I am packing for a short trip to Ecuador. It is only for five days; a short trip to go a long ways. In case you did not know, I grew up in Ecuador and lived there for fifteen years. My parents have been there for thirty years. My sister presently lives there. The purpose of the trip is to participate in a formal goodbye for my parents, who are moving to Missouri. This should be fun. Although I will miss my wife and kids terribly…

I am reflecting on something Perry said a few weeks ago. He said, “There must be a reason why we are not immediately zapped up to Heaven when we get saved.” The reason, of course, is that we were meant to share that with others. (Read on …)

We traveled just about 1600 miles to get to South Carolina. It was a long, but fun trip. We drove through Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, a few feet in Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, and finally arrived in South Carolina. We had two cars, three kids, one dog, and a bunch of fast food hamburgers. Lizzy rode with me and spent much of the time reading — which left ample time for me to think. And think I did.

(Read on …)

So — we are here in South Carolina. I noted some random thoughts I had during the trip:

• The movers showed up on Monday morning and charged me $1500 LESS than what I was expecting. When does that happen? They also showed up in South Carolina the day we did… no waiting for our stuff!
• Kansas is absurdly boring to drive through.
• Gas station bathrooms are almost certainly nasty.
• When all you can pick up on your radio is fundamentalist preaching, it is not all bad.
• Fantastic Caverns in Springfield, Missouri is a cool, albeit expensive, sight to see. It would be cooler if they let the patrons drive the Jeep.
• Driving on a two-lane bridge with no shoulder over the Mississippi River while a semi is barreling towards you is unnerving.
• I am not sure why there are so many elderly couples driving along in Buicks in the Ozarks. Peer pressure?
• There is an all-gospel, all-bluegrass radio station in Paducah, Kentucky.
• A family of five can eat at Cracker Barrel for the same price as Arby’s.
• Driving through Nashville at 5pm is not recommended.
• I am pretty sure that the $7 fee I paid to have my dog at the hotel means that I do not have to pick up the poop.
• Any cross country road trip that does not include at least one trip to the ER is really lacking. (BTW, Luke is just fine.)
• The kids think that any hotel room is the coolest thing ever — that is awesome.
• For some reason, I-24 leaves Tennessee, enters Georgia, and then re-enters Tennessee a few miles later.
• Finding postcards in gas stations is harder than it seems it should be. Fortunately a free state map at the Visitor Center seems to suffice as a souvenir.
• If one spends several hours in a car with a dog, then one begins to smell like said dog.
• Talking on walkie-talkies is fun; especially if you say stuff like: “cut the chatter, red two,” “roger,” “10-4,” “niner,” “copy that gold leader,” “over and out,” and other such garble.
• It does not matter where you are going — when you get there, it is pretty much awesome.
• Mandy tells me that the movie Elf is just as funny if you can only hear it and cannot watch it.
• German cars were made to be driven fast and that’s just all there is to it.
• One of my favorite realizations is when you understand that what is happening RIGHT NOW is a memory that you will not forget for a lifetime.
• If you are moving to Anderson, South Carolina and you hit the Georgia/South Carolina border on I-85, it is time to party… because you are almost there.
• It really does not matter where my mail gets delivered; if I am with my lovely bride, then I am home.
• Our house is still on the market — we are anxiously awaiting that sale so we can buy a house here. Patience!

It is hard to specify the excitement I have towards the future. It is like an adventure I know I am embarking on yet not really understanding what is going to happen. But it is also hard to say goodbye to Colorado. I really love this state. I was born here. I love the mountains, the Broncos, and Denver. And it is with this twist of emotion that I look around and realize there is a lot more work to be done. Less typing and more packing! Tomorrow we start our journey across the country. I expect lots of corn and sunflowers in the immediate future. And hopefully a good roadside chicken fried steak. Carolina or bust!

The past few days have been quite difficult. Mandy and I have been constantly on the move — even when we are not moving, our minds certainly are. There are lots of things to ponder and question. There are decisions that have to be made. And while we are confident in our larger decision to move to South Carolina, there are dozens of other decisions that cause confusion. And over the past couple of days, I have come across the obvious answer.

(Read on …)

It seems there has been a lot of junk happening in our lives recently. It is as if someone is trying to interfere with progress. Makes sense, right? If we are truly following God we can only expect to have some difficulties. Jesus promised that right before His high priestly prayer:

(Read on …)

House is up for sale. Packing has begun. And now Tony has made me famous.

I am praying that God will allow this all to happen smoothly. It would simply be swell if someone bought our house this weekend AND if we could find one in Anderson this weekend, too. Pray with us for that!

I am pretty giddy about being back in South Carolina in a couple of days. These truly are exciting times. I am also pumped about virtually meeting so many cool people in and around NewSpring — can’t wait to meet them in person!