"The leaves on the trees are falling, to the sound of the breezes that blow..."

Matthew is in New Jersey today, for our dear friend’s Diaconal Ordination (Yay, Deacon Theophan!). While I have some time to myself, I am watching the leaves fall in our big backyard with a cup of coffee in hand, and Buster at my side. By the way, Buster LOVES it here! I am reminded everyday how blessed we are and am thankful for the prayers we receive from so many.

This is what I am currently looking at :)

Living in Waymart is something else. It is always peaceful and quiet. I have noticed changes in myself after only a short time living here. My constant need to be busy is turning into time for reflection, because well, there isn’t much to do! Life is simple, which is a welcome change.

During my reflections one thing comes up constantly. I’ve realized that I have spent far too much time being unhappy. The past couple of years, I have had many happy moments, but underneath the surface, I have felt a lot of fear, anxiety, and at times, depression. I remember telling myself that those feelings would go away once I started student teaching, because I would finally be applying what I was learning. When I still wasn’t feeling better, I thought graduating would make me happy. Graduation came and went, and guess what? I was disappointed again. I finally realized the reason I was battling feelings of depression, was I never allowed myself to take chances. I had stuffed myself into a box and wouldn’t look outside of it. That is a horrible way to live. I knew that I had to make some big changes. I began asking God for help, which is what I should have been doing all along.

When the opportunity to pick up everything and move came around, I jumped on it. It was completely out of character, and crazy!! I had some second thoughts after committing to the move, and found myself wondering if I was being a little overzealous, but it has turned out to be the best thing I have ever done. For the first time in my life, I feel peace and joy all of the time. Living so close the Seminary and monastery has a lot to do with that. The people there are closer to God than I will ever be, and I am humbled that I have the opportunity to learn from them.

Lesson learned? When God has laid it out for you, never be afraid to do something crazy awesome. For you that may not look like dropping everything, quitting your job and moving 600 miles away from home, but I bet it is equally as good J.

Please continue to pray for our journey, and let us know how we can pray for you!

-Ashley

"Leave the gun, take the cannoli."

One of my favorite films of all time is the Godfather. It's a classic film, and takes place in Long Island, New York.

Two weekends ago Ashley and I were able to have our own Long Island adventure!

No, we didn't get caught up in a mafia movie, or get surrounded my mob guys in a toll booth.

The St. Tikhon's Seminary Mission Choir, of which I am a member, was invited to sing at the Chancery of the Orthodox Church in America in Syosset. To commemorate the 75th Anniversary of St. Tikhon's and St. Vladimir's Seminaries, choirs and representatives from both schools came to the Chancery and celebrated a wonderful outdoor Liturgy with many distinguished clergy, including Metropolitan Tikhon, Bishop Michael, Bishop Mark, and Igumen Sergius, Abbott of St. Tikhon's Monastery.

The outdoor setting gave folks a chance to see more of what goes on behind the Altar than what they normally would. In place of an iconostasis, a few large icons were placed on stands, giving a full view of the Altar area, and all the activities of the clergy.

The Liturgy was beautiful, and we could not have asked for a more lovely day to celebrate outdoors. It was a humbling experience to sing "We have seen the True Light..." while watching the sun come through the trees, and the Autumn leaves fall on us while we sang.

St. Tikhon's Seminary Mission Choir
(Photo by Chris Patton, STOTS Media Office)

My first Mission Choir trip was a great success, and I feel grateful and privileged to have been a part of it. I'm looking forward to meeting Priests and their congregations all over the Northeast in the years to come through our Mission Choir outings.

Finally, to St. Tikhon's and St. Vladimir's Seminaries, I wish a happy 75th Anniversary, as well as a happy 50th Anniversary to St. Herman's Seminary in Kodiak, Alaska. May God grant you many, many years!

-Matthew

Lessons learned are like bridges burned, you only need to cross them but once.

                                                          (Under the St. Tikhon's Arch)

Here we are folks, just the two of us, and our Boston Terrier, 700 miles from home in the mountains of North-Eastern Pennsylvania!

We've been here at St. Tikhon's Seminary for just over a month now, and it's amazing how "at home" we feel already! We are constantly learning how to be better followers of Christ, and how to "roll" with whatever God throws our way. In this short amount of time, we've learned some lessons that are turning out to be some of the most valuable we have learned since we have been married.

We anticipated waiting another two years to go to Seminary, but God had other plans (as He often does). After a series of misfortunes, and struggles, God opened up a door for us to come now. This blessing came in the form of a phone conversation with His Grace, Bishop Michael, Rector of St. Tikhon's Seminary. His Grace showed us the true meaning of Godly generosity, and prayerful obedience to God. We were unsure about leaving our jobs, family, and home Parish, but we were encouraged to trust in God; our first lesson.

Even though we were worried, nervous, anxious, excited, etc... we had the support of our family and parish, and decided to make the leap of faith. After an 11 hour drive, we arrived at 2:00 in the morning to a beautiful apartment, and quietly tried to fill our air mattresses so we wouldn't wake the neighbors above us! By the end of the night Matthew's poor parents, who were kind enough to help us move, ended up sleeping on the floor because their air mattress snagged a microscopic hole!

After all that, we awoke to some of the most beautiful surroundings either of us had ever seen! If you've never seen the sunrise over misty Pennsylvania Mountains, then you're missing out! We immediately felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude to God, and realized that when He calls, He always provides; our second lesson.

That evening, we were invited to dinner with our wonderful neighbors, who we have enjoyed getting to know this past month. We also were able to host host the Annual Labor Day cookout with them the day before classes started. Before the semester even began, we found ourselves surrounded by welcoming new friends, and an AMAZING Christian family! Our greatest lesson so far, is one that is so obvious, and yet so easily missed. God is always with us. Through blessings, compassion, struggles, love, friendships, family, Holy Communion, and other countless ways, He is here.


On this first post, we'd like to include the context for the title of this blog. It's found in the prayers of preparation for the Divine Liturgy, and is addressed to the Most Blessed Mother of God.

"O blessed Theotokos, open the doors of compassion to us whose hope is in thee, that we may not perish but be delivered from adversity through thee who art the salvation of the Christian people." 

Holy Mary, pray to your Son and our God, Jesus Christ, so that He may save us!


On one final note, out of curiosity: What has God been teaching you lately?

With love,
Matthew & Ashley Joyner