The Fiscus Buzz 2012: A Year in Review

We've already sent our Christmas newsletter, The Fiscus Buzz, by email and snail mail but we may have inadvertently forgotten someone.  So, we'll post it here as well.  We hope you have had a merry Christmas and are looking forward to seeing what the Lord has planned for 2013.

The Fiscus Buzz

A summary of the Fiscus family’s most memorable events of 2012

January

• Mitch has surgery to remove a fragmented disc in his neck.  A metal plate is implanted.  He now sets off metal detectors!   

March

• Jane has teaching interviews with our city and county school districts. 

April

• Mitch celebrates his 43^rd birthday with a guitar cake made by church friends.
• Nicole plays “Ode to Joy” and “How Great Thou Art” in a piano recital.
• Jane’s parents visit.

May

• Jones Chapel holds a successful spring VBS with 5 decisions made for Christ.

June                                                                               

• Nicole has a tonsillectomy.

July                                                                                

• We travel to East TN to visit Mitch’s mentor Fenton McCahill and his wife Carol.
• Frank Hart, a friend we met while serving in NV, visits.
• Mitch marries a church couple.
• Jane is hired to teach 4^th grade at Paris Elementary, a city school.

September

• Jane celebrates her 49^th birthday.
• Jane’s parents visit.  They also celebrate their 50^th wedding anniversary this month.

October

• Mitch & Jane celebrate their 14^th wedding anniversary.
• Our church begins putting together a church directory.
• Cecil & Mona Hart, more friends we met while pastoring in NV, visit.   

December

• We are the parents of a teenager!  Nicole turns 13.  We celebrate at the movie theater with friends.       
• Mitch’s mother Jeannette visits from Wyoming.
• Mitch and Jane sing “O Holy Night” as a church special.  This is Mitch’s first singing special (but hopefully not his last).
• Mitch baptizes 5 this year at Jones Chapel.

We have seen God’s goodness over and over again throughout this year.  It began with His love for us in sending Jesus Christ—Immanuel, God With Us.  Jesus was born so that He could die on the cross for our sins.  It is our greatest desire that our family and friends know Jesus as Personal Savior.  Please contact us to learn more.  God bless you!

Wyoming Mom Visits!

We've had the joy of having Mitch's mom from Wyoming with us for a few days.  We enjoyed introducing her to our church family last Sunday and taking her to eat at a few of our favorite restaurants.  It was so good to have her in our home and we hated to see her go.  Jake the dog & Callie cat seemed to be sorrowful about her leaving, as well.



 

 



 

 

Nicole and Jane are enjoying the beginning of Christmas break (and hope the days slowly creep by before returning to school January 2nd and 3rd).  We are all looking forward to celebrating Christmas with our church family--our Christmas program is this Sunday and there is a candlelight Lord's Supper on Christmas Eve.

 

Be looking for our annual year-in-review (coming soon to this blog and to a mailbox or email address near you).

 

Thank you for your continued prayers for our family and for the ministry here. 

Thanks be to God!

We thought it fitting on Thanksgiving, as we give thanks to God for His most precious gift--the free gift of eternal life through faith in Christ alone, that we also post pictures of another precious gift--family.  These pictures of our family are ones taken as part of our new church directory.

We are enjoying days off from school this Thanksgiving break and are in eager anticipation of a longer break for Christmas next month.  Before that though, we are looking forward to celebrating Nicole's 13th birthday next weekend and the arrival of Mitch's mother from Wyoming in mid-December.

Thank you for your faithful prayers for us and for the ministry here.  God has been and continues to be so good to us!

A Visit from Cecil & Mona

We were overjoyed this week to have visitors from our old church in Nevada.  Cecil and Mona were in TN visiting friends and took the time to spend a night in Paris to visit us.  Cecil and Mona are the kind of couple every church loves and needs.  It was wonderful to see them. 
Our church here is in the process of putting together a new church directory.  Church families were photographed this week and (we think) our photos turned out great!   We’ll soon be posting them here.
Our door is always open.  For our out-of-town friends, please consider a visit to Paris to see us.  We’d love to see you!
Thank you for praying for us and for the ministry here.

