Friday, December 21, 2012

Spahr Family Christmas Letter 2012



Merry Christmas from the Spahrs


It's been a tumultuous, exciting, stressful, patience-building, faith-testing year for the Spahr family. Through it all, God guided and provided in amazing and unexpected ways.

We began the year still dealing with Jordan's ongoing headaches from a football injury in 2010. He was only able to attend school for an hour or two each day. He was able to stay current and pull great grades through homebound instruction and tutoring from several teachers at the school. Finally in May, after consulting two neurologists and having a number of MRIs and CTs, a physical therapist diagnosed the problem as not being a result of the concussion he received but rather related to irritated nerve endings in his neck and base of his skull from the whiplash-like effect of the collision. Several exercises were prescribed to strengthen the muscles protecting those nerves and allowing them to heal. When done consistently, this has provided almost total relief from the chronic migraine-level headaches he had. He was able to resume full-day attendance at school in the Fall! He also resumed playing football - one of his great passions in life - and was awarded his first varsity letter and the "Work Horse Award" for hard work throughout the year. He will head into his senior year next fall as one of the captains of the varsity Dragon football team. He hopes to play football in college and pursue a career as a football coach. 

Jonah, also, pursued his passion which is running. He enjoyed a good season running track in the spring and made great strides in the fall as a cross country runner, achieving several personal bests and receiving the "Most Improved Runner" award. He is continuing to train this winter in preparation for track next spring to finish his sophomore year. He is also a voracious reader and has a keen intellect which is serving him well in high school. After he graduates in 2015, Jonah would like to major in Criminology at Northwestern College in the Twin Cities and enjoy a career in law enforcement. 

Rosalie has been continuing to build Purple Pants Creations, her home-based sewing/embroidery business. She branched out from her focus on "American Girl"-style dolls clothes to make some "Bitty Baby" style clothes and pillow monsters. Many of her creations are available through her Facebook page. She is also continuing to display at local craft shows with the most effective one being the Hinckley craft show held at the beginning of November each year (opening deer hunting weekend). She's had many special orders for blankets and quilts, as well.

Much of Rosalie's time, as well as Rob's, was spent in a house hunt that encompassed over half of the year. In April the landlords at the house we had been renting for the last three years suddenly decided they wanted to sell the house. We began a search for a new house as well as pursuing financing for a purchase, which made more sense than continuing to rent as the current interest rates meant that a purchase would result in much less payment than rent. After looking at options and even making an offer, nothing worked out. We finally were able - with some creative financing, help from family, and persistence by our realtor - to make an offer on the house we had been renting. It took more than five months to close and many times we thought the deal was dead, but the Monday after Thanksgiving we were able to sign the paperwork to be able to own our home. The best part was that we didn't have to move all our stuff! Rosalie is excited to tackle some renovations which you can drop by and see (or help with!) 

During this time I (Rob) was enjoying my first full year as an Assistant Manager at Walmart. I spent days off substitute teaching at the high school and providing occasional pulpit supply at First Presbyterian Church in Pine City. During this time both Rosalie and I began to sense that God may have something else in mind for the family beyond my new career in retail. 

First Pres had been asking for some time if I was interested in taking over when their pastor retired, but I had repeatedly declined. After some difficult youth ministry tenures, I was enjoying being a volunteer leader at another local church, subbing, and working at Walmart. But God independently drew both Rosalie and me to the conclusion that the position at First Pres was something worth exploring. I never aspired to be a senior pastor, but the wonderful, special people in this church broke down my resistance to that role. The church is small and traditional but wants to redevelop a vibrant ministry for all ages. They are excited about changing and growing again. After a lot of back and forth with the denomination, it looks like I will be taking over as senior pastor on January 13th. 

My last day at Walmart will be January 18th and I'll miss all of the great people I got to know and work with there over the last four years. Our family is excited as we plunge back into the world of vocational ministry. The last four years have been a great opportunity to grow and develop my leadership skills in the corporate workplace and I look forward to leveraging my learnings and gifts in the local church again.

So we close out a crazy year of transition poised to take on the challenges of a new year and a new ministry, confident that God will continue to lead and guide us. We look forward to keeping in touch with you all throughout the year via Facebook, blog posts, email, etc. Or give us a call or stop by!

Have a great Christmas! From the family that is proof that God has a sense of humor...

Rejoicing in Him!


Rob, Rosalie, Jordan and Jonah
December 2012

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