Christmas 2000 Volume 1 Issue 1
The days, weeks, and months have just been speeding by - at least now that Ian is here. I keep busy with the normal everyday duties of cooking and cleaning and the fun of taking care of Ian. Occasionally some extra projects like scrapbooking and sewing get added into my days as well. This is my third year attending a Bible study on Thursday mornings called Bible Study Fellowship. So far we've studied Genesis, Romans, and now Matthew. I'm enjoying the fellowship of other women and delving deeper into the Word of God.
Life is much different for me now than teaching MK's in Haiti. It may be hard to imagine but I find that staying home and taking care of my son and husbandJ is extremely rewarding and brings me great joy! Isn't it good to know that our times are in God's hands? He places us where He wants us to be and enables us to serve Him with joy wherever we are!
This is my third year of teaching at RCCS. It has been stressful and enjoyable, frustrating and rewarding, as I suppose most growth processes are. I tell people I have learned more than I've taught during these 2 1/2 years. With Ian's arrival this Spring, I have dropped down to teaching six classes a day, which gives me more time at home. I am enjoying this school year much, much more than my first two.
Shortly after moving to Beloit, Heather and I decided to make Faith Community Church in Janesville our church home and have been quite active there. We helped to start the church's missions committee earlier this year, which is going well. I designed an 8 week class called Discovering Spiritual Maturity that I've taught three times. And I've been able to preach several times. This June I worked as a pastoral intern, then continued to write Bible study and Sunday School lessons while we traveled to Maine in July and August. With this, I received ministerial credentials, so I'm now affectionately called, "Pastor Sean."
Heather, Ian and I enjoy hiking, fishing and bird-watching. I was able to do some duck and deer hunting this fall with some success. I was glad to be a casual contributor to the Wisconsin Breeding Bird Atlas over the past few years as well.
In spite of our attempts to slow down we seem to be "on the go" much of each week. We find that we cherish our times at home together as a family! Sometimes we look at Ian and we're overwhelmed with our love for him. It's hard to imagine anyone loving him more than we do, but God does. In fact, God the Father loves us, His children, more than we can even imagine. 1 John 3:1 says, "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!" Now that we are parents we've been refreshingly overwhelmed and comforted by the love that God, our FATHER, has for us.
As much as we love and care for all of you, never in a million years would we give our precious son to die for you. And yet, that is precisely what God has done for us. Won't you take some time this Christmas season to marvel and rejoice with us over the precious gift of Jesus Christ, God's own Son - the Savior of the World!
