The Next Episode

Today marks the first time I've worked full-time since early June 2008. That's right, my church voted to increase my hours to full-time and my job title is now Associate Pastor. I have increased responsibilities that include preaching a little more often (8 or 9 times a year), developing and administrating our church's new website, starting some new ministries and lots of other possibilities. I'm very excited.

This is Amy's last week of working full-time at Pan-Pacific. Next week she'll be working some kind of part-time schedule.

We had a great time hosting a one year birthday party for Alice and enjoyed time spent with friends and family, some that we had not seen in a long while.

That's the update for today. Hopefully a lot more blogging will take place this summer!

The Move and More Pictures

New pictures of Alice are available in Web Album 2 on the sidebar or by clicking here.

Okay, so that was the big news. In other news, we're totally moved in to our new two-bedroom apartment. We moved a couple hundred yards across the complex we've lived in since March 2009. We are really enjoying the blessing of more space and of Alice not sleeping in our room! She's sleeping so well, too. In fact, this morning, Amy had to wake Alice up to feed her. That almost never happens!

When we signed the lease, we were astonished to find that instead of having a rent of $1,495/month, we were given $100 coupons for the next 11 months of our lease, effectively lowering our rent to $1,395/month! Praise the Lord!

I've started school again and am taking World of the Old Testament with Dr. Ken Way, Evangelism and Follow Up with Dr. Tom Steffen, and Perspectives on the World Christian Movement, which is offered through Trinity International University and will transfer.

Amy and I are planning two vacations coming up in 2011 and looking forward to Christmas in New England. I'm also leading a mission trip to Guatemala June 23-30.

This is the day that the LORD has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Psalm 118:24

A Sad Day

I was just saddened to hear that today is the last day of the Albert Mohler Radio Program. I've listened to every single broadcast for the last three years and found it a very helpful look at news and events happening all over the world. Dr. Mohler still offers tons of resources at his website, and I will continue to use those to help me evaluate news and offer resources to the parents of youth at our church.
Thanks Dr. Mohler!

Today is . . .

John Calvin's 500th birthday. Happy birthday Johnny!

Hated by many, loved by a few and known by virtually all to some degree, I believe that John Calvin was a great man, evidenced by his fierce love for God and his undying desire to see God glorified. Don't tell an Arminian, but he was also an aggressive missionary trainer and sender!

Although there's tons of websites to go to today about Calvin, let me recommend a few:

Desiring God (John Piper)
Between Two Worlds (Justin Taylor)
Reformation 21 (Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals)
Calvin 500 (Calvin Conference in Geneva)

Amy's Hair Cut and Other Stories

This is for you, Lisa. And if you want a few more pictures, they are on the second Web Album in the sidebar. Wow, I've posted twice in one month!

Tonight we're having dinner at the home of a family at our church. The husband/dad has a personality very similar to Happy's and, we've been told, makes some really good meat. I'm looking forward to the evening, which I'm sure will be filled with laughter and really, really great jokes :-)

Tomorrow morning we'll be helping some friends move to an apartment just down the street from their current abode. I think we have a free Saturday night after the move.... whoa.... more than likely it will be filled with homework. Some times I think back on college and wonder why I thought life after college would include more free time. Does life ever slow down? My co-worker told me yesterday that she thinks we are always busy. I sort of just stared blankly at her. Some days I need a reminder of why I do all the things I do, but most days I don't even think about it. What a blessing to be a part of a church where we can stretch ourselves and serve others with joy!

As a youth group, Happy challenged us to read through the Bible in a year. Right now we're in Proverbs and Titus. It's been a little while since I've read Proverbs, but it's pretty much killing me every time I read it--mostly in the wisdom area. How much I have to learn! I'm thankful for all the examples of wise people the Lord has put in my life (one of them being my husband!), but I look forward to heaven even more when I see these glimpses of how far off I really am. Praise the Lord that His mercies are new every morning!

New Apartment!!!

Here is a very exciting tour of our new apartment. There are new pictures on the web album too, if you'd prefer to get some still ones... or if the video doesn't work :-) And yes, I'm crazy and unpacked in less than a week. I don't like living in chaos. My commute is a tiny bit longer but Happy's is much shorter, and we're a 3 or 4 minute drive to church--what a blessing! We've already taken advantage of the short drive several times.

In other news, the 30 Hour Famine went very well and we appreciate all those who partnered with us through prayer and financially. Fasting is a wonderful way for me to see the sinfulness of my heart, but I'm so thankful that the sin is already paid for!

