Reading between the lines

When turning frantically through the Bible for answers does not provide
When calling your minister doesn't provide significance
When prayers come back unanswered
Read between the lines

When you don't think food on the table, a roof over your head, or heat is enough
When you grow tired of those who won't leave you alone
When church grows tiring
Read between the lines

When you get bored, read Scripture and don't seek to answer questions
When you're done with that, watch the news and compare yourself
When you've done that, go back and ask
Is this between the lines

Listening

How much do we really listen to those around us? In an exercise in youth group, we had friends, colleagues, and even spouses share in a question and answer time in which they went into a time of intentional listening. During this time, there were facts that we learned about one another even though we really thought we knew people. Intentionality in those around us led to intentionality in sharing which led to intentionality to listening to God in a later exercise. How true this is of life, intentionality of listening to others can lead us to be intentionality in listening to God.
Cool stuff

Life's a changing

So since the last update
-We have one baby on the way
-We have one new car
-We have one new apartment
-We have lost 3 family members
-We still love one another

Moral of the story: Life is a changing and we remain blessed, but not favored...following but not fallen...amazed but not surprised...awed but not allover...working but not worked...open but not hollow...moral but not pompous...reading but not read...

Greek to me

So Greek is going on and I've got no way to really know how to react to it than to either cry or study my rear off until my eye balls fall out. Either way, my optic nerves will be hurting.
More later

Two days until class

There are two days until class starts and I don't know how to react. I've never been a mature student. That doesn't mean I wasn't a good student or intelligent. No, it simply means my time, my attention span, and my priorities were not those of a mature person. As a married man who left a career behind, I give myself a pep-talk everyday about being a mature student. I understand more the importance of time management and the understanding of spiritual growth in the realms of academia.
Tracy has been offered a nanny position and we can't be more happy with the possibilities as this position offers a few months of constant care and eventually goes to part-time. This will allow the saving of money and the beginning of her school year the following semester. She is beginning to rethink the path that she thought she was going with sonography and is now looking more at nursing or education; both of which offer degrees and not just certification.
Indeed, we are on a new path to wherever the Lord is leading us. I am sure that our spirituality will take jumps through hoops and eb and flow and little bit while in seminary as we will both learn from each other and I will learn different ideas from my academic pursuits.
I have found myself more opened minded in a larger city of people from different backgrounds, creeds, races, and what have you. This is not to say I was close minded before and I would even disgress and say it is more of an open heart and a progressive spirit. I would certainly charge anyone to live somewhere that puts him or her outside of the comfort zone of like-mindedness for a few months. It has certainly done this body and mind good. I find myself laughing and questioning the motives of former self who was more close minded and questioning the motives of those who are currently. I look toward my more southern roots and shake my head at the racism that still exists over lack of understanding and the unwillingness to budge. To think that pure hate still exists even in this age of need for a country such as Haiti that is of one race troubles me. To think that reverse racism, stereotypes, and hatred exist in this age of media exposure where there is proof that stereotypes are empty should baffle any of us. We often tell each other to tear down the four walls of institutions that do the most good in order to do such in our society. However, when we allow ourselves to only tear down the walls of our choosing, then the will of God will never be done. Oh well, some may call that Rob trying to change the world again. Of course, I will also rant that too often people are called close minded because of certain convictions on certain issues that are completely legit and I won't go into these. However, if you are calling people close minded because they don't agree with a situation that you, yourself would call yourself open-minded about, are you not close minded by not allowing them to be open about it. Abortion and the Super Bowl? Come on, regardless of opinion, was there not also a planned parenthood commercial in last year's March madness? Of course, on the other side, I was against any sort of boycotting of Disney because of a homosexual person on their networks.
We ask for your prayers in our preparation and in our decisiveness.
R

Feeling like Retirement

In some ways, this month of waiting to discover the next step in our journey is a lot like retirement. We can wake up at anytime that we want to, find ways to keep ourselves entertained, and find ourselves wanting a rocking chair and binoculars to watch the birds. I've found it hard not having something accountable to pry me out of the bed in the morning. We thought it would be a good idea to move a month before school started for me, but it's been a little more difficult than first thought. The bils are still there, the familiarity is not; the days still roll, the money doesn't; the house hold chores still pile up, social invitations do not. It is certainly a "biding time" sort of season in our lives.

Some good news, Tracy had an interview with a nanny service who might have a family for her and got to help with a church's preschool for the chance to earn a little extra cash and possible connections. Some bad news, I found out one of the churches I was talking to has called off the search for the youth director because of financial problems. Of course, if I could call them and tell them I would work for less pay, I would. Regardless, God's blessings on them as they experience this problem so many other churches are facing as well.

Dory's getting to know most of the neighborhood cats. I don't use that term lightly. The community takes in strays fixes them and lets them roam around the neighborhood while different people feed them. That's right other people feed the strays....not us. However, they end up right there in front of our house baiting Dory to tear up the blinds and jump out the window to come and play. Oh well, she's rediscovering the leash as we've had to readjust after she didn't have to worry about it for 4 years or so.

I'm about to finish my reading of Gulliver's Travels or The Grapes of Wrath: I haven't decided. That, coupled with Atlanta's local stations via our high tech rabbit ears, will keep me entertained while Tracy works (I'm saying when, not if).
I do have an opportunity to talk with the youth director with Atlanta's biggest Presbyterian church next week for a possible internship which may be pretty cool.

Prayers: Man what happened to Haiti pretty much sucks all around. I certainly lift up that country as a whole in their decision making and many losses. It's crazy how small my own problems seem in comparison to that but we serve a God who cares just as much about each problem individually. Natural events happen and sometimes we get in the way of them and this was one of those situations. Second prayer is for my Uncle JD's family. He died at the age of 91. WOW! I hope I can stay around that long. He was a fun guy and I remember his and my long walks in Mountain View, Arkansas and his feeding me an eskimo pie when finished. I really liked him and thank God for his life.

All right, those are my ramblings,
Peace

Our journey continues

Tracy and I have made it to Decatur and have officially been here one week. We have had the honor to hang out with people 3 separate times from which friendships should stem. Our love for one another has certainly deepened as we've been tested by small spaces, cold air, and lack of the common ammenities by which our lives are usually connected. We are constantly reminding ourselves that this is God's call as sometimes it can be hard to remember this because we are at (what Tracy calls) "a limbo period" of our lives. At this point, we haven't heard from any jobs but are leaning on each other for support vocally and lovingly in telling each other that we will find some. We have received word from the "home front" that all is going well with youth group and with Tracy's former job as well. To know that the Lord is still being served at FPC VB allows us a bit of peace although I admittedly check my phone constantly to see if anyone needs anything only to remind myself that there are people in place to check that. Tracy has busied herself in making sure that the house looks like a home and making sure I don't kill the walls with scrapes or scratches (I've made a few). Tracy discovered her first snow fall of her Georgia life and decided to wake up early to go play in it the night after it snowed. So at 10:30 am (that's early apparently) we went for a walk around our quaint neighborhood. I decided to take us on a short cut that put us out of our way by at least half an hour. The first part was romantic and the second was...well...spent trying to hurry our way to a heated location. Tracy and I neither one thought that our appendages would ever have feelings again. We've discovered Thai food and the beauty of leftover pasta (3x now) and tonight we allowed ourselves to eat out so we could have a little more substance in our systems.
God's blessed us so far and we pray that continues.
-Rob