Hello family and friends,
They say time flies
when you are having fun. When I (John) look over the
pictures of the past year, I’m amazed that the experiences seem so long ago.
While saying that, I can peruse other pictures from ten years ago that feel
like they took place yesterday. Here’s an attempt to offer some highlights from this past
year.
It isn’t like skiing in UT or CO, but we were grateful with time away from school on a long weekend to the slopes at Perfect North, just outside of Cincinnati.
Ashville,
NC was a great get-away for Spring Break. We rented a VRBO cabin in the area,
toured some small towns, saw Billy Graham's Cove, the Biltmore and Vanderbilt
Estates, hiked, and enjoyed food we don't normally eat.
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| View from the Appalachian Trail |
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| Chapel at The Cove |
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| Tulips at The Biltmore Estate |
Sarah and I
enjoyed The Lion King, in Dayton, OH. The Chop House lunch was delicious, a
restaurant we would recommend for a nice meal.
In early
summer, we took a road trip to IA to attend the wedding of Sarah's cousin and
see her sister's family. Since her sister is a photographer, we arranged for
some family pics.
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Jace, our
junior, earned his driving license this year. He keeps fit in track and cross
country, while carrying a very heavy academic load, preparing for an
engineering degree in college. He enjoys hanging out with his friends at youth
group. He is continuing to develop as a pianist and saxophone player.
Gwyneth is a
high achiever in the classroom, as she prepares for college in her freshman
year of high school. She misses show choir from her eighth-grade year, yet
dances in a ministry of the church called InStep. She'll soon have a permit to
drive. She stays active with friends, participates as a tutor within the
school, piano lessons, and youth group.
Quinn is our
seventh grader who moved up to middle school this year. She memorized the whole
book of James in her Sunday School class. She ran cross country, plans to run
track this Spring, and stays active in dance, piano, and youth group, and
school choir.
Jace and I were able to take a cruise to celebrate Jace's sixteenth birthday. The ports were CoCo Cay, San Juan, and St. Thomas in the Caribbean. Sarah should be able to enjoy some kind of outing with each of the girls.
On August 3, at mid-day, John's mother, Anna Verne, passed on to her eternal reward. You can read what I wrote for her eulogy in the entry before this Christmas update.
I'm in my tenth year as an online chaplain for Indiana Wesleyan University, where thankfully, we are serving a record number of students. Sarah is in her 22nd year of service for Fishers Veterinary Associates, centering on some non-western medicine techniques for the practice. Though both of us consider our jobs to be 'work', we also consider it our calling, so we are grateful for the opportunities to be of value, that come our way.
Into a dark
and fallen world, Jesus brought light. As you celebrate this season, may you be
filled with the hope and peace He gives lives that are surrendered to Him.
Have a Merry Christmas, a wonderful new year ahead!
John, Sarah,
Jace, Gwyneth, and Quinn Lee
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. Isaiah 9: 2 NIV
