How to Grill a Good Steak

I won't go as far as to say that a sign of manhood is being able to grill a good steak, but I will say that every man I know wants to be able to grill a good steak.

Last Spring I ordered some steaks from Omaha Steaks. Mandy and I are trying to have a date night at least every other week after we put the kids to bed. So last night I decided to grill the last of my steaks, this time filet mignon. Steaks intimidate me, in part because they are so darn expensive but also because I've had my share of poorly grilled steak. Oh yeah...and it was date night. So I made the wise choice to consult the pros.

The good news is that it turned out to be the best steak I've ever grilled. Here's the basics:

• Season with a little salt and pepper
• Let it sit out for awhile (15 minutes in my case)
• Let the grill get very hot
• Place the steaks on the grill
• Leave the grill open while cooking
• After 3 minutes, rotate 90 degrees
• Wait 3 minutes, then flip
• After another 3, rotate 90 degrees
• 3 more minutes, then off the grill
• Don't cut into it. Let it sit for another 3 minutes
• Enjoy!

Scot McKnight on the Books Pastors Like to Read

About a year ago I came across a post from Scot McKnight that grabbed my attention, and that I've continued to think about. Here's the opening paragraph

Evangelical pastors have flipped in the last generation. 30-40 years ago what most incited excitement was a new book by the arch-pastor and expositor, John Stott, expositing a New Testament book or a J.I. Packer book on theology. Today's evangelicals pastors are enamored with the latest book on leadership, like that morsel of an idea in the book called Tribes, or the latest book on management, or the latest fad in creativity.

I guess part of this has to do with the fact that for the first time in my life I am reading John Stott. I'm one of those who, for the past decade or so, would choose books devoted to orthopraxy over orthodoxy. It wasn't so much that I was disinterested in theology but more that I wanted to flesh it out, to put it into action. However, lately I've been rethinking a lot of things. Though I've always known it in my head, today more than ever I believe that our orthopraxy must be shaped by our orthodoxy.

Today was Union Avenue Baptist Church's annual rummage sale to raise funds for mission trips, so I went down to check things out. I came away with 17 books, with all but two written pre-1980. Oh, and six of them are by John Stott.

CNET's New Guide to Internet TV

In years past, you had three basic choices when considering TV reception: cable, satellite, or the good old-fashioned over-the-air antenna. But a fourth option is now coming on strong. It goes by a wide variety of names--IP TV, streaming video, online TV, even "over the top" (OTT) TV--but we're calling it Internet TV for lack of a better name.

This guide is intended as a straightforward overview of this new entertainment medium. We compare the available services and hardware, and help you choose which ones are right for you.

More here

Why We Talk About Sin 5

Because sin is a communal thing. Now by that I don't mean that we swap spouses at NC, nor that we have a supply closet full of scarlet letters to pass out.

What I mean is that we were never meant to deal with our sin alone. First, we have God. God's desire is not that we run away from Him after we sin, but that we run towards Him, or more specifically, that we run towards the Cross. But we also have other people.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer once said, "Many Christians are unthinkably horrified when a real sinner is suddenly discovered among the righteous. So we remain alone with our sin, living in lies and hypocrisy...He who is alone with his sins is utterly alone."

As I wrote yesterday, we are not meant live our lives with a mask on, pretending to have our acts together. This is true both with God and with others. I am very thankful to have a hand full of people in my life who are ok with the real me. They are a safe place for me to share not only the good but also the bad and the ugly. I hope that we all find this kind of community.

Rather than write anymore on this, I'd like to direct your attention here, to one of my posts on Tim Chester's book, You Can Change. He says it all so well.

Why We Talk About Sin 4

Because we're as messed up as you!

Understanding our sin should not lead to fear or condemnation but to humility and gratitude. It should not lead to hiding behind a mask but to being more fully human than you've ever been before. I love this quote by Brennan Manning, from The Ragamuffin Gospel:

To be alive is to be broken. And to be broken is to stand in need of grace. Honesty keeps us in touch with our neediness and the truth that we are saved sinners. There is a beautiful transparency to honest disciples who never wear a false face and do not pretend to be anything but who they are.

It is so easy for me to put that mask on and pretend (to myself and to others) that I am ok. But understanding my brokenness leads to a freedom that does not exist any other way. James (Jesus' brother) said that God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. As I recognize my brokenness more and more, it should create in me an awareness of my true dependency. This then humbles me because I know that I am loved and accepted by my Father. I know that He has chosen me and pursues me.

