Roller Coaster Day

7.30 am – Alarm goes. I think it goes off. Amy gets up. At least I think Amy gets up. Stayed up too late last night. We got a late offer on our house. It was a mixed blessing. We got our asking but if we want to close the deal, we’re going to have to pick closing costs. An expensive way to close the deal but I’ve heard the horror stories of houses sitting there forever and trying to save 8k turns into losing 15k more. Discretion is the better part of valor.

7.50 am – “Are you going to get up or not?” Not the best question to hear first thing in the morning but it confirms that Amy is indeed up and I am not. I stumble up. Put on workout clothes. I look at Amy. We’re supposed to be happy, right? We’ve sold our house in this market and we’re not completely upside down. Right? I don’t feel happy. But that maybe mostly because it’s morning.

8.10 am – Amy has my coffee ready, bagel ready. Getting kids in Xterra. I’m looking forward to today because I have nothing really on it. I’ll work out, get to write all day long. Meet with a congregant at 1. Finishing writing around 3.30 to pick up kids and head to Emporia for the Girls State Basketball Game. Washburn Rural is playing and it gives me some time to grab some dinner with some Emporia friends.

8.30 – Walk kids into school. Drama starting as I leave. School is serving pizza at lunch today but Cooper didn’t sign up. They won’t let him buy a piece since he didn’t sign up. He’s a bit upset. I tell him – relax. I’ll bring you Chick-fil-A and we’ll eat lunch together.

8.40 – start working out, listening to Andy Stanley.

9.20 – done, go down to showers and realize that although I have clean underwear and clothes to change into…I don’t have a towel.

9.21 – scrounge up a couple of clean hand towels to use.

9.30 – realize that they don’t make hand towels as big as they used to.

9.40 – on my to the office, realize I’ve missed a call. It’s our realtor. We’re going to counter-offer but I don’t to flush this thing just because I can. I don’t have to have the last word in the deal but I don’t want to leave money on the table either. I need to sign some forms and refill out our disclosure form. ???? Why? Because their office, the state, whoever has a new form and every house in Colorado that is sold in the year 2009 forward must have this form. Great. Our government at work killing trees and killing time.

9.45 am – ministry friend calls. He asks – “How did you deal or answer the questions with being in Parker for only 2 years?” I hate this question. I tell him. I’m not dealing with it. I hate it. It wasn’t ‘supposed’ to be that way. There’s a long pause. God gifts me some momentary revelation, I think.

I tell my friend…Here’s probably the real truth of the matter. I’m more bothered about the 2 years because of how it reflects on me. It has nothing to do with God. I think that’s a character flaw of a lot of us in ministry…we worry about our own character and reputation more than we do about just following Jesus. I know I was supposed to be at Pinecrest. I know we’re supposed to be at Western Hills. Why? Got nothing. Only 2 years? Bugs me to death. I don’t think it bothers God a bit.

10.00 am – After returning a few calls, get to office finally. Tragedy. One of the volunteer Upward soccer coaches has died this morning. He was 38 years old. The same family lost their 1st grader in a car accident a year and a half ago. I’m speechless.

We scramble around, line up some meals, I call the house, leave a voicemail. Gina, our children’s/upward/do it all ministry volunteer is pushing this forward. She’s arranging for some meals and is showing up by the house later.

10.30 am – Amy calls. It’s her second day on the job. We have one of those moments on the phone. Selling our house in Colorado is closure. No, we’re not thrilled about the financial aspects of the situation but even if we had made a gazillion dollars on the house….we’d feel the loss.

We know we’re supposed to be here. (Second time so far today that’s come up.) I couldn’t have asked for a better welcome, a better spirit, a better place to be a new lead pastor. Couldn’t. Everything here has been great. It’s not about that. It’s about missing friends that were family. Our house. The reality of moving. We’ll be fine later. We will. But right now for 15 minutes…we’re not.

10.44 – Realtor calls back. It’s a go. They agreed to our counter. No, I’m not done with the 17 page treatise I’m supposed to be signing. Faxing to them in minutes.

11.00 am – finalizing some details for Garen who will preach in my stead this Sunday. Answering some emails.

11.15 – leave for lunch with Cooper. Plenty of time. Will not…can not be late.

11.20 – Get to chick-fil-a counter, I’m the only one in line. Awesome.

11.21 – Nicki or Nicole or whatever is taking her first order ever. It’s not a hard order. 2 Number 5′s, 12 pack nuggets. A Dr. Pepper and a Coke Zero. Repeat this order 4 times.

11.25 – I can still make it to Coop by 11.45 despite first time Nicki.

11.30 – Nuggets? We’re just putting them in the fryer, it will be 3 minutes. This is the real reason they use plastic forks at fast food places. It’s harder to kill them with plastic sporks.

11.37 – Speeding through mall parking lot to get to school in time. Slam on brakes to catch stop sign. Drink carrier tops over. I grab carrier in time to only lose 1/4 of my drink.

11.47 – pull into school parking lot. I’m late. Shouldn’t have played out this way.

