Category Archives: Family

The last two weeks have been some kinda hectic for me (& my family). Here’s the rundown:

• Saturday, June 6: Nearly 30 people show up to help us give our home a makeover. The outside of the house gets totally painted, 10 yards of mulch gets spread, the garage floor is repaired, Kate’s room is repainted, a ceiling is fixed, and some interior trim gets finished. WOW!!! I’ll never be able to show our friends that helped us with this, the proper gratitude. THANK YOU!
• Sunday, June 7: My daughter, Kate turns 16. Getting past “how’d that happen?”, we pull off a surprise party with over 60 guests at a house that hours earlier was turned upside down. Many thanks to those that helped us pull that off. It was a very special day for a very special person. Love ya, K8!
• Monday, June 8: I spend the day painting the porch and the garage floors. Oh yeah, mow the lawn and paint the inside of the garage too.
• Tuesday, June 9: Get up at 1:30 in the a.m. and deadhead down to TN to be with my parents. I get there at 4:30 p.m. Nice surprise for them.
• Wednesday, June 10: Get up at 4:00 in the a.m. ready to follow my parents for three hours to Winston-Salem, NC where my mom will be operated on for pancreatic cancer. Her seven hour operation begins at noon, with husband, son, two sisters (w/ 1 bro-in-law) and four friends staying through the day to hear the outcome. The doctor calls the operation a success, with the total removal of the tumor from my mom’s pancreas (I find out later that he took 25 lymph nodes as well).
• Thursday, June 11: Sometime around midnight, I say goodbye to the two best aunts God has ever given anyone. My dad and I spend hours in the ICU waiting room. Sometime during the night, we manage to get a couple hours rest in my dad’s van (the Mini just doesn’t cut it in that dept.). Thursday evening, my mom gets transferred to her own private room.
• Friday, June 12: Sometime around midnight (didn’t I just type that) I crawl back to my dad’s van, intent on finding a nice hotel room. I wake up around 6:30 a.m. still in the van. I spend the day with my parents, encouraged at how well my mom is doing, but leave to drive back to NY around 5:00 in the evening. The plan is to take the Blue Ridge parkway north and actually enjoy some country-roads driving. That works until just outside Roanoke, VA the pkwy becomes a construction zone (25 mph). I bail, but HWY 202 coming down the mountain is a switchback blast. Get on I-81 for the long drive home.
• Saturday, June 13: Arrive home just before noon on Saturday. Followed by 24 hours of rest (finally).
• Sunday, June 14: Come out of the coma long enough to go to Devin Cremeans graduation/birthday party. Way to go, DC! Oh yeah, we also sign a contract with an agent to sell our home.
• Monday, June 15: Time to get the rest of the little stuff done to help the house sell. I spend the day raising and leveling the brick patio in the backyard (replacing all of the broken bricks as well)
• Tuesday, June 16: Clean the windows of the house for the 1,000th time and paint the Master BR bathroom. Talk to my parents about the pathology report that has come in (more on that later)
• Wednesday, June 17: Paint the exterior trim of the house and the dining room ceiling. House is shown for the first time. We go to the Cremeans for a party with the NC staff. They honored us like crazy (up until someone put cake in my face). Great night!
• Thursday, June 18: More work around the house and finally got to speak to my mom’s surgeon
• Friday, June 19: Kate gets her driver’s permit. Afterwards, we watch movies and play games. Just before dark, Kate drives us around the neighborhood and Round Lake road. WE SURVIVE!

That gets me to now. Our time in NY is rapidly drawing to a close. In fact, I’ll be leaving very, very soon. My prayers through all of this is that God would help me keep the main thing the MAIN THING! There are people in SW Florida who need to hear the good news of Jesus Christ and God has called me to GO!

Lastly, please keep my mom in your prayers. The pathology report came in this past Tuesday and 2 out of the 25 lymph nodes came back as cancerous. That was not news we expected to receive and it was deflating (at least to me). The good news is that only 2 of the nodes were cancerous and there is no evidence that the cancer has spread. Additionally, the report does not alter the plans, as chemotherapy and radiation were already on the docket for my mother since she is so healthy. The doctors want to blast her body to get rid of anything that may be floating around in there. Again, please keep Mary Jeter in your prayers. I believe her greatest season on this earth is in front of her.

