Mark & Michelle...
October 2009 - February 2010
It seems like forever since we've written anything in this space! The fall flew by and before we knew it the new year had rolled around and it was February! You've read a little of what we've been doing in our monthly newsletters and we'll write a little bit more here to get you up to date. In the future we'll just have to do a better job of updating this space!
In October we had planned to get our cabinet drawer fronts and doors finished and installed. We got them ordered and then waited on the rain to stop so we could get them finished. And it rained, and rained, and rained, and rained... in fact it rained so much that Arkansas set a record for annual rainfall. The real problem with all that rain is that you can't finish wood with laquer in humidity. Or cold. So the process has been delayed until warmer and drier weather.
October did find us having a great time serving with CityFest and Luis Palau's team! We spent a couple of days - the only days in October it didn't rain - in the sunshine sharing with over 50,000 people about Jesus! It was so much fun and has continued to give us opportunities here in Central Arkansas to tell people about what God is up to. During the same time period I was asked to do another job at FamilyLife. After the interview process it was decided that I could serve better in my current position and the right man was found for the other job. The best thing that came out of the process though was for me to step back into the Weekend to Remember representative role for Little Rock. I did this job for five years when we first came to FamilyLife and it is great to be doing it again! This on the heels of the CityFest experience has opened a lot of doors. We are excited about what the Lord will do with this opportunity right here in our own backyard!
In November it was off to Richmond, Virginia for a whirlwind Weekend to Remember. We enjoyed serving the couples all weekend, but found it difficult to find a place to eat downtown! Some business districts just aren't built for the weekend. The real challenge was that several pre-married couples realized they weren't right for each other. That is always a heartbreaker, but better to find out before you marry than seven years and a couple of kids later. Anyway, it's all part of what we do and we pray the Lord will show these young men and women His true plan for their lives.
After being home for two days it was off to San Antonio. We were looking forward to this trip. Months before Michelle had mentioned she would like to go to the 50th anniversary celebration of Bible Study Fellowship. It was hard to work that kind of thing out so far in advance with our schedule, but God had plans. As it ended up we got to spend several days with the ladies from the Little Rock Day Women's BSF class having fun in San Antonio, going to the BSF Gala, helping out at the San Antonio Weekend to Remember, seeing some friends I went to church with in Houston over 30 years ago, and visiting several couples on our team. We couldn't have planned all of that if we tried, but the Lord put everything together and helped us minister in many ways.
When we got back home it was about time for the holidays. Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's. Normally that would be a time of family and fun. This year it was a little different though. Lot's of family, not much fun. When we were returning home from San Antonio I slept wrong on a wonderful hotel bed and pinched a nerve in my neck and back. After several weeks of physical therapy I am just now getting getting to where I don't have muscle spasms. Getting old is no fun. In addition to my painful adventure we spent a whole lot of time helping my mom and dad. My mom had knee replacement surgery the week before Christmas and for the last several weeks we have been really busy at my parents house taking care of many things for them. At least we're not getting bored. Exhausted maybe! We've found that my mom doesn't even want to dicuss getting her other knee replaced at this point, but we are seeing improvement every day. Our hope is that she will have no pain when she fully recovers and is ready to have the other knee done so she can get around much better.
The new year is off to a great start with new challenges. Michelle is busy getting the babies program kicked off at BSF and loving every minute of it. Last fall it was announced that babies six weeks old and above could come to BSF for the first time ever. No more waiting until they are two years old. New moms were excited and are coming to BSF with their little ones. The leaders rock the babies as they sing to them and tell them a six sentence Bible story. An early start to teaching little ones God's Word!
The new year also finds both of us getting the word out about the Weekend to Remember conference here in Little Rock. For me it is remembering how to do it all and for Michelle it is doing it for the first time. That's right, we are getting to do this together which is a new venture for FamilyLife. There are a lot of advantages to this approach and since our girls are grown we have more freedom to minister as a couple. FamilyLife will be watching how we do to see how to expand this idea to other couples as they reach the empty nest stage.
Mandy and Erin are doing well too and staying busy. Mandy continues to enjoy teaching third grade and has gained new responsibilities as lead teacher for her level. She is also continuing to work on her house painting, decorating, and rearranging. We see her every once in a while, but the school year keeps her pretty busy. Erin has now completed one third of her Master's program and has just started the next phase. She also got a full-time nanny job just minutes away from her home and loves it. She started when little Greer was about six weeks old and has seen a lot of change in her over the past four months. It is fun to see her excitement as she experiences the babies that she takes care of. She will be a great mom one day!
Finally, we are looking forward to what the rest of the year will bring. Some of it we already know and some of it we will discover along the way. We'll let you know more of the details as they develop!
September 2009
Is summer really over already? Wow! It seems like we were just finishing up a packed spring conference season and needing a little rest. I'm not sure we got the rest, but we did make a little progress on our projects. I spent several weekends and a few vacation days getting our cabinets ready to hang in our kitchen. All went well and they are loaded up. With a lot of things packed away while the cabinets were in process we had forgotten we had a few things. Michelle got things arranged the way she wanted for now and will be deciding what goes and what stays as she gets used to using a full kitchen again.
In addition to the cabinets I was able to find a simple over-the-range microwave oven to install. Michelle doesn't really cook in the microwave so she just needed it for warming things up and making popcorn. We are giving the old one to Erin and that will free up a little more counterspace for other things.
It is good that things are finally coming together! Hopefully by the end of October I'll have all the drawers fronts and doors finished and installed. After that I'll work on getting the trim finished in the kitchen and den. Hopefully I can change projects by the end of the year! These things didn't take as long when I was contracting. Now I have to remember how to do about half of it and fit it in with our busy schedule!
Other than mow the grass, it seems like cabinets were about all I did this summer. Michelle, however, spent the summer at the office getting things ready for the fall conference season and helping me every now and then when I needed a hand. In August she went to workshop for Bible Study Fellowship and learned of the many new changes for the Children's Program. She is excited about the changes and the upcoming year. She's also been on Facebook chatting with people - probably even some of you! If you are on Facebook look for both of us. It is a great way to keep in touch!
We also celebrated our 28th wedding anniversay in August. We took a couple of days and went to Hot Springs just to relax and wander around. The only agenda we had was to have fun and go to Garvan Woodland Gardens. We did both! It was a great trip and we look forward to going back to the gardens in the future during different seasons. If you are ever in Hot Springs you really should check it out.
Thanks so much for your prayers for a productive summer! The Lord blessed in many ways and we feel like we are back on track. In just a few days we will head out to Augusta, GA to fill in for a couple that had to cancel at the last minute. Pray for us as we work this fall to reach couples with God's principles for their marriage. We expect to have a few stories to tell and maybe even a few photos to show!
Note About Past Entries: To simplify things on our What We've Been Doing page we have archived past months below. We have also decided to write about what Mandy and Erin have been doing on our page instead of having seperate pages for each. Our old pages are archived below.
See Mark & Michelle's Archive!
See Mandy's Archive!
See Erin's Archive!