Last week I listed 5 reasons why I love Modesto. You can check out that blog here. I truly do love living in Modesto, and serving God in this area. Here are my next 5 reasons (again, not in any order):
- Weather and Seasons. I have lived in southern California, Chicago, and Minnesota – so I have seen some weather variety! Believe it or not, I really like the weather in the Central Valley. Ok, we get fog, and yes it is WAY too hot in the summer. But I LOVE the colors changing in the fall, and the almond blossoms in the spring. I like that in the winter that I can drive to the snow and wear jackets, but not have to thaw out my car each morning. I love in the summer that there are so many great places to go and adventure (and escape the heat).
- Churches that Support Each Other. Covenant Grove is a church plant, started from Modesto Covenant Church. That church still encourages and blesses us. We have also been helped by many other churches – and I have found that Modesto has a great spirit of cooperation and support among the churches. This is not a competition – we are all on the same team, each of us in our own way working with Jesus to bring people to His love. I love the support that churches give to each other here.
- Affordable California Housing. When my wife Hannah and I were in southern California, we found our family growing – and we had no equity. Even though our extended family lived there, and we wanted to be close to them, we thought we might have to move to another part of the country. And then we found Modesto! We could afford a home and still be within driving distance of family. Yes, this truly is a reason we love Modesto!
- This Is Home. Of course, home is more than just real estate and equity. Modesto is the place where my kids play sports, go to school, and are making memories. This is where our street flooded and we went “swimming”. Modesto is where I run into people I know and we get to catch up. Before coming to Modesto, we had moved every 3-4 years. I love that I have lived here longer, and have great friends, and have settled in.
- God Is Moving. Settling in doesn’t mean that I have settled. God is moving! I have LOVED being part of a church plant – it has changed my faith and grown me closer to God. I have grown as a leader and seen hundreds of people come to faith in Jesus. This last year Covenant Grove moved from renting one school to another to owning property and a building. God is moving, and He is still moving as our church grows and reaches more people. I love being a pastor here. I love living here. I love Modesto!
So that is my list. I have some more reasons, too. I love it here!
What about you? What do you love about where you live?
I have lived in Michigan, London England Pleasanton , Los Angeles, Chicago before coming to Modesto and then Oakdale. Having moved over 30 times in my adult life, it is nice to settle into the small town of Oakdale. Having grown up in Ann Arbor- which at the time was a small town, it is nice to return to less congestion- where the commute traffic is described as 10 cars in a row. We have great entertainment- Gallo Center for the Arts, Sierra Rep and local theater, plus we can easily drive to the Ocean, SF, the mountains. Housing costs here are 1/3 of the cost of a house in the Bay Area . And, best of all, the people here seem less busy. Folks in the Bay Area and LA have deemed this the Bible belt of California. We certainly have our issues here too- but, overall this is a great place to retire and still be near my kids and grandkids who live in the Bay Area.