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We made it.

What a trip! It ended up being a 2-for-1... we went to the Smokies to stay one night and head back to our home, and ended up with an extra night there for an extended mini-vacation!

So, after Gatlinburg, candy, sleep (sort of), breakfast, Apple Barn, WonderWorks, broke-down van, sleep, breakfast, fixed van (yea! thanks to great service by Carr's), Wendy's... we're home! And very thankful for the trip and how it all worked out. God's hand of favor and kindness was with us throughout the trip, even through the troubles with the van. What seemingly was a negative situation turned very much for the good, as it seems is the nature of the Lord.

So, for your enjoyment, a few pics from my phone of one part of our trip - our adventure visit to WonderWorks!

Perspective

We had another great day today with Grandpa and Grandma and the family. After a visit to The Apple Barn and then having a blast at Wonder Works, the day was full and we were ready to head for home.

Our van had other plans for us.

It had been acting funny on this trip, showing signs of an issue we had experienced in the past. We prayed and were ready to head for home in spite of or concerns, but our van wouldn't have it.

We headed over to a gas station to make a quick stop before we headed out, and our vehicle ended up parked in front of the gas pump for over two hours (the pic is a snapshot of our view across the road - some will recognize where this is in Pigeon Forge :). The only movement it had the rest of the night was on the back of a tow truck.

I was frustrated. No doubt.

But... Thanks to my in-laws, graciously taking us from gas station to hotel in trips. Thanks to Mike from the auto repair shop who came with a smile after a long day at work to chauffeur our van to the shop. Thanks to Diane who was so kind and sympathetic at the hotel we had to book. Thanks to my wife and kids who when we were given smoking rooms incorrectly - didn't complain, neither about the smelly room or the fact that we then were packing up our belongings and changing hotel rooms at 11 o'clock at night to get a non-smoking room.

So as I finish this blog post from our hotel room, waiting to hear the diagnosis regarding our van in the morning, I have so much to be thankful for. And thank you to everyone who reminded me of that tonight :)

Fall in the Smokies

A quick pic from our trip to Gatlinburg. Great day with family, looking forward to more tomorrow :)

Change

About one year ago this month, my family and I visited Gatlinburg, TN. The picture above was actually taken up near the Tennessee/North Carolina border, when you travel on Route 441 from Gatlinburg into the Smokey Mountains. It was a beautiful drive.

We hope to visit Gatlinburg again in the near future, and we will more than likely be in the same places we were about one year ago. The only difference is, I hope I am not in the same place.

I hope I am at a different place than I was last year.

What I mean by this is that I hope I am different. I hope I have changed, for the better! Here it is October; 2011 is quickly racing to a close, and it seems I was just reflecting on the changes I wanted to make and goals I wanted to reach in my life for this year.

So tonight I'm considering, am I really different? How am I doing at making those changes I wanted to make at the beginning of the year?

In some ways, I believe I am better. In other ways, I remain the same, or seem to have slipped backwards.

I don't believe we are supposed to stay stagnant and struggle with the same things all our lives. God has made us to be victorious and calls us to holiness.

I am thankful tonight, because the year is not over yet... I am still sucking air, and so I still have another opportunity to change, to get better, to become more like Jesus.

This year, as I visit the same place I was a year ago, I hope I will be in a different place.