Trying to move in

We have all of the boxes inside of our new house (except for a couple my mother-in-law is bringing this weekend). However, very few of them are unpacked. Our cabinet doors and kitchen walls are still being painted (the walls by a professional painter in the congregation). We do have TV service, phone, and internet, even though we don't have any doors on our cabinets. We are having family and a few friends over on Saturday evening, so I really hope that we can get at least enough unpacked so that people can have a place to sit and walk around!
People are coming into town because Pete's ordination is on Sunday! We are both very excited. It's also kind of fun to have people start referring to my husband as "Pastor." However, this is a small town, and the rumor mill about us has already started. When new neighbors who are not members of the church have heard the untrue gossip, you know that it's bad. For the other pastor's wives out there, how do you handle the gossip?

Exercising My Signing Muscles

Yesterday we bought paint and cabinet hardware. Today we are packing the car with the painting supplies, an air mattress, and food that doesn't need any refrigeration, and tomorrow morning we head down to go close on our very first house. I will also open a new bank account and head down to my new school to pick up my curriculum and (hopefully) my keys. Life is changing drastically, and tomorrow seems to be an important event in that change.

Leaving on a Jet Plane

Pete and I believe that family vacation time is very important. It is important to both take a break and have dedicated family time, and also to explore the world. This year we decided to take a big trip, as it could be a few years before we will be able to take a trip of this magnitude or length again. So, two weeks ago we headed off to Great Britain. After a delayed and changed flight, we finally made it into London. We were able to spend 5 days/4 nights there and see at least some of the wonderful sights, including the Tower of London, the Royal Observatory at Greenwich, the New Globe Theater, Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's Cathedral, and the British Museum, as well as other sights. We also got to see a performance of Billy Elliot in the West End. From there we rented a car and headed to Stratford-upon-Avon to see the Shakespeare sights and saw a performance of Antony and Cleopatra by the Royal Shakespeare Company. We spent the next day at Warwick Castle before heading up to York. In York we saw Yorkminster Cathedral (which was extra fun as I had gotten to sing a Vespers service there while I was in high school), the Jorvik Viking Center, and the National Railway Museum. We then headed up to Edinburghm stopping at a Roman Fort and Hadrian's Wall. In Edinburgh we got to see the Palace of the Holyrood House, St. Giles Cathedral (which I also sang at in high school), Edinburgh Castle, Craigmillar Castle, the Scottish Museum, as well as many other places. We also got to see a military dress rehearsal for the installation of a new Governor of Edinburgh Castle, complete with pipes, drums, and military band. It was very cool.
As much fun as we had, a major theme of our vacation was getting lost. We had reserved the rental car with a GPS, however, they didn't have any GPS available. It was then a scramble to find directions (without any cell phones or internet access). After getting lost in Oxford and missing our planned upon sightseeing and dinner, we finally bought an atlas. However, it still didn't have big enough detailed maps of some of the places we needed to drive. We really learned the geography of the parts of England and Scotland we drove through! It really made me appreciate the technology we have now, and realize the need for streets to actually have street signs in visible locations. I bet there is another lesson in this experience as well...

For what it's worth, it was worth all the while

Yesterday was my husband's graduation from seminary. It has been a long, four year journey for both of us. When my husband started seminary, we were newlyweds. We lived in a small one-bedroom apartment near campus. I was afraid about making friends, as I knew no one in St. Louis. However, four years later, I am sad that the friends I have made will be moving far away and that I will be moving. Don't worry, I will not miss our current rental and am excited about the house that we are purchasing, but I will miss the convieneces of the city and the closeness of friends. I work with one of my best friends, but her last day will be on Monday, since she and her husband will also be moving to accept a call into the pastoral ministry. My godson and his wonderful parents will be moving ten hours away. Coming into seminary, we always knew that having to leave was part of God's plan. I could not have imagined, however, the friendships God has blessed me with and how hard it would be to move away from them. To all of my friends, both from seminary and from further in the past, know how much I treasure your friendship.

I Hope You Like Spinach!

I only eat my spinach raw, not out of a can, so I hope that I fit in okay. Why does this matter? My husband received his first call to be an assistant pastor in Chester, IL, the home of Popeye. Yes, the main this Chester is known for is that the Popeye cartoonist lived there. They have a Popeye festival every year, in fact. So, in a couple of months, we will be loading up a moving van and heading about 70 miles south to Chester.
While I am excited about the call, I am also nervous. Chester is different from any place I have ever lived. I am a city girl. We won't be super far from St. Louis, but the fact that I'll need to drive 45 minutes to find a Target is a bit frightening.
One of the hymns the choir sang at the call service keeps running through my head.
"Christ be my leader by night as by day,
Safe through the darkness for He is the way.
Gladly I follow my future His care.
Darkness is daylight when Jesus is there.'
Written by Christopger Dudley-Smith

It's Finally Here!

It's officially Call Day. It's only hours before the service. As I write this, my students are eating lunch, happily giggling and joking and completely oblivious to the importance of this day for me. I, on the other hand, am an internal anticipatory wreck. My stomach is tied in knots, and I'm currently glad that I packed a light lunch today.
Approximately 7 hours from now, I will finally know the information I have been waiting more than 4 years to know where Pete will get to be a pastor. While we think we might know where we are going, my presuppositions could change in an instant tonight. Even if they aren't, the journey ahead is still unknown.
"Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified, do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." (Joshua 1:9)

The Beginning of the End, or the End of the Begnning?

I can use many different words to define myself. I am a teacher, a reader, a traveler, a Master's student, a writer, a lover of cooking and good food, and an independent woman. Oh, yes, I am an an almost-pastor's wife.
Growing up, I never ever imagined or wanted to be a pastor's wife. I like stability and the abililty to plan. Our vacation plans include a down to the hour (or sometimes minute!) itinerary that are planned months in advance. (I get this from my mother.) So, the last thing I ever wanted was to marry someone planning to have an unpredictable life. However, I fell in love with a pre-seminary student and married him just before he started seminary. Almost 4 years after getting married, we are at the end of his seminary education, with Call Day (the day he finds out his first placement) only 6 days away. We then have about 2 months to find housing (and close on our first house if it is a possiblilty), find myself a job, and move our entire lives. Did I mention that we are going on vacation in Great Britain for two weeks of that time frame? This is driving the planner in me nuts. Pete is not even a pastor yet, and I am already frustrated by the ministry life.
However, I do know one thing. God can work in any situation. Even if the call we get is not what we would consider ideal, God can still do good work anywhere. In the week before Call Day, Jeremiah 29:11 resonates: "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.'" (NIV) Even if I don't know the plan, there is someone who does. And that gives comfort.