Saturday, September 25, 2010

September Blessings

September is coming to a quick close.  Last week Roy was chapel scholar on duty and Lector Server fill in for someone whose been sick.  He did a great job chanting the epistle during the St. Matthew's Day Solemn Mass on Thursday night.  There is something very moving about the high mass services that I do not take for granted while here at Nashotah.  The chapel is a beautiful place for meditation and contemplative prayer too.

As I posted earlier, we continue to pray for family members at home that are not well.  My mom was diagnosed with Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the lung and we are awaiting her surgical clearance to know when her treatment will begin.  Thanks be to God, this was caught early and has not spread.  It is also a less aggressive cancer and can be treated without chemotherapy.  Roy's Mawmaw has been sick and in the hospital, as both his Uncles in Virginia.  We keep them all in our daily prayers.

Roy is doing well in Hebrew and his other studies as well.  I am having a great time taking Aesthetic Theology 1 class with him on Monday nights.  Last week we took the Myers Briggs test and discussed our results as well as how these results affect our spiritual and prayer life.  We also talked how the personality types can be effective in marriage counseling and other types of spiritual direction programs.  It was fun to see how alike as well as different we are as a group in the class.

Today is Saturday, when Roy and I left the apartment this morning for chapel it was 48 degrees.  Brrrr it was a nice cool breezy bike ride.  Time for layers, and digging out the sweatshirts and blankets.  This time of year is a glorious sight for us Floridians watching the trees change to red, yellows, and orange.  In a few minutes, Heather and I will be off for her horse riding lessons.  Her trainer indicated that she is nearly ready to start jumping.  She is having a great time with that.  She is also looking forward to the Homecoming dance next month.  I will be sure to post pictures.  She is growing up so fast.  We found out that Stephanie is doing great in school back home too.  She graduated with her AA Cum Laud and is now attending Central Fl University for her baccalaureate studies.  I am very proud of her.

Friday, September 17, 2010

News from Roy

I was so nice to see everyone over the summer, and to preach and worship with you, too. I received a lot of great feedback regarding my sermon, and expect that I will be able to apply that feedback when I begin taking the classes on preaching next semester. The semester is in full swing, which means Amazon stocks should be a good investment, based on the number of books I’ve purchased over the last 3 weeks! With that, it goes without saying that I am so grateful and humbled by all of the support we have received over the past last year. We would not be able to do this without your prayerful and financial support, and we have been truly blessed to have exactly what we need at exactly the time we seem to need it. God is great, and we know that He is working through all of us to ensure the Gospel is proclaimed!


Marcia is doing great working from home, and we never take for granted how blessed we are that the Lord has provided for us in this way, and in so many more that I can’t even write them all down. She is taking a class at The University of Wisconsin on Thursday evening, and she and I are both taking an Aesthetical Theology class together here on campus on Monday nights. The seminary doesn’t charge spouses to take classes, and spouses can take up to 11 classes for credit. It has been fun sitting in class and having discussions together.

Heather started High School and she seems to have adjusted well, yet again, to another major change in her life. Needless to say, I have loved watching my little girl grow up, but now find myself literally cringing at her new and “questionable” vocabulary: “When do I get to start driving?”, “When am I getting my dress for Homecoming?”, “Can I go to the football game with my friends?”, and the list goes on as I’m sure we all remember our teenage years. Heather continues to take horseback riding lessons every week, which is another gift we have received from those helping to ensure Heather gets to be in activities here also.

Stephanie started her Junior year at The University of Central Florida, and is doing great. She recently moved into a new apartment next to the campus, and continues to work part time and go to school full time. If all goes as planned, she and I will actually graduate at the same time. I don’t understand how my children are growing up at a rate faster than I am growing older?!

Marcia and I are both involved in the healing ministry at the church we attend on Sundays, and we both sing in the Community Choir here on campus. So, it goes without saying that our life here in Wisconsin is going great. While we do miss our family and friends, we also know that we are in the place God has called us. We pray for you all every day, and would love to hear from you as you have time.