Relaxing Monday...

Well, it has been just that, mostly. A relaxing Monday. I haven't blogged in ages. That surprises no one. No promises or lofty statements about how I will from this day forward re-dedicate myself to writing all sorts of amazing, interesting and clever stuff for the enjoyment of the masses of people who just love this kind of stuff. None of that. Not today. Maybe I'll remember to do this again in four or five months, who knows. ;p
At any rate I will say this. It has been an exciting, wonderful, if tiring few months. We have enjoyed meeting all sorts of new folks as well as rebuilding some wonderful old relationships. Three churches have been added to our region's list with several more contacts and groups we are working with. I have been blessed to administer the covenant of The Church of God to nearly thirty people, and preached to probably a dozen different congregations. We have been to some district conventions, the minister's convention, held revival in Des Moines, Iowa, and visited several other churches in service. I have made several trips to visit pastors or other ministers, including meeting up with a young family who are moving to our region later this year. As a fellow who despises boredom, I must say, I haven't seen that particular old enemy for quite sometime. If I did, we may sit down for a cup of coffee, boredom and me. Probably not. The life of a minister is not only eternally rewarding, but it's fun. in addition to the regional work, we are also the pastoral family at our local church, which is one of the great joys of my life. I love the pastoral work, and feel called to it. Always have. The regional work is great, too. It's all really the same, in that we do it all for Christ and His church. It's all about giving honor to God and trying to help people. I am truly thankful to God for giving me and my family the opportunity to serve Him as a minister. We love this life, and it has been good to us-God has been good to us. He IS good to us. His people have shown us so much love and generosity over they years. One of the great perks of this work is that so much of it is pure pleasure. Fellow-shipping, praying, just being with the beautiful people we have met and known is a blessing in itself. To be able to do this for one's life's work! It's an unspeakable blessing, in my view. Thank you, Lord Jesus.
Other news since I last blogged, although it is hardly "news" now, is that my gorgeous wife, Marsha Renee, and I are expecting our third child. Add another wonderful blessing to the list! Saw the little one on a thirteen week ultrasound today. So cool. Looks just like the daddy. Big head, big ears. Don't know where it gets that small body thing from...it will change in time.
Before I close out, I want to also mention that we attended the couples retreat a couple weekends ago in Townsend, TN. Bro and Sis Horton did a fanatstic job! We were blessed by every single thing on program. I truly believe we were enriched by being there. One of my very favorite parts was sister Vicky Williams class. THAT was a blessing. If you ever have the chance to attend this retreat in the future, I highly recommend it.
Well, that is all I can muster for now...see you again sometime or another. Until then...God bless you!

The Heartland Region Update 9/24/2010

From this point on, in addition to other things, I will be using this space to give regular updates of activities within the new Heartland Region of The Church of God. This seven state area consists of IA/IL/IN/KY/OH/MI/WI. I am thrilled to have been called upon to do the work of Regional Overseer of this great area and am already enjoying working with the great people here!
To this point I have been blessed to have visited several churches. In addition to working in the local church at E'town of which I am pastor, I have visited Sellersburg, IN; Greenup, KY; attended REVIVAL at Lexington, KY. I have also had many great conversations with ministers from around the region. I can feel in my heart that God is about to do something great for us here in the Heartland! Thank you LORD!
On Tuesday Brother Terry Flora and I traveled to Indiana to check out sites for Minister's Convention and Men's Retreat. Sister Amy Dyer had already found the retreat sight and recommended it for Men's Retreat, so we went to take a look. It is a fantastic place, and I believe it will serve the purpose nicely. Located in Montgomery, IN it is called the Gastof Amish Village. I will post some pictures soon so everyone can check it out.
We also went to Franklin, IN to see the auditorium we plan to use for our Fall Convention and Minister's Meetings. It is on the campus of Franklin College, and is a very beautiful place.
The dates for the convention are October 15-17. As soon as I get confirmation from our guest speaker I will let you know who it is, and publish the convention program.
This year our theme for convention is "Reconciliation...Restoration...REVIVAL!!!"
After enjoying a great CPMA service Wednesday evening in Elizabethtown, I was able to travel with Brother Terry Flora to Greenup, kY to visit the church there on Thursday evening. Brother Charles Clark and his wife Sister Lois went along and we had some great conversation and fellowship. The Clark's are old friends and have been in the ministry around Kentucky for many years. The service was great and well attended. I really enjoyed being there. I was the pastor in that area for three years and love the folks there very much.
Following are some pictures from this week...


