Off He goes!

With a smile and a wave he was off through security with his Dad who took him to the gate and sent him on his way. We miss him already but are excited for him all at the same time. It will be the first time our family will not be together for the holidays as he will return to CO January 1st!  Tomorrow Ian, my Dad and Mom, get on an airplane from Columbia to Atlanta and then a 15 hour flight to Dubai where they'll have a bit of a layover before they travel on to India. We're looking forward to updates and will pass them on as they come in.

Reid and I discussed Ian being gone for so long at a young age....and we both agreed, that we would be fearful to have it any other way and would always regret holding him back. The Lord made it clear to us both that He had provided for him to go on this trip (there was no way this was humanly possible). I have had a few well meaning parents voice their concerns to us about the wisdom of allowing Ian to go on the trip. I've tried to explain that the Lord made it clear to us that our children were not ours to hold on to, but gifts He was entrusting to us for a time....and when He calls (like He called Hannah to surrender Samuel), then we would be more than foolish to stand in His way.  But I usually get blank stares, looks of pity. I can't say that I've easily gotten to a point of surrender (nor have I arrived there!), but I have learned (from personal experience!) that not trusting the Lord when He calls to full surrender causes a tremendous amount of heartache and pain ... and it's just not worth it.

In the mean time we certainly won't be sitting around the house! :) Reid is in full swing getting the community Thanksgiving Dinner advertised and organized, and then he heads to New York for a week to take our students on the urban mission trip. It's a highlight of his year! They volunteer with several ministries to the homeless and learn a lot about ministry opportunities in urban centers! It's always a great experience for the students.

Here at the house we hope to have the living room renovated and in a week or two and may take a break and start back up on the kitchen in the New Year to enjoy the holiday season.  We'll have to see. And in less than two weeks we find out if the ratio in our family will be 4:3 or 5:2! :) And of course everything else continues as well with life at Timberline, Celebrate Recovery, Classical Conversations and you name it! :)

Well I have a pot of potato soup on the stove for this cold and snowy CO day...it's been snowing all day long and is just beautiful outside. Driving in it is not so much fun however! I hope all of you are having a great week!