Following our last post, Laura and I jumped on a plane headed for Texas to spend the "Big Two" (Christmas and New Years....I just made that up, so don't think I am using new, hip lingo which all the youngsters are using...although I do think it's quite catchy, but back to the point...). When we arrived, we were greeted with a long list of "activities" to fill our time. This list included going to the movies, going to about 75 different restaurants (which explains my post-Christmas diet), playing a few board games, building a gingerbread house, watching a lot of television, visiting a cave, and spending New Years at Sea World. In my opinion, there is no way to ring in the new decade like seeing the "World's Largest Mistletoe" (which happens to be housed at Sea World in San Antonio) and watching whales do tricks to Michael Jackson music. Although this may seem like a crazy couple of weeks, I can assure you all that we made sure to relax, grow out my beard to manly lengths, and waste time while we could. I must say that it was a great couple of weeks!
After a couple of quick weeks, we arrived back in Mill Valley last weekend. This week, I have the joy of going to a week-long, intensive course on evangelism. Although I have enjoyed it to the extreme, these classes (scheduled from 8am-5pm) wear me down! At the end of the week, Laura and I will jump in the car for a 13 hour drive to Seattle to be with my family for a couple of days. We look forward to seeing family one more time before another long semester begins! I praise God that we have such a long break from classes, so we can find the time to visit family.
This break has taught me the importance of family (especially in the ministry). Many ministers neglect family and fall away quickly. It has been apparent for years as families connected to ministry fall apart at a high rate. This is a sad indictment on the leaders of our churches! I have been reminded how easily we can get wrapped-up in doing things for others and neglect our own families. I am thankful that I was able to take time away from school, work, and ministry for a couple of weeks to simply relax and spend time with family. I pray that, as the years go by, Laura and I never forget the importance of family. I wise minister once told me that our priorities should be listed as "1. God, 2. Family, 3. Ministry" and they should never be switched. I am thankful for such wisdom at an early age in ministry.
We are thankful for all of your prayers this past semester. Laura and I both did quite well in class and can't wait to see what we learn this next semester.
In Christ,
Steve
