We've Had Snow!

Guess what?! We had snow yesterday! What's up with that?

So...time for a quick update. Things are going well here in the midst of Phillies fever (World Series, Game 5, Part 2 tonight!). I have been able to get a few things done around the house to keep heating cost down. The past week we had a bit of a reprieve from school work, although that may have been the calm before the storm. I can't believe we have only 3 1/2 weeks left of classes! Yowzers!

Rebecca is feeling better, though very tired. She is learning lots and enjoying all her classes, and even got a higher mark than I in one assignment (emphasis on the ONE! ;-) )

Right now I am taking a break from 2 seven-page papers that are due next week. It looks like I will be spending some time doing some trim work next week, too, for my landlord (at another house).

So...that's about it, I think. Looking forward to the CCEF conference coming up in November. I really hope this will be a time of growth and learning for me (and others, of course). Unfortunately, Rebecca will not be here with me- she will be back home for Dave and Renee's wedding. (God's blessings to the two of you!) I will not be here alone, however; Eric and Joanne DeKorte will be here with me to comfort me in my loneliness (lol).

Until next time...Go Phillies!

Same Old

Hey there!

Well, after an exhausting weekend in Ontario, we are back at the grind. Rebecca is feeling somewhat better, although the nausea is still there. Sure was good to be back home for a bit, but as always, it is difficult to get back into the swing of things here. Of course, this also means I fell further behind in my readings...which means I should update my blog!?!

I guess I will keep this short. We will be coming home again next week Thursday night, but we have a wedding in St. Thomas on Saturday.

Feel free to email us so we know how you are doing. My apologies for the lack of correspondence thus far, but you are all in our thoughts and prayers.

In case you are interested, check out the link to my "writings" blog to read my submissions for my classes.

Hasta luego!

Soooo Long Overdue

My humblest apologies to those who check in regularly- seems I say that a lot on this thing! This time, though, I think I have a pretty good excuse.

Well- my summer was great ... uh ... yeah.

Now that we are almost caught up--

Rebecca and I moved to Philadelphia on the 30th of August. The week before, Rebecca started experiencing severe abdominal pains and we went to the ER. After several visits, tests, doctors visits and ultrasounds, we were told the following: you have a hemorrhagic cyst (causing the pain, most likely) and you are pregnant! WOW!

Well, the pains kept coming, we were both up at all hours of all the nights that followed, up until a few nights ago- well, even that isn't entirely true...but I digress. In the week before our move, Mom Meyer, Aunt Patricia, and Amanda packed our belongings (THANKS SO MUCH!) as I tried to finish some projects around the house in between trips to the doctors. We moved here on a Saturday (with the help of Mom M and Uncle Joe and Aunt Patricia- THANKS SO MUCH!), only to return to Canada Monday for more tests. The doctors were mildly concerned about a possible tubal pregnancy or a phantom pregnancy. Since we found out so early about the pregnancy also (4 weeks because of the cyst), they wanted to monitor Rebecca's HCG and progesterone levels.

So, after returning the next day to Philly, we focused on getting settled in our apartment and beginning studies.

So far, so good. Rebecca's pains seem to have disappeared, only to be replaced with ever-present nausea.

But, we had a pretty good scare the other night. Monday, after class, Rebecca started bleeding. With all the uncertainties we had experienced, it was off to the hospital again. After more tests and an ultrasound from very friendly and reassuring staff, we found out that all is well with both Rebecca and our baby! We even got to see the heart beat (FHR 128/min.)! There is a small hemorrhage inside the gestational sac, but the hospital staff has assured us that this is fairly common, and not much of a concern.

Praise God for His grace! So here I am, after all of that, already behind on readings (but catching up), and often tired and sore from restless sleeps. But I am not complaining. God is good, He is with us, and He is using these trials to keep us on our knees before Him- where we ought to be.

So, now that we are caught up on this end, how are y'all doin'? Please keep in touch (as I will try harder to do), by either emailing (glen.slinger@gmail.com) or phone (1-215-407-8138).

Blessings!

A Quick Note

I AM HOME FOR THE SUMMER!!!

My classes at WTS are finished for this year, although I still have exams to write. Thanks to modern technology, I get to write them online, so I do not have to return to Philly until late August.

With the nice weather, and with so many things to do before the end of May, I am finding it difficult to focus on studying (hence this blog entry!). Please pray for me as I prepare for and write these exams. Please remember Rebecca and I in your prayers also as we make final preparations for the wedding!

God bless!

SPRING IS IN FULL BLOOM IN PHILLY!

Spring is in the air! The daffodils have long been blooming, the tulips are stretching towards the sun, and the azaleas are well on their way to revealing in their own magnificent way the glory of our Creator. Streets are lined with trees blooming in resplendant colours. The apple tree in the side yard is magnificently full of bloom, preaching the certainty of coming of the harvest. Sadly, the stately magnolias are weeping thier own blossoms, glorious though they were for a time.

Still, time marches on.

What a wonder that God blesses us so richly with the new growth of spring, teaching us that after the long and often gloomy winter of our lives there is coming a day when we will live in His glorious presence when all things are finally made new. Take heart, weary souls, the final rest is coming!

Another Month Gone!

Sorry, y'all- I seem to be saying that a lot on this thing, don't I? How easily the weeks slip by. This is procrastination at it's best. But don't worry, I won't forget about the wedding.

It really is unbelievable how time flies. We now have less than 7 weeks to the big day, and there is so much that needs to be done. Just 2 1/2 weks of school before exams- oh, my! And yet, I wish I was home already.

I have enjoyed my stay here this year. I have learned a lot in the past 8 months, one of the most poignant at this point in my life is how easy it is to fill up on knowledge and be no wiser for it. I still fall so far short of the life of obedience that God is calling me to. I say "is calling" purposely, because the call comes to me every day to live for Him and not for myself. This is no easy task. Especially difficult is to give up my self-dependence when it comes to gearing up for and fighting the battles that I find myself in everyday. Unfortunately, most of the time I put myself in the thick of these battles, as I let the "little sins" slip by unchecked.

LORD, help me to live uprightly before you.

I am thankful for th spring weather and the renewal of creation proclaiming God's covenant faithfulness and Fahterly care. This is evidence to me that God is in complete control, and that He is still actively involved in the restoration business! Have you seen it lately?

'Just a thought'

"We study the Bible so we can know better who God is and ultimately what he has done in Christ. Such study, by God's Spirit, is a means by which God forms us into the image of his risen Son, with whom we are coheirs. We must, therefore, be ever vigilant to inspect our own motives, lest we fall into the well-worn rut of thinking that study of the Bible prepares us to lead rather than to serve. It is to learn, after all is said and done, that the most important thing is not we who read the Bible, but he who gave it to us, in all its incarnate fullness." (italics mine)

~Dr. Peter Enns

Inspiration and Incarnation