Barcelona Bound!

The tickets are bought, the reservations are made, the schedule is complete. All that's left....packing! Good thing I've got a whole day left to finish this task!

Take-off is 12:50 Sunday afternoon. Check back in for updates!!

Merry Christmas to all!

Please Pray

This is the "official" e-mail that was circulated:

Most of you received word earlier this evening that Melissa Cribb fell from the second story window of her home at about 4:30 this afternoon. She pushed through the screen of an open window and fell to the driveway below. She apparently landed on her side, which given the circumstances, and in God’s providence, was probably the best possible scenario to help absorb some of the impact of her fall. D’Anne was home during the accident, but she did not witness the fall. Some neighboring children saw Melissa fall and D’Anne heard them screaming. Melissa was apparently leaning against the screen in an effort to talk with some of the children who were playing outside.

Melissa was air-lifted to Scottish Rite Hospital where the doctors were able to stabilize her. She sustained three fractures to her skull and she has some bleeding under the skull in two places. There is, however, no bleeding in her brain. The doctors expect that the fractures will be able to heal with no surgery and that the blood will be absorbed back into her tissues without issue. Although Melissa has been basically unconscious, she has moved her arms and responded to pain in various places of her body. The doctors are keeping her medically sedated and keeping her in a partial pharmacological paralysis, so for now they cannot ask her any questions about pain or feeling in other parts of her body. Their main concern over the next 24-48 hours is to watch for swelling of Melissa’s brain, which could also be accompanied by seizures.

Jay was working in Maryland today when this all happened, and he caught the first available flight home. He was expected to get into Atlanta at around 9:30. The other children (Megan, Mallory, Mitchell, and Meredith) were at the hospital with D’Anne tonight, along with a host of others that the Cribbs know from their connections with HEDGE, the Kings Academy, and Hopewell Baptist Church, not to mention Faith Community Church. I know the support was very meaningful to the whole family. Melissa has been moved into PICU, and the visitation is being restricted to family at this point.

The doctors expect that she will be in the hospital until at least next weekend, perhaps longer. The other Cribb children will be coming home tonight and will be staying at home for the most part. Megan (19 years old) will be watching out for them mostly, along with a young lady and family friend named Danielle, who has been staying with the Cribbs while she attends KSU.

Please keep all these matter regarding Melissa and her recovery in your prayers. We praise the Lord that Melissa is doing as well as she is under these circumstances. Please also keep Jay, D’Anne and the children in your prayers.

Also, if any of you would like to be involved in ministering to the Cribb family by providing a meal at some time over the next couple of weeks, please contact Mary Dettman at (678) 574-5408 or also feel free to call the church office.

What's been going on

Well, since the last update, I have started working at the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea. It is proving to be quite a challenge, but such a blessing. The only other American that I work with is the sweetest girl ever, and get this, she is totally a Christian! That is such a wonderful thing to have at work, especially when things get a little difficult!

Neal continues to work diligently on his Senior Design project. They have a meeting next week and will find out how the professors are thinking that they are doing!

Neal also received word yesterday that his appeal to the OMLP program at GE has been reconsidered. They are going to send him an offer by the end of the week! Another answer to prayer!

Other than that, not too much has been happening. Young married's Bible study is this Saturday night. All are welcome!

Until next time,
Deborah Lynn Parker

YAY!

Well, it has finally happened! (Finally to me, of course, God's perfect timing!) I got an offer that I accepted today! I am an official employee of the South Korean Government! I will be working at the Republic of Korea Consul downtown. Job requirements: executive assistant to the consul general and general office management and event planning. Yes, almost too good to be true. Plus, it is right on the marta train line, and since we only live about two blocks from another train station, I'll be taking that to work. Save on gas!! We are both very thankful and grateful for this job!

On other news, Neal's school is still incredibly time consuming. He is doing well, and the senior design project has come out of the slump and is really moving along in a positive light...which is a GOOD thing! He tends to stay pretty busy with homework and group projects.

Oh, if anyone was interested, CVS is having 90% off of all of their flip flops. I got some yesterday and they have a lot that are really cute. I paid, get this, $0.59! Yeah, pretty amazing!

So that's all the news I can handle right now! Will post again with more!

