Here’s another long-overdue Thursday 13. Thanks for reading and praying!

1. We had a wonderful Christmas break. Our visits to St. Louis South Dakota were rich and restful.

2. We got to see the beautiful new house recently purchase by Laura’s dad and step-mom in Rapid City, which they bought last summer.

3. Our January term was very refreshing. As we already mentioned, we each took a class and audited each-other’s. We had more time to catch up on some to-do’s that we had put off for months.

4. On Martin Luther King weekend, we took a spontaneous 3 day trip (which consisted mostly of driving) to Asheville. It had been too long since we had seen Joel’s family, so we surprised them (or at least Joel’s siblings) with a visit.

5. We did a lot of cooking in January (which is our favorite thing to do)!  We found a wonderful web site that offered videos that taught basic cooking skills (check out www.Rouxbe.com if you ever have the chance!)

6. This spring semester has gotten off to a fast start, and it looks like it will likely be as challenging as the last.

7. This semester we are both taking: Acts and Paul, Old Testament History and Theology 2, Poetry and Wisdom Books, and Theology and Secular Psychology.

8. The last 2 weeks have been particularly hard. Laura experienced some severe stomach pains last Thursday, which rendered her out of commission for most of the day, and this week her laptop bag (which contained her computer, external hard drive, and planner) was stolen from school.

9. We filed a police report for the stolen laptop and sent an email out to all the students, but we haven’t gotten any leads at this point.

10. Since Laura depends on her laptop so heavily (for school, work, etc.), we decided that we probably need to buy her a new one soon.

11. Joel is still really enjoying his job teaching ESL, and loves getting to practice his Spanish.

12. On Valentine’s Day we had a fondue party for the wives in Laura’s Bible study and their husbands. We had a lot of laughs playing our version of the Newly Weds Game.

13. Laura is co-leading a Bible study on Galatians this semester (using the Redeemer Pres small group curriculum)

Praise and Prayer: This week has been extremely challenging (spiritually, emotionally, physically, etc.), but the Lord has been faithful in making his presence and provision known to us, especially through the wisdom of his Word and the love and support of those around us. We’re appreciating more and more all that He has blessed us with, and growing in our faith that “in all things God works for the good of those who love him”. Pray that we would continue to grow in this faith.

Here’s another long-overdue Thursday 13. Thanks for reading and praying!

1. We had a wonderful Christmas break. Our visits to St. Louis South Dakota were rich and restful.

2. We got to see the beautiful new house recently purchase by Laura’s dad and step-mom in Rapid City, which they bought last summer.

3. Our January term was very refreshing. As we already mentioned, we each took a class and audited each-other’s. We had more time to catch up on some to-do’s that we had put off for months.

4. On Martin Luther King weekend, we took a spontaneous 3 day trip (which consisted mostly of driving) to Asheville. It had been too long since we had seen Joel’s family, so we surprised them (or at least Joel’s siblings) with a visit.

5. We did a lot of cooking in January (which is our favorite thing to do)!  We found a wonderful web site that offered videos that taught basic cooking skills (check out www.Rouxbe.com if you ever have the chance!)

6. This spring semester has gotten off to a fast start, and it looks like it will likely be as challenging as the last.

7. This semester we are both taking: Acts and Paul, Old Testament History and Theology 2, Poetry and Wisdom Books, and Theology and Secular Psychology.

8. The last 2 weeks have been particularly hard. Laura experienced some severe stomach pains last Thursday, which rendered her out of commission for most of the day, and this week her laptop bag (which contained her computer, external hard drive, and planner) was stolen from school.

9. We filed a police report for the stolen laptop and sent an email out to all the students, but we haven’t gotten any leads at this point.

10. Since Laura depends on her laptop so heavily (for school, work, etc.), we decided that we probably need to buy her a new one soon.

11. Joel is still really enjoying his job teaching ESL, and loves getting to practice his Spanish.

12. On Valentine’s Day we had a fondue party for the wives in Laura’s Bible study and their husbands. We had a lot of laughs playing our version of the Newly Weds Game.

