Fall in Pennsylvania

Fall is my favorite season. When I was young, my family used to travel to the Smokey Mountains every fall to go camping. It was the perfect time of year to go--most campgrounds were practically deserted, and the views of hillside upon hillside of brilliant colors were breathtaking. The colors here in Pennsylvania are no less beautiful, and the crisp air of a fall breeze on the face is quite refreshing! Here are some pictures of the campus in full fall splendor:





Machen Hall, which used to be the main building but is now administrative offices and a few dorm rooms.


Montgomery Library is in the background.




Erin and I on our anniversary.

A Sweet Time of Life

It is hard to believe that in just a couple of days Thomas and I will have one year of marriage under our belts. And what a wonderful year it has been! I will be forever grateful to God for bringing Thomas Tkach into my life. He has been an incredible friend and husband—the very best I could ever have hoped to have! This past year we have experienced many changes, especially just in the past four months—a new city, new school, new job, new church, and new friends. We came to seminary not really knowing what to expect. Shortly after arriving in Philadelphia a young Westminster wife told me that this would be a sweet time in our marriage. I was so encouraged by her words, and thus far, they have proven quite true! I love the routine of our week—getting up early together, having Thomas read Scripture and pray with me as I drive him to school, then picking him up again at the end of the day. The ride home is never quiet. I enjoy hearing him tell me all the things he is learning and he, in turn, listens to me as I talk about all the new things Julia is learning and the funny moments she and I have throughout our day together. Yes, a sweet time it is indeed!

Thomas has just four more weeks of classes until he begins taking finals. So far he has only had one mid-term, which was in Greek and he got a 19.9 out of 20 on it. Not bad at all! He has another mid-term coming up in Ministerial Formation, so please keep that in your prayers!

This afternoon was a beautiful fall day! Julia and I enjoyed some time at the playground with some of the moms and kids from Calvary OPC, the church we have been attending. Afterward, she and I met Thomas at school and had lunch with him. Thomas was winking at Julia from across the table and she kept trying to wink back, but her best attempt was nothing better than a squint. We got quite a charge out of watching her try though! 

Thanks to all who have been praying for us, especially for Thomas as he is managing a huge work load at school. Your prayers have added to the sweetness of our life together and we are very grateful!

Happy Reformation Day!

In honor of this anniversary, here is one of the product of the reformation: Article IV of the Augsburg Confession

Article IV: Of Justification.

1] Also they teach that men cannot be justified before God by their own strength, merits, or works, but are freely justified for 2] Christ's sake, through faith, when they believe that they are received into favor, and that their sins are forgiven for Christ's sake, who, by His death, has made satisfaction for our sins. 3] This faith God imputes for righteousness in His sight. Rom. 3 and 4.

First Snow

Our first snow in our new home is falling. Though ambient temperatures aren't quite below freezing, there is a good bit of it sticking to cars and the leaves strewn over the parking lot.



Heretofore, the heat in our building had not been turned on, and the temperatures inside were staying around 60* F. Erin came home yesterday to find the temperature at 55, and heard from the neighbors that the heat was indeed running already. We shut all the storm windows and went to bed last night having let the oven heat our apartment (praise God for gas being included in rent!) and with a few extra blankets since we were expecting a night below freezing. We awoke sweaty to working heat! We are thankful that the heat is working and that we haven't had to endure more severe weather without it.

In other news, our bathroom apartment came equipped with a rather noisy fan wired directly to the light switch. This prevented anyone in the bathroom from hearing anyone outside talking. I can't count the number of times Erin has hollered 'I can't hear you' over the noise of the fan as we tried to converse while getting ready in the morning. Today, I replaced the single switch with a double switch so we can talk while one of us is using the mirror or sink.

God is Amazing

I have recently been working on my second digest assignment, whose readings are covering the ideas of inspiration and revelation in a good bit of detail. Fortunately, I have been blessed with a pretty solid grounding in these areas, so not many of the concepts are entirely new, though the precision with which the theologians I have been reading articulate these ideas is quite stimulating.

