Mark and Jess hanging in the public shelter at Camp Muir: 10,000 ft. We basically spread our sleeping bags out on some wooden platforms. It wasn't heated or anything, but was definitely nice to be out of the wind! Notice the sweet puffy jackets we're all wearing in these pics. We rented them for the few days we were on Rainier, and they were awesome! It was like wearing a sleeping bag!

Jess, Mark, Paul. Right behind Paul's head is where we went up and over: Cathedral Gap.

Jess and Paul sitting on the top of what's called the Disappointment Cleaver [DC]. This is around 12,350 ft. We sat here for a long time trying to decide whether or not we'd continue on. You obviously can't tell from the pic, but it was stinkin windy! We probably faced 50 mile an hour winds, which is why we decided to turn around. The wind was steady and bearable, but the gusts would drop you to your knees so that you wouldn't be blown over. They sometimes felt like they might even pick you up off your feet a little, which isn't cool when you're on an exposed ridge. When it picked up Paul's weighted backpack and sent it flying toward a cliff, we decided it was probably time to turn around. We found out later that no one summited that day due to high winds.

Paul headed down the DC.



Incredible Crevasses. Glad we didn't have to walk over/around those...we just got to walk by them and look at them. :)


Jess and Mark on Ingrahm Flats, just over Cathedral Gap from Camp Muir. Behind us is the Ingrahm Icefall. The rocks you see off to the right are part of the DC. Looks nice out, right? But it was still really windy. We lost a water bottle and two sleeping pads due to wind on the mountain that day.

On our way down from Rainier, we stopped to practice our crevasse rescue skills we acquired during our class we took a few days earlier. That's my head peaking above the snowline in the back. I "fell" over a snow "cliff" and needed to be rescued :). Mark is setting the anchor.

Paul during our rescue scenerio.

We had an extra day so we googled sea kyaking and found out that the San Juan islands off the coast of Washington are a prime place to do so. We had a great day, but unfortunately didn't see any of the Orca whales that hang out around there. We did see some harbor seals though! If you look closely behind us, in the distance is Canada's Vancouver Island!

Paul and one of the guides who [random] just happened to go to high school together.

We got the chance to drive down to Bend, OR to connect with our friends Aaron and Annie. It was so fun to get to see them again! We miss you guys here in the QCA!

Our tent camped at the Lunch Counter, a flat spot on Mt. Adams around 9,400 ft. We got to this spot last year, but woke up in a cloud and snow/rain. The view behind the tent is where we climbed the following morning to a false summit. The real summit is hidden behind it and up about another thousand ft.

Jess in the tent keeping warm.

A great sunset from our campsite.

Jess and Mark standing at the false summit with the real summit behind us. It's the little knob in the middle.

Mark on the summit of Mt. Adams: 12,265 ft.

Mark on his way up Mt. St. Helens...notice it's a gradual climb. We weren't sure exactly what the conditions would be so we hauled up our ice axes and crampons only to have day hikers wiz by us in shorts and t-shirts and tennis shoes :).

Jess at the summit. I know it looks like snow goes up higher than I'm standing, but the edge of the crater has huge cornices of snow [snow that curves over the edges of the actual lip]. Obviously you don't want to walk out on that b/c it's not stable and will probably one day fall into the crater. If you look a couple pics down, you can kind of see some of the cornices on the crater rim.

A view of the glacier that rings the lava dome down inside the crater. Wierd to think a glacier could form inside a volcano huh?


Looking down into the crater.

A view of the outer crater.

Second Year, Second Mountain

As of Sunday, May 27th, Mark and I have been married for two whole years. In one sense it has flown by; in an other sense, it feels like we've been married for much longer. In both cases it has been amazing time of growth, discovery, and adventure. I am so thankful for the incredible man God has given me as a partner and companion on this journey called life.

Last year for our anniversary, we took a trip out to Oregon with the goal being the summit of Mt. Hood [11,245 ft]. We met our goal and then had a blast snowshoeing around on Mt. Adams and white-water rafting on a whim.

