It has been some time since I have shared a family update, and I acknowledge it is long overdue. So here is what’s new in my life, family, and ministry over the past few months.
The biggest news is that Michaela is engaged to be married! She and Caleb met at Boyce College and pretty quickly hit it off. He has been able to travel up to Canada several times to visit us, and Michaela was just able to venture down to Florida to visit his family. While she was there, Caleb asked her to marry him—and she said yes, of course. If all goes well, they expect to marry in or around May of next year. They will each have a year of college to finish and then need to make a determination about where to live. Similar to Abby and Nate, one of them will need to immigrate to the other’s country. We have come to appreciate Caleb and are so pleased to be able to welcome him into our family.
(Do you know what’s funny? I began my commitment to post something to this blog every day before Michaela was born, and have kept up with it ever since. So that streak was already going when she was born and I announced it here, and it has now lasted all the way to her engagement. It’s coming up to 8,000 days.)
Michaela will be heading down to college next week and is not intending to return for winter break. She has a job at Southern Seminary’s library and expects to get more hours there than any job back here (where the youth job market is extremely poor). I suppose this means that as of next week, Aileen and I will be true empty-nesters. We are not intimidated by this new phase of life, though we know it will involve developing some fresh patterns and routines. Thankfully, we like each other plenty and are convinced we will be able to adapt well. We will almost immediately be hitting the road for the fall conference season and will have lots of miles to travel together. (Speaking of which, my fall conference schedule is here if you’d like to see if I will be in your area—if so, it would be great to meet you!)
Aileen continues to work for a local real estate broker, though the great majority of her work is done remotely. She generally enjoys the work and is grateful for it. She also oversees the Early Years children’s ministry at our church, and that keeps her plenty busy.
Abby and Nate recently moved from one apartment to another after their landlord chose to sell. They are doing well in their new place, which is in an ideal location with every possible shop and restaurant just a short walk away. Finn is now almost nine months old and is just a joy-generator for our family. We are utterly enamored with him and savor all the times we have together. He is as energetic and curious a little one as I’ve ever seen, and his parents are bound to have their hands full as soon as he figures out how to walk (which is not going to take him long). Nate continues to work remotely for a company in the US while Abby focuses her attention on homemaking.
We enjoyed a family vacation last month and were delighted that Ryn (Nick’s fiancée) was able to join us. She continues to live, work, and worship in Louisville. It’s hard to believe that we are coming up on five years since Nick went to be with Jesus. We are thankful for God’s sustaining grace and grateful that Ryn continues to be a part of our family.
On the writing front, we are just a couple of weeks away from the launch of From the Rising of the Sun, the book and documentary I co-created with my friend Tim Keesee. The 12-episode documentary is free with the book, so there is just one product to purchase (and you should definitely consider purchasing it!). Though the book ships around August 19, we will have a formal launch event at the Getty Music Sing! conference in Nashville on September 2. I’m thrilled and honored that my friends at CityAlight were willing to write a song to accompany it. They will debut it at the launch event. “Rise with the Sun” is unique, I think, in the way it celebrates what God is doing each and every Sunday as people all around the world rise and gather to worship him.
As I wrap this update, please know how appreciative I am that you choose to visit this site. It is a blessing to me to be able to oversee it, and I am grateful for each and every one who makes it part of their day. So let my final words be simply these: Thank you!
