Today I spent a little time with my two-year-old at a local park while two of his siblings were at their music lessons. It was a glorious day: the sun was shining, it was a little on the blustery side, and it was just warm enough to be comfortable without a jacket. The park we went to is situated under a canopy of oak trees which still have most of their leaves. As I enjoyed chasing my son around the playground, I found myself wondering why I’m leaving all this to go to Minneapolis, Minnesota this weekend.

As a native Floridian, I don’t even own a heavy coat. I was an adult before I ever saw snow, and even then it was nothing like I expect to see in Minnesota. I was hoping the coworkers I’m traveling with would have more experience than I have driving in ice and snow (none), but alas, they do not. So if you see a rental car sliding through the streets of Minneapolis, there’s a good chance it contains the Accordance team!

So why are we leaving the Florida sunshine to brave the winter snows? We’ll be doing a free Accordance training seminar on Saturday and then exhibiting at the Desiring God Pastors’ Conference. The Desiring God National Conference takes place in October, but for some reason, they make the pastors assemble in the middle of winter. Perhaps it’s a way to weed out the fair-weather pastors?

It sort of reminds me of how men’s Bible studies are scheduled. For some reason, every church I’ve attended schedules the men’s Bible study around 7:00 am on Saturday morning, or even earlier on a weekday. What’s up with that? Because we’re men, we have to prove how spiritually devoted we are by getting up that early? Isn’t that called getting up at an “ungodly” hour anyway? So as I see it that’s the worst time to have a Bible study!

Okay, all kidding aside, I’m prepared to brave the snows and even to get up early to help those of you in the Midwest become Accordance power-users. All I ask is that you don’t think me wimpy if I can’t stop shivering!

In addition to Minneapolis, we’re also sending a team to San Jose, California. They’ll be doing a seminar at Western Seminary on Monday. If you’re in the Bay area, do your best to make it there. Those presenters should have no trouble with excessive shivering.

If you’d like to sign up for either of these training seminars, I believe there’s still a little room left. Check the Seminars and Shows page for details.