This year, we've set a new goal: the summit of Washington's Mt. Rainier [14,410 ft]. Mt. Rainier is unique in that it is one of the lower 48's most coveted summit and serves as one of the premier training grounds for mountaineers who set their sights on bigger peaks, such as Denali in Alaska and even some of the Himalayan peaks, such as Everest. It is the sight of the largest collection of glaciers south of Alaska, and while 8-13,000 people attempt to climb it every year, only about half are successful.

So, come June 8, we hop a plane to Seattle, with high hopes of being in the 50% that summit. We will be meeting our friend Paul, who will join us in our pursuit. The quest for the summit usually takes 2-3 days, although inclimate weather could push us longer. We've spent weeks in the prep process. Whereas the route up Mt. Hood ended in an elevation gain of 5,000 ft., the climb up Rainier is significantly more demanding at approximately 9,000 ft. and translates into two days of 8-12 hours of climbing. I don't know about you, but it hurts my legs even thinking about it!

As strange as it sounds though, I am super excited about spending a vacation camped on a glacier and walking uphill for hours. Couple that with great company, and it has the makings of an unforgetable adventure.

I'll be sure to post pictures when we return!

Reflections on Sharing a Job with My Spouse

When Mark and I first came to Heritage in July of 2005, we came sharing the position of Young Adult Pastor. We did this for a couple different reasons: first, we both wanted to do ministry and the church only had one full-time position open. They were willing to go along with this arrangement, and so, we were optimistic that we could make it work. Second, we realized that since both of us were called to ministry, we knew that the odds of us finding a church that was offering two full time pastoral jobs that fit us both were really slim. We realize that this will be an issue for us for a lot of our life, so we decided to take an opportunity that was presented since not all churches would necessarily be open to something like this. Third, we were hoping that if we did a decent job together that maybe someday down the line another position might open up that one of us could apply for and eventually we would both have full-time positions. We knew it wasn’t a guarantee by any means, but we knew it was a possibility. And finally, we felt like Heritage was a great church that we could learn and grow a lot at, and we wanted to give it a try. So, we came sharing a position.

I have to say that when we came, we knew it might be a challenge. For starters, we were newly married, moving to a “new” place [even though Mark grew up here and I was familiar with the QC], had to make all new friends, and we shared a job, a car, and an office. And did I mention it was our first year of ministry as well? There were a lot of variables in there that made for disaster, and to be honest, it was challenging. But we dove in and made the best of it. Luckily for us, due to both of our youth pastors leaving at relatively the same time, we ended up with two full time positions after about a year. Mark stepped over as the interim High School Pastor, and I took on the Young Adult Ministry on my own.

Shortly before we split into two positions, I had a friend email me and mention that she was thinking of sharing a position with her new husband as well, asking for some advice. So here are some things I told her as I reflected on sharing a position with my husband [taken mostly straight from the email I sent her]:

Probably the biggest thing I would suggest is make sure that your position/responsibilities are divided out. Make sure there are things each of you are responsible for that don't require you to always ask the other person for permission to do. Have stuff that each of you can run with and invest in. That has been the most hindering thing for Mark and I trying to do one position together. If your gifts are really different and compliment each other, this could be easy, but we both wanted to do most things [or there were things neither of us wanted to do]. It was harder for us b/c we didn't have a clear plan of what was expected of us. You may both find that there are places that you will sacrifice...where you will give up an area that you would love to do, but that is expected. I'd also say, though, that you should experiment with different things...even if it scares you to teach, try it at least once...step out of your comfort zone and who knows...you may find that there is an area that you are gifted in that you never knew about before.

Make sure you are encouraging and supporting each other as much as possible. People may naturally look to the husband as the leader simply b/c he is the male. He may have to be really intentional about letting people know that he alone is not the pastor, but that you are in a sense, each 1/2 a pastor. He will have to be intentional about pointing people toward you for the areas that you invest in. Mark has been super intentional with his actions and words in helping people see that I am also a pastor. Also...communicate, communicate, communicate! If you thought you had to communicate a ton as newlyweds, it ends up being multiplied by the fact that you are working together as well.

