Home from Kona on Wednesday, March 4 (off a red-eye), we had a full day counseling on the 5th and then hopped a flight to Boston early on the 6th to speak for the Seven Mile Road Church marriage conference in Melrose, MA.

We were both honored and thrilled to be speaking for the first time for this church, which is home to a number of people we’ve known for many years. Katie O’Hara Ryou (and her husband Marvin) were the instigators of this event and we were so delighted to partner with them. We’ve known Katie since youth group days with our daughters at Grace Chapel, and just in recent years have reconnected with her. She and Marvin attended a conference we spoke for last year in Melrose and that planted the seed for their church hosting us.

We’re so glad they did! We loved getting to know yet another part of the body of Christ in the greater Boston area and we especially enjoyed their staff team, headed by Justin Gottlieb (senior pastor), Michael Prevett (executive pastor), and Sara Bida (ministry coordinator.) Seven Mile Road Church is a thriving, gospel-centered church filled with many young families as well as some wise sages. Check it out if you’re in the area!

*The sunset welcoming us home on March 4.*

Snow welcomed us in Boston when we arrived March 6, and though we found it lovely, we discovered we were almost alone in that sentiment. The general feeling we picked up was “enough already.” It’s been a long winter and our enjoyment of the white stuff is invalidated by our photos of sunsets in Panama, Cozumel, and Kona.

*Seven Mile Road Church is led by Justin Gottlieb and is committed to faithfully preaching the gospel.*

*Marvin and Katie O’Hara Ryou “made” this event happen. Not only was it their idea, but they were the force behind pulling together a team and covering all the bases.*

The conference began Friday night with a catered dinner, served in the beautifully set sanctuary around round tables adorned with vases of tulips, giving the false impression of spring as snow covered the landscape surrounding the church. After a brief time of worship, we did our first teaching session, ending before 9 pm.

*The dinner, snacks, and ambience Friday night set the table for a joyful community event, focused on building in to marriages.*

Saturday morning early, the conference reconvened with the added bonus of childcare provided in a local church. The childcare program, planned by Sara Bida, was not unlike a “mini-VBS” day, making it a purpose-driven event for the children as well.

We did two sessions of teaching during the morning hours and ended with a 45-minute time of Q & A. Many thoughtful questions were submitted and we loved being able to interact with folks in more specific ways. We like to “scratch where there’s an itch,” so to speak, and felt the time was very productive.

*Katie welcomes everyone back Saturday morning.*

*After a couple of worship songs, we spoke.*

*The attendees numbered around 85 and were very engaged and responsive.*

*Richard Hendricks, our right hand man, came both Friday night and Saturday morning to “man” the book table. What a huge help that is to us!*

After the conference ended, we had the joy of going out to lunch with the Seven Mile Road Church staff and had lively conversation over yummy food. We came close to solving most of the world’s problems in our 2-hour lunch and we look forward to a continuing relationship with this vital church.

*After lunch photo with this great team from Seven Mile Road Church.*

We actually flew home the night of March 7 and enjoyed being home for several days in a row for the first time this year. We enjoyed spending the Sabbath with Derek and Julie and fam, and then spent Monday counseling.

Lisa flew in on Monday late afternoon from California for her spring break and the annual “Sister’s Getaway.” We were so happy to spend all day Tuesday with her, the highlight of which was our five-mile hike around Burke Lake early that morning.

*Burke Lake at sunrise…such a beautiful way to start the day!*

Kari flew in Tuesday afternoon, making the “Sister’s Getaway” complete and off the three went to a cabin in Harper’s Ferry, where they experienced 80 degree weather Tuesday, rain on Wednesday, and snow on Thursday. They got it all! Almost nothing gives us more delight than observing their “best friends” relationship…which wasn’t always true when they were young siblings.

*The three sibs sent this to their sunset-loving mama upon their arrival in Harper’s Ferry for their annual “Sister’s Getaway.”*

Wednesday was filled with catching up around the house, packing for a Thursday departure, and preparing to have Paul’s sister Carol and her husband Wayne move in to our home for the next 5 days.

It also including getting to have granddaughter Rachel join us from after school til 9 pm, when her dad picked her up after her brother’s basketball practice. We always love to have her with us, not surprisingly, and we managed to get Easter decorations up, make “Honey Nutters” (one of our favorite snacks), and start a new jigsaw puzzle. It was a day full of delight!

*Rachel rolls the “Honey Nutter” balls like a pro.*

*We managed to get a quick photo with Wayne and Carol and the Johnsons (minus Julie) at the end of the evening.*

And then we were off again. Thursday morning at BWI, snow came fast and furiously…but it wasn’t the reason for our 3-hour delay AFTER we boarded. We departed from the gate and returned three times to address the same minor mechanical issue each time…and as they say, “the third’s a charm.” Three hours after boarding, we made the quick trip to Manchester, NH, where I met my dear friend Becky and we walked 5 miles. Great start to the long weekend!

*We had a crazy, fairly brief snow squall while we waited to depart from BWI.*

We were so happy to be able to celebrate Barbara Steele’s birthday over lunch at the Colonial Inn in Concord, MA. Barbara and Guy have been indispensable as the publishing arm of HIM and have faithfully served with us for a few decades now. They are truly “chosen family” and it was a joy to honor Barbara on the day before her milestone birthday.

We drove straight from Concord, MA, to Manchester, NH, for the start of our next marriage conference at another new church. Tower Hill Church has sent a few couples to our HIM marriage retreats over the years and that spawned the idea to host their own. Scott and Cari Knuckles are the “marriage gurus” at Tower Hill and they were the ones who made this happen, along with John and Kim Lord, who also serve with the Knuckles.