A Teaching Job--at last!

The Lord always provides and always does so according to His perfect timing and will.  This week we have seen His provision in a teaching job for Jane.  She'll be teaching 4th grade at Paris Elementary.  The school, a 3rd-5th grade school, is only five minutes from our home which will even allow Jane to take Nicole to school every morning.  Join us in praising the Lord for His abundant provision.  Thank you for your prayers for Jane's employment and your prayers now for Jane's new position.

The Incredible End of an Awesome Week

Our trip to East TN early last week to visit Fenton & Carol was incredible!  But the week ended with a bang when we were blessed with a visit from our friend Frank from Arizona.  Frank was on a motorcycle trip visiting friends when he pulled into Paris on Thursday afternoon.  We saw him off this morning and were immensely blessed by his four days with us.  As with Fenton, Mitch also enjoyed many theological discussions with Frank.  Our church was also blessed by his gifted piano playing for Sunday's services.  Jane appreciated some excellent piano tips from Frank, Nicole had fun "camping" on a cot in our spare room so he could use her bed, and Jake the dog was spoiled with Frank's extra attention.  

God has truly blessed us with an awesome week of fellowship with friends.  We'd love to enjoy a visit from you, too!  Thank you for praying for us and for the ministry here.

Mitch's "Paul"

This week we traveled to East Tennessee to visit Mitch's former pastor and mentor, Fenton McCahill and his beautiful wife Carol.   Fenton and Mitch certainly have had a "Paul and Timothy" relationship.  Fenton discipled Mitch several years ago, at a crucial time in his life, and was instrumental in Mitch and Jane meeting.  It was a blessing for Mitch to reconnect with Fenton and Carol and for Jane & Nicole to meet this wonderful couple.  Fenton and Carol have a beautiful home and ministry in the East Tennessee hills.

Enjoy the photo slide show below of our visit.  Thank you for your continued prayers for us!

  

"I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all."  Philippians 1:3-4

4th of July on Kentucky Lake

We celebrated the 4th of July at the home of a church member's son & daughter-in-law on Kentucky Lake.  Nicole got to swim and enjoyed being pulled in a tube by a jet ski.  Mitch got to drive one the jet skis.  Jane took pictures and did a lot of praying for Mitch and Nicole at various times on the dock.  We  all enjoyed a ride on a pontoon boat before supper.  Then we joined more of the church member's family for a delicious low country shrimp boil.  At dusk we sat on the dock and enjoyed conversation and fireworks.  It was a wonderful celebration! 

Since we usually live so far from family, we typically celebrate holidays like this with church family.  This year we celebrated with our church family & friends in Tennessee.  Before that we enjoyed many celebrations with our church family in Nevada.  God has always blessed us with the fellowship of His people and we have precious memories of these times.

This weekend we celebrate a year of ministry at Jones Chapel Baptist Church.  We're being pounded again (see our post last year) and will enjoy a fellowship meal after church.

Thank you for continuing to pray for us and for the ministry here.

Sore Throats & Mashed Potatoes

Quick, what do sore throats and mashed potatoes have in common?  Answer:  Nicole.  Last Thursday, she had her tonsils and adenoids removed after several months of severe sore throats, countless antibiotics, and an episode of whooping cough.  As she recovers, she has been enjoying plenty of popsicles, ice cream, sherbet, jello, pudding, and her favorite. . .mashed potatoes.  She's doing fine and has appreciated the prayers of church friends and family.

Jane has not received a call for employment from area schools.  Hiring decisions for known positions were made at the end of May.  Unless there are further openings for which she'll be considered, it looks like there's more subbing in store in the fall.  We know God is in control of the decisions and timing and that His plan for our family is perfect.  So we will continue to ask Him to help us trust Him in this and wait to see what happens.  We appreciate your prayers as we wait.

