This is not like my normal posts. I am doing this because I know many of my readers are part of Adrian Christian Church where I preach. I wanted to give them a little insight into my life and share some of my favorites. This may interest you or it may not, but I hope it shows you a little about myself.

Favorite Movies:
5. Spiderman – all of them
4. Forrest Gump
3. Dumb and Dumber
2. True Grit (original John Wayne version)
1. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Favorite Animated movies:
5. Chicken Run
4. Toy Story (all 3 really)
3. Finding Nemo
2. The Incredibles
1. Up

Favorite Songs (Non-Christian):
5. [Tie] Iridescent by Linkin Park / Leave Out All the Rest by Linkin Park
4. Secure Yourself by Indigo Girls
3. The Cave by Mumford and Sons (I like a lot of their stuff)
2. Chances Are by Garrett Hedlund on the Country Strong Soundtrack
1. Goodnight Elizabeth by The Counting Crows

Favorite Christian Praise Songs:
5. Lord of Eternity by Fernando Ortega
4. From the Inside Out by Kristian Stanfill
3. Let my Sing by Todd Fields
2. How Great is Our God by Chris Tomlin
1. Mighty to Save by Ben Fielding

Favorite Books:
5. [Tie] Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller / My Beautiful Idol by Pete Gall
4. Traveling Mercies by Anne Lamott
3. Can Man Live Without God by Ravi Zacharias
2. Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard
1. The Bible

All of us have favorites in different areas of life. Many of those favorites reveal something about our life and what we have been through. What do my favorites say about me? Well, I watch a lot of movies and with 4 kids we have watched a lot of animated movies. I also listen to a lot of music and read as much as I am able. I could write about each one of these categories for several days. Then within each category are words that touched my heart and life in a unique ways.

What do your favorites say about you?

Alaska is a beautiful place. Every morning I looked out from my front porch at the mountains, a bay from the ocean and a glacier. The beauty was all around me. I had a mother moose with her two calves walk through the yard frequently. Sandhill cranes nested near our house and I could hear them honking as they flew over. I have watched them walk across the yard with the little ones following behind. They are beautiful creatures.

Alaska is an amazing place if you love the outdoors. I have caught an 87 pound halibut. I have caught dozens of salmon. The fish are big and beautiful. My favorite time of the year was catching Dolly Varden on the Anchor River in the fall. The cold dark waters and the fish that appear out of nowhere are breathtaking.

I could go on and on all day about the sights and sounds of Alaska. If you have never been there, you should go once to see it. It is an amazing place to visit.

With all of that beauty I have come to a clear understanding of what I will miss the most about Alaska. I will miss the people.

Honestly, there are a lot of amazing places in the world. There is beauty all around us if we stop to look, but people are unique. I would be lying if I told you that I would miss everyone. In fact, to be truthful, there are some people I am glad I will never have to encounter again. But most of the people I knew are full of love and life and the faith that unites us all as believers. I have come to clearly understand what Paul meant when he said to the Church at Philippi, “I thank my God every time I remember you.”

I heard a preacher once encouraged every believer to write down a list of the people who have impacted your life for God. Then go through those names one by one and thank God for each person. The world is a beautiful and amazing place but people are the real treasure.

I am still in the process of transitioning from life and ministry in Alaska to life and ministry in Missouri. I have learned a few lessons in the first week that are simple yet I hope I never forget them.

1. The joy of simple things. I love sweet corn and only had it once in the last 5 years since it does not grow in Alaska. Almost every night someone has brought us corn. I am so thankful and I am enjoying every bite. Having grown up in the Midwest I took something as simple as sweet corn for granted. I deeply appreciate it now.

2. The glory of summer. Summers in Alaska are warm (60 and 70 degrees) with lots of rain. It is wonderful to feel the sun and heat here most days. The 90’s with humidity are a little much but those days allow my boys to enjoy the local pools. They have spent more time in the water in the last 10 days than the last 5 years combined.

3. The pleasure of proximity. My family is now within a 30 minute drive (or less) from thousands of stores, activities and sites. In Alaska everything is so spread out. We drove 2 hours to Wal-mart and 4 hours for a big chain type restaurant like Olive Garden. Having those things close makes like much easier (and cheaper!).

4. The happiness of home. I grew up in Indiana and went to college in Missouri and while I enjoyed Alaska it feels good to be back home. I better understand and now appreciate some of the aspects of small town life in the Midwest. I could spend days talking about the familiarity of Missouri.

Here is what I know. If you spend all of your life in one area or with one group of people you might start taking things for granted. I know I did. It was not until I left for Alaska that I saw the joy of so many little things.

I wonder if it is possible to pause for a moment and be thankful for the common things in our life without moving away. To thank God for family that is nearby. To thank God for simple luxuries and pleasures like sweetcorn. To appreciate modern conveniences like Wal-mart. To express your gratitude for being a part of a community of people. Maybe today you could take a moment to pause and appreciate all you have in your life.

While traveling across Canada on my way from Alaska to Missouri I experienced several “close calls.”

I had a moose run across the road about 4 foot in front of my Uhaul. I drove into total darkness with only one headlight while the pouring rain made it hard to see to drive and yet I made every turn. I fought 40-50 mile per hour cross winds for 12 hours. I drove through flooding with water pouring over the road that was nearly impassable. The two biggest incidents happened in Edmonton. A car pulled in front of me quickly and then slammed on his breaks for a yellow light. It is hard to stop a 26 foot Uhaul that is fully loaded, but I managed to stop with a foot to spare. Then I got into road construction and saw the signs indicating that a lane ahead was closing. Little did I know that all lanes would be closing and everyone would be taking a detour. I slammed on my breaks and watched as no one would let me merge. Finally one Good Samaritan let me across the traffic as I almost ran into the barricades. Miraculously I traveled all that way without a scratch or dent. My family had no accidents and while I was tired upon arrival there was no bodily harm.

