Dear Family,

Well the Cortese’s have gone and done it. After 31+ years in the same house, the house we moved into on our second day in Citrus County in 1983—we’ve sold our home and bought another. The decision to sell our home was difficult, and fearful. It was all we’ve ever known, and we were content, we loved our neighbors and neighborhood, it was paid for and there was so much laughter and joy echoing in those walls. It only had one fatal flaw—we could no longer shoehorn our rapidly growing family comfortably inside. In all the planning for the future I just didn’t count on six grandchildren being born in just two and a half years with the hope of even more to come. So Diane and I finally embraced that there was something more important than our ease, security and nostalgia and that was to provide a place for our family to feel welcome when they are able to come. Our old home was for raising kids, putting them through college and getting them married; our new home is for welcoming our children back with lots of children of their own. Our new home is for making new memories with our six grandsons (and with the six granddaughters to come that I’m earnestly praying for!) Our new home will also be a place to welcome our SRPC family as we were once able to do at house number one before SRPC became a family with many children, too. So, last week, Diane and I said goodbye. We walked, praying, from room to room—thanking God for giving us a family. We cried a lot – sobbed actually, but they were sweet tears; tears of a couple who have tasted our Father’s unmerited favor and seen this grace kiss our children. What made our departure far more palatable was knowing that right behind us, moving in, was a sweet couple with a one-year-old to raise and the hope of more babies to come (exactly as we were 31 years earlier!) Our house was bought by our coworkers and friends, Adam and Teri Hill….and that made our hearts really glad! Diane and I are very tired, enjoying our new home and anticipating the approaching sounds of little feet (all four born grandbabies will be here in the next 3 weeks!) This adventure has been good for my soul, too, for it’s reminded me, as CS Lewis wrote, of the rightful place of a house in our priorities, “Our Father refreshes us on the journey with some pleasant inns, but will not encourage us to mistake them for home.” So, until we reach home—we are thankful for the pleasant inns he has provided for us!

 
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· This summer I did take some time to read. I read Sticky Teams—Keeping Your Leadership Team and Staff on the Same Page by Larry Osborne, Center Church: Doing Balanced Gospel-Centered Ministry in Your City by Tim Keller, In Search of Deep Faith by Jim Belcher, Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck—Why Some Thrive Despite Them All by Jim Collins, David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and The Art of Battling Giants by Malcolm Gladwell, Toughest People to Love: How to Understand, Lead, and Love the Difficult People in Your Life – Including Yourself by Chuck DeGroat, The Paris Architect (a novel) by Charles Belfoure, and Mission at Nuremberg: An American Army Chaplain and the Trial of the Nazis by Tim Townsend. The next book I’m targeting is the Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown.

· Pastor’s Class begins this Wednesday night at 6:30 in the Sanctuary (Florida Room). Is there someone you could invite and perhaps bring to the first class? Pray for hearts to see the beauty of Jesus!

· Did you know the athletic complex construction has begun? The 40 acres we own on Southern Boulevard, about one mile from SRPC, is being transformed into a football, baseball, softball facility with a field house to support all the sports of SRCS and Camp Seven Rivers as well. The complex is slated to open when school does in 2015!

· Good article on the why of Christian schooling.

· Here’s something to make you laugh.

· We have some folks at SRPC really struggling with illness. They are getting worn down. People like Tim Ott, Margaret Christensen, Dale McCollough and Jenna Campbell. Pray for them and all the others—and if you know someone who’s weary with physical brokenness—see if you can think of some way to lighten their load!

· This weekend in worship I’ll be on “the hill” (a baseball metaphor!) We’ll be digging into Ephesians and taking the Lord’s Supper together. It’s going to be sweet!

Love,

Ray