1.27.2007

Late Skate went Grate. I mean great.

The Late Skate event sponsored by Vibbard last night went well. The students were great. Two of the rink workers actually commented on how great the group was. The dorm made some money on the event also. Thank you to those who prayed for the evening.

Below are two pictures from the evening.
This is a picture of Krista with some of the Vibbard girls.


The theme was twin night. Some Krista and I went as Steeler players (don't try to figure out who #06 is for the Steelers. It was the shirt I received from the guys who graduated from Emmanuel last year).
This was my VERY FIRST TIME ever ice skating. I didn't fall during the whole night. I also didn't venture very far away from the wall.


1.22.2007

First Day of Second Semester

The first day of classes went well. I had only one. World Ministry and the Local Church.

Tomorrow, Tuesday,
I have Greek 2 from 6:30 to 8:50.
Then chapel from 10:00 to 10:50.
Finally Borders from 3:30 to 11:30.

FAMILY RELATED ITEMS:
We think Josiah has started teething.
Pray for him, us and the girls who live above him.

Joel is enjoying AWANA cubbies (Wednesday night Bible program for kids at Heritage). He is learning Bible verses and lots of other things. Below is a picture taken aftern their Christmas program.



DORM RELATED ITEMS:
Praise:
This past weekends retreat with the dorm leaders was a good time for them to connect with one another and prepare for a second semester of ministry.
Prayer request:
This weekend is the Vibbard sponsored Late Skate activity.
-Pray for all the details to come together.
-Pray it would be fun and safe for those who attend.

1.19.2007

Our apartment is now finished!


The renovations to our apartment are now over.
We have nothing in the lounge area and life has gotten back to "normal" for the Rodgers family.
If you want to see the amount of work they did go back a couple of entries to see the beginning of the project.

It definitely has felt like our apartment has been changed from connected dorm rooms to a home.
The interesting thing about these two rooms is they are actually 2 remodeled college dorm rooms with the wall between them knocked out.

Just a reminder about the the praise requests regarding the next two weekends, check the previous post.




1.17.2007

2nd Semester

I realized another thing that could be added to the "You know from Toledo" list.
120. You were VERY upset about at least one of the major BCS football games OR you don't care AT ALL about college football. (I feel I have waited long enough to make a comment the BCS)

The college students have made there way back to BBC. Krista has been able to have some good interaction with many of them. Last night they had their beginning of the semester dorm meeting. Krista thought it went very well. The next two weekends are going to be busy for her.

  • This weekend the dorm officers and Krista are having a leadership retreat. Please pray that this would be a good time of bonding and planning with the officers.
  • Next weekend Vibbard Dorm (our dorm) is hosting a Late Skate at a local ice rink from midnight to 2 am. Pray the girls involved with planning would be able to think through all the details. Pray also for students to attend, enjoy themselves and be safe.
I realized this past Sunday I made a mistake on one of my previous posts. I said that classes for second semester began on January 15th. I was wrong. They begin on the 22nd. The college classes began on the 15th. The "extra" week has provided me with an opportunity to get some more reading and studying done in preparation for second semester.

Our apartment renovations are done. I am planning to get some pictures on this website Thursday or Friday.

This past Sunday I "substitute taught" in our Adult Sunday School. I used a lesson I have taught a couple of times in Toledo based of a book I read several years ago. Well, Monday I received an email from Discipleship journal with the following link. You may want to check out the article especially here at the beginning of a new year.

10 Questions To Ask To Make Sure You're Still Growing
Are you more like Jesus than you were a year ago? One of the early explorers to the North Pole charted his journey hourly to ensure that he stayed on course through the white wasteland. At one point a strange phenomenon began to occur. As he checked his position, his instruments indicated that even though he had been moving northward, he was actually farther south than he had been an hour before. Regardless . . .
http://www.navpress.com/EPubs/DisplayArticle/1/1.97.9.html

Borders Bookstore moment:
Retail during the Christmas = Craziness. One specific story and the other one a general thought I had. The story is humorous and the thought is sad.

  1. A customer came into the store before Christmas and said "I looking for the Barack Obama book. I think it is called The Silence of the Lambs."
  2. I was shocked by the number of New Age and atheism books that were sold as Christmas. Richard Dawkins' God Delusion was probably one of the biggest sellers this celebration of God's amazing gift of Jesus. Barnes and Nobles lists it as their top seller in Religious books.

We live in a world where people are looking for answers. Our culture is spiritual but not religious.

1.08.2007

Update

Some pictures of our apartment renovations:

http://drodgers1.photosite.com/OurApartmentRenovation/

Some pictures of the boys and Joel's stitches!

