I Almost Forgot!

I can't believe I almost forgot the best update! On Sunday Kyle shaved his beard off!! I know that may disappoint some of you. The poll results surprised me a little, I didn't know the beard was so popular. Really the beard? Anyway, he looks much more attractive now :)

Borg Updates

* Kyle finished up his sermon series on Jude. Now he is spending a lot of time reading and preparing to write his senior philosophy paper.
* Rachel got IRB approval for her research project and is beginning to set up interviews with participants for her study. By utilizing the admissions office, so far she has found 5 people meeting her criteria!
* Kyle has been helping to organize our churches youth/college retreat to Honeyrock, a camp in northern Wisconsin. We are super excited because there are around 25 people going this year.
* Scott and Julie came over this past weekend and we had a great time with them!
* Yesterday Kyle came to Sarah Lohse's rescue and killed a bat that was trapped in her basement.
* On Friday night when we were carving pumpkins at the Ruiters, it was confirmed that Rachel doesn't have an ounce of artistic ability in her body. Hopefully Kyle's artistic ability will even out Rachel's lack of it and our children will at least be average.
* Rachel paid tuition for the last time today!

That's all for now!

~ Rachel

Celebrating 30 years together!

Today is Scott and Julie Borg's 30th wedding anniversary! Kyle and I are so thankful for their example of marriage to us, especially during our first year of marriage. I personally have been so blessed by them, and I'm so thankful to the Lord for bringing the two of them into my life. They really have become like second parents to me and I couldn't ask for better in laws. We love you!

~ Rachel :)

Deadline, Dominion & Deception

This summer my sister Ruth suggested this series of novels by Randy Alcorn to me. Honestly I didn't have very high expectations because it seems like Ruth loves EVERY book ever written; however, I was pleasantly surprised. I've only read the first two, but I liked them a lot! They are really good stories, but they aren't just fluff. These books, especially Deadline challenged me in my faith, and reminded me to daily keep an eternal perspective on life. Randy Alcorn is a very solid, Godly man. He is the founder and director of Eternal Perspective Ministries (EPM), a nonprofit organization dedicated to teaching biblical truth and drawing attention to the needy and how to help them. Some of you may have heard Randy Alcorn speak at the Desiring God conference this year. I LOVED reading a Christian novel by someone who was writing with a strong biblical foundation. If you are looking for a good read, I would strongly encourage you to pick up these books. They have quickly become some of my favorite works of fiction.

Deadline
Deadline is the best-selling story of a politically-correct journalist forced by tragic and mysterious circumstances to come to terms with his own mortality. In the process, he must also deal with the consequences of his skewed perspectives on life. Deadline portrays friendship, family, faith, morality, social decline and media bias in the context of an unpredictable and hopeful story of personal crisis and change. The second story line, on death's other side, compliments the who-done-it mystery.

Dominion (semi~sequel to Deadline)
Clarence Abernathy, an Oregon columnist and suburban middle-class black, is dragged into a world of inner-city gangs, drugs, violence and racial conflict. Clarence's anger at injustices that he cannot control pulls him onto turf that becomes more dangerous by the moment. This story offers profound insight concerning our perceptions and conflicts, and points clearly toward the only true hope for racial reconciliation.

Deception (spin~off of Deadline and Dominion)
Ollie Chandler is a brilliant and quick-witted homicide detective with exceptional deductive skills and street smarts. He's a police department legend for his off-beat methods that solve crimes and coax confessions. But he's a risk taker and a rule-bender who drives his procedure-conscious superiors crazy. If not for his success rate, he'd have been squeezed out of the detective division years ago.

A Giant Cluster of Grapes?

In keeping with the spirit of my previous post, I thought I would share a picture of my little brother John. This year he decided to go to his church costume party as a cluster of Concord grapes. I thought this was hilarious!

~Rachel

Halloween

With Halloween coming up on Wednesday, many people at work have been discussing what they are going to be for Halloween. This got me thinking. I've never been very attached to Halloween as a holiday, growing up we didn't really celebrate it and I've just never found it very appealing. However, I know that for many people it is a much anticipated holiday. I've know quite a few Christians who don't celebrate Halloween out of spiritual conviction, others have no problem with it at all. I would love to hear your thoughts on this topic! How do you think Christian's should approach Halloween? Is this even an issue? That is my thought for the day :)

~Rachel

Recipe Monday!

