So, it's been a really long time since I blogged, so I thought I should post an update. I started classes two and a half weeks ago, and I'm really enjoying grad school so far. There's lots of reading and presentations, but I really like the subject matter (exercise physiology and sports nutrition, etc.) so the work is fun. I also picked up a part-time job this week tutoring biology, so I'm keeping busy.
Jon is also enjoying his job more now. The work has picked up some, so he's busier. Also, it looks like he may be taking a trip to Washington D.C. to work with a building contractor on a construction site.
So, that's an update on our life. I'm teaching "Sunday School" for the kids this week at church. Right now we only have two kids: two 3-year-old girls. But they keep it interesting enough between the two of them. :-) Gotta love preschoolers.
Until later
~Rachel
Friday, September 18, 2009
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
soccer camp
Yesterday was the first day of soccer camp for Awaken Church. We had about forty-fifty kids out to the camp. This is a pretty significant event for a church that currently has only six members! Because our main goal at this point is to serve the community and begin to build bridges and connections, we're really glad we were able to get that many kids out. The parents were so glad to get a free soccer camp! We also have a great semi-pro soccer player that is volunteering as our guest coach, which is awesome!
Jon and I were helping with the 2-4 year-old group. I think Jon was a little overwhelmed with trying to keep the kids entertained/busy for an hour and a half, but it went really well. Hopefully most of them come back tonight!
~Rachel
Jon and I were helping with the 2-4 year-old group. I think Jon was a little overwhelmed with trying to keep the kids entertained/busy for an hour and a half, but it went really well. Hopefully most of them come back tonight!
~Rachel
Sunday, August 23, 2009
I have a great husband!
So, right now Jon is in the kitchen making pizza dough. Just watching him take the time to do something he loves and serve me at the same time makes me remember just how much I love him! Yesterday, he took me on a date too, which is awesome! It included going to the beach to see the big waves leftover from hurricane Bill and watch surfers as well as dinner at Olive Garden. I'm so happy to be married. :-)
On another note, have you ever seen a squirrel fall out of a tree? I did the other day while I was jogging. It fell about 15 feet out of the tree and landed with a THUMP! on the ground. I didn't know squirrels were so clumsy. I ran a lap around the apartment complex and came back about 10 minutes later and he was still just sitting there! Haha . . . weird.
On another note, have you ever seen a squirrel fall out of a tree? I did the other day while I was jogging. It fell about 15 feet out of the tree and landed with a THUMP! on the ground. I didn't know squirrels were so clumsy. I ran a lap around the apartment complex and came back about 10 minutes later and he was still just sitting there! Haha . . . weird.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Our calling
I just started reading "At the Crossroads" by Charlie Peacock today. Wow! It's a great book so far. I would highly recommend it. It is specifically addressing issues that Charlie sees in the Contemporary Christian music industry, but I think that it applies to underlying issues in the church and also individual Christians.
I was really struck by his discussion of our primary calling as Christians. He spells out this calling as putting Jesus first in all areas of our lives and displaying His character to the world around us. This can only be done through a correct understanding of the Word of God and how it impacts all aspects of our lives. One of Charlie's main points is that the Christian music industry, and I think the church as well, puts too much emphasis on "secondary callings," like careers and "full-time ministry," without a proper focus on the primary calling first. The idea is that God gives all of us secondary callings which are only the means by which we are able to carry out our primary calling.
I think that God is really showing me and Jon through our church involvement and other circumstances that our entire lives need to be focused on glorifying God and living with His character in front of the world and we need to spend less time worrying about our "secondary callings." Those will all work out for good as long as we keep our focus on what is important in our lives.
Anyway, just some thoughts for today.
Rachel
I was really struck by his discussion of our primary calling as Christians. He spells out this calling as putting Jesus first in all areas of our lives and displaying His character to the world around us. This can only be done through a correct understanding of the Word of God and how it impacts all aspects of our lives. One of Charlie's main points is that the Christian music industry, and I think the church as well, puts too much emphasis on "secondary callings," like careers and "full-time ministry," without a proper focus on the primary calling first. The idea is that God gives all of us secondary callings which are only the means by which we are able to carry out our primary calling.