I'm still working at the same company in the accounting department, running payroll each week. We've had many layoffs of the guys on the field and there will be many more to come. I've heard we're letting go of 100+ guys within a month! Makes me a little nervous, but I'm trusting in the Lord's provision--whether that's here or through another means. So, I try to remind myself to be thankful for my job, especially on the third day in a row that I've worked on ONE audit all day long.... I can say for sure that I'm thankful that my work day is only 8 hours long :-)

Also, please pray for Happy in Greek. I'm not sure he'll like me advertising this on the blog, but it's not an easy language! Pray that the Lord would grant him clarity and understanding as he studies. And pray for the upcoming YUGO trip to Mexico! There are many details involved in leading a mission trip, and it's that much harder since he's never been there.

That's all for now. I know it's been a long time since I've updated the blog, but my mom-in-law did request photos of the new apartment :-) You'll have to come visit soon!!

My office!

This was on my office door when I got to church this morning. Pretty cool! I'll have pictures of my office when it looks more presentable, so probably in 2009!

What's Going On?

Once again, it's been a while. Here's some food for thought and some updates.

Congratulations to our President-Elect, Barack Obama. Clearly, the country believes in you and backed you in a decisive victory over John McCain. We support you when we can, oppose you when necessary and always pray for you. We respect you and your family, but we cannot respect some of your views, such as your stand for the murder of unborn babies and your support of human embryonic stem cell research. God himself has placed you in this position and so we plead with God that you would change your mind on the issues pertaining to the sanctity of human life. God help you Mr. Obama.

I've settled into my new position as Youth Director at Village Bible Church and have hit the ground running. I am learning my way around the office and figuring our procedures. One thing that I have much to learn about is how to handle the paper work and financial processes. I am also trying to learn how to balance my 20-hour-a-week job, my full-time schooling and having time to spend with Amy. It's been challenging to find a happy medium, because Amy is busy working hard to support us and is also trying to keep up with her Financial Accounting class. Pray for us.

My book reading this year has been abysmal, and I'll end 2008 with by far the lowest count since I started keeping track in 2005. As it stands right now, I've read 27 books on the year. Now, with the semester ending in December, I will add some of the books that I've been assigned for classes. However, I doubt there's any chance that I'll rise above 35 books. I know, I'm a failure. But there's always next year!

Speaking of being off the pace, you'll notice on the sidebar that this is only the thirty-second post of the year on this blog. To match last year's pace, we'd have to post 71 more times before January! All I can say is that we'll just have to try harder to post more regularly.

Also, click on the Web Album 2 link on the sidebar to see some new pictures from some of the things we've been doing.

In two days, we'll be heading up to Santa Clarita for Thanksgiving with my family and we'll have Amy's brother Tom with us! It will be a fairly small group, so we're glad to add to that number with Tom. Other than my mom and dad and my two brothers, my grandpa will also be joining us. It looks like there's some rain in the forecast for the rest of the week, but our annual football game on Thanksgiving Day should be rain-free. Amy and I are looking forward to some long walks (to work off all the calories!) in the colder Santa Clarita air. It should be good! There is so much to be thankful for!

God Answers Prayer

"You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures." - James 4:3

Yesterday, the members of Village Bible Church voted unanimously to hire me as the part-time Youth Director. Amy and I had been praying for this for several months, and God answered our prayer in a way that was "far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think" (Ephesians 3:20).

After the worship service, the church reconvened in the sanctuary for a business meeting. The meeting was called to order and details were explained. Then, Pastor Ron gave a short biography of Amy and I and then called me up to the stage for a short testimony time, followed by a Q & A time. The questions were good, God graciously gave me the right words to speak, and then we voted. The votes were counted in about three minutes and the tally was announced.

Now, the deacon board will make me an official offer and Amy and will accept and starting November 1, I will have a new job as Youth Director at Village Bible Church!

Soli deo gloria!
To God alone be glory!

I Can't Come Up With A Good Title For This Post, So This Rambling Explanation Will Have To Do

To begin with, here is a link to our second web album. You'll also notice it's been added to the sidebar on the right side of the screen. There's a whole bunch of pictures from our camping trip to Santa Rosa Island. Also, the first web album has had its last update. Take a look here.

Yes, we have a frog, and his name is Fred. Amy has taken tons of pictures of him, so take a look in both web albums. A lady at Pan-Pacific inherited the frog from a neighbor (I might be butchering this story!) and asked if anyone at work was interested. Amy jumped at the opportunity because she'd always wanted a frog, and a free frog sounded even better. So we now have an aquarium on top of our entertainment center. He eats mealworms and crickets three times a week. A few weeks ago he ate a rock and we were very concerned, but we're assuming he passed the rock since he's still croaking.

I'm in the library at Biola University as I write this and am supposed to be studying, so I'll get back to Greek and try to update sooner rather than later.

Ciao.

