Recently, I was talking to someone about our move to rural North Georgia. They said something about how it must be nice having moved to a place with a slower pace of life. I laughed out loud – for real. I’m not even sure we could get more busy than we are right now. It’s absolutely insane, but it’s working.
This year, Titus started his second year of High School. After crushing his first try at the ACT this summer, he got into the stem program, which means tougher classes but more academic opportunities. He’s taking classes like physics, engineering, and chemistry, and he is building a house on school property. In addition to a very active wrestling team, Titus joined Cyber Patriot, a cyber security team competing with thousands of other students nationwide. Our favorite part of Titus’s schedule this year is the MWF 6a weight training sessions with the wrestling team. It’s a busy pace, but he’s got a six-pack!
Genevieve started her first year of Middle School and loves the sixth-grade life. She started her second year of swimming for the recreational swim team and competed on her Middle School swim team this Fall. Swimming has brought out a beautiful determination in Genevieve that we’ve loved seeing. After the Middle School swim season, she decided she would not be on two swim teams at the same time next year! This year, she also started playing the trombone and loves it. Lastly, she won first place in her class, presenting a research project on the Navy Seals, and went on to win 2nd place with her presentation in the North Georgia region. Additionally, she got her ears pierced and some makeup of her own – she’s a beautiful 12-year-old girl!
Elle hasn’t joined the extracurricular club yet. Her schedule is a bit more relaxed, and she seems to like it that way. She’s one of the funniest kids I’ve ever met; sometimes, I’m convinced that she’s going to be a stand-up comedian for a living. She was one of those “pandemic kids” starting school in the middle of a global catastrophe. She started off a little more behind, but she has THRIVED this last year academically. She loves to read, and she’s so creative. Oh, and her “stuffy” collection has become quite the marvel. I’m a little ashamed to tell you how many she’s accumulated since moving to Georgia, but she has uniquely named each one – most having their own special backstories. In case you’re interested, her current favorite animal is the crab.
Sara has also had an eventful Fall. Over the summer, Sara applied to three separate SLP (Speech Language Pathologist) programs and was accepted into all three. She chose Calvin College and has thoroughly enjoyed being back in school. Sara just finished her first semester of a three-year program. Next year, the program will advance, and she’ll have clinical hours in addition to her regular class work. For the most part, school life is a full-time schedule when she’s not running kids to and from school and after-school activities. She seems to be really excited about all that she’s learning – she’s going to be a wonderful SLP!
Work for me (Kenny) has been quite an adventure. My work with Slingshot is very fulfilling, but it comes and goes in unexpected schedules. I had a very slow winter/spring with some coaching contracts and searches that continued from the previous Fall. However, I sold five search contracts in April that would keep me busy for the rest of the year. Additionally, I sold three more contracts in July, working with some amazing churches. I learned a lot about pacing with eight searches all starting across four months. It was a lot, very fast – but I’m grateful for the work. Last Fall, we also developed a Volunteer Recruiting Bootcamp and Workshop at Ministry Boost that proved to be very popular. We hosted several online boot camps and physical workshops in six different cities – and led to three volunteer recruiting coaching opportunities. This has been a really fun and life-giving opportunity for me. Additionally, I was invited to speak at a local summer camp (for Middle School kids), and I started volunteering in the kids’ ministry at the church we attend. Just a few months ago, the kids’ director at our church moved to FL, and I’ve been asked to step in and lead during the interim – and it’s been SO MUCH FUN!
Yeah, we don’t know what that laid-back, rural GA life is like – we’re too busy. However, everything is good. The kids have good friends, and they’re thriving. Sara is doing so well in her schoolwork, and I’m doing work that I enjoy. It’s not perfect – but it’s working!
TRAVEL
As crazy busy as life has been, we’ve actually gotten out more as a family than we have in recent years. We’ve ALWAYS loved to travel and see new places, and we’re so glad for the opportunities we’ve had this year. I’m not going to count my work travel – because I’ve done a lot of that. In total, Slingshot and Ministry Boost have taken me to Colorado (three times), Wisconsin, South Carolina (three times), Florida, Tennessee, Arizona (three times), Mississippi, Alabama, and Atlanta (I can’t tell you how many times). However, we had some fun traveling as well!
In January, Sara and I got away for a long weekend to Key West. Sara visited when she was young, and we’ve talked about going together for many years. It was a perfect trip. We had a fun day in Atlanta before flying down to Fort Lauderdale. The next day, we drove to Key West, stopping at several places to eat and see along the way. We saw all the sights, snorkeled off the island, and ate some of the best food I’ve eaten in years. Can we all agree that Cuban food is some of the best food? I feel like we’ll be back for a visit again in the future.
In March, we took the whole family to Washington DC for Spring Break. It all began with a conversation about seeing the cherry blossoms in the Spring, and before you knew it, we had reservations for tours of the US Capitol and the White House. A friend let us stay in her guest house on the Chesapeake Bay, and we drove into the city every single day. It was amazing, and the kids LOVED it there. Sara and I both had great memories of our nation’s capital from childhood; I’m glad our kids got to experience DC as kids.
In August, Sara joined me for a work trip to celebrate our 24th anniversary. I’m working with a fantastic church in Daphne, AL – which happens to be near where Sara spent her teenage years. We spent a few days at Pensacola Beach (one of our favorite beaches in the world) and stayed for a few days in Fairhope, AL. It was a wonderful getaway just before school started.
