Moving forward!

The good news - I will continue to have a job! Manhattan Associates has decided that my skills and services will continue to have a home. It is a relief. Officially I was not "worried" because they actually do need all of us in Engineering (Development). Nonetheless, it is a much better feeling to HAVE the job than to just EXPECT the job. Hooray!

R.I.P. Evant, Inc.

Well, the deal is supposed to be done tonight. We will officially be a part of Manhattan Associates after this evening. Current rumors have us moving to their office before the end of September.

There is an old Chinese "proverb" that says, "May you live in interesting times." I'd say this certainly meets that standard.

Several of us here at Evant have discussed that one of the bigger obstacles to sales for our company has been prospective customer concerns about our long-term financial viability. So with this merger that concern evaporates immediately. Many think we're about to get stupid-busy with new customers. Manhattan has multiple hundreds of customers what would be good candidates for our replenishment software. (Bad time for this analogy given the hurricane, but...) A big wave of new customers may be headed our way. A good problem to have, eh?

Also - the 10K race is next Monday. My work schedule has not allowed me to run at lunch this week, and I know I won't be able to tomorrow, so I think I'll have to drag my fanny out of bed early tomorrow to get a few miles in. As long as I can get IN bed early enough it won't be a problem. I want to be well-rested for the race, but not de-conditioned!

Finally - the next step in taking the Praise Team to the next level - auditions! We'll start them next Wednesday (9/7). I truly hope that people understand that we do not want to make anyone feel or look bad in the process. However - we do want people to develop their gifts as they have been given gifts. We want to call everyone in the group to excellence, because He is worth it! Right?

Comment update

I have had some comment "spam" recently, so I have turned on "Comment Word Verification" which means that you will be asked to key a word from an image to post a comment. Spamming software cannot pass this test, since it requires a human to read the image and re-key the word in the space provided. I'm sorry for this small inconvenience, but spam just STINKS!!

Car is fixed!

With Keith Cox's help (actually, Keith did the remove/replace, but either one of us could have) we got the clutch slave cylinder replaced rather quickly. God bless the Mazda engineers who put the slave cylinder right at the front of the transaxle! So easy to get to, and a piece of cake to replace. My car is on the road again! Hooray! (And I didn't have to pay to have it towed or repaired!)

Car trouble, Braves trouble

So I'm leaving the office yesterday - a little early, to get a jump on the horrid Friday Atlanta traffic - and as I'm coming down the hill from the office building the clutch pedal stays on the floor! I'm able to limp over to Powers Ferry to the Texaco but it seems that the clutch slave cylinder is TOAST! (I hope that's all it is.) So, rather than getting a jump on our evening with the family and friends at Turner Field, I have to call home for them to come pick me up. We end up being about 30 minutes later than we had hoped to get away - and, of course, my stress level is over the top.

Nonetheless, we hook up with the girls' friends - Lauren brought Caroline Wylie, and Rachel brought Halle Bloomer. They all had a blast. But the Braves got BLASTED. Mike Hampton did not have command of his pitches or location, and he got hammered. He didn't even make it out of the 4th inning. They ended up losing 12-7. Really a bummer (for me). But we had a good time together anyway.

My friend Keith and I will try to retrieve my car today. I'm hoping that we can keep enough fluid in the clutch reservoir to make it to the interstate - and then I can just leave the clutch alone for most of the trip home. I already have a slave cylinder to put on, as long as I can get it into the garage (and as long as that's the problem!). Here's hoping...

Troublesome passages #1

I've decided to poll the intelligent readership of this blog from time to time for their perspectives/opinions/positions on some NT passages that trouble me for various reasons. These will not be in any particular order, other than the order in which they come to me.

Here is the first one -
Mat 11:28 Come to Me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Mat 11:29 Take My yoke on you and learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you shall find rest to your souls.
Mat 11:30 For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.

Am I the only person who doesn't (always) feel the "lightness"? Who is still searching the "rest"? How does this passage inform your life and walk?

I gotta admit - it brings me down... (and some other stuff)

OK, I've heard that there are several folks who read this blog. So I gotta admit that it brings me down when I put a heartfelt paragraph in a post, ask for "Your thoughts?" and get nothing. Even a response that said, "You're a ding-dong for wondering about such things..." would be welcome! (So, of course, now I expect Kevin Hammond to post a comment saying exactly that! HA!)

We just had a Q&A meeting with a representative from Manhattan Associates. I must say that the level of communication regarding this "merger" (acquisition) has been very good - both from the Evant side and the Manhattan side. Especially from the Evant folks who will not be moving forward with the new company - it's a real credit to those folks how hard they're working on making this transition smooth and successful. I wish they were continuing with us...

