Christmas is coming...

This Christmas is going to be different.. There have been so many things happening in our lives the past months and for some reason the meaning of Christmas changes when life throws out difficult circumstances. The one thing that continues to stay consistent is my faith in Jesus Christ. Even though my earthly flesh cries out to God for answers, my heart calms my mind with His truth. The truth is that no matter what it is you are going through...He is always there. His word promises that. "Emanuel"... God with us. That is what Christmas means to my family this year. We don't need a our own home to celebrate...we don't need money for presents...we don't need everything to be just right...I am so thankful that God is with me in every step of my day. I know that this Christmas and all the ones to come will mean so much more.

Merry Christmas!

Joy

Schiavone House Fire

Well...Life never seems to get any easier. Things never seem to get back to normal. We have been living with Anthony's parents since June. Last Tuesday, October the 13Th, a fire was started by a humidifier in the Schiavone' sun room. It shorted out and caught the couch on fire and then proceeded to set the room on fire. Anthony's dad and brother, Joey heard the fire alarm go off and then realized the house was on fire and got everyone out of the house. Anthony and I were at church attending a Financial Peace class that we have been going to for the past six weeks. On our way home at about 9p.m. we followed one of the fire trucks up the road. Hoping it wasn't going to our house. Then we came around the corner and there were five fire trucks parked in front of the house. Smoke was coming out everywhere and I couldn't see where the girls were. Anthony's family was standing in the yard and I began screaming trying to find Cora and Abby. The girls were put in our mini van to stay warm. I immediately embraced Abby and she looked at me and said "Mommy, will you stay with me forever?" For some reason those words have not left my mind. Not being there at the moment they needed me has been really hard for me to deal with. The fire did not damage the structure of the house but the smoke did a lot of damage. It is going to take weeks to clean and recover all the STUFF. But everyone...Cora, Abby, Jeanne, John, Joey, Grandma, Grandpa and our dog Tank were all safe and got out of the house safely.
So now we are all living in the Staybridge Suites in Corning. It is beautiful! The girls, Anthony and I have our own suite!!!! There is a courtyard and pool and hot tub and a laundry room. We also get breakfast in the morning! So God has truly provided for us and protected us. In the meantime...We are trusting in Him...relying on Him for strength and peace to get through every day. Stay posted for more updates...

Life at Victory...

It has been awhile since our last blog....We are now in our fourth month at VHWC. We are still living with Anthony's family and that has been interesting. The girls have been amazing! They have done so well through this transition. Better than Anthony and I. Life has been nothing but a whirlwind since we moved back to NY. At times I ask God what He was thinking by calling us back home...but I have been just trusting in His promises. It is so amazing to be back where we grew up and see how God has been working in everyone's lives!

We are moving!

We accepted a youth ministry position at Victory Highway Wesleyan church in Painted Post, New York. Its about fifteen minutes from where I grew up. Pretty crazy. Joy and I are really excited about this new opportunity. We immediately fell in love with the people when we interviewed. Its a great church with an incredible staff. You can check it out if you want at www.victoryhighway.com We will be closing on our house on Wednesday and moving on June 5th or 6th. Thanks for all those who were praying for us!

Update

Just wanted to give everyone an update. We are in the preocess of selling our home right now. We have accepted an offer and are planning to close in May. We are planning to move in June and have no clue where we are going! Here are some pics of our family to check out. We will send updates as things progress. We appreciate your prayers.

A Night To Remember

The day before valentines day, I took Joy up to a nice restaurant and surprised her with tickets to a Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman, Louie Giglio concert. When we got there, it was postponed because of the weather. They rescheduled it for March 25th. After many days of anticipation we went and were blown away. I had not seen Chris Tomlin lead worship since the C3 in Charlotte (WY convention). This time he was even better. Plus Matt Redman was there. They did many songs together. It was incredible. I could also listen to Louie speak all day. We left very encouraged and very blessed to experience a "worship event" like this. It was also cool to see Chris dancing around the stage while Matt Redman sang. He is a wee little man.

The Shaft... I think So

I now have a beef with the NCAA selection committee. I am sure their job is not easy because there are so many great teams out there, but what the heck? Syracuse University (22-10) did not get in to the tournament. Even though they beat Georgetown (72-58), Marquette (70-58), and Villanova (75-64), I guess it just wasn't good enough. This year I will be filling my brackets out with a little less joy in my heart.

Crap...

Someone stole my Sony Mini-DV Handy cam and my Sony 5.1 Mp Cybershot from my office. It had some great footage and pics of my kids on it too. Not a good day. Stupid theives...

More Changes...

After being at Good Shepherd Wesleyan Church for a little over a year as their students ministries pastor we made the tough decision to resign. God had been speaking to Joy and I for some time about this decision. I am a pastor who truly beleives in longevity, especially in youth ministry. So why leave you ask? That part gets pretty comlicated. We both have come to the conclusion that it was no accident we came here. We have built some great relationships here and its going to be very hard to leave.
As I have heard thousands of times before, ministry is never easy. I am not calling for my own pity party but as youth ministers we are underpaid, overwokred, unappreciated, and expendable. With that said, our job is still worth it. I must give a shout out to all my freinds who are in youth ministry. Keep on keepin on!
So whats next? I have considered leaving youth ministry, but I probably won't. I simply love teenagers and the privledge to make a difference in their lives. I am in no rush this time around for our next ministry location. We will be leaving Jackson in June. We have just put our house up for sale that we bought last July. I try not to worry about it. God's will take care of it all...
Tony

Dare 2 Share Gameday

This past weekend Joy and I took 2 students to Dare 2 Share Gameday youth conference. Last year they put on an incredible conf. They didnt let me down this year either. It was even better. One of my students accepted Christ for the first time. Starfield led worship and Greg Steir delivered some pretty powerful and challenging messages in front of 5000+ stuendents. Joy and I were both challenged to take advantage of the opportunities that God gives us to share our faith. If you are a youth pastor I would encourage you to go to this event next year. You will not be dissapointed! (The last clip is of Jeremy Camp, when we went to Winterjam)

Before and After

3 Weeks ago Abby broke her leg falling off the bunk-bed. It was not a fun day. She did learn how to walk and run with her cast pretty quickly. She had X-Rays yesterday showing that her bone was almost completely healed with a healthy calous growing over the break. She is very excited to have her "band aid" off, but is still a little hesitant to walk on it now. Oh and her leg smelled pretty nice when the cast came off.

Before



After

Sledding

We have a perfect hill in our backyard for sledding. The only problem is that the house is at the bottom of the hill...

It has finally snowed here in southern Ohio. We recieved three inches, enough to close down the whole town for a day. Pretty funny. The girls couldnt have been more excited about the white stuff. Tank, our dog, went insane in the snow. It was a great weekend! It was also nice to have that extra day off from work to spend time with family. The highlight of the day was the giant snowman. I had not built a snowman like that since I was 10 years old with my older brother. I about slipped a disk trying to get the middle on top of the "butt" of the snowman, but it was worth it. This baby aint melting till May!!!

Where is winter?!?!?

I can't believe it has been almost a year since the last ime I posted! I hate saying I am just to busy....but unfortunately that is life. I (joy) am now teaching two grades, 5th and 6th, and trying to be a mom and wife. Now we have added a new member to the family...TANK. He is so much fun but so much work. Anyone who has had to raise a puppy will know what I am talking about. I get so frustrated with him! BUT, he is cute as you can see from the picture. I am sitting here in my classroom doing some lesson planning and I keeping looking out the window just wishing for some snow! The weather is so crazy! I should probably get to work.