Gifts our #1 Pirority?

On my drive to work this morning I heard a new song, or at least new to me, which describes Christmas in Australia.This song was written by the group Revive and can be found here. My first reaction upon hearing this was that it was a fun song set to the tune of Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. I would ask that each of you take the time to listen to this song before I continue and see if you can determine the 1 problem I have with it....... Go Ahead Listen, Really, I'll Wait........


Waiting.........

 Ok, now that hopefully you have all listened to the song, you can tell me the one problem with this song? The one problem (in my opinion) of this song is that when listing the 3 things that are common between Australia and the United States is that: 1. We like to get new stuff   2. Jesus' Birth and 3. We eat too much. No this isn't a huge deal but it still shocked me that number one of their list was"we like to get new stuff" and then "Jesus' birth". It amazes me that as Christians we still put "stuff" ahead of Jesus even if its not intentional. Please everyone remember that stuff isn't the reason for Christmas. Don't let stuff get in the way of celebrating Christ.

I know everyone is probably posting something similar to this about not focusing on the gifts, but have you ever thought about what giving gifts to your children could be teaching them? Do they really know the real meaning of Christmas? Are they more excited to celebrate Jesus' birth then receive gifts? Are we?

I have no intention of hurting anyone with this post. Jacob and I still give gifts to each other as well as family members. We have just been re-evaluating Christmas and this is just another thing that makes us think. Everyone can make their own decisions regarding Christmas and gifts, I just wanted to share some thoughts Jacob and I are having.

Merry Christmas!

Our Christmas Traditions

I have been thinking a lot of the past few weeks on how Jacob and I will celebrate holidays, particularly Christmas when we are away from our family and someday have children of our own. We know of many couples that have waited to start Christmas traditions and waited to start thinking about how they would celebrate until they have a child who is old enough to understand. Jacob and I have thought much differently. We want our Christmas (and Thanksgiving) traditions to be instilled in us by the time we have children. We want to know how we will celebrate this as a family and start now, well because we are a family. My husband and I are a family. No matter how small and even though we don't have children yet, we are a family and need to begin our traditions now.

Last year, 2009, was our first Christmas together married and we spend it celebrating with my parents in the usual Christmas traditions I grew up with. This year, our last year in MI before seminary, will be spent with Jacob's family celebrating their usual Christmas traditions. I am very excited to be a part of these Christmas traditions and all the while learning and praying on how WE will spend our Christmas.

As a future pastor family we have to think a lot about how we SHOW God's love and LIVE what the Bible teaches. I believe that everyone should be living what they believe but over the past year it has become so much more important to me to LIVE it since I will be a pastors wife (God willing) and will be able to show many others how to live. Please remember this has been my personal conviction at the moment. I believe that I am suppose to be active in my husbands ministry and be a family that can lead others in our congregation. As such, I want our home to be a safe and open environment for anyone to come in, but I also want it to be a place of worship especially during the holidays.

Do we give presents to each other to give to those we love and teach our children how to give joyfully? Do we not give presents to each other but instead give to those in need? Do we donate something we own for every new item that enters the house? Do we spend the day in service to others, or as time with family? How do we celebrate advent? Will we celebrate advent?

There are SO many questions that we have and issues we have been praying on. How we chose to spend our Christmas Eve and Christmas will have a major impact on us and our future family and future generations. Everything Jacob and I do now has an impact on not only our children but also the future generations of this world. The traditions we instill now will be those that will (hopefully) be carried on through our children and their children.

Take a moment today to think about your family traditions and what these traditions are teaching your children, or have taught your children. It's never to late to start new family traditions.  I would encourage all of you to pray for those you know who don't have family close by to celebrate with and maybe take the extra step and invite them into your family traditions.

November Newsletter

Here is a little bit from our November Newsletter. If you would like to receive our monthly newsletter to hear more please send us an email and we will add you.

November

 November has held many changes. The month has gone by in a flash, and at the same time this month has crawled slowly towards an end.

*A Flash-

In November Jacob secured a transfer from Hobby Lobby in Michigan to Hobby Lobby in St. Louis. Amy worked diligently finding addresses and sending out literally hundreds of letters. We found housing in a wonderful spot of St. Louis, with a neighborhood atmosphere (and plenty of neighbors with dogs for Wallace to play with!). We had a wonderful Thanksgiving and were able to see both sides of our great big family, which was truly special. Not everyone has a family to celebrate with, let alone two wonderfully supportive sides.  November saw multiple safe trips to St. Louis and during each trip we were had clear specific examples of God’s particular grace shed on us. 