And here's what else it does. It prevents me from having a posture that says, "I have everything together. I have no problems or worries. My life is awesome." Instead, I can be honest and say that I don't have a clue what I'm doing many days, but I trust my Father to guide my steps. I'm ok with that answer.

Sin and Grace

Here's a great quote from Cornelius Plantinga that goes with the post from earlier this morning.

To speak of sin by itself, to speak of it apart from the realities of creation and grace, is to forget the resolve of God. God wants shalom and will pay any price to get it back. Human sin is stubborn, but not as stubborn as the grace of God and not half so persistent, not half so ready to suffer to win its way...To speak of sin without grace is to minimize the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the fruit of the spirit, and the hope of shalom.

Why We Talk About Sin 3

Because before we can understand how bad things were, we need to understand how really good they were when it all started.

Now I realize that may sound like a contradiction in light of yesterday's post, but hear me out. We often think of "sin" as doing bad things, of breaking rules. But Cornelius Plantinga, author of Not the Way It's Supposed to Be, defines sin as a violation of shalom.

Before we can understand how bad sin is, we need to first understand the way God intended things to be (which is a good way of explaining the word "shalom"). We normally begin the "sin" discussion with Genesis 3, which is the story of Adam and Eve's disobedience. But we need to go back to Genesis 1 and 2, which is the story of God creating everything. After each day, God said, "It is good." God took great delight in everything that He created, including man and woman. Actually, after the creation of man and woman, He said, "It is very good."

God's design was for man and woman to be in relationship not only with one another but also with Himself. And that relationship was meant to be one built on trust. Man and woman were created to trust God for everything they needed, and through that to give thanks to Him for that provision and love. That trust was then to spill over to their relationship with each other. The Bible indicates this to be the case when it says that they were naked and not ashamed. Things were very good! Yet we know what happened. They chose not to trust God. They believed a lie that they no longer needed Him, that they could be like Him. The irony is that they were actually more like Him before they sinned than they ever would be again.

A few years ago I remember reading this story and being stopped in my tracks by the following verse:

And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves (Gen. 3:8).

I started thinking, "I wonder if this walking together in the cool of the day was a part of their evening routine?" It's as if God was doing what He did every evening. But on this particular evening, something was different. His children did not join Him. This is a great picture of intimacy to me, and the sad thing is that after sin entered the picture, the intimacy they had with their Father and Creator was broken. It doesn't appear that they ever took these walks again. But it didn't stop there. It was also broken between the man and the woman (remember, it was at the point of sin entering the picture that they first felt shame). And this brokenness continues to affect all of us.

So that's how things started. The Bible also tells us how things will end. Revelation 21 says that there will come a day when God will once again walk with His people. He will make His dwelling place with them, and get this: He will come near to wipe away every tear from the eyes of His children. Intimacy will once again be fully restored.

So we see how it began and we see how it ends. For now we have the Gospel. Yes, it's a time of tension, but it's a time of God doing His work of redeeming and restoring that which was lost and broken. God's work involved sending His Son to earth to make right what was wrong. And He did it through His death on the Cross. Through Christ's death we can once again be reconciled to God. We can truly know God, our Father and Creator.

Why We Talk About Sin 2

First, a more theological response...Before we can really appreciate why the gospel is "good news", we should first seek to understand how bad the bad news really is. And that's why we talk about sin.

The Bible says in many places that God's desire has been to save/rescue/set free His people. The question that must be asked is, "From what do we need to be saved/rescued/set free?" There are lots of things that could be mentioned here, but I'll let Paul do the talking, from Ephesians 2.

Paul begins this chapter by saying that at one time we were all dead in our sins (Eph. 2:1). In other words, we were unresponsive to God. The reason for this was that we were slaves. First, we were following the ways of the world. When Paul speaks of "the world" here, he is referring to the earthly system that opposes God's reign. Think about the The Matrix here. It wasn't until you were outside the Matrix that you realized the truth, that everyone in the Matrix was a slave. And the crazy thing was that they didn't even know it. That's how we were.

Next, Paul brings up Satan. The Bible says (and Bob Dylan later echoes it) that we all "Gotta Serve Somebody." If our allegiance is not to God, then it's to somebody else. And the Bible says that Satan is "the god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4). So when we were dead in our sins, our allegiance was to Satan instead of to God.

