The ever unstable trip to Nebraska appears to be off again. This time by our decision. If you've been reading much of what I've written over the last four months or so, you'll know that we've really been trying to sort out whether we are supposed to stay in Sioux Falls or not. It has been a year of frustration, setbacks and disconnection that brought us to the point of exploring ministry options elsewhere. After a lot of looking and much prayer, we've decided to commit to Sioux Falls for at least one more year.
Amy was offered an adjunct voice teacher position at the University of Sioux Falls for the year, but a decision needed to be made pretty quickly as to whether she'd take it and what her hours would be. We knew the possibility was out there for her to get to teach, so we've had a bit of time to consider what we would do if it was offered. She's struggled with questions about where to tap into her gifts and passions as much as I have and I am thrilled for her that something presented itself. Now we're trying to figure out how to juggle schedules come September so that we don't have to put Maia in daycare since it's so expensive.
In addition to yet another new schedule, we also have found larger accommodations. The property management company that we're renting from now have a three bedroom house that will be available late next month for only $125 more than we're paying for our two bedroom duplex. It's not official as yet, but appears very promising.
God and I have conversed a bit over the last several months and there are a few particular things I've sensed Him saying that give me peace about staying in Sioux Falls. A constant theme that He's tried to impress on me is "patience." Not surprisingly, that isn't exactly what you want to hear in the middle of being stuck in a financial straight jacket and knowing that you should be building into something of significance. I remember over the winter hearing Him say, "Keep doing what you're doing. You're on the right path." Assuring, but not very practical.
A big thing that He said to me a month or so ago in regards to the job search was, "I just want to see whether you'll run or not when it gets hard." A tough word to swallow, but I've said all along that we want to be where God wants us to be and we trust Him enough to reveal what we need in times of decision. Now we get the chance to hang some action on our words.
I still don't know exactly where things are headed with ministry and vocation, but I feel at peace with waiting here a bit longer and continuing to try to learn patience. Who knows, eventually I might have some.
Friday, July 14, 2006
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
On Again
The on again, off again trip to Nebraska is on again for the first weekend in August. It's nice to have a date confirmed (again) and it seems like it will stick this time. We're still not feeling any definite pull towards Nebraska yet, but the trip will definitely shed some light on whether we're supposed to be there or not.
I'm interested to hear Amy's impression of the church I checked out last weekend. She'll get her shot on Sunday and we can compare notes. I still feel like we have options in front of us and that God will reveal the place we're meant to be somewhere along the line.
In the meantime, today was day two of eight in a row at the shop. I have to admit that I'm enjoying the shop more often than not. Amy and I were talking a week or two ago and she said something to the effect of, "It's not like you'll still be fixing bikes in 10 years." To which I responded, "I hope I am, just not as my vocation." I find myself wanting to take a look at bikes for people because I genuinely enjoy playing with bikes. I actually have some mechanical ability and have even had phone calls and emails asking me for help and advice on how to fix things. This has never happened before in my life. It's definitely been an ego boost for me.
Once we reach the end of my long stretch of work days, I have one day off, two on and then we're on our way to Indiana for Impact Summit Camp. We finally nailed down a bass player yesterday and are taking care of some of the planning and coordinating details this week. I can't wait to actually just get there and get started. The chance to play with Dave and Keaton again would be enough to get me excited, but the fact that we get to work with people that we love doing something that we love in a way we haven't had much of an outlet for lately has me chomping at the bit to get there. Only ten days until we leave...
I'm interested to hear Amy's impression of the church I checked out last weekend. She'll get her shot on Sunday and we can compare notes. I still feel like we have options in front of us and that God will reveal the place we're meant to be somewhere along the line.
In the meantime, today was day two of eight in a row at the shop. I have to admit that I'm enjoying the shop more often than not. Amy and I were talking a week or two ago and she said something to the effect of, "It's not like you'll still be fixing bikes in 10 years." To which I responded, "I hope I am, just not as my vocation." I find myself wanting to take a look at bikes for people because I genuinely enjoy playing with bikes. I actually have some mechanical ability and have even had phone calls and emails asking me for help and advice on how to fix things. This has never happened before in my life. It's definitely been an ego boost for me.
Once we reach the end of my long stretch of work days, I have one day off, two on and then we're on our way to Indiana for Impact Summit Camp. We finally nailed down a bass player yesterday and are taking care of some of the planning and coordinating details this week. I can't wait to actually just get there and get started. The chance to play with Dave and Keaton again would be enough to get me excited, but the fact that we get to work with people that we love doing something that we love in a way we haven't had much of an outlet for lately has me chomping at the bit to get there. Only ten days until we leave...