A Whole New World

I know when you read the title that you were hoping that there'd be a video of me singing the Aladdin song, so I'm sorry to disappoint. What I meant by that title is that on Thursday morning at 8:00am, I'll officially be back to school. Graduate school. Seminary. It's a daunting task, but Amy and I are both very excited about it. Last night, we went to Talbot New Student Banquet. It was a great time of being introduced to Talbot School of Theology at Biola University.(notice the guy in the brown shirt on the right side of the first picture that pops up on Biola's site. He's wearing a Hotchkiss shirt! That's the dorm I lived in at TMC!)

There was good food and cheesecake for dessert, but the best part of the evening was being able to sit at the same table with two professors. Dr. Garry DeWeese and Dr. Clint Arnold were very friendly and curious hosts at our table. We talked about how we got to Talbot, where we were from (lots and lots of questions about Amy being from New Hampshire, which she very much enjoyed!), what program we're in, etc.

Toward the end of the night, a microphone was passed around to all the faculty present. They introduced themselves, what department they teach in and several - sometimes very funny - interesting facts about themselves or their spouses. It was very helpful for Amy and I to be there together and meet and see who I will be learning under for the next several years.

This semester, I'm in five classes:
Beginning Greek I
Personal Foundations of Ministry
Theological Research Methodologies
Theology III
Hermeneutics and Bible Study

In other news, Amy and I are looking forward to a mini-vacation this Labor Day weekend with our newly married friends, Travis and Katy. They invited us to go camping with them on Santa Rosa Island, an island in the Channel Islands chain off the coast of California. We're jumping on a boat that takes off at 8:00am Friday morning from Ventura Harbor and hoping to return sometime in the afternoon on Monday. We'll be roughing it, since we have to hike a mile and a half from the shore to our campsite and nothing that we bring can weigh more than 45 pounds. It should be a blast! We'll post pictures and our experiences when we get back.

Adieu

Incredulous

In case you don't know what the word "incredulous" means, read this article. I'm unbelievably shocked and disgusted by this ridiculous anti-human ideas! God save us. Also, yesterday's Albert Mohler program was all about this issue in the field of biomedical ethics.

The Found Ark?

Here's an interesting article at Time.com. Seems a bit of a stretch, but has lots of info I've never heard of before.

And here's a crazy video of a mass prank pulled at Grand Central Station.

March!

Some bits of information, staccato fashion:

• I've inspired someone!  Read my friend Eric's blog.
  

• Junior high basketball season is over.  I know I didn't blog about it, so let me fill you in on some season highlights.  We finished 3-9 on the year, and missed the CALOC playoffs.  Our team had only two returning players and a whole lot of short, scrawny seventh graders.  It's true that we weren't as talented a team as last year's, but I really saw marked improvement among the players individually and as a team.  A few minutes ago, one of the seventh graders returned his jersey to me and I made sure to encourage him to keep playing, to keep working hard because I saw so much improvement in him this year.  It was hard being on the losing side so many times, especially when all of our losses but one were by ten or more points.  I learned many lessons this year as a coach, most of them having to do with patience, perseverance, attitude and perspective.  It was good season and I'm reminded how much I love coaching by the fact that as I'm typing this I would usually have been on my way over to the court to start practice.
  

• For those of you who don't know, at the end of January I was accepted into the M.Div. program of Talbot School of Theology at Biola University.  I have sensed the Lord calling me into pastoral ministry and this was and is being confirmed by many different circumstances, conversations (with Amy, my pastors, friends, family) and prayer.  Lord willing, I will enroll in classes in the fall and Amy and I are tentatively planning for it take me four years.  It is a long, grueling program, requiring more units than a JD (law degree) or MD.  Since then, I have begun teaching our church's mid-week service - Reality Check - every second Tuesday of the month.  Amy and I continue to wait on the Lord for his leading in many different ways.  We have decided that I need to work part-time, so I can focus enough time on studying, writing papers, increasing ministry loads at church, etc.  Please pray that we would be patient and peaceful as we wait for God to show us how he will provide for us financially.  I do not know if I will continue at Liberty Christian, but I have told my boss that I would love to come back next year and teach Bible and PE and whatever else he needs until about noon every day.

• Last, the Lakers are playing amazing ball right now, and I can't wait for April and the playoffs!
  

Christmas Pictures!

I'm still alive--I promise! I know I haven't posted on the blog in well.... a long time.... Perhaps I've just been too busy with all that's going on, but the main reason.......... I forgot about our blog!!!!

Now that I've been graciously asked by my wonderful husband to post pictures on our blog, I thought it would be a good time to post more than just pictures. Yes, this will actually be an UPDATE by AMY.

Since..... my last post...... we've been getting more involved with church and loving it very much. We've had opportunities to get to know many of the students better and are beginning to build friendships with them that I pray the Lord will use for His glory. It's so exciting to use the gifts He's given us and see Him work!

