Introducing...Millie

Amy here:

Big news.....
We have a Millie. Her name is Millicent L-W. We call her Millie. She is a beautiful, tiny, curious puppy. We love her. In case you are wondering, she is a Bichon Havanese Mix. All that means is that she is super-super-super cute.

We have fallen in love. Both of us.

So, two quick stories:

*After getting her, my mother and I went to the feed store to purchase her gear. Puppies have gear. She was exploring the world around her when she came across a group of chickens in a pin. She edged closer and sniffed. The chickens made a loud bawking sound in her general direction. She jumped barked twice and ran behind me. It was so cute.

* Yesterday at nap time, Joshua took her into our room to put her to bed. After he had been gone awhile, I went in to check. As I peeked into the room, I found Millie asleep in her crate and Joshua asleep on the floor next to her.





We are glad to have her.
She will be loved!!!

New adventures await...

Walking Life's Road by ItaXdei4eva at DeviantArt

From Josh:

Hello everyone!

For those of you that have walked down life's road with us over the years, we are so incredibly grateful for your love and support. This is just a little update to those of you who are interested in, invested in, or praying for, us and our endeavors....

We have been living, as those who have been in contact with us in the past year know, in Huntsville, Texas--home of Sam Houston (and his colossal human likeness that scares greets interstate drivers coming through town up from the city of Houston), tall pine trees, and, most importantly, Anita... Amy's grandmother.

It has been a treasured time for us as we have lived here with her, during a period of time that was hard on her physically--her spirit has remained doggedly-determined, and her infectious love for God, for others, and for her family has been a continual source of lifting our (my and Amy's) spirits. We have been honored to serve her where we could, and inspired by her life and witness.

We knew going into this year that it would be a one-year commitment to serving Anita, while taking the time to reflect and prepare for the future, and that we would eventually have to open ourselves up again to God's call....

Josh's past year:

I've remained in ministry while in Texas as I serve a Presbyterian church as an interim lay pastor in Conroe, TX, as well as through pulpit supply in Caldwell, TX, and with a handful of teaching engagements at youth retreats. But I have also spent significant time during the first 6-8 months here considering whether or not this unexpected time in Texas would give me the opportunity to pursue a Ph.D., something I have thought about ever since my first year in seminary. So I begin that process, which went from June/July to mid-January. That in turn was followed by a period.....

of......

painful....

waiting.

(It was really only about a two-month wait to hear back from most of the schools to which I applied. But it felt OH much longer. But that's b/c I'm a big whiny-pants.)

The next step

After receiving my responses back from schools, Amy and I spent about 6-8 weeks praying and talking to friends, family, and experts. What was our next step?

Anyone who has gone through a similar discernment process knows--- "clarity" is a bit of a misnomer when it comes to discernment. Seeking "clarity" in a direction can't be a goal in itself, and "clarity" doesn't often look like what we expect or hope it to look like (utter lack of doubt, fear or confusion; full assurance by God and others, etc.)

Faith wouldn't be faith, if our hopes and expectations were always met, of course.

In the end, Amy and I decided that I would accept an offer to study at Boston College's School of Theology and Ministry, and begin their Ph.D. program in Theology and Education.

Why Boston College, then?

* An interdisciplinary program specifically in Theology and Education is not very common--and the philosophy behind the formation of the program is actually remarkably congruent with my hopes for doctoral study (which I describe in brief on my personal, theology-focused blog).

* Boston College's STM teaches specifically from the Jesuit tradition-- which I believe will give me a breadth and depth to my theological understanding, as well as expose me to examples of greater integration of spirituality, theology and mission, for which the Jesuits are famous. The Catholic world, in addition, I think possesses a number of gifts from which the Protestant world can learn, and I hope to take those gifts with me into my future Protestant contexts. The school also happens to be very ecumenically-open while also being Jesuit...

*...that, combined with the fact that I will be part of the Boston College Department of Theology and will have full access to its resources, as well as to the other resources at BC, creates a uniquely spiritual-yet-academic; open-yet-from a particular perspective, learning environment.

