David enjoying GA

Transitioning into a Transition Stage

I've not had time to blog much recently.

Starting on the 7th of May we began packing in earnest. Not only
that, but I had a bathroom project I was working on, and worrying
about completing in time. There were also many miscellaneous projects
as well... The time from the 7th to the 18th was an exhausting time.
It sounds like there's plenty of time there to pack...I know...but all
I know is, that we worked every day until we dropped. Eh. Being so
busy left us little time with the children, which made their behavior
worse, which made our patience thin, which made their behavior worse,
which got us behind in our schedule, which made our patience thin, and
made their behavior worse. Rinse, and repeat.

But, we received much gracious help with packing, and with projects.
You know who you are, and we deeply appreciate your efforts, and love
you all!

We had a great turn out for packing day - the 18th. A special thanks
to all the young, healthy backs, who, thanks to our heavy furniture,
will one day make a Chiropractor rich.

We arrived late on the 19th. For the next several days I drove the 24
foot truck around, unloading at various places. We returned it last
Thursday.

After visiting several friends/family over the first week - we
realized we had slept in at least 4 places in 7 days. So...the R&R
that we were hoping for hasn't truly arrived yet. At least for me,
and the large suitcases Jana likes to pack. One time, early in our
marriage, she packed it with large books so that the "clothes wouldn't
move around too much". Thanks, sweetie. :)

So...what are some initial observations of GA?

1) It is more humid than I remember. Yippie. I have decided I will
embrace humidity, and, with mind over matter power, pretend to like
sweating.
2) Bugs don't just die here. One was on my window while driving, and
I smacked it, and then calmly went back to watching the road. I then
realized it was still buzzing around. I thought I must've missed it.
So I hit it again. No Luck. I had to keep hitting it until it died.
It was a small bug, but robust.
3) It really is a different country here. Strangers are friendlier,
and there is a superficiality to the culture. I hope to break through
this with those I come in contact with.
4) The good news is, it's a Christian culture here. The bad news is,
it's a Christian culture here. If it weren't for legalism and moral
traditions of men, the South would be in just as bad of shape as the
North. My prayer is for heartfelt, Spirit led revival to the culture
here.
5) Autonomous individualism is apparent in some. My prayer is for a
robust, Covenant community.

That's all my thoughts for now. Please pray for this bumpy stage...

Final answer...

After seeking a lot of counsel, including discussions with our elders, and the some of the elders of the church in Macon GA, we have decided it would be best to make this move.

I simply cannot describe the agony this has caused me, and is causing me. Not to be too graphic, but I've almost thrown up several times. My soul is aching at the though of leaving you - our dear friends and church family. I just want to communicate, as best as I can, that this was simply the hardest, most gut-wrenching decision that I've ever had to make.

We will greatly appreciate your prayers and support during this move, for emotional and practical needs.

While this doesn't fully replace covenant community - we are glad to live in an age where communication via much technology will make it easier to maintain relationships. This does minimize the pain, a bit...

Halarious

David was playing with the door knob. He started talking to it,
pretending it was Dog-Bot, his pretend robot dog. He said, "You go to
sleep! Don't play with your CD player!"

Oops. Maybe he hears one too many "stern" good-nights. Notice he
didn't say "sweet dreams Dog-Bot", instead he said, "You go to sleep!
Don't play with your CD player!"

LOL!

Then he wanted me to issue the same stern warning to the door knob. So
I did... I felt as stupid as I did when I tucked in and prayed for his
Fire Truck.

Better shot

Daddy's rendition of David being 2 1/2

David being 2 1/2

Update on the Peiffer family

Open Letter to Our Church Family,

It's long. Sorry. If you start to read it, please do so carefully - to
the end. Thanks!