I think that God is really showing me and Jon through our church involvement and other circumstances that our entire lives need to be focused on glorifying God and living with His character in front of the world and we need to spend less time worrying about our "secondary callings." Those will all work out for good as long as we keep our focus on what is important in our lives.
Anyway, just some thoughts for today.
Rachel
Monday, August 10, 2009
personality types, ice skating and soccer camp
Hey everybody!
Just a collection of random thoughts I've been having the past week. Friday was my pre-preliminary skating tests. I passed both the moves and freestyle tests for pre-preliminary. It was kind of fun. I haven't taken a figure skating test in over eight years, so this was kind of a thrill. I'm really enjoying the opportunity to teach learn-to-skate classes, and I'm thinking about maybe teaching some private lessons in the future. It also might be cool to do some adult competitions. We'll see! Anyway, I'm having fun, getting lots of ice time through my job, and I'm planning to try and take the preliminary and pre-juvenile moves tests in November.
Jon and I have also been entertaining ourselves by investigating our personality types on the Myers-Briggs system. Jon's company has every employee take the personality test so that they can learn more about each other and their personality types. Jon tested as an INFP (Introvert, iNtuitive, Feeling, Perceiving) but we think we have him pegged as more of an INFJ (Introvert, iNtuitive, Feeling, Judging). I'm almost definitely an ESFJ (Extrovert, Sensing, Feeling, Judging), although I always test as an ENFJ (Extrovert, iNtuitive, Feeling, Judging). We think we have some of our family members and friends pegged, so watch out, we may just know more about your personality than you know about yourself! If you're curious, you can find good descriptions of all the personality types on wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myers-Briggs_Type_Indicator. It's also interesting to find out what celebrities have your personality type. An example of my personality type is Terry Bradshaw. Haha! I'm not sure what that says about me. Anyway . . .
Before I stop, I'd like to ask you guys to pray for the soccer camp that our church is going to be running in two weeks. Pray that we get the word out and get lots of involvement from the community. We hope that this will be a great way for us to make contacts for launching the church in the fall, and we also hope to see lots of people brought to Christ through our witness there.
Have an awesome day!
Rachel Walker
Just a collection of random thoughts I've been having the past week. Friday was my pre-preliminary skating tests. I passed both the moves and freestyle tests for pre-preliminary. It was kind of fun. I haven't taken a figure skating test in over eight years, so this was kind of a thrill. I'm really enjoying the opportunity to teach learn-to-skate classes, and I'm thinking about maybe teaching some private lessons in the future. It also might be cool to do some adult competitions. We'll see! Anyway, I'm having fun, getting lots of ice time through my job, and I'm planning to try and take the preliminary and pre-juvenile moves tests in November.
Jon and I have also been entertaining ourselves by investigating our personality types on the Myers-Briggs system. Jon's company has every employee take the personality test so that they can learn more about each other and their personality types. Jon tested as an INFP (Introvert, iNtuitive, Feeling, Perceiving) but we think we have him pegged as more of an INFJ (Introvert, iNtuitive, Feeling, Judging). I'm almost definitely an ESFJ (Extrovert, Sensing, Feeling, Judging), although I always test as an ENFJ (Extrovert, iNtuitive, Feeling, Judging). We think we have some of our family members and friends pegged, so watch out, we may just know more about your personality than you know about yourself! If you're curious, you can find good descriptions of all the personality types on wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myers-Briggs_Type_Indicator. It's also interesting to find out what celebrities have your personality type. An example of my personality type is Terry Bradshaw. Haha! I'm not sure what that says about me. Anyway . . .
Before I stop, I'd like to ask you guys to pray for the soccer camp that our church is going to be running in two weeks. Pray that we get the word out and get lots of involvement from the community. We hope that this will be a great way for us to make contacts for launching the church in the fall, and we also hope to see lots of people brought to Christ through our witness there.
Have an awesome day!
