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Reflecting on Our Recent Adventure!

December 18, 2025

We got back from our trip about a week ago. We already did a book haul video, which people seemed to like, but what we'd actually planned was to sit down together and walk through the whole trip, because it was a trip. It was eventful.

Banner of Truth and a wedding

We got up at 3:00 in the morning and drove about ten hours from our home in South Carolina to Carlisle, Pennsylvania, to stop at Banner of Truth. It's always a great time there. Some of their books are half off, and I think all are at least 10% off, so we bought a lot of books.

Then on to Philadelphia, where my wife's older sister was getting married. The whole trip was for that at first, and then we added a whole bunch of stuff. You know how it is. Our first couple of nights we stayed with Dr. Kevin McFadden (he's written some books, published by Crossway), and I filmed my communion video in their home. The second half, we stayed with the friend who actually introduced us. She was a wonderful hostess. The night we arrived at 10:30, she made coffee and we talked and fellowshipped until past one in the morning.

But on day four we both got sick: the terrible sore throat and coughing kind. My wife was the matron of honor and had to give a speech and stand the whole time! It was a very good wedding, and they're married now, which is the good thing.

A night at Sheetz

We'd booked an Airbnb in Pittsburgh so we could visit Dr. Matthew Everhard's church the next morning. What we didn't know when we planned it was that we'd be sick, or that the wedding would be an evening event. We didn't get out until 9:30, and it's about a six-hour drive across Pennsylvania. Sick and tired, we drove about halfway, then stopped at a Sheetz for gas and slept in the car for two hours. It was freezing. In the morning we drove past where the Airbnb would have been, and we were glad we hadn't stayed there. The Sheetz was safer!

Gospel Fellowship

We drove the extra 40 minutes to Gospel Fellowship, planning to nap before the later service. But people were walking in. The morning service was at 8:30, and we'd pulled in at 8:24, so we went in, painfully sleep-deprived. Dr. Everhard saw us from over by the pulpit, recognized us out of context (which was pretty cool, since you only know each other online), and made a beeline over to greet us. The service was really good. If you want good preaching, look up Gospel Fellowship in Pittsburgh, and our own church, Greenwood ARP in South Carolina.

Both preached that week on loving your neighbor. That was funny, because we'd just reviewed Anthony Burgess's Advancing Christian Unity, and we'd just experienced that kind of fellowship in Philadelphia. And then we tuned into our own church's livestream, and our pastor, Todd McCoy (whom I interviewed on Disciplined Disciple), was also preaching on loving your neighbor. Things were coming together.

Grand Rapids

Then another long drive, two and a half hours for me and six straight for my wife, to Grand Rapids, Michigan. Cold, hungry and exhausted, we were heading out to dinner when another car pulled up and boxed us in. Something felt off, so I locked my wife in the car and climbed into the back seat myself. The man started yelling that he wasn't trying to scare us, he was just looking for his lost dog. Sure. He eventually pulled away. Welcome to Grand Rapids! I don't know what would have happened if I'd walked around the car, but by the grace of God we got to dinner without incident. Then we slept until noon the next day.

We visited Baker Book House, which was kind of disappointing (very Barnes & Noble), though it has an excellent used section. We joked that's where all the theology was. We did find a G. K. Chesterton Advent devotional that's been excellent, and the new Sing! hymnal in the green clothbound edition, which is beautiful.

The check engine light

Now, for context: it's Tuesday, we're supposed to leave Wednesday, and Thursday is Thanksgiving. Whoever planned this trip was an idiot. (It was me.) He planned it assuming we'd be healthy and that everything would go well. On Tuesday, driving out to Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary's bookstore, the check engine light came on. We had a thousand miles to drive home. The dealer couldn't see us until Wednesday, after our tour at Reformation Heritage Books.

The seminary bookstore was really nice, mostly used books, with some really nice old leather-bound volumes. We didn't get to see Dr. Beeke (we even tried to guess which car in the lot was his), but we met Eric, the storekeeper, a great guy, and bought eight books.

By Wednesday morning: our Airbnb was over, the car needed the shop, we had our tour at RHB, we were both still sick, the next day was Thanksgiving (so if the car wasn't fixed, we'd be stuck until at least the middle of the next week), we didn't know anyone in Michigan, and there was a blizzard warning. We just laughed. Here we are.

We had our tour of RHB with David Woollin, which went really well, and he gave us two books. Then we dropped the car off and spent five or six hours at a little coffee shop up the road. The staff were so kind to us and even let us use their phone charger.

Thanksgiving with new friends

While we were there, I posted a picture of RHB on our Discord server. Hope Family Binder, a member of our community who lives about two and a half hours away, asked if we were still in Grand Rapids. Not only were we there, we were stuck there! He offered to come get us. Thankfully, the car was finished that same day, but it was too late to drive home and too cold and icy to sleep in the car. So he invited us to stay two nights and crash his family's Thanksgiving. We drove out through the blizzard, and they set up a mattress for us in his bindery. (If you ever want a book bound or rebound, he does excellent work. Ask him before you go anywhere else.)

On the drive out we remarked that none of this would be happening if we didn't share the same faith. We had to trust that he wasn't an axe murderer, and he had to trust that we were who we appeared to be online! But as soon as we got there, it was like being family. Thanksgiving was so pleasant, we stayed up late talking about books, and we were honestly sad to leave on Friday.

And again, God's timing: that week I'd reviewed Advancing Christian Unity, and right after it John Owen's Rules for Walking in Fellowship. The whole trip had a theme of fellowship, unity and friendship in Christ.

We drove the whole fifteen hours home in one day. We've joked with our church friends that we went on our trip, and that's it, we're done! But it was a great time. We learned a lot, made new friends, bought a lot of books and saw RHB in person. Lord willing we'll do another trip someday. We'll plan it better, and we'll bring more blankets in case we have to sleep in the car.

Soli Deo Gloria!