We are getting settled into our new home. There are a few things on the walls, several boxes left to be unpacked, but mostly, it is starting to feel like home. It is amazing how having "your stuff" can take a place that is foreign and make it your own.

I was reflecting back on the weekend we moved, and am amazed at how things came together despite the worst snowstorm in recent Tulsa history. That the Lord raised up people willing to brave the elements on a weekend that would have been better spent by a fire with hot cocoa, and a good book or movie, still stirs me.

Moving is always...well, a pain. I don't like moving. I moved four times in 7 months. Yes, only two times were with all our stuff, so that makes it somehow better...at least I'm trying to believe that.

I have a good friend from the Indianapolis area who once shared her moving story with me. She and her husband moved from Wisconsin to Indianapolis. Her husband drove the moving van. It was from that national company with orange and silver trucks. At that time, they had a slogan that read: "Adventures in Moving."

She stared at that sign until her eyes blurred, which was not a good thing as she was driving their only car. She began to sob. Sobbing turned into defiant screaming in the quiet of her car.

"This is not an adventure!" she declared. "I hate this, I don't want to do this, I just wanna go back home!"

I don't know her exact words, but this was the idea she conveyed.

I could relate to this. I used the same moving company, and was reminded amid the snow drifts and icy roads, that this was quite the adventure. One I could have done without...so could the 7 or 8 friends who came to help us.

Change is hard for most of us. We resist at most costs. We would much rather reside at the hearth of our comfort, than have our walls expanded to include new adventures we feel ill-equipped to traverse. Especially ones that take us far away from all we know.

It is at these times that we can rest assured that in fact, this is a journey...a faith journey.

I feel no particular gifting for the job I am doing. There are many who are more qualified than me. However, "for such a time as this," God wants me here. He wants Deanna teaching in Sapulpa. He has bound our hearts to others in this area. How and why this has all occurred is something I do not have the vision to see. Everyday, new things are coming our way that are much bigger than we are. It is only by His strength that we are able to meet these challenges.

I only know that this "adventure in moving" is His desire, and ours it to be found obedient. He has supplied and provided at every turn. His provision is ample. This "adventure in moving" is His "adventure in living." Praise God!

dad