Returning to normal -- Quick update

Saturday morning, a bunch of us got together at Christian Challenge to clean up a bit after the storm. There were some branches down on the property, and the contents of the kitchen fridges and freezers had to be thrown away. As we were eating our lunch Saturday afternoon, the power came back on! Our phone lines and Internet connection were still out, but at least we could have
services in our own building Sunday morning.

The Sunday service was great. Pastor Nathan gave folks a chance to (briefly) share some of their storm stories and how folks had reached out to eachother in the midst of it all. It was neat to hear those testimonies!

Monday, we had partial phone service restored... and yesterday, we got the Internet back. So slowly but surely, life is returning to some sort of "normal."

And... it looks like hurricane Ike won't be hitting us. That's a huge relief.

After a week's delay, I finally spent my first night in my new place on Saturday. I still have a lot of work to do here, but it felt really really good to be back in my own bed, getting settled in after such an unsettling week!

BTW, I just wanted to say a big "Thank you" to everyone out there who has been praying for me & for the folks at my church!

Another moving experience

I went to my first Christian Challenge Small Group meeting Wednesday night. I think we all had some butterflies, but in the end everyone had a great time!

During our orientation sessions, we watched a funny video about how *NOT* to have a small group. One of the humorous situations involved a group member asking if anyone could help him move that weekend. One of the other group members kinda gave him the brush-off and told him "Just Google movers." We've made quite a few jokes about that line...

I knew that my latest move would probably happen around the same time as the beginning of small groups... and I knew that I'd need help moving a few big things that I just can't handle on my own... so I had kinda been looking forward to prefacing my request with "Now, don't anyone say 'Google'..."

But I was also a little nervous about asking, because I joined a group with some folks that I don't know really well yet. It's a little weird asking for help the very first time you get together as a group! I wasn't sure what kind of response I'd get. Of course, my small group came through! I shouldn't have expected any less. Christian Challenge is a whole church full of "extra mile" folks!

On a somewhat related note, if you'd like to see pics of my new place, check this out:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=37547&l=81a28&id=713586047

(I've never posted a Facebook photo gallery before, I usually do that kind of thing on my own servers, but I decided to play with that yesterday!)

Moving week

I am now officially a resident of Louisiana.

My last week in Tampa was very busy -- I tried to connect with a lot of my friends here for a final lunch / dinner before I left. Wednesday night, my small group had a little send-off for me. (It was a BEAUTIFUL evening, gorgeous sunset, great weather to be outside...) It wasn't easy -- and there were a few teary moments -- but there were no guilt trips, no harsh warnings, no power plays... in other words, it was nothing like leaving an unhealthy church. I know I'm going to miss my friends & pastors, but we'll keep in touch.

Thursday morning at 4am I was on my way. It was a 12+ hour drive, and I was nervous that perhaps my car was overloaded... but I had great driving weather, no traffic to speak of, no construction delays... it was about as pleasant as a 12+ hour drive could possibly be.

It's been a little unreal so far. I've been trying to get unpacked and organized. I still have quite a few boxes that I need to sort through. It hasn't quite sunk in yet that I'm here for good... and I don't think I've quite caught up on all my sleep yet! I have to keep reminding myself that I'm really here... and it isn't just a visit this time.

Yesterday morning there was a Servant Evangelism outreach at my new church. About 20 of us handed out 1000 water bottles in a little more than an hour. It was hot (and I got a bit of a sunburn, I didn't even think about putting on sunblock) but it was a GREAT time. I got a chance to meet some more of the folks from the church, and it just felt good to be out doing SE again. It was different -- I'm not sure whether its just the southern culture, or the fact that pretty much everyone in this town knows & recognizes Pastor Nathan... but folks sure seemed a lot more friendly and open here. In Tampa, when we did SE at an intersection like that, there was a pretty good percentage of folks who wouldn't even make eye contact with you, let alone roll down their windows and talk. Here, it seems like nearly everyone rolled down their windows and they were genuinely grateful for the water...

In a lot of ways, I feel like I've moved to Mayberry. The pace of life and the accents definitely remind me of the Andy Griffith show!

I'm excited to be here. I can't wait to see what happens next...

Mixed emotions

I've made a couple of big decisions... and this week (especially) has been an emotional roller coaster ride!

I'm moving to Louisiana. I went out there this past weekend. It is amazing how much it already feels like home -- how comfortable I am at Christian Challenge (where I will be attending church when I move). It feels like every time I turn around, another little piece of the puzzle is falling into place. Everything is coming together much more quickly and favorably than I could have ever anticipated.

I turned in my resignation to my current employer. I was nervous about that. I wanted to give them more than enough notice, but at the same time, I knew that they could terminate me on the spot once I gave them notice. Fortunately, that didn't happen and they're willing to let me work (even partial weeks) up until I move. So that's a blessing.

I also let my pastors & friends at church know about my plans. When I first broke the news to them a few weeks ago, I thought that I'd be moving sometime over the summer -- definitely not before June. But now, I'm looking at May... and that's not a lot of time. I don't even want to think about my last week at Church at the Bay... that's going to be really rough.

But... even though it is going to be rough, it's going to be rough for good reasons (if that makes any sense!)

When I left the last unhealthy church that I attended, I was told that I would be out of God's will, horrible things would happen to me, and I was in rebellion 'cause I wouldn't listen to the pastor. But this time, leaving my church isn't at all like that. My pastors love me and don't want to see me leave... but they want God's best for me, and they're praying for me. They're not trying to guilt-trip me into staying. And you know what? In some ways, that makes it even more difficult to leave!

It also means that any church I attend after CATB is going to have to meet some pretty high standards! Now that I know what a healthy church looks like, I can never settle for anything less.

*sigh*

More later...