Speaking of work, things at my job have been getting more and more busy. I've gotten many more responsibilities and have very little free time. I'm now entering about 80% of the invoices we receive and helping sort the invoices by vendor each month. I've been getting more "odd" jobs from many of the project managers as well, and am thoroughly enjoying being more of an asset to the company. My hours also changed so I now work 7am-3pm with a 15 minute lunch break. Wednesdays I work overtime for payroll, and have begun entering time cards (we have over 250 to enter each week). It also sounds as though there are some changes on the horizon, but we'll see how that goes.



For Christmas we were able to fly back to the East coast to visit my family. It was such a blessing to spend a more extended period of time with my family and enjoy the cold weather as well! Of course a lot more can be said about that--in particular about our flights there and back--but I think I'll save that for another post. However, I am supposed to post pictures, so here they are.

Happy New Year

To open a new year (the third year of this blog), I wanted to post a link to a Christian review of my third favorite movie trilogy (behind the two Star Wars trilogies, of course!) The Bourne Trilogy, consisting of The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy, and The Bourne Ultimatum. The review is by Pastor James Harleman of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Washington. Here's a taste:

It seems very curious that water plays a pivotal part of Bourne’s life, at every moment of transition. We find Bourne is:

• Baptized into his life as a killer…
• Baptized after a crisis of conscience and awakening
• Baptized from life with Marie to become an instrument of vengeance.
• Baptized again, after having his past sins revealed.

Hopefully more news and pictures will appear on the blog shortly!

Pull The Plug?

From Al Mohler's blog:

As Wesley J. Smith explains, "the reigning cultural paradigm" holds that "a life with profound cognitive dysfunction is not worth living." The dominant assessment is that a person with a diagnosis of permanent unconsciousness should be allowed to die by withdrawal of food and hydration.

But, as Smith reports in The Weekly Standard, this "reigning cultural paradigm" is colliding with medical reality.

Read the rest of the article here.

Confessions of a Recovering Feminist

Happy Monday! Today I will get my permanent crown at the dentist. YAY!

However, the real reason I was posting was not to keep you updated on my dental situation, but to point out that I added a new blog to our sidebar links. It is called CBMW (The Council on Biblical Manhood & Womanhood) Gender Blog and today's post is called Confessions of a Recovering Feminist. I thought it might be a good description (for those who may be wondering) of what I, and many other Christians, think about Feminism. I don't mean for this to be a jab at anyone, but I know I've had conversations with several people about this topic. Here is someone who is a bit more articulate than me, sharing her perspective on Feminism. Let me know what you think!

A Good Monday

Do you ever have one of those days where you are super-productive? Hopefully you have so that you can understand and appreciate this post. I'm only posting because I just finished all my invoices from Friday, Saturday and today! That NEVER happens. Usually I'm not caught up with invoices until Tuesday afternoon and I finished my invoices about a half hour ago. So, even though my eyes are playing funny tricks on me from looking at so many numbers, I'm excited to be done with invoices until the mail comes tomorrow :-)

Side note--it smells like onions in the office today. I'm not sure if it's because someone actually had something with onions in it, or if it's just some phantom smell wafting through the office for no apparent reason; but it's gross. For a while it was making my eyes water and my head hurt. I think I'm either used to the smell now or it's fading. Either way, it's not bothering me any more, which is great.

In other news, yesterday was Tom's 22nd birthday and Happy & I were able to go down to Camp Pendleton for a visit. We brought presents, cards and cheesecake for him, along with In N Out for his "birthday lunch." He'll be heading out to Florida probably on Wednesday for his next phase of training, which is school for 14 months as he trains to be an aviation mechanic. I'm glad he was out here for a little while, even if we could only see him for two days. Oh, and feel free to check out the pictures!

Facebook

I caved. After much prodding from a few different sources, I decided to start my own Facebook account yesterday morning. Between now and then I've gotten back in touch with several friends that I'd lost contact with since leaving New Hampshire. Weird how certain things speak to my generation. Funny how I'm writing this on a blog...

So I'll be honest and say that since I started Facebook it's pretty much been on my mind constantly as I contemplate "I wonder who's my friend now... I wonder if anyone wrote a message to me... I wonder if someone wrote on my wall.... I wonder if there's a new graffiti yet..." The list goes on. I'm hoping that it only takes a little while for me to get used to the Facebook thing so perhaps I can actually focus on other things. Ok, so it hasn't been as much of an obsession as I'm making it sound, but I definitely spent most of yesterday playing around on Facebook while I was at work with nothing to do. It really did help my day go by much faster!

But, I'm still more of a blogger than a Facebook-er(?) at heart. Basically, I like to write and share pictures, which is what blogging is all about. Facebook has all these other cool things to distract from the writing that are too much for my technologically challenged self. Ok, I'm not that technologically challenged. I just like blogging. So, feel free to check out my new Facebook profile. Leave a message on my wall... draw some graffiti art.... share some pictures (only good ones though).... :-D But don't forget the blog either!!