march 2026
family and ministry update
Hey friends, how was your February? For us it was a whirlwind with two kids in driver’s ed, a prophetic conference at our church, and a few other extra events and responsibilities.
Numbers are boring for some of us, but to give you an idea of how those 28 days were, we drove to Palmer 15 times. At one point, we made the drive 6 times in 5 days. We’ll come back to that in a minute.
February highlights
We led Bible study a couple weeks for our pastor while he was out of town, and left to our own devices, we did deep dives on the Nephilim, the Book of Enoch, and used TobyMac for the worship…kidding, kidding. GEEZ. We studied Mark 2 and Ephesians 1 and 6 , and we were perfectly responsible.
We were at Houston Middle School with Carry the Cure, interceding during this assembly.
Shannon finished her first course in AWKNG and is plowing through modules — watching videos while washing eggs, listening to audio while dropping off a kid at their driving lesson, reading the articles and chapters every chance she gets. Our new motto: When Mama’s in Bible school, everyone’s in Bible school.
If you’ve been reading our posts lately, this is a good illustration of how they’ve been going over as we’ve been making a lot of burgers out of sacred cows — praise the Lord and pass the barbecue sauce:
Crown and fillings — check. See next…
Vince here: I had a lovely meeting with the director of HeartReach Center (Wasilla’s crisis pregnancy center) about counseling men, and discovered that I once spent eight hours at the range shooting guns with the guy who heads that department. To quote Rick from Casablanca, “I think this may be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”
In personal news, February was the last month for a while that we had multiple teens. One of our kids just had a birthday and we’re thrilled to announce that after two years of having FIVE TEENS AT ONCE (sorry for yelling), and then another year or two of having only four simultaneously, we are now down to only one teenager because all our older kids have now reached their 20s. Hallelujah, hankie wave, let the redeemed of the Lord say so.
We sold the ol’ Stagecoach, that faithful vehicle we got in 2011 when we were in the process of adopting Andrey and Reagan1 and used the funds toward Shannon’s dental work. This leaves us down to one vehicle (amid all the drives to Palmer, see below) until we can replace the one that was totaled by the birch tree falling on it.
which leads us to an announcement of sorts
We have talked to the kids, our extended family, and friends at church, and…as much as we love the Lighthouse…we are officially trying to move to Palmer.
It’s tricky because while approximately a kajillion listings are available in Wasilla, there are currently about 10 for Palmer. So we’re praying for the right situation/layout/location to become available, and we’d love it if you pray for that with us.
hard stuff
Shannon here: It is weird that I’ve mentioned Grandma so often over the years and suddenly I don’t know how to write about her. I have sentence fragments: Lots of research and painful conclusions, hours of hard discussions and tears.
My knowledge of her is limited by my own chronology; I was not around for nearly forty years of her life…The woman I have experienced only as a loving and gentle mother has, for the past several years, been revealing new and demanding facets.
I love her, and the change in her changes me, too.
—Madeleine L’Engle, The Summer of the Great Grandmother2
We’ve learned more about the stages of dementia, and realized that she is in the last one. Our family is trying to figure out the best things to do when long term doesn’t exist, short term is relative and ambiguous, and big changes are needed but we don’t want to cause more trauma or disorientation. There are no easy answers but Jesus is near. Thank you for praying for her, and for us.
in other news
Yes, we are counseling. Sometimes we even counsel people outside our family and friends. ;) A close friend of ours calls it “therapeutic discipleship,” and we love that perspective. If you need help navigating family/relationship situations or deep heart issues, contact us here or just reply to this email.
prayer requests in a nutshell
Vince needs time to work on the books he’s currently writing. Shannon isn’t working on a book right now…so she must need time, too.
The right new vehicle for our family, and that finding it would not be a time-sucking endeavor.
The potential move to Palmer, timing, how the kids (and all of us) handle the transition, all the things. So many things there.
Shannon’s family and her Grandma.
Thank you so much for your support. Praying you all have a beautiful March,
Vince and Shannon
Fun fact #1: We named it Stagecoach because we were going through a Western classics phase in our weekly date night.
Fun fact #2: We bought it from beloved friends (also adoptive parents) who were finally “done” and were downsizing. A couple weeks later they got pregnant, and needed to upgrade to a small bus, which we still think was hilarious.
I first read this book about twenty years ago, and have felt the Lord nudging me to pick it up again over the last couple months. So I moved it to my shelf where it sat unopened until last weekend. In just rereading the first four chapters, Madeleine (whom I will be great friends with someday in heaven) has put so many of my thoughts and feelings into words.
Exciting news!! Oh how I loved the Lighthouse, but also feel the need to "go" again too. I will be praying!!