Packing Up the Computers Tomorrow

This will be the last post to this blog until we get to Burlington. If all goes according to plan, we will be arriving there Saturday, June 2nd.

The U-Load trailer will be here Thursday and we'll start loading. We hope to get about everything on the trailer Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Then Monday and Tuesday, we'll be getting the house nice and ready for the new owners. The trailer will be picked up next Tuesday, May 22. We're scheduled to close on the sale of the house on the 23rd, then Jared graduates Thursday afternoon. He is taking his finals this week . . . Thursday will be his last day of actual school.

With our furniture gone, we'll move into a little apartment the Leonard Street church has in its building and stay there through Sunday morning, May 27th. I'll preach that morning, then after a farewell luncheon we'll leave Pensacola and start our journey. We'll spend Memorial Day with my older son Daniel and his family in Hartselle, Alabama. Tuesday, the 29th will be the real beginning of our cross-country trip. We hope to make it to somewhere in Missouri that day. On Wednesday, we're planning to travel on across Missouri and Kansas on I-70. Thursday will take us on to Denver, up to Cheyenne, and westward through Wyoming. On Friday, we'll go through the northeast corner of Utah, cut across Idaho, and get into Oregon . . . perhaps somewhere around Pendleton. Then if all goes well, we'll come up I-82 through Yakima and intersect I-90 at Ellensburg. Then, we'll cross the Cascades and head north on I-5. On a trip this long, there is a high probability something will interfere with the itinerary . . . but there you have our plans at this point.

Anyway, in less than 3 weeks, we should be there and ready to get started with our work together for the Lord. I have felt all along that this is the Lord's will and I believe He will bless our labors together in a very special way. Let us pledge ourselves to making 2007 the beginning of a great new chapter in the history of the Skagit Valley church. If we secure the blessings of heaven by doing things according to God's will, the possibilities are great beyond our ability to imagine.

See you soon!!

John & Trish

5 Weeks From Today

Five weeks from today -- Tuesday, May 29th -- we expect to leave Pensacola and start the long trip west. Somehow, my mind goes back to the old pioneers getting ready to leave in a wagon train headed up the Oregon Trail. We are hoping our trip will be quite a bit easier than those who headed that direction 150 years ago. Still, I believe our anticipation level must be about as high as those intrepid adventurers who packed their belongings in a Conestoga wagon and headed west.

I know that the Skagit Valley church has gone a long time without a preacher. You have been blessed by having several men with the ability to ably preach the gospel. I expect, nonetheless, that you are ready for a new preacher to get into town and for the next stage in the development of the Lord's work in Burlington and the Skagit Valley to get underway. I know that it seems so long to me since we first started talking about the possibility of working together last November. Now the time is getting closer and Trish and I are very excited about it. I hope all of you are, too.

The Leonard Street church here in Pensacola, FL where I have worked the past 15 years has a new minister scheduled to arrive in mid-May. Barry O'Dell and his family will be moving here from Ashland City, Tennessee. The O'Dells seem to me to be a good fit with the church here; I believe the work will go well. The elders here tried to work the schedule so that there would be a brief overlap between their arrival and our departure so we can "hand off the baton" in a smooth way. I am happy it is turning out that way.

I want to pass on to those who served on the Preacher Search Committee at Skagit Valley that the questionaire and interview questions you prepared are getting a lot of mileage. The committee here used them extensively in their preacher search process. Barry O'Dell was so impressed with them that he asked for copies of everything so he could take them back to Tennessee and share them with the elders of the church he is leaving. If this chain continues, the work you put into developing those questions might have a part in matching up who knows how many churches and preachers.

I have been quieter about mentioning the sale of our house after the misadventure we had the first time. However, we have had a second contract now since week before last and we finally learned this morning that their mortgage application has been approved. I don't want to rejoice too soon. Once bitten, twice shy (I believe that's the old saying). However, it appears that everything is moving forward in an orderly way toward us being able to close on the sale of the house before we leave. Please keep praying for that.

