life and landscaping

So the bigger thing in life this past week was my meeting with the committee that would recommend me for ordination. Sadly, it did not go as I had thought it would and we still need to work through some issues. So, I am on a standby of sorts. I'll continue my job and everything, but the earliest I could be ordained is now pushed back till after the September Presbytery meeting. Between now and then I'll meet with the head of the leadership development committee and see if we can iron out some of the differences that we have in views. It is a little hard to know what to go into here since this is a complicated issue and the Internet is a public place. Here's how I'll describe it. The main issues is speaking in tongues. (if this is an unfamiliar term, then what I'm about to say will make even less sense). The big question is whether the gift of tongues is for today or was only for the apostolic period of the church. There are a variety of answers that people will give to this question and there is diversity even within the PCA (my denomination). The other point of contention is the intricacy of the issue and the ease with which miscommunication can occur. To get a feel where I am coming from you can follow this link and scroll down to the pertinent section. I am hopeful that we'll work through the issues and that I'll be ordained. While this experience has been difficult, I have definitely learned and grown through it.

The not so big, but none the less noteworthy, thing going on with us is that we are doing a lot of work in our yard. It is looking better and better as Hillary is weeding beds and raking, while I mow and trim back trees and bushes which have gotten a little out of control in the past few years. You'll see the picture of our new lawnmower, the "Task force 16' Reel Mower." It has quite an impressive title and actually works pretty well.