Last Date In Iowa

Last night Audrey and I went on our last date in Iowa (well, i guess till we come back to visit). We went to Jordan Creek Mall, and ate at one of our favorite restaurants: P.F. Changs. It is possibly and probably the best chinese that I have had. I always get the same thing because it is way too good to try anything else. (The Mongolian Beef with White Sticky Rice) We got to sit out on the deck, it was a gorgeous evening and a great dinner. It's a little crazy because that is the first place that I took Audrey when she came out to visit in August of 2005 before we even got married. After dinner we went to the new Will Smith movie "Hancock". It was entertaining, and overall a pretty good movie. The whole night was a great break from getting things ready to move, and the rest of this week is going to be insanely busy.

A Few Junior High Weekender Pictures

2 weeks till we move! ahhhhh!

life feels pretty crazy right now. we have 2 weeks left here in iowa before we move to wyoming. it's going to be a 14 and a half hour drive to kemmerer when we make the trek. but we are going to split it up into 2 days. everything is very exciting yet we still have all the mundane things of life as well, such as mowing the grass mixed in with renting a 16 ft. truck to haul all of our stuff in. i'm also directing j.h. weekender camp this weekend, so i'm preparing for that as well.

being stuck in the middle of two things is never the best place to be in my opinion. you are still trying to take care of all the stuff that you did before plus anticipate and try to plan for what's ahead. it's a little frustrating, and as of yet a little bit exhausting. because you want to live fully in the present, doing a good job at what you are supposed to be doing now, and by force you have to think about planning for the move.

that's all i got for tonight. peace.

Junior High Camp 2008

This was my second year as director for Junior High Camp for Iowa Yearly Meeting. Our camp meets at Camp Quaker Heights in Eldora, IA. It is nestled right in amongst lots of trees in Pine Lake State Park. This year J.H. Camp went from June 8 to the 13. We had right around 40 kids there, and it went really well. I was also in charge of about 8 high school students who helped me out with games, workshops, the schedule, announcements, rules, and the general things that go into leading a camp. Audrey led our morning chapels and Ryan Kendall was our speaker in the evening. Jesse Watts led worship for us. We only had 1 Tornado warning, only had to make up about 30 new rules, and we didn't have to send anybody home! all in all it was a great time.

Iowa Cubs 2nd Annual Memorial Day 5 Mile Fun Run

Audrey and I ran in the 5 mile fun run this morning. The race started at 10:00 a.m. and we finished at 10:41 and 40 seconds. Audrey came in 4th in her age division, and i have no idea how far back i finished. We saw some other funny runners (an old man with very tight tights, 2 guys who would run a ways then walk, then run then walk....) We got to finish on the baseball field, where they had free gatorade, bananas, chips, pop, and the baseball favorite hotdogs. Not sure how well the hotdog is on your body postrun but it sure tasted good. We also got a free t-shirt, and free tickets into the game. It was a lot of fun, worth the sweat!

Continually Being Drawn By God

Prayer has been something that I have been doing a lot more of lately. It seems that there are so many things that God does in our lives when we listen to Him. Sometimes I really don't want to listen as much as I should because I might not like the outcome of what I hear. God continually draws us beyond our means, beyond our finances, beyond our gifts, beyond our comforts. Out into the unknown. That's a scary place to be. The unknown. My whole world is turned upside down in the unknown. All the things that I can put my faith in are gone. Everything except the One who has drawn me into the unknown. God has gone before me into the unknown, into the places where I have not yet gone. And that is good. That gives me hope. That the One who is calling has gone before, has prepared the way, has laid out what He wants in my life. Continually molding and shaping through the circumstances of life.

I have had one of these experiences as of late. Some of you may know, others maybe not. God has been drawing me into a place where I have not totally been. He has called me to be a Senior Pastor. Whoa! I know! I was shocked myself. All the pieces have been falling into place over the past few months, and God has called Audrey and I to Kemmerer, Wyoming to Pastor at Valley Evangelical Free Church. We will be parterning in ministry to this city of 3,000 with the great body of believers that are there. This is a very exciting time, and also a very hard one. God has given us so much here in Carlisle, that it is extremely hard to tell everyone that we are leaving. We have had great relationships with all the youth in our youth group, the others of the congregation, and with our Pastor and his wife.

So I guess all that being said, God is drawing us out farther than we have ever been! Faith and Hope will abound!

fishing!!!

One of the biggest fish that i have caught.... ever .... and i was talking on the phone to one of my best friends adam. Multi-tasking at it's finest!

a side shot, it had a pretty fat belly, and an incredibly large mouth...

Me and my beautiful wife