So here is the recipe for Kyle's favorite salad. This weekend he told Naomi Cleveland that he could "eat gallons and gallons of it." I would like to see that one :) It isn't the healthiest salad on earth, but it is very tasty and it's one of the only ways that Kyle will eat lettuce.

1 to 1 1/2 bags of romaine lettuce
1 c. cashews
1 handful crasins
4 oz. shredded swiss cheese
1 apple, cubed
1 pear, cubed

Dressing:
1/2 c. sugar, I have been cutting the sugar down to 1/4 to 1/3 a cup and still tastes good.
1/3 c. lemon juice
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/4 c. vegetable oil

Mix all dressing ingredients, except oil. Once mixed, add oil. Mix all other ingredients. Pour dressing over salad just before serving. You can also have the dressing in a bottle on the side to so the lettuce doesn't get soggy. That way you can save the leftovers! Enjoy :)

~Rachel

Random Thoughts by Rachel :)

Since I have been harassed lately about not posting on this blog as often as I promised (Mom), I figured it was about time for another post :) Today my family, including Grandpa and Grandma Aase, came over for church to hear Kyle preach and spend time with us. This morning Kyle gave his second sermon out of a three week series on the book of Jude. He talked about WHY we need to contend for the faith. Next week he will finish up his Jude series discussing HOW one contends for the faith, and the hope we have in Jesus. We look forward to Kyle's parents visiting us next Sunday!

As Kyle wrote on an earlier post, I am very relieved to have finished my literature review and methods section of my senior research project. This definitely was the most daunting part of the whole process for me so I am glad to be over that hurdle. The next step is for me to find my participants and begin interviewing. If anyone knows someone who was home schooled and has made the transition into college it would be SUPER helpful if you could let me know. Preferably I would like to do my interviews face to face so people around the La Crosse/Austin area would be ideal. I appreciate your help in advance!

This coming week shouldn't be too exciting. Kyle and I both have a busy week of school, work and ministry. It would be great if you pray for wisdom for the pastoral church committee of our church as they are in the process of finding the man the Lord has called to be our new pastor. Kyle has been very busy with that committee lately.

Jake (my brother) is now a cook at TGI Friday's so it's been fun working with him again. We've pretty much worked at the same place since we were 9 and 10 years old and we did our paper routes together. Then we both worked at the Chatham Street Cafe and Clasen Jordan Mortuary together. It's made things easier for Kyle and I only having one car because often Jake and I work at the same times. Well, I think that's all for now. I hope that everyone has a wonderful week!

~Rachel

TGIF

Yes, that is right, thank goodness it's Friday! To say it's been a busy week would be an understatement. Rachel has been really busy plugging away at her final research paper for communication studies. They had a 20+ paper due today, which she finished last night. She made a nice nest on the kitchen table (and looked quite cute studying so hard). Her paper, in case she hasn't mentioned it, is on how home-schoolers adjust to college life. She read me her paper and it really was quite fascinating, it seems that there really is no down side to homeschooling the kids. She also had a busy week at work clocking nearly forty-hours. Her family is coming over on Sunday, so we are excited for that. Rachel volunteered to make one of my favorites, crockpot chicken!
I also had quite the busy week. I've been studying and preparing my second sermon on Jude. Who would have ever thought that in a book which is only 25 verses long you would have to be so picky and choosy about what you could speak on. Seriously, I am given three weeks (for which I am very grateful) but I have no doubt that one could preach through the book of Jude for months. After all, both Thomas Manton and William Jenkyn penned nearly 400-page commentaries on the book. I have found Manton's to be of particular use and have profited much from it. Aside from plugging away at that I also led our off campus Bible study on Hebrews 2 this week. We had a fun little discussion on the writers (we'll call him Paul) use of "tasted death for everyone." I also did the youth group stuff. We took a break from our regular Westminster Confession study and took at look at a piece by Jonathan Edwards and the surrendered heart. It was very encouraging. I've also started writing my final philosophy paper. It's going to be about Reformed Epistemology (gripping eh?) We also had call committee last night, it's getting down to some exciting times, the labor is paying off!
Well that's about all there is to report from the Borgs. We apologize (to all you vast amount of readers) that we haven't been writing much, it's been a busy week.
Grace.
Kyle

Exciting News!