I was particularly struck by something when reading through B. B. Warfield's chapter on inspiration in his The Inspiration and Authority of the Bible. Warfield had just worked through the human aspect of the inspiration of the scriptures, that God used men and their personalities to write scripture in such a way that we can easily distinguish between the style, idioms, and vocabulary of the several authors of the Bible. How does this perfectly human aspect of inspiration fail to color the message that God wishes to gives His people? Would not a method of dictation have been necessary to prevent the small size of the Apostle John's vocabulary from limiting the truth which God wished to reveal through this? This objection only persists so long as we limit our thoughts on the matter to the moment of inspiration itself. We must step back from our consideration of inspiration and remember that God is providentially ruling all that goes on in the world which He created. When He wished to reveal a certain part of His will to to His people, like the insight of Paul into the relation of the various covenants God made with man expressed in his epistle to the Galatians, He raised up such a man as Paul who would be perfectly suited to the message God wished to convey. Paul had been groomed his entire life for this purpose in a way that no earthly authority could groom someone for such a role. When God's providence is considered, the human personalities that show themselves in the record of scripture present no obstacle whatever to its complete authority and inerrancy! What a mighty and wise God we serve!

First Major Assignment

I just got back my first major assignment, a 'digest' of about 175 pages of dense reading. The idea of the assignment is to summarize all the material in as detailed and accurate a manner as possible in less than 10 double-spaced pages. The challenge is packing all the information into such limited space. I scored 9.5/10! I was not expecting to do nearly as well. Praise God!

This Isn't College Anymore

There have now been several weeks of classes, and one thing is certain: this isn't college any more. The reading load is much greater, and the depth of study has significantly increased from what I have studied in the past. There are also lots of assignments, the first of which I just completed with a lot of work and confusion over the material. Because of all this, I often feel quite overwhelmed and inadequate. It has been a struggle to readjust to school and to a school with much higher standards. Though Erin and I had hoped that I would be able to accomplish my work at school between classes, it has become clear that there is not nearly enough time to do this, so I will have to regularly bring reading and work home to do. On the other hand, language classes are going well so far, which is a blessing--I know a lot of students are struggling with them.

In all of this God is humbling me and teaching me a lot. I am more thankful than ever for Erin's companionship because it sometimes seems like the only thing that is keeping me afloat. God's Word is very refreshing, and we have enjoyed hearing it preached faithfully at Calvary OPC, the second church we've visited since our move.

Please continue to pray for wisdom in choosing a church home. This will become increasingly important if I decide to seek ordination, not that it isn't important for our spiritual life anyway. Also, pray that I would be diligent in my studies, apply myself fully to them, and trust God with the results.

Placement Exam, Orientation and Labor Day Weekend

Last Thursday Thomas took his placement exam and we were delighted to find out on Friday that he has tested out of Greek 1 and will begin Greek 2 this week! He had a good meeting with his adviser who was very encouraging about Thomas' endeavor to complete the program in three years. Having received such a solid foundation at GCC in the languages, his adviser says he'll not have as much stress in that area as most new students.  Orientation also went very well, Thomas enjoyed meeting some of the guys he'll be in class with over the next several years.


On Sunday we visited another church which happens to be right across the street from the seminary. After the service we were invited to stay for their monthly potluck and met some very kind people, some who were as new to the area as we are. We returned for the evening service and were both encouraged and convicted by the message from 2 Corinthians 8:1-15 about cross-centered giving. How can we who have been given the riches of God's grace in Christ not give joyfully and generously our tithes and offerings? We will return next week and continue to pray through this decision of finding a church. Your prayers for us would be greatly appreciated.

Monday morning we got more work done on our apartment. It is really beginning to feel like a home now that our pictures are hung and the very last of the boxes are cleared out of the living room. Later in the afternoon we joined some friends for some Labor Day festivities, which were fun and relaxing after a busy weekend.

