A wedding and an amusement park

Our summer is quickly coming to an end. I am taking a class that starts next weeks. The college students will be returning.

We are trying to make the most of our summer time.
In this post I have included a link to some pictures from the wedding along with pictures of our family day at Knoebels Amusement Park. (http://www.knoebels.com/) It was a great day.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=3765&l=e85aa&id=501059302
(if you cannot get the picture link to work, please leave a comment. You don't need a blogger account to do this. Click on anonymous.)

The summer is winding to a close

This past Wednesday (08.01), Krista and I celebrated our 9th year of marriage. God has definitely blessed our family in so many different ways through good times and challenges. We are so thankful for an amazing provider.

The last camp of the summer just started tonight (08.05). Soccer camp.

Teen Leadership Conference finished up well. The counselors in the dorm said both weeks went well.

I worked a lot last week between Borders (four different shifts from Tuesday thru Friday) and campus security (from 9pm to 1 am).

Borders was craziness this week because we had a book signing Friday night. Senator Joe Biden was in the store from 5 to 7. I was so glad we were in NY at that time.
A friend of ours from the Dominican got married. It was a good time to reconnect with friends from the DR.

This is my last week of summer vacation. My Greek Review course starts on 08.13 and it runs for two weeks and then the regular semester starts.

A prayer request is for the Leadership Week with the RDs (resident directors), RAs (resident assistants) and SLC members (student leadership committee). It is an intense week of training and preparing for the upcoming year. The week begins on 08.20. Please be praying for wisdom in regards to dorm and campus direction for the year.

Joel and Josiah will be spending that week with Grammy in Pittsburgh. They are looking forward to a lot of fun. Well Joel is looking forward to it. When we tell Josiah he just smiles real big, which is pretty much what he does almost all the time.

Preparation for my trip Jamaica is coming along well. Please continue to pray for that. There is a prayer request website we will be using to update people about the trip. It is http://www.bbsjam07.blogspot.com/

July 28th - TLC Week #1 is finished.

A year ago today we were driving out here to Clarks Summit.

I could go all melodramatic about it but I won't. I can summarize what I am thinking in a two thoughts.

• God is so amazing and imaginative. He provides in ways you could never even imagine.
• One of those amazing methods of providing is through His people. We have been so blessed to have a great family and a group of awesome friends who are such a support to us.

I came across this verse while preparing for Sunday School:
Psalm 105:4 "Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always."
I pray that I would do this every moment of my life.

It's July 25th already?!?!?!

I cannot believe how fast the summer seems to be going. (A summer time photo is at the end of this post)

• We have been out here for almost a year. Just about a year ago, Larry A. and several others helped us fit all of our stuff into that Penske truck that most people said would be to small. I knew Larry would find a way to do it. (God was amazing in provided so many friends and family members to help with our move)
• I finished up my second summer module last week.
• The first week of TLC (Teen Leadership Conference) is halfway over.

Some update information:

• Josiah is walking and I mean HE IS WALKING. Just last Wednesday he decided it was time and it doesn't seem like he has stopped since.
• Joel finished two weeks of swim lessons. Not quite ready for olympic diving or racing but if they come up with an event that involves putting your head underwater and blowing bubbles he will be great. He is a very imaginative boy. Yesterday, he informed Krista that he was going to camp for nine days. He went into his room and played for awhile. Then he came out and told us he was back and camp was a lot of fun. He brought "home" several trophies.
• Krista has had some good contacts with some of the girls who will be in the dorm next year. One of the RAs (resident assistants) is here in Vibbard as a counselor for TLC.
• I am finished with all of my work for my second module class. I have been working at Borders on the weekends and at maintenance here on campus for the first part of the week.

Pray for....

• Wisdom in parenting both Joel and Josiah. Now that Josiah is walking it seems like he wants to get into everything and he gets very upset when we don't allow him to do that.
• Wisdom about what do with Joel for preschool this year and kindergarten next year. (It is hard to believe it is that time already.
• Wisdom for Krista and the dorm leadership as they prepare for this upcoming year. Specifically pray for Krista as she thinks through how to develop a dorm theme for this.
• Discipine for me as I get ready for this next school year (begins August 27) and my last summer class (begins August 13 and runs for two weeks). Especially pray for me as I review Greek and prepare for my second year of language study.
• Wisdom and discipline for me and the other men going on the Jamaica missions trip from October 19 through 29.
• Open hearts as Heritage Baptist Church follows up with people who visited the church during Vacation Bible School.
• a willingness to make the most of every opportunity God gives us this upcoming year.

Josiah enjoying the rainbow that daddy "caught" for him.

Teen Leadership Conference!!!

