The Busiest Two Weeks I've Had This Decade

The Move
I finished working at the homeless shelter on June 13th. We said our goodbyes at Redeemer Church in Fort Worth, TX the following day. Monday we loaded up our truck and to my surprise--everything we own fits in a 26 foot U-haul truck. We left Fort Worth that afternoon and made it as far as Oklahoma City. We stayed at a hotel overnight and left the next morning for West Plains. We arrived around 3 p.m. and went by the appropriate offices to get our utilities turned on. Unfortunately we could not start unloading the truck until Wednesday because we were not closing until that morning at 9:30 a.m. We were happy to find out at closing that we were actually getting a little money back. After closing, we unloaded and returned the truck. I wondered how we had ever fit all of our things in our old apartment. It seemed like we were in wall to wall boxes with no where to move. Fortunately, my parents took our girls to Illinois with them that night and Amy and I had from Wednesday night until Saturday morning to unpack. While in Illinois, Adie got to hold a pig, but Amanda was too scared. We didn't get everything done, but we got it in at least a livable condition so that we could bring the girls home. We opened a new bank account, and fixed several things that needed fixing, and during this time I also mowed the lawn twice--it grows so much faster when you own your own home you know.

The SBC Convention
Saturday morning, Amy and I loaded up our car for our first trip back to Louisville, KY since leaving there in December 2004. It took us about 7.5 hours, and we spent about 1 minute driving through Illinois on the way there--we crossed the bridge over the Mississippi into Cairo, and then made a right turn and crossed another bridge into Kentucky. We stayed with my cousin, Justin Guffey, in Indiana while we were at the convention. It was a time of homecoming, and it was also my first time going to the SBC. Sunday morning we visited Clifton Baptist Church where we were members while living in Louisville. We saw several old friends, but mostly brand new faces. After church we had lunch with our friends Bernie and Misty Vandaveer. That evening we went to the opening services of the SBC Pastor's Conference. I enjoyed the conference thouroughly. In my own humble opinion, I believe the highlight of the pastor's conference was the message by David Platt. I was also highly encouraged by the SBC Convention itself. There seemed to be a lot of other young messengers there this year. We attended the 9 Marks at 9 meetings after the days events on Monday and Tuesday. I also went to the Baptist 21 panel discussion at Sojourn Church and got lost on my way back to the convention. I was especially encouraged by the affirmative vote on Dr. Mohler's motion to create a Great Commission Resurgence Task Force to study how our convention can be better stewards for the cause of the Great Commission. It's odd that some of the opposition to the motion criticized it as some kind of Hyper-Calvinist trick. The whole purpose was to see how we can have more money for foreign missions! Unfortunately, Amy and I had to leave the convention early because I had another responsibility in Atlanta, GA the next morning, and she had to drive herself back to Pocahontas, IL to get our children.

ACCS
I flew out from Louisville, by myself, at 3:40 p.m. on Wednesday, June 24. I had a brief layover in Charlotte, NC before flying to Atlanta, GA. It got there around 8:30 p.m. and had to figure out some way to get to the hotel. I had planned on getting a cab, but I stopped by an information booth and they said it would be cheaper if I got a shared ride shuttle, so I took her advice and went to the shuttle area. I was surprised that when I got to the shuttle area that I was immediately greeted by a man with an Indian accent who said he could take me to my hotel. I shared the ride with a Nigerian man who was there on business going to another hotel that was even further away. I honestly felt that the situation was quite familiar. I felt like I did when getting in a little yellow cab in New Delhi, India--and his driving in Atlanta was not much different either! He did get me safely to the hotel, and I met up with the others from Ozarks Christian Academy for the 2009 conference for the Association of Christian &Classical Schools. I learned a lot and I am so excited about teaching this year. When the conference was over, our group of four loaded up and drove all the way back to West Plains--with a brief detour while getting lost in Birmingham, AL.

Back Home
Since then things have been getting back to normal. I've mowed the lawn two more times already. I have enjoyed having my children back in the house. We are now getting very near to completing our unpacking--the office/library/utility/craft room is the room needing the most work. I've put together 3 new bookshelves and we bought one at a yard sale. It has been a busy two weeks. Very good thing have happened. I've been very encouraged, and I look forward to this new place that God has brought us to.