Side note - I'm very curious about why an Atlanta-based company is called "Manhattan Associates."

We're planning to take the girls (and possibly 2 friends also) to see the Braves take on the San Diego Padres tomorrow evening. It should be fun! Though the Padres don't even have a winning record, they ARE in 1st place in the NL West, so it will be a battle of division leaders. Let's Go Braves! 14 Straight Division Titles! Maybe a little further (all the way?) in the playoffs! I've been SO impressed by the way Bobby Cox has handled all the adversity this season, and also impressed by the play of the rookies. Especially 2 of them - Jeff Francoeur and Brian McCann - both Atlanta area natives. The Braves farm system must be the envy of the rest of MLB.

Rachel was exposed to strep earlier this week, and woke up this morning complaining of a sore throat. The test at the doc was "inconclusive" since it is the first day. If she's still showing symptoms tomorrow she'll go back for strep test #2. Here's hoping she does NOT have strep! (Especially since I'm sure I've kissed her in the past 2 days! I don't want strep either!)

Blessings to you all... (even if you don't post a comment!)

Moroccan Family Style

We enjoyed the privilege of sharing in a friend's 40th birthday celebration at a Moroccan restaurant here in Atlanta - The Imperial Fez. Firstly, it was a successful surprise party, which is always cool. Next, the friends were a fun group. Finally - the restaurant and the food. It was really cool. You take your shoes off as you enter. You recline (or sit on a VERY low seat) at the table. You are provided with a towel, which is to be draped over your left shoulder. This is your napkin. You will use a good bit of the towel for this purpose, because you eat just about EVERYTHING with your fingers - index, middle, and thumb, as we were instructed. Everything was served to the table "family style" - meaning everyone grabbed food (literally) from the same dishes. Even the salad assortment was to be eaten with the fingers. The food was delicious, and flavored with spices not normally encountered at my house. I really liked just about everything I tried, and I tried everything. We started with a lentil soup (I really LOVE soup!) that was delicious. But, with no spoon, you drink it from the bowl! Only one of the appetizers (a mushroom and spinach thing) was a little spicy-hot. There were several vegetable appetizers, all delicious. They did provide 2 levels of hot sauce (again, not really hot) for the meats. The Angus beef kabob was excellent. The lamb chops were excellent. The Cornish hen was tasty. There was a filo pastry appetizer with powdered sugar and powdered cinnamon sprinkled on it with Cornish Hen inside that was fabulous! All in all, an excellent meal.

They also had several appearances by belly dancers. It was fun. The sword dance was interesting. We left just before the "Fire Dance" - that could have been interesting too, but the group was ready to leave. We had been there for quite a while. I would definitely go there again!

Our life group met tonight (minus one family). It was good to get back together. I'd say we're all still healing a bit from the mess at BH this year. We're also eager to move on - and hopeful that we can. Time will tell.

Finally - I hope the week ahead at work is less stressful. On top of the acquisition last week, and 2 customer emergencies for me to handle, I had 2 co-worker's families touched by medical issues. One, a co-worker had an aneurysm burst in his brain. He had a 5-hour surgery on Friday that was a success, thank God. Second, another co-worker's husband had a "mild" heart attack. After a double-angioplasty he is recovering nicely also. Again, thank God. I'd really like a week at work with a little less going on!!!

Acquisition

My company, Evant, Inc., is being acquired by Manhattan Associates. Though this is a significant change to absorb personally, there is almost 100% upside here. I firmly believe that the primary obstacle Evant has been fighting is the concern prospective customers had about long-term financial viability for Evant. It is hard to buy a mission-critical application from a company if you don't feel that they will be around for the long haul. Well, that concern just vanished! MA has been profitable for 15 consecutive years. They did over $200M in revenue last year. Their stated goal is to be a $1B company before the close of this decade. Honestly, I think that the product I work on is about to have a LOT of new customers over the next 12 months.

Still, absorbing change is never stress-free. I pray that I will recognize what is and is not in my control, and not try to control things I cannot. Worry is a powerful force, mostly for not-good.

It is so hard to live in recognition of the lack of control that we actually operate in. It is hard to keep my eyes on "the prize" and not on the things I want to control "down here." I certainly want things to work out for me a certain way - and often that way is not in line with His way. I'm too selfish, and I want things to go more smoothly and easily than I am promised. I have been thinking a lot lately about how blessed I am, and how I have become comfortable with it. Addiction to lifestyle is a powerful force as well. I get concerned that I am not mindful of Kingdom Business like I need to be, but rather I'm concerned about My Business. It is very hard to live "in the world, but not of the world." Your thoughts?

Time for school!

