Mountain Musings

NCFIC Gospel-Centered Marriages Conference ~ Part 3

Part 3 ~ Friends Who Invited Us Over At the Conference

As we arrived at the conference center and started checking in the first afternoon, we began to see some familiar faces. The Hynes family spotted us and invited us to come over to their room on campus and have supper that first evening with them.

It's amazing the food you can cook on a griddle or in a crockpot when you're not even in your own kitchen with a fridge! Thank you, Hynes family, for the fellowship and food!

Look who else we ran into during the conference...Erich and his family who traveled from Texas (23 hours of driving, ouch!) to attend:

They invited us over to their rented log cabin a few miles away from the Ridgecrest campus after the conference ended for a Texas chili supper and hot chocolate (Thanks, Austin!) by the fire (thanks, Travis!). Whee-doggies! Now this was an adventure!Thankfully, we didn't see any bears out there in the deep dark woods...only a deer head above the door of the cabin. I think I could live here. I loved the plaque above the fireplace:

The dads, David and Tom, enjoyed catching up with each other's lives:

And the moms enjoyed talking round the kitchen table:

Dessert time for everyone!

Before we knew it, it was time to say good-bye and head back to the conference center for the night. We wanted one last photo with everyone in it. Hard to do without a tripod, but Hannah experimented:

...and somehow we all managed to get in this picture! Thanks, Ehlingers, for a very fun evening!

~ Deb

Next up: NCFIC Gospel Centered Marriages Conference ~ Part 4 ~ Visiting friends on the way home to VA

NCFIC Gospel-Centered Marriages Conference ~ Part 2

Seeing folks I know at conferences we attend and meeting new people are two things I really enjoy...actually, I love it!

The National Center for Family-Integrated Churches conference I wrote about in the previous post was attended by 2,200 people! What a turnout! It was so fun to see many folks we knew from Virginia there, but also we saw many old friends from across the United States.

First, let me tell you about two blogging friends that I met for the first time--in real life! I was so excited!

Here's "Mrs. U" from the blog Making a House a Home. She recognized us all from seeing us on the blog, but we'd never seen a photo of her that I could remember. We met her family and kept running into each other throughout the weekend...and hugging every time we did! (Sorry about the slightly out-of-focus photo.) This was a very fun meeting!Below: here we are visiting after Mrs U introduced us to another family she knew from Canada while we waited for Tom who was standing in the long registration line.Next I met sweet Laura from The Muncks Quiver!! Most of her children stayed home to run their family business, but we did meet her husband, oldest daughter Elizabeth, son, and baby #11 at the conference. Behind us Elizabeth and Sarah are getting acquainted:And here's Tom, Jonathan, and I meeting Mr. Munck and Elizabeth as they arrived to check in:Dear friends we know from the Richmond home fellowship group came over to visit. There's Alli on the left, her mom Julie, Alli's little daughter Esther, and Alli's mother-in-law Dawn.

Here I am with my friend Julie: And here's Jonathan talking with Julie's husband, Tony:

A family who drove all the way from California sat behind us at one of the keynote sessions and introduced themselves afterwards. It was so interesting talking with them and finding out we know friends who have attended their church...Hi, Fracchiollas!...small world! Below: also attending the Petersens' church out in California, Miss Antoinette, over at Practical Simplicity, and Hannah met for the first time; they have been online acquaintances for awhile now. Grace, of the Petersen clan above, also joined the girls:Old friends are always fun! Below are the Girotti and Hayden ladies talking at breakfast. We first met through our blogs many years ago, and we posted about their visit to our home here.Hannah met Tiffany from Kentucky and enjoyed eating and conversing together--we learned that we have mutual friends here in Virginia...Hi, Woods!: And last, but not least, we met a family from Washington State who sat across from us at lunch one day. I had never heard of Gig Harbor, Washington, but found out it's very close to Port Orchard. I visited a friend there years ago, so I could picture exactly where they live. It was fun getting acquainted and exchanging email addresses: I hope you've enjoyed meeting a few of the people we ran into at the conference. And there are more, too!

Next up: NCFIC Gospel Centered Marriages Conference ~ Part 3 ~ Folks Who Invited Us Over

~Deb

NCFIC Gospel-Centered Marriages Conference ~ Part 1

This past weekend our family traveled to Asheville, NC, to attend the Gospel-Centered Marriages for a Glorious Church conference, sponsored by the NCFIC (National Center for Family-Integrated Churches), held at Ridgecrest Conference Center.

This was our first time to attend a family conference at this location, and we enjoyed it tremendously! The conference was designed to bring parents and their children together to consider the biblical doctrine of marriage and to prepare the rising generation for gospel-centered marriages.

Here we are waiting for the opening keynote session on Thursday evening and chatting with our friends, Mike and Ginger:

Some of the session titles we heard included: Principles of Courtship, Equal Yoking (one of my favorite talks and very practical), How Fathers Qualify Suitors and Receive Daughters, Friendship in Marriage (another favorite), What is the Role of Romance and Emotions, Wedding Ceremonies and Covenants, and many others.

The cds of the conference are now available for order here. And more posts and photos can be found on the NCFIC blog (scroll down).

Next up: NCFIC Gospel Centered Marriages Conference ~ Part 2 ~ People at the Conference!

~Deb

30 Years Together

Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord; that walketh in His ways.
For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee. Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table. Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the Lord. The Lord shall bless thee out of Zion: and thou shalt see the good of Jerusalem all the days of thy life. Yea, thou shalt see thy children's children, and peace upon Israel.

