SEPTEMBER 2016

In September of 1978, Peggy, our 2 young girls and I, began a great adventure.  That is when we moved to Marietta to begin full-time ministry as the founding area director of Young Life of Marietta/Cobb County.  Prior to that, I had never been out of Atlanta except for, as my parents put it, “a two –year paid vacation in Athens” where I matriculated (theoretically) at The University of Georgia.  Atlanta was all I knew. It was familiar. It was safe. It was comfortable.  What I knew of Marietta was very little. The only reference I had was the local Atlanta television station advertising wrestling matches at the Larry Bell Auditorium in Marietta!  Prior to our move, we had lived in an apartment on busy Roswell Road in Buckhead for ten years we came to Marietta with an attitude of both excitement and apprehension.

After a summer in seminary in Colorado, we moved into our house on a quiet street in West Cobb. Note: Our Atlanta friends said it felt like we had moved to Alabama. Even our new friends who lived in the city of Marietta thought the same.  To say our street was quiet would be an understatement!  Our dog would sleep in the middle of the street in the middle of the day!  The silence at night was deafening and there were no streetlights so the nights were extremely dark, especially after moving from busy Roswell Road, so we put night-lights everywhere.  We learned very quickly to allow extra time at the grocery store because everyone was so friendly and wanted to engage you in conversation.  We loved the fact that Marietta had a small town feel to it.  Football was king on Friday nights. Everybody knew each other.  People were so welcoming and kind to us. We quickly learned to love living here.

Fast-forward thirty-eight years. We have now lived here longer that we lived in Atlanta. Someone asked if we would ever like to move back to Atlanta. My response has been,”Only if the Lord clearly called us back there.”  We are still living at 2671 Old Hickory Drive. We have remodeled our house in order to make it compatible to reside here as long as we are able. It is now our family’s “home place.”   Our children grew up here. Their children are also growing up here, for the most part. Young Life is still here. Our granddaughter went to summer camp last summer and, along with her younger brother, is involved with Young Life.  I have reconnected with the ministry as the volunteer pastor to the staff of Young Life in the Southeast Region.

Of course, things change. Instead of our dog sleeping in the street in the middle of the day, our street has speed bumps to slow traffic! We have streetlights and an alarm system. We have shopping centers going up all around us. Now, we have senior living facilities sprouting up all over the place. Hopefully we can avoid those!

I have told folks my next move would be horizontal…out the front door.  You know, I have a good feeling I know where our next home will be…I believe it will be our true home. It is the home we have had glimpses of; in the places, we have lived and visited. It is the home our heart of hearts has longed for all our lives.  That home will be where Jesus is. I hope that I will see you there someday.  Do you know, for sure, that you will be there too?

If you are not sure…let’s talk!

MINISTRY NEWS

Please remember Net Work Ministries when purchasing items on Amazon. If you will simply go to Amazon Smiles site once for your purchases and register Net Work Ministries (Marietta, Georgia) as your preferred charitable organization, from then on all your purchases from Amazon will be credited to us. They donate ½ of 1% of all purchases.  It does make a difference!

September is a special month:

In September of 1975, I began ministry as a volunteer with Young Life in the North Perimeter area of Atlanta.

In September of 1978, we moved to Marietta to live and continue the work with Young Life in Marietta/Cobb County, which we began in 1977.  We are still in the same house and continue to be involved with Young Life as pastor to the staff of the Southeast Region as a volunteer.

In September of 1992, Net Work Ministries incorporated and received our official I.R.S. designation as a 501 c-3 charitable organization. We remain true to our original calling to minister to men and their families, offering counsel and encouragement through both group and individual meetings with men.  It is my desire to continue to follow this call for the rest of my life, Lord willing. Many of you have been with us since that beginning and we are grateful for those of you who have continued to support Net Work with your prayers, encouragement and financial resources, all of which are desperately needed.

Blessings to each one of you!