Prayer Request

After reading Luke 5 where Jesus steps into Peter's boat and then asks him to put out just a few feet so he can preach to the crowds without getting mowed over, and then after preaching from the boat he has Peter go out deeper and throw the nets into the lake one more time, I began to think. Hey, after a couple more years he asks Peter to get out of the boat and WALK on the water. How gracious is our LORD to give us all the preparation time before he asks us to walk on the water.

Those of you who have journeyed closely with David and me over the years know there have been plenty of times where God has gently asked us to push away from the shore just a bit, and then in his time has asked us to row out into the middle of the lake and throw our nets in and trust him for the catch. AND there have even been times it felt like he has asked us to walk on water.

I'm back where I am feeling God is asking me to push out from the shore a bit. I am applying to take a unit of Clinical Pastoral Education here in Tacoma. (400 hours of clinical work in a hospital in 11 weeks.) This is just the first step in the journey of becoming certified as a chaplain. Certification is necessary to get interviewed for chaplaincy work. And it is something I can take anywhere in the nation.

So, I put my application in on Thursday, January 31 and need an interview for a position that would be open March 4. I have only 2 days open in the beginning of February to interview in person. Please pray that God would open this door for an interview and I be accepted to the class if this is what God would have me do.

Thank you for lifting us up in prayer.

Snowy Monday

What a difference 24 hours can make in the landscape!! The neighborhood children seemingly appear out of nowhere when snow shows up on our front lawns. They are making snow men and sliding down the street as I post these pictures. School was suppose to be delayed 2 hours, but the snow just keeps coming down. It is beautiful!

Sunny Sabbath

Crystal Mountain

Today the three of us enjoyed a day in God's creation. We had a great time skiing at the resort by Mt. Rainier. We had a little snow, especially at the summit. But at one point the sun peeked through the clouds and we got some good shots.

We send Annika off to Boston tomorrow and then she is off to Cape Town, South Africa at the end of January. She is ready to be on her way. We are not so ready to see her go, and yet we are ready to see what God has for her to learn in South Africa.

Chihuly Bridge

The adventures continue. Annika and I went to the Glass Museum in Tacoma last night. One parks on the south side of the highway and walks across a bridge to get to the museum. The bridge has a covering at one point that is filled with Chihuly glass, appearing to be a great reef off the coast of Australia. (or somewhere like that) The glass work is beautiful.

Inside the museum there is a working glass blowing studio where we watched a team of three people create a red vase last night. We sat through the whole process, fascinated by the movement of all participating. We had a delightful evening.

Visiting in Seattle

Last night we went up to Renton and spent time with Brandon and Amy Deur. Being with Brandon without his family around was a little out of context for Annika, his little sister is one of Annika's good friends in Michigan. We found an authentic Italian restaurant to have pizza. We'll be back there again.

We are having a good time hanging out. We are also getting Annika ready for South Africa. She is reading multiple books and writing reflection papers on each one of them. I am being the editor for each of those papers. I think she knows how handy it is to have an editor in the family. I like it. Reading the papers has taught me a few things and I understand what the focus of this semester will be.

Annika has Arrived

Annika is spending her last week of winter break with us in Tacoma. She arrived last Friday and we have been relaxing together. We were able to have dinner with Jake and Cristin on Sunday evening. We went up to Seattle and took them out to a Thai restaurant within walking distance of their apartment. Having Annika meet the newest member of the Vander Plas clan was fun. Cristin has been in South Africa so she gave Annika the heads up on life in Cape Town. Everything she told Annika just reinforced her orientation information at Gordon College.

Last night we drove to Olympia and visited Deborah Van Tuinen's studio and had dinner with her and her daughter Austin. The pictures are in front of one of Deborah's new pieces that uses silver at the top, so beautiful.

The fun continues for a few more days. We'll post more pictures as the week progresses.

Snow in Seattle

OK - when the temperature in Tacoma is 34 degrees on January 8 and the temperature in Grand Haven is 51 degrees at the exact same time, there is something wrong with this picture. This picture, well there was suppose to be a picture but the camera I used didn't have one of those cards that you are suppose to insert before taking the picture. Instead of film we have 'cards'. The camera didn't have a 'card' in it so the picture of snow on our front yard this morning isn't even a picture. You will just have to believe me that we had snow this morning.

The good news is that there is A LOT of snow in the mountains so we will be able to going skiing soon!

And the other good news is that our snow is gone, all gone, and you in Michigan will be getting snow at the end of this week and ours will not be returning.

Christmas on the Bayou

WINTER BEAUTY

FAMILY SHOTS

MALACHI DAVID ... 23 MONTHS

ABRAM JACK ... THREE MONTHS

Happy New Year

We are once again back in Tacoma after a wonderful time in Michigan. Not only did we celebrate Christmas with all our children, but we took in two weddings, and traveled to San Francisco for a 3rd wedding reception. There will be more to follow, but I would like to post one of my favorite pictures of the Christmas celebration, Annika and Malachi.