Today (Monday July 23rd) is the first day of the first week of TLC (Teen Leadership Conference). This week over 500 high school students will be on campus. They are going to challenged by many different speakers, seminars and worship to serve the Lord and seek opportunities to lead others.

Please pray for TLC during the next two weeks. This week we have a packed dorm. Actually the are using extra mattresses in some of the rooms.

Last night at Borders

O.K. last night at work was MADNESS. CRAZINESS.


Let me begin with a "humorous" story. At 11:00 pm we began moving all of the customers out the front door so we could bring all of the books out. One of the managers sent me out to help "guide" the customers out the door. When I walked out the front I realized I need to guide 2000+ people to back up and move to open areas.


After a couple of minutes of asking individuals to please move backwards, I realized it was very difficult for people to get out the front door because of the crowd. So I reverted back to my SCS/EBCS days and yelled, in the most polite way possible, that EVERYONE needed to move back or the store wasn't going to clear out which meant they were not going to get their books. For a split second it was quiet and the people moved back. The crowd actually listened to me. I would love to say that from that point on every listened and cleared areas for people and just helped everyone out the rest of the evening. That would be a lie.

One thing I was reminded of last night was how rude and mean spirited people can be. At one point I had to help a woman with a baby and a stroller out the door. (This was before the midnight craziness) No one would move for her. It appeared that more people were worried about losing a place in line for a bracelet than helping this person out.

Some people in the store would naturally talk louder as we, the workers, would walk by. They would make comments about how they had been here since 6:00 and they were not moving for anyone.

This section was written later in the day (8:50 pm)....
Just got back from my 12 to 8 shift at Borders. The madness continued on today. I just don't get it. What makes people go crazy for these books?

Well, I need to rest.

Update on Joel and Josiah

Josiah is walking and it is much more than those little stutter things. He is walking across our living room. He is also using "sign language." The only problem is none of us understand what his signs are.

Joel is finishing up his two week of swim lessons tomorrow. He has really enjoyed going to swimming pool every weekday.

Harry Potter 7 SPOILER!!!!

My shift tomorrow at Borders is 6:00 pm to 2:00 am.

Yes, it is the day before Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows comes out and I am going to give you the heads up on how the book ends before it hits the streets. You may have heard about some other websites that have speculated about the ending. This is the REAL ENDING!!!!

Ready:

At the end of the Deathly Hallows....

• something is going to happen that will not really mean a lot to me because I haven't read any of the books.
• someone is going to die but keep this in perspective people it is only a book.

Update on Josiah

Josiah had his ears/nose/throat doctor appointment yesterday. The doctor said Josiah's one ear looked o.k. and his other ear was a little questionable. BUT the doctor did not want to put a baby under anthesia (sp?) to do one ear.

Josiah is going to go back for another check up in four weeks. Thanks for praying for him.

Prayer Requests - 07.11

Several prayer requests:

• Josiah's ear/nose/throat appointment is on Friday (7.13)
• Heritage's VBS program is going on this week. Krista is helping with Joel's class. Pray for the children who are attending and their families. The church does a carnival on Saturday.
• I am three days into a two week class on the book of Ephesians.
• Joel is three days into two weeks of swimming lesson.
• The girls who will be living in Vibbard this next year.

Photos from Fourth of July and NH trip

We watched the fireworks on the Fourth of July with the Golden's.
We watched them in mall parking lot overlooking PNC Field where the
Scranton-Wilkes Barre Yankees play.

Krista and the boys watching the fireworks on the Fourth.

On July 6th we drove to New Hampshire for the Jessica (one of the girls who
lived in Vibbard this past semester) and Jared. We added on an extra day and
spent some time at the beach.

Joel trying on his outfit for the wedding.

Josiah loved playing in the sand...

So did Joel.

We had a great time together as a family

(I smiling while taking the picture)

Quick Update on prayer requests...

PRAISES:
* I finished my 20+ page paper for my first summer module class.
* Things have been working out well so far with my work schedules.

PRAYER REQUESTS:
*Continue to pray for Josiah's doctor appointment regarding his ears. (7.13)
*Krista had her toenail removed. The doctor actually didn't have to remove the whole nail. He cut it down to the cuticle. Pray for that to heal up quickly
* My next summer class begins 7/9.
* Preparation for the Jamaica Mission in October. We have begun working on our presentations and other ministry opportunities outside of teaching.

It has been a month since....

Wow! It has been a month since our last post. (Be sure to read through this whole post to get to the very cute pictures at the end.)

What has happened since then.

