Even later

It’s 12:20.

I just finished the work I wanted to get done for the night.

I’m exhausted . . . Emily is sleeping on the futon next to my desk . .. the dog is curled up on top of her.

I woke up at 4am today.

Yeah, it’s time to get some sleep.

Late Start to the Evening . . .

I left work just a little later than usual, planning to get home, eat dinner with my wonderful wife, and get started on some church work.

5 minutes on I-85 and my plans were out the window.

Apparently, at about 3pm today, a Gasoline Tanker Truck rolled of the on-ramp at the Shorter exit, which then sprung a leak and filled the retention pond between the onramp and the Northbound lanes with Gasoline.  HazMat folks promptly shut down the interstate to begin cleanup.  SOO, all the traffic had to exit and make its way up a 2-lane road from 1 exit to the next.

BUT, about the time I got stuck in the traffic, a semi-truck getting off at the detour made a bad turn and basically shut down the alternate route.

SOOO, I sat for over an hour.  I actually pulled out my Bible and did a little research in the car . . .

They finally got one lane of the interstate open and I was able to make it home just before 8pm.

It’s now 8:30.  About an hour and a half later than I would have liked to get started on work for tonight . . . So I’d better get to it.

Productivity

It’s almost midnight and I am closing out an incredibly productive day.

1. I had breakfast and dinner with my awesome wife, reminding her how much I love her and how important she is to me.
2. Emily and I finished the second round of paperwork for our Church Planter’s Assessment in Maryland.  It got crammed into an envelope and went out with the mail this afternoon.  Following background and reference checks, our next step will be a set of online profiles.  Please pray that we are able to get all of this done before February 15, which will enable us to be formally interviewed at the end of February.  Also, please pray that everything goes well each step of the way and any barrier are overcome as they arise.
3. I started developing a formal church planting proposal for Transformation Church.  Eric and I met for a couple hours yesterday to discuss the proposal he put together for Journey.  He also gave me several other sources of information to help in the process.  I feel like the hours of work I put into it today amounted to a great start.  My goal is to have the first-draft done in the next couple weeks so that I can get it refined and ready to publish before the ChurchPlanters.com conference.
4. The most intense Travel Guide we’ve ever done at Journey Church just went online.  We’re flying through The Sermon on the Mount, which means we are covering a ton of territory each week.  There’s no way our Growth Groups will make it through the whole guide this week, so I had to format everything so our folks can take it home and use it in their personal study time.
5. I’M GOING TO BED!

Doing something right . . .

If you think you’re too busy . . . if your life has you wound so tight you might just spring loose any second . . .

Don’t forget what’s important.

I’m working 44+ hours a week in a city 45 minutes away.  I’m leading the Growth Groups ministry at Journey Church.  I’m trying to be intentional about talking to people around town.  I’m working feverishly to get the assessment process for church planting done.  I’m trying to get the vision for Transformation Church down on paper so we can raise support and recruit a team . . .

I’m pretty darn busy.  But I’m trying not to lose sight of what is really important.

I must be doing something right, because my wife felt led to put up a blog post like this:

http://emmyk.wordpress.com/2008/01/26/saturday/

I love Emily.  I would drop every bit of what I am doing in life if my relationship with Emily was on the line.  She knows that, and I try to live that.  What would your spouse say about you?

Video on Evangelism . . .

OK folks, the following video DOES CONTAIN FOWL LANGUAGE, so be aware . . . but it gives an honest, thought-provoking picture of how disconnected people can sometimes think about our efforts to share the gospel with them . . .

In the words of MoviePastor, Dave Anderson, “Be prepared to laugh - or be mad.  I warned you.”

Direct link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2bpc7LSRZc

**Disclaimer:  I do not necessarily agree with the entirety of this video.  I did not produce the video.  I do not formally endorse the video. I found it thought-provoking, so I am sharing it with those who read this blog.**

Fun Quote . . .

OK, it’s Wednesday . . . I got a cool quote on my “iGoogle” page this morning, so I thought I’d share it:

A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort.
  - Herm Albright

Busy, Crazy day!

It’s after midnight and I”m just winding down.

I worked a good full day at the office . . .

Came home and had a great brainstorming Staff Meeting at Journey . . .

And have been working on some outside work since then. 

I’m whooped, but I’m glad to have the outside work so Emily and I can get another chunk of debt paid off.  This will make move to plant a church a whole lot easier.

God is good!

Snow! - Update

OK.  So, it legitimately snowed here in Auburn.  The grass was almost covered and the rooftops were distinctly white . . . for all of about 2 hours until it changed back to rain and melted away.

It’s probably gonna be a little icy in the morning, but that’s OK.

So much for the 2-6 inches.

Snow?

Yes, it is SNOWING IN AUBURN, ALABAMA!

I’ve lived here over 13 years.  It has snowed a few times when I was out of town.  I’ve seen flurries a few times. 

BUT, today, they are forecasting anywhere from 2-6 inches!

Awesome!

Crazy brainy day

I drained my brain a bit today.

I just realized how long and deep (and long) my blog post was earlier.  Obviously my brain was working quite well at that point.

I also got bogged down researching some stuff in the building code late this afternoon at work (have to pick up there in the AM)

Emily and I had a really good discussion just before dinner about some little things each of us can do to improve our relationship.

Then, I think the stuff I came up with for GG this week is pretty intense.  We’ll see what Eric thinks. 

My brain has just been shooting me all over the place today.  It’s after 11pm.  It’s time to shut it down and get some rest.