Friendship is a gift!

To echo my friend Emily's post, friends are truly a Survival kit. She talked about how God put us all in each other's lives right when we needed each other. Life in seminary is surly a roller coaster of ups and downs, rich times of blessing, times of being poor and money strapped, joys of learning, decision making and following God's lead, sorrow of being away from friends and family and quite lonely at times in seeking a life of ministry. In this time when we are facing hardships and trials God provided an amazing group of friends for us. Friends who know the balance of having fun and loving Jesus at the same time. We had a great time this Halloween in Salem a city that is filled with evil on a night like this, and we were able to join together as people who love God and have fun dressing up and rejoicing in each other. I loved how Emily said it "So, we all raised our glasses that night around the table to Friendship; knowing we were put in each others lives as our very own survival kits." I am thankful for them. And the blessing that they are! It's the best part of Seminary for sure.

Yummy Thursday and an Update

Ok so as you know I have been seeking to eat well and lots of veggies & fruit. This can get boring and I definitely love a good treat. I am planning on having lots of my favorite treats on our big trip home to visit in Alabama. Treats like this:


Anyway today I thought instead of a recipe I would tell you some good snack ideas.

These are awesome! Organic, taste great, full of fiber!

Strawberries dipped in chocolate.
(I just melt a few semi sweet chocolate chips in the Micro and dip my strawberries in. YUM!)

Celery and Natural Peanut Butter

Nuts

Frozen Grapes

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus And Red Hot Blue Chips (a favorite)

Fruit To Go (Organic fruit leathers you can find some at Target)


Enjoy your snackin'!

So Josh and I have an opportunity to do an internship at a church. Josh is required to do a certain number of hours of Mentored Ministry for school. It would be amazing to be somewhere he got paid for this time. God has thrown an opportunity in our laps. At first I was hesitant and felt we would not fit in at this Church. It is very Conservative and different in some ways. I love worship and I had a hard time with the music. I feel like it would be taking a step backward. But the more I thought about it the more God worked in my heart that right now its not about being at a church where I love the worship and feel comfortable its about being at a church that Josh and I can learn and be prepared for full time ministry. I want to be where He wants us and will transform and use us to love the body. Its quite a God story how it all came about.The pastor and his wife really want to pour in to us. This pastor is amazing and truly loves the Lord. He wants to meet up with Josh 1x a week for mentoring. And we would also get mentoring together as a couple as they are trained NANC counselors. He wants to mentor Josh in preaching, shepherding, and they have been in the ministry for over 20 years. We are excited about this possibility. We would have to adjust to a few things and really need prayer if this is what the Lord wants. We are excited and feel blessed to come across a couple like them! It is rare to find a pastor that has the time and wants to do this sort of thing. The money of course would help, but the life learning Josh and I will receive will be priceless. Thanks for your prayers.

Finals...bleh

Well it has been quite an adjustment having someone in my home doing finals. Poor Josh has been cooped up in the Library for almost 40 hours this week. Writing his exegesis paper. I have to be honest I will be very glad when tomorrow is over. It means I get my husband back for almost a whole MONTH!!!!! No school! And we are taking a lovely trip to Canada to a cabin in the woods for Christmas, and then off to the Bahamas!

Now before you gasp and say BAHAMAS! I thought they were poor seminary students! Honestly when we packed up our life in a Budget truck and headed up here we said good bye to friends, family and our savings. Most of our friends were using their stimulus checks for cruises, i phones and fun things! I asked Josh what we would do with ours. "Move to Boston and go to seminary!" was his answer. So the thought of us ever going somewhere exotic was out of the question. I thought the next time we would be doing that is our 25th anniversary. But God is so sweet. He gives us sweet and wonderful gifts.

The girls team Josh assistant coaches is headed there for a tourney. And they had an extra ticket!!! We are headed Here. From January 2-6th! We even get our own room!!! (Seeing as J is the only boy! :) YEA!!!!)

I praise God for his gifts.

I was sad no one but Rachel did my Hubby post! I was dissipointed! Its not to late! Read this Post to leave your comment with the link to your post about your husband!

An update on life in good ol' MA

Well here I am at 2:00 in the morning. I am sick. In fact I think I have strep throat. I don't know where to go. You see when you live in Birmingham, and you have family and friends around too tell you where to go its much easier. I don't think Massachusetts believes in walk in clinics. Plus everything is so darn expensive here. We got a bill for Josh getting some stitches and it was like 2,000!!!!!!! I think there was a mix up with our health insurance, because we pay too much for it for them NOT to cover such a thing. So yes here I am sick and unable to sleep because my throat hurts so much.

