We'll folks, it's been awhile since I wrote! Sorry about that, things have been a bit nuts around hear. Jack's birthday was a week after mine, we went out of town, Brandie's mom came to visit, I had multiple papers due, and life in general just took precedence over blogging.

Things around here are going fairly well, despite being busy. Football is over for the boys so that opens up some time. I am turning into a wonderful little househusband, cooking and cleaning while Brandie brings home the big bucks. (OK, so she doesn’t bring home big bucks, but she is working hard.) She interviewed for a new job last week, so keep that in your prayers. Income is very tight and we need something to change. This job would be working for the court system in Lexington and sounds pretty good.

I really want to share with all of you the things that I am learning! God is really instilling into me a vision for a church one day. I can’t wait to see the fruition of God’s plan in all of this!

One word before I go: Pray! I have been burdened the past few weeks with the notion that the Christian Church in America needs to get down on their knees to pray for herself to be transformed. Folks, I really think that most have misunderstood the call of the Church. There is a hurting world out there that cannot be fixed by politics, war, environmentalism, secular peace movements, or anything else. James 2:17 says that faith without works is “utter nonsense!” (The Message) The Church needs to be more than a gathering of morally good people that agree on a doctrinal creed. We need to be a body in action. I know that those of you that read this blog are that type of person, but unfortunately we make up the minority of Christians! Lets get on our knees together and pray that the Holy Spirit move through the Church and “renew a right spirit within us”. The only thing that can transform this hurting world is Jesus Christ, and the Church is the instrument that He will use if we submit!

I love each of you and miss you with all my heart! Peace of the Lord to all of you.

In Him,

Joey

All is well

As I look back on the things I have written so far, I realize that maybe I am painting too harsh a picture of our time so far in Kentucky. Yes, things at times are difficult; trying to figure out this whole situation and wait upon the Lord is a little trying on our patience! There is also certainly a cultural difference between Georgia and Kentucky, but there is a cultural difference between Atlanta and Dalton (or for that matter between the west side of Dalton and the east side.) Those differences aren’t bad, they just highlight for us that we are not back home. So in fairness, let me paint a different picture, maybe this time a little clearer than before.

We are on an incredible adventure. Often life gets in routine and we sleepwalk through every aspect of our existence: our spiritual lives, our marriages, our role as parents, and our friendships. This step of faith of coming to Asbury has shaken that routine and absolutely decimated it. We are wide awake right now and completely aware of this new life. And that is an incredible thing! Because we are awake, each turn in this adventure is completely without sedation. Perhaps this is why we seem to be wearing our emotions on our sleeves – we are feeling them deeply, to the fullest, and they natural come out when we are sharing our lives with you.

So, in this adventure there are undoubtedly more hardships to come, just as there are going to be more joyous times as well. I absolutely welcome each, knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that God is in control and that He is good and loves each of us dearly! That love is pouring forth every day. But I don’t want to only share those hard things. Let me share some of the good things with ya’ll:

• Kentucky is a beautiful state! The glory of God’s creation is evident all around us in the rolling hills and horse farms. Who can doubt the Creator when you see a horse galloping over a hillside, with the sunset sending a palette of colors across the sky?
• Wilmore is a protected place! Unless you have been here it is hard to explain. When you enter into the city, there is a Divine protection that can be felt. I am sure that if my eyes were opened to the spiritual world, I would see a host of heavenly warriors guarding this town.
• God is blessing us with new friends. We are finding friendships almost everyday and are being surrounded by others that are sharing in this same adventure.
• Our old friendships aren’t diminishing. I got so many calls and e-mails yesterday wishing me a happy birthday from you all! I don’t think I got that many when I still lived in Dalton…
• We get a first hand look at how God provides. When you can’t do it for yourself, God has got to work. This is a GREAT place to be!
• There is laughter in our house. We laugh. A lot. Sometimes at the absurdity of our situation, sometimes just out of our delight in life. We are having fun and it comes out in our laughs!


Yes, we need prayers. There are hard things. Sam’s elbow is just down right broke. If the doctor doesn’t like what he sees next week when we go back in, then they may have to put pins in. Our money situation is still tight. I have lots of work to do and not enough time. But all of these are really just small problems. The good goes so much deeper. Not for once do we regret this decision! We are awake and off the couch. We are on a great adventure and God has it mapped out!

