The week…
I know, boring title! Looking back on the week, it surely has been a great one! We started it off on Sunday with playing 4 hours of beach volleyball after church! Yup it was a little chilly, but it soon warmed up as our game play became more intense. It was the last time playing til next summer, which we are really bummed about! It’s just so neat to see relationships built, the kids become better at the game, and just the laughter that surrounds it.
After volleyball, a good friend that we met on our mission trip came to town, Jon Rudd (aka JRudd). He was heading to a conference in Chicago and decided to spend a night with the Sterks. We invited the mission trip crew over as we caught up on life in Newark, the kids there, and also what God is continuing to do there. Even though Jon does inner-city ministry in the heart of Newark, it was amazing to see the similarities and being able to relate with almost everything he was going through. JRudd is a thinker (he’s only 24) and really made us think a lot about what we do being in ministry. The whole time he was here (he left monday mid-morning) we just sat and talked. How refreshing! One interesting thing…at about 7:30pm Sunday night a transformer behind our house blew. It WAS SO LOUD and our electricity went out. We knew right away what it was, but when you have people over who don’t know, it sounds like someone shot a gun right beside your ear. The cops and fire dept. were looking to see what happened and lo and behold, if you want action, just come to the Sterk house :). Thankfully they had it fixed within a hour or so, which was AWESOME!
The rest of the week has filled with planning for the year, which we are soooo excited about! The kids are excited too, which makes it even better! This year we are also teaching Sunday school on the Belgic Confession. I am really excited about that b/c in catechism growing up, I don’t remember spending much time in that. So this will be fun – at least we are going to make it fun.
Dan is gone for the weekend fishing with the Van Lente family up in Cadillac! I don’t put an exclamation point there b/c I’m glad, but he has been looking forward to this for the past month or more! He always comes home with some very interesting story – first year he caught a dogfish (an eel looking fish) which was HUGE. The next year he accidentally caught a seagull that dipped down and bit his bait. So, can he top that? Who knows :). So for me, this is a chance to finish up my Christmas cards. I know, laugh, but when it gets close to Christmas, like everyone else, we get CRAZY busy! So I’m working ahead! AND…Michigan plays Notre Dame tomorrow, and I will be glued to the tv.
On a more serious note, I’ve had some tough conversations with people this week with regards to our kids. Whether it’s physical, mental, spiritual, it’s just heart-breaking to hear what is going on in their lives. The brokenness in families, the mental instability in teens, and just the sin that encompasses so much of our lives. At the same time, it all just reminds me of how much we need our Savior. Without Him I think Dan and I would become hermits :). Sometimes it seems no matter where we turn there is a serious issue, but at the same time, we know God will not give us anything we can’t handle. Please pray for our kids as they head into a new school year and that they would daily make the choice to follow Christ.