* Not only THAT... but as part of the Boston Theological Institute, I will be permitted up to take half of my coursework at 9 other religious institutions in Boston!

Boston College STM looks like this.

When it's not covered in snow.

Either way, it's pretty to me.

As for ministry....

We obviously hope to continue in ministry even as I am taking time to study and develop, and to be a "minister" of sorts to other students at BC as a Ph.D. candidate. We both need to continue serving and supporting a community in order for us to connect our studies to real life, and to continue fulfilling our callings and developing our gifts. Part of being called to Boston College is, for us, believing that we're called to minister in the Boston area as well.

Oh yeah, and we have to eat, too. :)

I'm happy to say that things are progressing--- Amy and I are interviewing at a church outside of Boston in a few weeks! We're very excited and hopeful, and continue to pray and look for ministry opportunities in the area--- we may not know exactly where we will be called to serve yet, but we believe that there is a place for us. This will also give Amy a community and a forum where she can formally begin her ordination process. She will, of course, also be continuing her Distance Learning M.Div. studies at Western Seminary in Michigan.

THANK YOU for checking in, and for keeping us in your prayers as we transition. This blog will again be a place where you can check back in to learn about our goings-on. Feel free also to drop notes in the comments section, and you can leave there prayer requests, collaboration requests, random statements, dueling challenges, haikus, your very own 95 theses, or anything else you can imagine.

2010 with Josh and Amy

2010 - I can not believe that this year is coming to a close. It is as if it only started a minute or two ago. Before I dive into this, I want to share my secret confession just between us...I am not so good at these year-in-review types of letters. I find them to be cumbersome and dull. I know many people who write them beautifully. I am not one of them. I suppose you will simply get what you get. Since this is a new blog, Josh and I have the goal of posting up-dates on a semi-regular basis. Come back to hear about life as it happens. We are not always the most interesting kids on the block (Josh: Speak for yourself. I think we're fascinating. ) but we certainly have loads of fun together.

This year has been a year of changes, a year of moving, a year weddings, a year that was...well...unexpected.

Last Christmas found the L-W's in Southern CA. If you could have peeked into our home you would have seen Josh SICK with the flu. I talked the Dr into giving him some powerful medicines so that he was feeling much better a couple of days later when we were supposed to get on a plane for Lunde Family Christmas in Hawaii. We spent a week with my family and had fun exploring the island of Kauai, hiking, relaxing, and hanging out at the beach. (Josh: Not puking during our tropical island getaway was definitely a plus. Thanks honey.)


At the Luau in Kauai. It was my third Luau and Joshua's second. We had a great time. The program was the best either of us had seen.
Matt, Aleece, Joshua, and I hiked into the Waimea Canyon (The Grand Canyon of Hawaii). It seemed as if we hiked for ever and ever through nothing but woods until suddenly there was canyon all around us. Breathtaking. This island should go on everyone's list of places to visit. We would love to go back again.

New Years Eve 2009. "Should auld aquaintaince be forgot..." Lets just say we will not be forgetting one another anytime soon. It was a Happy New Year. (Josh: Five years ago we made an odd acquaintance... which quickly progressed into full-blown hilarity. )

We kayaked the Hanalei River with the Lunde family. From the looks of this picture, you would think that we beat them in the great kayak race of 2010...but no, no...we were just excited to get started. (Josh: We didn't win the Great Kayak Race of 2010? What???!! )

While we were on our kayak tour, we hiked to this 100 foot waterfall and 'swam' in the pool around it. I use the word 'swam' loosely as the water was FREEZING so the picture was taken for remembrance and posterity. (Josh: A tragic note: a few tourists nearby that were watching us ended up going blind from the sun-glare radiating off of Josh's chest. Very sad.)



A trip to Huntington Gardens in San Marino, CA. We were members of the Gardens and visited as often as we could. We relaxed as we wondered through the gardens and enjoyed the plants and flowers.