Now I know that most people don't consider themselves to be loyal to Satan. So if you're not buying that one, hang in there for this last one. Paul says that the third thing we were captive to were the passions of our flesh. All that means is this: we're in charge, and we do what we want to do when we want to do it. But this is also why the things that we fill ourselves with in hopes of bringing satisfaction or meaning often leave us unsatisfied or even empty. St. Augustine said it this way: "You (God) have made us for Yourself, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in You." To be held captive by the passions of your flesh means that your heart is restless, and nothing other than God will fully satisfy.

So before God stepped in, sin held us in such a way that there was no way that we could be who were created to be. And that's bad news. However, Paul doesn't end with bad news. The rest of Ephesians 2 contains words such as mercy, love, grace and kindness. This is who God is, and this is where good news comes. The Gospel says that God, because of His great love for us, came and redeemed dead slaves (that's us). However, this redemption cost something: His Son, Jesus. Jesus' death brought our freedom, and that is extremely good news!

Why We Talk About Sin 1

Last night I began a three week series on the topic of sin. Sin is not a popular subject by any means. Some of us grew up hearing about sin way too much. It was never coupled with grace and love, but more with fear and legalism. Many of us also heard about only specific types of sins, while other sins went overlooked. We saw this as hypocrisy (think racism in the south). However, today as we look around our culture we discover that we've almost lost the notion that sin even exists. It's rarely talked about, and when it is, it's not done so in the way it once was (check out www.sinfullydecadent.com for more - don't worry, it's not a porn site).

So over the next four or five posts I want to give some reasons as to why we as a church are talking about sin. And if you're interested, the sermon and notes from last night can be downloaded here.

The Man in Black

I know that we're several months removed from Lost, but I just read an interesting article on the Man in Black. Remember him? As I've said before, I'm getting ready to start teaching on the subject of sin, so for the past month or so I've been watching and reading things in light of the brokenness of our world. I think this article is a great example of brokenness. Here's how it begins:

He had no name, no family, no history, no future. His people lived far away, across the sea. The one who professed love for him took away his job and gave it to his brother--and then she killed every one of his friends.

At forty-three he was trapped on an Island with the woman who killed his mother and the infantile mama's boy who doted on her. He shared nothing with his brother, not priorities or desires or diversions--not even hair colour. His thoughts lacked any point of reference other than his home, across the sea.

His situation was infinitely worse than this, however. We have heard his story before. We know him from the holy text of every ancient religion. Mary Shelley wrote about him, and Edward Everett Hale fifty years after her. We have heard his story before, but every aspect of him is new. He is the Man in Black, Cerberus, the Smoke Monster, but he is so much more. He's not so different from you and me. In fact, we understand him best by looking at ourselves.

Read more.

CYPN Article in Commercial Appeal

Heather Caron wrote a great article about the Light the Way race and the Parent's Network. There's even something about Neighborhood Church in there. Here's the article:

The cooler weather has begun to lure neighbors out of their homes and children back into the daylight. Runners and walkers alike are dotting neighborhoods in preparation of the upcoming Cooper-Young Festival 4 Miler race on Friday. In addition, many community members are preparing for the "Light the Way" parties to cheer on the runners as they blaze past the neighborhood homes and businesses in Midtown's Cooper-Young.

Longtime area residents know that those with the best parties win prizes and enjoy the accolades throughout the year. The 4 Miler "Light the Way" parties have not only been fun, but for some residents, they are the initial connection to lasting friendships, educational forums, seasonal parties, running groups and endless play dates.

One such group can credit many memberships to the Cooper-Young 4 Miler race and the infamous "Light the Way" parties. The Cooper-Young Parents Network, representing 80 adult members and 150 children, has given Midtown families a support group for their most important commodity -- their children. This forum has provided parents information on available educational and extracurricular options for their kids. It has given Cooper-Young families a safe and welcoming place to celebrate holidays and community events. It is a clearinghouse for gently used items that families no longer need and a resource for cooperative and reputable child care. You may just be able to find the right doctor or cleaning service, if you so desire.

Newly relocated family Joe and Susan Currier were walking home from a 2006 "Light the Way" party and bumped into another new Cooper-Young family, Jason and Barb Elder.