They did a great job of planning and marketing the event, and their “hoped for” number of attendees, 60–80, turned in to over 250!! Of the 250, over 40 were young singles, who came to be better prepared to make the God-honoring decisions regarding their future marriages. That was thrilling to us.

*Scott and Cari Knuckles poured their hearts and souls into making this event a reality.*

*John and Kim Lord, also on the marriage team, handed out packets to each couple that contained the outlines for the talks as well as other helpful resources.*

As the church filled up, the energy was palpable. The audience, which represented a broad spectrum of people from young college and career age through over 50 years of marriage, seemed very expectant and open to growing. Our two sessions were well received, giving all praise to Him.

*Scott and Cari welcome everyone and introduce us.*

*Notice the young folks standing front and center. Yay!!*

Besides meeting many new people, we were so happy reconnect with some long time friends as well.

*Dan and Lauren (Olsen) Elliott were able to join us for the conference, leaving their two babies in the care of Lauren’s parents.*

Evelina Adolphus and her fiancé Michael were there as well. For almost 20 years, Evelina has been in our life and we were thankful to help her celebrate this new season in her life as she prepares to marry Michael in May.

We reconvened Saturday morning, and the landscape had changed color overnight. Of course, that posed no obstacle for their hearty crew. I even saw one man walking in to the church in khaki shorts. Only in New England . . .

We did two more sessions Saturday morning and a third answering questions submitted on index cards during the breaks. We were again impressed with the thoughtfulness of the questions and did our best to respond to them on the spot.

Cari and Scott wrapped up the morning by presenting a challenge to each couple (or single) to daily put on the “full armor of God” out of Ephesians 6 by praying through each element of the armor. They used their own life’s practice of doing so and testified to its positive effect on their relationship. It was a powerful way to end the event and we pray there will be much fruit from it.

*The snow that fell through the night didn’t hinder these hearty New Hampshirites from coming out Saturday morning.*

Our trusty team of Richard Hendricks and Steve and Janet Hathaway once again managed the book table, which was such a huge help. We are so blessed to have their commitment to serve with us whenever they can.

*Scott and Cari Knuckles wrapped up the conference with a charge to “put on the full armor of God daily.” The spiritual battle is real and we need to be prepared.*

*And then there was lunch. We had a good time debriefing the conference over lunch with Scott and Cari, and we all gave thanks to the Lord for the many ways He met each of us during the event.*

Maximizers that we are, we left lunch with the Knuckles and had a very sweet hour with our dear friends and mentors, Gordon and Gail MacDonald. How blessed we are to have had them in our lives for 41 years now! They have taught us so much, through word and deed, and we treasure every moment we are able to spend with them. After a brief but rich one hour, we left refreshed and encouraged. They consistently have that affect on us. Blessed indeed.

*Gordon and Gail MacDonald are treasured friends and mentors.*

And since we were in Concord, NH, we were also delighted to have dinner with Skip and Avonne Jarvis and their son Patrick. We first met the Jarvises at family camp at Berea, just over 20 years ago, and for many years, spent a week each summer doing family camp with them. We’ve watched with delight as all four of their children have grown into adulthood and we always enjoy getting together with them. Admittedly, we were pretty pooped by the time dinner came, but the stimulating conversation with them perked us right up.

*Dinner with the Jarvises at T-Bones in Concord, NH, was a great way to end this full but great day.*

Not wanting to miss an opportunity which rarely presents itself since we moved to VA, my dear friends Pam and Christy agreed to get together at 7 am Sunday morning. That’s a sign of truly devoted friends. Christy opened her home to us, continuing a tradition we’ve shared since the mid-90’s, when a mom’s group brought us together. We were four until just over 2 years ago, when our “fourth,” Patty, passed away from cancer. It still seems incomplete to meet without her, but we’re very thankful to still share a commitment to maintain this deep bond.

Our time was a brief 1 hour, since we were committed to going to church at Hope Christian Church in Winchester, MA, but it was none the less sweet.

*Pam, Christy, and I maintain a commitment to gathering every time we geographically can.*

Following an inspiring message by Todd Cravens at Hope, we grabbed an hour with Todd and Alisa in his office to catch up with these dear friends. Todd is an excellent teacher of God’s Word and we were so blessed to have been a part of the Hope congregation for the last few years we lived in Bedford.

In between the days, Richard Hendricks provided his always ready “airBnB.” He takes such good care of us whenever needed! How blessed we are to have him in our lives, another “chosen family” member.

And then we flew home. A long weekend well spent, full of rich fellowship and many moments of experiencing the goodness of God.

Our time at home was very brief (shocking, I know), and included a little counseling, a Zoom podcast interview (details will be forthcoming when it’s aired), unpacking our winter clothes and repacking our island clothes…and then Tuesday at 4:30 am, our uber driver picked us up and delivered us to Reagan-National Airport for our flight to Kauai, where we’ll spend the next week serving the congregation at the Kalaheo Missionary Church. This will be our 11th year with this wonderful group and we are very much looking forward to reconnecting with this “Ohana.”

Though these days have been very full, we have not neglected either meeting with the Lord during our quiet times, nor meeting with the pavement on our 5-mile daily walks. We know we’re exceedingly blessed to have good health and strong bodies and don’t for one minute take that for granted.

We are blessed beyond.

We are also very aware that many around us are suffering—either health, marriage, children, or financial issues,—or fear and anxiety based on world issues. We’re most thankful and find great comfort that in the midst of uncertain times, we have certain, unflagging confidence in our sovereign Lord, and our hope is truly vested in Him. We pray that will be your comfort and confidence as well.