This past week, Holly and I were in Kentucky, doing ministry but also celebrating our kids. It was a week filled with memory making events, and we are so thankful Holly was able to make it for this important time.

To begin with, after arriving in Louisville and getting Holly settled, Adam, his wife Sofia, and I headed to southern Kentucky to preach in the church where my mom and my sister and her family attend. Adam preached in the morning service because it was “graduation Sunday” and I preached in the evening service. I don’t know how often that happens, but my guess is that it is quite rare that a father and son preach in the same church on the same Sunday. Adam did a great job preaching from Colossians 3:1-4, and it was a joy to spend time with family that day.

Then we returned to Louisville and my colleague Matt and I took a small group of pastors through our Pathways workshop #4 focused on the early chapters of Genesis. We were able to give special attention to each of the pastors and go deeply into these foundational chapters.

Then, the highlight of the week happened on Friday as we witnessed Adam’s graduation from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary with a Masters of Divinity degree.

Four years filled with much work, significant milestones (getting married, deciding to serve God in missions overseas) and we are so very proud of his accomplishment. Adam and Sofia are due to have their first child (our first grandchild) around June 27, then they will move in mid August to the country of Georgia to attend a missionary “finishing school” to learn about language learning, church planting, and other important subjects. After eight months they will return to America for a few months before moving to SE Asia to focus on church planting among unreached peoples.

And, not to be left out from the festivities, we also acknowledged Alyssa’s graduation from Liberty University with her bachelor’s degree. Although she did not attend the graduation in person, since her coursework was all done online, we are very proud of her as well. She will be heading to SE Asia in June and July for a mission trip, potentially returning there long term in the future.

The Bible speaks truth in Psalm 127:3 where we read, “Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.” We are so blessed with our kids, and celebrate God’s grace and faithfulness in their (and our) lives.