Category: Stuff (Page 34 of 65)

We had two appointments to show our house tonight. The first one didn’t show. Bummer. The 2nd one was pretty decent though. Supposed to follow up a bit tomorrow with a few details I didn’t have handy.

Last weekend we went down to the Land of Arrows. Looked for house and The Wife got to see the church and city and we hoped to have learned the lay of the land a bit. We get to the church and the pastor gives us a quick tour again (for the sake of The Wife). We meet a few people. The we met up with the old YP (but current Assoc. P) and the guy youth intern. They gave us a quick tour of the city and then we went to Sonic. There I met about a dozen or so junior high kids. The we go to the home coming parade.

It was actually really good. Tons of participation of all school clubs, lots of candy being thrown out (much to the joy of The Kid) and tons upon tons of people there to watch. Then I seemed to have met about another 2 or 3 dozen people in a matter of minutes. We go back to the church and I watch a quick video of an upcoming retreat I’m going to try and go to. Then we drive around on our own for a while.

We find neighborhoods and schools and bad parts of Jackson and back to town and all that. It’s getting dark so we go to the Pastor’s house. There we chill for about 10 minutes then it was off to eat at The Hat (or El Sombrero). Then we went to a JHigh dance at the church. There I met about 75 people in a short time span. Then back to the house for bed.

The next day we drive around and look at houses with a realtor who is cool and works w/ the youth at the church as well. We saw a few houses, but none we really like. None that we remotely like. We’ll have to do more looking…maybe even go up a level. We’ll see.

Then we drove home, ran an errand or two, at breakfast for supper and watched The Day After Tomorrow. Good movie. Good special effects. Pretty good plot and character development. Go rent it today.

I went to a youth event at another church last night. It was a community wide event and they had free pizza and a drawing for an XBox. Couple that with the fact that they went to a handful of schools in the county with a strong, ex SoCal & NFL football player who could do some fairly amazing feats of strength and the masses turned out. It was pretty much one of those “If you were to die tonight…” and “Every head bowed every eye closed” sort of deals. Then the front was packed with people looking to make a decision. I sometimes get a little skeptical about it when that many come forward…sorta like a crowd mentality sort of thing. But I do pray that it was real.

Anyhow, I saw this tshirt on a guy (it was a regular tshirt, not a girl’s-T that’s pictured here). I think it’s kinda funny when compared to the “Jesus is my homeboy” shirts you see on the stars in Holywood. I’m pretty sure you’ll never see me wearing either of these though. But it does make me snicker. Is the Mary-Homegirl shirt more of a Catholic thing?

Now we go looking for new houses.

This could either be a relaxing time or a hectic time. Turns out it’s high school homecoming where I’m moving too. So there’s lots of activity there this weekend. So there’s lots I could be pulled into. But we gotta look at houses and get a feel for the area too. We’ll see how the weekend goes. Really looking forward to it.

The Wife still hasn’t even seen the church or the city or anything. I’ve heard great things about Clinton though (the city, not the man).

We stuck the sign in the yard and put an ad in the paper and a page on the grand ole world wide web.

Now we need a buyer.

So we pray and we pray. Hopefully things will go quickly. If not, we’ll have some big decisions to make as far as renting something or being split up til it sells or something like that.

Today was fairly smooth. A handful of people asked for a bit of explanation. Many said that were proud and happy for us. Some just winked.

Now I have over a month and a half of having my mind in two places. I was looking around some youth ministry forums this week. Most people there said that two weeks was the ideal time for a notice to be given. And here I am at two months. But I can’t imagine it being only two weeks. Heck, it’s been one week already!

But some have suggested it being a slow disolve of my responsibilities over the last month. Almost to the point of me doing nothing the last couple of weeks. That way responsibility can be effectively handed over to the new boss(s) and then it’s not a cold turkey sort of thing. Plus, around that time The Wife will have The Kid Part II. Supposed to be here right in the middle of the month. We’ll see, but I’m sure that will be an interesting time.

We stuck a FOR SALE sign in our yard yesterday. It blew off in the night (omen? I think not.) But want to try and sell it ourself. We’ve gotten two calls of interest so far. Just basic inquiries. But we want to sell fast and find something fast too. I wouldn’t mind renting an apartment for a few months. But The Wife would rather not. We’ll see what we end up thinking is the best route to take at the time. Moving is going to be pretty stressful, I can already tell.

