30 Years and Out!

Odie was born on Monday October 14, 1985. I told that story in a post a couple of weeks ago. Exactly two weeks after she was born I started a new job at General Motors on the north side of Dayton on Monday October 28, 1985. That means yesterday, October 28, 2015, marked 30 years since that day.

IF I had stayed at General Motors, IF I had survived the layoffs, IF I had some how survived the plant closing several years ago, I would have been eligible to retire with 30 years of service yesterday. 30 years and out!

When I was 18 years old retirement seemed like one of the most important things in the world. A job was important but a job with retirement was even more so. Getting a job at General Motors at 18 was like hitting the lottery. If I wanted to do so I could retire at 48 years old.

That was my goal. That was my dream. Work for 30 years, retire at 48 and then do whatever I wanted to do the rest of my life. With retirement income coming in every month we could travel, preach, pastor or anything else that presented itself. At 18 years old, 30 years seemed like an eternity but it was something to work toward and hope for.

Real life intervened of course and I am not having a retirement party this week or any time soon. Retirement is not on the horizon at 48, 58 or even 68 and Kelly Jo and I have been at peace with that for many years. 

In fact we can not imagine missing out on well over 19 years of full time ministry. Think of all the friends we would not have, the places we would not have traveled, the churches we would not have visited and all of the many blessings we would not have enjoyed.

Even with a few dead end jobs, some very poor times and even a few missteps and wrong turns, it has been a great ride for 30 years. God has been good. God has been trustworthy. God has been faithful. 30 years have come and gone and admittedly things look quite a bit different than we imagined them way back then. But we are very thankful to be right where God has placed us.

30 years and out? Nope, 30 years and still happily pressing on!

Davy

Revival In Pictures - Atwater, California

Three short nights went way to fast with our brothers and sisters in Atwater, California. We love being with Pastor Jared Burris and all of our dear friends at Amazing Grace Tabernacle. We enjoyed every moment of fellowship, every morsel of food and every move of God's Spirit. We look forward to returning as soon as possible.

We are planning to leave here in a few hours but we do not fly back to Mississippi until Friday. When we planned this quick trip we hoped to go to the coast or to the mountains and recharge two nights and a day. But we are thinking of going south to L.A. to explore possibilities for City Reach. I supposed I need to make up my mind soon.

Since this is a Revival In Pictures post, it is really all about the pictures. I hope you enjoy them. Thanks for reading.

Davy

Davy and Pastor Jared Burris

Same Place One Year Ago

We are having a great little revival at Amazing Grace in Atwater, California. We love being here with Pastor Jared Burris and all of his fine folks. They are super great people and wonderful long time friends.

Odie reminded me that we were here for revival and the new church dedication exactly one year ago. The dedication service was on October 25th and the week long revival closed on the 26th. HERE and HERE are pictures from the revival and you can see pictures from the dedication service HERE and HERE.

In some ways it is hard to believe that it has been a year since the dedication service. That was a wonderful day and it will always be a highlight in our lives. I was so sick that day but the Spirit of God was so amazing and He felt so close that day. It was a very memorable day and week.

Looking through those pictures I saw some that Kelly Jo took in Kings Canyon National Park. Regan Morris visited us that week and Kelly Jo and Odie took her to see a few of the big Sequoias on the way to the airport. They went early in the morning and captured the light perfectly.

This is one of the pictures below and HERE are a few more posted that week.

One of the reasons we write this blog on an almost daily basis is so we can record details of trips, revivals, meals, bus repairs and friends in a searchable format. It is amazing how many times we need to know something and we search the blog because we know we wrote about it. Looking at the pictures is an extra bonus. 

That is how this post started. I searched to see if Odie was correct in her timing and she was! The posts and pictures from one year ago took us right back to that special time. I am thankful for exciting times that create wonderful memories and for a great place to keep record of them. I hope you enjoy the memories as they happen and find their way here.

Thanks for reading.

Davy