Audrey Elizabeth Talley - My Fifth Grandchild!

This morning at 4:28 AM, Audrey Elizabeth Talley entered this world. Luara, my daughter-in-law, went into serious labor last night. Michael and Laura arrived at the hospital (in the snow) at about 10:30. Praise the Lord, it was not an extremely long labor, especially for the first child! We are thankful, as well, that Audrey is beautiful and healthy. She weighed in at 7 lbs., 14 oz and was 20 inches with a head-full of hair. Thank You, Father, for this beautiful new addition to our family!

She Said Yes!

This past Sunday afternoon, Alison Kasbe became my fiance when she said YES to my proposal of marriage! We both knew before Sunday that God had brought us together in His gracious, sovereign plan, but Sunday was a day of pure delight for us both. It was a day when weeping (for both of us) was officially turned to laughter and rejoicing. I cannot tell you how thrilled I am that God has called her to be by my side as we, together, seek to follow His plan for our lives as we minister together in the kingdom.

The current plan is for us to be married at 6:00 PM on Monday, June 14. I say "current plan" for two reasons: 1) We have considered several other options, from a destination wedding, to a small local wedding, to a larger church wedding (the current plan); and 2) I am still holding out hope that I can talk her into eloping before that! Just kidding.

Sort of.

For those of you who don't know the Kasbe's, Alison has two wonderful children - Jonathan, a freshman at Elon University, and Sarala, a junior at Leesville Road High School in Raleigh. Jonathan and Sarala both love Jesus and follow hard after Him! In order for Sarala to be able to finish her senior year at Leesville Road High, we will live in Raleigh next year, so I will be commuting backwards. The elders of Grace Community Church have graciously granted my request for this arrangement. I am not going anywhere - I LOVE being the teaching elder at GCC, and if God will allow me to, I hope to retire at Grace. That will occur when I am 85 years old. Just kidding.

Sort of.

Alison and I plan to travel to Australia in July. I am so looking forward to my time Down Under and meeting my new friends (and, readers) in Alison's native land. What a pleasure it has been to correspond with some of you and to speak with some of you on the phone. I very much look forward to meeting many of you in Australia! Of course, there is family to meet in Oz, and I can't wait! In coming days and years, you will read more about Joan (Alison's awesome Mum), John and Heather (Alison's sister, who is battling breast cancer - please pray for her), McAlpine and their children (Melinda, Christine, and Matthew), and David (Alison's brother - missionary in Spain) and his family, though I will meet David, Catherine, and children (Sophie, Laura, and Joshua ) here this summer rather than in Australia.

OK, any more would be information overload. There is more to say, and I promise to get to kingdom matters in this space, but this is big news, and I'm not kidding! Thanks for caring! Oh, one more bit of info - for you Americans who don't know, Alison is spelled with one "l," which, apparently, is more common in Australia.

Alison

That's her name. Most of you know about Alison, but in case you don't, she is the beautiful (inside and out) Ozzie (Australian, in case you didn't know) lady that God brought into my life this past year. I tell her that she is my happy song because on the day that I met her, I stopped listening to sad music and began listening, once again, to happy music. Music is a big part of our lives. Last night, in fact, we enjoyed listening to Joshua Bell play violin with the North Carolina Symphony. He only played for about 35 minutes, so we figured it cost us about $2 per minute - each! You do the math. It was worth every penny of it! If you have not heard about the Washington Post's experiment with Joshua Bell playing in the entrance to a Washington, D.C. subway, check it out on You Tube.

Back to the topic at hand. Alison, though originally from Australia, lives in Raleigh. We share a deep commitment to Jesus, identical values, and many of the same interests, though football is a challenge for her and board games are equally difficult for me. Her smile lights up every room (and, always, my heart) and her genuine love and concern for people attracted me to her very early in our acquaintance. You will hear more about Alison on these pages, but I just wanted to introduce you to her in case you didn't know.

Thanks for hanging in there!

Is Anyone Still Out There?

Long time, no posts. That will change, soon, though, with so many kingdom matters on my heart and mind and with many interesting and wonderful events occurring in my life these days. So, in case anyone is still checking, stay tuned!