June 24, 2008

Greetings from Atlanta everyone! As I type this message, I am waiting on a call from a potential employer. I did receive word yesterday that a company I interviewed with recently decided to go with another candidate that was a better fit for the position. Too bad! I would have really enjoyed that job but now it is time to concentrate on other opportunities. We are prayerful that the right opportunity will come along in the coming days and weeks.

We returned from a three day weekend Sunday from Mississippi. Both Melisa and I were missing our kids and they were missing us so we decided to go for the weekend. It is safe to say we all NEEDED that! The kids continue to ask questions about our next house that we can only answer by saying we are looking and working on it. I am very hopeful that we will conclude the housing part of this move this week so we can have our belongings delivered next week prior to the July 4 holiday. As soon as we do, I will make sure to update everyone with our new address.

Well, in my last post I let everyone know we were attending Macland Baptist Church (http://www.maclandbaptist.org/) again. It should come as no surprise to those who know us well to hear that we rejoined the church June 15th. Next comes something more difficult: where to serve. Of course I will serve where I am lead but at the moment I am not exactly sure where that may be. I have some time so perhaps the type of employment I obtain will help make that determination. If I am not required to travel often then I am free to do pretty much anything but if I find myself having to travel frequently for an employer then that would certainly change things.

The national average price for a gallon of regular unleaded has risen about $0.10 since my last post. I’m not sure if anyone who checks this blog follows my posts on Market Watch (http://community.marketwatch.com/ArmchairEconomist) but if so, you may recall that I predicted gasoline would reach $4.50/gallon by the end of 2008. While that number may seem low today as the cost of gasoline continues to rise, I am standing by that prediction. Current prices have forced most Americans to change their driving habits significantly. In addition, governments in Asia have announced that they will be reducing fuel subsidies thereby increasing the cost of gasoline to their residents. I believe these factors will have an impact on the demand side combined with commitments to increase oil production on the supply side. This should cap oil prices by the end of the summer driving season. I do not believe, as some economists are predicting, that gas prices will decline by year’s end though. There is still a great deal of uncertainty in the market that I believe will hold prices above $130 for some time to come. I suppose we will see!

Finally, the rhetoric from the presidential election campaign is heating up with both sides launching attacks containing half-truths and innuendo about the other candidate. It would be really nice to see this race actually focused on the issues that the country faces rather than simply focusing on which hot-button issue will get more voters to the polls in November. I am increasingly finding myself wishing I could go to sleep and wake up the day of the election so I can go vote and leave the television OFF! Alas that is not an option though I can dream!

Until next time, please continue to keep me and my family in your prayers!

June 13, 2008

Greetings everyone from Atlanta, GA! It has been three weeks since movers packed our house in New Mexico and we began the next chapter of our lives. That time has only served to reinforce the feelings we have in our hearts for Las Cruces and the friends we left behind. After spending a week in Mississippi and leaving the kids there with Melisa’s parents, we have been reconnecting with friends we haven’t seen for a while and readjusting to life in the South. Things like 90% humidity, frequent rain that would be called monsoons in the desert, and mosquitoes, lots of mosquitoes. Of course there are also things like sweet tea, BBQ, and lots of GREEN trees. For my friends in the desert that have never been to the southeastern US (Florida doesn’t count! LOL), the difference between southern New Mexico and Georgia is pretty significant. Both are beautiful in their own ways.

Church services at Macland Baptist Church (http://www.maclandbaptist.org/) were awesome last Sunday as we were reminded all over again why we love that church and congregation so dearly. We were amazed at how much the children have changed in just 18 months. Wow! There are also many new families that have joined so we will have to get to know some new folks in the coming months. As we have not yet determined where we will be living, it is too early to say we will definitely be rejoining MBC but we are leaning towards that at this time.

No word on the job front yet but we remain prayerful that the Lord will provide the right opportunity in His time. I hope to have news from an interview I had a couple of weeks ago. I was told it would be about two weeks so I am not surprised that I have not received word from the employer. I am planning on reaching out to the employer today or early next week if I am not contacted by them. If that opportunity does not work out, I will be hitting the pavement hard now that we are in Atlanta. Time to REALLY burn some of that $4 gas!

Speaking of $4 gas, now that both parties have their candidate for president selected, we are going to start hearing a lot from campaigns and others until November. As annoying as election years have become and as easy as it is to get turned off by the site of the whole mess, this is truly an important election. There is much to be done by the next administration from the economy to Iraq to the likelihood of appointing one (possibly more) Supreme Court justice. And, the differences between the two candidates couldn’t be clearer. Regardless of which candidate you may support, make sure you vote!

June 4, 2008

Greetings to all from Atlanta! Melisa's first day back in the office was Monday and she was welcomed back by the members of her team. I am certain she is glad to be back though she is not happy about having to get ready in the mornings again. There is a lot to be said about not having to worry about getting "office ready" in the morning and simply turning her computer on and getting to work. Oh well! It is what it is! We are glad to be back in Georgia though I must admit that 90+ degree temperatures with humidity to match will take a lot more getting used to than the dry air in Las Cruces.

The move went well and the kids, dog, and Melisa and I made the drive to Mississippi in fairly good time. We were forced to leave a day later than we had originally planned due to the amount of time the movers took to load our belongings onto the truck. We knew we had a lot of things but our belongings took up about 2/3 of the 53' trailor used by the moving company. The men were very professional and worked quickly though they didn't get the earliest start either. Once they got moving though (no pun inttended), the loading went quickly. It was as if an army of ants had received marching orders and got busy!

There were over 200 boxes plus furniture! WOW! That is after cleaning out closets and making a very significant donation to Good Will just before the end of 2007 too. I couldn't believe how much just kept coming but eventually, everything was outside and being loaded. Then came the task of cleaning our house for the last time. That was not a fun job but it had to be done for the realtor. Hopefully, we will sell our home this summer and find that perfect new home for our family. We are working with our realtor in Atlanta but like many, we have to sell our other house before we are in a position to buy another.

I wanted to include this photo of the Organ Mountain range. We came to call them "our mountains" shortly after arriving in Las Cruces. It is such a special place that we continue to be saddened by leaving. Both Melisa and I agree that we had only just begun to get to know the city and her people. Given the right set of circumstances, we would return in a New York minute! We will have to wait and see what God has in store for us in the coming weeks and months as I continue my job search. A recent interview (last week) went very well and may work out. Of course, I will let everyone know.