These past three days have been very emotional. Tears have fallen freely. Everywhere we have gone we keep running into people who are grieving along with us about moving from Paradise. Most have been shocked. Some are mad, others admire our willingness to follow God, and there are some who think we are making a huge mistake and we are not following God’s will. Some feel betrayed while the majority have expressed love and appreciation for the time we had together.
Yesterday I just wanted to get away from it all. I was emotionally drained, tired of crying and thinking. Turner wanted to go on a bike ride but I had my doubts that he could really make it. He wanted to ride from our house to the high school and elementary school and then to the church. We filled some water bottles, donned hats, riding gloves, and sun shades and mounted our bikes for a mini Tour de Paradise.
I was amazed watching my six year old son pedal. His bike was much smaller and he had to work twice as hard as I did, but he not only kept up, often he was in the lead. He yelled with enthusiasm when we coasted down steep hills and did not quit pedaling when we had to climb other ones. When he got tired we stopped briefly and drank water. We ended up at the elementary school where we stopped in the shade and sat out on a bench to talk and to rest. I enjoyed the memories we made yesterday. It was the break I needed from the emotional drama of the past few days. When it was all said and done little Turner and I rode about five miles on one trip and later on in the day we rode another seven miles. Like I said earlier I was amazed watching my youngest son pedal and keep the pace with his daddy and oldest brother. Six years old and twelve miles. Did I mention I was proud of him.
As we toured around Paradise we stopped at a garage sale to talk with some church members. Tears welled up again as we reminisced about the past four years. We rode around the old familiar sanctuary and youth house of FBC Paradise. Memories flooded my mind about good days and great moves of God we have shared there. We rode around all the new construction at the schools and I was saddened somewhat that my boys will never see the inside of those buildings which are all supposed to be completed before the start of school.
At one point during our ride Turner had a little crash because he kept looking behind him instead of focusing on what was ahead. He scraped his knee a little but was undaunted and wanted to keep riding. There is a lesson there for me.
Over these past few days my family has spent nearly every waking hour consoling hurting friends and church members. This has been done around dining tables, in living rooms, in the church sanctuary, at cafes, and over the phone and internet. I have seen grown men cry without shame. We have looked back at all we have shared, experienced, and felt over these past four years. While that is part of the grieving process for all of us, I am challenged that I need to start focusing on what lies ahead.
There is a church in far West Texas who has been diligently seeking the heart and mind of God about who would be their next pastor for close to a year and a half. I was invited to preach in that very church last April for a Disciple Now weekend. None of us could have known then what that weekend was going to mean for that church and for my family. Through hundreds of hours of prayer and scripture reading, both FBC Seminole and my family have felt the Lord calling us to unite together.
I have dreamed about the time I will stand in the pulpit of FBC Seminole in a week. I have planned out the first few moments. I want to stand there for a brief time looking out over the sea of faces and I want to take in that experience. I want to remember the faces, remember the feel of the wooden pulpit to my fingers, the text from the Old Testament book of Haggai I will be preaching from, the suit and tie I will be wearing, the worship songs we will have just sung, where Brenda and the boys will be sitting, and take it all in. I want to imprint that experience on my heart and mind never to be forgotten. I want to digest every little detail about that first Sunday and recall the move of God.
I can recall that in Paradise. I preached from Job 1:1-21 on the last Sunday in May of 2005. I had not preached regularly behind a pulpit for two and a half years but taught from a recliner in my living room much of that time. I wore a black suit with a black tie and a white shirt and recall for just a brief moment standing at the pulpit taking it all in. There was so much unknown as I looked out over the sparsely filled sanctuary. There were about seventy people in all if I recall correctly. Contrast that with this past Sunday when the crowd swelled to over 200 for worship. Many times during the middle of the week I have walked through the Paradise sanctuary mounted the steps to the pulpit and stood behind the sacred desk visualizing all the faces of the people I have come to love and treasure so deeply. I have tried to never take this church for granted.
I eagerly look forward to doing the same in Seminole. I look forward to a new office where I will meet with God in prayer and the study of the scriptures. That office will be my secret place [Matt 6:5-7]. I look forward to new blogs about new encounters I will have with God in West Texas and dust storms. I look forward to meeting new people, getting to know a new flock, dreaming God’s dreams for Seminole [Prov 29:18], and planting roots in the deep Seminole soil. I look forward to watching the Indians play football on Friday nights, getting to know new teachers and coaches, and becoming familiar with West Texas sun rises and sun sets. I look forward to following God in this new adventure. There is much to look forward to.
Soon Turner and I will trade our Tour de Paradise for a Tour de Seminole. We will ride up and down the residential streets of an unfamiliar town. Tuner will never know what our little bike ride did for me. I needed it. I guess I am a bit nostalgic. Everywhere we rode yesterday there were memories. Great memories! We will never forget Paradise.
This morning I will worship at FBC Paradise and stand in the pulpit of that wonderful church to preach for my second to last Sunday morning. As my Tour de Paradise comes to an end I want to cherish every memory, enjoy conversations, love deeply, and thank God for the best four years I have ever had in my life as well as my ministry.