Abortion is About God

I was reading this on the latest post of the Desiring God blog. I think it is really important to get down to the true issues of the social questions we are facing. Read the article below, it is really short, and it will really prick your thinking.

Abortion Is About God Posted: 01 Sep 2008 02:21 AM CDT (Author: Joe Rigney) They say that nothing is certain except death and taxes. In America, at least, we can add one more thing to the list: Every four years politicians and pundits will wax eloquent about the "difficult" and "controversial" issue of abortion. Debates about "a woman's right to choose" and "a baby's right to life" will quickly degenerate into shouting matches that obscure rather than clarify the issues. As Christians, we don't have the luxury of speaking with vagueness, ambiguity, and cliché. When we open our mouths, we must speak clearly (Ephesians 6:19-20; Colossians 4:3-4). But if we are to speak clearly, we must first think and feel clearly about difficult and controversial moral issues. So we need to realize that abortion is not mainly about a woman's right to choose. And it isn't mainly about a baby's right to life. Abortion is about God, the Creator of the universe, the Giver and Sustainer of all life, the Judge of the living and the dead, the Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ, and the Redeemer and Forgiver of all who trust him. Abortion is about God. To leave God out of the picture of abortion is to trivialize it. All things are trivial without God. God is the ultimate reality over the universe. All other reality is derivative and dependent and has no ultimate meaning at all without reference to God the ultimate reality. In him we live and move and have our being. If we leave him out of account, we know nothing of any lasting significance about ourselves or the world. (John Piper, "Where Does Child Killing Come From?") During this election season, as politicians court the evangelical vote, it is vital that Christians remind themselves why abortion is the transcendent moral issue of our time. To that end, The Bethlehem Institute has designed a unique, six-week Sunday School curriculum advancing the truth that the deepest evil of abortion is that it defies God's supremacy over life in the womb. Entitled Abortion Is About God: Reframing a Moral Issue, the course provides a biblical and theological foundation for the pro-life cause from a God-centered perspective. At a time when being pro-life is marginalized in some evangelical circles, we want to lift up the cause of the unborn and urge our fellow Christians to not grow weary in doing good. We will reap a harvest if we do not give up. And the strength to persevere comes from realizing that God's supremacy over all things includes his work in the womb. Abortion is an assault on the person-forming work of God. Children are a gift from God. To reject them through abortion is to reject him. But we do not merely preach against sin. We also preach Christ crucified—crucified for women who have had abortions; for family members who have pushed for abortions; for doctors who have performed abortions; and for Christians who have failed to love both mother and baby as we ought to. In that spirit, we commend this new curriculum to you. Our prayer is that God would use it in churches around the country to reawaken people to the centrality and supremacy of God in the cause of the unborn so that one day soon abortion will not only be illegal, but unthinkable. * * *

Simple, Short, and Sweet

Well, Neal has finished the first week of school. Feelings on that: it's going to be a long, tough semester! He has his senior design class, in addition to four other classes, and it is already taking up SO much of his study time. He really likes the project though, so hopefully it will be an enjoyable time working with the team.

I'm still job searching. :( I had an interview this morning, and I got called back for a second interview tomorrow. It is a 6 hour interview!! We'll see what happens. We are really trying to trust God in each step of the job searching process. Sometimes it is easier than others!

I think that is about it for now! Will post again when something exciting or news worthy occurs!

Until then,
Deborah

Summer Wrap-Up

Well, summer is almost over.

It has been an interesting, exciting, and jam packed one! Starting off celebrating our one year wedding anniversary in June, followed by the weddings of two of Neal's brothers, in that same month. July was spent job searching. After literally a dozen interviews and several offers, I'm still looking. We just don't feel as if any of the offers have been the right path...yet. Hopefully soon!

Neal has finished out his 5th co-op rotation with GE Energy. He has also interviewed for their Operations Management Leadership Program (OMLP), which was a two day process! We heard the results of that this past Friday, the 8th. The Lord has closed the door for the program, but has definitely opened up several other job opportunities for when he finishes school in May 2009.