In Christ,

John & Trish

Understanding What Happened at Virginia Tech

The following is an article I wrote for next Sunday's Leonard Street bulletin. I thought I'd share it with you. I invite your comments.

Understanding What Happened
at Virginia Tech

The title of this article is overly ambitious. I don’t know that we can understand everything that happened April 16 in Blacksburg, Virginia. The numbers killed and wounded are greater, but otherwise it seems more of the same sort of thing we’ve heard too many times in recent years. Paducah. Jonesboro. Columbine. The Amish schoolhouse. Over and over again, killers have gone on “rampages” seemingly determined to go out in a blaze of glory and take as many innocent bystanders as possible with them.

What causes this kind of vicious, violent behavior? It is easy to blame the environment of violence in our culture. Everywhere we turn, we’re bombarded with it: movies, television, certain kinds of music, video games, as well as nearly every newscast and newspaper front page. Surely all of that exposure to blowing things up and blowing people away has some damaging effect on us.

We may be coarsened or desensitized by what we see and hear, but most people don’t get automatic rifles and start blasting away because they have been exposed to a violent world. There is something more at work in incidents like the Virginia Tech shootings.

Evil came into the world in Eden when the first man and woman made their unfortunate choice to disobey God and eat the forbidden fruit. Remember that fruit came from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil [Genesis 2:9]. Adam and Eve were so blessed in their paradise existence in the garden. Their whole world was perfect. Everything God had made was “very good” [Genesis 1:31]. However, there was just one problem – that one tree which had the potential to bring the awfulness of sin into the world. Greek mythology traces the existence of all life’s problems back to the opening of Pandora’s box. The Bible has a more truthful explanation. The first humans had the ability to decide for themselves whether or not they would obey God. The serpent tempted Eve and she made a bad choice. Adam followed her lead with his eyes open. He understood what he was doing and did it anyway [1 Timothy 2:14]. Since that time, the sons and daughters of Adam and Eve have continued to make bad choices which open the door wider and wider for evil to wreak its damage in the world. Adam and Eve charted the course, but we have all traveled down the same path. Romans 5:12 explains, Just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned.”

We can be thankful that most of sinful humanity does not give in to evil to the extent that Cho Seung-Hui did in Blacksburg last Monday. I don’t pretend to understand the psychology of what was going on in that young man’s mind, but I see the fingerprint of the god of this world in his actions [2 Corinthians 4:4].

The good news is that good will triumph over evil. Forgiveness is available to every sinner who will believe in Christ, repent of his sins, and submit to the will of God. Baptism washes away sins. God is a loving Father who will protect us so that temptation can be resisted [1 Corinthians 10:13]. When we fail and give in to temptation, God is ready to forgive us as we repent and seek to come back to Him. The answer to all the evil in the world is found only in faith in Jesus Christ [John 8:24; John 14:6]. ...John Gaines

Seven Weeks!

I have to admit that I've been bitten by the blogger procrastination bug for the past few weeks. I've had good intentions, of course, but you know where that leads . . . .

Everything is still on track with our moving plans. We're expecting to be in Burlington sometime the week of June 3rd, so that is only a little more than seven weeks away. I'll do a better job communicating with you regularly between now and then.

One of the big deals for us this past month had to do with finding the best way to move from Florida to Washington. We started by getting estimates from several moving companies. The highest estimate came in at $12,500; the lowest a few dollars below $10,000. The church there had agreed to cover the cost of our move . . . that's standard operating procedure with preacher moves . . . but that was an awful burden for the Skagit Valley church to have to bear. I had several phone conversations with Jim & Ken . . . resulting in the elders and I agreeing that we needed to find a more economical alternative. After investigating U Haul and a couple of U-Load, We Drive outfits, we decided to go with a company called ABF. They will bring a 28' trailer to our house in Pensacola and give us several days to load it. Then they will come back and pick it up and deliver it to 1803 Cascade Vista in Burlington . . . where Trish and I will be mighty grateful for all the help we can get unloading. It's a little more labor on our part, but it will result in about a 40% savings for the church. Trish, Jared, and I are perfectly OK with this. With adequate time to load the trailer carefully, I'm confident we can get everything we need to bring packed on the trailer.