Monday, July 10, 2006
Three Day Weekend
I'm just wrapping up a three day weekend that was supposed to see us in Nebraska, but left us home when the church we were supposed to visit ran into scheduling problems. I took advantage to spend some time on the bike and get a bit of rest. I did 75 miles with some good hills on Saturday and 59 miles at a fairly solid tempo this morning. I'm feeling pretty good on the bike and can't wait to ride with John and Jamin in Indiana in a few weeks.
I also took the opportunity to visit a church here in Sioux Falls that is looking for a part time worship leader. It's a Missionary Alliance church that was planted here last fall and is in an early transitional stage trying to decide where they're headed in terms of worship arts. I can't say enough good things about the service. The music was great, the message was solid and, most of all, God was glorified. I definitely could see being a part of what they're doing there, but we'll see how the Lord leads. Amy will visit next week and then we'll talk more with the church after we get back from camp at the end of the month.
I'm thankful for the patience that God has given us of late in the job search. I definitely feel more peaceful and simply feel like we're waiting for God to give us marching orders. I've learned a lot in the last year that I think will make me a more effective leader and more compassionate towards those that I serve and serve alongside. God does not waste our experiences and I'm looking forward to seeing how He intends to use ours for His glory.
I also took the opportunity to visit a church here in Sioux Falls that is looking for a part time worship leader. It's a Missionary Alliance church that was planted here last fall and is in an early transitional stage trying to decide where they're headed in terms of worship arts. I can't say enough good things about the service. The music was great, the message was solid and, most of all, God was glorified. I definitely could see being a part of what they're doing there, but we'll see how the Lord leads. Amy will visit next week and then we'll talk more with the church after we get back from camp at the end of the month.
I'm thankful for the patience that God has given us of late in the job search. I definitely feel more peaceful and simply feel like we're waiting for God to give us marching orders. I've learned a lot in the last year that I think will make me a more effective leader and more compassionate towards those that I serve and serve alongside. God does not waste our experiences and I'm looking forward to seeing how He intends to use ours for His glory.
Saturday, July 08, 2006
First Important Day of the Tour
The Tour de France had it's first day of importance for those with aspirations of winning in Paris. The first long individual time trial was today and was a disaster for most of the Americans that had such hopes. Serguei Gonchar, a Ukranian from the T-Mobile team scored big with the stage win and yellow jersey as race leader. Gonchar's not considered a threat for the overall as he's 36 (old by pro cycling standards) and has only ever finished the Tour once (in 61st place at that). The only American to have a decent showing was Floyd Landis of Phonak who finished 1:01 down on the day, but is in the driver's seat for the overall victory. Floyd aparently had to change the position of his aero bars prior to the start because race officials declared that the bars would break UCI rules. Floyd lowered the bars which then snapped on the course and he had to change bikes. It cost him a little time, but not the stage win. His day was downright great compared to that of his compatriots.
The day was a mess for the Discovery Team with Paolo Salvodelli, George Hincapie and Yaroslav Popovych all losing two plus minutes on a day when they figured to factor in the top of the leader board. American Levi Leipheimer of Gerolsteiner had the worst time trial of his life and finished over six minutes back which essentially ends any chances he had of a good finish this year. CSC's American duo of David Zabriskie and Bobby Julich suffered different sorts of days. Zabriskie was expected to contend for the stage win as he's a time trial specialist, but finished 1:56 back instead. Bobby crashed in the first mile and was taken to the hospital with a beat up and bleeding wrist and had to drop out of the race.
There's still a long way to go with the mountain stages to begin in a few days and one more long time trial left, so it isn't over by any stretch of the imagination, but the advantage has definitely shifted to favor riders like Landis, Menchov, Karpets, Evans and the T-Mobile team who has four guys in the top ten and could play some great team tactics to their advantage with Gonchar, Kloden, Rogers and Sinkewitz which would put a lot of pressure on Floyd's Phonak team. Salvodelli and Hincapie could still factor in, but would need some amazing riding in the mountains and neither is a spectacular climber.
This year's Tour is definitely proving to be difficult to predict. Two weeks to go.
The day was a mess for the Discovery Team with Paolo Salvodelli, George Hincapie and Yaroslav Popovych all losing two plus minutes on a day when they figured to factor in the top of the leader board. American Levi Leipheimer of Gerolsteiner had the worst time trial of his life and finished over six minutes back which essentially ends any chances he had of a good finish this year. CSC's American duo of David Zabriskie and Bobby Julich suffered different sorts of days. Zabriskie was expected to contend for the stage win as he's a time trial specialist, but finished 1:56 back instead. Bobby crashed in the first mile and was taken to the hospital with a beat up and bleeding wrist and had to drop out of the race.