Try and find ways to not always talk about ministry. It can get easy to "take work home with you" and one day you will realize all you talk about is ministry. Be intentional with date nights and having evenings where all you do is hang out and be together...I've had to say to Mark, "Let’s not talk about the church at all tonight." Make sure you're having fun together.

See if you can work some hours that are not overlapping [assuming you will share an office]. When Mark and I first started on here, we worked all our hours together. We began to realize that we needed some time apart, so we changed our schedule, so now we each have a day in the office where the other doesn't work [at least in the office...we may go to a coffee shop or work at home], and we still have a couple days where we overlap, but it made a HUGE difference for us to not have all our hours the same, sitting side-by-side all day. If you don’t share an office, this might not be as big of an issue.

Just realize that you will do things/approach things differently. For a long time I always felt like I was doing things/approaching things wrong b/c mark would want to do it differently. It's not wrong...we are just two different people with two different personalities, and we approach different situations differently sometimes. That's okay...probably even good. The first several years of ministry are ones of great discovery – of your gifts, passions, and abilities…take time to understand yourself and realize that people with different personalities do ministry differently sometimes, and that that’s okay.

Looking back, I am thankful for the season of life where we shared a ministry position. I learned a lot and it freed us up to have a lot of time together [we really tried to only work only one full-time positions worth of hours]. I learned a lot about myself and a lot from Mark, and although I’m not sure we’ll ever share a position again, if it ever were to happen, we’d be much more prepared to work in that situation effectively. I know that time was something God used to shape me as a person, a wife, and a leader, and I know it helped lay a foundation upon which we can build for future ministry.

What do you think? Any thoughts to add to my list?

March Madness

So, I just noticed that my last post was in February and now it's April. So, if anyone still reads this blog, sorry!

March has been one of the craziest months in a long time. I remember looking at the calendar thinking it was going to be one heck of a busy month, and it certainly shaped up to be just that!

What have we been up to, you ask? Well, since you asked, I'd be happy to fill you in a bit :).

Starting at the beginning of the month, on March 9-10, the Heritage Discipleship Dept, of which I am a part, sponsered what we called a "Spiritual Growth Experience." Essencially it was a Friday night and Saturday morning time that we called "The Road Less Traveled." Kevin Myers, the Senior Pastor at Crossroads Community Church near Atlanta, GA was our main speaker. Kevin was supposed to share the speaking with Dr. Bud Bence, one of our profs from IWU, but unfortunatley, on his way here, Bud stopped at a fast food restaurant to get some food, stepped on a railroad tie, and it rolled underneath him. We got a call that said he had dislocated his elbow and that he was rushed to the emergency room. Luckily he is doing okay and Kevin was able to take over the extra speaking times and did a FANTASTIC job. It was a VERY powerful weekend, and I think a challenging weekend for those in our congregation who were able to make the commitment to come.

After that, Mark and I headed out to Denver for a wonderful week of snowboarding and hanging with Em and Josh in their sweet new downtown apt that sits on top of the Tattered Cover Book Store on the infamous 16th St. Mall. We had a blast hanging out, walking around, and spending time on the slopes of Winter Park and Copper Mountain.

We returned from Colorado on a Friday, had two young adult events that weekend, and a couple days later I hopped on a plane and headed for Stroudsburg, PA for a FLAME Church Leadership class...my final class needed for pastoral licensing. And when I say "hopped on a plane," what I really mean is "sat in O'Hare for 11 hours before barely boarding a plane." Yeah...I figure it's my penance for never really having been delayed before. Luckily my teacher was gracious and still gave me credit even though I missed the first four hours of a 2.5 day class.

Well, Looking forward to a less crazy April and a warmer spring [it's APRIL and the high is in the 30's! Brrr!]

a big pain in the...