Our homeschool officially resumes tomorrow. Natalie has been putting in a LOT of work to get ready - both for homeschooling and for teaching history at Master's Academy again. They will be teaching the Classical time period this year - so lots of GREAT music on tap. (last year was the Baroque time period, so GREAT music there too!) The classical time period coincides with the American Revolution, so there is a LOT of great material that the girls will be studying this year. I think it would be really cool to get the old "Schoolhouse Rock" song of the Preamble to the Constitution so we could all learn that important text. Ahh, homeschooling. Such fun.

We also enjoyed our first day with the new 5th grade class on Sunday morning. It seems like a good group of kids - and they laughed at a lot of my wisecracks, so that's a good sign! It'll be interesting having Lauren and her friends in class every week. (interesting = good, I hope!) Ahh, teaching Sunday School. Such fun.

We had another band rehearsal last night. I get frustrated when many others prepare so little for our group time. I guess I need to take more ownership of preparation for rehearsal - but most times when I do I get pushback from some members of the group, like I'm stepping on toes somehow. Can't win - it seems the best thing to do is just charge forward and set the agenda. OK, I can do that. Ahh, group dynamics. Such fun.

We do seem to be getting more dates lined up for performance, which is good. Past experience has demonstrated that this group REQUIRES a reason to get together. We've all TALKED about "keeping it going" but it never happens unless we have a scheduled performance - grown-up life tends to get in the way. Ahh, priorities. Such fun.

Hope you have "such fun" too! Blessings!

5th grade Luau and Long run day

We went over to Mike and Judi Sparks' home for the end-of-year 5th Grade Luau (pool party). We all had a good time. We couldn't stay until the end because they started a movie around 9pm, and we had to get our younger daughter into bed. Lauren and Rachel just love swimming. We've enjoyed our students this past year. This coming year will be even more interesting, however. We'll have Lauren in our class! (and her wacky friends!)

I went for a long run this morning. For those familiar with where I live, here is the path, starting at our neighborhood entrance:

Right on Baker Road (hill)
Right on Jiles Road
Left on Moon Station Road (3 hills, one pretty steep)
Right on Main Street (through Kennesaw AND Acworth)
Right on Cowan Road (by the old Day's Chevrolet)
Right on Baker Road (back to my neighborhood)

If I recall correctly, when I measured this loop last year it was 11.4 miles. (Edit: Yep - remeasured it today, it's 11.4!) Anyway, it felt surprisingly easy this morning. I could've kept going. In fact, my pace for the last 2 miles was the fastest pace of the entire run. I guess the hill training at the office is paying off.

I'll be leading worship tomorrow morning. We're introducing "Days of Elijah" to the congregation - though many know the song already. I hope it goes well. One of my co-worship leaders asked that I introduce the song tomorrow so he can use it more effectively next week. Hope it works!

Have a blessed day and weekend!

They're back!

Hooray! The girls are home! Mom and the girls arrived a little after 9pm on Monday. So good to have them home again.

Kacey - thanks for the feedback. We had Lauren read it for herself! (She didn't have much to say...) But you're reinforcing our perspective.

I'm really enjoying our Praise Team time on Wednesday. Alison Ellis is doing a wonderful thing in helping us all learn to sing better. And she's doing a wonderful job at it, too. Alison, if you happen to see this - thank you so much!

Alison's husband, David Ellis, is now on staff at BH. I think he's doing a fantastic job, especially when he speaks on Sunday mornings. Natalie has said more than once that we should just hire him as our full-time preacher, and bring somebody else on staff (older?) if need be for all the other ministry stuff. They're both a blessing to BH.

End of summer bash

What can I say? It went better than I hoped. We had several challenges for the day, but in the end I think it sounded pretty good. It still surprises me that we're able to sing a set of nothing but Contemporary Christian songs at BH. I'm happy to report that there were many in the audience singing along with every song we did. (Though, honestly, I wonder how much clearance with the Elders was obtained ahead of time... or how much is required.)

Lauren and Rachel return home this evening. I'm SO ready for them to be home again. Natalie is working hard to get the school year ready - both for homeschool and for Master's Academy. I can hardly believe that Lauren will be a 5th grader. And Rachel in kindergarten. (relatively speaking, of course)

We're wrestling with what to do regarding Lauren's musical training. She seems quite burned out on piano, but I really don't want her to stop developing formally in music. I think she is a good singer, but I really want her to take ownership of developing her musical gifts more fully. I'm also not all that interested in buying every instrument that comes to her mind, just so she can try it. I guess it's just hard being 10 years old. I remember it being hard for me too, but I didn't wrestle at all with whether or not to continue in music. I guess we'll see what happens...