*Crawling Slowly-

Between so many exciting things happening and our efforts to move to St. Louis one would think the month of November felt like a whirlwind. Yet God had several challenges which forced both of us to slow down, and prayerfully consider both the ongoing and upcoming challenges. For all the efforts in preparation of moving to St. Louis, we still weren’t in St. Louis. Throughout November God provided several instances where both of us were confronted and convicted about patience and God’s timing. November certainly was a flash and a crawl.

Taken by Kaleigh Calogero

String Cheese and Snow

Hey everyone! We have been busy packing and preparing for our move, as well as working on prayer/support letters to send to all of those that we love and love us.  Although I haven't been posting as much as I would like (I now have a page of ideas to post about), I am still keeping track of all my blessings throughout the day. If you missed my earlier post, I am trying to write as many blessings a day as I can and see how long it takes for me to count 1000 blessings.


Today I am blessed to have a job that allows me to show God's love to children and the ability to post during nap. String cheese and snow... 2 fun exciting things to start off December.  It was so fun to wake up and see snow on the ground! Now given its less then an inch but still snow!! I've been waiting since August for snow and it's finally here!!!! Now string cheese is just a fun thing to eat and something I have learned "my boys" will eat without complaining. Its so nice to have semi-healthy snacks for kids that they won't complain about.

Here are some of the blessings I've recorded over the past few days:
7. car to drive

9. mother in-law
13. stop and go traffic
18. water paints
19. the technology to record sermons and share them with everyone online
22. Our lap dog :)
25. Family celebrations
38. Cars with heat
39. houses w/ heat
40. First snowfall of the year

So far I have 40 blessings! Not to bad only 960 left to get me to my goal! I would encourage all of you to start writing down the blessings in your life each and every day. Its a nice reminder that we are blessed and God is ever with us through everything.

Sermon

Hey Everyone! I have so much to blog about and so little time! I can't believe that it is already Thanksgiving. Jacob and I only have a few weeks left in Michigan and are spending all our spare time with friends and family. Jacob had the opportunity to preach a sermon for a Sunday evening service at Tyrone Covenant. We are so thankful that he had this opportunity to preach and to have fellowship with this congregation. We are so blessed to have so many individuals praying for us and giving us such great opportunities. Here is the sermon Jacob preached for all those interested. It lasts about 30mins and is perfect to listen to while peeling potatoes, or baking some pies.

                                               Enjoy and Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Blessings

Earlier this week I read this blog post from Passionate Homemaking. In case you don't want to read it, her post was all about gratitude and how we are to be grateful for what we already have. Being grateful for what I already have has been a struggle for me over the past year. I have the habit of always looking for the next thing, whether that be researching for the "much needed" new computer that we have to get NOW cause its a good price, to focusing on my wants when we move. There are days when I am very thankful for all that I have been given, but there are a lot more days when I go if only I had ______.  In our consumer society it is hard to give things away, let alone be content with what you have. being inspired by Passionate Homemaking I am going to write down 1-5 items a day that I am thankful for. I started with a few on Tuesday, forgot yesterday and plan to have some more by today. The goal would be to get 1000 different things that I am grateful for. 

1. Sunrise as I drive to work
2. E saying "but Miss. Amy we have fun w/ you". (in reference to be moving away)
3. Jacob's employment currently and in St. Louis
4. Close Family/Support
5. Housing in St. Louis

Past Week!

We had a great time visiting St. Louis last week!! We were able to spend 4 whole days together and enjoy learning more about our future home. We found an apartment that we will move into the Monday after Christmas. It is wonderful!! I am sorry I was unable to post last week but we were quite busy with our St. Louis list of to dues. Today has been catch-up and laundry day and getting back into a normal schedule. Thank you for all your prayers and support for our upcoming move.

October Newsletter

Here is our October Newsletter that we email out once a month. If you are interested in receiving our monthly newsletter (with more information) please let us know.

           Internship

          This past month Jacob taught the adult Sunday school at our church. The topic was very fresh and relevant in Jacob’s mind as he had just taken a seminary class on Christian Ethics in July. This was a wonderful opportunity to learn how to teach.