Rachel Walker
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Back in Norfolk
Well, it's been about a month since we moved back to Norfolk from State College, PA. A ton has happened since we moved, but it still doesn't seem like it's been that long. I decided I should start blogging again so that those of you who have no idea what's going on in my life can sort of catch up with me again. Also, anyone who reads this and has your own blog, send me the URL so I can keep in touch with you too.
Jon and I have kept busy with new jobs and getting ready for school in the fall as well as getting our new drivers' licenses, registering to vote, having our address officially changed, etc. We've also managed to get in a couple trips to the beach in between.
We moved on July 3rd and my parents were able to come down with us to help us move all the stuff off the truck, which was great! I'm not sure how long it would have taken us to unload the truck without the help of my mom, dad and Josiah. We took some time off from moving on the 4th of July to go to Town Point Park downtown and check out Harborfest and the 4th of July fireworks. Although these fireworks are nowhere near as spectacular as the ones in State College, it was still fun to see them set off over the harbor. My parents stayed for a few days and we did some more moving in, checked out a great local restaurant, and visited the Chrysler museum of art.
After we did our initial settling in, I was able to start a part-time position at a local ice skating rink. I'm working part-time doing general tasks around the rink, and I've also been working as a coach for their learn-to-skate summer camps. It's been so much fun teaching kids again. And I'm getting back into skating a little bit for the first time in eight years. The manager of the rink lets me have some freestyle ice time for free, which really helps. I'm taking two skating tests this Friday, and I've joined the local figure skating club (For those of you who skate, I'm taking my pre-preliminary moves and freestyle tests.). I'm hoping within the next year to get the liability insurance I would need to be able to give a few private lessons. I'm also hoping to be able to work with some of the group lessons during the school year.
Jon's job has been going well, although Jon often is disappointed that he doesn't have more opportunities to be creative in his problem solving. Although I don't fully understand all of what he's doing, currently it seems that he is given plans and requirements by the architects at the firm and just places lights and other electrical components in the right place on the drawing and then runs calculations. He had been hoping that he could be more involved in the design and problem-solving process in the buildings. Maybe that will come. His coworkers are all great people, however, which helps. And there are many benefits to working for this company, not the least of which is job security: very important in this economy. He's working on a military project right now, and it looks like most of the work he will be doing will be on military or government projects with the possibility of some university or private buildings on occasion.
We have also committed to attending a local church in the area. We are going to a church plant called "Awaken Church" that currently only has about six attendees and is led by a missionary pastor. Our sending church is a Grace Brethren church in Richmond. Some of the major goals of the church are to reach the younger generation (under 40) that is leaving the church in great numbers here in Norfolk and VA Beach. Part of this is that they are disillusioned by churches that seem to be characterized by large programs, big buildings and asking for money. Pat Robertson is a huge influence in the Christian community here, and many young people see him as someone who uses faith to get people to send him money and promote a political agenda. We hope to reach out to the young people with a church that focuses on teaching, discipleship, Bible study, service and community. The pastor has a unique vision for the church, hoping to include participants and leaders of all races, nationalities, socio-economic levels and ages. He also would like to eventually see a number of churches in many different areas of the city all under the "Awaken Church" ministry, so that the small groups or small churches would be able to minister to their local areas. Jon and I are really excited to get in at the beginning of this and be involved in teaching and service.
Pray for us as the church is going to be doing a soccer camp the week before school starts and we hope to reach out to the community and strengthen some of our contacts. Jon and I will be helping some with the organization of the camp (neither of us can play soccer). The pastor also would like to try to officially launch the curch in September, so we're hoping to have 12 regular attendees by then. Right now that seems like a really big goal!
The only other major thing that's happened was that we made the trip back to State College last weekend for my friend Lisa's wedding. It was great to see some old friends and Lisa looked great! It was also great to spend some time with both sets of parents while we were there. The car ride was not as fun, though. I don't think we'll be doing that regularly, since it took about 8-9 hours both ways if you include lunch/dinner breaks and getting through traffic around Williamsburg and over the bridge getting back into Norfolk.
