One of my favorite quotes simply says that “Life Happened”. It’s those unexpected moments when what we had planned doesn’t come to pass because, well, life happens. In my previous post, I touched on our potential move to Nashville. If I was a betting man (which I am not), I would have placed a large sum on the fact that I would have been typing this in Nashville, TN right now. Yet “life happened”, things changed and a time became very clear when we needed to release that dream. It was a Monday at 11:00am. I remember it like it was yesterday.

Heather was standing in my office as I hung up the phone. We knew in that moment that we would not be relocating. An hour later I received a mailer that caught my eye. It was for a Church called “Rock City” and for some reason, it captured me. It had a look of what we would have been moving to in Nashville. We had to investigate further. After a week of research and an official visit, it became very clear to me that this was in Gods plan. It wouldn’t have been more clear if He would have sent a letter himself. Rock City happened.

This would also lead to one of the most difficult and painful discussions I have ever had. It meant we would need to leave a fellowship we had grown very close to and people that were mentors and friends. It was not a decision we took lightly or one that was easy to make. Time will heal those wounds. I sit here today with the firm conviction that we made the right choice. We love our Church. Rock City has become a part of our daily lives. It daily reminds me that “Greater things are still to be done in THIS city”. While I wish it never meant leaving one place, sometimes the toughest decisions lead to our greatest opportunities.

2012 will be a year of changes. We look ahead to what God is going to do in this city through Rock City Church.

Continuing my review of 2011, you know I had to include our two trips to Nashville. The first trip was the annual running of the Nashville Half Marathon. 2011 was a tough year for me when it came to running. Due to injury after injury after setback after setback, my training really suffered. More than once, it appeared as if Nashville wasn’t going to be in the cards for me. I officially signed up about 6 weeks before the race and did my best to get ready. This is not a race that you “kinda” train for. It’s brutal. I finished it but was really more interested in getting to the festivities later that night.

Saturday evening after the race we met with 5 other couples at the historic Pucketts in Franklin for dinner. One of my favorite memories of 2011. 12 people sharing stories, life, laugh and good times. There is something special about this city and the people there. Which made our second visit to Nashville a no-brainer…

Heather and I returned to Nashville again several months later to pursue a very real possibility of relocating our family there. It was an incredible weekend with some amazing people. I continue to keep the details private, but someday I’ll share more about the who and what of why we went. I can tell you it was the opportunity of a lifetime. We are so fortunate to have even had the chance to visit, meet and discuss this opportunity. Gods timing is perfect and just maybe one day it will include us returning to Nashville to call it home.

On October 6, 2000 God brought my first and only son into this world. He would later grace our family with two more girls. From day one we said we would allow them to choose a sport THEY enjoyed but just asked that they at least try a few of them. It was only natural that “the boy” would choose two of the sports that are nearest and dearest to my heart. From the time he could get up on two feet, there was a basketball hoop in his play area. So maybe I tilted the “favorite sport” in my favor by getting him hooked on hoops early and often.

Now that he and the girls are older, I am starting to walk the fine line of parenting an athlete. To be honest, my wife does this more for the girls. She was a swimmer so our youngest gets her coaching and instruction from her. Our middle child is a gymnast so my wife and I are both in uncharted waters. The boy, however, plays two sports I played. It’s been my joy to teach, instruct and guide him as he has grown. He currently plays at the highest level league in both.

So how do you parent that?

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