Church Search

While we are not certain we have found a church we would like to serve and worship with yet, we have really enjoyed the church we have visited for the last 2 Sundays and plan to attend their quarterly "discovery class" this coming Sunday in an effort to learn more about the church, meet the pastor and Elders, and learn more about ministries the church is plugged into. So far we have really enjoyed our experiences.

It is very evident how prayerful and thoughtful the worship leader is each week as he plans out the order of service, truly facilitating a heart of worship in the church. In addition, we have enjoyed the pastor's expository preaching style. While we haven't met many people during our attendance in the last 2 weeks (the church is a little larger than we are used to- 300-400 in attendance), we hope to find out more about ministries and small groups that the church offers so that we can try to get more plugged in. The church is about 20-25 minutes from our current house, however, it really has seemed to be the best fit for us in comparison with the other churches we have attended in Jacksonville so far. It sounds like there may be a small group in our neighborhood, which would be great to attend on a week night.

If you are interested, feel free to click this link for the church's website:
http://www.christchurch-pca.org/
and this link for last Sunday's sermon: http://www.christchurch-pca.org/sermon/from-fear-to-faith-learning-not-to-tremble/

While it is sometimes difficult to move and be in a transitory state so frequently, we are so thankful for the wonderful churches we have been to in each place. It has been an incredible blessing as we visit each church to feel like God has given the two of us similar convictions regarding whether it is the right church for us to serve with. We appreciate your prayers for us as we seek to plug into a church in which we can serve and minister as God would have us in our new home base.

By the way- 21 speed does not = 21 MPH!

In one of her more air-headed moments (and much to Whitney's dismay), Josh kindly explained to her that 21 speed on a bike does not equal 21 miles per hour! This "fun fact" would have been nice to know before embarking on a 30 mile bike ride this morning and getting to the point of "no return" (i.e. the 15 mile marker in which you simply turn your bike around and start going back to the car...)

2 and a half hours later, at roughly 11 MPH, we returned to the car quite sore ;)...Whitney thought it would be just like hopping on her bike when she was in Triathlon shape (you may be asking yourself at this point in the post- if Whitney completed a Triathlon, how would she not know that the "speed" of her bike does not equate to the miles traveled per hour? - It's a wonder really. However, she also completed most of her cycling training indoors and on a mountain bike. We'll leave it at that :)

Today we enjoyed riding 30 miles on the Jacksonville-Baldwin Rail Trail- just a 10-15 minute drive from our house.

Tomorrow it's back to work for the both of us, however, we can't complain after a nice, long weekend!




(halfway point)

This weekend we also enjoyed playing a round of golf with Josh's brother Matt and Josh's golfing buddy.



It was one of the first days we've spent here where we could actually say we felt like we lived in Florida!

Caught white bearded

This is how I found Teddy when I came out from cleaning the bedroom and bathroom a few days ago. He has no fear, or depth perception really, and definitely does not seem to learn from his past mistakes! One might say that Teddy is going through his teenage years ;) He helped himself onto this nice wobbly folding table and then froze because he didn't know how to get down. I couldn't help but snap a picture before helping him down :)

Our week in progress

Although it is only Wednesday, I wanted to post a few updates on our week so far, as it has been a big week for both of us starting up our jobs here in Jax!

As for my (Whitney) job, so far I have had 3 days of orientation. It has involved a lot of reading of manuals in binders and on the computer, as well as in person lectures. While all of these things have been rather boring, I do not believe it has any bearing on how great my eventual job will be! My patience and trust in the Lord has really been tested this week, as I have been in suspense about where I will be working in the hospital, who my supervisor will be, and no one seems to know that I was hired to be a 32 hr employee as opposed to a 40 hr employee! Today I was able to receive some clarification on all of the confusion and will know tomorrow morning what unit I will officially begin on. Regardless of the unit, I think I will be very happy. I spent half the day today observing on the "Transitional Care Unit" which is very similar to what I was doing in Pensacola at The Haven, however, most of the patients here do not have the ability to pay and tend to have more severe diagnoses. At my last job my patients were absolutely not allowed to come to their therapy in a hospital gown. At the "TCU", almost all of the patients are in hospital gowns because they do not have clothes or anyone to bring them clothes- many of them are homeless....more to follow as the job unfolds.

Josh and Paul began their first week of flight training at VP-30 and will have their first test tomorrow (Thursday)! They seem to be doing very well considering the large amount of books they were issued on Monday. Apparently so far some of the lectures have been a review and other things have been new.

We have been enjoying also having Josh's brother stay with us the last few days. He hopes to line up a lease very soon and will be living about 5 minutes away! It is such a blessing to have a family member and friend close by.

Teddy has been holding down the fort. Please excuse the delay in Teddy photographs. Upon our arrival to Jacksonville in January Teddy received his first "adult" schnauzer haircut- they practically skinned him and his is just now getting to a point where he can hold his head high again! We were all a little traumatized by it. In addition to having difficulties getting used to his new "do", he has been very cold with less hair lately- and that means extra cuddles!




In other news, Paul just received a very large bean bag in the mail for his abode upstairs

here he is trying to get a "scale" picture

it hardly made it up the stairs in the packaging- not sure if it will make it down the stairs ever again now that it is full size!

Josh rolled up like a "pig in a blanket"

trying to expand the bean bag

at last!

Well, that's all for now!

Love to all!

Brewery, Bible study, Buddies, Bogies, and Bags of leaves!