These pictures are of the building which houses the auditorium for Minister's Convention. It is called Stott Hall. Starting from the left, the first is an outdoor view. It is a very pretty older building. Second shows a view from the right side. I really like the windows and the natural light that shows through. Third is taken from the stage. Lastly you see a view of the stage from the balcony.



So, here are the pictures from Gastof Amish Village, where our retreats will be held next spring.
The first picture shows an outside shot from the front of the main building which houses the restaurant. We will have a private room here for fellowship while dining on wonderful Amish cooking. The second picture shows a gazebo out back with a view of a small lake. The third picture is the outside view of the building where the services will be held, and finally in the fourth pic is the inside of the same building. I believe this will be a perfect place for both our retreats.
So, that is the update for now. More soon. God bless...

Newspaper, Boxes, and My U-Haul piggy Bank

So, here we are, a couple or three weeks after the General Assembly. I have not blogged in a bit, as it has been quite hectic around the Estep household. But, alas, friends, here I am blogging once again. I must get this done now so as to avoid any comments from the, er, peanut gallery. Last thing I need is for the two people who actually read this rambling mess to turn critic on me. That would just be a shame. I jest.
So, we were appointed at the General Assembly to be the new overseer of, well several places. Seven states, to be exact. Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin. That is a mouthful. I realized quickly (due to my great wisdom ;p) that it would just be too much to try and say that all every time we refer to the region. So, I felt the need to give this new region a name. SO I had one of our pastors help me do some research. Before the addition of the central states, I had considered the Ohio Valley Region as a possible name. But with the additional states that would not work. So Brother Shane researches it, and tells me that all of the states included have been considered a part of the American Heartland at one time or another, with the exception being Kentucky. "Then that settles it!" I exclaimed when he told me. "We'll call it the Bluegrass Region!!" Of course that was and is a joke. HA! We will from this point be known as "The Heartland Region". I think it is fitting, and will serve us well as an identity. Very soon, our regional website will reappear. I will let you all know when that is.
So, now I am working on Minister's Convention. It has felt a bit surreal to be planning a Ministers Convention. I have planned a bunch of camps, a couple of District Conventions, and a ton of local church stuff. But this feels different. I like the feeling, and am enjoying the new role, thus far, but it is definitely different. I keep thinking back to how, growing up in a pastor's home, I thought a lot of the pastoral things would sort of be second nature to me when I got into pastoring myself. WRONG. Ha! Seeing it done and doing it is NOT the same. Same with this Overseer job. Dad did it. I have worked closely with several very good overseers, and even been the pastor to two different ones, both of whom were great men of God who taught me a lot. Okay...NOT THE SAME! but it is ok. I feel God leading me and teaching me each day, and I am able to draw from all the things I have learned from all those men, and others. Plus, I have already found that the ministry of The Church of God are very generous, and helpful. I have already called on a number of men for advice, or to talk and found them very giving. They want things to go well for me, for our people, for The Church of God. Thank God for them.
Regarding our move...
We are currently packing and painting our old house. Certain rooms are in dire need of a good paint job, so this is as good a time as any, right? Well, probably not, but we are doing it anyway. :) We will keep some furniture here and use it to stay in when we are in for family visits and holidays. So, now it will be nice and freshly painted when we are in for Thanksgiving!
We plan to move in to the regional parsonage the first week of October, Lord willing. We will take some useful things down each week,and will be staying there on the weekends to cut down the Sunday travel time and give us some time for visiting on Saturdays.
The Uhaul Piggy Bank
So, about seven years ago, when I had been moved to Raceland, KY from Elizabethtown, KY, I got to feeling sort of sorry for myself. Being a preachers kid, I have moved a LOT in my life. Pretty much on average about every two years since I was twelve. That is too much, folks. So, when I was in the Uhaul shop, I saw this little cardboard uhaul truck, it was a piggy bank, actually. I bought it and kept it in my office for a long time. I would often tell people "I plan on that being the last uhaul I ever need!" Always got a good laugh out of that.
So, here I am two uhauls later. Haha...never works out like we think it will, eh? I am thankful that God has given my family over four years at this one address, here on the old family farm. We are excited about the move to E'town, as it will put us closer to the work that we love. But it is a bit hard to pick up and move again. But, here goes!
Well, that is the update for now...got stuff to do!

