Thanksgiving 2009

Happy Thanksgiving from the Shomos!



Cullen has a variety of reasons to smile...



Sadly, he can't eat this, but we will help him out:



Thank you, Lord, for our family...





...and for your gracious work in our lives.

Visitation Rights

Did you know that Cullen's Uncle Jim visited a couple months ago? This marked his first visit since we've been in Virginia... in fact, I think it marks his first visit since we've been married... perhaps even since I moved out of the house at age 18. Anyway, here he is with his nephew:

I'll let you decide what Cullen's expression means...

But speaking of Cullen having a ball, here's a picture you may enjoy.

Well, when Uncle Jim came down to Virginia he noted that many things were broken. Our van was broken, our DVD player was broken, etc. But that didn't come close to matching Aunt Lisa's visit these last few days!

Lisa arrived on Wednesday from beautiful, sunny Michigan. She arrived to storms, winds, floods, and general destruction.

The power went out on Thursday evening, as it did for (allegedly) 350,000 others in our metro area.

Fortunately, it was back on by Saturday afternoon (!). This was perfect, giving Lisa the ability to see what she was doing as she packed her bags to leave!

However, she didn't leave before she blessed her nephew with this brand new keyboard! Here he is, having a great time and perhaps even showing off...

Thanks for visiting, Jimmy and Lisa!

Why Blogs Die (and, My Continuing Education)

Why do blogs die? I believe the a consistent commitment to writing is difficult because it requires time, focus, and honesty. The first two requirements are obvious. Regarding honesty, I'm not saying that dis-honesty kills blogs necessarily; but sometimes it is inappropriate to share with the whole world one's current, deepest thoughts.

It's kind of like any relationship, I suppose.

The first blog I started was Bible in the Basement and, way back in the day, I was pretty regular about writing on it and was surprised at how many people read it. I had expected zero, and the number edged above that. However, time commitments radically changed due to pregnancy, sickeness, and moving, and that blog had to retire its jersey. Smarty experienced similar upheaval.

Lately, it's been hard to write because I've been embroiled in continuing education classes that have taken a toll on my resources. Not much extra time. Very little mental and emotional energy remaining. And, to be honest...well, I probably shouldn't share that.

So, I thought that for the time being I'd share the classes I've been taking over the last year. They include:

1. Christianity 101
2. Pastoral Leadership Revisited
3. How to Preach To Self and Others
4. Spiritual Gifts Assessment
5. Christianity 101 (had to audit this one again)
6. The Discipling Pastor
7. EmoHealth

And a few others in the marriage & family category, too.

So, I've been learning a lot and I'd like to be able to share some of what I've learned sometime soon.

Uh oh, gotta go.