General Assembly 2012

One day after our anniversary trip ended, we headed to Louisville, Kentucky for our denomination's annual pastor/elder's conference.  This was my second time going (see last year's in Virginia Beach here).

Carol, Debbie & I at the Women's Luncheon

We took the church van and traveled with our Senior Pastor, Brannon, his wife, Carol & their son, Thomas; and one of our Ruling Elders, Tom, and his wife, Debbie.

It was nice to explore Louisville - I had never visited it before and it was where my dad went to seminary (Southern).  Most of the time, Curtis was in meetings and seminars so I got to spend a lot of time just relaxing and reading.  I attended all the women's events and was able to meet other women that are serving in the ministry like me.  I really enjoyed hearing from Dr. Tim Lane at our Women's Program.  I also went to a Pastor Wives Panel and was able to get some great advice for various circumstances.  

I was happy that I was able to spend time with Curtis' aunt, who works for Covenant Seminary.  She faithfully comes every year to General Assembly to be in the Covenant Theological Seminary booth in the Exhibit Hall.

I also got to visit and talk with several women that I knew from our days in seminary.  It was neat to be able to meet their new babies and catch up.  I can't believe it's already been 3 years since I had seen most of them!  It was an encouraging week.

Women of Joy

From May 4-6, I went to my first Women of Joy conference in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.  Our team consisted of 9 women; most of these ladies attend Grace Church.  It was such a fun time to get to know these sweet ladies that I haven't gotten to spend a lot of time with.  Our time together at the conference consisted of three speakers - Carol Kent, Sheri Rose Shepherd and Thelma Wells, two music artists - Mandisa and Brandon Heath, one worship leader - Charles Billingsley, and one comedian - Anita Renfroe.  I thoroughly enjoyed the whole thing!  I think my favorite parts were the speakers and Brandon Heath.

One of the days we went to a restaurant called the Noisy Oyster.  I got a club sandwich and I had no idea that it was going to be this huge triple-decker!  It ended up being two meals for me. :)  I actually gave up the chance to eat at Chick-Fil-A because I wanted to finish this sandwich!

Our room had an amazing view.  This picture below was taken from our balcony!  

On Saturday, I laid out on the beach with Jean and Brea, it was so relaxing.  We also floated down our hotel's lazy river.  I am so glad I was able to get away and be refreshed by God's Word, encouraging ladies and praises to our Lord!

VA Beach Days 6 - 10

The next day we travelled to Virginia Beach for the annual Presbyterian conference called General Assembly, where pastors and elders in our denomination meet to discuss business.

We had quite an adventure getting from NYC to VA Beach!  We planned to take a bus; however, we failed to notice that the address was on East Broadway Street and brought all our belongings to Broadway Street.  By the time we were able to figure this out, we had 10 minutes before departure to get there (and we were supposed to get to the bus station 20 minutes early)!  We caught a taxicab and they speedily brought us to our correct destination.  Thankfully, the bus was running a little late and we were able to make it to Virginia Beach as planned.

Here was our view out our hotel room.  It was beautiful (and very different from NYC)!  Thanks to Carol (our senior pastor's wife) for picking out a great hotel for us!  It was definitely nicer than the hotel we stayed at in Queens.

The weather was wonderful while we were in VA.  This little walkway was right outside of our hotel.

Unfortunately, Curtis was feeling very sick on our actual anniversary, but he did feel well enough to go to the beach with me!  You can see our anniversary date (6.7.08) in the sand. 

Here's a closer up view.

It was really relaxing to be there! Curtis had to spend most of his time discussing church business throughout the day and voting.

Curtis and I also went to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse on our anniversary! It was very special because Curtis hadn't ever been there before.  He thoroughly enjoyed the steak!

I had a lot of fun getting to know Carol (the senior pastor's wife) during the trip.  It was also encouraging to spend time with other fellow pastors' wives in our denomination.  We were there from June 6 to June 10.  We were happy when we arrived back in Savannah after a long 10 day trip!  It was very memorable! :)

Gospel Coalition, Curtis' Bday, Family Visit

 From April 12-14, Curtis took a trip to Chicago to attend a conference called The Gospel Coalition. It worked out pretty well because Curtis got to spend time with his best friend and college roommate (who was also our Best Man), Ryan.

Ryan has been attending seminary at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, which is conveniently located in Chicago! Although I missed Curtis terribly, I’m glad he got the chance to go and come back refreshed. He tells me that the sermons he listened to were excellent, so I’ve already listened to Tim Keller’s (I agreed that it was very good!). I still have at least 2 others that he’s recommended for me to listen to.

Once he left for Chicago, I began feeling sick. I ended up missing several days of work and hoping to recover before Curtis got home. Unfortunately, I was still sick by the time he came back and I had to go to the Urgent Care Center in order to get effective medication.  Here's some of the medication:

Apparently, I had an upper-respiratory infection. I was concerned that I wouldn’t be able to celebrate Curtis’ 27th birthday with him on Monday (4/18), but I did end up feeling well enough to take him out to Chili’s. He was pretty excited because his parents got him a Blu-Ray player for his birthday. Immediately after Chili’s, he wanted to go to Best Buy to see what type of flatscreen TV we would like and what the going price was. I think that’s one of the next big purchases that Curtis wants! I got him a laptop messenger bag so that he would stop carrying a backpack to and from the church. Here’s Curtis on his birthday with his new laptop bag:

On Thursday, I got to spend some time with my Uncle Rick and his two daughters (my cousins), Judy and Beth.

They were traveling down to Florida for Easter and I was able to meet them on the interstate and have dinner with them on their way down. I don’t get to see my extended family (let alone my immediate family) much at all, so it’s always a treat when I get the chance!

Now, off to preparing for Easter lunch. We’re having several families over after church this year. I’m excited about it!