so, this SATURDAY EVENING, a short POST

So, we've had a busy day, and I have had a bit of a mishap, so I must be short this week. We have had an eventful week, to say the least. I will put on some pics later, but for now I want to tell about our NEW PUPPIES! Our Basset Hound, Daisy Mae, had four beautiful little puppies this past week. There were seven, but unfortunately three didn't make it. But the other three are healthy little rascals. This is Daisy's first litter, and she is pretty young, but she is a great mommy. I have been spoiling her with warm soup, and the occasional hot dog, or cheese. Plus today, I got her and gave her a warm bath and let her out to run around the yard awhile. Now she is resting with her babies.
This evening, after we got home, I had a bug fly right into my ear! Seriously! This is one of the craziest feelings I've ever had. I've actually been a bit dizzy, nauseated, and have a huge headache from the sound of that thing crawling around my eardrum. We thought we got it out, but I occasionally hear a little something in there. I almost think that we actually did get it out. WHile working on it, a little green bug showed up right on the table. It wasn't there before. I almost think what is in there now is some fluid, some drainage, or water from where I got in the shower and tried to flush out the bug. Wow. I don't think it is dangerous, but it sure is a weird feeling.
Anyhoo, I gotta cut short tonight, because I have a few more things to do to be prepared for tomorrow.

Estep's Family Recipe Barbeque Sauce

Friday and Saturday I worked to put together the first batch of my own family recipe for Barbeque sauce. It took me the better part of two days to research recipes and discover what are the main ingredients to use in such a sauce.I combined several recipes, dropping some ingredients, and adding some from each one to sort of "invent" my own base to start from. Then the fun began! I dug out different spices, and other things and started to experiment. What I came up with after several hours of putting it together and cooking the sauce, was a pretty good sauce. Hot AND sweet. The heat doesn't slap you in the face, but sort of creeps up on you. the sweet is right up front, but not too sweet. A pretty good mix, actually. I fixed up some pulled pork from a huge shoulder roast. Since I don't have a smoker, I roasted it in a big pressure cooker. Then reheated it and heated some sauce, letting each person add the sauce according to their taste. I was surprised that the very first batch was as good as it was. My wife and my mom were both pretty impressed. And it seems to get better after spending several hours in the fridge and being heated up again.

Since the Barbeque experiment, I have been in the kitchen, experimenting a lot. I am planning to make homemade buttermilk pancakes for breakfast tomorrow morning. Along with that, inspired by Christy Wilcox, I have decided to try a recipe found online at www.allrecipes.com for homemade buttermilk syrup. Sounds soooo yummy. My wife is going to pick up some buttermilk and a couple of other things for me while she is out with her mom this afternoon. I can't wait. The girls start school tomorrow, and I am making them a special breakfast that will be thoroughly homemade by their daddy. I should probably have Marsha talke pictures,

I went to the doc today for my followup appointment after surgery. He said it looks good but doesn't want me going back to work for several more weeks. He has mentioned several times about my size and the potential for re-injury. he is being really cautious, and I am too. I DO NOT want to go through another surgery like that one. So I'm off a while longer. It's nice, as I have had so much time with Marsha and the girls. I've had a ton of time to rest and experiment in the kitchen. I've really enjoyed spending more time studying the Word and praying. So, I won't complain about more of that.

Vacation Pics

Here are a few more pics from vacation. At the top there are a couple pics of the girls playing in the creek. It really was a blast out there. We were in a nice secluded area, so it was very private and we just let loose and had a ball! Beneath that are a couple nice pics of the creek and a beautiful waterfall back a holler off the road.Then the rest are of us at Cades Cove.

Another Saturday Evening Post

My, what a week! We are so very tired, yet relaxed. Marsha and I and our two girls Haley and Taylor took a short vacation this week in the Great Smoky Mountains. We took along our eleven year old cousin Amber from Texas who is staying the summer with us. Boy, oh boy was it nice to get away. I had surgery last week to repair an umbilical hernia, so I couldn't really do any kind of action vacation, which means four days in the mountains was perfect. Very few things on earth are as relaxing to me as being in those beautiful mountains! I realize the mountains out west are much bigger, and have a beauty all their own, but the mountains of Appalachia are just perfect to me. Packed in together and covered in green...it really soothes me for some reason. I especially love the Smoky Mountains. The sort of mysterious look they have with the "smoke" up around the tops...the beautiful, cool, and crystal clear streams running from the mountain tops.Just beautiful. Every time I am there I am more in awe of God's creativity.Surrounded by the wonders of His creation, I feel so small, and yet so loved. Small because God and His creative works are so vast,; loved because I know He sees me even as I stand dwarfed by the mountains on every side. It is to me a feeling so grand that mere words can not do it justice. But thank God! He is a wonderful, powerful, magnificent God!

