Life at its Fullest

Everyone and everything is in full fall swing at the Ten Haken’s.  The kids and I have been in school for a few weeks now and the busyness of the semester is setting in.  All of the activities at church such as GEMS, Cadets, and Choir, and Bible study have started;  SoulCare started for Jessica and Alex; and school activities such as music lessons, theatre group for Bethany and class trips to ArtPrize (a national art competition held in Grand Rapids -- http://www.artprize.org/) are also underway.  So after school is filled with music practice, homework, appointments, dinner, baths, reading, and the like.

My prior inclinations that this would be one of my busiest semesters of seminary have proven to be true.  The workload is increased as has the difficulty of the coursework.  In addition, I’ve been working a few extra hours in the Admissions Office at the seminary since one of the two full-time employees that make up that office is out on maternity leave.  So, I’m relying heavily on Jessica right now to maintain order at home and she’s been doing the amazing job.  More of my evenings are being taken up with studying leaving less time for me to help with evening routines and I continue to be grateful for her support and patience with me and my schedule.

Later this week, Jessica’s parents are coming for a visit.  It’s GrandFriends Day at school so they will be able to attend that and then we’ll try and take in some ArtPrize installations and maybe some golf.  So I’ll work some long hours this week in order to have some time this weekend to with them. 

Life is full – full of busyness and full of blessing.  Full of challenges and full of rewards.  Full of love and laughter amidst the chaos of full schedules.  Please pray that we all stay healthy – getting sick is not on the ‘to do’ list!