Joel and Josiah


Josiah on the couch!



Joel and his stitches!!









The Rest of the Toledo list

28.) You've been to a Mud Hens game.
31.) You'd take Beaners over Starbucks any day, and you use your Beaners card religiously.
32.) Your mayor has gotten into almost-fist-fights with people.
35.) You still have no idea what a Mudhen is, or if you do know, people think you're making it up.
36.) At least one person you know works for Jeep.
40.) You think having four all-girls and boys catholic high schools is normal.
44.) You'd rather drive an hour to Detroit than fly out of Toledo Express.
47.) You've been to Meijer's at 2am.
48.) You've ever been to Children's Wonderland at the Lucas County Rec Center.
49.) You hate the Blade, but read it anyway.
50.) You live in a suburb, but say you're from Toledo.
51.) You've eaten at Tony Packo's. (Bonus points if you can say it correctly.)
52.) You survived the North Toledo Riots of '05.
53.) Your basement, yard, porch, driveway, ditches, and malls flooded from June-August '06.
56.) You can finish this Banner Mattress commercial: "No gimmicks, no tricks till 200_"
57.) You got confused when they added onto the mall.
60.) You're torn between rooting for BG or UT.
64.) You know Major Magic's was way better than Chuck E. Cheese's.
65.) You know what Q-Zar is and have a favorite team color.
67.) You have at least one Race for the Cure T-Shirt.
72.) You've ever ridden the bike at Cosi. Extra points if you know what Cosi stands for.
74.) Your idea of a "family vacation" is a weekend trip to Cedar Point.
79.) You have four network tv news stations, but you only take two of them seriously
81.) You know your choice in colors on OSU vs. Michigan day cuts out any decent conversation with half of your friends, because unlike most of Ohio towns Toledo is 50% Michigan fans 50% Ohio State fans.
87.) You use the excuse that you love snow when you can't afford to spend the winter in Florida.
88.) You have had Green bean casserole.
89.) You are used to food festivals (German, Polish, Irish and every other festival) and go to them even if you aren't of the nationality.
93.) You drive around Sylvania cuz you know the neighborhoods with the best Christmas lights!
100.) You know that no Republican will ever win the mayorship of your city.
103.) You can pronounce Maumee correctly.
104.) You realize that the town of Oregon and the state of Oregon are pronounced differently.
107.) You know what speed to drive on the Trail at night so that you never have to hit the brakes.
108.) You know who Blizzard Bill Spencer is.
109.) Your mayor addressses residents' complaints about airport noise by proposing that the city moves all the deaf people near the airport.
117.) Ending up in Michigan after taking a wrong turn does not incite panic because it's like going across the street.
119.) You will always call MUO "MCO" and your parents will always call UT "TU"

Remodeling and more

This morning Joel is getting his stitches out. Please continue to pray for him.

We think we had a pink eye problem in the family. Joel and Krista had it but we think we got it early enough so that it did not get to bad.

In the midst of all of this our apartment is starting its second week of remodeling. Our kitchen and living room furniture is out in the lounge. Pray that the guys will be able to finish the job as quickly as possible. Pray also for flexibility on our part.

We have several pictures to post as soon as we find the cord that goes from our camera to our computer.

Classes start on the 15th, a week from today. Pray for the new semester.

1.02.2007

January 2nd

We had a trip to the emergency room today.

Joel fell in the lounge and hit his head on one of our chairs, which was in the lounge because of kitchen and living room are being remodeled.
He cut his head pretty bad so he had to get 6 stritches on the outside and we are not sure how many on the inside.

He is actually doing well now but it was very scary. Prayer for his recovery and his visit in a week to get the stitches out.

12.31.2006

Drive to Pittsburgh

Last night during my drive to Pittsburgh I heard a Caedmon's Call song that reminded me of a great truth. I cannot remember the name of the song but I remember the basic idea of the line that struck me.
"God's grace and compassion are my story." This New Year I pray I would be able to live out this truth.

These three verses really reminded me of this truth:

1 Corinthians 1:31 "Therefore, as it is written: 'Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.'"
2 Corinthians 10:17 "But, 'Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.'"
2 Corinthians 11:30 "If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness."

12.30.2006

Toledo

We enjoyed visiting family in Toledo over the Christmas break.
While I was back in Clarks Summit, I came across this list that reminded me of Toledo.

O.K. I know I only lived in Toledo for four years but I saw this list and thought it was very funny.
There are more. The list actually contained 125 things. I deleted some and edited others.
So if you are from Toledo enjoy the list and feel free to comment about them.

