A day after getting the Garcias off to return to CA, we drove north for HIM’s Engagement Matters Weekend, Dec. 7-8, and as is our pattern, we packed in as much as we could during those days in our beloved Northeast.

Seven weeks ago, we were in Kona, partnering with Living Stones Church and Mokuaikaua Church … and if time has wings, they flapped at an unprecedented rate, flying us right into 2025 before I made the time to bring closure to 2024.

I have therefore decided that we’re currently in the 13th month of 2024.

Does anyone else feel like they blinked and Thanksgiving and Christmas ran a footrace to the finish line?

More than a few of my favorite things have been a part of this past month and in fact, in some ways, it feels like I’ve been standing under Niagara Falls with all the blessings and expressions of love which have come my way.

Starting back on Oct. 17, for the seventh year in a row, we were honored to partner with Dr. Harold and Dalia Arnold, who founded and direct the Eusebeia Live Marriage Experience. Eusebeia LIVE is one of my favorite things. Held in Annapolis, MD, 137 couples gathered to be encouraged and challenged in their marriages. We love this movement. Harold and Dalia share our deep passion for healthy marriages and this conference is helping to accomplish just that.

The past six weeks have been unusually quiet on the ministry front “on purpose” as we have taken time to “be” grandparents as well as to take care of some neglected “physical” maintenance.

And it’s been good and productive on many levels.

But first: after our wonderful vacation in Ogunquit with our dear friends, John and Marilyn, we celebrated Paul’s birthday before the days of August expired. The Johnsons planned and prepared a delightul cook-out celebration in Virginia before Paul flew west for a second celebration with his birthday buddy and first grandson, Brandon (and his family).

The dust had barely settled on “Papa-Gigi Camp” when the date for Family Camp at The King’s Chapel (TKC) was upon us. Originally to be a Thursday–Saturday night camp at a local property, the lack of facilities prompted a switch to an “in-house camp” at TKC’s property in Chantilly on Friday night and all day Saturday, August 2–3.

It was our first introduction to a TKC event outside of church (where we attend, in tandem with Immanuel Bible Church) and we were blown away by the well thought out and executed weekend conference. Diana White and her sidekick Maria put so much in to making sure this was done with excellence and that people would leave having had a great experience, and they succeeded.

It’s been quite a month!!

And it’s very hard to believe we’re experiencing the waning days of summer. Didn’t summer always include August? Apparently no longer, as social media posts are flooded with “back to school” photos.

A glance back at a major part of our summer will reveal why we are filled with deep joy as well as a bit of tiredness. Fortunately, we still have a couple of weeks of summer to recharge before our fall ministry schedule launches.

Our love for family camp found its second outlet this summer at Alliance Redwood Conference Grounds in Occidental, CA (just north or San Francisco). Though our concerns driven by a very late start (promotion for it commenced at the beginning of May) and it being over the 4th of July that it would result in a very small turnout were realized, the staff at Alliance Redwoods chose to press on so family camp would get out of the gate at this beautiful property.

And so we went for it and were reminded that it’s not the size or the location as much as it is the people.

And the 35 campers who gathered were delightful and all agreed that it was a wonderful experience.

All praise is His!!

We’ve enjoyed a somewhat slower pace since returning from our two-month ministry tour, which ended May 20 when we re-settled in Fairfax. In fact we’ve racked up 21 days out of the past 42 sleeping in our own bed! That’s some kind of a record!!

During the first few days we were home, we had a day of counseling and we did a podcast with Jim Ramos of “Men in the Arena.” It can be found here. We also walked the kids to or from school as often as possible and kept them overnight while their parents snuck away. These are the joys of living only 2 miles apart. We’re loving it!

A delayed flight out of Kona provides the perfect window for reflecting on the past month here in our blog. We’re in the middle of a seven-week trip, which kicked off in Oakland, CA, on March 28 and will end May 20 with a marriage conference in Phoenix, AZ.