number one...

number one... the first of many... i hope. and may the numbers increase frequently - symbolic of a life moving forward. but having said that, you all be sure to spur me on to keep this up... we all have a part in this...


my initial plan with http://benarrowminded.blogspot.com/ is to keep everyone informed of our experiences in this new season of life we're about to enter. later i'd like to use it as an outlet for work/audio related things. after some encouragement from a friend, i thought i might as well... my amazing wife Laura even recently started one to share her (keeping me healthy) recipes... http://chezphelps.blogspot.com/. but for now, i will share these words with everyone...

in less than 3 weeks, we will say a bittersweet farewell to NC. as most of you already know (and my sincere apologies to those who don't yet), Laura has accepted a position with WIS-TV in Columbia, SC! she is their new morning show producer and she starts March 22nd! this is a huge promotion for her and an even bigger opportunity with regards to her love for the news!!! as you could guess, she is uber excited... i am excited for her... and although it had a slow start, my personal excitement is growing by the day. of course you all know i'm slow at nearly everything, but the feeling quite a bit to do with the...


bittersweet... you all must know that in our hearts, the bitter part weighs more. WE WILL with no doubt MISS PEOPLE! there are - the friends we've drawn close to in the last few years (i.e. our Gateway church family, the Channel 9 crew past and present, 6:22 ministries, our neighbors, etc.) - those nearby (still in NC) life-long friends, many of which i grew up with - and most importantly, our families, which we miss dearly every day regardless of our location. my eyes produce tears even now as i think about the time i have missed/will miss with my near 2 year old niece as she grows up.  thank God though there is no distance in prayer, and on a much lighter note, we can utilize these ever increasing means of earthly communication on this crazy thing we call the internet. (oh, and need i say thank God for means of transportation! i wonder now who'll travel the most... probably laura and i... but most if not all of you should visit us at least once!)


sweet = NEW! {i.e. new careers, new opportunities, new schedules!, new things to learn, new people to meet, new songs and new places to play them, new friends to hear those songs, new music biz professionals to offer us publishing contracts for those songs, and even a new place to call home (here i will interject that we REALLY NEED TO SELL this... http://tinyurl.com/3b6w33b... in the next 2 weeks would be nice!)}

so laura landed her gig... what is - d. gonna do? i am of course looking for full time work in my area of expertise. to date, i've sent resumes' and demo reels to 3 recording studios, inquired about employment with audio production companies, and even submitted an online application to teach one-on-one music lessons to whosoever in the Columbia area. i honestly believe the door to step into my passion is wide open, and i am, with no hesitation, putting my foot in it.

"moving on..." just to be clear, these places will always be "home" to us... perquimans county north carolina, duval/clay county florida, and the more recent pitt county north carolina... from here, we will be honored to consider richland couty south carolina our home - in addition to the others of course. and this is pretty sweet... an interesting fact about our new location that we could only attribute to the goodness of God... other than being a moment to the west, we'll be right in the middle of our two families. it'll now take all of us an equal amount of drive time to visit each other! (somewhat of a "your welcome" to laura's folks and a slight "sorry" to mine, however.)

as this process of transition continues, we don't know yet how it will all play out, but... we are trusting God. we are believing for miracles. we are optimistic. we are tearful. we are joyful... we are blessed. and in the playing out, because we love you, we'll do all we can to share it with you.

love.