We miss all of you and I hope that you are experiencing the adventure of the Lord as well!

Peace,

Joey

Unemployment, a broken arm, and other madness

Well, It seems that I am not chaplain material. I finally got a call from the hospital, but it wasn't the one I hoped for. Oh well, I guess God has something else. Please keep praying for the job situation ‘cause the cupboards are getting’ bare!

As you may know, since I don't have a job and Brandie is working at the coffee shop, we are without insurance. Medicaid has been applied for so all we have to do is hang in there and hope that nothing hap…uh oh…

That's right, something happened. Sam was playing lights-out defense at his football game when a helmet hit his elbow and took him down! He has a fracture behind some growth plates. We have to take him to an orthopedic doctor this week and find out what he wants to do. The ER doc put a splint on it that goes from his hand up to his shoulder. Probably they will want to put a cast on it, but we’ll just have to wait to find out. It appears that the league's insurance will cover the bills, but keep that in your prayers. We just don't have the money to cover it otherwise.

Well, other than that I have three papers due this week, I turn 35 on Wednesday, Sam Jack and I shaved our heads, and we all miss home!

I know that I am being pretty transparent here, but you are my brothers and sisters In Christ and we need your prayers. God is good and I am sure that next time I will have a happier post! I hope that the Lord is blessing each of you. You are all missed greatly by the Fitzgerald family.

In Him,

Joey

Football, seminary, and rednecks

Imagine, if you will, going to Wal-Mart at midnight. Take all the parents that are in the process of beating their children as they purchase their third carton of Marlboros in the past two days, and you will have the entire parental make-up of Jack's football team and a good portion of Sam's. I wish that I were exaggerating, but it really does seem like the entire cast of "My Name is Earl" shows up to each game.

Example: The other night we went to Jack's game. A man that resembled Dog the Bounty Hunter, wearing a "wife beater" t-shirt and cut off jeans, was painted up for the game. What part of his face not covered with hair, looked as if it had been painted by a drunk girl practicing for her cosmetology exam. The drunk girl in question may have been his sister. She was shouting obscenities at the referee, whom she obviously disagreed with. I think she said something like “@#*! Can’t you see anything out there! How much did the other team PAY YOU!”

Not to be outdone, the young lady's husband, or quite possibly just her baby’s daddy, began hurling his clever insults at the refs. They entailed questions of the legitimacy of the ref's parentage and the social status of the ref’s mother.

Throw in the grandmother with the oxygen tank and lit cigarette, lots of men with mustaches and poor grooming habits, half of the team playing in the dirt on the sidelines, one mini-sumo wrestler of a six year old sitting on the chest of a member from the opposing team while reigning punches down on his helmet, and you start to get the picture. Loads of fun.

In other news, I still don’t have a job, we are applying for Medicaid for the kids today, Brandie isn’t incredibly happy with her job, and I have been up till midnight every night reading about metaphysics and the Judean society of the New Testament!

You know, in all of this, God is at work and God is GOOD! There is a peace and underlying joy in our lives that in the midst of the chaos and uncertainty, we are truly happy. We know beyond a shadow of a doubt that we are where God wants us, for our sake and for the sake of His Kingdom. Even though our heart aches for Georgia and we miss all of you, we are embracing the moment that God has us in now. It’s an adventure and we are stepping out and taking risks. Except for sitting next to the smoking grandmother with the oxygen tank. We sit where we won’t be blown-up.

In Him,

Joey

So I burned our porch down...

Well, I almost burned our porch down. I definitely burned a hole in it. We were smoking a turkey (no, kids, that’s not a euphemism for smoking something else) and I guess a spark flew out. I was trying to get Luke down for a nap and when I went to check on the turkey the porch was on fire! Luckily I have mad fire fighting skilz and was able to put it out before my house burned down and my wife divorced me for being a careless pig.

