City on a (Cardboard) Hill

Okay, so Chattanooga isn't really built on a cardboard hill, but it is full of hills, lots and lots of hills. And it does sport a few "cardboard hills", places where children of all ages enjoy the pleasure of sledding without snow.

There are so many similarities between Pittsburgh and this nearly southern city called "rock dwelling". Chattanooga, the fourth largest Tennessee city with a little over half a million residents in the metropolitan area, is also known as the Scenic City. It's almost equidistant from Nashville, Knoxville, Atlanta and Birmingham and for most of my family, just an 8-hour drive (hint, hint). Lookout Mountain is a popular tourist attraction that my family visited more than 40 years ago.

On a recent trip to check out marinas and housing, Bill and I met a lot of very friendly folks, many of whom were transplants from cities north and south (South Bend, Pittsburgh, New York, Atlanta, Miami). We were immediately welcomed by our realtor, Diane Burke, who spent most of Saturday taking us on a circle tour of the suburbs. Blessing: when asked whether there were any churches of our denomination (Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod) in the area, Diane replied "Mine!"

Two of the five marinas we visited are "5-anchor", coincidentally (or not) owned by the manufacturer of our houseboat. Blessing: as Harbormaster owners we were put closer to the top of the waiting list for a slip. Both marinas are in sheltered coves in park-like settings. We just have to get used to living under a cover, much needed against the hot summer sun.

One of my favorite contemporary Christian bands, Third Day, has a song called City on a Hill. The end of the song includes the following lines:

And I know that our salvation isn't based on the things we do
But it's only given by the grace of God
By the sacrifice of Jesus, and if we really did believe
We were born to share this message with someone

I was reminded of this song when we met some boaters tied up at a downtown dock. Under the name of their boat (Ultimate Therapy) was the notation Romans 11:36. I asked Jason Monday why that particular verse and he promptly quoted: For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.  Blessing!