Friday, August 29, 2008

As the dust settles

We have been in Louisville for almost 4 weeks. Here's a quick snapshot of our time.

Week 1:
We arrive. We unload box after box. Go to dinner at the Cumming's (comfortable and unpacked) home.
More boxes and furniture get unloaded. My mother arrives. Her can-do spirit rejuvenates us. Thanks Mom!
My sister, her husband and their kids come to trade vans. Thanks Pat & Kristal! Our van broke down in Canada on our first day of traveling to Michigan to stay with my sister. They graciously let us have there van for the rest of the week so that we could continue to Wisconsin to visit family. Our wonderful church in Vermont unexpectedly blessed us by covering the expenses of our engine disaster.
Cousins played, ladies unpacked the kitchen and the guys carried load after load up and down stairs. As for Sunday Worship, we enjoyed worshiping with the people of Clifton Baptist Church.


Week 2:
Steve starts his first full week of work. Classes had not started which helped with the transition to working in engineering again. During the day the kids and I explored the many free activities to do in Louisville including the library and this little splash park. We spent many many late nights working on getting all of the stuff out of boxes. (Stuff... I might need to write more on Stuff.. lots of Stuff.) The master suite / executive office was completed just in time for seminary classes (Greek, Church History and Biblical Counseling) to start. We enjoyed worshiping with the people at Third Avenue Baptist Church.

Week 3:

Steve started his classes. He went with a lighter load to help our family transition well to our new life which was wise on his part. To match Steve schedule, I started homeschooling Gabi and Sam a little early. Besides the things in texts, we have been learning about sleep. We need sleep in order to thrive. I, as a mom of 4 awesome kids, I need to get a good amount of sleep and not try double my day by staying up too late. Plus, staying connected as a happily married couple is going to take work and effort now that our days are split apart by his job at Indco and his nights spent studying for his classes at Southern Seminary. Hopefully our time doing ministry at Christ Memorial Church has demonstrated the importance of having a solid and well connected marriage and the tools to do just that. (our prayer request) We worshiped at 9th & O Baptist Church. And in the afternoon went down to the Riverfront Park (again free!).

Week 4:

This was my first week of events. Tuesday, I went to the Pendergraph Welcome Event. This is a monthly ministry to help women students and seminary wives connect with each other and faculty wives. It was a lovely time of connection, prayer, door prizes and singing. The highlight for me was meeting new women and singing awesome Christ centered songs (mostly from Sovereign Grace Ministries). Then Thursday, I went to my first class in the Seminary Wives Institute. I am taking Discipleship I and II this semester. One part of the assignment for this class will be going through the book Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life by Dr. Donald Whitney which I am thoroughly looking forward to. This weekend we are looking forward to my mom coming and worshiping again with another church.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Transitioning to Southern Seminary.

Well, we've been here (SBTS) two and a half weeks. The dust is settling. The boxes are minimal. Steve's job and classes have begun. What a crazy couple of weeks! We are sampling the variety and quantity of churches here in Louisville. This has been a bit hard. Leaving such a wonderful, gospel centered church and an active and loving body of believers is extremely difficult. Not being committed to a body feels foreign. Praise God that we are in a area that has so many churches to choose from. Oh that God would pepper the North with strong Christ centered churches who are not ashamed of the Gospel that exalts Christ and saves souls. Steve and I have spent much time talking about the grain of wheat that falls to the earth and dies in John 12:24-26. Dying is hard. Giving up a life, a home, a group of people and a church is painful. So I keep fixing my eyes on Him whom I'm following and know that He left much more than I did.