Just got back from Chicago!

Mesha and I had a great weekend in Chicago! We went to the Shedd Aquarium and to Navy Pier and even hit up Magnificent Mile a little. The rest of the weekend was spent visiting with Mesha's college friends, who were really fun to get to know. We couldn't have asked for a better weekend wheather-wise either. It was in the low 90s and sunny the entire weekend. It was just so good to get away and spend some real quality time with my wife. We really just caught up with each other, laugh and enjoyed each other's company.
As with any trip, we had our adventures too. I have a couple of stories, but I am going to start with the trip home because the other story I want to post has a picture that I am waiting on to accompany it. The trip home started as any trip home from vacation starts. Mesha and I procrastinated our departure a little with a trip to a store and grabbing Chicago style pizza just before we left. On the way home, we remembered we were going to grab a Chicago shot-glass for one of Mesha's co-workers. We stopped at the very last oasis's on the road out of Chicago and sure enough they were out of them. We then stopped further north at a truck-stop and found a New York City shot-glass, but no Chicago shot glass???? We returned to the road with an Illinois shot glass (the next best thing) and were on our way. Well, I don't know if you are a fan of cruise control, but I am, especially on long trips. I am also not a fan of people on the road that aren't fans of cruise control on long trips. They always speed up and slow down and make it difficult to use cruise for me. Usually, this only causes stress for a short period of time and then the other car or I make a change and someone moves on. However, we had the weirdest encounter with another car that I have ever had, yesterday. We came up on a tan Honda from Illinois (JJ you can never make fun of MN drivers again!). This car was passing another couple of cars in the left lane. I had to slow down behind him until we both passed the other cars. So far, nothing out of the ordinary. However, it soon became obvious that this guy did not want me to pass him. He pulled back into the right lane after passing the other cars and I began to pass him. I promptly hit the gas and took off ahead of me. I thought that was weird, but I just pulled into the left lane and set my cruise again. Well, very quickly, I caught up to the Honda and began to pull around him a second time. He promptly sped up and this time cut in front of me to pass some cars (I think) that were about a mile in front of us. When he pulled in front of me, however, he quickly slowed down. This junk went on for like an hour or so. Some times he would be way a head of us for a little bit, but then he would slow down and harrass us again. The thing is, I don't think he had any clue that he was driving like a complete idiot! Well, if anyone doesn't know me that well, I am not very patient. I held it together for an hour and I am proud of that, but I had enough. After an hour of that junk, I just put the peddle to the medal and went like 90 for a few miles to put him way behind us. After that, I set my beloved cruise control and we never saw him again. Some people's kids!!!!!

This is for all of my small group peeps out there reading my blog....

Mesha checked into service stuff through her work, but the privacy issues are too great. However, she did talk to her boss and figured out some stuff. We are heading to Chicago tomorrow night, so we will not have a chance to do anything more with this until we return. If anyone wants to look deeper into this, here is the info you need. Mesha's boss said to go to or call the senior center at the Monticello Community Center and ask for Pam. Explain to Pam what we are trying to do as a small group. (Find some lawn work or house work in the Monticello area that needs to get done) Pam should be able to hook us up with some people. If she can't hook us up, she would be able to pass on our desires to the seniors that come through there during the week and hook us up that way. If no one picks this up right away, it might actually be a week before we get to it again. We have a huge week for church when we return. We will, however, follow up if no one else has the ability. Thanks guys!!!

We just got back from North Point Church in Atlanta, GA and it was incredible. I was blown away by their incredible focus and their honesty about why they don't do all the programs that other churches do. They focus on the 3 key relationships they feel a person should be developing as a Christian. These consist of a relationship with God, a relationship with "insiders" or other Christians and a relationship with "outsiders" or non-Christians. They realize they cannot force people into these relationships, so they create environments that will encourage and assist people in creating and developing these relationships. They are strict about choosing only those programs that create these specific environments and eliminate all the extras. I was inspired to not see excellence as a way of doing things on our own and leaving God out, but as a way to honor God and attract the lost. Another thing about this conference that was super exciting for me, was how practical it was at most levels. I was able to watch and participate in this church's sunday morning activities and not just hear about them, which made this conference much more beneficial. Also, the fact that we started with church at their main campus, which is huge and then were able to see the same principles being carried out in a much smaller and newer satellite was beneficial. We were inspired by the hugeness of North Point Church and then saw how these principles can be carried out on a smaller scale at Buckhead Church. I feel renewed, rejuvinated, and impatient for the future!!!

House hunting....exciting or stressful?

My wife and I are looking to buy a house. We have looked at like 10-15 houses and have kind of exhausted our choices at this point. We like a couple of the houses, but now the pressure is on. Do we buy one out of the ones we have seen that fits our needs the best or is the best investment, or we just plain like? I don't think any of them fit all the criteria.
Secondly, we started by looking at Town Houses, but decided against them because we wanted a yard and stuff. You know, kids could be on the way in a couple of years, so I thought it would be kind of nice to have a yard for them. However, this option has arose in discussions again. They are generally newer and a little nicer than the homes we have been looking at so far. I guess we will just wait and see where things go. Please pray that we get clear guidance. Whether that guidance comes directly from God or is mediated through those older and wiser than us!

Aaaah, finally, some time to write!

Mesha and I had a pretty crazy, but fun time last weekend. We had a suprise b-day party for a friend here in Monticello friday night. I learned how to play texas hold em ( I know, I a little behind the game...no pun intended) and actually took the birthday boy out of the game. ( I have to admit that he probably wasn't playing his best at that moment because the presents appeared. Also, I would like to note that we weren't playing for money. No gambling for this guy!!! Anywho, we then had a wedding and a concert on Saturday. The wedding was definitely interesting, seeing as the entire family of the groom seemed to know and love my wife. (She went to the groom's brother's wedding as the groom's date!) Anyway, after the wedding we hit Ikea, of course, had a quick bite to eat and headed for the concert. We were going to see Shawn McDonald, an artist I have fallen in love with lately, but we were in for a pleasant surprise. Dave Barnes, the guy opening for Shawn, stole the show. Shawn was okay, but Dave blew me away. He was hilarious and extremely talented. He has sort of a bluesy, funk and a little soul in his repitour, which just sent me into musical bliss. Check him out if you get a chance. The weekend finished out with its normal busy Sunday schedule.
Other things of special note are getting the office furniture for our new offices and finally moving into the offices officially. Michael and I went to the Cities, yesterday, to get our new furniture. After packing and repacking the Quarry trailer a few times, we finally got it all in and were on our way. Unpacking went much more smoothly minus the dropped desk top (which turned out to be a-okay!). We won't say who was responsible for that! Anywho, it is exciting times around the Quarry office. I hope all is well with everyone in Blogland!