Women, go figure

every now and then, there are moments in a marriage that make some folks re think the whole deal. some times, these moments happen after years of build up and it finally spills over.

in my case, it happened this afternoon in a seemingly normal setting. my bike is in the shop getting serviced, so i had to take my wife to work, so i could use the car to attend a meeting.

after the meeting, a good meting by the way, with a man of vision and passion, rather than talking about doing church...we talked about God invading the lives of people...anyway, i digress.

after the meeting, i had to go get my wife. for me, the moment was when i saw her walking across the parking lot. she saw me and she smiled. she smiled all the way to the car.

at that moment, just one of thousands through our 27 year marriage, i knew i was with the woman God had created just for me. He knew her in her mothers womb. he knows the number of hair on her head. and he knew she would love me, and i would love her.

our roles have been reversed now. i stay home trying to get a new work going and she gets up and goes to work. not easy for my male machismo, not easy at all. but for her, she is full of grace and understanding, love and support.

when she smiles, i melt.

she smiles a lot.

things that make you go...

so. today me and the wife go for a ride. checked out the local Harley store, took our time coming back. tooling along these beautiful twisty turny country roads in south central PA. popped over a hill and my worst nightmare is unfolding right in front of me. with out looking, a car shoots out of the driveway.

i lock her down, tires screach and we get sideways just a bit. the car stops. my lane...car, 1/2 the other lane...car. i lean hard to the left and get control, just barely making it past the car...the bumper of the car grazes the wifes pant leg, just missing us.

merciful is our God. not becaue we did not get killed, not becasue we made it through without damage, not because we were safe.

merciful is or God. because he reminded us at church tonight what matters.

loving God with every fiber of my being, and loving others.

not theology, not education, not who was wrong, not who was right. loving God and loving others.

i sat there tonight realizing that the love i should have given my kids when i was their youth pastor (my son and daughter), i gave to study and church. and truthfully, the love i owed God was given there as well.

time and efort given to another for what ever reason.

could have ate it today. could have been in a box, on a stretcher, in a bed, broken and banged up. then, all that would have mattered is did i love God, and did i love others. did my kids learn to lvoe God by my actions, by my words? will their love for their kids come from their love for God? what if my chance at teaching them is over? did i talk about Jesus enough to them? will they be like me? or will they take the time, savor the moment and sit and bask in the wonder that is our God.

funny. i needed this long ago. i spent way to much time on theology and not near enough time on love.

sure, i would say, God loves you, BUT...

no. God loves you, and he wants you to love him and love others. if wecan truley get that, i mean let it soak in our souls like a misty rain...everything we know, everything we think we know, everything would be different. the world as we know it would be different.

i am glad Jesus did not say " they will know you by you theology." cause they do, and that is why we are such a stench to non believers and believers alike.

i have not been know for my love.

but all that is about to change.

transition and covering.

there has been nothing easy in my transition from student minister to writer.

the pressure at times has seemed heavy and stifling. all self inflicted i am afraid. but difficult none the less. i am not a writer, yet i have been called to write. getting over that is not easy, and i would like to ask you to pray for that.

trying to write like someone i am not, to be more polished, has been the biggest problem. tons of stuff written, but it looks and sounds like someone else wrote it...not cool...and not gonna fly. getting my personality on paper is a priority, but not losing that while the Holy Spirit is guiding my thoughts is the goal.

thus the struggle. allow the Spirit to speak through my words, not making my words into some one elses words, thus losing what makes me want to do this.

we now live in a beautiful area. right across the street from Mars chocolate co. more days than not it smell like cocoa. the other days, the aroma from the local farming industry is quite pungent. the mixture of the two when the wind blows just right can be quite invigorating.

for riding, it is wonderful. twisty and hilly roads with beautiful scenery.

met some cool folks at the local cigar shop. politics are the talk of the day, while watching the fox news channel. it is a cool place. i go over a couple times a week to chill and meet some local folks.

we have began the process of becoming involved at LCBC. Lives Changed By Christ. http://www.lcbcchurch.com/

seeker sensitive is not the best way to describe it, more like lost people friendly. in other words, everything they do as they plan each service and event is done with the intention of reaching lost people. biblical truth is preached with relevance and passion. possibly the best talk i have ever heard on there love of Jesus was given by the middle school pastor on Sat night.

we love it and have expressed our desire to get plugged in and used to teach. rockin worship, biblical talks, an enviornment of evangelism and vision that is before the people and inviting them to come along for the ride. we are excited about finding a covering while we are here.

2 years is a long time to be without community and worship. we shall not do with out either.

funny how i found the place. 2 weeks ago i went riding through the local communities and past by and got info from several churches. i met one pastor in the parking lot. he showed me around his church, and i asked him the spiritual dynamic in the area. he begins talking about various churches. tells me not to go out to LCBC (used to be called Lancaster county bible church) cause all i will get is 30 min of a rock show and a 10 min sermonette. no biblical foundation and very shallow.

well, you know me. tell me one thing, i will do another. i actually went out to the place and went in and got a tour by the office manager. we went to the newcomers class last night as an intro to how they do church, what their deal is. pastor ask us why we cam there, i raised my hand and told him...because some other pastor told me i shouldn't. would not find Jesus there. so i decided to check it out. he asked what did i find later. i told him Jesus.

hopefully, we hope to begin teaching a college life group soon, but we are open to using our giftedness where ever he desires. but we do believe it will be here.

Recap of the trip of a life time...

here is a recap of the trip...location only, stories will follow...soon!

Jensen Beach FL to Lake Wales FL

Lake Wales FL to Gainesville FL

Gainesville FL to Lake Wales FL

Lake Wales FL to Charlotte NC

Charlotte NC to Graceville FL

Graceville FL to Leesburg FL

Leesburg FL to Gainesville FL (Porter is born)

Gainseville FL to Lake Wales FL

Lake Wales FL to Lucedale MS

Lucedale MS to Gainseville TX

Gainseville TX to Amarillo TX

Amarillo TX to Farmington NM

Farmington NM to Monument Valley Utah, Monument Valley AZ then to Kingman AZ

Kingman AZ (flat tire) to Tonapah NV

Tonapah NV to South Lake Tahoe CA

South Lake Tahoe Ca to Salina City Utah

Salina City Utah to Lamar CO

Lamar CO to Fort Smith AR

FT Smith AR to Statesville NC

Statesville NC (met Sheri) to Harrisonberg VA

Harrisionberg VA to Elizabethtown PA, where we currently have lived for 7 days. all these miles add up to 9800 miles on my bike alone since March 31. included in here are two flights from Orlando FL to Philadelphia PA to visit for 5 total days in April to see my wife.

i did not make it to the coast like i planned. my time in Tahoe was more important. my friends taught me a great deal while i was there and i felt it more important to stay there.

i also cut my trip short. i had planned on going across the top and seeing Rushmore and Sturgis, but i realized after i came through the Rockies, i missed my wife. from March the 10 till May 21, we had only seen each other for 5 days. i had had enough of that.

i have resolved to take a trip like this each year. hopefully i can take someone with me each time. sharing the ride with another person would have been great. we are blessed to live in a beautiful country. from deseerts, to mountain ranges, to lush praries. you owe it to yourself to go see it.

all in all, there are no regrets about the trip. it has inspired me to begin writing a book, which will be available, i am sure, sometime before my demise many years from now.

thanks for checking in!