Anna-thology

WOOHOO!! I'm so cool!

(yeah, right) but I can't help but feel cool right now, I finally figured out my profile picture, by myself, no help from computer nerd hubby. (I say that in love, and he knows it) I love to figure things out on my own, it's the problem solver in me, overcoming obstacles. Plus I'm stubborn (not proud - just stubborn) so it's hard for me to ask for help. Now the next step is figuring out how to add some music, but not this morning or I won't have time to write.

Everything here is moving forward in it's own strange way. We interviewed with a church in Louisville, KY last night on the phone. It sounds very nice, but I don't think we are ready for a church of that size. Plus the pastor majorly sounded like an over-achiever, which is great for him, but I think he would expect that from Rob too. He said that he started working yesterday at 7:30am and finished at 10:30pm. I couldn't help but feel sorry for his wife and kids. We talked about it when we got off the phone and I just think, sure you could spend every waking hour at church and with youth. But you have a family, young kids, and you can't get that time with them back. This is it. If we don't build right relationships with them now, then they won't come to us when they are older and have a choice where to find influence. Does that make sense?

I thought we would get off the phone and Rob would be all for it and ready to blow off the St. Louis position, but his reaction was polar opposite, which makes me know it's God. We just decided that we would be closer knit in this little town. He'd be in for lunch every day. He'd be just steps across the lawn in the office. We could attend local games as a family. Pastor sounds very flexible about time, understanding that a lot of youth ministry takes place at night. Honestly too, I'm really excited about being so close to my cousin and her family. My sister will only be about 2 1/2 hours away as well. I just think it's where we belong for this first position, and he does too. Provided their salary package is appropriate, we plan on accepting the job. (which is crazy to me.)

The reality of that is sinking in. We are excited. scared. overwhelmed. ready. I guess I haven't talked about this at all, but we would move quickly, before school is done. Fall break is two weekends away and that would be our goal, simply because we would have 4 days rather than 2. We'd get moved in and Rob would commute during the week, staying with friends and eating in the caf. I think it would be good for him, getting to have more of the college experience, connecting with his fellow students, and most importantly not having this place to take care of - concentrating on his studies. Speaking of studies, I'm very concerned that he's not spending enough time on them. He might just squeak through this last semester, which saddens me since he's worked so hard for so long. Anyway, I'd live in IL with the kids, he'd leave on Monday am and return Friday pm every week. The consolation is that it's only for eight more weeks and thanksgiving is one of those weeks, so is fall break. I'll be super busy remodeling and setting up house. It will be a project, but I think it's do-able.

So we are waiting for the fated phone call. We are both pretty confident that we will be offered the position, but not confident about the salary package, which pastor will present after the board meeting. I have a very good idea of a minimum need on our behalf, having crunched the numbers and even asking Lori to crunch them too. So we just pray that they are realistic about living expenses with two small kids. We will know more Monday, possibly even Sunday. Until then, we pray and seek God's will.