The past two weeks have been a whirlwind. Robin and I went down to SW Florida to do some scouting/exploring. We had a blast visiting local churches in the Fort Myers/Naples area and I even had the opportunity to go to the East Coast and check out a couple of churches that are just doing a tremendous job of spreading the good news of Jesus Christ.

We came back to NY this past Friday. Saturday morning I had the honor of performing the wedding ceremony for two dear friends and then Saturday evening and Sunday morning, NorthwayChurch honored my family, sending us off in grand style. What an emotionally bittersweet time that was. We love NorthwayChurch! I know this, NorthwayChurch and Buddy Cremeans are doing some incredible things in the Capital Region and I can’t wait to see what happens in the months and years to come. I can’t tell you how much the support from Pastor Buddy and the church means to us. 

After each service, Robin, the kids and I got to meet hundreds of people wishing us well and letting us know that they would be praying for us. From all us, THANK YOU!!! You have no idea what it means to know that others are lifting you up in prayer.

What’s next for us? I heard that question over and over and here’s the answer: For the next two weeks, I’ll be working around our house, so that we can put it on the market. (Pray that it sells)  Our family will remain in NY until the school year ends and then we’ll be looking to move the family down to Florida before the next school year begins (which btw, starts in August down there). So we have a lot to accomplish in the coming weeks. It’s all happened so fast. Weeks seem like days and days seem like hours.

We covet your prayers.

I started this blog at the beginning of February, stating that something exciting would be happening to my family in 2009. Really exciting! You see, over a year ago I felt God calling me to start a church. At the time, I didn’t know where or when but I knew that he was calling. ……………and calling, and calling.

Keeping it real, I have to tell you that I argued with God about it. I had just recently given up my career and entered into ministry full-time at NorthwayChurch working alongside Pastor Buddy and the rest of an amazing team. I was intent & content to serve God, helping to lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ, within the Capital Region and throughout the Northeast. Easily a lifetime’s worth of work to do. Wasn’t that enough? Apparently not, because God just kept knocking and knocking. When I stopped long enough to listen, I realized that he wanted even more from me. That was over a year ago.

Early in the fall of last year, I told Pastor Buddy about this vision. That was an incredibly emotional meeting for both of us as I have had Pastor Buddy’s back since before the Grand Opening of Northway Fellowship. Pastor Buddy pledged Northway’s and his full support. (I have so much to be thankful for regarding my pastor and my friend, I doubt that I will ever be able to fully express it.) Pastor Buddy wanted to be able to share this with the church at the appropriate time and this past weekend, the announcement was made. I love NorthwayChurch and Pastor Buddy and I can’t tell you how much I’m looking forward to seeing what God has in store for a people committed to reaching the Northeast.

There’s lots more to talk about and I will as time goes on but two more things for now (as these are the questions that I keep receiving): 

1. Where will this new church be? Great question. God has called me to southwest Florida. Why? I dunno. Being truthful, I actually do know now (or at least I think I do) but I didn’t when I first felt the pull. I can tell you this, Florida would not be my first, second, or third choice. Robin and I lived in Florida for eight years and MOVED to the Northeast. That’s all I’m sayin’. But here’s the thing, we talk about how unchurched the Northeast is and this is true, but get this: I’ve learned from multiple sources that between 94-96 % of the people in Southwest Florida do not attend church on a regular basis. Think about that and think about the work that needs to be done. (Much, much more to come on this topic.)
2. What can you do for us? PRAY! Pray for me but also pray for Robin, Kate & Josh. Robin has been nothing short of phenomenal with all of this, supporting me every step of the way. She is truly an incredible woman and I could not do this without her support. Please keep her in your prayers. Same with Kate. Soon to be 16 and a junior in high school, Kate, by all counts, should be kicking and screaming that “you’re taking me away from all of my friends and how could you do this to me, now?” Instead I have a daughter that’s saying “what do you need me to do?” She is truly an amazing young woman and so excited to be part of this new adventure. Josh? Just pray that he doesn’t become gator bait, although my $$$ is on him should he ever encounter one.

That’s it for now. Much, much more that needs to be said and I promise to keep you informed every step of the way. Thanks for reading this and for all of your prayers and support.