11.48 – walk into school cafeteria, see Cooper with empty chair beside him and I can tell he’s been crying. “Bro…what’s up??” “I thought something happened and you couldn’t make it.” We have a great lunch but it’s a tender moment.

1.00 – Meet one of WH’s congregants. He’s a former pastor. Talks of the wounds ministry left him. He was in the Navy for over 20 years, ministry another 20 after that. I find it interesting that tough, hardened men will still tear up if they’ve ever been wounded by a church. I get it. If you’ve ever been wounded by a church, it leaves a sting and a mark you’ll never forget. Some never get over it. I like this man. He is a good man, a wise man. He tells me that I challenge him and that he’s excited about the future of Western Hills now. He tells me – “You are exactly the man we needed.” Third time today…I don’t catch it at first. This man could be my grandfather. I’d like that.

2.00 – More paperwork from house in Colorado. It’s unreal the amount of paper churches and real estate offices chew through.

2.30 – Meet our realtor here. We’re going to slam through 3 houses that Amy really liked before we head to Emporia. One of them had an offer fall through. It was the house that Amy really liked. It’s on the far end of what we can afford. It’s also got every single thing we’d like – finished basement, front porch, big rooms to do life groups in, cul-de-sac.

3.20 – Realtor calls. Crap. Forgot to get Amy to sign the same 4,000 pages I did for the house in Colorado. We’ll get it done. Give us a few minutes.

3.30 – I go pick up kids, will run by Real Estate office here to fax and think through our options as far as our new house here.

4.00 – Brazil called. Would like their rain forest back. Fax stuff to Colorado. Realize I didn’t complete new disclosure. Fill it out, try it again.

4.30 – Decide on house here. We offer what we can with a little wiggle room for a counter offer.

5.00 – finally on road to Emporia. Call friends. Dinner is out. Crazy day. We’ll see them at the game.

6.30 – Washburn comes out cold. Garden City is on fire. Girls go on 6-0 run to end 1st quarter tied at 20. Not sure what happened between quarters but Washburn goes on 18-2 run in the 2nd quarter. They cruise in the second half.

8.11 – Go to Braums in Emporia, grab some shakes with Terrells. I miss Nate and Cathy. Cathy tells story of how she thought she was in a nightmare but woke up and realized it was Nate. Nate replies…”She then thought she was in heaven.” To which Cathy rolls her eyes. Nate shrugs…”She did say ‘Lord’ when she saw my face.”

8.30 – Heading back to Topeka, get call from realtor here. They have a counter to our offer. Take drive into town to think about it. Call my parents on way back to check on Dad and his EEG. They didn’t find anything.

9.40 pm – Roll into Topeka, drop me off where I left my car at the realtor’s office. He’s still there, I walk in to see what the progress is on the deal. It’s a hard situation. It’s a great house at a good price. We’ve seen worse houses at higher prices. Their counter-offer was reasonable.

The problem is money on our end. I know what we can pay, we’re at that top end and we’re still short. I don’t fault the buyer for wanting more. They honestly could probably get more…just not from us. I tell the realtor – I understand if they don’t want this offer. If the roles were reversed…I’d be tempted to walk away myself. I can’t do anything else. I’m leaving for Denver tomorrow, if this won’t work…we’ll start over when we get back.

10.30 pm – Call Amy on my way home from realtor’s office. I tell her the saga. I’m tired. It’s been a long day and week and I’m ready for the week off. To ski. To feel the snow. To hear and see the Rockies. My soul needs it. I roll down the windows to get a preview of the crisp air.

Amy says ‘God’s been so good to us. It’s just a house. I’m sorry it didn’t work out but we know we’re supposed to be here and this just means our house isn’t ready yet.’ I don’t tell her that this is about the umpteenth time today I’ve heard that phrase. I know she’s disappointed. I am too. But it’s not the end of the world. Far from it.

A few blocks away a mom is putting her kids to bed without dad. It’s the first night of many that Dad won’t pray with those kids. We’re not homeless or poor by any stretch of the imagination. There is much to be thankful for.

‘I just love you. I’ll be home in a bit.’

10.40 pm – I hear a beep. Someone calling in at 10.40 pm. Never good. It’s our realtor I just left 10 minutes ago. I tell Amy…’I'll be right back.’

“So this is either really good or not so good.”

“Go home, go to sleep. Looks like you just found your home here in Topeka.”

10.45 pm – unload car of book bags and backpacks. I check my email. Too many to answer right now. I see some of the names, pray for them quickly. They’ll understand if I don’t answer them right away.

11.20 pm – sit down to type this out so that I’ll never forget it.

12.00 am – 6.45 am will come early and the boys at Cracker Barrel won’t allow me to miss twice. I’ll have to tell this story because none of them read my blog. If they did, it would only give them even more fodder to tease me about. But…they are good men. No…they are godly men who from week 1 have provided a place for me to be real, a place to push me to be a better man of God.

And I’m pretty certain one of them will say something along the lines of … “See, you know this is exactly where you’re supposed to be.”