After living in South Africa for seven months, I experienced an overflow of joy in the yellowing eyes of my friend, Siyanda Mbebe.

Siya, as her friends call her, is a radiant, yet frail 28-year-old victim of HIV. She lives in The Dignity House, an around-the-clock hospice center, in the heart of balmy East London, South Africa.  MORE

Let’s all just slow down…

This photo was sent to me by my dear friend in West Texas.  Sometimes in life we are like this pigeon… flying at mach 3 just hoping that every “opening” is actually just that and not some mirage of freedom. Don’t let your pace today kill your judgment… apparently it terminated much more than that for this poor bird.