Where to begin? Three years ago, I presume. Three years ago I
received a call from out of the blue to come to Illinois for a job
interview. I wasn't interested, but figured I'd take the free trip to
a state I had never been to. I did a bit of due diligence and found
Providence on the web. I called, and talked to Tom. I was pleased to
find a reformed, family-integrated church just around the bend from my
work (although they were *Presbyterian*, which wasn't my first choice
at the time!). So I flew up Sunday morning, and my first stop after
the airport was the SMI building where Providence was meeting for
worship.

I fondly remember the intimate church fellowship afterwards - with
only three families, a pastor, and a wierd visitor from middle GA. I
remember some strange conversation with the older elder about why we
should be optimistic about the future. Not sure why, with the anti-
Christ coming. Eh. But, setting that, and the baby sprinkling thing,
aside - I was very encouraged with the men I met: Tom, Scott, and
Bryan. At that time, I believed God wanted me to move my family to
Peoria, to be discipled by these men. This was a bold move - and many
probably thought I was crazy to move my very young family half way
across the country. Yeah, it probably was. Yet, on my life, it was a
move of faith.

It's been a good, yet temultuous three years. We have grown a lot, as
husband and wife, as parents, as Christians. Our theological grid
shifted, and we're now ruined forever. We grew in our relationships
with you - our brothers and sisters in Christ. Uncountable fond
memories were made.

While I could speak at length about all the good that we've
experienced, we've also experienced a significant amount of struggle.
From a macro level, I have noticed for a while that there seems to be
a slow burn of weariness on our family, as we've worked as hard as we
can to adjust to three children in three years...something few can
comprehend.

It's had it's effect, and although we know things will get "easier" in
the future, we're far from out of the woods. With that in mind, moving
back to Ga to have the support of family has been on my mind for a
while.

We have experienced a lot of help from many of you. Some were one-time
helps, where some were more regular. We aren't discounting that, we
are eternally greatful for it - trust me! You will receive the
Helping Overwhelmed Parents Crown in Heaven!

Yet, even with this - you all have very busy lives as well. As much as
the church family can fill in the gaps, I am coming to the conclusion
that if it's possible to have familial support, especially in high
stress seasons like ours, that it is probably ideal.

I put a fleece out, and put some resumes out last month. I easily
received a very attractive offer. This was after the last two years of
interviewing and banging my head against the employment wall up here.
It boggled my mind that Caterpillar, for example, could not see that I
had a lot to offer. Perhaps God kept me frustrated for this reason,
only to provide a phone offer with hardly any effort. I don't know.

Let me make clear though, that this was and is the most agonizing
decision we've had to make. It's gut wrenching. I hate it. It makes me
want to throw up. It makes me long for heaven, when all of my loved
ones, and brothers and sisters in Christ, can all fellowship together
- in one Heavenly place!

In addition, I'm not making this decision for the job. I'm doing this
because from a long term prospective, I think it will maximize the
probability of my family flourishing in Christ, and making a
difference for His Kingdom.

I've got to give a final answer within 24 hours. Please pray. Feel
free to provide me feedback.

Sorrowful, yet rejoicing in faith that Christ reigns,

Joshua

"He's a Good Jesus"

We said something a little while ago about God watching over us.

Katherine replied:

"He's a good Jesus. He's a King, actually, too."

Sent from my iPhone

They don't make 'em like they used to

Ok, now what?

Mmm, beef

David and I went to pick up our 1/4 cow. It is yum.

Our children singing Handel's Messiah

Handel's Messiah is one of our family favorites. The children have really picked up on it...to our surprise, Elizabeth even sang "Glory to God, Glory to God"!! She repeated the same thing several times, so we're sure she was actually singing it. She even sang along with herself as we played her the video.


Take 1


Take 2


Elizabeth singing "Glory to God, Glory to God"

Get Off My Land!

Well, apparently the other deal fell through. So we get to proceed with our deal! Woo hoo! I think.

Kind of happy...Kind of nervous. I have much more peace about it today, than when I heard "ok" yesterday. So we'll see how it goes. At best, I'll be free of some Federal Reserve notes that will quickly be worth nothing.