More keys please!

What a tremendous vacation. I love coming down to the keys. Pictures will follow.

We drove down on Friday morning leaving at 4am... i drove the first half (3hrs), Misti drove the last 2 hours. We got to J'ville spent some time with friends had a great day and left the next day (sat.) at 1:00pm. Understand, that as trips with the Willis family go, getting out of the house and on the road by 1:00 or 2:00 pm, isn't all that bad. Granted it's not all that good since we were aiming for 10:00am, but you take what you can get.

After 6 hours of driving, we arrived in Ft. Pierce. The going was slowed tremendously by the boat accompanying our caravan. We stopped more often for gas and went quite a bit slower than I would like, whilst traveling down I-95. We eventually did make it back to down to my Aunt and Uncle's place which was a welcomed relief from the mind numbing boredom of driving.

Sunday, we went and had church with our friends Nic and Laura, and got to play with little Rani (pronounced rah-knee). For dinner it was your favorite and mine... Chipotle... mmmm... chipotle.... Played some games, had some laughs, and watched the 24 season premiere, which wasn't all that bad. I don't know if it's something I'm super thrilled to get into, but I've watched far worse for far less of a reason.

Monday... Finally! Here we were driving down probably one of the only roads in america with an alligator crossing. I love it. Mangroves everywhere, blue-turquoise water, white sand beaches, and the water gently lapping along the coastline drive. The weather could not be any more perfect, and the fishing has been fun. I get sea sick, so I can't go out deep sea, or even not so deep sea. So, I'm stuck with the back water, and the dock. So far, this is what I've caught:
1. Mangrove snapper
2. Puffer fish
3. a reef fish of indeterminate origin
4. a bird

The last of these unfortunately, was the end to my day of fishing in the keys. Not exactly what I'd call a stellar outing so far. However, I still have friday, and tonight to redeem myself, hopefully I can come through in the clutch.

Nothing is Random in the House of God...

Earlier Tuesday, I met with the Pastor from Iowa and after I left our lunch appointment I saw that I had missed a phone call from a number I didn't recognize. Keeping in mind all the craziness of the last couple months this didn't seem all that out of place to have a phone number I didn't recognize without a voicemail. So without any further delay, I called the number back and spoke to a women who definitely didn't sound like a pastor by any means.


In that abrasive (not sultry, sweet) southern accent, She demanded immediately my name and I told her. [I've attached a picture of what I immediately thought she must look like.] I was about to apologize to her for the inconvenience and be done with the whole thing, when she half-heartedly apologized for calling me, saying her daughter was in the hospital with some back issues and she's been really crazy lately (I kept my mouth shut, and repented for the thought that immediately came to my mind.)

For some reason, instead of apologizing in return, I felt like I needed to ask her if I could pray for her and her daughter. As the words, "can I pray for you and your daughter?" were escaping my lips she retorted back accusingly, "Did I spleep with you last night or something?" I blurt out a chuckle and had an all over body shiver at the mere thought of such a suggestion. I persevered though.

I re-asked if I could pray for her and her daughter and she sat astounded. She said, please do - and also to pray for her grandbaby who was 3 months old and died of SIDS. Appearently both mom and grandma have been taking it very hard. As I prayed for them I got to remind her (and myself) of the Lord being in control and got to see first hand what being Jesus to the world looks like (even in such a small dose as this.)

We talked for 15-20 minutes as I drove on back to work. I got to comfort her and see grace change this woman's heart with every second that passed in our conversation. It reminded me that if I'm about Jesus... Then I have to be about what Jesus is all about! John 1 tells me that Jesus is all about Glorifying the Father, and that he's all about Being grace and truth to a world that's harsh and full of lies.

For the first time in a while, I got to be a mouthpiece of Jesus' grace and truth to someone when it wasn't easy, when it wasn't what I wanted to do and was fairly inconvenient and insulting. Man, it felt so good!

Hail to the Chief...

Well, it's official... Barack is my new President. He wasn't my first choice, as previously blogged (or for that matter, my second choice), but he is my president. As such, I am committing to pray for wisdom for my president elect.

I'm a pretty positive thinking guy to begin with so it's not hard for me to see this as a glass half full kind of thing. However, we'll see how he does.

I've been reminded of the Lord's ultimate soveriegnty in all this and I'm suddenly cool with the results. Because good or bad the Lord has ordained Barack to be the next president of the United States, whether he's teaching us a lesson by allowing us to choose for ourselves the next King Ahab (1 kings 16), or he's chosen to give us the next King Hezekiah to heal the hurt of this land. Regardless, I'm excited to see the movements the Lord is ushering in to this world through the election of our new president.

Welcome to the Whitehouse Mr. Obama, we're counting on you to lead us well.

Voting Day blues...

So there I was performing my civic duty to the country helping to elect the next president of the United States, and everything was going just superbly. I really like the new voting ballot system. I think those guys who develop this stuff did an awesome job in developing a system that was easy to use and fairly efficient (especially considering the ridiculous voter turn out that we saw this year.)

