God only knows where your life can take you

I got to speak at chapel at my alma mater, Ezell-Harding, a few weeks ago. One of the points I made to the kids is that you simply have no idea where you could end up in life. When I was a senior in high school:

- I had no girlfriend, and no prospects.
- I had never been out of the country.
- I thought I was going to be a business major, or maybe an accountant.
- I didn't own a car, as I had spent as much money as possible on guitars and home entertainment equipment.

Exactly 5 years later:
- I was married to a girl from Durango, Mexico
- I had been out of the country to Mexico and Honduras multiple times
- I was a preacher for a church in Rose Bud, Arkansas (which I would have never heard of otherwise).
- I was a home owner, and had a dog and a cat.

I'll never forget the first time I went to visit some of the members at Rose Bud, and I ended up driving on dirt roads for the first time in my life. I was smiling to myself, talking to God, saying, "Where in the world are you taking me? How did I ever end up here?" When we were in Arkansas for the funeral this weekend, on the way to visit the family, we stopped to take some pictures of this road. Rose Bud brought me so many new experiences in so many different ways.

Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined my life the way it has turned out. I'm confident I will experience a lot more twists and turns as life continues. But it's all been good, and as I look back, I can see that God has been with me the whole way.

We are all shaped by our experiences. The good memories and positive examples give us something to treasure and to strive for. The bad experiences and hurt leave us with scars that persist and affect us. I continue to be amazed at just how much we grew to love the people in Arkansas. They will forever be a part of who I am. Relationships are an amazing gift from God.

Pictures from the road in Arkansas

We were in Arkansas a few weeks ago, and on the way we snapped some pictures. It is indeed a pretty state.

Prayer Request for the Rose Family (Updated)

After I got home from church today, I got a phone call from a Rose Bud member, calling to tell me about a very bad accident. Stephen and Elizabeth Rose were on their way to church with their two children, Tanner (9 yrs old) and Brooklyn "Brookie" (3 years old). Because of the discovery of natural gas in Rose Bud, there has been a lot of heavy equipment being moved around. On that long, winding road to Rose Bud, on the way up Joy mountain, somehow a large vehicle with oversized equipment lost control, and flipped over on top of the Rose's vehicle and crushed it.

Stephen was life flighted over to Little Rock, where he is in critical condition. Elizabeth was badly injured, but is stablized in the hospital in Searcy. Both of their children, Tanner and Brookie, were killed in the accident.

They have a large family at the Rose Bud congregation that is very close knit. While we hope and pray that Steve and Elizabeth survive, we are devastated at the loss of Tanner and Brookie. Please keep all of their family in your thoughts and prayers. I can't imagine a more painful situation to go through than what they are currently experiencing.

Update: Steve is stablized now. He received a lot of damage to his face especially, and has already had a couple of operations for reconstruction. I'm not sure yet if he has been awake, or has learned of what has happened to his children. I know that now they are saying that he doesn't have brain damage at all, which is a blessing. Elizabeth has a lot of broken bones, but no injuries that she won't be able to mostly recover from. She is aware of what has happened, and is certainly grieving her losses. The biggest tragedy of all of this continues to be the deaths of Tanner and Brooklyn.

Second Update: Here is the news clip with pictures of the family and the scene of the accident. It's not pretty. Please continue to pray for this precious family.

Back from Arkansas

Carolina and I went to Arkansas this last weekend. It was the closest thing we've had to a vacation since December, and it was much needed. I went there to perform a wedding for some of our friends from the church in Rose Bud. As far as I can tell, everything went smoothly.

In between wedding events, we made it a point to see as many people as we could. It's amazing how many friends you can make in one place. We made the rounds at Harding's campus, and went to as many people's houses as we had time to. Some we managed to see out in public, but only briefly. And of course, there were several people we didn't get to see. Hopefully, none of them will take it personally. There are only so many hours in a weekend.

I think the highlight of the weekend for both of us was getting to go to church again in Rose Bud. We have really missed everyone there. It was great to see that Phil Thompson is doing a good job there. (Not that I really doubted he would) The church is still strong and friendly. Attendance was good, so we got to see almost everyone. I think the most important people we got to see were Wayne and Ruby Davis. Wayne has Lou Gehrigs' disease. When I got to Rose Bud, Ruby's health was already not so good, but Wayne was pretty lively. He's a true cowboy. At this time, the disease has caused his muscles to deteriorate to the point that he can barely take a few steps, and has to use a wheelchair most of the time. He's kept an amazing attitude, and has been truly inspiring. Before we left Rose Bud, he asked me if I would do his funeral, and we talked about some of the details. In all likelihood, the next time I go to Arkansas may be for his funeral. He's ready to go whenever God calls him.

We went and had lunch with a crowd of Rose Bud people at the Rambler, and I sat next to Wayne. It was very special to me, because I'm aware that every time I see him might really be the last time. I really care a lot for him and his whole family, and I'm glad I had another opportunity to tell him so. He always lets me know that he thinks of Carolina and I like his children. In fact, most of the Rose Bud church views us that way. They take a lot of ownership in who we are, and they have every right to.

It was a visit that we had really needed to make. Things are going well for us in Nashville, and things are going well for our loved ones back in Arkansas. I see all of this and I know again that God is good.

We sold our car...and hopefully soon our house.

It was really an answer to prayer today when a Harding student purchased Carolina's Escort. We've had 3 cars since January, and really only needed 2. We're trying to get everything ready to move, and it's really nice to be back down to 2 cars. I'll be getting a refund from State Farm for the rest of the money I had paid to insure it, which is nice. We'll also have the cash from the sale to help us get settled in our new place in Nashville. It was pretty emotional driving it for the last time.

I guess the big thing we're praying for right now is that our house sells. We've been blessed with a beautiful house, and I'm optimistic that someone will make us a good offer before too long. But until it sells, it will be hard to figure out our living situation for when we get to Nashville.

So if by any chance you plan to move to Searcy, Arkansas, you might want to consider buying our house! You can see it here.

I'm Home From Mexico

Carolina and I are now home from Mexico. I have all kinds of things I want to blog about related to my trip. I went down last Monday, January 1st, and we drove back starting Sunday the 8th until about 8:30 Monday evening. The total drive time from Durango, Mexico to Searcy, Arkansas was about 24 hours.


One of the most striking things to me about Mexico's terrain is the fantastic mountains. They generally aren't that big compared to the large mountain chains in the USA, but they are very sharp, as if these huge rocks were just thrust up through the surface.


This last picture was an important moment. It's a view from Nuevo Laredo, Mexico across the Rio Grande to Laredo, Texas on the other side. We sat in line for what seemed like forever, but we finally made it across.