As always, I am in awe of Colin's enterprising spirit! With a family of eight and prices rising every day, a little extra cash is never unwelcome. He's really been pushing himself to meet our needs in that regard. While he's still on the typical business management track during the days, every night for the past month he's been hard at work creating an advice course for Christian family men; specifically, Christian men who want to boost their earnings and career potential. He has so much valuable insight with regards to the corporate world and the real estate world, too, now that we manage three(!) rental units. (Yep, we ended up closing on that renovated old home just a little while ago.) It's pretty scary to owe this much money to the bank, but Colin's assured me it will turn out just fine.
After Colin finishes up with one last bit of fine tuning, he plans to sell this course across the internet and within our church network. I can't pretend to know what in the world he's talking about most of the time, but I'm just grateful that he's providing!
(L-R: Lauren (15) holding Evan (4), Lucy (12), Pastor George (42), Pearl (36) holding Ethan (0), Justin (10) and Ellen (7) Phillips)
Speaking of our church network, I feel so grateful to be part of this beautiful faith community. Our former pastor was a great guy, but unfortunately, his father-in-law got seriously sick, and for the sake of his wife he decided to move his family back to Willow Creek. The new man in charge, Pastor Phillips, is a real mover and shaker. He's been making some noise about getting a group together to promote Christian values and encourage likeminded families in their walks with Christ, but it hasn't gained a lot of traction yet. Whether that works out or not, we couldn't be more grateful to know his family.
He's also been calling in all sorts of interesting speakers. He calls it "Speaker Series Saturday" and it covers a range of topics, from theology all the way down to practical parenting. Some people at church have been bristling because it's 'too fussy,' whatever that means, but personally I find it all so soothing. Especially with a recession looming! In these troubled times, a little Biblical wisdom certainly isn't unwelcome.