I dropped one of my seminary classes. I should have dropped both. I have absolutely no motivation right now to do any of the work.

Oh yeah….Mississippi State sucks at football. I’ll go ahead and say we will for the next, oh….., 3 years.

Bout to head to church. Last weekend was the time that I told all the students at church that I was leaving to take a position with another church. It was rough. This week has been interesting. But by now the entire church should know. So I’ll be shaking a lot of hands and answering a lot of questions today.

We’ll see how it goes.

Appetizer
What are your plans for the upcoming weekend?
High school football game. Yard sale. Maybe a movie.

Soup
Who was the last person you talked to on the telephone?
Um, Melinda. An old friend who just happened to move to where we’re moving to soon. So I was getting some real estate info from her.

Salad
Name a hobby that you’ve tried but eventually gave up for some reason.
Skateboarding. Looked cool. But didn’t give it the effort to learn to board.

Main Course
What is the most important personality quality in a mate?
That they love the Lord.

Dessert
Why is the sky blue (be creative with your answer)?
Because God’s favorite color, Maroon, would look a little funny.

You look at your house and see things that you need to do to it. Little things here and there. But not things that are pressing.

Then you need to sell your house, and you think all of those things have to be fixed RIGHT NOW! They’ll get done, but I have to be a little more wise with my time. My wife can get about 3 days worth of stuff done in a day. I can do a days worth of stuff in 3 days. We gotta meet in the middle somewhere.

I’m going to throw together a web page for people to look at our house. The web address will go in the ad we’re putting in the local paper next week. Hopefully it will get a few looks.

But time is now of the essence.

Well…I said we had some big news.

We’re moving.

I’ve been here in this town for all my life. That’s a long time to me. Yes, I’ve been away at college some and working at different camps in the summer. But this place has been home to me for a long while.

But we’re leaving to go to a new church. I’ll be the youth minister there after being here at this church for eight years. It wasn’t an easy decision. It wasn’t something that we decided on a whim. But after a lot of prayer and thought and prayer and wrestleing with it…we think that this is God’s direction for us…and we’re being obedient.

I told my pastors on Thursday. It was a nervous time. It surprised them and caught them a little off guard. But they said it was a good opportunity for me and that I was going to a good church.

We told the kids Sunday night. I had a lesson on God’s call and how He called many different people from where they were to go somewhere else. Then I told them that I was feeling a new call. Told them we were leaving soon and how difficult it was to tell them that. I was met with blank stares. Absent of emotion. But slowly the tears crept in and a little sinffles here and there. We ended in prayer and most came and gave me a hug. Some said words of encouragement, others just cried/hugged and left. It was tough. I mean tough. Hands down the most difficult thing I’ve ever done.

We were leaving church and talking to the pastor in the ally that runs between our two buildings. Then some parents found me and talked to me in the ally. Some pretty aggressive. “Why are you doing this? Are you feeling pushed out? Is someone in the church doing this to you?” No. No. No. It’s truly a feeling that this is a move of God. Not everyone always understands that.

Later that night I went to a parent’s house to talk w/ her some more. A handful of kids were over there. One said that it’s not sunk in yet. It really hasn’t to me either. To think of moving after all these years here. And going to a bigger city/church/group/etc is a big step too.

So I ask for your prayers. Baby’s coming. House selling. Home finding/buying. Ministry leaving. All that wrapped up in the next few months.

Back from the ashes…

Appetizer
What sound, other than the normal ringing, would you like your telephone to make?
A voice to say, “Hey, _________ is calling!”

Soup
Describe your usual disposition in meteorological terms (partly cloudy, sunny, stormy, etc.).
Mostly Sunny

Salad
What specific subject do you feel you know better than any other subjects?
My bowel movement schedule.

Main Course
Imagine you were given the ability to remember everything you read for one entire day. What books/magazines/newspapers would you choose to read?
I’d try to read as much of the Bible as I could cram in there in 24 hours. Talk about scripture memory!!!!

Dessert
If a popular candy maker contacted you to create their next candy bar, what would it be like?
It would be like the Whatchamacallit. Is there a better candy bar?