West Virginia is like a box of chocolates...

People ask me what West Virginia is like (or I hear from others that they're asking what West Virginia is like).

So far, things seem to be going well. I'm settling into my apartment -- there's still boxes to unpack, but I'm actually making progress. It's a nice apartment, very comfortable and very quiet. I have a dishwasher (hooray!), which means that I'm actually keeping up with the dishes like a grownup. I purchased a washer and dryer (no words can express my utter joy), so I no longer need space in my bedroom to stockpile dirty clothes. And Sandy seems to be settling in as well, though I don't think she knows what to make of my unconventional work hours.

I've taken advantage of my adult salary and my lack of -- a wife, a girlfriend, children, expensive tastes, gambling debts, maybe even good sense -- to purchase a different automobile, quite a step up from the little green Saab. Of course, the Saab didn't want to go without a fight (I actually had to stop by the mechanic in Indianapolis to have the muffler replaced DURING my move from Chicago to West Virginia). But now it's out of my hands. But not before I gained some valuable experience in my introduction to West Virginia winter driving. I live in the hills of West Virginia, so snowfall amounts are pretty small (generally only a couple of inches), which is no problem to drive in. But much more common, and more challenging, are the brief periods of icy conditions that occur here. I've driven on ice before, but West Virginia offers exciting new challenges: hills and curves. Last month, on one icy evening, I was returning to my apartment, which is on top of a hill, and I was taking it easy. Things went well until I discovered that I was not keeping my momentum climbing the hill and I started sliding backwards. I gamely tried to drive down the hill, but the car slid into a ditch, which I then gamely tried to drive through. I was successful with three tires, but got the fourth stuck, which required a call to AAA. The tow truck driver was a) nice, b) competent, and c) arrived in about 30 minutes, which made it a fairly pleasant experience and one that was certainly different from my experiences with tow trucks in the Chicago area. And I learned that you need to keep a certain speed going up a hill in slick conditions. A good lesson to learn in the Saab. But now the Saab is out of my hands.

Things at church seem to be going well. I'm getting used the rhythms of the worship service and I think the congregation is getting used to me. My sermons have actually been on the shorter side (20 minutes each), except for last Sunday's Lincoln Sermon, but even it was only about 25 minutes. I'm not sure if I'll find this a comfortable length while preaching every week or if I'm just lulling them into a false sense of comfort. The people are very friendly, and I'm slowly getting to know some of them. And I've made a couple of decisions about priorities for the next few months, which gives me some direction, which I find helpful. Currently, I'm planning and preparing the first series of Bible studies (to last until June) on several Paul's letters.

Here's a funny church story for you though. Since coming to West Virginia, the hardest thing to adjust to is the time change. Everything is an hour later here from what it is in Chicago -- the TV schedule (including the news) is an hour later, the sunrise and sunset times are different -- and I've had trouble adjusting. Too often, I let myself stay up far too late. Needless to say, this has made Sunday mornings a challenge. Two weeks ago, I thought I had the problem licked. I went to bed early. I was up early (and actually had a small breakfast and glanced at the headlines in the newspaper). I was on schedule until I took off my glasses to get into the shower, and one of the lenses fell out. This meant I had to look for the small screwdriver (which fortunately I had unpacked, but unfortunately I had not put away in the most logical place) and then I struggled for about a half hour to fix the glasses (oh, yes, Mr. Mechanical). I took a quick shower, dressed, and hurried out the door. Of course there's frost on the car. I quickly clean it off and get in, only to rip a nice tear in my slacks. So back inside to put on something else. On my way to church I got a call making sure I was all right. And I arrived 45 minutes late (later than I have any other Sunday). I hope you're laughing because I am -- in fact, I was even laughing on that Sunday as it happened.

Well, that's a brief update. I'm still waiting on much, much quicker Internet service to start in my office, which will allow me to post more frequently. I have a post ready, complete with some pictures, but that has to wait for a faster connection.