Blessed Christmas 2023!

Cathy and I are pleased to send you our love as we celebrate Emmanuel, God with us. 

2023 was our first year of retirement as a couple and we have been quite busy. In *review:

• We became members of First Baptist Church of Port Orchard WA, where our first born and his family are members.
• Following Cathy’s birthday on March 14, we took a three month “road trip” in our 1995 motorhome from March 15 to June 10, traveling over 10,000 miles, visiting family and friends, passing through over half of the states and part of Canada, visiting historical sites and natural wonders, and relaxing while camping and cruising. We experienced every kind of weather from heavy snow to energy-sapping heat and peaceful calm to extreme winds while driving past wild fires and tornado damage. No regrets whatsoever except that we wish we could have seen more friends and family.
• We gave our vegetable garden a sabbatical but will go at it again in 2024.
• We returned briefly to Oklahoma in July to attend the funeral and memorial service of our dear friend, Pastor David Young, with whom I served for 22 ½ years.
• In September we took our fourth cruise to Alaska and met wonderful new friends when we attended the worship service at White Cliff Church (formerly FBC) in Ketchikan.
• Also in September, we attended the Northwest Baptist Convention’s “Life Enrichment Conference” in Cannon Beach OR. We will be going again in 2024!
• I turned 71 in October. I still have most of my teeth and will be getting a new (replacement) one in January.
• In December we took another trip across the country to attend a very special occasion for one of our kids. More on that in the family update.

*Each of these events could easily be a long chapter in a book of how God has blessed our lives. There simply isn’t room to mention all the wonderful people we had the privilege to see and visit and who treated us like royalty, nor describe the experiences we had such as all we did to celebrate our 49^th anniversary at Niagara Falls.

Updates on the family—

Mom is 94 and doing well. She still lives in her own home in Eugene OR and still drives her own car, although less frequently. She misses Dad but is at peace knowing he is in heaven and that she will join him someday. We are not ready for her to make that journey, yet, and are so grateful for my niece, René who stays with her each night.

All three offspring and their families are in the same places we left them in last year’s letter.

• Aaron is still working for the government at the shipyard in Bremerton. He, Denise, Sélah, and Emma still live in the same house here in Port Orchard but Jada is no longer their foster daughter/sister because on September 19 her adoption became official! To put it in its proper perspective, Cathy and I have our eighth grandchild.
• Alison does something with cryptocurrency and is, apparently, fairly good at it. She, Shane, Cecilia, and Avery are still in Eureka CA but Dr. Shane Calhoun will have finished working in the California State University system at California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt (formerly Humboldt State) by the end of December and will be growing his private counseling practice.
• David continues as the “Executive Pastor of Discipleship” at Graceland Church in New Albany IN. Earlier in December, we joined him, Jordan, Levi, Maelie, and Hank in Wake Forest NC as David was hooded, receiving his EdD (Doctorate in Education) from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, concluding five years of academic work. We are very proud of his accomplishment as well as all the extra work Jordan has done while David was studying and traveling for school.

Now that we are both retired, Cathy and I are “relaxing” by trying to learn how to operate our toys. Cathy has Cricut and Silhouette machines that are supposed to make letters, designs, and stuff. I think they are best at making her frustrated. For my birthday, Cathy gave me a laser engraver and, so far, I have learned how to fill a room with smoke and make wooden objects that may or may not resemble Christmas ornaments. I also now have a box of very dry and expensive kindling for whenever we want to cook some s’mores.
Additionally, I have been given the opportunity to write the “Group Plans” (teaching plans) to go along with three months of adult Bible study for next winter. I am already behind.

In the near future—
We are looking forward to taking our first trip to Hawaii in March, paying off the car right after observing our 50^th anniversary in May, and this coming October we plan to console ourselves regarding this aging thing by attending our 50 year class reunion at Oklahoma Baptist University. It will be our first in many years. Surely we will feel better after seeing how old everyone else is.

Please, know that you are in our prayers! If there is anything in particular you would like us praying about, just send us an email, text message, or one of those snail mail things.

In His love, 

Jim and Cathy

Christmas 2022

What a Year!

Dear ones, 

I pray that 2023 will be a blessed year for you and your loved ones. May we all learn from this past year and treasure all the blessings that took place during it. 

