A Post That's Not About David -- Or Is It?
I hate to interrupt this series of posts on the life of David, but I have a few things on my mind that I want to share with you.
First of all, there's this whole job thing. Those of you who have been following the blog know that there's a mystery church out there that has been courting me. Well...mystery over: I will be speaking this Sunday at the Southlake Church outside of Dallas, Texas. We will spend a couple of days there trying to figure out if that's what God has in mind for the next season of our lives. I would appreciate your prayers for us.
But there's another church (I'm not sure if they're comfortable going public with this yet) that has been talking to me, too. In fact, I had a really interesting and uplifting conversation with them yesterday.
And in the middle of all this, FamilyWise -- an organization I do a ton of work with already -- has asked me to consider a fulltime job with them as Director of Training. That would involve doing a lot more of what I've been doing for the past couple of years -- namely, helping churches shift their thinking from children's ministry to family-based ministry.
Needless to say, there are big decisions to be made here.
One final thing: my daughter Anabel is about to start Kindergarten, and it's an adjustment for everyone. I'm upset because -- due to a scheduling and communication mixup -- I'm going to be out of town for her first day. Jill's upset because her baby is one step closer to being launched out into the world. Anabel's a little anxious -- that combination of nervous and excited.
She's being a little clingier than usual, and this morning as I sat checking my email and trying to get that first cup of coffee down, she walked over and just plopped into my lap. And this is the great thing: she stayed there. She's so big, so tall, so strong. When did that happen?
We sat there for what felt like a long time, but when it was over...I still didn't want it to end. I wanted to hold her like that all day. I think most dads experience times like that. Times when you would be content to just stay locked in the sweet embrace of a five-year-old.
When you mention the biblical character David to people, most think instantly of "David and Goliath." Some think of "David and Bathsheba." As I get older and watch my kids, I can't help but wonder about "David and Absalom." What went wrong there? I'll be exploring their relationship in a few weeks, but this morning I sat there holding Anabel and thinking about David.
Obviously, David started as a shepherd, became a musician, a warrior, a fugitive and a king. He was a liar, an adulterer and a murderer. He was a great and powerful man with several tragic flaws. And somewhere in all that, he was a dad. I don't know what his relationship was like with his kids when they were young. But it seemed to be pretty disastrous when they got older.
I sat there with my daughter, and all of this flashed through my mind.
And I caught myself asking God, "Could you please freeze time right here?"
First of all, there's this whole job thing. Those of you who have been following the blog know that there's a mystery church out there that has been courting me. Well...mystery over: I will be speaking this Sunday at the Southlake Church outside of Dallas, Texas. We will spend a couple of days there trying to figure out if that's what God has in mind for the next season of our lives. I would appreciate your prayers for us.
But there's another church (I'm not sure if they're comfortable going public with this yet) that has been talking to me, too. In fact, I had a really interesting and uplifting conversation with them yesterday.
And in the middle of all this, FamilyWise -- an organization I do a ton of work with already -- has asked me to consider a fulltime job with them as Director of Training. That would involve doing a lot more of what I've been doing for the past couple of years -- namely, helping churches shift their thinking from children's ministry to family-based ministry.
Needless to say, there are big decisions to be made here.
One final thing: my daughter Anabel is about to start Kindergarten, and it's an adjustment for everyone. I'm upset because -- due to a scheduling and communication mixup -- I'm going to be out of town for her first day. Jill's upset because her baby is one step closer to being launched out into the world. Anabel's a little anxious -- that combination of nervous and excited.
She's being a little clingier than usual, and this morning as I sat checking my email and trying to get that first cup of coffee down, she walked over and just plopped into my lap. And this is the great thing: she stayed there. She's so big, so tall, so strong. When did that happen?
We sat there for what felt like a long time, but when it was over...I still didn't want it to end. I wanted to hold her like that all day. I think most dads experience times like that. Times when you would be content to just stay locked in the sweet embrace of a five-year-old.
When you mention the biblical character David to people, most think instantly of "David and Goliath." Some think of "David and Bathsheba." As I get older and watch my kids, I can't help but wonder about "David and Absalom." What went wrong there? I'll be exploring their relationship in a few weeks, but this morning I sat there holding Anabel and thinking about David.
Obviously, David started as a shepherd, became a musician, a warrior, a fugitive and a king. He was a liar, an adulterer and a murderer. He was a great and powerful man with several tragic flaws. And somewhere in all that, he was a dad. I don't know what his relationship was like with his kids when they were young. But it seemed to be pretty disastrous when they got older.
I sat there with my daughter, and all of this flashed through my mind.
And I caught myself asking God, "Could you please freeze time right here?"
posted by john alan turner at 2:14 PM
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