Last night Mark and I headed out to Snowstar to go snowboarding for a few hours. It's a great place to go for a few hours because it's only 20 minutes from our place. It's pretty much the smallest snowhill you've ever seen, so it's hard to spend more than a few hours out there at a time without getting bored...UNLESS you enjoy jumps and rails. Well, my goal this year is to learn to go over small jumps and feel comfortable doing it. Usually, the thought of going over jumps at all makes me a little nervous. Most jumps, from the ski lift looking down, look really small and doable. Then I ride by them and they look huge, even when they're not. So I spent a good portion of last night giving myself some positive self talk: "Come on Jess, you can do this. It's not that scary. Just go slow and you'll be fine." And then I'd chicken out and ride on by.

So finally, toward the end of the night, I just sucked it up and went super slow over a mini jump, and wallah! All went well. So I did it again. And again. And it was fun! Now, I wasn't really getting air, I was just getting used to the feeling of riding on a flat board [verses carving on an edge] and going up and over a jump, but it was totally a great first step and I was feeling really confident.

Well, toward the very end, Mark points at one of the bigger jumps and says, "Hey, you should try and go over that big one over there. If you go slow, you can just ride over it like you do the little ones. Besides, if you go slow, the ramp will kill your speed anyway...you might not even make it over. It will just be good for you to get the feeling of going up a bigger ramp."

You can guess what happens next. I think for a few seconds, take a deep breath, and say, "Okay!" So I go, what I think is slow, carving toward the ramp. It isn't until I get to the base of the ramp that I realize that I am going faster than I think. Then suddenly, I am airborn, and that's when I freak out. My first instinct in snowboarding is always to sit down when I think I'm going to fall. That way I have control and it's safe to me. If I sit down, I know I'm not going to bang my head or break an arm or whatever. But, if you try and do that while in the air, it's not a good thing. My trying to sit down turned into just flinging myself backward, and I landed really hard on the flat of the landing on my back and got the wind knocked out of me. Yep. It hurt. Bad. Mark was watching from the top and was at my side in an instant, making sure I was okay. After he knew I was okay, he joked, "Man! You really went for that! I thought you were going to go slow!" Within a few minutes I was able to ride again and went down a few more times before they closed for the night. Even though I didn't go over any more jumps last night, I am pumped for the next time. I can totally see how flying high over those big jumps would be a ton of fun if you could land on your feet :). For now, though, I think I'll stick to the little ones.

Christmas and Surfing

We got to spend our Christmas in Wisconsin with my family and the beginning of the New Year in Orlando at The Gathering. Here are a few pics to catch you up on our lives as of recent.

King Crab Legs. Yep. My dad actually caught these King Crabs when he was in Alaska this past summer. They're huge, and hugely yummy :). By the way, not only is my dad a great fisherman, but he's also a great cook!

Meet my family.

My sister Bethany is one of the best cosmetologists I know. Put a pair of sissors in her hand and point her toward my head and I wouldn't even question her judgment or her talent. The unfortunate thing is that she lives in TX, and thus is way out of my price range for regular hair cuts :).

This is what she did to my hair. Thanks Bethany!

We got to spend several days down in Orlando for The Gathering, a Wesleyan pastors conference. We had one afternoon off, and so Mark and I, along with Paul Kind and Brandon and Jen Bruce headed for the beach. Brandon has been surfing for awhile now, so we asked him to teach us. We were able to rent our boards and wet suits from Ron Jon's for $15. It was such a great day! Thanks Brandon for "sacrificing" a day to teach us!

Here we are headed to waves.

We used boards that were a little big for us b/c Brandon said it would be easier to catch the waves and learn. We all ended up standing on our boards riding a wave several times during out 2.5 hour stint at Cocoa Beach. It was a blast, and I can't wait to do it again!

We stayed an extra day past the conference in the Orlando area to visit Mark's grandma, who is 96 years old. She doesn't always remember who you are, but she is super sweet and fun to talk with!

