Going Down Under

It has been quite some time since I have given serious attention to this space. I have written to announce the births of grandchildren and to announce my engagement to the lovely Alison Kasbe. She is now my wife - the new Alison Talley - and she becomes lovelier every day. We were married on June 14 at a ceremony at Alison’s Raleigh church – Church of the Apostles – in what would be characterized by all who were there, I feel certain, as a true worship service. Patrick Dominguez, lead pastor at Apostles, led us to the very throne room of God where many of our friends gave thanks for God’s beautiful grace in sending His Son, Jesus, to make a way for us to relate to God. And, our friends gave thanks to God for bringing us together, thus, blessing us immeasurably!

So, now we head to Australia to meet most of Alison’s family. Hey, I’m no fool – marry first, meet the family afterwards! I am just kidding – we have already fallen in love with one another from opposite sides of the world. Alison’s brother, David Cotton, and his incredible family (wife, Catherine and children, Sophie, Laura, and Josh – awesome missionaries in Spain, by the way) blessed us with their presence at the wedding and then were able to stay with us for a week in Fuquay after we returned from our honeymoon. I cannot tell you how wonderful that time was – well, for us, anyway! They helped us move from Alison’s house to an apartment in Raleigh, where we will be staying for a year while Sarala graduates from high school (more about our first year – I am not going anywhere, GCC!). Most of what was moved from Raleigh, though, went to storage in Fuquay, where my daughter, Autumn, and her husband, Brian Stafford, will be staying this year while we are in Raleigh (though we will be in Fuquay on the weekends and plenty more).

Waiting for us in Oz are Alison’s mother, Joan, and her sister, Heather (finishing treatment for breast cancer), her husband, John McAlpine, and children Melinda, Christine, and Matthew. I can’t wait to meet this dynamic family that is deeply committed to the kingdom of God! Additionally, we will meet a host of friends in this place that many think of as the friendliest country in the world.

So, I will stay in touch while we are in Australia. Many of you have expressed excitement with us about this trip, and a few have suggested that I chronicle the days and events while away. Our stay will be a decent one – we will not return until the end of July. Shaun Cross and David Calvert will be preaching at Grace while I am away, so please pray that I still have a job when I return!

I have been meditating on the first four verses of the book of Philippians for the last few days. I have, yet again, been struck by the Apostle Paul’s committed heart of prayer for others. My ADD mind (never diagnosed, but, hey, come on . . .) finds it difficult to sustain lengthy periods of prayer. In these last few days, I am working hard to pray for you when I think of you – and, I have been thinking about you quite a bit as I have contemplated blowing the dust off the old blog and cranking up again. You must know that Paul’s prayers focus on the spiritual rather than the physical, so that is guiding my thoughts and prayers for you. I am quite eager to share experiences with a whole new family (both those related to Alison by blood and those precious friends who mean so much to my dear wife) on this excursion, but I also want to share what God is doing in my heart and mind. I will be giving much prayer and thought to what God is doing at Grace Community Church as I interact with elders and staff back home in this marvelous age. I am certain some of those thoughts will spill over here.

Travelogue? Hardly! I wish the quality of the writing would be worthy of such a title. Experiences shared on paper? Oh, yeah! In fact, may I tell you about the 12 hour layover in Los Angeles in which we currently find ourselves? Not interested? OK – talk with you from Sydney!