Life has been busy lately. Josh has had the blessing of getting a job assistant coaching the girls basketball team at Gordon college. Now this has been a blessing like I said, but also a bit of an adjustment. Josh has practice most nights till 8:30 which gets him home a little late. We have turned in to our good friends Scott and Ree eating dinner at 9! :) IN fact the Men's Basketball coach's wife joked with me about how I am doing being a Basketball widow! Yes yes I am learning to to be a coaches wife! Supporting the team, supporting Josh, and loving the girls! I have to admit it is not always easy, especial with Josh's school schedule but God is preparing me for life as a pastors wife, it will pretty much be like this anyway! I am learning more and more life in the ministry is no piece of cake! I am also learning that my part in his ministry won't always be up front and center. I want to love and build relationships with these girls, but my job right now is to work to support Josh in school and to love Josh and support Him. I won't always be right there beside him and spending time with the people he is ministering to. Pray for us as Josh seeks to love these girls, and I seek to love Him and them as the season continues.
A recent pic of the team out for dinner! I got to go too!

Also things are going great on the front with our neighbors. It takes so much time to develop relationships with people and show them practically that you love them. But God has been good. We have had much time to spend with our neighbors and build that relationship. I pray every time we have conversations with them for God to lead me when to speak. He has been so gracious to allow me to speak the Gospel and the true love and solution found in Jesus! PRAISE the LORD! It is the first time I have lived out practically living to love your neighbor. I never made the time for them in Birmingham, and I know God has us living off campus at this time for them. They are going through a huge difficult time, and God just is so sovereign. He has allowed us to have friendship with them first, to open the door to now they want to come talk to us with their difficulties. In fact they joke before they knew us, and they found out Josh was going to seminary they would say "Code Blue Code Blue" when they saw us to avoid us "religious freaks". Ha....but now they have come to love us and see the difference between religion and relationship. There is nothing that speaks Jesus more that practically loving. Jesus knew what he was talking about :). Praise God for this opportunity. Please pray for us in that too and for Chris and Tara.


Is Seminary life hard? You bet. Are we poor? Definitely. Does God continue to provide? You bet. Are the lessons God teaching us worth it? Priceless. :)

Um.....What is that smell?

So, sometimes I take Caleb and Kennedy to play at the Seminary park. It's fun and usually there are other kids there for them to frolic with. On this particular day Kennedy had to go pee. So a nice lady offered for her to go pee in her apartment (on campus). So we walked in and as soon as I stepped in I knew something was wrong. The Smell. I couldn't put my finger on it. Weird food smell? No... Garbage???? No.... As I got closer to the bathroom it all made sense. "Sorry about the cloth diapers, I have had a hard time keeping up with the wash." Ah yes that's it. The smell of a pile of cloth diapers sitting on her bathroom floor. Used cloth diapers.... Caleb looked at me with a strange look on his face. I about gagged. "Hurry Caleb go pee!!!"(he had to go too)

It was seriously the worst smell of my life. I don't think using cloth Diapers really gives you the option to "not keep up with the wash". Or at least wash them out, and soak them...or something.

So after that experience three things to note:

1. Another reason I am glad I don't live on campus....strange smells EVERYWHERE.
2. I will never in my life use cloth diapers. (After cleaning up Caleb's undies almost everyday....No...NO...NOOO Cloth Diapers)
3. From now on we will just pee in the woods...outside...

It Begins.....

Well Josh officially started classes yesterday. Our bank account shows it too...gosh books are expensive. I have to admit being off campus has its plus's and negatives.
Positives:

Our own space...not the "living in a dorm" feel
Our nice back deck
A second Bedroom for visitors (You have to have kids to have 2 on campus)
Beach Passes for Gloucester/ living 2 mins from the Beach
Making friends with Unbelieving Neighbors


Negatives:
Further to Drive anywhere (esp Class)
Out of the Loop on A LOT (We missed some orientations)
Harder to have fellowship with other Seminarians
All our friends live on Campus
Wider open kitchen/ living room to have more people over
Josh will be there studying A LOT I will be alone...at home...

