It's been almost three years since my last post. The reason has not been that I've had nothing occur in my life. In fact, it's just the opposite. I've had two sons graduate from prestigious universities and move on to greater achievements. My soccer team - YOUR Citrus Heights Dolphins - has grown up a bit (we're now playing at the U12 level), but still are a delight. The beautiful Mrs. Coach is still as exciting and entrancing as the day we were married.
I suppose it had to do with the "busy-ness" of life. I allow it to crowd me off the ball and take my game in a whole new direction. The quickness of Facebook and Twitter - with their instant messages - makes it seem like I am really thinking as I move through life.
The reality is that I am on the cusp of some big decisions. In some ways, it feels just like it did when I graduated from seminary. Where am I going? What do I want to do? After 20+ years as the lead pastor at the First Evangelical Free Church of Sacramento, I feed that I - along with the church - need a change. Just to hear myself say that or read it in print makes me head feel like it's going to explode. The next steps for the last two decades have been fairly well laid out, but now a fog has rolled in and the path is not as clear.
Yet, I still have aspects of God's grace all around me. I have a great family, although the sons will be on the east coast as they move ahead in their own training. I still get to coach the best soccer team in the world (sorry, Jurgen Klinsmann, Lionel Messi, et. al.). I am still faster than a 12-year-old soccer player ... and much more crafty. I still have a God who delights in me and enjoys me. These are not bad places from which to turn the page and start a new chapter in life.