With each close call I began thinking of God’s goodness in each situation. I could have had a wreck. I could have missed that turn. I could have hit that guy. Instead I made it through … by the grace of God.

Then I began recounting my life. All those times that things could have gone much worse. Especially those times when my whole world could have quickly unraveled and nothing happened.

I believe that sometimes we experience the grace and goodness of God in big dramatic ways. But maybe sometimes his goodness keeps us from total disaster when we don’t even know it.

After this trip I have come to thank God for “the grace of close calls.” He brought me through some sticky situations without a scratch and for that I am very thankful.

This week I am going to blog several thoughts from my travels. My first thought is about rough roads. As you might imagine in a nearly 4,000 mile trip you are bound to come across some rough roads. I discovered there are 4 ways to handle a rough road.

1. Ignore it. Pretend that a problem does not exist and hope it magically goes away.

2. Put up a sign. This does not fix the problem but it gives people a warning that bumpy roads are coming.

3. Throw down a quick patch. This appears to fix things permanently but often is just a quick fix and the problem will return.

4. Tear out the old problem area and completely replace that section of road. This takes the most time, energy and cost but it is always the best solution.

In reality, life is full of rough roads. Some relationships are rough roads. Some Churches have gone down some rough roads. Jobs, marriages, parenting and numerous areas of life have their rough patches. The solutions are the still the same as the highway … and the results too.

Which solution are you choosing right now to that difficult area of your life?

I just want to give a quick personal update.

Last Tuesday at roughly 7:00 pm we arrived in Adrian Missouri without incident. The Lord was very good to us and kept us safe and sound the entire trip. That night we unpacked the beds and clothes at the end of the trailer.

On Wed we unpacked everything in the Uhaul. And by Wed evening we were will on our way to setting up a home.

On Thursday we unpacked all day. I returned the Uhaul and felt like the trip was over for the first time. All total we traveled 3930 miles across 5 states and 5 Canadian Provinces.

On Friday we went to the local parade and then unpacked and set up the boys bedrooms. We enjoyed the fireworks on Friday night for the first time in 5 years. There are no 4th of July fireworks in Alaska for fear of forest fires. This was the first time they had ever lit fireworks either.

On Saturday we bought groceries and needed supplies.

Today – I preached my first official sermon at Adrian Christian Church. It was great to feel like my new ministry was starting. Things in Adrian are off and running.

I will return to my normal blog posting tomorrow and hopefully everyday after that on Monday to Friday. I have lots of ideas and reflections after 8 days on the road.

Thanks to everyone who has prayed for our safety. Thanks to everyone for their gifts of all types. Finally, thanks be to God for all he has done in our lives the last 3 weeks.

So far my family has logged in an official 37 hours of drive time. We have done some stopping and starting while hitting touristy places. I am currently setting by the pool while my boys enjoy a few hours of fun before taking off again. We have about 32 more hours to go but the roughest parts are behind us. Alaska, The Yukon and British Columbia are full of beauty along lousy roads, especially in a 26 foot Uhaul.

Early in my trip I was reminded of how motorcycle drivers usually wave to each other along the highway. I think it is interesting how they acknowledge each other and their common bond on the road. I thought it would be cool to do the same thing with other Uhaul trucks. So my son and I started waving at every other Uhaul that we saw. The first three days we saw 29 other Uhauls heading north and waved to every one. We had 3 people who waved back at us. Just three. I guess there is not as much bond as I had hoped. We will see what the next few days hold, but I am not very hopeful. All of us want a place to connect but people in Uhaul trucks are transient renters and not owners. Our membership in the group is short-term and there is no real sense of pride in our situation. We are bound for somewhere else and I hope to be there in 32 more drive hours.

It is now Monday June 23. I have spent the entire day packing and loading and we are ready to head out tomorrow for our new ministry in Missouri. We will be on the road for the next 8 days and be traveling over 4000 miles. I hope to make a few posts as I stop in hotels, but mostly I hope to enjoying the trip with my family.

I appreciate your prayers and will return to a normal daily blog on July 7 from my new office.

I want to offer a “Thank You” to the people of Homer Christian Church.

Thank you for letting me be your pastor and preacher for the last 5 years.

May God bless you into the future.

Friday is usually my day off. I work to get my sermon, my Sunday school lesson and any additional duties done by Friday. Then I relax and enjoy the day. Well, this is my final Friday in Alaska and as pastor of Homer Christian Church. There is no Sunday school this week as we are having a fellowship time. My final sermon is done and ready to preach. There are still a couple of last-minute duties I need to tie up, but for the most part everything is finished.

This is the end of a 5 year and 1 week ministry here in Alaska. By my calculations this is what I have done in this ministry.

Preached 250 sermons.
Taught somewhere around 150-160 Sunday school lessons.
Given roughly 75 communion meditations.
Performed only 6 weddings and 1 funeral.
Led 5 Christmas Eve candlelight programs.
Taught one “college level” class at the local Bible Institute.
By the end of this Sunday I will have baptized 7 people including two of my children.
I have met with countless people for various reasons, offered numerous marriage counseling sessions, ate an unknown number of meals with people, and printed thousands of programs.

The flip side of this is always hard. There are people who refused to come to Church. There are people who did not accept Jesus as their Savior (yet). There was a lot of ministry that was not done. I always worry about the items left undone when I leave a ministry.

These factors make an ending bitter-sweet. There was more to do for God, but He has allowed me to be a part of so much. I thank God for the time I have spent in Homer and the ministry he has allowed me to be a part of each week.