the sosebee's

Last weekend you would have found us occupying both:

And if we weren’t found there, you could find us eating seafood, going out for pizza, or picnicking at Atalaya:

It was a nice, relaxing escape down to the coast. We enjoyed our time together celebrating our 2 year anniversary. How the time flies…

What a great quote from the opening of Mark Dever’s essay in Polity:

The Puritan divine Thomas Taylor observed that “the carriage of the saint through this life is like the journey of a traveler going home through a strange country.” One of the more salutary effect of travel is the energizing of our minds by sights and sounds which are strange to us. Travel increases our understanding, and broadens our sympathies.

Travel also affects our understanding of home. However many things we many learn in our travels, none are so interesting as those things which we see for the first time when we return home. We may think that all has changed, when in reality only we have.

It made me reflect on the experience of going overseas for a time, and the effects that place has on us. The Lord uses our time as we travel briefly through this life to change us and shape us.

For birthday outing #2, we took a very lovely trip to Connemara (birthday outing #1 was to go see yonder mountain). I was oh so glad to have my parents along on outing #2. We went Sunday morning, and it was perfectly chilly, and dry, and overcast. I just love those kinds of days. The whole world seems mysterious and frisky. So we set off to Flat Rock, and back in time. Rambling around old houses will just never get old. We marveled at the book collection, and the bookshelves on every spare wall. We admired the mountains from the front porch, and imagined the sunrises that would dawn through the windows of the house. We hiked around on the farm, and explored the old buildings and grounds. They still have goats and chickens, and big, fat cats. I loved watching the chickens run on their twiggy legs toward Corey. What a funny sight an excited chicken is! I also decided we need some goats. I told Corey I want a baby goat, and he said we couldn’t have them inside city limits. Perhaps we’ll move out to the boondocks.

This was really our first year getting a Christmas tree. We had one last year, but only “by chance”. We had just moved in our apartment the first week of December and didn’t really have time to put one up. But as I was on my way home from work one day, I passed a little tree lot in Rosman, NC (3 days before Christmas) they had put a sign in front of the remaining tree, “FREE”. I turned in and picked one up to surprise Kris. We couldn’t even find a tree stand it was so late in the season. We got it up, but didn’t even decorate it. It was still nice having one.

This year we were a little more intentional.

I guess if you grew up watching Christmas Vacation, you’ve always wanted your own “Griswold Family Christmas Tree”. That’s what I had in my mind anyway… I’m sure Kris did as well. Up to the Appalachians of North Carolina we drove. Up and up into the hills, winding back and forth around the switchbacks. We finally emerged into the little mountain town of Cashiers. I just happened to know of a nice coffee shop on the corner, we stopped in for a cup to keep us warm for our trek into the fields to find the perfect “Sosebee Family Christmas Tree”. It wasn’t quite cold enough for our eyes to freeze, so we were able to pick out the perfect tree, and they did have chainsaws on hand (no digging it out of the ground, roots and all).

They bailed the tree for us, tied it down, and we then had the pleasure of driving back to SC with a tree on top the car. That’s probably half the fun. You kind of have a smile on your face the whole ride back.

We got up and after a good breakfast this morning, turned on the Christmas music and adorned it with lights and ornaments. It’s a beautiful Douglas Fir and has a wonderful pine scent that fills our apartment. The smells of the season.

It’s a good tree.

It had been almost 4 years since my last fishing trip. I can’t really believe it had been so long. Needless to say I was excited when Dad and I planned a trip to the river, the Chattooga River. I kind of think of it as our family river (as Norman did the Blackfoot in A River Runs Through It). Papa built a cabin on the banks of the Chattooga in 1962. Dad has always told stories of his memories from the cabin, how Mama and Papa would take their Sunday School classes up there, and how the whole family would meet up there for vacations, even stories of me up there when I was younger. So, from an early age, the Chattooga has been a special place to me. Though the cabin is in disrepair these days, I often like to drive by and visit if I’m in the area. I like to look into the rooms and imagine scenes from the stories I’ve been told.

Dad and I have always gone fishing and camping on the Chattooga as well. I now have many stories of our time together that I will one day be able to tell. Some of my fondest memories from childhood are of Dad and me hiking through the woods trying to get to that perfect fishing hole on the river. I loved it. It was always a great adventure.

So, yesterday we headed to the mountains. First to Seneca, then up through Walhalla, turn off at Cuzzins, head up past Oconee State Park, only six more miles of windy road, then turn left at Big Bend Road across from Cherry Hill, leave the asphalt behind, prepare to be rattled for the next few miles, park the truck and strike out on foot, follow the trail straight down, the sounds of the river will hit you long before you see it, keep descending, then comes a clearing in the trees and there it is, the Chattooga.

I didn’t even wait to tie on a fly before getting into the river. I just walked straight down into the water. What a great feeling. I waded out a little ways, opened my box of flies and tied on the first one in years. I actually lost three flies while casting before I remembered how to tie the correct knot. But man how much fun it was to be casting again. Trying to drop the fly in the perfect spot and then getting it to float “naturally” down river with the current.

