Yep! It's official!

Wow! In some ways, this was the hardest day of my life. In others, it was a wonderful, freeing experience.
I officially resigned my position, effective October 1, so that Kristi and I can follow what God has for us in
ministry elsewhere.

I have to admit that I have a strange, dark side to my personality sometimes! Maybe it just comes from my own near-brush with suicide due to spiraling depression back in 1989, but I've occasionally entertained the thought of "What would it be like to be at my own funeral?" Granted, I suppose I will be present--in body if not in spirit...but I was thinking more in terms of being a spectator. Morbid? Probably. But, I guess maybe at some level it's a part of the soul's defensive strategy against the death, too. Anyway, all that is just to say that it's a strange, almost otherworldly experience to have people express their appreciation and their emotions to you while you're still alive.
In a weird way, I felt like I should be dead and they should be saying these things to my wife and family.

At any rate, God is g-o-d-d GOOD! We have heavy hearts about leaving Pleasant Gardens and the people we love there, but we're also overjoyed about what God is doing in our lives, and excitied to see what's going to unfold for us next.

Please pray, and please keep in touch! My only real FEAR is any of this is losing touch with people I love and care about--but I know God is too good to let that happen, so I'll talk to you again soon!

--Steve