Seal Beach - One of our favorite places in SoCal. We often walked down Main Street to watch the sunset and then would walk back up and eat dinner at Cafe Lafayette. We actually had plans to celebrate OUR Valentine's Day at that place only to find it was closed when arrived. Since I preached on Valentine's Day and we both hate crowds, we decided to celebrate on February 15. Josh saved the night when he came up with the idea of eating at Le'Creperie. (Josh: That's me. The Night Saver. BTW the El Mare Crepe is the best dish. Ever. Of ANY restaurant or time period in human history. Le Creperie (sp?) is in downtown Long Beach if you're ever there and intrigued. Oh yeah... this was the night my bike was stolen from our apartment complex... but it was worth it b/c I got to eat an El Mare crepe. )


In July, we moved from Southern CA to East Texas to live with my grandmother and provide some extra support for her. In typical L-W fashion, we decided to turn the move into a bit of a roadtrip and headed to Texas by way of Napa, Lake Tahoe, and the Grand Canyon. We had a fun time seeing family, friends, and some beautiful parts of North America.





My sister, Aleece, was married in August. I think beautiful is the only adjective that could possibly be used to describe the event. We are all thrilled that Matthew is finally part of the family.
The Lunde-Whitlers, The Nelsons, The Lundes. It was a day worth celebrating.


October 4, 2010 - We turned 2!!!!!!!!!!


We spent Thanksgiving in San Antonio with Don and Debbie, Josh's parents. My parents were invited to come and we all had a fantastic time eating, laughing, and being thankful. Christmas was spent with my family. We have decided that life is most fun when it is spent with our families. (Josh: By "have decided," Amy means "we have always unequivocally and without reservation believed.")

All things Josh:
Josh is working as the Interim Associate Pastor of at First Presbyterian Church in Conroe, TX. He is applying for Ph.D. programs in Theology. Actually he is finishing up his last few applications as we speak! We should know something in March and will have decided where we will go next in April. He is also serving as pulpit supply on a rotating basis at a small church in Caldwell, TX.

All things Amy:
I am working on my M.Div. though Western Theological Seminary's Distance Learning Program. This means that I spend a lot of time on my computer, a lot of time reading, and writing papers. This also means that I travel to Holland, MI for a couple of weeks twice a year. Since I LOVE the cold the January intensive is extra-super-fun. (Please go ahead and insert sarcasam into that statement. I do not have enough polar bear inside of me to muster up excitement about cold weather.) I have also been working in Pastoral Care at a small church in Huntsville, TX and have been preaching in the same rotation at the Caldwell church as Joshua. It seems the more I get my feet wet in ministry the more excited I become about being a Pastor one day.

(Josh: Thanks for reading. We'll provide updates from time to time when we have major life-developments, for those interested. Thanks, also, for being connected to us.)

You made it! We are glad you're here...

Welcome!!!!!! We are glad you made it over to our family blog...

As I sit, staring at my computer, typing, I have just written, addressed, and stamped your Christmas cards...the task that has been staring me in the face, mocking me, for the past 3 1/2 weeks. I had the grandest intentions of getting your Cards off that first week after Thanksgiving...As one might guess, that first week turned into another and another and another until, here we are, the week before Christmas and they are finally finished. Earlier this evening I let Joshua know that this will be my last year for Christmas cards. From now on, the Lunde-Whitlers will either send Halloween cards or New Year's cards. The Christmas season, while warm and merry, is simply too busy. Someone, anyone, PLEASE remind me of this resolution next September.

I want to get our year-in-review posted but somehow other pieces of life keep jumping up and grabbing my attention. For now, those other pieces are taking precedence. Life is sure to slow down the days following Christmas day. Please check back in the New Year (early January) and our update will be posted.

In case you are wondering....Joshua and I still plan to keep our personal blogs going but we wanted to start a "family blog" where we could keep all our dear ones up-dated on our life. Our goal is to keep this blog up-to-date on a semi-regular basis, so feel free to check back throughout the year if you are interested in all things Lunde-Whitler.

See you soon!