Mitch has experienced a resurgence of pre-surgery pain in his left arm, elbow, and continual numbness and pain in his left hand after his neck surgery in January.  This is particularly frustrating for him.  He still really cannot do some things that he once could.  Again, we know God is in control and we have to trust His grace and mercy as His strength is perfected in this weakness.  But we do ask you to continue to pray for Mitch as he deals with this.

We'll soon celebrate a year of ministry here in July.  We've seen God blessing in many ways.  In May we had a great VBS with 5 children trusting Christ as their Savior.  We've seen families drawn into right relationships with Him and challenges overcome in His wisdom, grace, and mercy.  Last Sunday Mitch baptized three, for a total of 12 baptisms as Pastor here.  God gets all the glory, for it is He who is at work both to will and to work for His good pleasure (see Philippians 2:13).  Thank you for continuing to pray for the ministry here.

Mitch loves this country and that's no "yoke!"
(He's sporting a patriotic wreath that Jane recently made--for the door, not for the neck!)

No, Jake. . .you can't bring your ball in the house!

Nicole Plays Piano, Dad Eats a Guitar

Nicole had a piano recital today and played two songs, "Ode to Joy," and "How Great Thou Art."  According to her impartial parents, she was FANTASTIC and Mom and Dad were so very proud.  The video above is of the second song.  The recital concluded her year of piano lessons.  She's anxious to begin a new year in August.

In other news, we enjoyed celebrating Mitch's birthday in early April.  Patty and Doug, two of our church friends, came over and brought a beautifully decorated (and delicious!) birthday cake Patty made.  It was nearly too cool to eat!

We're still awaiting news from one of the two school systems in our area as to whether Jane will have a teaching job in the fall.  We know God's will is perfect so it will be exciting to learn what that will is.  In the meantime, patience is something God is teaching us.

We've just experienced our first "World's Biggest Fish Fry," an annual event that draws thousands to our area the last week of April.  Schools in our area were closed on "Fish Fry Friday" and we enjoyed a parade that morning.  On Saturday afternoon we got to spend a lot of money (!) at the carnival.  Let me emphasize "a lot!"  We chose not to eat the all-you-can-eat catfish dinner for $12 a piece.  Instead we pigged out on ribbon fries and chicken on a stick from one of the carnival vendors.  We're not sure if we really saved any money with that choice!  LOL!  We ate a chef's salad at home for dinner that evening to ease our guilt from lunch.

The weather is heating up again.  We had a bit of a cold snap with temps below normal earlier this month.  But we're back to scorching.  It has been in the upper 80s the past two days.  Just in time for our Vacation Bible School in a couple of weeks.  One of the reasons we're having a Spring VBS is to help offset the cooling costs of a summer VBS.  Not sure if the weather will cooperate with our plans this Spring!

Pastor Dad and Jake enjoy a day of rest on Sunday afternoon!

Thanks for your continued prayers for us and for the ministry here.    

What is the Fiscus Family up to????

Okay, it's the same old song. . . It's been forever since we've posted. I know. But we have good excuses:

10. We forgot the password to our blog. (Not really, but it sounds good.)

9. Blogging is a thing of the past. (This is becoming very true.)

8. Blogging is for nerds (which kinda relates to number 9).

7. We don't have time to turn around. (Heard that one before?)

6. We're watching too much television instead of taking time to post.

5. We just don't care whether people know about our life. (Not true either.)

4. We're too lazy to type.

3. We're not creative enough to think of something new to post.

2. We forgot we even have a blog.

And the number 1 excuse for why we haven't posted in a while is. . .

We're boring. There's really no news to report.

Seriously, we do have a little news to report. Jane has had two teaching interviews with area schools. One with the county school system (where she is currently teaching) and one with the city school system (the same system for which she taught in the fall). Both systems plan to make hiring decisions in the weeks ahead about known teaching vacancies for the 2012-2013 school year. Both systems also anticipate other teaching vacancies to come open as the summer progresses. We are praying for God's will to be done and are anxious to see what His will includes.