We left Richmond on Monday, a little later in the day than we had planned. That's nothing new. I don't even get mad about it anymore. Well, ok, sometimes I do. But not Monday. We were going to the mountains. I was so exhausted. We had gone to Elizabethtown Sunday for both services. I had preached Sunday morning, but had Brother Montgomery to preach the Sunday night service for me. He did a good job, and I got the night off from the physical exertion of preaching. I'm just the kind of preacher that gets pretty excited, and it's difficult for me to contain even when I'm weak in body.At any rate, I was exhausted and nearly ill when we got home.Marsha prayed with me and we got some sleep. Monday I woke up and knew immediately it was going to be a rough day for me physically, but my family and I needed the get away.We have a lot ahead of us, and it has been a hectic and difficult year or so for us in some ways. We just needed it. So off we went. By Monday night I was so sick. I stayed that way through most of the night. I believe I remember Marsha praying for me some more. Thank God for a Godly, praying wife. I mean that. She has prayed me through some of the darkest and most difficult moments of my life. That's one of the many things about Marsha Renee that I love. I woke up Tuesday morning feeling a little weak, but pretty good over all. For whatever reason, I was up way ahead of the rest of the family, so I did a little laundry,scouted out the free breakfast, and then since there was literally no one around, I went and kicked off my flip flops and soaked my feet in the hot tub. Now that was a nice, peaceful morning.

Feeling pretty good, I got the girls up and we all headed down to eat the breakfast, then out to see what Gatlinburg had to offer. It was very crowded but fun. Crowded is generally ok with me, because that means there are people. Yes, friends, I am a people watcher. Got it from my folks. Dad is an observer. He catches little funny things about people and makes them seem even funnier. Mom, she is just zany. The woman is wacky! She and I and my wife can laugh ourselves silly just sitting in a waiting room, or at the mall, or a restaurant watching people. Good old human entertainment. So, between watching the hilarious things that people do when they don't realize you're watching, doing a few silly things of our own for some other folks entertainment, and doing a little shopping, it was a nice morning and afternoon. One of my favorite times was when Marsha and Haley went in to a place and left me and Taylor and Amber to our own devices for a few minutes. We got the biggest hand dipped corn dog I have ever seen! It had to be ten to twelve inches long! Amber had a bite or two, then little Taylor Nicole the chick took over! She attacked that thing with gusto! Never have I seen anybody go after a corndog like that...it was downright inspiring. So she did take after her big ole daddy in some ways, right? What a chick.

We also went to my favorite store while in Gatlinburg, The Pepper Palace. A hot sauce specialty shop. Man, Oh Man! I love that place. They're online...you should check'em out, if you like spicy anything. They have it. After returning to Pigeon Forge, checking out some of our favorite things there, including some side splitting family comedy, we got some grub at the Happy Days Diner. It's an old fashioned greasy spoon diner with some fantastic burgers and fries, themed after the styles of the fifties. Pretty fun, and great food.

The next day was probably the best. We went to Cades Cove, an area in the National Park that was a busy little village in the eighteen hundreds thru the nineteen-thirties. It ceased to exist as a living village when the National Park took the land, but they have preserved several old original homes, churches, and an old mill to commemorate the lifestyle and toughness of the settlers there. It is a beautiful and peaceful place. I'm always sort of overtaken with the romance of that time period and the simple ways that they lived. Although life was simple, it was often brutal, and the people were hard working and tough minded. They were also very intelligent. I'm amazed at the ways they managed to overcome the obstacles of living in what could at times be a pretty unforgiving environment. Very inspiring indeed.

While there we had a family picnic, and got some great nature and wildlife pics, including pictures of six bears. These were wild bears, not prisoners in some cage. It was pretty awesome. Here are a few bear pics. This isn't all of them, but you can find the rest on my wife's Facebook page.

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There's a ton of other stuff I could say, but I won't bore you. I will just leave this with you.We enjoyed everything we did there in the area. All of it was great. But the most fun we had was the day we spent in the mountains, picnicking, running from bears, looking at old places and daydreaming. The time we spen that cost us the least seemed to enrich us the most. Interesting, huh?

As we left the Cove, we headed back down the mountain, and we decided to get out and play for awhile in the stream coming down the mountain. it was cool clear water straight from the tops of the mountains, and it was just beautiful. We laughed, we played, we splashed. I taught the girls how to skip rocks. It was just awesomely simple family time. I highly recommend it.

i'll post some more and maybe some more pics later, but that's all for now.

Coming next week...

My first attempt at my very own Estep Family Recipe barbeque Sauce...not bad!

Plus pics of us playing in the creek!!!