jordan muck

Without further adieu, the year end wrap up from a special quest blogger, my wife…

We hope this season finds you doing well and also enjoying the many festivities this time of year provides in celebration of our Savior’s birth and the coming New Year.  We are certainly doing our best to enjoy everything we can!  We haven’t had a good snow yet, which is greatly disappointing, but we’re (or I am) waiting.

This past year has brought its ups and downs, but we are thankful for both and the lessons we have learned from each.  We are still renting a farmhouse in Pocahontas, which we love – as does Towzer (our dog)!  I spent my summer gardening around our country home and spending 4 hours on a mower every week.  (Ok- so Jordan helped me mow…a lot.)

Towzer turned 2 this December and is becoming the typical olde English bulldogge- sleeping and eating all day.  He still has puppy energy, but it comes in smaller spurts now.  (PTL!)  He’s very much a part of our family, whether it’s providing comfort during the hard times, riding bikes with, playing catch with, or just jumping up on our bed to snuggle with us in the middle of the night – he’s one in a million.  Yes, we do still have the indoor cats, Harmony and Mexico, as well as 2 outdoor cats, so at times we feel like we’re living in a zoo, but we wouldn’t trade it for anything.  We like to call Harmony the “fat cat” and Mexico the “big sister.”

Jordan is still the youth pastor at Highland Community Church and has really enjoyed getting involved in the community this year.  This past spring he helped coach the freshmen baseball team, and at the moment he’s an assistant coach for the high school wrestling team.  He’s had wonderful ministry opportunities with the students from being out in their community.  He also often speaks at the high school’s monthly Power Hour, and was again King Christopher in the high school’s Madrigal Dinner this month (and I was, again, his Queen: Queen Grace).

He still runs our weekly youth program, GeNESIS, where we’re seeing consistent and steady spiritual growth in the lives of our students.  This program includes a weekly Bible study with the teenagers called Deeper.  We’ve also scheduled many activities with the GeNESIS program including a spring retreat, Six Flags trip, Easter Egg Hunt, lock-ins, serving a Christmas breakfast, work trip, music festivals, and at the end of this month a trip with 12 high school students to Pigeon Forge, TN for conference.  As you can see, our lives have been anything but dull.  Jordan has given 110% to this ministry this year, and we’re so excited to see what next year will hold!

This past month Jordan had an exciting opportunity to travel to Grace College and speak to a youth ministry class on “Now that I’m out of school and in youth ministry…” It was a very encouraging time for him.

Jordan is also in the process of working on his master’s degree through Trinity online.  He has all of his classes done and as of this week, is starting work on his thesis.  The goal is to be done in April!  Keep him in your prayers.  He’s very excited to begin the research and work for this paper.

I am still driving to Webster University four days a week to work on my master’s degree in piano pedagogy.  I should be done next December (fingers crossed).  This past summer, I was hired on as a piano teacher at St. Louis’ Community Music School (located on Webster’s campus).  So, I now teach a course through the university as well as 3 private students and a Music For Little Mozarts course through the CMS.  On top of this, I have a private studio in Highland that is growing by leaps and bounds!  I am up to 13 private piano and voice students and even have a waiting list.  God is continuing to provide opportunities!  I still work as the choral accompanist at the high school one day a week and continue to lead our contemporary service worship team at the church.  So, besides helping Jordan in the ministry, my schedule is quite packed.  Hopefully it will calm down soon.

As I said before, this year has brought its ups and downs, and one of those moments came in August when I was diagnosed with melanoma.  I underwent surgery to have it removed, and praise the Lord they got it all and it hadn’t spread to the lymph nodes.  It was a very scary time where Jordan and I both learned what it meant to find strength in our Savior’s arms.  I have another doctor’s appointment soon to get everything checked, but we’re taking it one day at a time and trusting in His plan.  We appreciated your prayers and support through that trying time.

We thank all of you for your prayers, encouragement, and support of our ministry here in Highland.  We couldn’t do it without each and everyone of you.  Every phone call, e-mail, letter, and card is cherished (and usually hung on our refrigerator).  We know that, even though some of you are family, God has placed you in our lives for a reason and for that we are grateful.

In Christ’s love,
Bethany Muck

I love my wife!

-jordan