I have finally made the switch to my own personal website bradgiddens.com as a way to not only blog but to put some other stuff on the internet as well. Come check me out and, if you would, comment on the new blog to let me know you found it and to see if everything is working right with it. This thing will continue to grow as I figure out how to post videos, music, etc. Hope you like it. Come see me!! I promise to post more regularly than I have been.
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Hey everyone. Yeah, it’s me, Brad. Remember, I’m the guy who used to actually post on this blog. Man, it just seems I haven’t had the time or energy to write anything, but I’ve got so much to tell. I am about to make a big switch over to blogging from my .Mac account. I have gone the way of the Macintosh and am loving it. With my .Mac account I will be able to set up my own blog and do some more stuff with it that I have been wanting to do for a long time. So please don’t give up on me. I will post here when I get the new site up and running. I beg for your patience. Hi to all of you in Oklahoma. I miss you.We are planning on coming to the Tulsa Workshop March 26 – 30. Hope to see some of you there. Peace.
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Sorry I’ve been out of the groove lately. I’ve been a bit busy. Here is how things have been going since we’ve been here. Last night, there was 8″ of water in our basement. The sump pump had gone out and I called all over town trying to find someone who had a temporary pump and eventually did. The water got so high it got into the bottom of the central heat and air unit and blew super saturated air all through the house and coated the walls and windows with a nice sheen of water. The phone lines running in from the outside box have all been cut somehow, I guess from the last people or when they remodeled the house, and I have to run new ones by Monday in order to get our phone and internet up and running. We’ve gotten the run around by every agency here in trying to get driver’s licenses, bank accounts, etc. We couldn’t get a driver’s license because we had no proof of residency. We couldn’t get a bank account because we didn’t have a driver’s license. We couldn’t sign up at the YMCA because we didn’t have a bank account. I finally got my license after receiving our first gas bill, which served as proof of residency, but Shelley’s name was not on the bill so they would not let her get her license. I tried to renew my motorcycle license but failed the test so I have to go back later and take it again. I should have gotten the handbook or something first. The night we drove in here New Year’s Eve in the U-Haul trucks, five minutes after we arrived, it started snowing and dropped 6″ on us. The next few days I think it got down to 6 degrees for a high. It has rained a lot and the ground is completely saturated from the snow and rain, hence our basement flooding. With all this going on, guess what? WE LOVE IT HERE!! More of the good stuff later.
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I made it. I am sitting in my new office, typing on my Mac (holy cow) and trying to get used to the cold. My trip up here was fine. The roads were great and I had no problems whatsoever. On my way here I got to see a young man in the St. Louis Children’s Hospital who is from here but is in St. Louis waiting for a lung transplant. He is a 16 year old kid who I think suffered from leukemia when he was younger and now desperately needs a lung transplant. His name is Andy Heck. He is the cousin of one of the teens here at church in Valpo. I was glad I got to go see him and visit with his family a bit. Remember all of them in prayer if you would.
I’ve been getting my office set up, books put away, trying to figure out how a Mac works. Man, if I could just figure out how to use everything on it, it is going to be awesome. I ate at Panera Bread for breakfast this morning. Wow, it was good. I had a turkey, sausage and potato souffle. (I’m not sure what a souffle is or if I spelled it right, but it sure ate good!) Ok, and there was the small detail of getting a little turned around while trying to come back into town the other night, and I ended up in a whole ‘nother town. It could happen to anyone. :)
This is a great group of folks here who are doing great things for the kingdom of God and who really want to do more for Him. It is an honor to be here working along side of them. I pray God will work mightily among us and that we let Him.
My contact info is now the following:
E-mail: bradgiddens@valpochurch.com
Church website: www.valpochurch.com
I plan on flying back to Idabel on December 21st, having Christmas and then loading up the family and making the final move. Keep my family in your prayers as they are without me and I am without them. I miss them.
Stay in touch with me if you can. I love you all.
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Check out these two short video clips about how Willow Creek Community Church is having to reinvent how they do church. This one is from Greg Hawkins, one of their executive staff members, who talks about research they’ve done at their church and others that has revealed to them the need to restructure their efforts in regard to disciple making. This one is from Bill Hybels himself in talking about what it means for their church. An article entitled Willow Creek Repents? can be found here. This is some fascinating stuff and one that all church leaders need to see and read. These guys have my respect. I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts.
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