Christmas 2004

Merry Christmas
Keith & Sharon Drury
4637 S. Wigger St. Marion, IN 46953


Christmas update:


SHARON. Our big news is Sharon finished her PhD in June at Regent University. She is an Associate Dean at Indiana Wesleyan University where she heads up all adult business programs what includes about 5000 students. She now has more time but has started teaching part of the time in the masters and new doctoral program at IWU—she loves it.



KEITH. Keith continues to teach in the religion division at IWU in practical ministries including: Christian Education, Curriculum, Spiritual formation, Church leadership, Camping, preaching and one phys ed course: Backpacking. In the summers he goes backpacking with students usually hiking about 500-700 miles. Last summer he started at the Mexico line with Sam Bills and hiked north through the desert to Palm Springs on the Pacific Crest Trail. He has covered 2300 miles of that trail that goes form Mexico to Canada He plans to finish the final 350- miles this summer with four students. He and four of his students will be crossing the Mojave Desert and over two mountain ranges ending in Palm Springs which will enable him to finish both the Appalachian Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail by age 60—which was one of his life goals. But that is summer—through his teaching year he has been writing two days a week. His new book is on the personal spiritual disciplines and is due before Christmas. Those who’ve read the manuscript think it is his best work. He starts the companion volume (corporate spiritual disciplines) New Years day.



KEITH & SHARON TOGETHER.

To celebrate Sharon’s PhD and return to “normal life” we went backpacking on the John Muir Trail in the high Sierras last summer. As part of that adventure we climbed Mt Whitney, the highest mountain in the lower 48 states. This was Sharon’s first return to backpacking in a decade or two—but she survived the 15 mile days over snow-covered mountains as high as 14,000’. It was enough fun that we’re thinking of doing some more this summer—maybe in the Alps in August. We’re both going to Tucson for Christmas to celebrate with Sharon’s folks. This coming Spring Break well be going to Greece with a bunch of students. Oh yeah, we also moved across the street so our address increased by one number. We are healthy for which we thank God, and ten pounds overweight for which we blame ourselves.



OUR FAMILY.

Our kids do their own Christmas card and have a life apart from their life but in case you wondered… David is “Connections Pastor” at Spring lake Wesleyan church in Michigan and his first book just came out called The Fruitful Life –it’s good. He is still the husband of his wife Kathy and father of Max and Karina. John graduated from Princeton Seminary this summer and is teaching at Somerset Christian College in New Jersey this year while he is applying for Ph.D. programs all year and waiting for his wife Mandy to finish too at Princeton. There are other exciting developments in their life but they ought to tell you about them—not us. ;-)


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