Yet another wonderful and exciting opportunity to learn and grow arose with Jacob being included in the worship service at Christ Church in Grand Rapids. The worship service was focused on celebrating the reformation and Jacob got to preach the first of three homilies. The focus of this homily was the concept of Sola Scriptura (God’s Word Alone). You can listen to Jacob’s Sermon by going to the following link: http://www.christchurchgr.org/sermons.html  

Seminary

Within the last month much has happened on the seminary front. It is truly hard to say what the biggest and most exciting news is with so much going on! Praise God that Covenant has awarded Jacob a 25% scholarship for the spring semester! This is truly a blessed answer to many prayers.

On top of this wonderful news about receiving a scholarship, Jacob earned a B+ on his Ancient and Medieval Church History class! This was very encouraging as Jacob usually does not perform well on tests.

For that very same class students are required either to write a paper or make a time-line showing at least 100 of the most important dates in church history. Of course with the help of wonderful Amy, Jacob has been able to create a game teaching about Church history! The game cards look amazing, the game board looks amazing and the game is very fun to play!

Reformation Sunday!

I am working on a post about the conference we attended on Saturday but in the mean time thought I'd share this with you. This is the link to the homily Jacob preached at Christ Church on Reformation Sunday, the 31st. It is the entire service so you need to skip ahead a bit, but don't go to far! Jacob is the first homily which is on Sola Scriptura. Enjoy!


http://www.christchurchgr.org/sermons.html

Reformation Celebrations!!

This past weekend was scheduled full of Reformation fun! Saturday we attended a conference on reformation family living in the 21st century, with speakers Dr. Beeke, and Dr. Murray. We learned so much and made some great new friends. Sunday Jacob preached a homily at another local church and read scripture at a Sunday night service at yet another church. We had such a great and busy weekend. I will expand more on the weekend this week. Stay Tuned...

Fear

Fear. "An emotional response to a perceived threat", according to wiki.

Fear was something I always imagined little children to have. It is common for children to fear bees, sleeping, monsters, etc, but I never thought fear was apart of adult life. Maybe I'm wrong, maybe fear isn't apart of most adults lives, but it is apart of mine. I would say I am much like a child myself with fears of bees, the dark, allergies and spiders.  I try not to think about these fears or live in them but there are some days I can't get these fears out of my mind. One of the biggest fears I have is being alone. I HATE being alone. I have learned to be alone during the "normal" work hours, 7am-5pm, but I don't like it at all. I have learned to be ok with working alone in a house with 2 little boys, but I don't like it all the time. Another huge fear I have that I am still learning to cope with is fear of tornadoes. I have no idea why I am scared of this. I have never been in a tornado or known anyone who was in a bad one, and yet this is a huge fear of mine. Learning to conquer this fear is huge to me! Living in Michigan there aren't many tornadoes or tornado warnings but there seem to be A LOT of watches. Some of you might be laughing at me but that is ok.

This blog is to share who Jacob and I really are as individuals going into the ministry, and these fears are a huge part of me (although they shouldn't be). Anyways.. I know that these are just watches and I shouldn't be worried but a watch means a warning could come.. and that's what is scary. The anticipating, not knowing, wondering, the lack of control I have over the issue. I don't know if there will be a tornado or when it will occur. I can watch the radar all I want but i still won't know.

Fear of a tornado is a very good analogy to the main fear of my life, the unknown. I hate not knowing and not being able to plan. I have been working on placing everything in God's hands and have done pretty good with the big things (i.e. moving, seminary, marriage). But am continually working on the day to day worries.  I know this will be a continual sturggle and pray that one day I may be able to be rid of certain fears that I have.

Meanwhile, I have been resting and meditating on Psalm 46:1-3

     "God is our refuge and strength a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling"

Rest assured that God is always with us and we have nothing to fear. If you are like me and have many "adult" fears please stay strong and lean heavily on God our father who is always with us and has everything planned. Just like little children rely on their parents for their health, safety, and planning we to are to rely SOLELY on Christ our Heavenly Father. 




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Parents for a Weekend.

