it took four months, but she’s finally figured out that the church nursery without mom and dad is not that bad a thing! it was hard for us to know since she’s always crying when we leave (albeit getting better), but someone took pictures and now we have proof!

apparently that day she insisted on sitting in the stroller with seatbelt buckled nearly the entire time. silly child.

we held a dedication for rebecca, committing her to the Lord. it was a meaningful time of thanksgiving and prayer, which we spent with family and friends. we were very grateful to have randy, one of our pastors, come into our home and lead our mini-service.

afterwards we had food!

more pictures from easter. a little tricky to capture a nice family photo, but we got one!

church was in full celebration with easter decorations and music. rebecca was quite fascinated and we all enjoyed the worship service.

she made it until the last song and fell asleep. bunny out.

after a few weeks of online sermons, we finally made it to church as a family for the first time a few sundays ago. rebecca was able to sit in the sanctuary with us and listen too.

(stained glass window from Saint Séverin Church in Paris)

Luke 2:8-14
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”

Merry Christmas!

my women’s group at church got together for a mini-high tea after finishing a study on the life of david. i made some scones which didn’t quite rise perfectly, but still tasted really yummy… with some creme fraiche and strawberry preserves. i’m actually craving them as i write this entry right now. after the cream cheese-cucumber-bacon sandwiches and plethora of desserts, we were really stuffed. oh yes, and we had some tea too.

the weather was perfect for our church yard sale this past weekend. after a lot of donations, we ended up with a pretty good variety of things, including a kitchen sink! we had a great turn out and it was fun being able to meet people from the neighborhood.

interesting neighbors.

thanks team!

happy easter! we hosted a lunch in the parsonage for our church today after the service. i opted to try and cook most of the food myself this time which was a challenge; figuring out fine vs. coarse crumbles, a couple days of marinating, and a lot of chopping was well worth it. it was a great blessing to me watching people eat, relax, and have full tummies!! (not to mention full mouths, as you’ll see below…)

church life has been keeping us busy. a few weeks ago we helped paint one of the back rooms from a shadowy blue into a refreshing pale green.

then last week, we transformed the sanctuary into a coffeehouse. although we didn’t try to plan it this way, it ended up being quite ‘international’, with some african music, middle-eastern flute music, as well as french rap!

I guess it’s about time I talked a bit about the major change in my life this school year. Back in September, I accepted a position as pastor of Hyde Park Alliance Church, the church I’ve been attending for the past five years here in Chicago. I must say I feel truly blessed to be able to serve such a loving, supportive congregation, who are understanding of the academic side of my calling, alongside my current pastoral work. It’s also very rewarding to apply much of the ‘theory’ that I gained from my time at Regent College, though it’s also been a great learning experience, even in this short time. By the way, the picture above is of me in my ‘office’… er… our Sunday School room.