Nine years ago we embarked on what is known as “The Big Trip”, a 30-day, cross-country odyssey that took us to Seattle and back. The Big Trip was built around two events that I was attending – National Bible Quiz Finals, which was being held in Cedar Rapids, Iowa that year, and the National Church Business Administrator’s Convention, which convened in Seattle.

I had the brilliant idea that it would be great fun to take the whole family along for a once-in-a-lifetime road trip. In the end, it actually was a brilliant idea. We began the journey on July 3, 2001 and returned to North Fort Myers on August 1. In between, we got caught in a monsoon at Turner Field, saw friends in Michigan, did our week in Iowa, traveled through the Badlands, froze at Old Faithful, experienced Montana, Wyoming, and eastern Washington, the rest of the gang saw the Seattle zoo and we all saw the Space Needle, celebrated Summer’s 5th birthday in Wyoming, endured Nebraska, and visited family in Missouri.

It was epic.

Tomorrow we begin The Big Trip 2, though this one will be less big and carry less passengers. Only Summer and Sawyer will accompany Trudi and I on this one. Once again, it is a journey based on the fact that I am attending National Bible Quiz Finals. This year it’s in Troy, Michigan.

When I can, I’ll be posting bits from our travels on my Tumblr account. That’s why the look of this page has changed – to include the Tumblrstream on the right side of the page. (See it?)

Time to load the van…

Enjoying the Christmas break with family. Heading out to see the National Treasure sequel this afternoon. We saw Enchanted while at the beach last week. Everyone enjoyed it and we would recommend it. Hopefully Disney gets this one right, too.

Picture is of Tammy, Terry, and Luke, as we sat down to Christmas dinner at mom and dad’s.

I’ve quit speeding.

No, I didn’t get a ticket. I haven’t even been stopped. It isn’t a fear of getting caught, or what might happen to my insurance rates, or even the example I’m setting for my daughter – who should be getting her driver’s license any month now – or for my son – who hopefully won’t get a license for quite a while.

Nor have I paid much attention to guilt-trips, sermons, or lectures on the evils of speeding.

Nevertheless, I’ve traded in my lead foot for the law-abiding kind. No more “flowing with the traffic.” No more doing the limit+9.

This is a major change for me. Since I began driving, I have consistently gone as fast as I thought prudent. That usually meant that I would “safely” speed, going 5-10 mph over the speed limit, so that law enforcement wouldn’t feel compelled to pull me over. Of course, if I was in the middle of nowhere, that also meant that I would feel safe to go even faster. Or if I was on the highway, I would stay behind the fastest vehicle.

But over a month ago, I was contemplating a podcast sermon to which I was listening. I don’t remember what the sermon was about. It wasn’t about speeding. It wasn’t about integrity. But as I thought about Jesus, one thing led to another, until I was thinking about integrity…and speeding.

All my thoughts suddenly coalesced into one thing – I can’t speed anymore.

So, for more than a month, I haven’t, and I don’t plan to again.

The current vacation we are on was the big test for me. How would I do driving over 200 miles on the Interstate while under pressure to arrive as quickly as possible?

It was good. It took longer, but there was much less stress. I feel as though I am honoring Christ in this way. And I’ve also noticed how fast 99% of the drivers go. I try to keep out of their way.

(However – as you can see from the picture – I still take an occasional picture while driving.)

It is absolutely perfect weather this week. Sorry if you are in some miserable place with miserable weather.

There’s not a whole lot to do around here, but that’s okay, since I’m not looking to do a whole lot. We’ve been to WalMart a couple of times, found the bank and the post office, and have spent time at the beach and by the pool. Of course, the girls and Trudi have spent more time there than I have.

This picture was taken yesterday, before the morning chill had lifted. Today it is mid-to-upper 70′s.