13. Laura is co-leading a Bible study on Galatians this semester (using the Redeemer Pres small group curriculum)

Praise and Prayer: This week has been extremely challenging (spiritually, emotionally, physically, etc.), but the Lord has been faithful in making his presence and provision known to us, especially through the wisdom of his Word and the love and support of those around us. We’re appreciating more and more all that He has blessed us with, and growing in our faith that “in all things God works for the good of those who love him”. Pray that we would continue to grow in this faith.

Yes, a good many Thursdays, including yesterday, have escaped us since we last wrote one of these updates. I thought I should get one out quickly while we are catching our breath before diving into the holiday travel mayhem. I’ll try to hit the highlights to catch everyone up.

1. This was a really hard semester at WTS. Definitely our hardest yet. I think we had time to cook about 10 meals at home all semester, and most of you know how much we like to cook. Hopefully the rest will be somewhat easier from here out. Regardless, God faithfully brought us through and took care of all our needs.
2. Laura turned 25 in October, and I turned 30 earlier this month!
3. One of the things that gave us more free time and even earned a little extra cash this semester was that we’ve been doing some work for a couple of “secret shopper” companies. We get paid a small fee to eat out at restaurants and review their service. Not a bad deal!
4. I really loved teaching my ESL class this semester, and I’m looking forward to seeing them again in January. The Mexican ladies I teach are great students and we always have a lot of fun.
5. Laura is still enjoying her childcare job as well as the photography work, which has remained fairly steady.
6. We’re still loving our apartment in Ambler, although we haven’t had time to finish decorating and painting since the semester began. I’m hoping to put up some lights today if possible.
7. After finishing finals, we took a nice little trip to our favorite rental cottage out in Lancaster for a couple of days. We had a great time relaxing, catching up on sleep, and eating good food.
8. Thanksgiving came right before finals this year, so we couldn’t travel and see family. But we did get together with a bunch of other students from WTS and had a great Thanksgiving meal on campus. After that we babysat some hilarious kids so their parents could go out with family to a football game.
9. On the last day of finals (last Friday) we went to two great Christmas parties, one for CCEF (since Laura worked there a little this semester) and the other for Laura’s Bible study group (we always have a white elephant party with this group, and I brought home a pumpkin, much to Laura’s chagrin).
10. This Christmas we’re going to visit Laura’s family, first in St Louis, then driving up with her Dad and step-mom to their new house in Rapid City, South Dakota! Pray that we have good weather on the way! I’m hoping for lots of snow once we get there, since as a child I suffered from snow deprivation growing up in the South. Laura’s dad’s side of the family will all be there, and I’m sure we’ll have a great time.
11. When we’re in St Louis, we’re going to get to visit with lots of family and friends!
12. We are very excited to tell you that we secured a summer internship at a church in Asheville for this summer! The church is Grace Community PCA in Fletcher. I’ll be working with the discipleship ministry and Laura will probably work with the women’s and children’s ministries. My parents have kindly offered to let us stay in their basement apartment for the summer, and we’re really looking forward to getting to see more of my family.
13. We’ll be taking a couple of January term classes next month. I’ll be taking a class on the Westminster Standards, taught by Dr Sinclair Ferguson, and Laura will be taking “Counseling and the Local Church” from Tim Lane. We’ll be auditing eachother’s classes as well.

Thanks for reading and feel free to send us updates of your own!

Yes, a good many Thursdays, including yesterday, have escaped us since we last wrote one of these updates. I thought I should get one out quickly while we are catching our breath before diving into the holiday travel mayhem. I’ll try to hit the highlights to catch everyone up.

