Summit Day 12

The last sessions of Summit Tennessee were by the president  of Summit Ministries Dr Jeff Myers. He spoke to the students on Leadership and Wisdom. Great sessions that the students were raving about.  Jason and I both really respect Dr Myers and were thrilled to see him and catch up!

The last afternoon of Summit TN was obviously spent at Volleyball. It was staff vs students. Jason's team took 2nd place this time which left the students ecstatic.

Here's a picture of Jason with the two student speakers for graduation. Anna and Samuel did a great job addresses the 600+ students, parents, grandparents and sponsors that were at the Summit TN graduation. 

Josh Bales did a fantastic job leading worship for the last time at the graduation. Jason and I had a blast getting to know him better. It was sad to say goodbye. 

Jason did a FANTASTIC job emceeing the graduation and addressing the audience with an overview of all that the students had heard and done for the last two weeks. 

The evening was ended with cake and celebration. It was sad saying goodbye to all the students and staff. The sky was even crying as we left, it was pouring rain. 

We left right after graduation to drive back to Minnesota. It took us 19 hours. It feels wonderful to be back home! Now for a quick turn around, I leave Thursday for Portland! Cannot wait to celebrate the wedding of my brother Eric. Stay turned for pictures of the big day! 

Summit Day 11

The morning started early with dropping Laurie off at the airport. I was so sad to see her go. We are kindred spirits and she was such an encouragement. Hopefully she will be visiting us in Minnesota soon!

Jason was back in the classroom this morning. He kicked off the morning with Dr Terry Moffitt speaking on Christianity and the Public square.

The rest of the morning was spent with Dr Joy Riley. She is the Executive Director of The Tennessee Center for Bioethics and Culture. Her sessions on bioethics really challenged the students.

Jason had the awesome opportunity to go to coffee with one of his old professors Dr. Paul Boling. They had a wonderful time discussing life and what Jason should pursue.

Tonight was the last evening class. Jason decided it was a perfect opportunity for the students to show some gratitude. As the students and staff arrived for evening class Jason had the staff sit up front and had the students raise their hands to share what they were grateful for with different staffers. It was an incredible time of hearing how awesome the staff has cared for the students and how so many of the students lives have been affected by them. Here's another beautiful blog post from one of the students attending this week.

Last morning class tomorrow and then GRADUATION.

Summit Day 10

Jason started off the morning in the classroom hearing sessions by Dr Gary Phillips who spoke on the reliability of the Bible and Pluralism, followed by Sam Youngs who spoke on questions and history of Christology. Both sessions were excellent. 

It was Laurie's last day with us so we headed out to see some sights! The first stop was the Dayton TN courthouse where the Scope's trial took place. It was great to see some southern history that had a massive affect on our nation. 

We then headed to Chattanooga TN and randomly stepped into one of the most eccentric book stores I have ever seen. It was completely disorganized and the woman that owned it had two dogs that looked to be on death's door. We totally enjoyed perusing the books and finding some that were really old. 

We then headed to Jason's favorite coffee shop in Chattanooga that he spent many hours studying at. It smelled amazing because they were roasting the beans in house. It was wonderful to sip iced lattes, read and chat about life.

Laurie leaves early in the morning. Jason and I only have two days left at Summit Tennessee  Prayers appreciated that we would finish well and travel back home would be safe and happy!

Summit Day 9

We started out this Tuesday morning with Abdu Murray of Embrace the Truth International. He spoke on Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism. The students were lining up to ask him questions. It was a great way to start the day! 

EJ was one of the students that ate lunch with us today. He was laughing until tears ran down his face because his "spicy chicken is AFRICA!". It gave us all a good laugh. 

We HATE and love Dr Mike Adams! It was wonderful to catch up with him and hear him speak to the students on abortion and the right to be offended. 

Jason and Laurie saved the day helping Debbie Brezina get her power point fixed! Mrs Brezina is an incredible speaker and spoke to the students on Winston Churchill and their American Heritage. 

Today was the basketball tournament. Jason's team took fourth place! Not as good as his volleyball team but you can't be good at everything. It was really nostalgic for Jason to walk into the gym that he played in six years ago for college. It was fun for me to hear some stories about it! 

Summit Day 7 & 8

Sorry for missing a couple days of posting! I now know how horrible it is to have a sick husband.  Jason's "day off" began Saturday evening as did his fever and chills. I spent the evening and into the night keeping him hydrated and resting. Thankfully by Sunday afternoon his fever had broke and he was feeling a lot better.

The other distraction from blogging is that my dear friend Laurie Jalbert from Florida has arrived to visit for a couple days. This is bringing much JOY to my heart. Laurie and I met six years ago at a conference in Chicago. Since then we have done numerous conferences and adventures together, maintaining a friendship from opposite coasts. Having her here is a blast!