There's still a long way to go with the mountain stages to begin in a few days and one more long time trial left, so it isn't over by any stretch of the imagination, but the advantage has definitely shifted to favor riders like Landis, Menchov, Karpets, Evans and the T-Mobile team who has four guys in the top ten and could play some great team tactics to their advantage with Gonchar, Kloden, Rogers and Sinkewitz which would put a lot of pressure on Floyd's Phonak team. Salvodelli and Hincapie could still factor in, but would need some amazing riding in the mountains and neither is a spectacular climber.
This year's Tour is definitely proving to be difficult to predict. Two weeks to go.
Friday, July 07, 2006
The Waiting Game
We're back in the mode of waiting to see where we'll wind up. An interview in Nebraska which was originally supposed to take place last weekend was rescheduled tentatively for this weekend, but is now on hold until August after a scheduling snafu. I touched base with my contact on Monday (still expecting to visit this weekend) and discovered that they rescheduled the weekend for later this month when we will be in Indiana for Impact Summit Camp. Apparently, they checked the schedules of the staff, search committee, elders and other key people, but forgot to check our schedule. Not the end of the world, but it continues to make us wonder where all of this is headed.
In the meantime, I have a three day weekend because I had signed off the time to go to Nebraska. I'm hoping to get a couple of decent rides in and visit another church here in Sioux Falls that I applied at. The position that they are looking to fill later this summer is for a part-time worship leader which would actually be a pretty good fit with my current job. They are a Missionary Alliance Church that was planted last year here in town with more of a postmodern bent. I mentioned that I was going to visit to Chip, our Pastor at New Hope, and that they were a postmodern congregation and he asked, "What does that mean?" I told him, "I'll know more after I visit."
The possibility of staying in Sioux Falls is an attractive one with family so near and some good friends. Amy also has contacted the University of Sioux Falls about teaching as adjunct faculty which looks like a fair possibility for this fall and we're preparing to enroll Xander in first grade after a year of home schooling. An outlet for Amy in her area of gifting and a place for Xander to make friends are both burdens for us and would make it much harder to leave. A ministry outlet for me that is more in line with my passion and gets us a little closer to artist ministry would just about seal it for us.
In the meantime, even more applications have been sent to Nebraska and Minnesota (not finding much in Iowa or South Dakota) and we're just sort of waiting to see what opens up. As I prayed the other day, I sensed God telling me that "patience" is still the word for us. He gave me a bit more this time though and said that we'd know it when we saw it. This is more direct than He's been of late with me and I am thankful to have that promise to hold to. We feel like we've been stumbling around in the darkness for awhile and it's nice to know that in the midst of refinement that the Word of God is still a lamp for our feet and a light for our path. I still sometimes wish that it was a floodlight to ten miles ahead, but knowing that there is enough light to take the next step is light enough.
In the meantime, I have a three day weekend because I had signed off the time to go to Nebraska. I'm hoping to get a couple of decent rides in and visit another church here in Sioux Falls that I applied at. The position that they are looking to fill later this summer is for a part-time worship leader which would actually be a pretty good fit with my current job. They are a Missionary Alliance Church that was planted last year here in town with more of a postmodern bent. I mentioned that I was going to visit to Chip, our Pastor at New Hope, and that they were a postmodern congregation and he asked, "What does that mean?" I told him, "I'll know more after I visit."
The possibility of staying in Sioux Falls is an attractive one with family so near and some good friends. Amy also has contacted the University of Sioux Falls about teaching as adjunct faculty which looks like a fair possibility for this fall and we're preparing to enroll Xander in first grade after a year of home schooling. An outlet for Amy in her area of gifting and a place for Xander to make friends are both burdens for us and would make it much harder to leave. A ministry outlet for me that is more in line with my passion and gets us a little closer to artist ministry would just about seal it for us.
In the meantime, even more applications have been sent to Nebraska and Minnesota (not finding much in Iowa or South Dakota) and we're just sort of waiting to see what opens up. As I prayed the other day, I sensed God telling me that "patience" is still the word for us. He gave me a bit more this time though and said that we'd know it when we saw it. This is more direct than He's been of late with me and I am thankful to have that promise to hold to. We feel like we've been stumbling around in the darkness for awhile and it's nice to know that in the midst of refinement that the Word of God is still a lamp for our feet and a light for our path. I still sometimes wish that it was a floodlight to ten miles ahead, but knowing that there is enough light to take the next step is light enough.
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