An Update on Our Summer
This week our oldest child, Ashley, turns 18. When your kids are little, people tell you to take photos and enjoy every day because they grow up so fast. It’s true. Having little kids is wonderfully exhausting and overwhelming, but before you can even blink, they are graduated and moving on to the next season of their young adult lives. We had fun celebrating her birthday together as a family this week and are incredibly proud of her, as she’s a wonderful and godly young woman.
As we continue to settle in Phoenix, some of you asked about our trip here. It was a bit of an adventure but went well.
For starters, we have a German shepherd that we loaded up in the truck to drive down to Phoenix. Since my truck only seats 6 and we are a family of 7, two of the kids decided to fly down rather than road trip. They stayed in Seattle for a few extra days to say goodbye to friends and extended family.
Day One: We got off to a late start after finishing up packing and cleaning. We made it to somewhere in Oregon where we found a lake for the dog to swim in while we stretched our legs before crashing for the night.
Day Two: We took the winding roads of Highway 101 through the Redwood Forest in northern California. As kids, Grace and I separately made this trip with our families and had great memories that made it fun to go together with our own kids. We also found the tree that you can drive your car through. The kids were surprised that the truck fit, admittedly after we pulled the side mirrors in.
Day Three: We drove through northern California, which is devastated by drought. The news stories are one thing, but actually driving by mile after mile of barren former farmland to see it for yourself is a bit apocalyptic. We continued down to LA where the boys and I caught a Dodgers game complete with Dodger dogs and ice cream purchased by a kind podcaster who was also at the game. We had great seats behind home plate. Catching my first Dodgers game with two of our three sons was a great memory. Gideon (9) was especially excited since he’s a big Jackie Robinson fan and even did a report on him in school this year and presented it to the class in a Dodgers uniform.
Day Four: We tried to find some noteworthy parts of the old Route 66 made famous to the kids from the movie Cars with little luck. Finally, we headed on in to Phoenix where the two other kids flew in that night.
Overall, it was a good road trip. You may have heard that Phoenix can be hot in the summer, and I can confirm that is in fact true. By ‘hot,’ the locals mean ‘pizza oven.’ One of our kids left a small potted cactus in the car for one day…and it died. Yes, we cooked a cactus. We are now settling in and sorting out this next season of family and ministry. The different school schedules between Seattle and Phoenix mean that the kids got just over a month off for summer break and spent most of it packing, and saying goodbye to family and friends.
Every year, Grace prays and asks the Lord if there is a Bible verse for the year that she is supposed to receive for direction from. Last January, she felt that He gave her Isaiah 43:19 which says,
“Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” At the time, we did not really know what that meant but now we are in the midst of discovering.
New Series on Ecclesiastes
Lastly, Today I’m starting an online series about Ecclesiastes called “Meaningless Life?. My hope is to spend some months taking a road trip, verse by verse, together through this winding and confusing Book. This will include an informal audio podcast, blog based Bible commentary, and small group questions.
To tell a friend about the new series, click the “Forward” button below.
We continue to bring back past sermons, including this week as we post messages from Luke in audio format. In addition, we are sending out new Bible teaching. I will be posting on Twitter, mainly Bible verses, insightful quotes from others, and ministry updates.
Pastor Mark Driscoll