Autum Fun

Last week we went apple picking and it was a blast. We picked about 20 pounds and Hillary has already made two pies. The apple orchard was part of a big farm wich had all sorts of produce and a mini-grocery store and bakery where we bought fresh apple cider donoughts - wow! Last week was also our 4th wedding anniversary, so we celebrated by going out for coffee one night and dinner another. It was great to have two nights out together in one week. Wesley is doing well, though his teeth are hurting him as they are just about to break through. We have been enjoying the last few warmer days before winter comes to get us. Wesley, is not sitting up well enough that we can bathe him in the kitchen sink. It is easier and makes less of a mess in our bathroom!

arts and anniversary

This Saturday we took some teens to the New Britian Museum of American Art, which is about 15 minutes from our house. A guy at our church is an art teacher and he helped us think about art and aesthetics from a Christian world view. He had a lot of neat things to say, and began our discussion by talking about the distiction of "I like it" vs. "It is good." We all subjectively like different pieces of art, but to say whether art is good, we need some sort of standard. He had us look at a few pieces and say which one was best when compared to a certain standard and it was really interesting. I started to like "fine" Art - painting and that kinda stuff - when I lived in St. Louis and the Art Museum there was free. I remember just, going there and wandering around the museum by myself and really enjoying it. I can still picture the flow of certain rooms and remember paintings that I would sit in front of and stare at.
This coming Thursday is our 4th Wedding Anniversary. Yeah!

heat, light, and people (soon)

It has been just over two weeks that we've been in our new church offices and it is pretty exciting. It is great to have a dedicated space where I can spread out and work without being in the way or being distracted by various things happening around the house. Yesterday we finally had the heat turned on, and new light bulbs installed and now we're sorta ready for people. There's still a bunch of organizing to be done, some rooms need painting, and we'll have to go on a shopping for furniture, but we are off to a start. The offices are about a block from where we worship and a 5-10 minute walk from the town center. I've already met people at the office and walked to get coffee, which was really cool. Outside of getting adjusted to the office, I took two teens climbing outside yesterday (Columbus day) andI'm working on various teaching stuff for this week. The preparation is going well, but it is always a challenge when I spend more of the day by myself writing because I miss interacting with people.

chubby baby

Wesley has started eating solid food and we're seeing the effects. You'll notice in this first picture, how his sweater isn't exactly covering his belly. As the day went on it continued to in higher and higher as his belly kept expanding. He's got chubby cheeks, a few chins, and fat little legs. It is a lot of fun to see him grow. He's basically sitting up on his own, though he's not completely stable as of yet. This picture is from his baptism last week. This was a wonderful time of celebration with many family members attending. Other than a growing baby, life is going well, with ministry continuing in October and the pace of life adjusting to a more normal rhythm.

baptism

This past Sunday I baptized Wesley and it was an awesome occasion. The pastor asked Hillary and I to acknowledge his need of a savior, to claim Chrsit on his behalf, and to dedcate him to God. It was deeply meaningful to answer yes to all of these questions. Overall, it was a great time of worship at church and we felt very loved by our family as many came to celebrate us. I'll post pictures soon, but haven't downloaded them from our camera yet. Otherwise, life is flowing in a usual sort of pattern. We had our first week of a bible study at the University of Hartford this past Wednesday. It was great to have an mix of guys and girls there, but sadly there weren't any guys from the University of Hartford. The impetus for this effort has been a women's bible study on this campus and now we are looking to reach men on this campus. Presently there isn't anything happening to reach guys on campus and we were hoping this might be effective. It has been good to teach and prepare for this study, but we hope that God will work through it to do something on campus.

Newark, teaching, and a baby on the move

While Newark, NJ might not have the hottest reputation around I had a great time there. We stayed at an old school built in the 20's which is now owned by World Impact - a Christian ministry to the urban poor. I was there to be part of the Newark School of Prayer and Evangelism which ran Saturday through Friday. I was only there three days, during which there was prayer and teaching in the morning, and then in the afternoon or evening to talk with people about Jesus. One of the highlights was spending time with some older guys in their late 70's who walk very closely with God. Just being around men like that is always exciting and challenging.
After getting back from Newark, it has been a full week as I've had a lot of teaching opportunities before me. In the course of two weeks I'll have taught a teen bible study, led two family worship seminars, taught at college outreach event, spoken at two chapel services at a local Christian school and baptized our first child. This is the sort of stuff I love to do, so it isn't overwhelming - yet. Finally, Wesley is on his way to crawling. We put him on one side of a blanket the other night and he made his way to toys on the other side. This was exciting and a little scary because I'm not ready for a mobile child yet.

Full Throttle

As we posted last, September is full throttle. We returned from Jarrett's parents house Saturday night, Jarrett led worship on Sunday with a church picnic following (celebrating the six years Christ Community has been existence). Monday Jarrett left to attend an evangelism and prayer seminar in Newark, NJ and will be back Wednesday so he can lead the first youth group bible study of the fall semester. I'm sure you will hear about what it was like next week on the blog. So I am trying to get the household back in order and do a few odds and ends for Jarrett so he can focus on these other good things. Hence me blogging instead of Jarrett. Although life is full and can be overwhelming when you look at the calendar we know that God is in control. What I am realizing is the importance of relying on Him to do what he desires through these things otherwise it is in vain. So despite my tendency to do things in my own strength I am trying to trust Christ that His grace is sufficient. As an aside, Wesley is such a joy, he has been so content despite the crazy schedule. We are so thankful for God's kindness to us as parents.