Kyle and I have been keeping a secret for the past several weeks, and we are so excited to finally be able to share the great news! We are going to be Uncle Kyle and Aunt Rachel! That's right, Michael and Rachel are pregnant! The baby is due around the end of May or beginning of June. We are so thankful to the Lord for this wonderful blessing, and we are incredibly happy for Michael and Rachel. We can't wait to meet the newest addition to the Borg family :)

Oh, how abundant is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you and worked for those who take refuge in you, in the sight of the children of mankind! ~Psalm 31:19

My Toe & Etc

Unfortunately I have failed to accomplish my goal of posting on this blog everyday. California was so much fun! I loved spending time with the Lunds and getting to know them better. It's been hard adjusting back to my schedule of work and classes :( Today I found out that I have my Music History midterm on Monday. Hopefully I will be able to do alright without having the notes from this past week. This particular professor wasn't the most understanding about our trip. One of the highlights of my day was that Philosophy class was canceled. Philosophy is not my thing, it just doesn't come naturally to me. I guess it's good that Kyle can help me in this area :)

So on Wednesday, our last day in San Diego, Kyle, Brian and I went to the beach in La Jolla, CA to see the sea lions and while there I injured my foot. We were walking on the rocks in the cove and I, in all my gracefulness, stubbed my big toe on a rock and split the top of it open. It didn't hurt a lot at the time, but it was annoying because it kept bleeding and I was wearing flip flops so sand was getting into the cut and irritating it even more. Yesterday I worked a double at TGIF, and the longer I was on my feet the more my toe hurt. After working all day I developed quite the limp, and it now hurts a lot to walk. Unfortunately I had to give up my closing shift tonight because I couldn't walk very well. I felt kind of like a baby, but it really does hurt!

Enough about my toe though :) On the plane ride home I read a WONDERFUL book that I bought at Westminster entitled, "The True Woman" by Susan Hunt. She was talked about what true womanhood looks like and how we need to be women of the Word, not women of our current culture. I highly recommend this book!

Anyway, well I'm going to hang out with Kyle now. Remember to pray for him as he is preparing to "exhort the congregation" during this week's "covenant renewal ceremony." You should all come and hear him :)

~Rachel~

California Dreamin'

Well Rachel and I got home at about 3:30am from San Diego. We must say, we had a superb time with the Lunds. We also really enjoyed visiting and seeing Westminster Seminary, well at least I did. Tuesday was my official campus visit day. I got a tour of all three buildings and five classrooms (yep! it's small). I sat in on a class with Michael Horton, which I loved! He was finishing up his lecture on the ills of Schleirmacher who has rightly been called "The Father of Liberalism." For those of you who know nothing about him, ultimately it comes down to the fact that he stressed religion is found internal to the subject and expressed outwardly. The best thing of my time in Horton's class though was when a young man raised his hand and actually thought Horton was wrong and that Schleirmacher may have been a good guy. With tact and ease Horton threw down that opinion. Almost as good was when another guy thought Horton was wrong and that the liberal theologians of the 20th century had a high view of sin. Again, Horton won (is that guy even beatable?) After that I got to sit in on a class with Robert Godfrey. We talked a lot about the nature of the Mosaic Covenant and whether it fell into the Covenant of Works or the Covenant of Grace. I can tell Seminary is going to fare very well with me.
I enjoyed a great lunch with Westminster's very own Julius Kim. He took Brian and I out to eat and spent a good deal of time talking about things. It was refreshing, edifying, and very encouraging. I also spent some time in the bookstore that day, until my eyes glazed over (okay, not really).
All in all, it was a WONDERFUL trip. Rachel and I are really looking forward to moving out there next year. I must admit it was a slap with reality when I walked back into UWL classes (especially when in my first class I guess I had a midterm). For now that's all there is to report.

