The Vagabond's Venture

Welcome to The Vagabond's Venture. This will be my attempt to chronicle the Bitler family's journey through our time at Covenant Seminary and possibly beyond. The title is a play on John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress. I just recently began reading that book and so far I highly recommend it.


So far our Venture in Missouri/The Promised Land has lasted two weeks. Here are some random thoughts and observations about our Progress/Venture:

1. Knowing that something is going to be hard and actually experiencing the difficulty are two extremely different things.



2. The armor of God contains no covering for your back ... so turning to run is a foolish idea, but remains a temptation nonetheless.



3. There is simply no substitute for supportive family and friends. All the money in the world could not match their value.



4. My kids are very resilient and adaptive ... much more so than I would have ever been.



5. It's easy to forget the faithfulness of God in the past when facing major stress in the present. I guess that's why Jesus included a section on money and worry in the sermon on the mount!



6. Churches everywhere go through problems.



7. Health insurance (or the lack thereof) can become a major burdern ... especially when you have a baby on the way.


8. I need to start connecting with friends in the St. Louis area ... procrastinating in this area is not good.


9. Past experiences are designed to help you in the future.



10. God is good all the time - even when it doesn't feel like it!

Past Praises:

1. We arrived safely in Missouri ... a special thanks to Bill Pudder for driving the U-Haul for us!
2. Rose was hired part-time to work at Walmart.
3. I was hired by Emmanuel Presbyterian Church to serve as the Worship Director there.
4. We had a great time meeting folks from the neighborhood at a block party last Saturday.

Upcoming events (a.k.a. things that need prayer):

1. I have an interview with a temp agency on Thursday.
2. We need to decide on a health insurance plan.
3. I need to register and pay for my summer classes before June 5.