Not "goodbye"...more like "see you later" Monday, August 21, 2006

I was blessed to be with Brett, April and Caden Emerson this weekend as their church had a mission send-off Sunday. They have committed 5 years to working with a mission team that is already established in Africa. It's always so great to see them. The Emerson's are so full of life and truly are an example of what it means to live "sold out" for Christ.

Their church threw a party with TONS of delicious, home-cooked, Southern food. They also had a video with blessings and sentiments from their church family as well as their real-deal family. That night the guys hung out and just talked under the stars at The Waters, where Brett's brother Chad lives. Mike Baur and Chad Hicks, two other great friends from Harding, were also there for the celebration. It's truly a blessing to have Christian friends. There's nothing like it. I know I'll stay in touch with all of these people for a long time.

Ed and Gene Welch, a family from the Emerson's church, allowed us to stay with them and they were wonderful hosts. They even had cookies and milk waiting for us when we got in after midnight. Thanks again, guys!

Sunday morning was a rollercoaster of emotions. I thought that I would be more sad than I was, but I kept getting this overwhelming feeling of joy for them and I know that God is going to do some amazing things with their servant hearts.

Brett and April's parents were also there along with a bunch of extended family to show their love and support for the work that the Emerson's are going to be a part of in Togo. It was a wonderful thing to behold such a lineage of believers who all loved God more than anything in this world. Seeing this, I was convicted to lead my family in truth and to point them to Christ. This will become even more important when we have children.

Please pray for the Brett, April and Caden Emerson and their work in Togo, West Africa. They leave tomorrow for France, where they will study language, then move to Togo after a few months. Also, pray for the Kabiye (Kah-bee-yay) people of Togo, with whom they will be living with and witnessing to. Check out their blog below.

http://emersonstogo.blogspot.com

My New Jaerb Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Over the past few weeks, I've been in talks with some people over at E. W. Scripps Networks (HGTV, diy, Food Network, etc.) and have taken a job as a Project Manager for their Online Newspaper division. I'm really excited about this new job and can't wait to get started in mid-September.

I'll be hanging around ORAU for the next couple of weeks helping to get everything in order and bringing people up to speed so that my departure will go smoothly. My time at ORAU has been great and I am extremely thankful for all of the opportunities I've been given as well as friendships that I'll keep.

P.S. "Jaerb" is in reference to a classic Homestarrunner toon. Check it out here!

Rock Island Tuesday, August 15, 2006

A couple of weeks ago we met up with some friends from Harding at a state park called Rock Island. It's here in Tennessee between Nashville and Knoxville. We had so much fun catching up with everyone and exploring the park. It's such a blessing to spend time with these wonderful people!

Look how small Andrew looks compared to the falls!

These crazy guys are sitting UNDER the huge falls.

"Ow, I have water in my eyes!"

There was definitely time for jammin'

There Aint No Doubt... Tuesday, August 01, 2006

Whenever I hear "God Bless The USA", I can't seem to get that one line out of my head...

'Cause there aint no doubt I love this land...

What kind of picture does it paint when such horrible grammer is placed into a song about this great nation in which we live? Anyways...I say all of that, because we visited Stone Mountain, which is just outside of Atlanta, GA. I was down there for SQL Server 2005 training (yuck) and we had some friends (non-rednecks) that thought it might be "fun" to see the laser show that they put on.

All of a sudden, I was transported back to 1988 and had on my splatter-paint Airwalks and mesh tank-top. What's funny is that I actually fit in with most of the people that were there. Heheh! The laser show was actually pretty cool. If you're ever down that way, you've got to check it out and pay close attention to the devil in Charlie Daniel's "The Devil Went Down To Georgia"...ROSIN!!

Stone Mountain is actually the world's largest relief sculpture and was truly an amazing piece of work. The mountain that it was carved into resembled a certain famous Aussie rock, formed of igneous rock. Above is a picture of the mountain in all it's glory. Below is a picture of me and Sony with Josh and Kaitlyn Tenery.

Biking the Cove Tuesday, July 18, 2006

This past Saturday, My Mom, Dad and I biked the 11 mile loop of Cades Cove in the Smoky Mountians. It was AMAZING. We had biked it last year, but it was still breath-taking. We were sad Erik couldn't come with us, he had a birthday party to go to for one of his friends from work.

There were butterflies EVERYWHERE. They huddled together in groups along the roads and hiking trails. Most of them were Orange and black, but this blue one was different! After we finished the bike trail, we hiked a little bit and even forged across a fast-moving stream to get to a water fall!

It was an awesome day, full of marveling at the beauty of God's creation. If only it had been a little cooler. I think it was in the upper 80's in the mountains. Then when we got back to town (Knoxville), it was 95 degrees! We stayed hydrated thanks to Erik's Camelbak :)