Please, allow me to catch you up on what has taken place in our lives during 2022.
 
Our offspring—

Aaron and Denise (Port Orchard, Washington)

Aaron has finished the Apprenticeship program at the Navy Shipyard in Bremerton, graduating on September 23 and is now a bonafide Journeyman Pipefitter. So, if you have a ship that needs to come into dry dock, Aaron can hook you up. Denise, after dealing for many years with mysterious symptoms, had open heart surgery to take out, fix, and put back in an aortic valve as well as fix an aortic aneurism of 6.5cm (normal is 3cm and most rupture before 6cm.). We are praying for and look forward to her complete recovery! Sélah, our seven year old and first grandchild, is a first grader. Emma, our five year old and second grandchild, is in Kindergarten and loves chickens. Jada, our two year old foster granddaughter, is an absolute delight (and a messy eater like her sisters). We are all hoping and praying that she will be legally adopted into the family during 2023!

Shane and Alison (Eureka, California) 

Shane, aka Dr. Calhoun, changed schools without changing anything. That happened when Humboldt State University became Cal Poly Humboldt. He also met the president and has a thriving private practice. Alison continues to raise (corral, herd, shake her head at) our two free spirited California grandchildren as well as navigate the mysterious waters of crypto currency. (I think that is something like real money except when it is not.) Cecilia, our second three year old granddaughter, is a practiced climbing wall veteran, astute mushroom hunter, an egg gatherer, and interior house painter. (That last part is a polite way of saying that no surface inside their house is safe from her “artwork”.) Avery, our one year old grandson, loves his sister and will allow her to do pretty much anything to him with paint or markers.  

David and Jordan (Sellersburg, Indiana)

David is an elder and the Executive Pastor of Discipleship of Graceland Church in New Albany, Indiana. I believe he is very gifted for his calling but do not want to mention it too much because, well, David. He is supposed to be working on his dissertation, too. Time will tell. Besides helping David adjust to adulthood, Jordan deserves high praise and admiration for… Let me just mention my remaining three grandchildren. Levi, our third grandchild and the first to hopefully carry on the family name, has turned five years old and is in Pre-K. Pray for that boy. He shows many traits similar to his dad and he has no qualms about calling his grandparents in the morning three times zones away for a nice video chat. Understand, when he calls us at, oh, say 7:30am, it is 4:30am where we live. Levi does not care. Our sweet Maelie, is three years old and continues to live with Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Complex. She not only responds well to her therapy but absolutely loves her therapists. This year, we have one more grandchild to introduce to you. Hank Stuart Gantenbein was born on August 6. He was supposed to be born later but health issues called for an early arrival and both Hank and Jordan are doing great. 

Us— 

Jim and Cathy (Port Orchard, Washington)

Despite a very cold, wet, and windy springtime and early summer, we managed to salvage a fair garden season. I know, that is all you really wanted to know about so I thought I would just satisfy you and now you can stop reading. But on the outside chance that anyone should desire more knowledge of the mundane…
The most personal detail will be saved for the end of the letter but there are other lesser matters. First, I continue to be amazed at what an incredible grandmother Cathy is. She does not just have patience with our dear little ones, but she goes out of her way to involve them in what she is doing, especially when it comes to cooking. She makes each of them their own apron (as soon as they are old enough to “help”) and when they get started in the kitchen, I find a place to hide. 

Secondly, we took our first real trip in our “new” (1995) motorhome as we attended the Annual Meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention in Anaheim, California. The meeting aside, the trip went very well with only a few minor hiccups. But now that the AC is working, the cruise control is back in operation, the windshield has been reset and sealed, and the steps glide in and out on cue like they are supposed to, we think (hope) we are ready for the big trip we are planning to take this spring. 

A third matter is that of two more Mohs surgeries to remove basal cell skin cancer and reconstruct the areas on my head and face. No, it is not supposed to help my looks so quit hoping.

