Excursus: Stanley family update

Well, our sitter has just arrived, and Carolyn and I are about to leave for East Tennessee to make final preparations for moving my dad here with us. He's lived in the same house for 57 years and tells us he's simply too overwhelmed with all the things he and my mother collected through the years. He wants us to show him what to keep, what to sell, and what to simply throw away. That's our mission for the next five days. When we return, we'll begin working on adding a bedroom to our house.

After four nights on the job I'm really enjoying the work as an overnight grocery stocker at Wal-Mart. I thank our God for the work, for the money, and for the folks I'm working with. Maybe it's the prayers, but I've found myself amazingly upbeat in this new position. Thank you so much, those of you who have been offering special prayers for my family and me these past few days.

Thanks, too, for your prayers for our work with the church. Sunday we had a relatively large turnout for worship, and I felt strengthened in my preaching. God is at work in our congregation, and I pray we'll cooperate with him in that work.

I plan to take about a week-long break from posting. In the mean time, rejoice in the Lord. I started this blog as a way to encourage fellow Christians, especially preachers, to allow the Word of God to transform hearts. And yet I have been blessed by God through the prayers and encouragement of brothers and sisters in Christ, from Knoxville to Gold Coast and all points in between. To God alone be the glory.