Well, that's enough about me. I'm going to relax here in Panera a little more before going to get my hair cut, getting lunch and heading to work. Hope all is well with all of you.
Until next time,
Rachel
Jon and I have kept busy with new jobs and getting ready for school in the fall as well as getting our new drivers' licenses, registering to vote, having our address officially changed, etc. We've also managed to get in a couple trips to the beach in between.
We moved on July 3rd and my parents were able to come down with us to help us move all the stuff off the truck, which was great! I'm not sure how long it would have taken us to unload the truck without the help of my mom, dad and Josiah. We took some time off from moving on the 4th of July to go to Town Point Park downtown and check out Harborfest and the 4th of July fireworks. Although these fireworks are nowhere near as spectacular as the ones in State College, it was still fun to see them set off over the harbor. My parents stayed for a few days and we did some more moving in, checked out a great local restaurant, and visited the Chrysler museum of art.
After we did our initial settling in, I was able to start a part-time position at a local ice skating rink. I'm working part-time doing general tasks around the rink, and I've also been working as a coach for their learn-to-skate summer camps. It's been so much fun teaching kids again. And I'm getting back into skating a little bit for the first time in eight years. The manager of the rink lets me have some freestyle ice time for free, which really helps. I'm taking two skating tests this Friday, and I've joined the local figure skating club (For those of you who skate, I'm taking my pre-preliminary moves and freestyle tests.). I'm hoping within the next year to get the liability insurance I would need to be able to give a few private lessons. I'm also hoping to be able to work with some of the group lessons during the school year.
Jon's job has been going well, although Jon often is disappointed that he doesn't have more opportunities to be creative in his problem solving. Although I don't fully understand all of what he's doing, currently it seems that he is given plans and requirements by the architects at the firm and just places lights and other electrical components in the right place on the drawing and then runs calculations. He had been hoping that he could be more involved in the design and problem-solving process in the buildings. Maybe that will come. His coworkers are all great people, however, which helps. And there are many benefits to working for this company, not the least of which is job security: very important in this economy. He's working on a military project right now, and it looks like most of the work he will be doing will be on military or government projects with the possibility of some university or private buildings on occasion.
We have also committed to attending a local church in the area. We are going to a church plant called "Awaken Church" that currently only has about six attendees and is led by a missionary pastor. Our sending church is a Grace Brethren church in Richmond. Some of the major goals of the church are to reach the younger generation (under 40) that is leaving the church in great numbers here in Norfolk and VA Beach. Part of this is that they are disillusioned by churches that seem to be characterized by large programs, big buildings and asking for money. Pat Robertson is a huge influence in the Christian community here, and many young people see him as someone who uses faith to get people to send him money and promote a political agenda. We hope to reach out to the young people with a church that focuses on teaching, discipleship, Bible study, service and community. The pastor has a unique vision for the church, hoping to include participants and leaders of all races, nationalities, socio-economic levels and ages. He also would like to eventually see a number of churches in many different areas of the city all under the "Awaken Church" ministry, so that the small groups or small churches would be able to minister to their local areas. Jon and I are really excited to get in at the beginning of this and be involved in teaching and service.
Pray for us as the church is going to be doing a soccer camp the week before school starts and we hope to reach out to the community and strengthen some of our contacts. Jon and I will be helping some with the organization of the camp (neither of us can play soccer). The pastor also would like to try to officially launch the curch in September, so we're hoping to have 12 regular attendees by then. Right now that seems like a really big goal!
The only other major thing that's happened was that we made the trip back to State College last weekend for my friend Lisa's wedding. It was great to see some old friends and Lisa looked great! It was also great to spend some time with both sets of parents while we were there. The car ride was not as fun, though. I don't think we'll be doing that regularly, since it took about 8-9 hours both ways if you include lunch/dinner breaks and getting through traffic around Williamsburg and over the bridge getting back into Norfolk.
Well, that's enough about me. I'm going to relax here in Panera a little more before going to get my hair cut, getting lunch and heading to work. Hope all is well with all of you.
Until next time,
Rachel
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