In October, we took another family trip to Pigeon Forge, TN. We rented a fun cabin just outside of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. I feel like we fully embraced the smokey mountain experience. We experienced Dolly’s Stampede, Dollywood, WonderWorks, Horseback Riding, and a lengthy drive to Clingman’s Dome (the highest point in the Smokey Mountains). It was a fun trip for everyone, and the memories will last a lifetime!
FAMILY
A big reason we moved to North Georgia was to be closer to family. For 24 years of marriage, we’ve lived so far from our family. We tried to see family every year, but sometimes a few years would go by between seeing some of the family. Moving to Georgia definitely changed that. Blairsville, GA has essentially been the epicenter for family connection – at least in 2023!
Obviously, we had a lot of time with my parents, since we’re still living in their basement. It’s been a blessing to have our own space, but also to hang out or to help out at a moment’s notice. Having an extra set of drivers has helped immensely, but it’s been a joy to share a meal or two every week and for us to have this time in this particular season. Additionally, we’ve seen most of the rest of our family.
Over the summer, we rented a house just west of Blue Ridge and had a wonderful visit with Sara’s parents and her sister and husband (Shayla and Walt). We got to enjoy several of the creeks, rivers, waterfalls, and lakes that North Georgia has to offer. We also spent a few days south of Atlanta with Sara’s other sister and family (Sharissa, Philip, William, and Anna). It was fun having the whole “Rannells” family together for a few days. However, being just a few hours away from Philip and Sharissa has been another blessing of living here. We ALWAYS love our visits together, but Titus has loved spending several weekends (and some weeks during the summer) with William and Anna, his cousins who are just a year older. There have been a number of times I’ve had a business trip and I’ve brought Titus with me to stay with his cousins while I flew in and out of Atlanta.
Additionally, I’ve had a lot of time with my Tampa cousin Marianne (and often times her girls), who have a second home in NC just over an hour from here. It’s always a treat to visit or have them visit while they’re in town. Also, we got to see my nephew Cameron’s family for Memorial Day weekend, and the girls LOVED having time to get to know their cousin Cambry.
The best part of being here is always with my Mom and Dad. As you probably know, my mom went through a cancer journey five years ago, and it impacted us all in ways we didn’t expect. Moving here was highly motivated by the thought, “You never know how much time you’ve got.” Who knows how long anyone has, but one thing is certain: We’ve been treasuring all the time, and the memories we’ve made with my mom and dad are simply wonderful.
In case you haven’t heard, my mom’s cancer is back. This time, there was a tumor on her spine and a few tumors in her lungs. However, it was detected early and radiation and chemo treatment seem to be doing the job. However, my mom will be on this chemo treatment indefinitely. It’s significantly milder than what she was on several years ago, but it does take a few days to recover from her treatments, and she has lost her hair again. A recent meeting with her oncologist gave us a good report. Her medicine is likely to work for several more years and there will be additional medications to try once it no longer keeps the cancer in check. We could have another five years… or fifteen. Regardless, we’re soaking up all the moments we get today and we’re grateful for this season.
FINAL THOUGHTS
2023 was an amazing year. It’s been crazy and hectic, but it’s been so good. We are so blessed. Never in a million years did we see ourselves moving from Southern California to rural North Georgia – but it’s been so good for all of us.
However, when I look back to 2023 from the future, there were two defining moments that I’ll never forget.
The first was my opportunity to baptize Genevive this summer in the Toccoa River when most of our family was here. Genevieve has been asking to get baptized for a couple of years. Mariners, our church in California had the most beautiful and inviting outdoor baptismal. It seemed like Genevieve would ask every time we walked by (which was a lot). She attended a baptism class with me (one that I taught) while in CA. Last Spring, she also attended a 10-week New Believer’s Class. By the time she was finished, this girl was READY. On Thursday, June 29th, we gathered at Horseshoe Bend Park on the Toccoa River to celebrate Genevieve’s faith in Jesus Christ. We sat at picnic tables and took turns telling Genevive what we saw in her. We prayed over her and then I walked her down into the river and baptized her. Such a meaningful moment for everyone involved!
The second defining moment was the loss of my good friend Matt McKee. The year before he was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer and we all knew it was going to be a long road ahead. I didn’t get nearly as much time with Matt as I wish I had, but I’m so grateful for the time that I sat with him for “Chemo Chat with Matt” and some extended time we had at the Orange Conference – an annual event where Matt and I would spend a lot of time together over the last 15 years. Matt and I spent much time together in dozens of cities, usually investing in leaders who led in kid’s ministry. I have so many wonderful (many of them very funny) memories with Matt. His health took a turn for the worse pretty quickly, and I really wasn’t prepared for how fast the end would come. I’ll be forever grateful for the time I got with him just a few days before he passed. I’m not sure if he heard me, but I got to tell him how much I loved him and tell him goodbye. His passing was heartbreaking – a husband and father who left this world way too early. Additionally, his life and work have (and continue) impacted millions of kids, teenagers, and their parents. I miss him just about every day – but I’m so proud to have been a good friend to Matt McKee.
I’ll end with this. 2023 was incredible. But I think that 2024 is going to be even better. I can’t wait to tell you about the crazy thing I’m planning this summer. It’s wild – absolutely wild! Thank you for who you are and who you’ve been to me and the Conley family. I’m praying for God’s best for you and all that you do! Merry Christmas and Happy New year!