So how are we Anyway, now that we're Yinzers?

Greetings from the Coraopolis Library! I've got a very handsome pastoral intern working on his morning sermon across from me, the one whom my soul loves. Our current location has become one of Isaiah's favorite places to work on his sermons and Greek study since it's in walking distance from our upper apartment and has windows to see the lovely spring weather. (The Sewickley library is equally lovely, but tends to be a better escape during the Winter season--more cozy and walled-in.) This is my first real visit here, and I must say, I get the appeal (but then again, any library will always hold my heart because they contain all of my favorite things--books, community, and learning!)

So, how are we? To put it simply, we are doing great! To attempt to be more detailed, here are some things that have become a part of our pattern or have occupied our time. The pastoral day off (as any good pastor knows) is not the weekend, but Monday. Mondays have become our adventure-date days, which have often included a drive into the city of Pittsburgh. So far we have visited the Heinz Museum, Point Park and the Fort Pitt Museum, the Duquesne Incline (our visit back in May; thank you Elder Steve), the Strip District (thank you Elder Karl), the Pittsburgh Zoo, a concert at U of Pitt (thank you Pastor!), the Carnegie Science Center, Library, Art Museum, and Hall of Music (for a lecture from author Leif Enger on courage). We've also walked the Three Rivers Heritage trail which snakes around the North Shore and contains some great statues (shout out to Mr. Rodgers who watches the city from his perch!) and the Three Sister Bridges, complete with love locks and graffiti (my favorite graffiti possibly being the phrase Jesus was a Yinzer! haha--I know He was Jewish, but that got me in the heart and brain with joy and amusement). We also went on a birding trip all over the state! with the Keisters, and have enjoyed some time on our side of the river (so to speak), which has meant Montour Trail walks, downtown Sewickley walks during cherry blossom season, and the Coraopolis Memorial Day parade which took place yesterday! As an added bonus, I'll say I and we have frequented at least 3 libraries including Sewickley, Cory, and Moon (this one mostly with Asher the Dasher--who I watch on Fridays--to acquire dinosaur and race car books). So yes, Monday is often an adventure day, which sets us up nicely for the week since we have to spend some time apart so Isaiah can be at meetings and get into hyper-focus as he studies and writes. 

Another thing that occupies a good bit of our time other than the weekly (prayer meeting, services, Isaiah's intern meeting) and monthly (men's and women's study, session meeting, game night!, fellowship meal) church events is hosting and being hosted by the wonderful congregants of Grace OPC. It's been a joy to get to know people, and I'm also aware that we're just getting started. There is so much to a person and to a family, that to plumb the depths would take an eternity (which makes me so very grateful for Heaven!; until then, we'll do our best to know and be known more which each and every visit and Lord's day). There are even still families we haven't yet hosted or been hosted by, which I intend to rectify as soon as possible; on it! (haha). But seriously people are created to love God and love people, and I love that! 

In addition, we've gotten into health even more deeply. The truth is the seminary season (at least for us) was brutal. We didn't get enough sleep, good food, or peace to sustain health. We were busy, busy, busy, especially in the push season of the final 2 years, and we went straight from that to the intense schedule of the Boardwalk Chapel two Summers in a row. So, we entered into Pittsburgh depleted, but we've been working hard to rebuild our health both together and individually. Isaiah goes on morning runs along a trail near our house and has been improving in both his time and in his joy of it (in his words "I don't feel like I'm dying every time now"), and I have joined a local gym that hosts intensive cross-fit type classes. This is my 4th week in, and I'm starting to enjoy it more and more (though the challenge is still an uphill one for me). The thing that prompted the classes for me was results from Function Health. One of the things Isaiah and I planned to do (and later did) once our house sold, was to get blood work results from a company called Function Health. Turns out, we are both healthy for our age, but also both have issues to work on--the shared area being cardiovascular. I've adapted our groceries and meals even more to fit our bodies' needs (we are helped by gardeners at church with fresh produce!), and we are more committed to fitness than before. In addition, we've done other little changes--for example coffee is now a Sunday-only joy; the rest of the week is for mate or matcha. We're starting to see some good changes. Our heart-desire is to stay healthy so that God will use us more effectively and longer for his Kingdom--to at least do our human part in his divine plan to love the lost and the saved. 

Good News Club has ended for the Summer, which is good since, this Summer, there are a few things in the works which need our attention including being counselors at the OPC Youth Camp (now led by our own Elder Karl) in June, going with Isaiah as he is Chaplain at the Machen Science Camp in July (We still need a camp nurse to open though! Pray with us!), and taking a church group to the Boardwalk Chapel in August (9th-16th if you want to join!). This is a lot to be honest (especially with the other responsibilities Isaiah has, including his remaining licensure exams), but that is why we keep our health up, trust the Lord as we walk day by day and week by week, and it is also why I want to be as good a little wife as possible to the great man I married who is busy doing many important things. I'm not always the woman I want to be, but each day I try to be the woman God is calling me to be, and my hope is that this bears fruit that helps my husband run, which in turn helps us both run. 

I continue to watch the wonderful and entertaining Asher most Fridays (his family has been so kind in working with schedules), and to meet with a congregant named Angele most Thursdays to work on English (she is truly amazing and has taught me far more than I have her). The healthier I am, the better I am able to keep plans, praise God! I cook most nights, keep our schedule, and am Isaiah's practice audience on Saturdays for his sermons (a true privilege). I am also able to read more than ever these days, and I can't explain how happy it makes me to have time to learn and not just teach. (Speaking of learning, I am loving Sunday School at Grace as well; we have a truly great professor teaching us--he also happens to be our Elder!) I've also been reading about what it actually means to be OPC, and the more I learn, the more I like exactly where we are and what we are becoming for the Glory of the One who has good plans for us. Of course Isaiah knows much about the OPC already, but I married in and finally have the time to explore the ins and outs, which I do not take for granted. 

For politics and cultural awareness, another of our weekly routines is to listen to "the Bully Pulpit" podcast on Thursdays when we make dinner. My eyes and ears have been able to make much progress in this season concerning what is our role on this side of Glory in the now and not yet kingdom--how to care about politics and culture and speak about it openly (no fear of man!) in a Spirit of grace and truth, and also how to point people towards a greater kingdom that is coming and will come and toward heaven--their true home. This has always been a paradox, but lately it's just become a more lived reality, which I'm really enjoying. It's nice to see some fruit in an area I've been working on for a while--how to care (but not too much) about the issues of the world which is passing away but is bringing a remnant into glory. 

There is much more I could say, but I think I'll leave it at that for now, since I gushed about our Anniversary trip (Niagara Falls) in a previous update, and I have someone I need to call. 

Goodbye for now, beloved reader. Whoever you are, may the Lord bless you. 

Yours, Calli