All about Luke

Today I had the honor of spending the morning praying with some great women that God has placed in my life.  We get together on Thursday mornings and pray for our kids and in doing so, we share a little about what is going on in our home and the challenges and victories we face in parenting.  It is so encouraging to not only be able to pray with one another but also to know that we are not alone in many of the things we experience as we diligently desire to raise our kids in godly homes with love and respect.  In addition, we inevitably end of speaking about our husbands too and one of the wives mentioned that in a recent blog, she wrote a portion about him that really blessed him.

Well, that got my mind churning.  You see, I write the blog so you get to hear a lot about our experience from my perspective.  While I do try to keep you up-to-date on the kids and Luke, I know that for the most part, what you get to hear is my personal experience with the move and life here.  Today I'd love to share with you a bit more about what the last few months have been like for Luke.  Keep in mind, I am still the one writing so, it's still my perspective but it will be about him.



When we arrived in July, Luke had the opportunity to start to get to know several of the others students here at seminary and get a feel for what classes, professors, and seminary life would be like.  On some days, he'd wake up so excited to start classes and enthusiastic about what studying for a master's would be like.  Other days, he woke up less enthusiastic and more cautious and concerned.  The workload, the readings, the high expectations were all daunting tasks that lie ahead.  He was even told that one of the professors he had for his first set of classes was one of the toughest on campus.  Luke is a great student and absolutely is in his element when it comes to academics, especially ones that center around his faith.  But even he could not help but be nervous about what was in store for him.

The first week that Luke actually went to campus was for New Student Orientation.  In addition to a number of activities that I was able to attend with him, the Student Services and Family Formation departments had a number of workshops and events to help new students familiarize themselves with the school and with one another.  By the end, Luke was pretty jazzed and ready to start classes.  The only bummer was that his family (that would be me and the kids as well as his parents and siblings and their families) were all heading to the beach.  Luke stayed behind to start his seminary career as we basked in the sun and played in the waves.  I guess he missed us a lot (and loved us even more) because on Thursday evening, he surprised us in North Carolina by showing up, skipping his afternoon class in order to drive 10 hours to spend the last part of vacation with us.

But honestly, he loved seminary.  He loved his classes, his subjects, his fellow students, and even his assignments.  I have know Luke for almost 15 years and never have I seen him so "in his element" as he was in seminary.  He ended up adding another 3 credits to his schedule by hiring a tutor to help him pass out of Greek I so his fall semester, his first semester, rounded out at 15 credits.  That's a lot of reading.  That's a lot of papers.  That's a lot of work.

He's handled it like a champ.  Thanks to the sale of our home, he was able to not work this semester and focus on school.  Next semester he will be looking for a part-time job that will hopefully help us to meet our bills.  In the meantime, he is working hard at his classes and getting to know the staff and faculty at the seminary.  Dr. Stamps, the dean of chapel, teaches one of Luke's classes and we have truly enjoyed getting to know him and his wife Ellen outside of the classroom.  Luke attends a small group where he gets to interact with Dr. Coleman, the author of The Master Plan of Evangelism and that has been a great experience for him.  Luke is becoming more involved in the chapels offered each Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday on campus and has had the opportunity to serve in various capacities there.

But the best part, at least from my (and the kids) perspective is that we get to see Daddy a lot more than we used to.  He is able to be home most evenings, often when I can't because I'm working, and we eat dinner as a family on most nights.  Luke comes home almost every day to eat lunch with Caleb and me, which is awesome, and has time on most weekends to have a family night or afternoon.  Currently the girls are having fun with Daddy going through the Bible.  They read a portion of the Bible and then Luke gives them a project to do relating to what they read.  They love it!! I do too :)



I count myself extremely blessed to have this godly man in my life.  Our conversations about his classes have pushed me to grow in my walk with Christ and to keep myself moving forward in my faith.  While it is not always easy to have him involved in so many great experiences that for this time I can't share in, I appreciate so much that he always invites me into his assignments and lets me participate as much as possible with my limited scope and experience. 

So, for those of you praying for him as he works his way through seminary, please continue to pray for wisdom for him as he balances school, family and eventually work; for clarity of thought as he writes his papers and completes his assignments; and for continued growth in his walk with Christ and his fellowship with his fellow students here.

Luke, I am so proud of you and the way you have striven to keep God as the head of our family, His Son as the reason you learn, and His Spirit as your motivation and strength as you serve.  You have blessed me and the kids and I pray that you will continue to grow as Jesus did, in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.

By the way, I usually let Luke read my blogs before I post them but I'm not going to this time because he won't let me post it. :)  This time, I'm just going to say, "I love you honey!" and smile.