August has brought VACATION!!! Neal & I are currently down on St. George Island, Florida. My mom and dad, gran-gran, as well as all my sisters, and Leah's boyfriend, Blake, as well as Mr. Thompson, Rachel, and Lori are all bunking together in ONE house! Family vacations are a blast: sleep, eat, play, repeat! We've only had two days of inclement weather so far, but that hasn't stopped several of us from running right on in the ocean!

School will start back for Neal on Monday, the 18th. It will be a challenging semester for him trying to take 5 classes, including his 40+ hours per week senior design project, which he will be doing in conjunction with GE Energy. He found out yesterday that he will be able to work several hours a week, whenever he can, at the office of our apartment building. That will be such a blessing and a help.

It is kind of a strange feeling not having to look in the course catalog, or have the exact registration time etched in my mind so as not to miss it by a split second and loose the perfect schedule I have been working on for weeks! And then, the alumni news comes in my inbox!! Oh, please stop this "moving in to the 'real world' "! We know the Lord has all of our steps perfectly planned and all we have to do is trust in His way!

Well, this is all for now. Off to the ocean waves!

The 16th of July

Well, it has been about two weeks since I've last updated. I've been working at the America's Mart show for the past 2 weeks; Neal has worked there on the weekends. We are very thankful for the opportunity and job, but we are also very thankful when walking, standing, and selling for 10-12 hours a day for almost two weeks straight is over!

Neal got the opportunity to go and play golf at Chateau Elan this past Saturday with some fellow GE workers. I think we found a new past-time! We'll keep you posted as the game unfolds!

On Sunday, I got a call from my old friend from high school, Janean. She told me that one of the guys we graduated with was killed in a motorcycle accident just a few hours prior. Kevin Mahurin was 22 years old. His mother, Karen Mahurin is the county commissioner. His funeral was today, July 16. At the funeral, there were several of the kids that graduated back in 2003. We all were remembering the life and memories that we shared with Kevin... school plays, haunted corn mazes, birthday parties, and so many more. It is a sobering reminder of how fleeting this life is. May we all examine our own lives and hearts to insure that they line up with the word of God and live lives well pleasing to him.

Kevin Mahurin
November 1985 - July 2008

Cherokee Tribune Article- "A Fine Young Man"

Sosebee Funeral Home- Obituary

I know your life on earth was troubled

And only you could know the pain

You weren't afraid to face the devil
You were no stranger to the rain

Go rest high on that mountain
Son your work on earth is done
Go to heaven a-shoutin'
Love for the Father and the Son

Oh how we cried that day you left us
And gathered 'round your grave to grieve
Wish I could see the angel's faces
When they hear your sweet voice sing

Happy belated Birthday

Another celebration of our country's birth has come and gone. She is now 232 years young! Neal and I were watching the excellent John Adams mini series the other night, which I HIGHLY recommend, and just commenting on how much difficulty that our founding fathers faced in the development of this land as a formal country independent of any other entity. We are very blessed to be able to live in a country that they fought so diligently to form and die for.

Anyways, Mom and Dad, Hannah and Moriah came down to our apartment for dinner and then we headed down the street a bit to watch the fireworks over Centennial Park. Amazingly, after 17 years of living just outside of Atlanta metro, we saw, in person, the fireworks over the park! Next on the agenda, a live downtown Atlanta New Years Eve!

Weddings

Over the past month, TWO of Neal's brothers have gotten married! Joel, the oldest Parker brother, married his Israeli-lawyer girlfriend, Ifat, on Sunday, June 15. This wedding was not without its trials, considering it was planned by several people, in about 6 weeks, and with the bride in Israel and the family in Georgia. In the end, it was beautiful and the guests had a wonderful time! They went to Colorado for about 2 weeks to honeymoon. They left yesterday (Sunday) to return to Israel where they will be living.

June 15, 2008

Then, two weeks later, on Saturday, June 28, the youngest Parker brother, David married his girlfriend of 2 years, Caroline. The wedding was in North Caroline in a secluded mountain vacation home. The setting was absolutely beautiful!

June 28, 2008

It is a bit of a strange feeling for Neal and I to not be the only siblings married on both sides anymore! How our families have changed in the past year! We are very excited to see the changes to come, and wish the newly weds all the best!

June 9, 2007

Trying it Out

Hello to the blogging world! I thought I would try out this whole new world in an attempt to stay updated with friends and family!