Monday, November 16, 2009

"Heading Home" or Heading to Austin

In less than 30 hours Pat and I depart for Austin. We are excited about returning for the holiday season. It will be great to see our sons, daughter-in-law, grand kids, and of course our church family. I was looking at our calendar and there are not too many empty places. So we know that the time will really fly by. In the past couple of weeks I have been writing to folks about "heading home." As I began to think about "heading home," I realized that in a big way we were not really "heading home," but heading for Austin. Why would I think that? Simply said home for me is a place that is our own, not necessarily that we own, where we go for peace and security.

Several days ago, I talked with Pat about what I was feeling and thinking about regarding "heading home." As we talked about it we both came to the same conclusion. We are excited about going to Austin to visit and we know that we are going to enjoy our time. However, in June of 2008 we believe that God called us to Turkey to help couples strengthen their marriages without having to leave the country. We sold our home and car and felt total peace about moving to live in a foreign country. For the past 11-months we have lived in a house that we now call home. It is a home that is about a quarter of the size of our former home in Cedar Park. We traded our car for riding a Dolmish, mini bus, or walking around town. With that said I can honestly say that I am not complaining, because Pat and I truly have experienced "the peace that passes all understanding." We have been very content and filled with His peace. As we talked, we decided that we are going to Austin for the holiday season to enjoy family and friends, but when it is time to leave Austin, we will be" headed home" to Turgutreis, Turkey which we believe will be our home for the next 5 -years at which time we will return to Austin where we will once again be at home. If you are ever in the area, please stop by you are always welcome at our home.