While I do that, there is also a part of me that is looking ahead to the new call of God on my life. There is much unknown about the future. We have no place to live, know so few people, but our Father will faithfully take care of every single detail. What a great ride the Tour de Paradise was. I by faith expect nothing less on the Tour de Seminole.
Yesterday I just wanted to get away from it all. I was emotionally drained, tired of crying and thinking. Turner wanted to go on a bike ride but I had my doubts that he could really make it. He wanted to ride from our house to the high school and elementary school and then to the church. We filled some water bottles, donned hats, riding gloves, and sun shades and mounted our bikes for a mini Tour de Paradise.
I was amazed watching my six year old son pedal. His bike was much smaller and he had to work twice as hard as I did, but he not only kept up, often he was in the lead. He yelled with enthusiasm when we coasted down steep hills and did not quit pedaling when we had to climb other ones. When he got tired we stopped briefly and drank water. We ended up at the elementary school where we stopped in the shade and sat out on a bench to talk and to rest. I enjoyed the memories we made yesterday. It was the break I needed from the emotional drama of the past few days. When it was all said and done little Turner and I rode about five miles on one trip and later on in the day we rode another seven miles. Like I said earlier I was amazed watching my youngest son pedal and keep the pace with his daddy and oldest brother. Six years old and twelve miles. Did I mention I was proud of him.
As we toured around Paradise we stopped at a garage sale to talk with some church members. Tears welled up again as we reminisced about the past four years. We rode around the old familiar sanctuary and youth house of FBC Paradise. Memories flooded my mind about good days and great moves of God we have shared there. We rode around all the new construction at the schools and I was saddened somewhat that my boys will never see the inside of those buildings which are all supposed to be completed before the start of school.
At one point during our ride Turner had a little crash because he kept looking behind him instead of focusing on what was ahead. He scraped his knee a little but was undaunted and wanted to keep riding. There is a lesson there for me.
Over these past few days my family has spent nearly every waking hour consoling hurting friends and church members. This has been done around dining tables, in living rooms, in the church sanctuary, at cafes, and over the phone and internet. I have seen grown men cry without shame. We have looked back at all we have shared, experienced, and felt over these past four years. While that is part of the grieving process for all of us, I am challenged that I need to start focusing on what lies ahead.
There is a church in far West Texas who has been diligently seeking the heart and mind of God about who would be their next pastor for close to a year and a half. I was invited to preach in that very church last April for a Disciple Now weekend. None of us could have known then what that weekend was going to mean for that church and for my family. Through hundreds of hours of prayer and scripture reading, both FBC Seminole and my family have felt the Lord calling us to unite together.
I have dreamed about the time I will stand in the pulpit of FBC Seminole in a week. I have planned out the first few moments. I want to stand there for a brief time looking out over the sea of faces and I want to take in that experience. I want to remember the faces, remember the feel of the wooden pulpit to my fingers, the text from the Old Testament book of Haggai I will be preaching from, the suit and tie I will be wearing, the worship songs we will have just sung, where Brenda and the boys will be sitting, and take it all in. I want to imprint that experience on my heart and mind never to be forgotten. I want to digest every little detail about that first Sunday and recall the move of God.
I can recall that in Paradise. I preached from Job 1:1-21 on the last Sunday in May of 2005. I had not preached regularly behind a pulpit for two and a half years but taught from a recliner in my living room much of that time. I wore a black suit with a black tie and a white shirt and recall for just a brief moment standing at the pulpit taking it all in. There was so much unknown as I looked out over the sparsely filled sanctuary. There were about seventy people in all if I recall correctly. Contrast that with this past Sunday when the crowd swelled to over 200 for worship. Many times during the middle of the week I have walked through the Paradise sanctuary mounted the steps to the pulpit and stood behind the sacred desk visualizing all the faces of the people I have come to love and treasure so deeply. I have tried to never take this church for granted.
I eagerly look forward to doing the same in Seminole. I look forward to a new office where I will meet with God in prayer and the study of the scriptures. That office will be my secret place [Matt 6:5-7]. I look forward to new blogs about new encounters I will have with God in West Texas and dust storms. I look forward to meeting new people, getting to know a new flock, dreaming God’s dreams for Seminole [Prov 29:18], and planting roots in the deep Seminole soil. I look forward to watching the Indians play football on Friday nights, getting to know new teachers and coaches, and becoming familiar with West Texas sun rises and sun sets. I look forward to following God in this new adventure. There is much to look forward to.
Soon Turner and I will trade our Tour de Paradise for a Tour de Seminole. We will ride up and down the residential streets of an unfamiliar town. Tuner will never know what our little bike ride did for me. I needed it. I guess I am a bit nostalgic. Everywhere we rode yesterday there were memories. Great memories! We will never forget Paradise.
This morning I will worship at FBC Paradise and stand in the pulpit of that wonderful church to preach for my second to last Sunday morning. As my Tour de Paradise comes to an end I want to cherish every memory, enjoy conversations, love deeply, and thank God for the best four years I have ever had in my life as well as my ministry.
While I do that, there is also a part of me that is looking ahead to the new call of God on my life. There is much unknown about the future. We have no place to live, know so few people, but our Father will faithfully take care of every single detail. What a great ride the Tour de Paradise was. I by faith expect nothing less on the Tour de Seminole.
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