"As we talked, I discovered I knew Jason from years past," said Susan Currier. "Jason and I grew up in the same town, but I did not know he had moved to Memphis.

"As we strolled past the cleanup crews, the Elders told us about a church they were helping to plant in Cooper-Young, which eventually became Neighborhood Church. They invited us to visit the church when it started meeting in homes a few months later, and that's how we met future Parents Network founder and new Cooper-Young resident, Mandy Grisham. Barb and Mandy became some of my closest friends, as have our children," Currier said.

Susan has since introduced several other families to the network and has hosted a few LTW parties. "It's my family's favorite part of the festival weekend," Currier said.

"The CY 4 Miler's 'Light the Way' party is the network's birthday. We are celebrating our second birthday this year," said Grisham. "Our network's first kickoff party won one of the prizes from the race committee."

Grisham fashioned the Parents' Network after the Berkley Parent's network. "Memphis did not have anything like this. I wanted to create a local network for the parents in the CY community," Grisham said.

Members Josh and Ginger Spickler and Debbie Sowell have also contributed to the success of this group's membership, hosting parties and spreading the word to other community members.

Heather Caron is a volunteer for the Cooper-Young Friday 4 Miler.

Juggling Plates/Spinning Balls

Or something like that. I must confess that things are busier for the Grisham family than they have ever been before. I shared a few weeks ago that we have had some major changes in our lives, and it's been tricky navigating those changes. My office time now consists of the hours between 8:30 and 2:00, and then again from 3:30-5:00. And that's sometimes just four days a week. The rest of my work happens whenever and wherever I can squeeze it in.

My real estate is going well - hoping to have at least three closings in the next month. But it's definitely been keeping me busy. And then there's my normal church work. It has been great that I've had the last three Sundays off from teaching at NC, but I've been using the time as prep for a new series I'm starting this Sunday.

Adam has transitioned into kindergarten so well. I am so proud of him, and we're very happy with Peabody. Micah, on the other hand, has had a more difficult time. He's finally taking naps at daycare, but he's also just hit "the terrible twos." Though he's still a sweet boy most of the time, he definitely has his moments! And when he doesn't get enough sleep, well...the sweet boy kind of vanishes.

I hope it doesn't seem like I'm complaining too much. I'm just trying to keep these balls/plates from dropping/crashing. Mandy and I have been in tough places like this before, and it just means that we have to be extra intentional about keeping margin for our family.

Why Talk about Sin?

This coming Sunday night I'm going to begin a series on sin. We're in the middle of a larger series on the book of Ephesians, and chapter two gives a beautiful picture of what God has done for us through Christ. But in order for us to appreciate what He has done, we need to understand our position without His work. The following quote is from John Stott, Basic Christianity, and I think he describes this very well.

...in order to appreciate the work which Jesus accomplished, we must understand who we are as well as who he was. His work was done for us. It was the work of a person for persons, a mission undertaken for needy persons by the only person competent to meet their need. His competence lies in his deity; our need lies in our sin. We have tested his competence; we must now expose our need. Only then, after we have clearly grasped what we are, shall we be in a position to perceive the wonder of what he has done for us and offers to us.

On Glenn Beck & the Rally

Over the past week I've heard or read a number of opinions on the rally last Saturday in Washington DC. And they've been varied, from the one lady I spoke to who was so hopeful after watching it (even though he's a Mormon), to very angry editorials that are all over the internet. So when I read this piece by Russell Moore, I was very encouraged. Here are the opening paragraphs:

A Mormon television star stands in front of the Lincoln Memorial and calls American Christians to revival. He assembles some evangelical celebrities to give testimonies, and then preaches a God and country revivalism that leaves the evangelicals cheering that they’ve heard the gospel, right there in the nation’s capital.

The news media pronounces him the new leader of America’s Christian conservative movement, and a flock of America’s Christian conservatives have no problem with that.

If you’d told me that ten years ago, I would have assumed it was from the pages of an evangelical apocalyptic novel about the end-times. But it’s not. It’s from this week’s headlines. And it is a scandal.

And then Moore writes,

Too often, and for too long, American “Christianity” has been a political agenda in search of a gospel useful enough to accommodate it. There is a liberation theology of the Left, and there is also a liberation theology of the Right, and both are at heart mammon worship. The liberation theology of the Left often wants a Barabbas, to fight off the oppressors as though our ultimate problem were the reign of Rome and not the reign of death. The liberation theology of the Right wants a golden calf, to represent religion and to remind us of all the economic security we had in Egypt. Both want a Caesar or a Pharaoh, not a Messiah.

