Arkansas Trip

One of the challenges with having been a church planter is that we have lived a LONG way from our families for these past 23 years.  We have missed getting to be near my relatives and so we planned a part of this sabbatical to be with our families in Arkansas.  I was so grateful that my dad and stepmom, my brother and sister, and my mother in law and nephew made the time to be together during this time. 

Our original plan was to stay at our family's lake house in Arkansas, but my dad was able to sell it recently, so we were able to scope out a cabin near where my dad grew up in Jasper, Arkansas.  This was a great time to connect with my family.  I've really regretted not being able to be closer to my brother and sister and their families to share in their lives.  They are such neat people and I really enjoyed getting to see their families and catch up with what was happening in their lives. 

It's also a great time for our family to just play together. We have always been big game people, so we played lots of games of joker and cards.  We also ate tremendous food and got to see some of the places that I went to growing up. 

The cabin was up the hill from my dad's homestead and so we were able to go down there, fish in the ponds, swim in the streams, and enjoy some of the places where I went as a kid. Fletcher especially likes this place.  He loves looking for crawdads in the stream and we had fun fishing in the ponds. 

We took the whole family floating in canoes on the Buffalo River.  This is such beautiful territory and is nostalgic for me since I grew up doing this.  It's fun to share those things with your kids and see them enjoy them.  The river runs along majestic cliffs and it's just beautiful. 

It was also such a treat to get to hang out with
some of my cousins, aunts, and uncles that we don't get to see very often. I'm blessed to have a family that has some very godly and neat people in it.  It was good to get to catch up with them. 

I was fortunate to grow up in a home that was family oriented.  My parents tried to make sure that our

family came first.  We still hold one another dear, even though we aren't able to connect as often as we'd like.  I once heard Andy Stanley say that his definition of success for raising his kids was to have kids who wanted to be together even if they didn't have to be.  That's definitely true for our family. We WANT to be together even if we can always be.  And this part of the sabbatical was so important to reconnect with these folks. 

My brother Lyle, Me, and My sister Tammy

After the time with my family in Jasper, we headed down closer to where Stacy grew up to visit with some of her friends and family.  Stacy's mom was gracious to let us stay with her and we were able to head out from there to see these folks that we hadn't gotten to be with in a long time.  While Stacy was visiting her friends, I got the chance to fish some of the ponds in the area.  Her Uncle Bill and friend Tina were gracious to let me fish their ponds.  I loved it!  And I was fortunate to have great success in finding the fish. 


We also had a great time seeing Stacy's cousin Betty Rose and visiting with her friend Tina.  We love these folks and always enjoy the opportunity to catch up with them. 

The culmination of our time in Arkansas was a gathering for Stacy's 30 year high school reunion.  Stacy graduated in a small class--about 15 students, but she really enjoyed getting to catch up with her classmates for the first time since graduation.

It was such a treat to get to go to Arkansas for an extended visit.  The territory is so familiar that it is peaceful.  Seeing the people was rejuvenating.  And my family is so dear to me and being with them was a breath of fresh air.