We worked downstream and fished. I pulled out a few decent size Brook Trout on my fly rod and one nice Rainbow on a spinner rod. Dad caught quite a few nice sized Rainbows as well. It’s always a successful fishing trip to me, whether we catch anything or not. It’s the fun of being on the river that I enjoy. It’s the peacefulness and silence of your surroundings, save only the sounds of the rushing water.

The rain caught up with us towards the afternoon and we headed back, but what a great day. No rain could dampen that.

We’ve been discussing change lately. Change in the form of moving. It’s a big change. It changes everything: location, house, churches, friends, places you shop, etc. Basically everything you’re familiar with. Our Sitz im leben (to use a technical term, attributed to Dr. Pennington), our “life setting”, our context that the text of our lives is being written in will be new once again.

Often I enjoy the idea of a new place. Change is exciting, it is good. I think it challenges our idea of what makes us comfortable. I don’t want to become comfortable in this life. If change is what is necessary, then I’m all for it.

I think I’m getting old, though. For the idea of moving just doesn’t have quite the same appeal it used to. The spontaneous adventure is a little less shiny, less attractive.

But throw all that out. I want to follow where the Lord is leading. And, for my wife and I, I believe he leading us to pursue change right now. We only have to trust in Him.

So, I rented a tiny, red Chevy Aveo and took off up to Louisville the beginning of this week. A 400 mile, 6.5 hour drive. And, the worst part of it, I had to leave my companion at home. The first time we have spent a night away since our wedding. Not my ideal situation, but it’s the best we could do for now. I went up to inquire about a few jobs, to look around at different living options, and to tour the campus at Southern Seminary. Sitting in on Professor Gentry’s Hebrew class was quite a treat too.

It was a good trip. Thanks to Adam and Andi Graig for hosting me. It’s always good reconnecting with friends. I got to become a little familiar with the city so I have a better idea of where some good places to live might be. I also got to make a few job contacts, an important aspect for the move.

So, keep us in your prayers over the next month and a half as we decide about making the move. Thanks!

Wow. What a weekend! This is a recap from my birthday trip that I had been anticipating for months. Kris and I took off last Friday and drove up to Wake Forest, NC to Southeastern Seminary to attend the 9Marks @ Southeastern Conference.

9Marks (which I wrote about in a previous post) began a 9-year partnership with Southeastern Seminary that began last year. Each year the conference will focus on one of the Nine Marks of a Healthy Church.

This year’s conference was Mark #2: Biblical Theology.

They had a host of great speakers. Here’s the rundown:

1. Mark Dever
2. Thabiti Anyabwile
3. David Platt
4. Danny Akin
5. Matt Chandler

(Click on the names to go to view their messages on Southeastern’s site)

It was a great conference and we got to hear God’s word faithfully preached over and over. What a wonderful example in these men, their ministries and their lives.

It was also a time of getting to connect with old friends for some good fellowship. What a blessing.

A year already?

It has gone by so quickly. August 1st, 2009 was our big day. One year ago. Now we’re just an old married couple. Who says the first year is the hardest? We’ve loved every minute of it. Now, we’re not naive, but it really has been a good year. God has greatly blessed us with one another.

So, how did we spend it? In style, of course. At least for us. We went up to Brevard, NC and stayed in a Bed & Breakfast: The Red House Inn. Our time included a nice dinner on the town, a great, relaxing evening, and a hike and a milkshake on Monday to wrap up the trip.

I am truly blessed to have Kristen as my wife. The Lord is good. I know this more and more everyday. What I have learned the past year!

I would’ve liked to include a picture of the Béla Fleck show but “photography was prohibited”. The Orange Peel in Asheville hosted the concert, which was part of his Throw Down Your Heart tour. A project he did while traveling to Africa in 2005 to discover the roots of the banjo. It was a great show. He is an amazing banjo player and has definitely worked at breaking down the barriers that most people have in associating the banjo with the bluegrass genre. Having said that, though, he can play some mean bluegrass! Especially when the guest performer came on stage and was none other than a fiddle player.

We stayed in the guest suite at the Singer residence for the night and were given free passes to see the Biltmore Estate mansion on Saturday. I couldn’t believe the size of it, extravagant. It is definitely quite the the architectural wonder. We meandered through the rooms for hours along with the thousands of other tourists taking in the sights that day.

Another good weekend of travel.

the avett brothers! what an awesome new year’s surprise from kristen. this surprise was part of my christmas present and what a great present. we got to escape to asheville for the weekend and spend new year’s together with some amazing musical accompaniment.

asheville is a beautiful smaller city nestled in the mountains. we headed up after work on thursday and went straight to the civic center. the streets were very crowded on account of this being a sold out show and of course because it was new year’s eve.

we waited in line for 30 mins, and were in our seats by 8:30, not too bad. sallie ford and the sound outside was the first band to open. originally from weaverville, nc i believe. very enjoyable. next was langhorn slim. then finally the avett brothers came on for a very nice lengthly set. they played till a few minutes before midnight, took a break, and then came back out for the countdown and to ring in the new year.

quite an evening.

we got a hotel for night and awoke this morning wanting to spend some time downtown. sadly not much was open. we almost couldn’t even find breakfast, but luckily mayfel’s saved the day! and man was it worth it. they made a spectacular “hillbilly breakfast” and of course some good coffee.

we made a run to rei to finish off our trip and a wonderful new year’s! thanks baby!