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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