Ice, Ice Baby

I'm stuck at home this morning due to some unexpected ice on the roads. EVERYTHING is shut down (maybe not everything, but it sure seems like it). As luck would have it we got home last night from dinner out with friends and noticed our heat wasn't keeping up with the thermostat. I crawled around under the house like I knew what I was looking for until I realized what an idiot I am about heating and air units. I finally gave up and we resolved to be cold. Angie and I filled up the air mattress (that we borrowed forever ago from our friends Shay and Shanle) and we all (Jack included) slept on it in front of the fireplace. Turns out our house is pretty well insulated... don't get me wrong, it's still cold but it could be a lot worse. I called our builder first thing this morning. He knows how to fix it but can't get over here yet because of the ice. AGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!! We're making a memory - I guess.

I have a really busy few weeks coming up. Pray for my health and for the joy of the Lord to be my strength. I have several really great ministry opportunities and I don't want to just be on auto-pilot, I really desire to be filled with the power of the Spirit to glorify Jesus. I'll be away from Angie and Jackson a lot more than usual too so pray for them also.

Here's my favorite picture of Jackson from Christmas this year:

He was helping me hang up pictures.

Stay warm and have a great week enjoying Jesus!

Time Flies When You're Having Fun

I've always heard that the older you get the faster time goes by, but it's really true. This year has gone by so fast. Also, I guess this year has been one of the most transitional years of my life. I made a big move across the state, took a new job, bought and sold a house, lived in a rental house for 4 months, and started a blog - whew! It's been a great year! Time flies when you're having fun!!
Ok, a lot of people have been asking about the Living Christmas Tree so for the 3 of you who read my blog let me give the official report. There were 5 performances at the Thompson-Boling Arena. The estimated attendance was 60,000 (however, we are currently in the midst of a recount). A total of 692 people came forward to make a decision for Christ - 507 of those were for salvation. Praise the Lord! The show went well. It was a major learning experience for me. Doing a show in an arena like that is a lot different from anything I'd done before. I was amazed by the people in our church that came out to help. It takes an army to pull something like that off. All in all I was really happy with it - and Jackson thought it was awesome (he's not always the easiest to please)! I'm looking forward to 2008 when I'll be involved from the start. Can't wait to see what we can come up with!
Have a merry Christmas! It's all about HIM!

Busy, busy, busy

Wow. There is so much going on right now. We had a great Thanksgiving. My dad and stepmother came up from Pensacola. We had a lot of fun with them.

Also, we're finally moving. We will close on a new house in Knoxville on Wednesday of this week. The movers will arrive Thursday morning with all of our stuff - Happy day! We also sold our house in Memphis! What a blessing!

Also, our church is getting ready to present our Living Christmas Tree. I'll be directing it for the first time. It's going to be a lot of fun! You can check out more info here.
I realized again this year how blessed I am. I have a beautiful, healthy family that loves me in spite of myself. I love my job. I have great friends and a great church. God is good (I'm also thankful that His goodness doesn't depend on me having any of those things).


This is a picture of my 2 favorite people a couple of weeks ago at our house. Aren't they cute!

Waiting

It seems like every time I begin to write I feel the need to apologize for how long it's been since last time I posted something here. So, I'll go ahead and get it out of the way. I'm sorry. I'm a terrible blogger. I've been so busy since we moved to Knoxville.

Last week our choir and orchestra made a trip to Louisville, KY to do a concert at the National Quartet Convention. I ususally don't consider myself a huge southern gospel fan (although I can appreciate anything that's done well and in the right spirit), but I had a really good time. We sang with The Talley Trio, Phil Cross and the Poet Voices, The Kingdomheirs, and Larnelle Harris. It was a great time. It also gave us a chance to bond with some of the choir and orchestra members. You can see some of the pictures here. After you enter the site choose photos and find "Celebrate with Sevier Heights Choir and Orchestra".

Right now we're in Memphis. We came to check on the house (which we're not so patiently waiting to sell) and to get some fall clothes and beach supplies - that's right, we're getting ready to go to the beach. I'm going to an executive staff retreat Monday-Wednesday of next week in Pigeon Forge the coming back to work for 2 days. Then after church on Sunday night, we're loading up the car and heading south! This is our annual family gathering near Destin, FL. It's the highlight of the year for me - can't wait!!!!

Those of you who know me well know that patience isn't one of my greatest strengths. I guess I really don't know very many truly patient people though. That's what we're working on - waiting on God's timing for the sale of our house in Memphis. As you pray for our house to sell, please also pray that we will be patient and trust God's perfect timing in this situation. Have a great weekend!

Trusting Him,
Jon

Settling In

Well, We've sort of made the move and are started to get settled in Knoxville. It has been a wild few weeks though. I'm in the middle of my second week of work and starting to feel a little more like I'm going to survive. It's been like drinking from a fire hose so far. Angie, Jackson, and Lucy made a trip to Memphis yesterday to pick up some more stuff. We only came with the essentials last week. We're going to leave most everything in Memphis until our house sells. I really miss them and will be glad when they come back. It's amazing how much you miss all the noise that comes along with a 3 year old boy when it's not there for a few days. Angie bought a picture to hang in Jack's room the other day that says:

"Boy (n) - a noise with dirt on it."

It's so true, isn't it. I know it is at our house.

Jackson's doing well with the change. There's a park around the corner from where we're living. It has a stream, 2 playgrounds, and lots of walking tracks and grass and trees. We've been walking over there almost every evening and playing. He likes to throw rocks, sticks, big acorns, etc. in the water.

The people at our new church have really made us feel welcome. Our first Sunday was a lot of fun. We sang an awesome song called "Lord, You're Holy" that really blessed me. I think this is going to be a great place to serve! We're so excited to see what God is going to do. Have a great week everyone.