Greetings from the Steere’s! We are so thankful for this time of year, when we are reminded again of God’s goodness to us through His Son, Jesus Christ. What an amazing truth: Jesus was born to Mary so that He could live the life we can’t live and die the death our sins deserve. Through Jesus, God has opened a way for us to return to Him. THIS is the greatest gift of all – embodied in that tiny baby in the manger.
This has been an amazing year for each of us – a year of changes and challenges, a year of God’s grace at work in our circumstances. With the “kids” all busy with their own lives, it is a growing challenge to get us all together. And then there is the amazing blessing of our NEW “kids:” Kinsey and (soon) Victoria. Despite their busy schedules, each family member has contributed a paragraph about their year. So, here it is in our own words: the 35th of the Steere’s Years: 2009
DAN SR.—CHATTANOOGA,TN
2009 was my 5th year equipping leaders overseas. I’m still stunned when I consider the privilege and responsibility I have been given. I traveled three times to Africa this year, teaching in Ghana, Nigeria and Uganda. In those trips, I finished the training for nearly 50 African leadership trainers, who are now teaching their own conferences. I was also privileged to assist in the opening of a new seminary in Nigeria. By God’s grace, the work done this year has the potential to impact thousands of people with God’s truth. On the home front, I was honored to be called in January as the Associate Pastor of our home church – Covenant Presbyterian Church in Chattanooga. Susan and I continue to work with the College and Young Adult group at church, and we both still sing in the choir and greatly enjoy contributing to worship in that way. When I’m in the U.S., I stay busy with teaching, preaching, writing and working on my certification as a leadership coach. God is good.
SUSAN—CHATTANOOGA, TN
In the early part of 2009, I finished my 10th year teaching at Chattanooga Christian High School. I also took a Life Guard class in the spring and was recertified as a Life Guard; it was much different than the first course I took in H.S. about 43 years ago! Dan and I spent a week in Florida at the PCA General Assembly and spent time with several dear friends. When school started again in the fall, I became much more serious about dieting and exercising. With God’s help I met my weight goal just in time to celebrate our 35th wedding anniversary on Dec. 7. The Lord has been good to us this year.
DANIEL—ATLANTA, GA
2009 was a very full year. In May I graduated from Emory with my MBA in Strategy & Analytics. For the past 3 years I've been pursuing this degree in the evenings while working full time during the day, so I'm very excited to have finally graduated. In November I took a new role within my company as the Director of Product Management for Consumer Insights. This is a perfect role to leverage my MBA education, and I'm very excited about the challenges and opportunities. But my most exciting news is ... I'M ENGAGED!!!I met Victoria Horne through my church last fall. We started dating shortly after we met and fell in love this spring. After completing a pre-marriage class at our church I proposed to Victoria on December 3rd.Our relationship has been a wonderful process of discovering a new best friend, enduring sanctifying challenges, laughing at the awkwardness and irony of life, and marveling as we watched God work in our hearts and answer our spoken and unspoken. Victoria and I can't wait to begin our new life together on Friday May 14th, 2010.
KRISTA—LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN, GA
2009 turned out to be a year with many milestones for me. I began the year taking evening classes to get my real estate license. I completed that in mid-March passing all the state exams the first time! In May I took a trip with 2 friends to Ireland and Greece staying in each location for about a week. We rented a car in Ireland and I had my first experience with driving on the "wrong" side of the road. We stayed in B&B's all around the southern tip of Ireland. It was raining most of our trip but absolutely worth it. While in Greece I spent time on the island of Santorini and in Athens. It was so beautiful on the island and so mind boggling to be standing in places with such history while in Athens! I loved every minute of the trip and am anxiously awaiting my next trip out of the US!I started working out with a personal trainer in April just to have the accountability for getting in better shape. By August I had been convinced by one of my workout partners that I should train with her for a 1/2 marathon (13.2 miles).So most of my fall was spent running and preparing for that race. I ran the 1/2 marathon in November and met all my goals for the race! I am still working as a property manager for a shopping center in downtown Chattanooga, still attending North Shore Fellowship, and still live on Lookout Mountain - for now. I have decided to sell my house and move closer to town since that is where my life is now. The Lord has taught me a lot this year and I look forward to how He will stretch and grow me in 2010.
ANNA—DALTON, GA
In January I started my second semester of teaching at Christian Heritage School in Dalton, GA. The end of the year went well, but I was very ready for a break when May finally rolled around! During the summer I was a nanny for a family that goes to Covenant Presbyterian Church, where I attend with Mom and Dad. In addition to nannying, I led volleyball practices for my team and spent a lot of time with my friends and family. In the fall I began my second year of teaching and coaching, and this year I am teaching 6th, 8th, and 9th grade English. The volleyball season went well – we had a 15-3 record in regular season games, and we made it to the state tournament. The school year has been going fairly well, and although I’ve had various struggles with school issues, God is faithful. I am looking forward to what this next year may hold!
JASON/SCOTT & KINSEY—BREVARD, NC
I guess our year really started when Kinsey and I got married in December ‘08 and moved into an apartment in Chattanooga. I continued to finish my AAS in Graphic Design at Chattanooga State while working at Alstom. Kinsey got a job as the administrative assistant for a graduate program at UTC. We had a chance to go on a cruise for our honeymoon, and in March added another member to our little family: Penny. She’s a pug. She gets along well with my mutt, Stonewall. We had a busy fall, with the opportunity to go to Disney World. We then packed all of our things and left Chattanooga for North Carolina to work at Ridge Haven Conference and Retreat Center. That’s where we’re at right now, as the Marketing Manager and Administrative Assistant. However, we’re looking to return to school next fall. We plan to finish at Ridge Haven in early 2010, and, God willing, move to a university town on the east coast.
Well, that’s it for now. As you can see, the Lord continues His work in each of us. We are so thankful to Him for His faithfulness to us through the changing circumstances of life. We hope you have experienced God’s faithfulness as well.
Grace and peace,
Dan and Susan