I am still loving my job as much as I did a month ago when I began. Julia will be 10 months old in a few days and is learning her first words. If the weather is nice on Friday Thomas and I are going to take her to the Philadelphia Zoo after he is done with class.

Please pray for Thomas as he begins classes on Thursday. Since the seminary is right on my way to work, the plan is for me to drop him off in the morning before 8 and to pick him up on my way home at 6 each day. He feels that studying between and after classes in the library will help him be more productive than studying at home, as well as keeping a balance between school and family life.
 
We are very grateful for all who have been praying for us. Your support and notes of encouragement are a huge blessing to us!


In God's Love,
Thomas and Erin

Irene

We were blessed to be brought safely through the weather with no damage to life, limb, or property. Because we live on a hill, the worst we experienced was a bit of water in the basement which didn't touch any of our things.

The biggest disruption was the cancellation of Sunday morning services due to flood and tornado watches. Erin and I were able to stream a sermon online and sing a few hymns with the aid of iTunes because we did not even lose power. We visited a new church this evening that is right accross from the seminary, and were blessed by the exposition of Hebrews 2:10-18. Is it not wonderful that Jesus can sympathize with our every temptation and weakness because of His incarnation! Praise God for providing so abundantly for us in our own trials!

First Month

Thank you all for your prayers these past few weeks as we made our move to Pennsylvania. It’s hard to believe that we left Beaufort over a month ago! The move up to Philadelphia went well. The biggest problem on the trip was a three hour delay due to DC traffic. The interstate was stop and go for miles. At one point, Erin was getting hungry, but didn't have any food in her car. Since she was driving right behind me, I just opened my door while I was stopped and laid a granola bar on the edge of the road. When we rolled forward, she stopped and picked it up.

The first six days in Philadelphia were spent visiting thrift shops and yard sales in search of furniture. Many trips have been made to Wal-mart to restock the pantry (there wasn't room for food in our cars) and to buy other essentials that had been provided in our last apartment, e.g. a can opener, that we might eat the canned food bought on the previous trip. There has also been a good bit of unpacking and arranging of furniture so that most of our things are now out of boxes and somewhat put away. We now have all of the major pieces of furniture we'll need.

Our biggest concern was Erin's job situation. She spent two of our first days in Philadelphia doing a working interview with a young family. Both parents work full time and were looking for someone to care for their 9 month old baby girl and Golden Retriever during the day. They recently moved from North Carolina and are as new to the area as we are. After much prayer, Erin got the job! She is finishing her second week and has absolutely loved it.

At the end of July we were able to take a trip to North Dakota to see Erin’s family. We all went on a camping trip to the Black Hills in South Dakota for a few days, spent some time hiking in the badlands, sunning at the lake, and playing lots of Settlers of Catan with Gary and Cathy. We were also able to spend some time with Erin’s grandmothers, uncles, aunts and cousins. We spent our three Sunday’s there in fellowship with a small group led by Erin's parents, and the Lord has blessed us through them. We have also enjoyed the extended time we have been able to spend with them--once school and work begin, we are not sure we will be able to get away long enough to have such time in the near future.

Upon our return to Philadelphia we discovered a problem with Erin’s car involving the idle control system. I spent more than a few days researching and tinkering; tryng this suggestion and trying that one. I was on the phone with my dad more than once a day, and at the end of all this, I remembered that there was one procedure that recommended resetting the engine computer after an adjustment, which I hadn’t done. So I found out how to do that, and presto (that’s a technical Greek term)—no problem! We pray that whatever it was that I did that fixed things, it would be a permanent fix.

            Please continue to pray for wisdom and discretion in choosing a church, and for the perseverance needed for me to test out of several classes. Also, praise God for the solid, quality (if not matching) furniture we have found for affordable prices, and the wonderful fellowship we have had in North Dakota, and the Lord's gracious financial provision.