1. I finished my first summer school module at seminary.
2. We visited my family in Pittsburgh. During that time
- Joel had his first "roller coaster" ride
- We also saw the Thomas the Train.
- We celebrated Josiah's first birthday.
3. We visited Krista's parents in Toledo. During that time
- We also went to the Toledo Zoo and saw the twin polar bears.
- I went to the graduation ceremony for Emmanuel's Class of 2007.
- We celebrated Josiah's first birthday.
4. Border's cut back on hours during the summer.
5. I started working maintenance here on campus two days a week.
6. We found out Josiah will probably need to get tubes in his ears. He goes to an ear/nose/throat doctor on 7/13.
7. Joel said he had one of the most exciting days of his life on 6/18. He received a paint splattered Thomas the Train in the mail and the swimming pool here at BBC opened.
8. The toe nail on Krista's big toe was almost torn off. She sees a foot doctor Monday (6/25) to see what needs to be done.

PRAISES:
!! Getting to see so many family and friends during our visits to Pittsburgh, Toledo and Canton.
!! It was great to be back in our Adult Sunday School class at Emmanuel.
!! God is so amazing in how He provides for our needs. I want to always remember to be thankful for that.

PRAYER REQUESTS:
* Josiah's doctor appointment regarding his ears.
* Krista's doctor appointment regarding her foot.
* My next summer class begins 7/9.
* I need to finish up a paper from my first summer module. The due date is this upcoming Friday (6/29)
* Preparation for the Jamaica Mission I will be going on this October.
* My work situation during the summer with schedules at Borders and BBC. It appears there will not be much conflict in scheduling.



Here is a picture of Josiah celebrating his One year birthday in Toledo. We celebrated in Pittsburgh and Clarks Summit also.



Two pictures taken of the boys by one of the girls in the dorm. Aren't they cute.

The Answer to the question

1. November 25 through January 10 is the Christmas rush

2. July 20-22 is only for this year. It is because of the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows release on July 21

Sorry I forgot to post the answer on Saturday.

Blackout times for Borders

I know I was going to post the answer tonight but I wanted to see if anyone else could correctly answer the Borders Trivia question I posted a couple of days ago.

"Since I have been working for Borders, there have been only two blackout times, that is days employees cannot ask off. Can you give the reason for both times period?

1. November 25 through January 10

2. July 20-22

I changed the posting of the answer to Saturday night.

You can leave your answers as a post/comment on this blog.

Role Reversal

This is Krista—I’m actually typing my first blog! I now know a glimpse of what dorm life is like for David! I am home alone while David is working (the boys are in bed) and I hear voices all around me…it’s Men’s Retreat here and our dorm is filled with men! If I choose to go to the laundry room I have to yell “Woman on the floor”, how strange is that? Actually I think I’ll choose to stay locked in my apartment!

I also want to share a blessing with you that David has not posted in his blogs. He was honored at the seminary Awards chapel as he was awarded a $1,000 scholarship for this coming year. The boys and I were there to see him receive it and are very proud of him for the hard work he has put into this year. It was a blessing financially as it is the same amount as a scholarship he received last year but is only given to first year students. God keeps proving himself as faithful Provider.

Borders Trivia!

Tonight I am going to work at Borders so I thought I would do something random.
A Book quiz for today:

Since I have been working for Borders, there have been only two blackout times, that is days employees cannot ask off. Can you give the reason for both times period?
1. November 25 through January 10
2. July 20-22


The answers will be posted on Tuesday night.

You can leave your answers as a post on this blog.

Jamaica Trip

BBS is sponsoring a mission trip to Jamaica from October 19 through 28. I have the privilege of going. We are going to be teaching a Biblical Leadership class at Fairview Baptist Bible College along with doing some other ministry in the area. The student leadership team at BBS is hoping to build an ongoing relationship with Fairview.

We had an organizational meeting today and it went very well. We have a great group of guys going along. Please be praying for us as we begin to prepare our curriculum and other things.

Done and empty

Seminary Finals are done.
The dorm is now empty.

Summer is here. Oh wait, I start a two week summer class on May 14th.
Oh well. I got my Greek exam score and semester scores back. I am glad I did o.k. with both scores.

Krista also made it through her first school year as a dorm mom. I think she did a great job this year. There definitely were ups and downs but I know she built some great relationships with many of the girls and she learned a lot about women's ministry.

We are so thankful for the ways God has provided for us during this past year. Spiritually, emotionally, financially and on so many other levels. He has provided us with difficulties and challenges to help us grow in our dependence upon Him. He has provided us with blessing and good times to help us reflect upon His amazing provisions. God is an amazing God.

Below are some family pictures we took this past week.

Finals week

Finals week is over and done with for me. I am not sure how I did on my two finals or two projects yet but I am sure they are done. Now I get to enjoy this week off before I start a two week summer class on May 14th.
My first year of seminary is completed.

The college is still in session until Friday's graduation ceremony. So, Krista still has four days until she finishes her first year as an RD.

Thinking about this year and the many different challenges it has been great to know there have been people praying for us. Thanks.