I guess I am sad to be out of the loop a little but I know God has us where we are.
It is going to be sooo weird to get used to Josh being in class and having to study. We are just going to have to plan out our time together a lot more. I must admit I am kinda nervous Josh is going to have this whole other life I really won't know most of the people. When we were in college we were together and had classes together. I know I will meet some of the people. But still I won't be learning as much as him.
He also got the job as the assistant basketball coach at Gordon College. With the girls team. I am excited to get to know these girls and love on them and have them over to our place. So I guess it is BYE BYE free coffee from Starbucks. Oh well it was nice while it lasted.

God has been reminding me of the peace that comes with His rule....so often I try to do things my way and end up in a mess. God promised there would be peace with the rule of His Son. "with the increase of His government comes peace". I want Him to rule. I know things are so much better His way than mine....as Charlie Hall says in one of his new songs "Why do I wrestle with the God I adore?"

Well signing off for now....
The wife of an official Seminarian.

Confessions of A Seminary Wife

Well we made it through the first two Greek Classes and Josh passed with flying colours!
We just bought a new...well a old car yesterday. We pretty much got a junker so we didn't have to sell the bike. We might have to one day down the road. But for now Josh will be trading his super cool biker image in for this Mind you ours is not so new and shiny...at all. But he shaved his head and has a tattoo now so I think the image will stay. Classes start in two weeks and it will be an adjustment. I will have to keep myself busy to not bug Josh as he studies. It is so weird he is in school and I am not.
We have made our first seminary friends! They are 3 other couples that we just love! We actually had dinner with one of them last night! It is so fun to find friends who are going through the same stages of life as us. Basically being poor seminary students! I have to say Josh has been working hard at Starbucks, but it just isn't his gig if you know what I mean. He has gotten an offer to be the assistant coach at Gordon College. We will see how it all plays out.
So so far really no complaints...I mean of all the seminaries we could of ended up at.....we ended up at a place with views like this I don't hate it I won't lie.

One more Little thing......or BIG

I am soooooooo proud of my husband
He officially got accepted to GORDON CONWELL SEMINARY today! And TRINITY
Two of the top Seminaries in the country!
Now its time to see what God wants.....pray for us for scholarship and clear direction....OH MAN.....I am ready to see Gods crazy provision...LETS GO!!!!!

LOVED IT

Well, we absolutely LOVED Gordon and the surrounding areas. If you have never been to New England you simply must go! It is so quaint and beautiful.
We had a great time with our friends and in Boston. Please keep praying for us as we pray about raising support through something called the Partnership Program, and apply for scholarships. We are still not exactly clear where God wants us to go and we want to be sensitive to HIS leading! I am excited for this new journey! Here are some pics from our trip for those of you who don't have Facebook (Alexis hehe)

Deeper Still....

Well...this past week has been an adventure. We had a wonderful time in Chicago...except when we didn't get home till Thursday instead of Tuesday due to weather. But its all part of God's plan. No decision made yet...we still need to visit Gordon, and pray a lot and see where we get in and what scholarships we get. But when we got home, well work was a mess....(but thanks to my dear friends Rachel, and Greta who helped out A TON) It all got done. So we were ready to get back to normal life agian and then it hit....the worst sickness I have ever witnessed upon my husband. The poor guy started throwing up Thursday evening and didnt stop until 6:00 in the morning at the hospital. He was so weak and ill...then I got it too. Only thankfully I am not a throw-er-upper (hehe). So I just had all the other symptoms with out that part. It was horrible. We were so pathetic lying around our apartment. But we are both feeling some what better today..thank the Lord. But as I was sick I decided to watch a movie of a book I read a few years ago. One of the best books I have ever read and if you haven't read it you simply must.. The movie was great. Not as great as the book, but movies never are. I was reminded of what Betsie would say to Corrie " There is no Pit that is so deep the God is not deeper still." Such a great saying and so true. Those women were so thankful. Always trusting God and having faith. Oh how they loved the Word of God and treasured it so. It was such a good reminder to me that I have nothing NOTHING to complain about. I too can give thanks in everything, from being sick, to Lice....(I don't have lice but thats a part of the book...hehe). I pray that I become a Women of Faith as these Women were and trust God in every circumstance.

The Windy City....

Well first of all I have to say I am a little dissapointed I didn't get any comments on Fasting. I know its not a popular topic but I know some of you have thought about it. I just wanted some opinions. Oh Well...
Well we are off to visit some Seminaries

I am sure that is not what it will look like when we are there but that is Wheaton...I am excited to see it and get a feel for it. We would appriciate your prayers as we seek Gods will and direction for our lives (and provision!)I am excited to see Chicago I have never been there!