If you are You know you are from Toledo when...
1.) You get tired of hearing about Katie Holmes.
2.) You have gotten or almost gotten a ticket in Ottawa Hills.
4.) You refuse to call it Westfield Shopping Center, because we all know it is really Franklin Park Mall.
5.) You freeze to death walking around The Toledo Zoo at 10 degrees because you want to see christmas lights.
7.) You know what Meijer is.
8.) If you see a driver that is driving erratically you automatically check for the Michigan licence plate.
9.) You know what Magic Wok is.
10.) Visiting Cedar Point is a tradition dating back to the elementary school years.
12.) You know who Jamie Farr is.
13.) Cosi was a yearly class field trip.
15.) You know what Krogering is.
16.) You felt cool going to Ohio State on weekends as a kid.
17.) When you can pick one of five Wal*Marts to drive to, all in a 10 minute range of eachother.
18.) You know where the nearest Tim Hortons is.
21.) You remember when Toledo didn't HAVE any Wal-Marts.
22.) "Everybody's Zooing It" means something to you, and you can sing the song, weird accent and all.
24.) Seeing a giant, neon-colored, plastic frog sitting on the sidewalk is nothing unusual.
26.) You're so used to driving in construction that you feel odd driving where you can't see orange barrels.
27.) You know where the origional tony pacos is at and you know what type of food famous people sign on the walls.

12.29.2006

A quick Holiday update!

The Christmas break has been a little crazy!!

Here is a rundown of what our break has involved. (I am tired after typing all of this in.)
  1. We left for Toledo on Saturday evening.
  2. Arrived in Toledo around 1:30 am (i think) Sunday.
  3. Went to Emmanuel Sunday. It was great to visit with friends and family. (We took a Regneir guided tour of the new remodeled high school Sunday night. It is very nice)
  4. Christmas day with Krista's family. I left for Pittsburgh at 7:30 that night. Krista and the boys stayed with her family in Toledo.
  5. I arrived in Pittsburgh around 11:00 pm Monday.
  6. On Tuesday, I went to breakfast with my mom and get to spend a little bit of time with my sister.
  7. I then drove to Clarks Summit. I got in at 1:30 pm and went to work at Borders at 3:30 pm.
  8. Worked at Borders this week. And Saturday night after work (11:00 pm) I will begin driving to my mom's house where Krista, Joel and Josiah will be. Krista's dad is going to took her to Cleveland to meet my sister there.
  9. We will spend Sunday at my mom's house.
  10. Monday morning we will leave early for Clark Summit. I am scheduled to work at 3:30 pm on Monday.

12.21.2006

First Semester is Done!


This morning I took my Greek final.
I have completed my first semester of classes at Baptist Bible Seminary.

I won't know how I did on the exam until after Christmas but I felt like the test went well. A lot of the stuff that I specifically made a point to study was on the exam so that was good. There were a couple of my answer that I know are incorrect but it is done and I know I passed.

Our schedule for this Christmas "break" is going to be a little crazy because my job is in the retail business and Christmas is the busiest time of the year.

On Saturday 5:00 pm were are going to be leaving Borders Bookstore for Toledo, OH
Pray we would make good time and that the boys would sleep in the van.

I will be leaving Toledo, OH on Monday night to travel to Pittsburgh. Krista and the boys will stay in Toledo until Friday probably. I will spend the night at my mom's house and then leave Tuesday morning for Scranton. I am scheduled to work on Tuesday at 3:30. We still need to work out some of the details on how Krista and the boys will get back here on January 2. A possible plan is my mom and Krista's parents meeting halfway between Toledo and Pittsburgh. They would then stay with my mom Friday through Sunday or Monday. On Sunday or Monday I would meet them and my mom halfway between Pittsburgh and BBC. Did anyone understand that?
If you did could you please explain it to me because now I am a little confused.

12.18.2006

Monday Report

One final done... Principles of Church Growth.
One final left...... Greek on Thursday morning.

Not sure how the one this morning went. I knew the information but it was all essay questions so we will see how it is graded.

We are planning to be at Emmanuel for this Sunday mornings service.

12.17.2006

Late Night Observations

Yes it is Saturday night/ Sunday 12:42 am. Late night at Borders. It has been a little challenging with the end of the semester work and the Christmas work.
Please be praying for my exams next week.

I was coming home from work and saw something I just had to comment on. Outside Target there was a line of people with big heavy blankets. One group even had outdoor heater of some sort. They were lined up waiting for.....
The Nintendo Wii. Target was going to be getting some in and these people just had to get this game for Christmas. This next statement may offend some of the younger readers but I am going to say it anyway.

