The beginning of an era...

OK, so I stole and adapted the title from here. I also thought about naming this post "The Ways We Don't Move." Some of you will understand that.

About 3 years ago now, I told the VP of Development at ACU that if he was looking to add to his staff, let me know, I would be interested in talking to him. About 9 months ago, he let me know and we began conversations, albeit few and far between, about possibilities at ACU. In the last couple of months, these conversations grew more frequent and detailed, but still somewhat vague about specifics.

About a month ago, a friend was visiting with her mother, who happened to be looking for someone to work for her at Texas Tech in the area of scholarship stewardship. This friend, who works at LCU, just happened to be a person with whom I had done some major work on setting up some programs to do, well, scholarship stewardship. Next thing you know, Tech is calling asking me to interview for a job replicating what I had already done at LCU.

If this is starting to feel like you are standing at the crossroads watching two cars come together, it is going to get worse before it gets better, because sure enough, I interview at Tech and lo-and-behold, they offer me the job. Because I had been talking to ACU, I send a friendly email to the VP saying: "Here's what's going on. Can you give me a little more detail about where you guys are?" Within 30 minutes, he calls and wants to know if I might be free the next day to come down to Abilene and visit. Hence the pictures here. I got the call from Tech on a Tuesday on the way back from a funeral in Austin and went down to get an offer from ACU on Friday of the same week.

I have already tipped my hand on which way we went, but here is a little more proof, in case you need it.


I cannot lie - it was one of the most agonizing decisions I have had to make. I am sure the move from Abilene to Tyler was tough and Tyler to Lubbock, but I do not remember it being like this. It seemed like Jana and I were at complete opposite ends of the spectrum and changed at the exact same time as the other. In the end, it was a financial decision that was heavily impacted by my desire to finish the Ph.D. I am doing at Tech. Although ACU was generous, the offer was not for the position we had originally talked about, but rather a similar position that might work into something else down the road. Jana did not have anything lined up and there was no promise of anything that would give her the ability to continue to be with the kids or perhaps even spend more time with them than now. I would have to be in Lubbock two days a week for the next 12-15 months to establish residency, not to mention an increased travel load. The kids are getting too small of a portion of me now to ask them to give up more. Tech will help pay for the degree and working for a state university versus a small private Christian university is a benefit that makes it worth the move across town, and will continue to be a benefit in the years to come.

I am convinced this is the right decision, even as I keep wondering if I have lost my mind! We are prayerful that this is for a season and and at the right time, God will place us in the place we need to be. While we hope in many ways it is Abilene, right now, we need to be faithful in this place and I believe, because I have seen it happen, that God will make this place the right place for now and if there is another place in the future, this too will work out.

And, at the risk of totally sending my mother over the edge, I leave you with this...


Hey, when they are paying the bills, I will "Gun's Up" with the best of them!

Welcome to Second Grade!

By some creative math and logic/justification that would make his daddy proud, Luke figures that since he does not HAVE to go to school tomorrow, then his school year is over and therefore, he is no longer a first grader, which must mean that he is a SECOND GRADER!! So I present to you the first picture of your second grader playing in the sprinkler.

Hey, if you can't run through the sprinkler during the summer, when can you do it?


I am reminded often that while I do not feel like I should be old enough to have a second grader (I am. Trust me, I really am!) I am extremely blessed to have this child as my second grader. I love you!

Will They Like It?

Today Luke's class gets to bring sleeping bags and blankets and tents to school. They will spend the entire afternoon reading. (Jana said Luke has about 30 books hidden in his desk for reading today!) Luke opted to bring his firetruck "tent."

On the way to school, Luke asked me if I thought people would think it was silly that he brought a firetruck tent? I was really curious about the origin of the question, since this is the same tent he and his sister were laughing and playing in just moments before.

I could tell when we got to school that this was an issue, however. He sort of "distanced" himself from the tent for a minute or two and just watched the reaction of others. When they started saying "Cool!" and "Who's is that?" his face brightened and he went over to the tent to show everyone.

I hate that for him. You want to raise a child who is self-confident and who cares about people more than he cares about what they think. Yet, I see more and more examples of how important it really is to be liked and to have others communicate their like -- and how much it affects Luke. It reminds me of all of the days I have when I do art all day rather than risk getting hurt.

I am thankful for Luke's sweet spirit and pray that God fills him with an overwhelming knowledge of His love.

I am also thankful that Luke's classmates liked it. I would have hated to been the headline story on cnn.com. ("Father plucks the head off of mean 1st graders...")

School Will Go Great!

Several of the readers of this blog are aware of the fact that I am joining the ranks of students starting a new semester. I am starting (technically: in the process of being fully accepted) a Ph.D. program in Higher Education Administration at Texas Tech. Classes start tonight and so I asked Luke to pray for me last night during our prayer time. He did and of course did so with the sweet spirit that characterizes his prayers. (I have said publicly that he is the most astute theologian of the family.)

Well, today on the way to drop him off at school, he suddenly said: "Dad, turn down the radio. I need to pray for you starting school today." And he did. And somehow I managed to see through the tears and not wreck us on the way to school.

I continue to be amazed at the way God has blessed us with such a thoughtful and deeply spiritual child. We are blessed beyond our wildest expectations and for that, I am extremely, extremely grateful. Although I am nervous about starting classes tonight, I know that it will be fine - I have been covered in sweet, sweet prayer.

1st Day