Despite being sick most of the night Jason was determined to go out on a date. So on Sunday we managed to head down to Chattanooga. We sat in the perfect spot at Rembrandts drinking coffee and reading for a couple hours. Then we had amazing fresh mozzarella and calzones at Lupi's. 

Jason did the open forum with the students and then came home and announced, "Let's go to Huddle House!". I had never heard of or been to a "Huddle House". Basically it's a restaurant that is one step up from waffle house. It was great!

When the waitress found out it was my first time at a huddle house she made sure my strawberry waffle had a smiley face on it. Gotta love the south.

Looking forward to hearing Dr. Mike Adams today and catching up with my dear friend Laurie!

Summit Day 6

Today was a BLAST!!! We started off with pick up our car from the shop. $750 in repairs. Such a bummer but we are grateful that it is fixed, it waited to break down until we arrived and that we had an emergency fund to cover the cost. God is good! 

Always keep a husband that brings home southern BBQ. Always. So delicious and included fried okra and sweet tea!  

Today was the day that all the students headed to Fort Bluff. It included the volleyball tournament that was double elimination. Students made up teams and took it very seriously. As you can tell from the "American Rejects" team pictures above. They took third place. 

Jason's team won the volleyball tournament. They were VERY proud and undefeated. Lots of volleyball pride. Including their own cheer.  

The best part was going down a water slide for the first time! I have never been to any water parks and Jason was THRILLED to take me on my first ride. I went down the slide three times and laughed all the way. Good memories.

The view from the top of Fort Bluff was breathtaking. So glad we went up and took some time to revel in God's creation.  

The day ended with a cookout on the lawn. It was beautiful and SO GOOD. Including the freshly made potato chips that I ate way to many of.

Tomorrow is our day off. Looking forward to some quality time with my True Love. 

Summit Day 5

Today we had lunch with two of Jason's old professors Dr Jones and Mr Harle. It was wonderful getting to know them a little better, hearing stories about Jason in college and getting some marriage advice. They are wonderful men and I am so glad Jason had the opportunity to study under them.

You can tell we are reaching the half-way point. Lots of mail from family and friends to the students!

Jason is doing such a great job leading discussions here. I am super proud to be his wife and see how God is growing him in leadership.

The students here are absolutely awesome! This shirt has Jason jealous. We will have to pick one up when we see it. Another student that I ate dinner with today wrote a blogpost on how Summit TN is affecting here life. You can read it here.

Brett Kunkle spoke to the students today on evil and suffering and the goodness of God. During meal times the students were engaging in conversation about how to have a biblical approach to evil and suffering.

Full day. Thankful tomorrow is a half day and we will be headed to Fort Bluff for an afternoon of fun!

Summit Day 4

Josh Bales has been leading us in worship here at Summit Tennessee. Josh has the desire to walk through creation, fall and redemption with every worship set. He uses creeds, scripture readings, classic hymns and worship songs to do this. It is powerful and the students response is always amazing.  Here's a clip of "Hosanna" being sung tonight. 

Dr Ken Turner spoke to the students today on how to read and how NOT to read the Bible. It was a great session full up practical application. 

What a JOY to meet Dr Christopher Yuan and his mother Angela. Dr Yuan spoke on homosexuality and the Christian response. The students were deeply impacted by the time they spent with him. I would highly recommend the book that he co-authored with his mother. 

The goofy picture of all the staff and students. To good not to share! 

Summit Day 3

We started the morning off with a Sean McDowell selfie. Sean McDowell gave his last session today and we said goodbye. He did a fantastic job teaching the students about Atheism, evolution and Intelligent Design. We were sad to see him go. 

Do to fatigue there was a much needed run to Jason's favorite coffee shop here in Dayton TN. Jason spent hours at Harmony House Coffee. It was great to meet the owner who still, after six years, remembered Jason by name. Also, it was one of the best iced lattes I've had since leaving Portland. 

Here's our selfie with my new Catholic crush, Dr Jennifer Roback Morse (or as she prefers, "Dr J"). She spoke to the students on marriage, family and homosexuality. She's the founder of the Ruth Institute and a delight to be with.

It was group picture day! Here's just a snapshot of some of the students. 

It was also staff picture day! Good luck finding Jason and I. Our faces are...hidden.

We ran into one of Jason's old professors Dr Ricketts who has a summer business of running a jumbotron. He offered to set it up for us by the soccer field to watch the Brazil vs Germany game today. It was SUPER fun watching the game on a huge screen with the students. The game however, was just pathetic.

If you think of it, say a prayer for our car. We had to take it into the shop today. It keeps over heating and we do not know why. Pray for a quick and easy fix!