Jan De Hartog writes about his skepticism to accept the faith of his parents in the face of modernity.  Jan witnessed endless atrocities during is adolescent years of WWII.  When his mother falls ill after living a fruitful life of service to the Lord, it is then that he realize his heritage of faith.  I was moved by his mother’s words in response to his question:

 

When I asked her how she had managed to do all this, she answered evasively,

“Oh, when you really need it, you get help.”   

“What Help?” I asked, discouraged, because there we went again, with the Hound of Heaven baying on our traces.  

“Just: help,” she said.  “A strength, a power, that enables you to forget about yourself.”   

 

The book is about Jan learning to forget about him self while his mother is dying.  Lord God give me strength to forget about myself, is my prayer.    

The asspiring family man in me loves this video cllip.  If I had a wish list the big dummy is at the top

Drew, a new friend from church, welcomed me into his home to watch the final Germany v Spain Euro 2008 championship game.  We share a mutual love for soccer. 

I was hoping Germany would win but alas Spain’s lone goal from Torres was enough for them to take the tittle.  I am glad we don’t have a TV because otherwise I might not have had occasion to visit at Drew’s house.  See, TV is bringing folks together!

               Ok, so every time we chat with an old friend or meet a stranger who asked us why we moved to little North Wilkesboro, Phillip uses the pronoun “we” to explain the several reasons he wanted to move here.  At this point I am slowly coming around to see that he is right about:  the beautiful view of mountains beyond mountains, the great access to places to bike rides, the “community feel” of this small town (“not like Carrboro which is trying to fake a small town feel”—how could he SAY that about precious Carrboro? So fickle!), and that it’s close to the Appalachian Trail. 

             My true reasons to move here were: to arrive yearly at Merlefest much sooner, to be closer to Phillip’s family than we were in Chapel Hill, to be two hours closer to my fam in KY, because we were finally ready to put an end to the vagabond lifestyle, and because Phillip wanted to move here.   The truth is that I like the A.T., but he LOVES the A.T.!  I prefer beach to mountains.  I mean, I am a much more sedentary person than he is, and we all know I would rather lie around on a sandy towel than ride the 20 miles he convinced me to ride here last week.  However, I am seeing merit in these bike rides and the tranquil walks around our quaint town. There is actually more to Wilkesboro than Merlefest. 

I want to stop and acknowledge the Lord’s faithfulness in providing work for me.  Not only did he give me a job but 2 exciting work outlets.  The first is through Wilkes Community College teaching a course at Louisiana Pacific’s lumber mill.  It is part-time contract work teaching Microsoft Access.  I taught my first class on Tuesday morning; one down seven to go. I think I will enjoy the creative aspect of teaching.  It is a massive mill where I am told by  my students that the process 2 million pounds of lumber a day follow this link to see cool aerial view

My full time job is with Wilkes Habitat for Humanity.  I am really excited to work in a position that has the potential to be a tremendous learning experience, not to mention the impact on the community.  I was able to volunteer with the Habitat affiliate here before I started so that has made my first day on the job (also yesterday) that much more manageable.

 

I would appreciate you continued prayers as Melissa and I try to establish ourselves in this community.  We hope that our light will shine before our neighbors and in turn they will ask us about the hope we have in Christ Jesus.   

 

 

I just finished reading Todd Balf’s Major.  I Highly recommend it to anyone remotely interested in American History, It takes place during the dawn of the 20th century.  If you like bikes you are also in for a treat but Balf does an even better job of telling the story of a true role model.  Major Taylor the main character inspiresme to hold true to my faith and be content in all things. 

Many props to the Appalachian Regional Library Wilkes County branch for having this book out and on display, if it hadn’t been for their efforts I would have missed this story of a true American Hero. 

If any of you are wondering why is Phillip so crazy about bikes, this book will give you a clue.  Balf captures the freedom and spirit one feels on two wheels, he is truly a bicycle advocate and a great story teller. 

Share the road!

We had a ball at the Cleveland Wedding. 

 We danced our legs of and enjoyed the company of dear friends. 

Our world traveling friends were home for the wedding. 

 

On the home front we ate dinner with the Albanina family in our building. 

enjoy the images of joy and provision.  also pray as I interviewed with Habitat for Humanity today.  Hope to hear something soon. 

Melissa and I have enjoyed being more cognizant of our natural surroundings since returning from out AT trip earlier this spring.  You would have to have your head in the sand not to notice the cicada invasion we have been experiencing in Wilkes.  We were a little oblivious to how much noise these things could make till now.  While riding bikes, we accidentally mistook their buzzing for a bunch of power lines! 

A friend from our church did a story ( follow this link to learn more about how this  bumper 17 year crop of cicadas).  The map below is from the article, the map appeared in the Patriot Journal but they didn’t get it up on their web site.

I included this image of a Cicada husk because I treasure a memory of my father placing these on his nose to shock and impress me. 

hey just made some changes to the blog.

hope every one feels connected, sorry if technology bums you out. i just got some contract work with Wilkes Community. I am going to teach a company MS Access. yes I love technology

home tour. our camera only gives us 30 seconds of video photage. enjoy and keep praying for us that we will cling to Jesus