Tom Cruising

The bad news: Caroline and I are not great about planning vacations. The good news: We have amazing friends that are - and sometimes they include us. A couple of months ago, one of my best friends from college and his wife invited us to join them on a Caribbean cruise. We thought about it for about 13 seconds and then accepted.  We embark on Friday and return the following Saturday.  We have had a busy start to the year with the sale of our house in Braselton, so we are looking forward to some down time.  More than that, we are looking forward to spending extended time with our friends reminiscing about old times and talking about what's in store for us next. I look forward to giving you an update when I return. I encourage you to prioritize time with the most important people in your life, and I commit to doing a better job of initiating opportunities to do that with our friends in the future.

What goes around...

We raised our kids in South Gwinnett, and they attended the Shiloh school district.  Our church home was Annistown Road Baptist Church.  My wife, Caroline, helped with Vacation Bible School, and one of her most energetic students was Brandt.  We got to know Brandt and his family well over the 2 decades that we attended there.  We are now living full time at Lake Hartwell and visited Lavonia First Baptist Church last Sunday.   Who was delivering the message from the stage? You guessed it - Brandt Akin.  Brandt is now married to Morgan and has grown from a mischievous boy into a seasoned speaker who you can tell loves the Lord.  We were also delighted that Morgan was also on the stage leading worship.  We were so excited to be able to see familiar faces and to hear what Jesus had laid on Brandt's heart.  If you are in the Lavonia area on a Sunday, please feel free to stop in for worship.

Love Is In The Air

 

As most of us were finalizing plans for Valentine's Day celebrations with our significant others last week, some students at the University of Kentucky had something else in mind.  A group of students working in conjunction with UniteUS, hosted an event at the Rupp Arena that attracted over 7000 students.  They came not to celebrate flowers, candy and Cupid, but to worship Jesus.  2000 of the 7000 students attending came to the altar to either accept Jesus for the first time, or to make a new commitment to following Him.  UniteUS started at the Auburn University campus and is currently scheduled to be at 5 more campuses.  Praise God for UniteUS and for the students who had the faith to invite their friends to hear about Jesus for the first time.  For more information on the UK event click here. 

Careful Consideration

 

Last week I posted about us selling our house in Braselton and moving to Lake Hartwell full time.  I mentioned that I had broken my arm and was minimal help with packing and moving boxes. Caroline picked up my slack, but I am fully aware that my injury was not my main disability.  My main disability is that I am such a routine person, that doing anything outside of the normal routine is emotionally draining.  Caroline, knowing this, graciously executed the move.  She didn't just throw stuff in boxes.  She went through boxes that hadn't been opened since we moved to this house 18 years ago, and sorted things into trash, goodwill items and keepers, and then repacked the keepers.  But that is kind of how our relationship goes.  I do routine things quickly, and she does everything correctly with care.  Quickly isn't always bad, but correctly with care is almost always better.  I could try to make a case that you need both types to make a relationship work, but I would just be posturing.  Our relationship works because Caroline takes care with our things, our friends, our family and me.  I love her so much and can't imagine life without her.  Happy Valentine's Day, Caroline.

A House Is Not A Home

I am feeling a little melancholy this week.  We will be selling our home in Braselton where we have lived for the past 18 years.   We raised our kids in Stone Mountain and lived in one house there for 20 years prior to this one.  It was quite the challenge to get 20 years worth of stuff moved, and now we face a similar challenge.  We are fortunate that our next home at Lake Hartwell is ready for us, and Caroline has been amazing with planning and packing.  I was a minor help moving boxes until I broke my arm over the holidays.  That has proved to be a convenient accident for me, but not so much for Caroline.  While I'm sure we will miss the Braselton house for a while, the house isn't what made it home.  Our home was made by the family and friends that visited us there - especially our small group from The Vine Church, who met in our home for the past 10 years.  We will miss hosting that group and hope to find another group of people to learn, worship and pray with at our next home.

An Empty Seat

It was a sad week for our family.  My daughter, Lizzy, and her husband, Trey, had to say goodbye to a dear family member.  All three of their human children are ok, but Bailey, their beloved dog, had to be released from her pain.  Bailey has been a member of the Joyner family for 14 years - longer than any of their natural born children.  Their family has never known life without Bailey.  Bailey was a rescue dog.  Nobody really knows what kind of dog she is, but since she is black, she must be "part lab".  I don't see much lab in the way she looks, but I can tell you that Bailey did love the lake.  She would run as fast as she could the length of the dock and soar through the air into the water to retrieve a toy.  She would swim the toy into the shore and then bring it back to the dock for another throw for what seemed like hours.  She also loved riding in the front of the boat with her ears flapping in the wind like the flying nun.  After a long day on the lake, she would find a sunny spot on the floor inside and curl up for a long nap.  Bailey's dock jumping slowed down over the last few years, but she still loved being at the dock and riding on the boat so she could keep an eye on everyone.  Bailey will be sorely missed, but our memories of the joy she brought to our family will never be forgotten.

Champion's Platform

 

Most of you know my blood runs red and black.  My wife and I, our kids, and their spouses all went to the University of Georgia.  The Dawgs have had some great football seasons recently, but this year they yielded the field to Notre Dame and Ohio State.  While I didn't have a dawg in the CFP championship game, I was very interested in the final matchup.   The game got a little out of control early with Ohio State taking control in the first half, but Notre Dame tried to make it interesting - until Will Howard connected with Jeremiah Smith for a 50+ yard pass play on third and long to seal the deal.  Those two are explosive on the field, but I was also impressed with Howard's early morning interview the next day.  He looked a little more clear-eyed than Stetson looked after his national championship game, and Howard is giving glory to God every time he gets the microphone.  I obviously don't know Howard personally, but I sure like what I see.  And I love seeing good guys doing well for themselves.