The Lord's Day

Today was a good day in San Diego! We were able to join in worship with Christ Presbyterian Church in Temecula. It was a pretty drive there. The Sunday school class began at 9:00 and Brian taught about the Person and the Work of Jesus Christ from the Apostle’s Creed. He did a great job making the doctrines very applicable. We then met some of the people from the Church during fellowship time and got a free book! (the Church gives visitors a book of their choice). The service was wonderful! It was far more liturgical than Rachel and I are used to but we really enjoyed that. The Pastor did a good job iterating why we observed certain things and did certain things. We had the privilege of seeing three young girls receive the sacrament of baptism. The Pastor preached from 2 Timothy 2:1-13. He spoke on suffering for the sake of Christ and did a wonderful job with this subject.

Most particularly I loved how he put suffering into perspective. He categorized most people into two areas, those who avoid suffering and those who play the martyr; both are bad. Those who avoid are avoiding identification with Christ and those who play the martyr glory too much in their suffering and in so doing, “take Jesus off the cross and put themselves up there.” He spoke of the need that in the midst of our suffering we need to cast our eyes on Jesus and not be defined by our suffering but rather be defined by eternity. That was so good to hear! There were a lot of other wonderful things I wish I could reiterate but in all it was such an edifying sermon.

Rachel really appreciated the emphasis that the Pastor put on baptism. He did a wonderful job giving the Presbyterian and Reformed view on baptism while encouraging us all to remember our own baptisms. For even when we feel God is silent and we struggle we may look back and be assured of His faithfulness. He emphasized the necessity of the girls claiming their baptisms in faith at a later age or else they shall find that this blessing is a curse. Rachel was so thankful for the clarity and seriousness in which the sacrament was applied.

After Church we went to the beach. Sam and Rachel laid on the beach and sunned while Brian and I played Frisbee. Due to my massive skill at Frisbee our poor Arobe was lost to the tumultuous waters of the sea. Brian and I proceeded to relive our days at Shamineau and we fought in the shallow waters, in the end the strong current and waves won out. The four of us walked to the end of a pier and enjoyed our time together. We came home and the girls made some great salmon for dinner. We took a dip in the hot tub and are now relaxing eating some of Sam’s mud pie.

We are so thankful for this time out here and are growing increasingly excited for our arrival out here.

It's a Miracle!

I thought everyone should know that a miracle took place tonight at the Lunds household. Kyle ate asparagus for dinner and he actually liked it! He even said, and I quote, "It even tastes good cold!"

More to come later :)

*Rachel*

Another Day in San Diego

So today Kyle and I spent the morning looking at potential apartments in Escondido, CA. We made the mistake of going to the nicest one first. Therefore, in comparison all the other apartments didn't look very appealing. Actually, they were pretty much in the ghetto. I would REALLY like to live in the nice apartment complex. The unit we toured was a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom with a really cool deck area. Also, it has a TON of storage space, and it would be wonderful to have an extra bedroom/bathroom when we have guests over. Kyle was very excited to discover that every apartment complex has a private pool The view was sooooo beautiful because the building is on a hill that overlooks the city. Kyle said that it reminded him of a hotel, and if we lived there he would feel like he was on vacation all the time. Our goal today was to see what was out there and to compare prices. Needless to say this particular apartment could be a little out of our price range :( Anyway maybe I will just have to get an extra good job :)

When we returned to the Lunds, the four of us decided to eat lunch at Chipotle and then head down to San Diego for the rest of the day. We took a scenic highway on the way there. It was great to see more of the area! The road went along the coast and it was beautiful! When we got to San Diego we toured the USS Midway, which is a huge old Navy ship that is now permanently docked in San Diego. It was really cool. Although, I think that if there weren't arrows telling us where to go I would have gotten lost very quickly. Anyway, that was a lot of fun!

After that we headed to the Gaslamp district for dinner. We met a couple of Brian and Sam's friends from seminary there and ate at the Hard Rock Cafe. The food was good, but our server was kind of annoying and I think she had more tables then she could handle because she wasn't very attentive. Maybe I'm just too critical of servers though.

We just arrived back home and I'm SUPER tired. However, I told Kyle that I was going to blog everyday and he didn't believe me so I had to write a quick post :) Tomorrow we are off to church in the morning, and then to the beach if the weather is nice. Check back for more updates!

*Rachel*

We made it!

Kyle and I arrived safely in San Diego at 5:55 pacific time last night. Our flight went really well; we were slightly worried about getting to the airport early enough, but thankfully we arrived with plenty of time to spare. We even had time to eat lunch at Chipotle, which always makes Kyle happy :) The view from the plane was soooo beautiful. There were hardly any clouds all the way over, we had such a great view! It was fun trying to guess what state we were traveling over, and Kyle was very kind to let me have the window seat.