Fourthly, we enjoyed a once-in-a-lifetime trip in September, beginning with a flight to London, England. At the time, all of Great Britain was mourning the death of Queen Elizabeth. Although our plans were altered a little, we were very impressed by the respect and courtesy everyone unfailingly displayed under very stressful and sorrowful circumstances. I commented more than once that it caused me to want to live there. After a couple of days we were transported to Dover where we boarded a ship for a transatlantic cruise. Before crossing the ocean and arriving at New York City, we had stops at ports in Le Havre (France), Portland/Weymouth (England), Vigo (Spain) and Bermuda. Most memorable was the opportunity to go to Normandy, France, visit several of the beaches of the D-Day invasion as well as the American Cemetery and Point du Hoc. Standing where so many young men gave their lives to defeat the evil goals of Hitler was a humbling experience. Our guide shared that when local citizens see anyone having fun—swimming, etc.—on those beaches, they go to them and tell them that they are being disrespectful toward those from other countries who fought and died on that beach to free France from the Nazis. They ask them to go to another beach. Respect!

The fifth little item is that, as of midnight on October 31, I retired from full-time ministry at the age of 70. That is right: No more vacations for me. From now on, we will just be taking trips. I expect to continue serving God in any way He directs. I thank God for the privilege of serving Him in various capacities including music, youth, education, outreach, activities, and pastor. The congregations included the dear people of: First Baptist Church of Lindsay, Oklahoma; First Baptist Church, Perry, Oklahoma; First Baptist Church, Rhome, Texas; Trinity Baptist Church, Lakewood, Washington; and the wonderful saints of Kitsap Lake Baptist Church, Bremerton, Washington who were challenged by God to call a career youth pastor to serve as their senior pastor.

Now, for that most personal detail. On May 25, Dad, who had been bedridden for a while, walked again. His first step was into the presence of Jesus and I can only imagine he has not slowed down one bit. Some folks may wonder and a few have asked, “What did he die from?” Simply put, he was 97 ½ years old. The WWII veteran was the youngest of five siblings who all exited this mortal life in birth order—the way it’s supposed to be done! To the very end, Dad honored God and pointed others to Him. He exhaled his last in Eugene, Oregon, and inhaled his first breath in Heaven. As many have observed, it was not his end. It was his true beginning. Our sincere appreciation to all the care givers, especially my niece, Renee, who, along with Mom, provided the greatest level of loving care every day.

I appreciate your prayers for our whole family. While we all miss Dad every single day, my dear mother misses him the most. God continues to use her to inspire and encourage the whole family as well as others. So, we want her to stay healthy and happy! Besides, my sister and her clan need Mom to straighten them out EVERY. SINGLE. DAY! It must be a great relief to her to know that her three sons remain practically perfect in every way.

May your Christmas season be filled with thanksgiving to God for sending His Son, love for others, time with family, and treasured memories!

In His love,

Jim and Cathy Gantenbein

Some Things Never Change

It is Sunday morning, November 20, 2022. After two weeks in Indiana with David, Jordan, Levi, Maelie, and Hank, we are about to head out to our first Sunday from home as a retired minister. I am looking forward to it but it definitely is a different feeling. We are not on vacation. We are not going to worship where we are members. The whole thing of having no official responsibility is… nice. 

Pastoral leadership is a privilege and a great responsibility. There are specific responsibilities, such as those identified in the job description, and there are a myriad of other items that default to the pastor because, as is often stated, "I didn't know who to ask and you're the pastor, so…." Those will not be a part of my experience this morning. I anticipate we will be with Aaron, Denise, Sélah, Emma, Jada, and probably Carla as we worship together.

What is God's plan for us in the way of congregational involvement in the future? I do not know. I will just take it one day at a time and listen for His direction.

One thing I do know after twenty days of retirement. The majority, if not all, of the changes that come with retirement do not include my daily walk with God. That relationship has not changed. He is still my Lord and I am still His child 100% of the time. While in vocational ministry, I had various tasks to perform. Those tasks are no longer a part of my daily routine. But the most important things of ministry, i.e. loving God, loving others, and making disciples, will always remain because they are the most important things for every follower of Christ. 

My days continue to begin with a time of prayer and Bible study. My relationships with others still need to reflect God's love. And now that I am retired and continue those spiritual disciplines and others, it is a blessing and joy to have it affirmed that I have not done those things in the past because I was paid to do them but because I love God and desire to draw closer to Him every day of my life! Some things never change.