In other Fitzgerald news I will be interviewing today at 2:30 for the chaplain job at Cardinal Hill Rehabilitation Hospital. I have no reason whatsoever to suspect that I will get this job except through the grace of God. I have no real experience in counseling, I don’t have my seminary degree yet, and I have never been a chaplain. I think that it will be a great experience; I think that through God’s strength I can do the job, and I think that I would love it. But we will wait and see if it is in God’s greater plan! I’ll update ya’ll later today…

We did find a church yesterday that we really liked. I think we will try it again next week and keep praying. Miss all of you and we’ll talk to you soon!

A heapin’ helpin’ of blessings on your head.

Joey

UPDATE:

The interview went great! I really don't think it could have gone any smoother. Now it's a waiting and praying game. They are interviewing others and it will just be a matter of how I stack up. God has it under control. If He wants me in there I am confident that I will get it, if not something else will come up! It's good to rest in the knowledge that our Daddy will always take care of us...Bless yo' heads -Joey

I am employed

Here's the story....

I have searched for a job since April. I think I have sent out around a hundred resumes. For some reason people in management think it is no longer necessary to have correspondence with an applicant to say they are not interested or the position is filled. When you follow up with a phone call it is not returned. To those reading this and are employers take note. My ego and confidence has really taken a hit over the last few months. It's like the biggest emotional roller coaster to get excited about a job and never receive a call to interview.

Last week I began to reevaluate. I started to look out side the box and think about all my gifts. Two weeks ago Joey made up a flier for me to pass out to local business about my baking. I have felt a bit intimidated for some reason and have held off passing them out. (Also, our oven seems to burn most things on the bottom.)

Tuesday I was on my way to the board of education to turn in paper work for substitute teaching when I received a call to interview for a job at Head Start. I had that job just out of college and knew that I could do it. I just wasn't excited about it.

Wednesday I was on the search for a fly swatter. (My boys think we live outside and therefor don't think it necessary to close the door...ever.) As I am driving to our local dollar store I decide I would finaly take my flier to the coffee shop. As I had that revelation, I drove by the shop and saw a posting for a manager. So I think to myself I could to do that! After not finding a fly swatter I put Luke in the stroller and Jack follows me into the coffee shop. The owner was there (I think I may be older than him) and I said I am interested in the job. He asked if I have managed before. (My first thought was to say of course, I manage dirty diapers, a kitchen, a school for teaching children manners, I manage a multi phone system of my cell and home phones, well I could go on.) But I said no not really. He said o.k. and asked me to fill out an application. I stopped by later and dropped it off and included the flier Joey made and a list of relevant experience (waitress and other stuff). He called that night.

Thursday I have both interviews. Joey had to be gone so a very kind lady from Dalton (Brenda Jones) kept Jack and Luke for me while I interviewd at Head Start. I was so grateful! I was offered the job but was not excited about it at all. The next interview was for the coffee shop and I had to bring the kids with me because we had football practice right after. Don't worry, I was mother of the year and left them in the car (running of course) to watch a movie! I had them in sight at all times!

It was a great interview and he offered me the job! I am very excited. I will get to do a little baking (but he doesn't know what I am capable of yet!) We can totally work around Joey's classes so now we don't have to pay for childcare. To make things even better Joey has an interview Monday for a chaplain job at a hospital. It's part time but offers full benefits! Pray, Pray Pray!!!!

If anyone reading this has little faith I hope that we can be a testimony that God is good and faithful and sometimes He calls us to take a leap. We need to just jump in even if the water is frozen! The lord didn't sell our house but He provided renters, He took care of tuition, our car, our moving expenses, and we haven't gone hungry yet (we might have next month without this job!) It's so easy to let your own agenda get in the way of the Lord's work. God is good! We can honor Him by being obedient, by forgiving and forgetting, humility, faith, grace, finding joy in ALL things, letting go of bitterness, and running towards him all day.

Thanks to all who have lifted us up in your prayers. Thanks for the words of encouragement and thanks for loving us. I want to end with a stolen word from Keith Ferguson. He signed an e-mail to Joey recently with Blessings over your head. I love that. So....

Blessings over all your heads,
Brandie

Some observations about Kentucky

Kentucky is considerably less humid than Georgia. Really, it's possible to actually breathe during the summer. I know that many of you might find that hard to believe, but it's true! I went outside and wasn't immediately drenched and suffocated by tiny particles of water hanging around in the air. I mean, it's not Colorado, but boy it sure feels better in August in Kentucky than in Georgia.

