Blessed

I started my new job at CSI last Tuesday, May 26th. I love it. I have so much to learn, but I feel an incredible peace that this is where God wants me at this moment. It's wonderful to have this opportunity to serve God by supporting the men and women who have accepted His call to mission's work. The work environment is so different than what I'm accustomed to. Within the first hour at CSI we had already had an all-staff bible study and prayer. So different . . . Kimberly and I are also being abundantly blessed with an opportunity to participate in a mission's experience in Ireland. We will be leaving in late July and will be gone for about a week. Life is good. God is awesome.

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Today was yet another wonderful day. Although we are staying in a small town called Hixon, we are only a short drive from downtown Chattanooga. We returned to the Bluff View Art District today to eat lunch at an amazing Italian restaurant called Tony's. Then we spent some time strolling along the beautiful riverside sidewalks. We also visited Kimberly's favorite used book store called McKay's and found some great books for great prices! After having some downtime, we went to have dinner at a pizza place called Lupi's. The pizza was awesome and the environment was very mellow. We were joined by Kimberly's brothers Mick and Allen, her sister-in-law Shannon, her father Gary and his wife Ivy, and our nieces Katie and Stephi. The pizza maker did crazy tricks with the dough and even gave our nieces some to play with. We spent a couple hours at Lupi's just catching up and spending time together. I love Kimberly's family! They are all so boisterous and funny, so there's never a dull moment.

Today was great day, but man . . . I'm beat!

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Today was a wonderful day. After sleeping in a bit, Kimberly and I went down to the Bluff View Art District and ate at Rembrandt's Coffeehouse. The environment was wonderful!

Then we visited the Bluff View Art Gallery, which was amazing!

After checking out all the great art, Kimberly's brother Mick took us to his workplace. It's a jungle of tangled wires and blinking lights. I'm now convinced he's a genius . . .

Kimberly and I spent a couple hours relaxing with one another. We then ended the evening with a trip to the Chattanooga Murder Mystery Dinner Theater, which was a blast! Kimberly was pulled on stage and became part of the act. She was hilarious!

What a great day!

My Top Ten "Must-Have's" for a Road Trip

In Case You Didn't Know . . .

So, it's pretty obvious I'm going through a career change, but I guess I've been a bit vague about my upcoming job. I've been asked several times recently what I'll be doing next. So, in case you didn't know, I'll be working for Christian Services International, often referred to as CSI. This is an organization that serves to share the redeeming gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the world. I'm not exactly sure on all the details of what I'll be doing there, hence the vagueness, but as I learn more about it, I'll be sure to keep everyone updated! So now you know ;o)

John 15:5

We are the branches.

Farewell!!!

Good Bye Nathan, Welcome Andy

Two days left, and I'm gone!!! Good bye Nathan! Welcome Andy! He's the replacement, poor guy.

Writer's Block . . . Kinda

I've been very frustrated with writer's block lately. I've been working on several different songs simultaneously, and I'm pleased with them all, but none of them quite . . . feel like what I'm suppose to be writing. I've been praying everyday, "God, what is the song You want me to write? What is it about?" The more I pray the stronger I feel that there really is something specific that God wants me to write, but I still don't know what He wants it to be about. Gr! So I have writer's block . . . kinda.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!

I have an awesome mom! Her love is unconditional. She is strong and supportive, praying for her children relentlessly. We are so blessed to have her!

We celebrated Mother's Day yesterday at the Randolph Grill. It was great to spend time with my wife, mother-in-law, my dad, and my mom.

Happy Mother's Day!

Freedom Summit from Freedom Summit on Vimeo.

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Today was a good day. A couple weeks ago Pink went on vacation and I filled-in for him for two Sundays, writing and leading lessons for the youth group. It was a great experience and I had a lot of fun doing it. Well, today I was able to share those lessons with the kids I work with. Occassionally I've had the opportunity to speak about Christ here and there with some of my residents, but today was a full-on, "everyone sit down, we're gonna have a talk" kind of thing. I led the lesson I had written for youth group, discussed my upcoming job, missions work, and the redeeming power of Christ. It was awesome. I had an "oh, this is why I've been here" moment, and am now able to move on knowing I've fulfilled God's purpose of being where I've been the past year and a half. Every day was building towards this one moment. This one shared Truth. FYI: May 25th is my last day! YAY!