As with many families, for most of the last 20 years, our family's yearly cycle had little to do with the calendar year, but was firmly dictated by the school year. With three of the four people in our home involved in the school system, the end of June was the most anticipated time of the year. One year, early on, we decided to honor the accomplishments of the past year and celebrate the start of two months of vacation (at least for most of us), by going out for a family dinner.

Throughout this fall as we have been preparing for the ordination, I have been praying that God would prepare me for this occasion, that I would be ready to receive all that He had prepared from me. Now that may seem like a rather general prayer, but I had never even seen an ordination, so I wasn't sure how to be more specific in my request. My community group has been supporting me in prayer around this event and this request as well and in our meeting the first week of November, we spent a great time together praying for me.

Over the past two weeks, I have been thinking a lot about Todd's sermon on the exaltation of Jesus and Todd's illustration of the "big giant hand" moving ahead of him. I wonder, am I living my life in the reality of my Saviour who is "far about all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named not only in this age but also in the one to come"? (Ephesians 1:21)