I've probably had more reason to keep up with the weather out there than you have had to pay attention to the Florida panhandle. However, we had a severe cold snap last weekend . . . temperatures around freezing with highs in the 40s. I checked on the Internet last Saturday and your temperature in Burlington was about 15 degrees warmer than we were in Pensacola. We drove to church last Sunday morning with sleet coming down. The valleys of roofs were filled with white stuff . . . not snow, but accumulation of ice particles. We seldom get that kind of weather in the dead of winter, and never before on Easter Sunday. The sun is shining brightly today and it is warm again . . . but we had several days of overcast skies and cool drizzle. I can only conclude that the Lord has been getting me ready for the Pacific Northwest!

Sunday will be an unusual day for me. After being the preacher for the Leonard Street church since 1991, I'll be sitting in the pews and listening as a guest preacher "tries out" for the minister's position here. I really hope it works out well. The elders and deacons here have done a thorough job investigating and evaluating all the resumes they received. They selected two finalists and scheduled them to visit. One of those men accepted another work before his scheduled time to visit us, so Leonard Street is left with only one candidate. If it does not work out with him, they will have to start the process over again, which will make it unlikely that a new preacher will be on board by the time we leave. Please keep Leonard Street in your prayers; there are really good and loving people here and this will be a good work for someone. The fact that I decided it was time for me to leave is no kind of bad reflection on this church. I am ready to move to a new work and a new area, but it is bittersweet for us as we get closer to the time we'll be leaving.

Still, in seven weeks we will be on the road crossing America on our way to our new home in the Skagit Valley. We're going to arrive with a lot of enthusiasm and a lot of ideas . . . but we will have to work together to accomplish what the Lord has in mind for all of us. Please be praying for us and be praying that our team can grow stronger day by day in the way we love one another and in the way we serve our risen Savior.

John & Trish

We've introduced you to the rest of the family . . . so this week we begin with a picture of our dog, Mike. This picture was taken earlier today. Notice the azaleas are now in full bloom . . . making the outside look a lot more beautiful just in the last few days.

Chicken Counting

That title comes from the old warning about not counting your chickens before they are hatched. Our rejoicing about the sale of our house turned out to be premature. We received a call from Audrie, our realtor, that the people we thought were buying our house are not going to be able to go through with the deal because they cannot get the financing they expected. Apparently they were turned down for a mortgage and don't think they can afford other more expensive financing options so want to back out of the deal. So we're back to where we were 15 days ago, but with 2 1/2 months instead of three to get the house sold. I wish the people had been more candid about their financial situation at the beginning, but there is no use crying over spilt milk. Please join with us in praying that things will turn out.

We thought we had a timetable worked out for us to arrive in Burlington on or about June 4th. I don't think the uncertainty about the house will change that schedule very much . . . at least it should not make it later because we will have to leave with the house unsold if we don't get a buyer in the next six weeks or so. Faxes and Fedex make it possible to close on a sale long distance when necessary. It could work out that we will arrive sooner if we do get a buyer who wants to close before Jared's graduation. Should that happen, we might try to ship our furniture ahead and stay in an extended-stay hotel for a week or two until Jared graduates May 24. It will all work out so we aren't going to worry.

We've enjoyed hearing from several of you . . . either with your comments here or by e-mail. I also was able to talk by phone with Jim and Ruth Lake this week.

In Christ,

John

Our House Sold!!!

If you have read our earlier post about getting our house ready to sell, you might have picked up on the fact that we had just a little bit of anxiety about how hard it might be to find a buyer. Real estate here in northwest Florida has been in a slump and some properties have been on the market for six months or more with little interest.

