You like Macaroni and Cheese? Take the quiz I made last year. You might like it, but you might not. You'll definitely laugh 'til you stop.

Here's a thought for today:
"You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."
--Jer. 29:13 (underline mine)

I didn't put a title on this one because it's just some stuff...

Yesterday, my wife and I went to see good ol' Dr. Walley, her OB. Haley is two weeks away from her due date, and the Dr. said that he'd like the baby to come in the next day or two, so he did this *thing* that made her release a hormone that should cause her to go into labor in the next couple of days. Pretty exciting!

If you are curious to know exactly what he did, email me and I'll let you know. I just thought I'd spare everyone the gynecological details

LOTS of stuff to talk about today. Before you read any of it, check out this page. It'll make your day. (it opens in a new window)

OK. Now that you are all warmed up, here's what's up with me... In case you don't know, my wife and I live in rural MO. We both grew up in KC, and moved out here so that I could finish college. With graduation drawing near, we are now faced with the once-obvious decision to either move back to KC and be close to our families, or stay out here in the land of meadow muffins and calf fries. Hmmmm.

I currently have a job as youth minister at a nearby church, and have been planning on leaving in May 2002 since I got the job in Oct 1999. It is no suprise to the church that I am leaving. I have also been planning to NOT go into a church when we move to KC because, well, it's really hard stuff. Ask Doug.

Alright. That's kinda the background information. Here's the beef of the post...

OK. So my wife and I are at a business meeting two weeks ago tomorrow, and the pastor mentions that the caretaker at the local chruch campgrounds has left and that the Association is looking for a new fix-it/mower kinda guy. Since I had just announced that I would offically be leaving because I was graduating, the people that want me to stay in the area started cracking jokes about me taking the position. I just laughed and forgot about it.

The following Sunday evening, we were studying Luke 14:26-33. I made a statement about how hard it is to follow God without putting family first. It's hard to find the line between doing what's best for your family and what God really wants. He wants us to provide the best for our families, right?

My pastor interrupted my statement and said, "Here's a test. Theres a job opening at camp Inlow..." (he was drowned out by the laughter in the room). I took no offense at this. He was definitely joking with me, but it got me thinking. Maybe I'm not supposed to leave this area? I've never really considered if we really "should" move to KC, it's just always been what were were going to do.

Well, by my use of the past tense, you have probably guessed that we're not planning on going to KC anymore. Right now we're about 90% sure that we're going to live in a beat-up trailer off of a gravel road in the middle of nowhere. There is quite a bit of the story that I'm not telling for the sake of brevity ("why start now?" you say) but we're pretty sure that this is what God wants. If we do this, I'm going to stay at my current youth minister position.

So what's the point of the story? God does stuff, as one of my friends always says. He has a plan for our lives (although sometimes it involves opossums and ticks), and, as my wife has said recently, "It's better to do what God wants; you're going to be miserably anyway if you don't."

Actually, I'm excited to have direction and a flexible schedule. I'll be able to essentially "work at home" and be with our little girl--whenever she decides to get here. Eh...that's another story.