Tag Archive - Lubbock

Running Without Someone Chasing Me

July 4, 2008 in Personal with 3 Comments

This is the weekend. I’ve been training towards it for 12+ weeks. It’s Half-Marathon week. (It was actually last Saturday, but with the moving and somesuch I pushed it back one week.)

But instead of flying out to some great destination and letting the locals pass me water and cheer me on, my Half-Marathon will be up and down 98th Street in Lubbock. I’ll try and cut a 6 1/2 mile destination out of town, and then run it back to the house. For those math losers out there, yes that is 13 miles. (Or as I like to say, 13 FREAKING MILES!) I have offically named this Saturday, July 5th as the date for the Official littlepastor Half-Marathon Event. It will begin promptly at 7am, or whenever I finally get out of the house. It will end when my tired legs have been adequetly tortured for 13 miles. After this very unofficial event there will be an offical littlepastor Half-Marathon nap, sponsored by my kids and wife being out of town all day Saturday.

I’m still trying to get my ‘last 5 runs’ meter to start working over in the right column. I’m sorry for all 2 of you that even noticed it was there over the past 12 weeks, that it hasn’t been working correctly.

The Good, The Bad, and The Move

July 1, 2008 in Personal with 1 Comment

It’s mine! It’s all mine! (Insert evil laugh.) I can finally say this about the new house. The house was built in a record pace of 4 months. Partly because it’s modest and small, and partly because the builder just works that fast. It’s still has that new-house smell, and the carpet has yet to be stained by the wonderful dirty creatures that I call my children. It has been a wild weekend of signing 100+ closing papers, moving, church events, more moving, unpacking, Sunday Morning church stuff, more unpacking, all followed up by cleaning a rent house while holding out hope that we’ll get some deposit back.

The Good from this weekend:

  • The house is ours.
  • I have some great friends in Lubbock. I had 6 fellas show up to haul, carry, and load the truck. Some of them even stuck around for a second trip. And two of them stuck around to help me build the boys bunk bed! It is a good friend that will help you move!
  • Closing costs came in over $1200 cheaper than we expected.
  • Was able to fit THIS into my new living room.
  • I still can’t believe I’m living in this house. I feel like I’m staying with some rich friends, and will be going back to my old house next week.
  • Did I mention THIS?
  • Another friend donated an old full-size bed for Lauryn’s bed. It will serve as our guest room when needed. What a blessing!
  • I sold my old fridge for $475 on craigslist, and bought a brand new one with a collection of discount coupons from Lowe’s for only $700. Not bad, Mr. Cliff!

The Bad:

  • The mortgage is ours.
  • Atmos Energy totally dropped the ball setting up my gas meter for the house. After an entire weekend of no hot water, they then screwed up the install on Monday. They did redeem themselves after 10pm, by sending out a technician to set it up.
  • ATT caps my DSL service at the new house at 1.9 download speeds. They won’t tell me why!
  • Sod is being laid 12 days from now, and the dirt that is my front and backyard is slowly being tracked into the house one shoe print at a time.
  • I totally destroyed my kids backyard LittleTikes house by throwing it over the fence on moving day. It really looks stupid seeing it typed. Not sure what I was thinking…
  • We broke the leg on one of our bedroom dressers, it’s currently being held up by prayer and duct tape.
  • I’m not getting mail at the new address. I guess the new house isn’t being recognized by the USPS.

What an experience this has been. It’s a dream come true to be in a position to do this with my family. I would have never thought it possible 18 months ago, and here I am.

Saturday In The U-Haul

June 25, 2008 in Links, Personal with 0 Comments


OK, I’ll just go ahead and ask. I need help. Saturday Morning at 9am, I’m calling all my Lubbock friends to help me move. If there is enough of us the pizza bill will be high, but the moving will be short. Hey, I’m not beyond begging…

This is Strange

May 25, 2008 in Personal with 0 Comments

This weekend I took the family to Tulsa to witness in person my little brother’s Graduation from High School. With it being a holiday weekend it made a good weekend to get out of Lubbock. Monday also happens to be Ryan’s 6th Birthday, so it really worked out perfect to have a Grandparents, Aunt, & Uncle birthday party.

I don’t miss many weekends at the church, but when I do it just feels so strange. It’s good to ‘be away’ every once in a while, and I have an awesome team of staff and volunteers that will have it running perfectly in my absence. But it just feels so weird. Here’s a glimpse into how different this is for me.

  • I actually went to a late movie last night. A Saturday Night. The night before a Sunday. This is strange.
  • I slept til 8:15am on a Sunday morning. I’m usually at the church before 7:00am. Trust me, sleeping til 8:15am an a Sunday only happens once or twice a year. This is strange.
  • It’s 9am, and I’m sitting in the living room watching Mythbusters and blogging, while I wait for my wife to finish getting dressed for going to Lifechurch.tv (Tulsa) this morning. This is strange.
  • We will go to church as a family this morning. All of us in the car. Three kids, my wife, and me. All together driving to a church. This is strange.
  • I get to go to a church this morning and sit on my butt. I don’t have a job, and I get to park in visitor parking. This is strange.
  • I’m just Jonathan this morning. I’m not Pastor Jonathan. Nobody will complain about something that is wrong, and nobody will ask for my keys. I’m just Jonathan, and this is strange.

I miss my church, and can’t wait to get back at it next Sunday. But I’m really going to work on just enjoying myself this morning. It’ll be strange, but it’ll be great!

One Year Ago Today

April 26, 2008 in Personal with 0 Comments


Exactly one year ago today I packed up my family in the minivan and sent them off to Lubbock, TX. I then watched my movers pack up every possession I had and put it in a moving truck that I wouldn’t see again for 24 hours. The move out here to Lubbock was extremely chaotic, and we continue to tell of God’s faithfulness to sort out the mess that was our housing situation when we arrived.

One year later, and I’m still glad I headed out West. I miss my trees, lakes, and shopping malls; but I’d still move out here if I could do it all over again.

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