1. This was a really hard semester at WTS. Definitely our hardest yet. I think we had time to cook about 10 meals at home all semester, and most of you know how much we like to cook. Hopefully the rest will be somewhat easier from here out. Regardless, God faithfully brought us through and took care of all our needs.
2. Laura turned 25 in October, and I turned 30 earlier this month!
3. One of the things that gave us more free time and even earned a little extra cash this semester was that we’ve been doing some work for a couple of “secret shopper” companies. We get paid a small fee to eat out at restaurants and review their service. Not a bad deal!
4. I really loved teaching my ESL class this semester, and I’m looking forward to seeing them again in January. The Mexican ladies I teach are great students and we always have a lot of fun.
5. Laura is still enjoying her childcare job as well as the photography work, which has remained fairly steady.
6. We’re still loving our apartment in Ambler, although we haven’t had time to finish decorating and painting since the semester began. I’m hoping to put up some lights today if possible.
7. After finishing finals, we took a nice little trip to our favorite rental cottage out in Lancaster for a couple of days. We had a great time relaxing, catching up on sleep, and eating good food.
8. Thanksgiving came right before finals this year, so we couldn’t travel and see family. But we did get together with a bunch of other students from WTS and had a great Thanksgiving meal on campus. After that we babysat some hilarious kids so their parents could go out with family to a football game.
9. On the last day of finals (last Friday) we went to two great Christmas parties, one for CCEF (since Laura worked there a little this semester) and the other for Laura’s Bible study group (we always have a white elephant party with this group, and I brought home a pumpkin, much to Laura’s chagrin).
10. This Christmas we’re going to visit Laura’s family, first in St Louis, then driving up with her Dad and step-mom to their new house in Rapid City, South Dakota! Pray that we have good weather on the way! I’m hoping for lots of snow once we get there, since as a child I suffered from snow deprivation growing up in the South. Laura’s dad’s side of the family will all be there, and I’m sure we’ll have a great time.
11. When we’re in St Louis, we’re going to get to visit with lots of family and friends!
12. We are very excited to tell you that we secured a summer internship at a church in Asheville for this summer! The church is Grace Community PCA in Fletcher. I’ll be working with the discipleship ministry and Laura will probably work with the women’s and children’s ministries. My parents have kindly offered to let us stay in their basement apartment for the summer, and we’re really looking forward to getting to see more of my family.
13. We’ll be taking a couple of January term classes next month. I’ll be taking a class on the Westminster Standards, taught by Dr Sinclair Ferguson, and Laura will be taking “Counseling and the Local Church” from Tim Lane. We’ll be auditing eachother’s classes as well.

Thanks for reading and feel free to send us updates of your own!

Yes, I’m still alive, in case anyone was wondering. I’m approaching a deadline for a major paper like an airplane careening toward a mountainside. My inner co-pilot is yelling, “pull up! pull up!” while fastening on his parachute. I’ll try to write more as soon as sanity returns. Pray for us if you think of it.

Thanks!

Ok, it’s almost not Thursday anymore and I need to get to bed, so this will have to be a quick one.

1. Laura and I both had pretty bad colds the past two weeks, but we’re pretty much over them now.
2. It turned out that I could only work 1 4-hour session per week for my ESL job, so I had to get another job. I’ll be working about 10 hours a week doing audio/visual work for Westminster. Even though this won’t pay very much, it does give me a lot of time to study on the job, which will be great.
3. Did I mention that we are loving our new apartment? We are.
4. The weather is getting progressively cooler and nicer, but the really cold weather won’t be far behind.
5. Laura has been getting more photography inquiries about weddings in the next year, which is encouraging.
6. We used to run a sort of snack cafe as a ministry to the students at Westminster, but that became too time consuming, especially for this busy year, so we were able to hand that off to another couple of students.
7. I didn’t mention it last time, but our good friends the Smiths, who had been living down closer to downtown Philly, moved back up close to us and the seminary over the summer, so we’re enjoying having them close enough to see each other a bit more.
8. We recently bought a new laptop for me to take notes on at school. It is tiny and light and I love it!
9. Laura’s laptop has been having lots of issues and we keep having to send it back in for work. That’s been annoying when she depends on it for taking class notes and for her photography work.
10. We’re still making kefir smoothies every morning for breakfast. Yum!
11. We’ve started participating in a mystery shopper program that gets us free meals at restaurants and other nice little perks. This allows us to get our dates for free or even paid for!
12. Our rabbits still disapprove of their new surroundings, but that’s not surprising, since they disapprove of everything but bananas. They have demonstrated their disapproval by chewing on the baseboard moldings in their room.
13. Next week is midterms! Yikes! How did that happen so fast?? Please pray that we would be diligent and wise with our time.

Have a great weekend!

Ok, it’s almost not Thursday anymore and I need to get to bed, so this will have to be a quick one.

