We are staying in Bloomington

On Sunday, Hannah and I decided not to move to Cincinnati this year. Instead, we’ll be staying here in Bloomington.

There are two main reasons for this. First, the job situation hasn’t come together as we’d hoped. For a move to make sense, I needed to find a job that would allow me to support my family well, and that just hasn’t happened yet.

Second, the schooling situation for the kids. We toured Mars Hill Academy this spring, and while the children were excited about the opportunity, even with generous financial aid, it just isn’t a feasible option for us.

Looking at the bigger picture, we feel that a new baby in September and a career transition is enough change for one year! While there’s some disappointment in letting go of the Cincinnati plan, we’re happy and content. We trust this is the Lord’s leading.

Before I wrap up, I want to say a few words about this Substack. When I started it, I thought it would be a good way to keep friends informed as we worked through our future plans—a way to give regular updates without having the same conversation ten times.

This is the first update here in three months, so that obviously didn’t happen! At some point, I realized it wasn’t all that helpful to process our thinking "out loud" with everyone. I think I would have confused people about our plans anyway. Now that we’ve made a definite decision, though, I have something to share.

So what’s next for this Substack?

Honestly, I’m not sure. At 43, with baby number nine due in September, I’m in the middle of a career change from pastor to software developer. I have many thoughts about life in the church, raising a big family in the Midwest in 2025, and the adventure of switching careers. I’m also spending a lot of time learning Java and React—and thinking about software development in general.

So… who knows? Buyer beware!