When I was 10 years old God decided my dad needed to quit his job, not because there was a new one ready and waiting, that wouldn't come for about 9 more months, but because we - as a family - were about to learn what it meant to trust God on a daily basis, in whole new, crazy exciting and scary ways. We came to call this crazy way that God worked in our lives "the scenic route". It wasn't a direct path, it wasn't the quickest way from point A to point B - it was a little different, a little peculiar - it was the scenic route.
That revelation came to my dad in the midst of leading a mission trip to Eagle Nest, NM. Flash forward about a quarter of a century and I found myself leading a mission trip in the exact same place. And it was there that one of our students first used the phrase Life Together. It comes from Acts 2:42 - it's Eugene Peterson's take on the Greek word koinonia. And for the next 6 years we experienced lots and lots of life together with our family in Albuquerque.
And then, about 2 years ago, God brought a new direction for my family - thankfully it wasn't quite as scenic as the one he told my dad to go on - although Joni has her own God told me to quit my job story. But God brought us back to the Pecos Valley, and that alone would already be a pretty great scenic route story, coming full circle back to this area - but He's just getting started. So it's time to start sharing some of that story. Beginning with this little trip I'm taking this month to South Africa. Most of you who know me well understand that this is not my usual cup of tea - but God took away every excuse I could think of - from finances to having the perfect fill in for the Sunday I am missing. God even made sure our kids have an oddly late spring break so I don't miss it.
So, this blog is simply an easy place for me to share about our family as we take the scenic route together (you see how we put those together there: the scenic route, meets life together, you get it) - starting with me having a way to share about the cool things God is letting me be a part of through our association's partnership with some churches in Pretoria. We're less than 3 weeks away from take-off, and the plan is to update this every day that I'm on the trip, and then see where it takes me from there. In the mean time I'm sure I'll find an occasional reason to post something, I mean, it is the scenic route after all - God always has something for us to see.