1. Laura and I both had pretty bad colds the past two weeks, but we’re pretty much over them now.
2. It turned out that I could only work 1 4-hour session per week for my ESL job, so I had to get another job. I’ll be working about 10 hours a week doing audio/visual work for Westminster. Even though this won’t pay very much, it does give me a lot of time to study on the job, which will be great.
3. Did I mention that we are loving our new apartment? We are.
4. The weather is getting progressively cooler and nicer, but the really cold weather won’t be far behind.
5. Laura has been getting more photography inquiries about weddings in the next year, which is encouraging.
6. We used to run a sort of snack cafe as a ministry to the students at Westminster, but that became too time consuming, especially for this busy year, so we were able to hand that off to another couple of students.
7. I didn’t mention it last time, but our good friends the Smiths, who had been living down closer to downtown Philly, moved back up close to us and the seminary over the summer, so we’re enjoying having them close enough to see each other a bit more.
8. We recently bought a new laptop for me to take notes on at school. It is tiny and light and I love it!
9. Laura’s laptop has been having lots of issues and we keep having to send it back in for work. That’s been annoying when she depends on it for taking class notes and for her photography work.
10. We’re still making kefir smoothies every morning for breakfast. Yum!
11. We’ve started participating in a mystery shopper program that gets us free meals at restaurants and other nice little perks. This allows us to get our dates for free or even paid for!
12. Our rabbits still disapprove of their new surroundings, but that’s not surprising, since they disapprove of everything but bananas. They have demonstrated their disapproval by chewing on the baseboard moldings in their room.
13. Next week is midterms! Yikes! How did that happen so fast?? Please pray that we would be diligent and wise with our time.

Have a great weekend!

As most of my few readers already know, we got the idea from our friends the Smiths of putting out a brief weekly update containing the mundane details of our life. We haven’t been very good about keeping up the practice, and the last one we sent out was in the spring. I’m going to start posting them here as well, in case any readers here are interested. Normally they will contain pretty minor details, but so many significant things have happened since the last one we wrote, that this one is pretty rich.

Ok, here goes…

1. At the beginning of the summer we got rear-ended in our Jeep and it was totaled, but we were fine. It turned out well because we were already thinking about selling it and getting something more fuel efficient, and the insurance gave us more money than we would have been able to get reselling it.
2. We bought a car from a dealership which turned out to be a total lemon. The engine was really bad, but we had bought it as-is, so the guy didn’t want to let us return it. Eventually we wore him down though, and we got our money back, minus $500.
3. Laura’s mom and step-dad sold us their Honda Accord, which is in great shape and has low miles, for a great deal and we now have a car that we absolutely love and that gets great gas mileage.
4. You will remember that we lived at a work-for-rent apartment. Well the people who owned that house finally sold the property and said that we would need to move out by November. They tried to get us to stay and work until then, but that would have been terrible for us to try to do in the middle of an already hard semester. So we finally worked it out and agreed to move out in August.
5. We found a wonderful little apartment in the town of Ambler, just a few minutes away from where were living. The landlord is really nice and he paid for us to repaint the apartment and fix it up just right. In August some of our faithful friends were kind enough to help us move all our tons of stuff to the new place.
6. Now we’re just about getting settled into our new place and really enjoying it. We’re right across the street from a grocery store and right on the main street of the town. We’re looking forward to getting to know this town and our neighbors.
7. Right after we moved all our stuff in, Laura’s dad and step-mom flew us and the rest of the family out to southwest Colorado, where we spent about a week relaxing and sight-seeing. We had a great time!
8. During the summer and into the first couple weeks of the new semester Laura organized a ministry designed to help new students at the seminary get adjusted by helping them to connect with one another and with current students and by providing them with a variety of helpful resources. We set up a website that serves as a central location for telling students about these resources at www.wtssa.org.
9. Now we’re a couple of weeks into the new semester at Westminster, and it’s looking like it might be our hardest one yet. We’re both taking Gospels, Old Testament History and Theology I, Reformation History, and a Counseling Observation class. Laura’s also taking Counseling and Physiology, and I’m taking a systematic theology course called Doctrine of Man. All of these classes will be pretty challenging, but we’re looking forward to them too.
10. Next summer we’re hoping to each do an internship at a church, probably in Asheville, NC. My parents have kindly offered to let us stay in their basement apartment over the summer, which will save us from having to pay a second rent check. Please pray that a good opportunity will open up for us.
11. I now have a new job, working about 8 hours a week teaching ESL to Hispanics. It pays very well and allows me a lot more time for studying, which I’m going to need!
12. Laura’s photography business is still growing slowly, and she’s still working part-time at the daycare, and now she is probably getting another part-time job doing office work at CCEF - the counseling ministry that is connected with Westminster. That’s on top of a full load of classes! She’s one hard working lady. Please pray for her.
13. I’ve corrupted Laura and she has started liking coffee!

