What an amazing day of worship and praise and communion and fellowship with the body of Christ that meets at Legacy! I know it’s a nightmare logistically, but I love the energy and enthusiasm that comes with having the entire church family together for one worship service at the same time. The singing to our Lord was inspired. The words and prayers from our shepherds were challenging and convicting. The example of our Savior to live our lives as huge billboards proclaiming the glory of our God is motivating and encouraging. I certainly felt like God was present in every handshake, every hug, every pat on the back. What a marvelous day and a great beginning to our ministry together.

What a surprise to see LeeAnn Clark and Letitia Daniel in the crowd yesterday morning! The Clarks and the Daniels and their sweet kids are a big part of what made it so hard to leave Marble Falls to begin this work in North Richland Hills. We’ve left so many dear friends—we’ve laughed and cried and prayed and worshiped and had babies and buried loved ones and installed air conditioners and roofed houses and tiled floors and studied the Word and raised our kids and played tennis and froze at football games and lived all the other parts of our lives together in Marble Falls for parts of nine years together. And we love that church and we love that community.

But the work here is great and the challenge is real. I don’t feel as led or guided by our God to be in this place as I do pushed by God to be at Legacy. And that does fill me with a tremendous sense of confidence and courage that he is bigger than me and he’s bigger than us. God has huge plans for us. He is working in mighty ways to impact our mid-cities communities for his Kingdom.

I want to thank you — our family, our old friends in Marble Falls, our new friends here in NRH, all the wonderful professors and staff at Austin Grad, everyone who has played and is playing a role in shaping me and encouraging me and pushing me to be God’s servant and a servant of his Kingdom.

As for blogging, have patience with me here at the start. I have great plans and ideas for this website, but it’s going to take a while. I intend to use this site to encourage and teach and exhort our church family at Legacy and the Kingdom of God abroad. It’ll also be a way for me to update you with our family news and the goings-on of Carrie-Anne and the girls as we get settled back in the city. And — I can’t help it — this will be my outlet for the sports thoughts and opinions that are backing up in my head. This site will undergo lots of changes over the next few weeks. I’ll add pictures and links and all kinds of things that will keep us all informed and uplifted and challenged. And if it turns into a forum for discussion, I think that’ll make it even better.

Keep checking back.

Peace,

Allan