~Psalm 128

Happy 30th Anniversary, Dad and Mom! We love you so much - thanks for being such a godly example of marriage for us! Your faithfulness to each other is a wonderful picture of the love Christ has for the church. God's grace has been evident in your lives as you have sought Him during the past 30 years in your marriage and in being our parents. We love being your children!

~Hannah, Jonathan, and Sarah

Watching a wedding...765 miles away

What: Jonathan Ten Dolle and Elizabeth Serven's wedding

When: 12:00 noon, Central time

Where: The St. Louis, Missouri area

How: Watching via the live streaming video online

All of the Girottis will be crowded around the computer this afternoon to watch the big event! Congratulations to the bride, groom, and their families!

~Sarah

Wedding Bells for Courtney

Courtney, Hannah's long-time penpal and friend, was married this afternoon in a beautiful ceremony.

Here's Hannah, the maid of honor, posing with Courtney for a picture during the reception.

And speaking of reception...all the baking Sarah was doing this week culminated in a beautiful wedding cake with gorgeous fall flowers. We're so thankful that the cake was a success and a blessing to the bride!

Of course, we have many more pictures we could share, but we don't want to take away from Courtney's special day and what she'll share later. Be sure and check her blog as I'm sure she'll write about the wedding when they return from their honeymoon.

Please pray for Christopher and Courtney as they begin their new life together.

~Deb

A Bridal Shower

Last weekend we girls traveled to a shower in Richmond honoring our friend, Allison, who is getting married in November. It was great to see her and her mother along with all the other ladies and girls in attendance, some of whom we hadn't seen in at least a year. Alli's aunt Rhonda, Joanna, and Meredith did a lovely job of hostessing and preparing the delicious spread of shower food.

We enjoyed chatting over tea, playing a fun shower game and watching Alli open the many generous gifts for her new household.

Congratulations, Alli! We're glad we could celebrate with you.

~Hannah

Happy Anniversary, Dad and Mom!

Happy 28th anniversary to our parents! They have been a wonderful, godly example to us in their marriage.

We love you, Dad and Mom!

~Hannah, Jonathan, and Sarah

Engagements, Babies, & a Giveaway, Oh My!

Just in case you haven't read the news already on their blogs this week...

Our real-life friend, Alli, over at She Works With Her Hands in Delight, is engaged! Read about her Day to Remember here. Congratulations, Alli and Eli!

And yet another engagement...my cyber friend, Amanda, who writes from Taiwan over at Following an Unknown Path now has someone to walk the unknown path with! Congratulations, Amanda and Lawrence!

Susan, An Old-Fashioned Girl, just gave birth to a very handsome baby boy. Read the story here and see a picture here. Congratulations, Susan and Adrian!

Jay and Ruthanne wrote about a special Father's Day announcement over on their blog, The Shepherds' Journey. They're expecting #10! Congratulations, Jay, Ruthanne, and all the children!

And, of course, we're all on pins and needles wondering when Kim at Life in a Shoe is going to have her baby. Last time she live-blogged her labor and delivery. Follow along here when it all starts happening.

And last but not least...check back for a fabulous giveaway here on Mountain Musings next week, courtesy of Vision Forum. All the details will be given on Monday's post. You won't want to miss it!

~Deb

The Bridegroom Cometh!

Last weekend our family had the privilege of attending the wedding of Nathan and Jenni Wenneker. After having met and gotten to know Nathan a little bit last summer, we rejoiced with him in the way that God providentially brought him and Jenni together.

The wedding was held outdoors at a community college arboretum. The day was beautiful, although as you can see from the umbrella photo, it did rain a bit before the clouds cleared, and I resorted to sitting on Mom's lap during the first part of the ceremony. :)

At right, the bride walks with her father greeting guests as we took our seats. I had actually gotten to speak with Jenni a couple of years previously when our family visited their church, and then we met her and her family again at a conference, so it was interesting to hear that she and Nathan were engaged.

Some aspects of this wedding were not what you would normally expect at a traditional ceremony. They chose, for example, to reflect a biblical picture of Christ one day returning for His bride, the church, by focusing on the groom, in contrast to the typical bride-centered way of conducting things. A shofar was blown, and the friend of the bridegroom (Nathan's brother) shouted, "The bridegroom is coming!" as the groom entered from one side.

The father of the bride gave away her hand in marriage, transferring his authority and protection over to her new husband. The bride and groom reiterated to the audience the vows they had made to one another at their bethrothal commitment. One of the first things they did as a married couple was to recite together several passages of Scripture pertaining to marriage. Jenni's sister and brother also quoted 1 Corinthians 13 for us. Both fathers and their pastor gave them final exhortations.

The new Mr. and Mrs. Wenneker are pictured at right. "For where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God." ~Ruth 1:16b

It was a lovely spring setting for shooting photos, which I took advantage of by joining the many family and friends who were documenting the occasion with a camera afterwards. At left, all the ladies of the family pose in their matching lavender.

We spent time chatting with a few old and new acquaintances on the arboretum lawn. Jacob and his brother Colin came all the way from Alaska.

Everyone adjourned to the church where we enjoyed a wedding feast of turkey and trimmings while viewing a slide show of the bride and groom's younger years.

The wedding "cake" was actually created out of chocolate chip and M&M cookie dough and featured a red barn and miniature farm animals. The afternoon ended as we all watched the couple leave for their honeymoon. Congratulations, Wenneker and Martin families!

~Hannah