We had been working hard to get things looking good for prospective buyers and finally signed the paperwork Wednesday to list the house with Audrie Palmer, a realtor who is also a member of the Leonard Street church. Thursday was a day not fit for man or beast around here. It was rainy and stormy. Everyone with any sense kept one eye on the skies for possible tornadoes and stayed in as much as possible. I doubt anything was done in real estate that day. Early Friday morning, however, someone put up a "FOR SALE" sign in our yard. Audrie showed up with more papers for us to sign and a lock box for our door so other agents could show the house. We prayed that we might have a buyer within 60 days so there would be a possibility of closing with the new owner before we left for Washington.

God is surely taking care of us! If we needed any more evidence of that, we found it Friday afternoon. Trish came home to find Audrie showing the house to a nice older couple. They have a daughter living in our neighborhood and had been looking for a house near her. They had seen the multiple listing service listing shortly after it went up and called Audrie for an appointment ASAP. They loved the house and neighborhood (we do live on a nice cul-de-sac) and sat down with Audrie at our dining room table to make an offer on the spot. The nice thing is that they are willing to give us til May 25 to close -- that is one day after Jared's graduation. The price is exactly what we had hoped for . . . and the timing could not be more perfect. A final bonus is that it turns out the buyers are members of the church of Christ . . . so they might even be attending with us at Leonard Street. Rejoice with us!

UPDATE: See the March 17 entry to learn about why the sale of our house didn't turn out as well as we expected when this entry was written.

John

This is a more recent picture of Jared.

Happy Warm and Sunny Sunday Afternoon to all of you. It's 74 degrees at the moment here in Pensacola.

It occurred to me that we've talked about Jared quite a bit, but haven't shown you a picture of him. The photo at left was taken last October 20 on Jared's 17th birthday. He was sporting a long n' curly hairstyle.

His look is a bit different now as the next post will show. (I'm not all that sophisticated at this blogging business and am not going to take time to figure out how to get two pictures together).

T-Minus 3 Months & Counting

Three months from tomorrow will be the date for Jared's high school graduation. He is working hard now to finish up his two-year "Capstone Project" and several other long-term assignments which are due before Spring Break (March 19-23). He expects that his school life will be a little easier during his last nine-week quarter of high school.

Allen & Judy commented on the "busy-ness" Trish and I are going through right about now. Trish is no longer among the employed (she worked her last day for Covenant Hospice last week), but she has been working harder than ever going through the house, packing some things and disposing of others. We gave a sofa sleeper that we didn't want to move to my secretary at church. I have bags of clothes in the back seat of my truck right now to drop off at Goodwill. Our big green trash can has been overflowing for every pickup the last couple of weeks. My time at home has been filled with all sorts of projects . . . cutting some trees and trimming shrubbery, repairing a fence, cleaning out the garage, etc. I like it when it's time to go to work and rest a little! We're hoping to get things organized enough to get the house listed with a real estate agency next week . . . just in time for the three months that our realtor tells us we need to sell in this market.

We have an Outreach Training Northeast seminar taking place at the Leonard Street church March 4-11. A brother in Christ from West Virginia (Dennis Menear) is coming to teach a group of up to 30 for a total of 18 hours of class time. I don't know too much about this program, but it has been highly recommended to us. Trish and I expect to participate unless we get a full roster of participants. On Wednesday, March 7, we'll travel up to Montgomery, Alabama where I'll be speaking on "Eternal Scheme of Redemption" at the Faulkner University Lectureship. Due to the seminar going on at Leonard Street, we'll make a quick trip and hope to be back for Wednesday night classes.

After all that, perhaps we can catch a breath before time comes to get down to the serious packing during the last month before we leave Pensacola.

Thanks to everybody who has sent us greetings and good wishes about the move to Burlington. June will be here before we know it!

John

Happy Valentines Day, Ya'll!

Just wanted to say Happy Valentines Day to you all.

Love,
John and Trish

Triumphant Memories!

