Meanwhile, Thirty Years Later ....

It's funny how things can go in cycles.

Here we are, June of 2016, packing up our worldly possessions and getting ready to move ... but we don't know to where. The ministry we have been doing for ten years is changing and God has opened the door for us to begin a brand new ministry, but the location has not yet been determined. Our oldest son is living with us and he is impacted by this move because it means he needs a place to live as well -- probably not where we will be living.

In June of 1986 our oldest son wasn't yet two years old and Joann was pregnant with our second child. We had just been "invited to resign" from a youth ministry position (did I say that politely enough?). We were living in a town that we enjoyed and we were feeling good about the ministry that was happening in the lives of the young people at church as well as many of those at the local high school. Seemingly, out of the blue, it all came to a screeching halt ... and we were faced with a move, but we didn't know to where.

Through the gracious invitation of a friend from our youth ministry life we were invited to work for the summer at a large denominational camp. We were no strangers to camp life having already done two other summers of camp ministry prior to taking our current youth ministry position. We were set for the summer: housing, food and an opportunity to continue in ministry. But what about September?

The summer was great -- good friends and fun at camp (who doesn't love camp?). And somewhere in the time at camp, I can't even remember the sequence of events, a friend I had gone to bible school with invited us to live with him and his wife in their large house in SE Portland. Interesting side note: his wife was also pregnant, due pretty soon after Joann! What could be better? Two college friends, two pregnant wives and a toddler?

Well, it really did go great. The time together went well and through several different series of events I ended up working full time for a local bank, we rented an apartment (later we were able to rent a lovely house) and this whole sequence put things in motion for us to move overseas a few years later.

Now, it seems we are back in a similar spot. Today there are four kids, three of them are married. We have a grandson, soon to be joined by a granddaughter and we are near that time when I think you are supposed to retire and play with your grand kids. But God has given us an opportunity to start something brand new.

We know that because of the kindness of a friend we have a place to live when we move in a few weeks, but we don't know much besides that. God has a hope and a future for us --  we are very confident of how He has led to this point -- but there are things that we cannot see just yet.

I haven't even looked into the possibility of camp yet!

The Gift of Time

There is so much I haven't told you ....

Anyway, the ministry location we are at is closing down and we are in search of a new ministry location. In the meantime we have started a brand new ministry, but until it finds its new "home" we are in the proverbial state of "limbo".

I realized today that the gift of "limbo" is that I have time to do things that I neglect too often. Time to write. Time to read. Time to stop and think about more than the next 20 minutes.

The irony in this is that the focus of our new ministry is helping people to take the time they need to process life. Time to think, to reflect, to slow down and deal with more than the next 20 minutes.

I hope that in this time you hear from me more regularly. I am looking forward to reading books that have been piling up as well as taking time to listen to podcasts that help me think more clearly about our future and our plans. These are all good things -- too long neglected.

Let's hear it for the gift of time!