Thanks for all the prayers from all of you. Brandie has two interviews today, so maybe at least one will be exactly what we need! If not, we'll just keep looking. God has something out there that is going to be a perfect fit.

Well, I'll let Brandie do the next post and we promise to put some pictures up soon. Hope everyone is doing great and we miss all of you! Live in the "foolishness of God's Grace" and His unfailing Love.

A few observations about the Commonwealth of Kentucky:

1. Someone failed to mention to Kentucky that cigarette smoke is harmful. Seriously. It is possible that the Government reached a settlement with the tobacco industry in which they agreed to put warning labels on tobacco products as long as they could just keep Kentucky in the dark.

2. Grass is not blue here despite what you may think. It's not even especially green.

3. There may be more equestrian statues around than people. They really love horses here. Almost as much as they love their Camels and Winston Lights.

4. Men that are enrolled in the Seminary find beards highly fashionable. I may have to grow one to be in the cool crowd.

In Him,

Joey

I must add that a couple of nights ago Joey and I were sitting on the back porch around 9:00 and a horse drawn buggy passed by and the driver waved at us. This was a different buggy than we saw last week going through the middle of town while we were riding bikes.

In addition Joey got a call to interview for a chaplain job. His interview is Monday. I received a job offer from my first interview and can't wait for the second. What a great day and what an awsome God we have. For weeks nothing and then within two days we have interviews and offers.

Brandie

I miss Georgia

I miss Georgia. The other day I heard a song that mentioned "the Georgia stars" and I got a little lump in my throat and some tears in my eyes. It's things like not being able to hear the Braves game on the radio, knowing that I can't have the Varsity without driving 6 and 1/2 hours, and constantly seeing people wearing UK blue and not fashionable red and black that is about to send me over the edge! I thing I even prefer orange over all this blue! A bulldog is really so much cooler than a wildcat…

Don't get me wrong, we are loving Wilmore. It's an incredible little town, but all the differences just highlight the fact that I am not in Georgia anymore. And if I am not in Georgia, I am not around you guys, my friends and family. Moving away is making me understand just how much all of you have meant to Brandie, the boys, and me. We miss you all so terribly much!

We are, however different it may be, getting adjusted to life in Kentucky. Sam and Jack started school this week and love it so far. Luke hasn’t missed a beat. He has moved from destroying everything in his path in Georgia to destroying everything in his path in Kentucky with remarkable ease! We have a nice playground and a creek right behind our house that the boys play in everyday. We live close enough to Sam’s school that he has started riding his bike rather than the bus. We have taken to biking everywhere, from the Asbury campus to the grocery store. John Cougar Mellencamp’s song “Small Town” is the perfect them song for around here. It really is a lot like living in Mayberry! And just so we don’t miss Dalton too much, there is a Mexican restaurant right downtown!

We certainly have a list of things we would love for everyone to be praying about. The first is that we really need jobs! Brandie is still looking, as am I, but nothing seems to be working out. We know God has something, but it is getting really hard to be patient! Please pray specifically that Brandie finds a job (soon) that is flexible, pays well, has full benefits for the entire family, that it brings her a sense of fulfillment, and that it allows her to use the gifts that God has placed in her. Pray that God gives me a job that works with my class schedule and that neither of our jobs rob our children of the time they need with us.

We also need prayers that we find a church! We are looking, but it is hard to find something that can come close to the body that we had in Dalton. To all of you Dalton EMC folks reading this, I hope that you realize just how lucky you are! What a wonderful Church you are. Keep striding forward, God is about to move through you guys like never before, I can feel it coming!

Also pray for my school. Classes start in two weeks. Pray for the boys that they find lifelong friends, that Brandie and I find fellowship and friendship with others, and that God brings us closer to Him and His plan for our lives!

We miss ALL of you. You have blessed our lives over the years more than any of you will ever know and you continue to bless us with your prayers, your phone calls, your e-mails, and your support of this adventure! Thanks for loving and caring for us. Any of you are welcome to come at anytime. The door to our house is usually unlocked, so just come on in. If we’re not home, grab a coke and relax. We’re probable out hangin’ with Andy and Barney in downtown Mayberry.