Here we are...we made it to Colorado!
We are getting acclimated to the area and settled in just fine. In fact, we love it here! I was expecting a white Christmas this year, but we're even going to have a white Thanksgiving! So many of you have been praying for us and encouraging us in this major transition, and we can't say how much we appreciate it.
Like many people, I am a huge fan of Christmas and Easter. I love the beautiful and powerful meanings of these holidays, and the festive times of celebration with family and friends. But when it comes to the atmosphere and tradition of a holiday, Thanksgiving has to be my all-time favorite. Some of my favorite things in life all collide and cluster for Thanksgiving: food, hunting, football, and most of all...FAMILY. I love being with family. I've always enjoyed getting to unplug from the daily demands of ministry just to be with family and take a breath to focus on God's goodness together. Every year we gather at Thanksgiving and take turns thanking the Lord specifically for His provision, grace, and faithfulness. As always, we have so much to be thankful for, but this holiday season is going to be much different.
My family and I just followed God's call and moved 1,200 miles from Kentucky to Colorado for me to serve at Dare 2 Share Ministries (read our full story here). My loving wife joined me in moving to a home she had literally never seen physically, and our two children moved to a state to which they had never been before. My emotions get the best of me when I really think about how willingly and faithfully they have sacrificed great comforts to follow God's will. Since we just got here, we won't be able to make the long trip back home for the holidays. As tough as that is, my family understands the importance of obeying God, even when it involves sacrifice (as it usually does). My mom always said to my brothers and me when we were growing up, "I'd rather my boys be on the other side of the world and in the center of God's will, than in my own backyard and out of God's will." She meant it then, and she still means it today.
On June 25, 2019, my dad took his final breath on this earth after battling several years of pain and illness. We are at peace that Dad is now totally healed. I miss him dearly and it hurts me deeply that I won't get to see him or even talk to him on the phone this Thanksgiving. However, I am so thankful that he no longer suffers. Instead, he celebrates the presence of King Jesus with uninterrupted fellowship in his forever home. No doubt there is some aching in my heart this holiday season, but what a reminder it is of the greatest reason to give thanks. What a reminder of the Father's broken heart over the sin and separation of humanity, His most precious creation. What a reminder of the brokenness that Jesus endured to bridge the gap and eternally ban "goodbye". For those of us positioned in Christ, now there is NOTHING that can separate us from Him or from each other. No, not even death. I am thankful beyond words that my family, every single one of us, have received the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. What about you and your family? If you'd like to know more, please check out the Good News here and share it with your family this Thanksgiving.
"Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness through all generations." - Psalm 100:4-5
Happy Thanksgiving to you all!!
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