This letter is from John to the seven churches in the province of Asia. Grace and peace to you from the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come; from the sevenfold Spirit before his throne; and from Jesus Christ. He is the faithful witness to these things, the first to rise from the dead, and the ruler of all the kings of the world. All glory to him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by shedding his blood for us. He has made us a Kingdom of priests for God his Father. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen. Look! He comes with the clouds of heaven. And everyone will see him— even those who pierced him. And all the nations of the world will mourn for him. Yes! Amen! “I am the Alpha and the Omega—the beginning and the end,” says the Lord God. “I am the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come—the Almighty One.” (Revelation 1:4-8 NLT).

For those of you who have traveled east on I40 lately you know that there is not a particularly good way to get from Tennessee to North Carolina or vice versa without going north or south around the massive rock slide on the highway near the state line. Last week Mary and I were planning our route and were watching the weather carefully so that we could plan around any potential ice or snow in the mountains of either Virginia (northern route) or Tennessee (southern route). In order to make our plans we needed a place to start and a place to end. Pretty elementary stuff really. However, when it comes to planning for the route of our lives, it becomes a little more complex!