Finally,

It’s sad to see so many Christians confusing Mormon politics or American nationalism with the gospel of Jesus Christ. But, don’t get me wrong, I’m not pessimistic. Jesus will build his church, and he will build it on the gospel. He doesn’t need American Christianity to do it. Vibrant, loving, orthodox Christianity will flourish, perhaps among the poor of Haiti or the persecuted of Sudan or the outlawed of China, but it will flourish.

Any thoughts?

Sentimental Guy

I'm a big Ben Folds fan, but somehow I had never heard this song...until today, while listening to Pandora. All I can say is that it made me very happy, and I've listened to it about five times in the last hour. Now I realize that my non-musician friends may tune out at this point, but for those still here...you know how your head moves ever so slightly when you hear a luscious chord (as one of my piano teachers used to say)? Well, the chords in the vamp do exactly that to me. Enjoy

The Ninth Day of Kindergarten

On Wednesday (aka, the 9th day of Kindergarten), I went to pick up Adam and Walt, as I had the previous eight days. When I got there, Ms. Malland, his teacher, came up to me and said, "We had an incident today at recess." Apparently a boy named Ethan and Adam's friend Maddux were having some sort of confrontation, and so Adam got involved and punched Ethan. Ms. Malland didn't see it happen but heard from another teacher. She said that the rule at recess is No Touching. Adam had to go to timeout, but everything was fine after that.

Adam told Mandy and I that he didn't hit Ethan, but we figured that he probably did, especially since I had just watched part of Karate Kid with him a few nights earlier (dad of the year). He also said that Ethan was being mean to Maddux. The good news is that it gave Adam and I a chance to talk about sin and forgiveness.

The other good news was that no punches were thrown yesterday. However, last night at dinner Mandy revealed more of the story. Maddux's mom emailed her yesterday and explained that Maddux is a hugger - a hugger who doesn't like to let go. So he was hugging Ethan on Wednesday and Ethan didn't really like it. Ethan was trying to get out of the hug. Adam saw this and interpreted it as his buddy Maddux being in trouble. And Adam stepped in.

So...poor Ethan got it on both ends - from the hugger and the puncher. We explained this all to Adam, which he thought was rather humorous. We also told him that no more punches need to be thrown at recess, but especially not until all the facts are known (alright, I didn't say that part).

From Community Groups to Missional Communities

Phase 3 of Community Groups at Neighborhood Church gets underway tonight. We began our first community group 14 months ago. It was a large one. Last fall we then went to two groups. We set before each group five values: Sharing life, sharing stories, sharing Scripture, sharing prayer, and sharing mission. Most weeks these groups discussed the previous Sunday's message, but we also wanted to begin developing true community. I believe that we were very successful in reaching that goal. One of the things I was most excited about was the way the kids were loved on and cared for by everyone in the group. I think we got a real taste of what community can be.

So that brings us to today. As much as I loved our community groups, I felt that they were too large. They left me wanting more, especially when it comes to the three journeys (upward, inward and outward). Many nights, just as we were beginning to go deep as a community, 7:30 would roll around and one of the kids would automatically go into meltdown mode. (In case you don't have children, that means the show is over and it's time to go home). Much of this was due to having so many in one group. The other issue centered around mission. It's great that almost everyone at NC is involved in a mission of some sort. Those folks are of course passionate about their missions, but this meant that it was often difficult to decide on a common mission.

Over the summer I've had conversations with several friends about where we're heading. One of the more helpful conversations was with Michael Stewart. He said that at Austin Stone they've helped their folks come to understand the difference between a team of missionaries and a missionary team. A team of missionaries is a group of people who all have a different mission but who come together for encouragement and prayer. On the other hand, a missionary team is a group of people who have a shared, or common, mission. That I believe has been the missing piece for me.

So in phase 3 we are centering around mission, believing that the best community we can have will be discovered through the context of mission. If you ask a person about their best experience of community, chances are that you'll hear a story about a mission trip. In order to do this we're having groups of 6-8 people.

