Tuesday, February 27, 2007

New Jobby Job in Jacksonville

I know I haven't posted in over 2 months, but I've been really busy with moving, the new job, etc. I guess I'll post and tell you a little of our first 2 months in Jacksonville. Sorry I have no pictures to go along with it. I usually like to have at least one, guess I'm a visual kind of guy. Oh well.

Moving down here was an adventure. We managed to barely cram everything from our 3 bedroom, 2 bath house into the largest U-Haul we could get. It stormed on us the entire way down, but we made it. We had lots of help from the guys at church when we moved in, and the ladies made us dinner. The only problem was, the complex didn't have the certificate of occupancy for our unit (it was a new unit), so we had to move into a temp apartment for a week, and then to the other. They paid movers to do it for us the second time though, and gave us 2 free months rent. Definatley worth the inconvience.

Will is adjusting well. I figured he would. Nothing phases him. As long as Mom & Dad are here, he is fine. We live in a nice part of town, among a lot of restaurants, shops, and a mall. We also live about 10-15 minutes from the beach, which Tammy is happy about. Will loves walking on the beach bare foot and splashing in the water as it comes over his feet. To see pictures of this, click on the link to her blog to the right of this post.

The job itself is going well, although I have a new respect for the position. I know the common joke is that preachers don't do anything, but that couldn't be further from the truth. It is one of the most mentally and emotionally demanding jobs out there. I have to prepare 4 lessons a week, with all of the reading, studying, research, and practice that goes into it. I also do a bulletin article every week, make visits, calls, and write letters. It's definately taking some getting used to. I have to settle into a routine. I heard one preacher tell me he never presents a lesson that he just prepared that week. Well, I have no choice. I'm new at this and I haven't had time to get ahead yet. I guess that will come.

I have made some good friends down here as well. There are several younger couples about our age. 1 other couple has a little boy a few months older than Will. Another couple is expecting, and another couple shouldn't be too far behind. There is another young couple that is moving down here that I am pretty sure will place membership. They have a little boy also about Will's age. So, when we all get through having kids, we could wind up with about 10 or so little ones. That's great for a smaller congregation like ours. (BTW, we have about 175 members). We try to hang out together periodically. The guys go play bball every so often and we are about to start up church league softball. Tammy has started a girls team up for the first time at Lake Forest.

I also bought a new car. I really like it and I will get to show it up in Montgomery this weekend and next week as we go up there for the lectureship. I really miss all my Montgomery friends, but I am enjoying the new work as well. Hope to post more often. Next time I'll have pics.