That about sums up our week so far!

This week we went to the Anheuser Busch Brewery in Jacksonville and learned a lot of different things about the beer brewing process! After our tour we had a chance to taste a few of the brews.




There's some new winter brew out that Josh tried- very tasty

Packing area

One of these tanks holds about 67,000 six packs. Also, it takes about a month to make beer from start to finish.

(pictured here is the beginning of the process)- this room smelled kind of funny- which was apparently the "hops"

This week we also had a chance to attend our first Officer's Christian Fellowship meeting. It was a smaller group, however, we had sweet fellowship and a great study of the word in Ecclesiastes. What is so neat is that the group had been praying for others to come to OCF, as the group would have dissolved temporarily being that only one couple would have been left starting in February due to people moving away- and the Lord answered their prayers and ours for an OCF group!

Last night we had a chance to have some friends over who left Pensacola a little earlier than we had, and although we had originally planned to go to an evening "art walk" at the galleries downtown, we canceled those plans due to colder temperatures ;)

Two days ago I mustered the energy to rake leaves in our small backyard. What started as a small leaf-raking project turned into 21 bags of leaves and pine needles!!!! My thumbs feel bruised and boy am I sore :).

Today, Paul, Josh and I played 9 holes of golf at NAS Jacksonville. Whoever thought they could play 9 holes for $4.50!? We randomly met up with one of the men from our OCF group and he was able to join our group! What was so neat about this is that we had been praying at OCF this week for an opportunity to invite Paul (the guy temporarily living with us) to OCF- he had a chance to meet someone from the group and they really hit it off.

(Josh and Paul)

(The guy from our OCF group)

God is already teaching us a lot about having someone else live in our house and we feel he is definitely working through us- we praise him! Today we went to lunch prior to playing golf and prayed before our food came- after praying Paul said, "I really like that you pray before all of your meals. It makes me feel so good." We pray that those "good feelings" would continue to grow in him and that the Lord would use us as a tool in his life for kingdom purposes!

Josh and I will begin work on Monday, and for the first time, and I can actually say I am excited to start my job. I am really thankful that God has put this attitude in my heart, as I was not feeling quite ready to jump back into the swing of things after a tiring move and busy holiday season. Josh is all checked in and ready to start school. It sounds like this phase of flight school will not be as grueling as "Primary". Although some may already know, Josh has a tentative "winging" (completion of flight school) date: June 10!

Love to all!

Jacksonville Bucket List

This week we hope to enjoy exploring Jacksonville before the pace of life speeds up! Some of the things we'd like to set out to do are:

Go for a ride on the downtown trolley
Go for a tour at the Busch/Budweiser brewery
Make a stop at the Peterbrooke Chocolatiere factory to taste test some of their chocolates and take a tour
Attend the "Art Walk" downtown (a self-guided tour of art galleries from 5pm-9pm the first Wednesday of each month)
Attend a concert at "The Landing"
and, Make a stop at the Maritime Museum

What's the greatest thing about all of these places? They are all FREE!

In other news, we are really enjoying settling into life here in Jacksonville. Whitney is all set to start work on the 11th of January and Josh will officially begin flight training again on the 11th as well (however, this week he will have a few briefs and other miscellaneous things to take care of). Teddy LOVES having his parents around- and although Edgar is happy no matter who feeds him- he seems to be pretty happy to have us back as well :)

The Trendy Hummus: Muhammara

Tonight we went out to a restaurant around the block called "Brick". It had all kinds of food! An interesting appetizer we shared was a platter of Hummus and Muhammara with Pita bread. I think I will try to make some of my own soon- it was so tasty!

Here's one of a few recipes available on Epicurious.com:

Muhammara Bon Appétit | November 2008

by The Bon Appétit Test Kitchen

A Syrian roasted-pepper and walnut spread, muhammara is a great alternative to hummus. 1 12-ounce jar roasted red bell peppers in olive oil with garlic, drained. Yield: Makes about 2 cups 1 12-ounce jar roasted red bell peppers in olive oil with garlic, drained 1 cup walnuts 1/3 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)* 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 2 teaspoons pomegranate molasses or fresh lemon juice 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper Pita chips Blend all ingredients except pita chips in processor until coarse puree forms. Season with salt. Transfer to bowl; serve with chips. * Available in the Asian foods section of some supermarkets and at Asian markets. Per serving (1/ 4 cup and 4 pita chips): 203.4 calories (kcal), 63.8 % calories from fat, 14.4 fat, 1.0 g saturated fat , 0 mg cholesterol , 14.1 g carbohydrates, 1.3 g dietary fiber, 2.8 g total sugars, 12.8 g net carbohydrates, 6.3 g protein. Nutritional analysis provided by Bon Appétit

Happy New Year, Happy New Grill!

We have arrived back to Jacksonville and we are enjoying settling into our routines. One of those routines is cooking in our own kitchen! Thanks to Mom and Dad Gropp our "kitchen" has expanded to include a beautiful, new grill! After two hours of assembly, we excitedly got a propane tank and cooked up some grilled chicken breasts. Other than that, we have been trying to adjust to normal life- laundry, doggy walks, cleaning, food shopping, errands, etc.

In other news, one of Josh's classmates has asked to live in our loft while he tries to close on a foreclosed house in the area. We are enjoying having Paul around! He was nice enough to watch over Edgar while we were in CT for Christmas.






That's all for now! We hope you have a healthy and happy new 2K10!