Sorry, that was a lot to catch everybody up on. Next time I’ll try to keep it short and sweet. Thanks for reading!

As most of my few readers already know, we got the idea from our friends the Smiths of putting out a brief weekly update containing the mundane details of our life. We haven’t been very good about keeping up the practice, and the last one we sent out was in the spring. I’m going to start posting them here as well, in case any readers here are interested. Normally they will contain pretty minor details, but so many significant things have happened since the last one we wrote, that this one is pretty rich.

Ok, here goes…

1. At the beginning of the summer we got rear-ended in our Jeep and it was totaled, but we were fine. It turned out well because we were already thinking about selling it and getting something more fuel efficient, and the insurance gave us more money than we would have been able to get reselling it.
2. We bought a car from a dealership which turned out to be a total lemon. The engine was really bad, but we had bought it as-is, so the guy didn’t want to let us return it. Eventually we wore him down though, and we got our money back, minus $500.
3. Laura’s mom and step-dad sold us their Honda Accord, which is in great shape and has low miles, for a great deal and we now have a car that we absolutely love and that gets great gas mileage.
4. You will remember that we lived at a work-for-rent apartment. Well the people who owned that house finally sold the property and said that we would need to move out by November. They tried to get us to stay and work until then, but that would have been terrible for us to try to do in the middle of an already hard semester. So we finally worked it out and agreed to move out in August.
5. We found a wonderful little apartment in the town of Ambler, just a few minutes away from where were living. The landlord is really nice and he paid for us to repaint the apartment and fix it up just right. In August some of our faithful friends were kind enough to help us move all our tons of stuff to the new place.
6. Now we’re just about getting settled into our new place and really enjoying it. We’re right across the street from a grocery store and right on the main street of the town. We’re looking forward to getting to know this town and our neighbors.
7. Right after we moved all our stuff in, Laura’s dad and step-mom flew us and the rest of the family out to southwest Colorado, where we spent about a week relaxing and sight-seeing. We had a great time!
8. During the summer and into the first couple weeks of the new semester Laura organized a ministry designed to help new students at the seminary get adjusted by helping them to connect with one another and with current students and by providing them with a variety of helpful resources. We set up a website that serves as a central location for telling students about these resources at www.wtssa.org.
9. Now we’re a couple of weeks into the new semester at Westminster, and it’s looking like it might be our hardest one yet. We’re both taking Gospels, Old Testament History and Theology I, Reformation History, and a Counseling Observation class. Laura’s also taking Counseling and Physiology, and I’m taking a systematic theology course called Doctrine of Man. All of these classes will be pretty challenging, but we’re looking forward to them too.
10. Next summer we’re hoping to each do an internship at a church, probably in Asheville, NC. My parents have kindly offered to let us stay in their basement apartment over the summer, which will save us from having to pay a second rent check. Please pray that a good opportunity will open up for us.
11. I now have a new job, working about 8 hours a week teaching ESL to Hispanics. It pays very well and allows me a lot more time for studying, which I’m going to need!
12. Laura’s photography business is still growing slowly, and she’s still working part-time at the daycare, and now she is probably getting another part-time job doing office work at CCEF - the counseling ministry that is connected with Westminster. That’s on top of a full load of classes! She’s one hard working lady. Please pray for her.
13. I’ve corrupted Laura and she has started liking coffee!

Sorry, that was a lot to catch everybody up on. Next time I’ll try to keep it short and sweet. Thanks for reading!