So we're home from our trip to Georgia- 1 Christmas down, 1 to Go!
This recent trip has really got me thinking about a lot of things.
But before we dig into the most recent of revelations, it's back up time. Jordan's sent out somewhere around 20 resumes now to everywhere around the country. It's exciting to know that seminary is coming to a quick end. While I love it here and couldn't be more happy to take a job up the street and stay in Fort Worth forever, I received some well-needed & well-heeded advice from Mrs. Kaye Harmon, our sweet pastor's wife. Pastor Larry & Kaye have also been seminary kids and loved Fort Worth as well. So after I told her how bittersweet it would be to leave if we were called out of Texas and she said to me, "Well, Hollie, it is so easy to stay in a place where you are continually fed and surrounded by people who build you up. But you cant stay there getting fed forever, you have to get out and be the one who builds & feeds others. It may be bitter to leave, but it's sweet knowing you're doing what God's called you to do." What a simple, sweet, convicting message. I've always hoped that God would send us wherever we were needed, regardless of our feelings of the new place. I mean, at the start of this seminary journey, Fort Worth was not my ideal location. But over the years, I've grown to love this area, God has shown His faithfulness to me in a new way. Because I know how successful we've been here in Texas, I am not afraid to go another new place- I know God will provide & protect us. So we've finally started the job hunt process. And behold! We've already gotten a call.... from First Baptist Church in
Roswell, New Mexico.
This trip to Augusta has been one of the best we've had since we moved to Texas, and shame on me, we brought the camera and it never came out of the suitcase. So good, infact that I can almost see myself coming back to Augusta to serve. For so long, with everything that's happened, Augusta has slowly dropped on my personal list of ministry locations. Blame it on failing friendships, hard times with my parents, missed opportunities. All in all, I was completely disinterested in coming back to Augusta to serve in ministry. However, I'm so encouraged by my most recent time there, I am seriously reconsidering what i think about going back to Augusta. Goodness knows, there are plenty of opportunities there now- and we have maintained a great network with West Acres. I cant really put my finger on what has changed- I can only assume that God's changed my heart a little. I see where He pulled me away from Augusta- kicking and screaming- to protect me and teach me the invaluable
He is all I need lesson. So now, saying that I'm actually interested in coming back to Augusta may be a little wishy-washy, but I see it differently.
What's the one thing I still hate about Augusta?
Traffic.
There were several instances that I thought I would lose my religion riding around the city. Augusta is busting at the seams and it's no wonder the traffic is so bad as many of the major roadways have not been updated in many years. And in the other hand, so much construction is being done as well. There is no easy fix for this problem and I dont see it going away anytime soon.
I learned over the week how much more fun it is to run with another person!! My mom & I went out a few mornings and ran together- which was super fun! I'm thrilled to say I've conquered 6 miles now! It renewed my spirit and got me excited to run again. I'm determined to run today if I can ever finish this post.
Our trip home was a little short of ideal. Shame on me, I didnt go to work today as I was scheduled to, only because the day yesterday was completely exhausting. Our flight from Augusta to Atlanta was delayed almost 4 hours. Being that our layover in Atlanta was only 45 minutes to start with, the delay caused us to miss our connecting flight to Dallas/Fort Worth. We were re-routed and put on a different, much later plane to DFW. We didnt get into Atlanta until almost the time we would have originally been in Dallas! I fully believe now that the Atlanta airport is the 8th circle of Hell. We sat on the runway waiting to get into the gate as long as we were in the air on the way there. Being that we sat for so long, we were rushed to get to the next gate for our new connecting flight. Anyone who's been through Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport knows that there is no such thing as "rushing." Since we missed our previous flight, it was imperative that we could get seats on this next flight. Thankfully, we'd talked to someone in Augusta about this and had some "temporary" seats set aside if we didnt make our originally scheduled connecting flight. So we immediately reboarded the plane, which didnt get off the ground until after 10pm. (Again, we spent close to 30 minutes waiting at the gate and taxi-ing) So we touch down in DFW around midnight, which is now 11:00 as DFW is in the central time zone. Too bad my body hasnt been in central zone. Did our bags make the connection? No. So we sat around the airport again for 30 minutes waiting and hoping our little red suitcases would come over the little bag claim hill.... with no success. So it's now 11:34 the next day, I have no deodorant, so I stink. I have no toothbrush, so my teeth have fuzz now. We didnt have pillows. I dont have any shampoo (Maybe I should invest in some travel size goodies now!). So after filing the claim with the baggage guys, we caught the bus back to where our car was parked and made our way home. We finally settled into our homey bed (it may be small, but it'll always be the place I can fall asleep fastest), and laid our heads on our decorative pillow sham inserts around 1am (2am Georgia time). What a nightmare. And our bags are still somewhere other than here. Yuck.
I got a few new books under my belt while I was away:
Recently finished:
Being a J&K+8 fan, my mommy was smart enough to include their new book in my stocking! It was a pretty easy read-- all in stream of consciousness which read just as Kate would say it. I was very surprised to learn how deep rooted their faith in Jesus is. Equally surprising was all the hardships they faced on a regular basis with the new babies. I had started to feel some animosity towards the family, feeling they use their publicity to get handouts and freebies. I couldnt understand why a well-meaning mother & father would willingly put their children in front of a camera 5 days a week. However, I feel like I gained a new perspective on the difficulties they face, and more so, who they look to for guidance in the difficult times- Jesus. It was refreshing, lighthearted, and a quick read.
Now Reading:
I've never read anything bad by Francine Rivers, but this book makes me nervous. I'm close to halfway finished and I cant help but keep reading. Maybe because it hits somewhere close to home. It's the story of a pastor and his crumbling family- falling apart under the misguided leadings of the husband/father/pastor. It's scarily real- something that I fear for my own family. A pastor's life is never his own and so frequently, the family bears the insult of this. Jordan and I have frequently talked about this, and he has so many great influences- men who are successfully able to balance their ministry and their family, that I hope this silent fear will never materialize.
I dont know what i'm reading next, but i'm up for suggestions!
Anyway. It never fails, we always run out of time while in Augusta. We got up early every morning and went to bed after 1 almost every night, and despite spending more time up than asleep, we still didnt make it to see everyone we wanted to see. And even the people we did see, were often shorted on time in order to make it to another place to see another person. I was only able to spend
2 hours with my sister! My sister!! I'm afraid people are often frustrated by our hurried time (maybe if we didnt spend so friggin long in traffic, we could fit in some more visits....) and we both hate having to spend an hour here and a half hour there. So I'm happy happy happy to announce that we ALREADY know when we'll be back in town!!! This is incredibly unusual, as normally we have no idea when we'll be able to come back into town. So can you believe we'll be back in March!??! Not only do we know for sure we'll be there by March 15, it's not 6 months past our last visit! Plus- I am thrilled to say we're coming for a wonderful purpose- my sweet husband is getting ordained at West Acres Baptist Church on Sunday, March 15. He'll officially be Rev. Jordan Mims. This is an incredibly exciting time in both our lives. I'm so proud of my wonderful husband and I am thrilled that he will finally achieve what he's been working towards for as long as I've known him. What would be considered the end of our time here will be just the beginning of what's to come.
Man, I'm really starting to smell... hurry up Delta.
Current Song:
Just Dance by Lady Gaga