The Lunds picked us from the airport and took us to a very festive Mexican restaurant in Old Town San Diego for dinner. It was delicious! We had a great time with Brian and Sam, and we are super excited to spend a whole week with them!

This morning Kyle and Brian are off to Westminster Seminary to attend class. Needless to say Kyle is beyond excited :) Currently I have parked myself at a local coffee shop where I was planning to get some work done on my literature review, however that hasn't happened yet. I sat down to work, and this friendly old man on the other side of the shop called me over to look at some pictures of buffalo, geysers and mountains that he took on his trip to Yellowstone Park last month. It turns out that this man was really nice and a fellow believer so it was a fun conversation. He reminded me of my Grandpa in many ways :) Anyway now after the 30 minute slide show I should probably get to work on my paper.

Kyle and I will continue to post updates on our trip however boring they may be :)

In Christ,
Rachel

On our Way to SoCal

Well, we're on our way to southern California for a week of...well fun. Rachel has it better off than me cause I'm going to get stuck sitting in classes with people like Michael Horton, walking around the campus halls where RS Clark, Robert Godfrey, Steve Baugh, Bryan Estelle, and Hywel Jones all work. Wait...whose going to have more fun? Definitely me! I feel kind of like a little high school girl who gets to go to the Hollywood walk of fame though I don't think I will be asking for any autographs or pictures there is a slight chance that the students of WSC will be staring at the massive amount of drool coming out of my mouth (this really is a dream come true!) I've spent the past few years reading books by these guys and now...well I get to see them. That's my freaky confession don't think to ill of me I'm star struck.
-Kyle-

My Last Semester!

As I'm sitting in the computer lab waiting for my next class to begin I am reminded how thankful I am to be graduating in December. I only have twelve credits to finish up this semester! It's nice to have a lighter load then I'm used to, especially because I'm currently working on my Senior thesis for Communication Studies. My research is titled: Packin' the Backpack: A Qualitative Examination of the Experiences of Home Schooled Students Transitioning into College. I'm specifically looking at the positive and negative messages (stereotypes?) that home schooled students receive when coming to college, and how they adapt communicatively in a new educational environment. It's really cool because there is no previous Communication research conducted on this topic. Before the semester started I was EXTREMELY overwhelmed about this project, but thankfully my advisor has been very helpful and encouraging to me over the last couple weeks. I can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel!! Throughout this process it has been very encouraging to me to mediate on Colossians 3:23-24. Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.

Kyle's Sermon Series

Kyle has been blessed with the opportunity to preach at our church for three consecutive weeks this month. He is doing a sermon series on the book of Jude and has been diligently studying in preparation for it. I'm so thankful that Kyle gets this opportunity! I love seeing how passionate he is about God's Word. Please keep him in your prayers as he continues to prepare his exhortations.
If you are interested, Kyle's sermons will be available to listen to online here.

O Lord God of hosts, who is mighty as you are, O Lord, your faithfulness all around you?
You rule the raging of the sea; when its waves rise, you still them. You crushed Rahab like a carcass; you scattered your enemies with your mighty arm. The heavens are yours; the earth also is yours; the world and all that is in it, you have founded them. The north and the south, you have created them; Tabor and Hermon joyously praise your name. You have a mighty arm;
strong is your hand, high your right hand. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; steadfast love and faithfulness go before you. Psalm 89:8~14

Our New Blog!

So I figured it's about time that Kyle and I created a blog to share how the Lord has been working in our lives, and to provide updates to friends and family. Kyle offered to make it a division of Synod of Saints, but I opted to just start from scratch :)

We have some VERY exciting news for our first post! As of 7:20 this evening Kyle is a member of the Westminster Seminary California community. In other words, Kyle got accepted into seminary!! Needless to say we are super excited! Lord willing we will be moving to San Diego, California some time next summer. It was such a blessing to receive this news today, because we are off to visit the seminary on Thursday. We are greatly looking forward to our trip out there and the time in fellowship with some friends who are currently attending WSC. We are extremely thankful for the much anticipated break from work and school.

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! ~ Psalm 34:8