Just a regular old update.

My friend Tara does these updates often- no cute pictures, just a general update on us. I think it's time we did one of these.

Over a year ago, Mallory interviewed with a church in Madison, Indiana called Ryker's Ridge Baptist. They were looking for a Pastor of Missions, Evangelism and Youth--a position that seemed to be perfect for Mallory. It didn't work out at the time, because we were praying about going back overseas. We didn't understand God's timing in it all, but trusted that it wasn't His will. We moved on, bought a house, got pregnant-- you know the story.

In July of this year, we were both very burdened for Ryker's Ridge. I had been near there several times to see patients, and the entire community remained heavy on our hearts. We knew they had most likely found a pastor for the position by now, and wondered why God kept bringing this church to our minds. So we prayed and asked for wisdom.

Mallory emailed the senior pastor to ask if the position was filled. We didn't expect a response. But, in God's sovereignty, the position hadn't been filled, and the church was actually just getting ready to restart the candidate search process. They shared that Mallory was their top candidate in October 2006, but because we couldn't give a long-term commitment, they didn't want to pursue him further.

I could go on forever, but the short of the story is that God has called our family to serve at Ryker's Ridge Baptist in Madison, Indiana. We didn't plan to buy a house, sell it 9 months later, have a baby, and move to another state all in 2007. But God did.

Our house sold after being on the market less than one month. A miracle. We close on 12/18 and will move to Madison. At first, we looked at buying another home, but because we don't have any equity in our home in Louisville, that was feasible. We looked at renting, and hit many dead ends. At the end of an unsuccessful day of searching, we got a call from one of the deacons. His wife's parents have a home near the church. They are in China until June, and need someone to live in their home.... for FREE.

Sweet John Mark has been so calm and sweet in all of the trips to Madison (1 hr each way), been patient when we are packing, and when he's hungry, he reminds us that he is the most important thing- not packing!

We apologize for not updating our blog readers all along the way, but we wanted to make sure this was a done deal before doing so. The search committee came to our home on 8/13 for the first interview, and we went to the church when I was 36 weeks pregnant--praying I wouldn't go into labor that weekend! We heard from the church on the official vote when John Mark was 2 weeks old.

Madison is a great little town with a historic district and a more modern part of town. The church is located out on the ridge, which is gorgeous. It has breathtaking views of the Ohio River, and lies half way between Louisville and Cincinnati. The photo was taken a little bit out of the city- is this beautiful or what!?!?

Here's a few links you may be interested in:

http://www.visitmadison.org/

http://www.oldmadison.com/

http://www.madisonindiana.org/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madison,_Indiana

http://www.rykersridge.org/ (website under construction)

Please keep us in your prayers as we make this HUGE transition over the next few weeks. We are excited, nervous, hopeful, but most of all- in awe of God's faithfulness to us and humbled by His calling.