Last Week at Work

Well, it's been kind of a sad week... Actually when I think about it, it's been a really sad week. Yesterday was my last day in the office at Bellevue and today Angie, Jackson, and I went to clean out all of my stuff. I'm excited about the work that I'm going to do, but I'm going to really miss the people I work with here in Memphis. OK, enough of that.

Jackson just told me to write about the zoo. So, even though we will miss the Memphis Zoo very much, we've found the website about the Knoxville Zoo and it looks pretty cool too. They have 2 lions... a mommy lion and a daddy lion with round and round hair (as Jackson calls him). Here's one of my favorite pictures of Jackson at the zoo. You can't even see any animals but I think it's a cute picture. He just had to wear this hat that day.



Pretty cute huh.

I realized that I haven't written about our trip to Nicaragua yet. I don't have time to write all I want to now. I'm posting a couple of pics from our sight-seeing day though. These are of the volcano in Maysaya.




It was my first visit to an active volcano... kinda weird. Anyway, that's enough for now. We're going to dinner with some good friends tonight. Looking forward to that! Have a great weekend and a great day in worship on Sunday!

Big Orange Country

Well, it's official. We are moving to Knoxville - home of the Vols (I better learn to like orange). I have been called by Sevier Heights Baptist Church as their Associate Pastor of Worship (that's a fancy name for Minister of Music). Check out their website at www.sevierheights.org.
This has been a long, complicated journey, but God has shown Himself faithful to us once again. I am so blessed to have this opportunity and to have been able to serve at Bellevue for the past three years. So now I've found myself in the difficult position of trying to adequately express how thankful I am to the people that we've been serving here at Bellevue. My family has been loved on and encouraged by this church more than anyone could ever know. I'm a better Christian, a better husband, a better father, a better minister, a better musician, a better friend, a better leader, a better follower, and a better man because of what I've learned from the people here at Bellevue. Thanks to all of you from the bottom of my heart. I will thank my God upon every remembrance of you. I love you all.
We'll be moving in the next few weeks. My first Sunday at Sevier Heights is August 19. There's a lot to do between now and then. Please keep us in your prayers. We really need to sell our house and would really like to be able to find one there soon as well - those are 2 huge prayer requests.
Once we get settled in there I promise I'll do better with my blog!

What's Wrong with Me??????

Holy cow! I just realized that it's been 18 days since my last post. What is wrong with me???? I started out so strong, now I'm slacking in a major way. I've got to get myself together. I don't really even know what to write about. A lot has been going on these last few weeks.
I performed my first wedding this past Saturday. That was kinda cool. Brian Smith and Cindy Robinson are both choir members at Bellevue. They were kind enough to be my guinea pigs, so to speak. I did the ceremony and the pre-marital counseling (I'm learning that counseling is not my strongest area). I actually really enjoyed it. It's humbling to be a part of that moment in someone else's life... very cool.
Today Angie and I had eye doctor appointments. I was blind for half the day. They dilated my eyes and then had me pick out the frames for my new glasses. That is so unfair. I really don't know what they're going to look like... I couldn't see diddly-squat. Then I had to drive myself back to work. It was interesting.
My Aunt Polly got a new dog. She's one of the few people who actually read this blog. So, congratulations Polly. I can't wait to meet my new cousin!
That's all for now. I really am going to try and do better... I promise.

What a Week!

Man, this week has been a whirlwind and a half! I'm glad to have a minute to sit down and blog a little. I've got a lot to talk about... where to begin?

I know you're all dying to hear about the reunion, so I'll start there. It was weird. Most everybody looked pretty much the same. I guess all the bald people just stayed at home:) It was good to see some old friends that I haven't talked to in a while. Several of my really close friends from school weren't able to make it for one reason or another but some of them were there. It's funny how people stay pretty much the same. For the most part the people that did stupid stuff in high school are still doing stupid stuff. And the people that made fun of the people doing stupid stuff are still doing that. Some things never change; but then again some things do. Some people have made some really great decisions that surprised me a little bit. Some had made some really bad decisions that surprised me a lot. I guess I left feeling really grateful for how God has blessed me. I'm really thankful for the wife and the life God has entrusted me with! I was reminded that I need to walk worthy of all of this.

Next... today is my dad's birthday. I love my dad. He's getting old, but I love him:) He's a little bit down in his back today (old age strikes again!) so I'll post some pictures to cheer him up.


Happy birthday, Daddy! Hope these help your feelings. Love you.

Next... this week was Vacation Bible School at church. Ken and I led the joint worship time called "The Gathering". There were over 2,000 of the most fired up, excited, screaming kids you've ever seen. It was awesome! We all had a blast. How can you not have a blast with Ken Reich though. He's the man!

I have to admit though, our family is going through beach withdrawals this week. A couple of days ago Jackson was talking about Nanny (my grandmother who passed away last November). He loved her (as we all did). Angie said, "Jackson, Nanny is in heaven with Jesus. Do you want to go to heaven and see Nanny and Jesus?". Jackson thought for a minute and said, "No, I want to go to Florida"... He really loves the beach!


Have a great weekend everyone!

I Wonder if Anyone's Bald Yet?

It has been too long since I've posted anything here. We've been in Destin, FL all week with the high school seniors from church. I've been leading worship for their senior trip. God's been teaching me a lot through the speaker (Mike Curry) and through some things that have been going on in my life. I'm not sure that I can articulate it all right now and it's really early in the morning. Maybe I'll try another time.
Tonight is my 10 year high school class reunion. Angie and I are going to it. I'm pretty excited to see some friends that I haven't talked with in a while. It's funny how important those relationships are to you when you're in school and as soon as it's over you let them go. People are so weird (myself included). Sunday morning we'll be heading back to Memphis and our crazy summer will continue. I'm sure I'll be writing soon about the reunion! I wonder if anyone is bald yet????