Snowboarding, Thanksgiving, Bunnies, and the Stokes

Mark and I decided last minute to head out to Colorado for the week of Thanksgiving. We got to stay with Emily and Josh Stokes in Denver, while taking a few days to head into the mountains to snowboard. While we were there, we also got to hang out with Rudy, Paul Kind, Brook Smith, and a whole crew of people from the Quad Cities, including Jamie Walden, and the whole DeCoster crew [that so graciously included us in their fabulous Thanksgiving meal]. It was a blast, even though there was very little snow on the mountains yet. We were so thankful [no pun intended] for the good friends and the fun, refreshing times we had with each of them! I was really bad at taking pictures, so we don't have many. Mark says next time he gets to be in charge of the pictures so we actually come back with some :). Here are a few that we did take:

Here we are at lunch...taking a break from the slopes at Steamboat Springs, CO.

Em got to come and ski with us for a day. It was SO MUCH FUN, and I'm so glad she sacrificially made the 3 hours drive by herself up to Steamboat to do it.

Okay, so I stole this pic off of Paul's blog, but it was a really good one. This is the four of us jammed together in a gondola at Steamboat. We just saw them in South Dakota a few weeks ago, and even though they live 12 hours away, we got to see them again so soon! I love it when life work out like that!

Yep...not much snow on the mountain. I kept making jokes about having to hike down. You sat in a gondola and looked out over a vast brown, grassy mountain. Luckily there was SOME snow on a FEW runs, and they continued to open up as days passed. It was still a mountain, so I can't complain.

Another view of the grassy runs from the gondola.

Em and Josh had baby bunnies at their house. They were SO CUTE and fuzzy, and would just fall asleep in your hands if you cuddled them right. This pic kind of looks like Mark is squeezing the bunny, but he's not :).

Thanks Em and Josh again for having us!

Rapid City, South Dakota

Mark and I had the great privilege of spending the last week in SD with Paul Kind and his girlfriend, Brooke Smith. I couldn't get the pic of all of us to load, so sorry Brooke! We had a blast...it was such a relaxing vacation. We got to hang out and see some sites and we came home refreshed with some great memories and shared experiences. Check out some pics below!

Mark, Paul and I on top of Harney Peak...the high point of South Dakota.

Mark and I at Harney Peak. It's a quick walk up that you can do in about a couple hours.

Yep...Rapid City is just minutes away from Mt. Rushmore. It looks a lot like it does in every picture, but it was really cool to see the little video on how it was made. Can you imagine trying to scuplt a mountain?!

Another mountain sculpture called "Crazy Horse." It's named after a Lakota Indian and will eventually look like the white sculpture. It probably won't be done for like another 300 years because it's all privately funded. If you look closely you can see that the face is done. Another fact to note is that it's the largest sculpture in the world. Mt. Rushmore would fit inside Crazy Horse's face.

We found these in Mark's old bedroom before we left. We thought they'd make a great addition to our trip. He looks good, eh?

Our little camp site...we walked from 8pm-midnight before we gave up making it to Mistymoon Lake. There was just too much snow to go as fast as we wanted! If you can't tell, we dug out about 6-8 inches of snow in order to camp here.

Lots of snow!

Here we are...still on our way to Mistymoon!

We had to bundle up at our breaks so we didn't cool off too much. Luckily this rock gave us some shelter from the wind. PS: check out my gators [the things around my ankles that kept snow out of my boots]. I didn't have them when we climbed Mt. Hood, and my feet were soaked! I LOVED them. My feet stayed dry and warm the whole way!

Hiking back out. Doesn't look like much snow, but it's deceptive. There were many places it was up to our knees!

Beautiful sunset.

Ever seen those bumper stickers that say, "Where the heck is Wall Drug?" There are about 150 or more billboards that mention it on the way toward Wall, SD...so we took a 5 block detour to see what it is...not much. It's a touristy drug store that this little tiny town uses to draw people in. We just drove by, but I did get coffee for 15 cents at a gas station down the road. Bonus!

We took a little detour on this road that parallels the interstate to drive through the Badlands on the way home. It was really cool! They are these really sweet rock formations that sometimes have reds and yellows in them too.

More of the Badlands. The little museum says that there used to be an ocean through here millions of years ago and that's how these were all formed.