A Smattering of Updates & Ministry News for Summer 2011

Well, summer is here in Tennessee, and the cicadas are buzzing like I've never before heard. It's late morning, my dog is fast asleep on the couch, and I'm all out of coffee.

It seemed like an opportune time for a ministry update.

Everybody Loves Updates!

Here's what's new..

At AIM

Here's a quick update for those of you who are following along with my ministry and supporting the work I do with Adventures in Missions:

• I am now working with Kingdom Dreams, which is a new department at AIM that helps people accomplish their ministry aspirations and fulfill their callings.
   
• I just finished editing the first draft of a book for Seth Barnes about the importance of going on a "Kingdom Journey" — it's chock full of amazing stories. I'm pretty excited about it. Stay tuned for more soon.
   
• A couple of months ago, a colleague and I flew down to Orlando to visit several ministries and organizations, including: Pioneers, Wycliffe Bible Translators, RELEVANT Magazine, and others. We shared with them about Kingdom Dreams and how they could be involved.
   
• I am working on a website that will teach organizations, individuals, and missionaries on how to tell their stories online. This will be hopefully a great resource for our mission trip participants, but we'll be making it available to anyone to use. More on that soon.
   
• I'm leading a mission trip Puerto Rico next month with my friend Dustin. A couple weeks ago, we attended a training camp near Chattanooga.

At Home

A couple of "minor" personal updates:

• Ashley and I are buying a house in Franklin, TN. We close in a week.
   
• Lyric the Dog averages a couple of ticks per day. We're becoming experts at pulling them off.
   
• My sister Marissa (who is becoming a pretty good writer) just graduated high school and is planning on attending University of Alabama at Birmingham in the fall. We gave her a George Foreman grill.
   
• Ashley's parents just celebrated their 30th weddding anniversary. So far, we've only done 1/10th of that.
   
• Ashley's photo business is doing well; she recently shot a wedding and did a family session.

In Other Areas

Here's the skinny on all other areas of my life:

• I recently ran a half marathon. I finished 30 minutes sooner than I thought I would.
   
• I've been blogging a lot on my new writing blog. I recently had the privilege of interviewing Steven Pressfield, one of my writing heroes. Oh, and Seth Godin commented on one of my posts (HUGE honor, even if he did disagree with me).
   
• Recently, I guest posted on Michael Hyatt's blog and at Problogger.
   
• I am, begrudgingly, downsizing my book collection before we move. I think I'd like to get a Kindle.
   
• I'm going to Story in Chicago this Fall. A couple of people that I know through Twitter are paying my way! Who said social media was pointless?

Just for Fun

This is the most pathetic picture of Lyric I've taken (so far). He got his collar stuck while digging through our groceries, sniffing for something tasty.