Mitch is recovery from upper spinal surgery very well. There still is numbness and swelling in the left hand and we'd ask that you pray for this, particularly. Otherwise, the doctor says his recovery is as expected. We give God the glory for His goodness in this and are thankful Mitch has seen tremendous relief from the pain he experienced for so long.

Nicole and Jane are on Spring Break this week. For Nicole this means more time to game (XBox, Playstation, Wii). She's also looking forward to a free skate night this week at our local skating rink to benefit the crisis pregnancy center in our area.

For Jane Spring Break means completing a list of projects she's been waiting to do if given the time (paint the master bathroom, paint the shed, spring clean, etc.). One of the big projects this week is to learn this year's VBS songs and movements. She'll be doing music during VBS along with a couple of others from church. Lately she's been thinking a lot about how much work this must have involved for her buddy Nikki in Nevada who has done this for so many years. Our VBS is early this year--May 7-11. We'll let you know how a spring VBS works after we do it. There are some real advantages (or so we've been told) and we'll soon see if we agree.

Jane's parents came for a visit last weekend. They're on the road again so it'll be awhile until they come around again.

We're looking forward to Mitch's birthday on April 7 and our first Easter with our new church family.

That's about it. I guess we had more news to post than we thought. Don't hold your breath, but maybe we'll post again soon as the school districts make hiring decisions--as the Lord wills.

Love you all! Thanks for your prayers for us and for the ministry here.

Fused, Teaching, and Spring

It has been over a month since our last post. Mitch saw the doctor this past week and x-rays were taken of his upper spine operated on last month. The good news is that the bone and the vertebrae appear to have fused! He still has a little soreness and a little numbness in the left hand, but again the doctor assured Mitch that both should get better in time. Once again, we thank the Lord for answers to prayer and for His provision during this whole ordeal.

Jane has begun an 8-week maternity leave sub job in a 1st grade classroom in one of the county schools. We are thankful for another opportunity for Jane to become familiar to area principals and are praying for the Lord's will for a teaching job for her in the fall. Since some of the schools in our area begin hiring for fall positions in the spring, we appreciate your prayers about future employment for Jane.

The daffodils are blooming. We are beginning to hear the tree frogs at night and birds chirping in the early mornings. One day this week we experienced weather in the 70s! Jane's parents living in Florida have begun to discuss their plans to visit us this spring. Today Jane and the church music team picked out songs for March and Easter Sunday. Spring is around the corner on the calendar but it seems like it is already here in northwestern Tennessee.

Thank you for your prayers for us and for the ministry here.

Surgery Update

Thank you for your prayers for Mitch's neck surgery. The surgeon removed the source of Mitch's tremendous pain--about four bone pieces that were wedged into the nerve root. Mitch went home from the hospital the morning after the surgery. Other than some pain from the surgical site on his throat, tenderness at the upper back, and a very sore throat, Mitch is doing great. His left fingers remain numb but the doctor believes this may go away in time.

We praise God for good doctors and for His provision through family and church family. We thank God for the prayers lifted up on our behalf by His people and for the precious love demonstrated by our brothers and sisters in Christ. God is so good and we are so blessed!

Surgery for Mitch

The two bulging discs in Mitch's upper back, causing tremendous & ongoing pain since October, have proven to be one bulging disc and a fragmented disc. This information led Mitch to consult a neurolosurgeon this week who has advised Mitch to have surgery to remove the broken one. The neurolosurgeon assures Mitch the pain will be eliminated immediately. The procedure involves going in through the neck (common for where this disc is located). Possible complications include difficulty swallowing and hoarseness of voice. At this point, the surgery has been scheduled for January 12. For our more curious readers, click here to learn more about this type of procedure. Thank you for your prayers for Mitch, for the doctors, and for Mitch's swift and complete recovery.