Premature Goodbye

On Saturday night friends of ours threw one hum-dinger of a party. We felt so loved - good food, good friends and chocolate! They planned the party months ago with great hopes that we would be moving this weekend. We're not moving anytime soon (our house needs to sell.)

Of all the things about Phoenix I'll miss - it's Trader Joe's that I'll miss the most.

But if you make me get serious, it's really my friends. God has given us some of the most wonderful friends. I didn't get close ups of everyone at the party - but here are a few for you to get to know.

This is Chris & Rachael. He's our preaching pastor. John and Chris are good friends. Rachael is my dearest girlfriend. She is a very godly woman. We are different in every way.

This is Sara & Eric. I've given him the nickname: Eric Channing SuperStar. He played professional basketball in Switzerland before they moved to Phoneix. Sara, like Rachael, is unlike me in almost everyway - but has been such a dear friend to me. We met Eric & Sara the first week (or two?) we moved here.

Sara made a wonderful chocoloate and raspberry dessert - she loves chocolate like me.

This last picture is the main reason we came - Wayne Grudem. He taught a continuing education class at FamilyLife in 2004 and was the first seminary professor I'd met that wasn't out of touch. This guy is incredibly smart, he laughs at himself, loves his wife, cares about the environment, his neighbors and can talk politics.


When contemplating going to seminary, John considered several schools and talked to several students. In the end, it was the mentorship at Phoenix Seminary that caused John to want to go here - esp. since Dr. Grudem would be his mentor!

At just the right time, I became friends with Margaret, Wayne's wife. Like Rachael and Sara, she is very different than me (see a theme here?!) but I treasure her friendship. She has said hard things and encouraging things to me - all with LOVE. Margaret is an amazing woman. She helped pick me up out of the pit of dispair the second semester we were here by hosting a cooking class in her home. That class was more than girls learning new recipes. Deep friendships were forged in her kitchen and around her dining room table.