Trish and I were saddened to learn yesterday of the death of brother Jesse Pollock. Our hearts go out to his family and to the family of God's people at Skagit Valley who are hurting today because he is no longer with us.

Then this morning we learned of the death of brother V. P. Black, who was one of the great gospel preachers of his generation. Brother Black was 88 and had continued to preach, hold Gospel Meetings, and Stewardship Seminars until he suffered a heart attack a few months ago. I don't know how well-known brother Black was in the Northwest, but in the Southeast he would have to be reckoned as one of the Church of Christ's most influential figures in the last half of the 20th century. He was a dynamic, emotional speaker who had a wonderful way with people and a great ability to persuade people to commit themselves to God. His funeral has been scheduled for 1 p.m. Tuesday at the University Church of Christ building adjacent to the campus of Faulkner University in Montgomery, AL.

With brother Jesse and brother V. P., the sadness is on this end. We have to believe that in heaven there is rejocing that two great men of faith have won their victories and have now retired from this worldly battlefield in triumph.

John

In the News

We're doing our best to keep up with news from out there. On a sad note, we had email from Karee Blunt and Judy Hill about brother Jesse Pollock's injury. He has been in our prayers. We had him on the prayer list at the Leonard Street church Wednesday night.

Looking at the online version of the Skagit Valley Herald this morning, Trish noticed the great article about Matt and Cheryl Kauffman and the Reverie BBQ. The story gave very positive coverage to the great work Matt and Cheryl are trying to do in caring for the hungry.

On our end, we have talked with a realtor about getting our house listed for sale. Unfortunately for us, we're in a buyer's market here so there is some urgency about getting the property up for sale right away if we hope to get it sold by the first of June. We want to do a little painting and fixing up over the next few weeks and plan to have it show-ready by the end of February, if all goes well. Trish has turned in her two-week notice to quit her job with Covenant Hospice so she will be able to concentrate on getting ready to move. I think she was ready for that, anyway. Her job has a way of getting very stressful.

Jared will be going with me next Tuesday afternoon up to Tennessee to attend the Freed-Hardeman lectures Wednesday-Friday. He is allowed three days excused absence from school for a college visit, so we're taking those days. He will also be retaking his ACT test Wednesday afternoon trying to bring his scores up a point or two so he can earn a better scholarship. Every ACT point makes a considerable difference in the scholarship money he will receive. Jared plans to be a Bible major with an emphasis in youth ministry.

Keep us in your prayers as we remember all of you in ours.

John

Sunshine to Snow . . .

John and Trish Gaines at Pensacola Beach, Florida (Thanksgiving Day, 2006)

Trish & John at Ken & Tami Beach's house in Mount Vernon -- January 13, 2007

God's world has beautiful scenery just about everywhere. We're ready to trade warm, white sandy beaches for a little cooler white stuff.

Exciting News

To all our new friends in the Skagit Valley . . .

Trish and I were quite happy to receive a phone call from Jim Wilkison Friday with news that the elders of the Skagit Valley Church had decided to invite me to become your new preacher. I know that a lot of prayer has gone into this development on both ends. You have prayed for the right man to be found. Trish and I have prayed for the right door to open for us to work for the cause of Christ. I have to believe that our prayers have been answered. We are excited about all the good things the Lord can accomplish by us working together for Him in Burlington, Mount Vernon, and the surrounding area.

As I explained when I visited there two weeks ago, we can't come until about June 1st. Jared, my younger son, will be graduating from West Florida High School of Advanced Technology here in Pensacola on May 24. The next four months will be busy for us as we try to stay focused on the work here at the Leonard Street church while getting the move organized, trying to sell our house, and making plans for getting started there in high gear.

I want to use this blog site as a communication tool for us to talk back and forth over this transition period. Feel free to make comments and ask questions. I'll let you know how things are going on our end and you can keep me informed about what is taking place in the Beautiful Northwest!


Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate, 14that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15which He will bring about at the proper time—He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen. [1 Timothy 6:12-16]

John