IT IS JUST A VIDEO GAME PEOPLE!!! I played one frame (not game but frame) of bowling on it. It was interesting but IT IS JUST A VIDEO GAME PEOPLE!!!

That is the end of my late night tirade on the absurdity of our culture.

If you care to comment please do.

12.13.2006

Seminary schedule for next semester

I have my schedule for Spring semester classes. I thought I would share them with you.
But before that, a prayer request. Pray the classes I take would be much more than an academic pursuit. It is my prayer that my classes would help me:
Know God
Know His Word
Be better prepared to serve.

Monday:
9:00 - 9:50 Chapel
10:00 - 12:15 World Ministry and the Local Church

Tuesday:
6:30 - 8:50 Greek 2
9:00 - 9:50 Chapel

Thursday:
6:30 - 8:50 Greek 2
9:00 - 9:50 Chapel
10:00 - 1:20 Church History

Friday:
6:30 - 8:50 Dynamics of Spiritual Growth
9:00 - 9:50 Chapel

I am going to be taking a one week module course from February 27 - March 2 with President Jeffery. The course is Conflict Resolution in the Church.

12.12.2006

It getter close to the end of First Semester...

Next week is the end of First Semester. The college ends on Tuesday and my seminary classes end on Thursday with an exam.

Things that have been going on with us here.
Krista has been building relationships with the girls in Vibbard. It has been busy but fruitful. I know many of the girls have appreciated her. One of Krista's Resident Assistants (RA) is leaving at the end of this semester. She will be going to do her student teaching. I know Krista has greatly appreciated Jessica's insight and help during all the transitions. Please pray for Jessica as she does her student teaching. Also pray for Krista and the rest of the RAs as the prepare for second semester.

Joel turned four on December 8th. You can see pictures if you go back to a previous post. He is a big boy. His Cubbies Awana class has their Christmas program tomorrow night and the kids under 5 years old will be singing in the morning service.

Josiah turned 6 months old on December 8th. He is a little smiler who is growing so fast.

I have been very busy with classes and work. My job at Borders has been crazy since Thanksgiving. School wise, I preached my second sermon in James for my expository preaching class. I didn't do so well on my 3rd Greek test. Good scores on the first two are carrying me through now. I have been learning a lot about the church, people, my faith and my God both in and out of class.

Sometime I will sit down and try to put some thoughts down.

Major Seminary Things During Finals Week.
December 18th - Church Growth Final.
Some other projects due for this class.

December 21st - Greek Final.

God bless

12.08.2006

Joel's 4th birthday!

Today was Joel's 4th birthday!

We had a little party at our apartment for him.

These are three of the other RD boys that are Joel's age.

They had a great time playing, eating pizza and an "Incredibles" cake.

It is hard to believe he is already four.

Below is a family picture with Joel's "Incredibles" cake included.

Krista made the cake and one of the girls from the dorm decorated it.

This picture was taken right before Josiah put his hand into the frosting.

12.03.2006

Pictures from October beach trip that I forgot to post

As many of you know Krista and I lived in the Dominican Republic for several years. During that time we enjoyed beach trips during those months when it was cold here in the states. Well, our location has changed but we still enjoy a beach trip every now and then.



Josiah's first trip to the beach. It was a little cold and overcast but not a bad October day weather wise for NEPA.


Once your in the water for a little while it starts to numb your legs so you can no longer feel anything. Help, I cannot move. (This seemed like a good idea before I got into the water)



Krista and Josiah hiking through the woods


Josiah enjoying his first hike


At beautiful scene at Rickett's Glen. See if you can find David.


Josiah took this picture for us. He needs to learn how to zoom out but what can you expect from a 4 month old.


If the link isn't working, use the above website to see the pictures.

11.27.2006

Thanksgiving Break is over!

We were able to go to Pittsburgh to spend Thanksgiving day with my family. It was a good but quick visit. Joel loved playing with Jacob and Grammy. It was a quick visit because I had to get back to work on Friday afternoon. YES BLACK FRIDAY. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be but I was told I missed out on those crazy, psychotic 6:00 am shoppers. I hope I didn't offend any early bird shoppers.

Now we are getting back in to school life:
Krista is talking with some of the girls who have returned. Please continue to pray for her ministry with the girls of Vibbard Hall.
I am preaching tomorrow (Tuesday) on James 4:13-17 and have a greek test on Thursday.
By the way Clark Summit now has water. The problem has been fixed and the students loved their extended break.

I was so gently reminded by a caring soul that I haven't posted recently about the Steelers. Thank you Pastor Tom for that reminder. Well, God knew I didn't need the distraction of a successful Steelers season this year.

Thank you for your prayers and support. God bless.