One of the ways Jacob and I have served others over the past year, is to babysit. We have watched children for the day, a night, and even over night. This past weekend Jacob and I had the opportunity to watch some of our friends children from Saturday morning until Monday morning. We had such a great time, but along the way we learned some important lessons:

1. Although we could see ourselves someday having six children, we are not ready for them yet
2. We LOVE everything about a 10 passenger van
3. We will be buying a memory foam king bed in the future (less time spent asleep, means we need higher quality sleep)
4. When cooking for 8 people, you eat what you are given
5. I am more energetic when with children
6. Jacob looses energy when watching children
7. Quiet time or naptime is a must!
8. Sometimes its good to trade bedtime duties to learn how child X may try to manipulate parent Y
9. Outings are awesome to do in the morning, being out of the house in the morning and home in the afternoon is a recipe for a good day.
10. Being on the same page for discipline, rewards, and routine, is essential to running an orderly house.

Mission Trip

Hey Everyone! A good friend of ours, who sang at our wedding, is raising money to go to Haiti this summer for 3 months. She is going to work at the Children of Israel Orphanage in Torbeck. She has a beautiful voice and is such a great women. She is currently making her first cd and will be selling it when it is finished, late December, to fund her mission trip to Haiti. Please check our her website for more information and to hear samples of her songs.


http://www.reverbnation.com/juliannesabo#

Life Goes On...

I made a goal to post once a week and I am going to stick to that goal. This past week and a half have been so busy! Although it has been busy it has been joyful busyness and learning. Since it is now officially "seasonal" time at Hobby Lobby, Jacob has been working a lot more, close to 40 hrs a week. This has been difficult for me since I am use to Jacob being home 2 days a week to get internship and seminary work done which allows for us to have time together. Working 5 days a week means he only gets 1 day off which is spent doing homework, internship or ministering to others. Having Jacob so busy with school, work, and church has been difficult for us but has taught us to treasure the time we have together. We now make sure to take a walk after dinner together to have some alone time and relax before going back to work. While Jacob is working, I have been reading some books, cleaning the house, packing for seminary and job searching. We are in continual prayer that God will provide for us and provide jobs in His time.

Just a little bit about our past week and some struggles we have had. I know the struggle of time together will continue through out seminary and I pray that God will keep us both strong and able to deal with the difficulties that will be thrown at us.

September Newsletter

Internship

The month of September has been spent in study and in teaching. Jacob has been leading the Life and Doctrine Study (LADS, the midweek study for Providence Church) on the book of 1 John. Teaching this has been very convicting for Jacob. Much of 1 John is about asserting who are in Christ and what their actions should be. It is nigh impossible to study 1 John without questioning our own actions and our own motivations.

In addition to teaching LADS, Jacob has been preparing to teach Biblical ethics for 6 weeks in adult Sunday school at Providence church. The upcoming class will focus on topics like the 10 Commandments, definitions of ethics, and good works.

Jacob's sermon in August at the Rescue Mission went well. There was plenty of constructive feedback received to encourage further preaching. This sermon was on 1 John 1:1-4.

Jacob's sermon in September was on Genesis 11:1-9. The Tower of Babel is a wonderful example of God’s ordering all things for His glory (just like how He is ordering our journey for His glory). Preaching at the mission has been a wonderful opportunity to practice this highly important part of ministry. Jacob is constantly reminded of Romans 10:13-15:

¹³For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." ¹⁴How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? ¹⁵And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!"

In addition to our web blog about our journey together, Jacob has a new blog,  which is specifically focused on seminary, and God’s Word. http://tomanstome.blogspot.com/  

Family Fun

This month we went on our first trip alone as a married couple. We spent the weekend near the beach in a beautiful hotel.  We had a great time relaxing, spending time together and remembering our past year of marriage. It was such a great time and one I am sure we need to continue yearly.

            The other family event we had this month was attending the Tigers baseball game. We received tickets for Jacob’s birthday and were thrilled! Neither of us had ever been to a major league baseball game. We had a blast, and are so thankful for the tickets. 

 

Seminary

The two courses Jacob is involved in at the moment have been incredibly helpful to personal discipline. One class (Calvin's Institutes) requires a detailed journal be kept of quotes, ideas, and questions. This journal assignment has forced Jacob to spend more and more time in reading, a good discipline which has been conceived during the last year, and now is going through birth pangs. The other class (Early and Medieval Church History) has been fast paced and fun. Currently the class is studying Constantine, the Arian controversy, and the Nicene Creed.

Jacob's class schedule is all set for the spring of 2011. Please continue to pray for employment which would be conducive to the upcoming duties of Seminary.