Everything went as expected until I tried to turn in my vote. I made my choices and picked my amendments - I thoughtfully debated the value of increasing the legal age of sexual consent to 18 if unmarried and made my decision known. There was one issue however, that I just would not vote. Looking back on the situation it all seems absurd, but due to the nature of my own blinding stubborness, I decided that I didn't want the goof balls in washington to know whether I was republican, democrat, libertarian, green party, or nazi (I must have temporarily forgotten that I'm a registered Republican. hmm...) So when I read the first question and it said "vote straight: Republican, Democrat, Green, Liberatarian, etc." I chose not to think about what that might be saying. That is where my problems all began.

I tried to place my vote and the machine yelled at me! Seriously, it was "HEY DUMMY... YoU forgot to answer some questions... SO ANSWER THEM!!" Frankly, when a machine speaks so harshly I get flustered and lose what is called common sense. I go into a different world and from there base camp is installed, leaving the brain long behind. I thought to myself, "well, I guess if I have to put something down, I'd say I'm not really a Republican... I'd say I'm more of a Liberatarian." So, that's what I put down.

I pressed vote...
and the machine screamed at me again!

It said, "Are you sure?" To which I replied, "Indubidably you silly contraption." I pressed vote once more and was welcomed by a comforting screen that told me my ballot was cast.

The amazing part of this whole thing, is that I went in at 4:30 and was nearing back to work by 5:00. It only took 10 minutes!

2 hours later....

Misti called me and asked how my voting experience went, to which I replied "it was wonderful." She proceeded to ask me a question that would eventually change my whole outlook on my personal electoral experience. She asked, "So did you just vote straight ticket republican?" There was a brief pause as my brain began to run through the full implication of what just happened a short 2 hours earlier. My head fell and without any further adieu... I would like to introduce my presidential candidate: BOB BARR!!!

In the Latest Willis News

Misti and I have lost our internet. It appears the transient life of renters has stolen from us our "free" wifi. So sad, so very sad. Misti and I are too cheap to go subscribe to the internet when we have a Panera bread and Starbucks within a 5 minute walk from our house. This of course means we are now relying on the spotty wifi access we get from the restraunteur caddy corner to our current residence. Speaking of which we probably ought to go eat there as some modicum of thanks for their help to our connectedness to the world wide web.

In other news, the interview/visit/retreat for the pastor from Iowa went really well. Thanks for coming to visit Scott, it was good finally getting to put a face to the ministry. We had many a good conversation and I think he was able to see much more clearly my heart for ministry. There's only such much you can say in 250 words or less to explicitly elucidate all the various passions that incorporate one's heart for any particular ministry.

More to come in other updates.

yes...

A couple of things... first, I hate election time. I love what it's about, but I hate the political manueverings and political slime that seems to flow out their mouths like so much human waste slushing around a waste treatment plant. I'm starting to lose faith in the authenticity and goodness of these men and women (and I use that term very loosely), ultimately, they can't even uphold a simple promise to keep their campaigns free from the vitriolic rhetoric that they seem to love so much.

Sometimes, I wish Boone was running for president, I know for sure I can trust him.

Second, I have been really nervous for the last week. The last week has felt like 3 weeks all crammed into one week! It's not been any busier than normal, it's just that I found out last week that a particular pastor from Iowa is coming to the Upstate/Greenville area for a retreat/interview.
This normally would be fun, and I'm really trying to let it be fun and be myself... but, I haven't been. I've been stressing about it and since I have made it a point not to stress about anything, I'm being confronted with a set of feelings that I don't know how to handle all that well. If it wasn't for the fact that I feel like I'm in a constant state of wanting to yack all over the place, I don't think anyone would see any noticable difference in my countenance. My poor wife has had to put up with me this whole time (which only serves to remind me of how much of a blessing she is to me), somehow I'm always suprised by the fact that I feel sick as a dog after eating any meals no matter how meager or plain they may be. Gently, she reminds me that It's probably nerves and I'll be OK if I stop obsessing over the things I can't have any influence over. I guess that's why the Lord made us for each other.
I'm at starbucks (fivebucks as Dave calls it) drinking my... well, I was drinking my iced Passion Tea w/ 5 pumps of melon syrup, it's finished now. I've been going over questions to ask this pastor in an effort to better understand the church he's coming from and the Youth ministry they have. (maybe I should back this truck up and fill in some blanks...

...Misti and I feel called to youth ministry
...I have pursued this call to YM
...Church in Iowa called me and my references
...Pastor in Iowa seemed like a really cool guy that I could potentially work well with.
...Pastor in Iowa asked if it'd be Ok to visit with me while taking his miniretreat in Greenville.
...Next day he told me he had tickets to come to Greenville.
I think that pretty much sums it up.)

I've done as much as possible to keep my head and heart here in Greenville, to not project myself to a place that I'm not, to brace myself for rejection or acceptance... basically, to live content to worship God wherever he would position Misti and I so that we could work with laser intensity for His purposes, even if that means staying in Greenville indefinately. Still... it's not an easy prospect.
Well, after all this stressing and all these requests for prayer; after a week of being very aware of all my own personal failings and inadequicies I was confronted with comfort, assurance, confidence, and excitement for meeting this pastor. For the first time since he suggested coming down I don't feel apprehensive or nervous... I feel ready to show him who I am, and I can't tell you how proud I am of what he's going to see. (that probably sounds conceated, it's really not. The Lord's just done a ton of work in me and I've been stoked to watch it all happen. I can't wait to show it off a little.)