Three couples from NC, including Mandy and I, have kindergarteners at Peabody Elementary School this year. For the next nine months we are all going to be investing a lot of hours into Peabody. This is our common mission, which makes us a missional community. And this is where I first starting putting this together. In February we had several families over who at the time were considering sending their kids to Peabody. As we were sitting around talking about our hopes and dreams, it all of a sudden hit me that this was my missional community. It didn't matter that only three of us were a part of NC. We had a common mission (public education through our neighborhood school), and the common mission was drawing us together like nothing else could.

I am very excited by what I see God doing in the lives of NC'ers. I think we're on the verge of seeing God do what only God can do, and I'm so glad that I'm on board for the ride!

Small Teams Rock

Alright, it's Friday. Sorry I couldn't think of a better title for this blog post. Hopefully the content will make up for it :)

The highlight of the Willow Creek Leadership Summit for me was Terri Kelly of W.L. Gore & Associates. She talked about the culture of this organization. Her first statement drew me in:

In order to be innovative, you have to create an environment of collaboration.

For them, this environment features small teams. The associates (they're not called employees) are connected and accountable not to a boss but to one another, and those connections are the foundation for their success.

As I listened to her, I thought back to a book I read a number of years ago by Harvey Seifter about the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, a.k.a. the "conductor-less orchestra." I am all about leadership, but more than that, I'm all about team. When people feel that they are truly a part of a team, that they are able to contribute out of their passions and strengths, then the entire organization is better.

I also thought back to a quote I read many years ago by Gordon Cosby:

...the greatest impact on the world comes about by small, highly committed and disciplined communities of people focused on outward mission, inward transformation, and loving, accountable community.

To me this is a great definition of church, and it's a great lead in to some changes we're making at Neighborhood Church. I am as excited about these changes as I've been in a long time. And in the words of Ryan Seacrest, you will all find out about those changes "after the break" (and by "break" I mean the weekend). Have a nice one!

Leadership Summit

I'm headed to Willow Creek's Leadership Summit in about an hour. Mandy and I first attended this conference in 2000, about a week after we had moved to Mill Valley, CA. It was a great way to begin our new adventure there. Six years later we went again. This time it was seven months into another new adventure: Memphis. Unfortunately Mandy can't join me this year, so I'm flying solo. I have discovered that avenues for learning such as this one are key to me staying full, so I can say with confidence that I am ready to drink from the hydrant of some great leaders.

A Whirlwind of Change

The last few weeks have been full of change for the Grisham family. I began my real estate classes at the beginning of July, and passed my exam a little over a week ago. Some have asked why I'm going into real estate. The answer is that I've actually been in real estate for a few years now. A year after moving to Memphis I started working in the mortgage industry. Unfortunately, just as I was getting going the housing industry was falling apart, so I got out of it. Through that, though, I caught the real estate bug, and I've been dabbling in it since that time. So it just made sense to make it a little more official and go ahead and get licensed. I hope to help my friends (and friends of my friends) buy or sell their homes, but I also plan to get more involved in the investment side of real estate. As soon as all of the paperwork goes through (a week or so), I'll begin working with Revid Realty here in Midtown.

As if that were not enough to write about, here are a few more changes. First, Mandy has gone back to teaching. We were planning on her taking one more year away from the classroom, but a job opened up at Vollentine Elementary School, which is located in the northern part of Midtown. My friend Matthew Watson is helping his church, Living Hope, plant a church in that neighborhood, and they are already official adopters of this school. God has opened several doors that have led us to take this step.

This meant that we had to find a place for Micah. Adam is starting Kindergarten next week (another BIG change), but we now needed daycare for Micah. My mom will be with him one day a week, I'll be with him another, and three days a week he'll be at Union Avenue's daycare, which, if you didn't know, is located one floor down from my office. They gave us an amazing discount, which is the only way we would have been able to enroll him there. Yet another door opened by God.

These are the stories we mustn't forget. We have to tell them to our children. We have to remind them that God is active in our lives, that He has plans for us, and when we are faithful to take them, He guides and directs our steps. After all, He is quite good at opening doors that seem to be closed!

This is a difficult transition for Mandy. She is going to miss being at home with the boys. We know that they are going to do great in school, but it's going to be hard for her. She has also been doing so much with NC and with the Peabody movement. Many of those roles are going to transition to others.

I am definitely a glass half-full kind of guy, but I know that this is going to be tricky in a lot of ways. I know that God is going to help us, and I believe that our times together as a family will be even richer.