Will's Admission Ceremony

In recent years God has taken us on a journey we never expected. If you have been reading here for a while, you know that we used to be in ministry full time. But then God took us out of ministry and placed Will on a much different career path.

In 2016 Will began working as a paralegal for our local County Attorney's office. He started law school in the fall of 2017. The years of law school were challenging in ways far beyond what we expected. It was a long, hard marathon for the whole family, and especially for Will. I am so proud of Will and impressed with all he was able to accomplish. Will graduated first in his class from Mitchell-Hamline in December of 2021. In July of 2022 he took the bar, and in October we received the news that he had passed. I cried tears of joy and relief that the law school journey was behind us at last!

Earlier this month Will was sworn in as an attorney in the state of Minnesota. What a joyous day this was! Somehow I failed to ever blog about law school and the challenges we faced, but I want to make sure to not miss this wonderful milestone event, so today I want to share a few pictures with you from that special day.

We went to the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul for Will's Admission Ceremony. Will has been here for work numerous times over the past seven years, and it was wonderful to get to bring the whole family here together for the ceremony. 

The Capitol is a beautiful building!

The ceiling is spectacular!

My parents were able to be here for the ceremony. They were a tremendous help to us throughout Will's time in law school. Will's course was primarily online, but he did have week-long classes in St. Paul, Minnesota once a semester for the first three years. When Will had to be gone for a week, my parents would come up from Georgia and help me with cooking, laundry, shopping, and taking care of the kids. I don't know how we would have survived those weeks without my parents! They were a big part of the law school journey for us, and I'm glad they could be there for the celebration at the end of it all.

We had several friends who came as well. Pictured here are Gary and Jeanie Willford. Mr. Willford was one of our professors during our time in Bible college. He was also the one who performed our wedding ceremony nearly 20 years ago! It was so special to have them both there.

"Laws can discover sin, but not remove it." - Milton

As we walked down the hall to the courtroom, there were many plaques on the wall that had quotes about justice and the law. I especially liked the middle quote on this one. It reminded me of Romans 7:7, "What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, 'You shall not covet.'"

I held the Bible while Will was sworn in as an attorney. He chose to use the Bible that our church in Georgia gave him at his ordination. In his oath, he said:

I, William Charles Lundy, do swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Minnesota and will conduct myself as an attorney and counselor at law in an upright and courteous manner to the best of my learning and ability with all good fidelity as well to the court as to a client and that I will use no falsehood or deceit nor delay any person's cause for lucre or malice, so help me God.

Paperwork was signed to make it all official!

Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Gordon Moore was the one to perform the Admission Ceremony. 

Minnesota Supreme Court Justice G. Barry Anderson showed up as a surprise at Will's Admission Ceremony. After Will was sworn in, Justice Anderson shared a history of the courtroom and the artwork on the walls.

The road to this day was long and hard. It was over seven years ago when we first began to discuss the possibility that Will might need to go to law school. The end seemed so far away. Taking the LSAT and applying to law schools took over a year. Law school itself took four and a half years. And then preparing for the Bar took more months of studying. Will persevered faithfully through it all.

We couldn't have done it without the help of friends and our local church. Our church helped us during Will's years of law school and Bar prep. Will often didn't have time or energy to cook, so a team of ladies from our church brought meals twice a week while school was in session. Having meals ready to go was a great help to all of us. 

Friends helped with childcare when Stafford was a baby and I was unable to care for him by myself in the mornings. My parents came to help frequently, and my sister came to help as well. She even took emergency leave from work when we suddenly needed full-time help for a while.

During the years of law school Will worked full time as a paralegal, then a law clerk, and then a student attorney. God added two more children to our family. I had my usual chronic illnesses that make life challenging. Will even had health challenges of his own that resulted in a week-long stay in the hospital and a delay in finishing law school. It is astounding to look back over all we have been through in the last seven years.

We made it through by the grace of God. And we are still here, still a happy family, and still serving the Lord where He has placed us. I am excited to see what lies ahead for our family and for Will as an attorney!

Celebrating and Anticipating a Forever Party

 

This summer my family had a little party at home to celebrate the forever party yet to come! 

Joni Eareckson Tada has a new book called The Awesome Super Fantastic Forever Party. It is a wonderful, delightful book that tells about Heaven and the amazing invitation that Jesus offers.

I won a party box from The Good Book Company that included a free copy of the book, plus all the supplies needed for a little party. They included hats and horns and balloons, much to my children's delight! This new book and fun prize package made it easy to have a simple party at the end of the day.

I read The Awesome Super Fantastic Forever Party to my littles. Gresham lost interest fairly quickly, but the book held the attention of both Stafford and Adelaide.

The party box included games to play, decorations to make, and even an invitation that we could decorate. If you want to have a party too, you can find the printable party supplies for free here! Just scroll down to the bottom for links to the printable pages.

My family has often talked about Heaven over the years. We look forward to the day when there will be no more sickness or suffering or pain. This book gave us another opportunity to talk about Heaven and the life yet to come. If you have young children, The Awesome Super Fantastic Forever Party is a good way to help explain to them what Heaven will one day be like. This book will also help to open up deeper conversations about Jesus and salvation.

The Good Book Company has a video of Joni reading this new book! If you have little ones, maybe they will enjoy sitting with you and listening to the story!

Diamonds Marriage Conference

There is going to be a second Diamonds Conference this year! It is a one day event covering topics about marriage and chronic illness. There will also be sessions about singleness, dating, and parenting while chronically ill.

The Diamonds Marriage in Chronic Illness event is this Saturday, June 5. If you are chronically ill, you are invited to join us! You can learn more and register for free here for the Diamonds Summer Event.

The Diamonds Summer Event is free while it is live. If you wish to watch sessions after June 5, you may purchase an All Access pass.

Will and I will both be speaking at the marriage event. Will is speaking first, and his session is titled, "Marriage and Chronic Illness: How Suffering in Marriage Vindicates the Wisdom and Goodness of God." He has been telling me about his session, and it is fascinating! If you love theology and learning deep truths of Scripture, you'll enjoy this!

In the evening, Will and I will be speaking together for a session titled, "When the Marriage Bed Becomes a Sick Bed: Sex, Marriage, and Chronic Illness." We have found that there is insufficient teaching from the church about sex when you have a marriage affected by chronic illness. Much of the typical advice given to couples simply doesn't work when one or both spouses are chronically ill. So we hope this session will be helpful and encouraging for those who are trying to navigate challenges in the marriage bed affected by chronic illness. If you are chronically ill and either married or considering marriage, we would love to have you join us for this session!

Be sure to check out the study guide! You can purchase a Kindle copy for 99 cents on Amazon. Or if you prefer a physical copy, you can order a paperback study guide for $5.99.

If you are married with a chronic illness, you are not alone. There are other couples going through the same struggles as you. You can meet some of them at the conference. And if you are single or dating, you too will find others who are going through the same thing as you. You aren't alone. Come join the chronically ill Diamonds community and be encouraged in your walk with the Lord through chronic illness.

Welcome, Baby Gresham!

Welcome Baby Gresham!

Our newest family member is here in our arms, and we are very happy! Gresham was 9 pounds, 5 ounces when he was born, and he was my next-to-smallest baby! I have been enjoying snuggling my little one.

We have had a busy couple of months in the Lundy home. We have been finishing up school, dealing with health challenges, and caring for a baby. Life is hard and wonderful all at once.

William and Adelaide have been a tremendous help to me in caring for Stafford and Gresham every day. I could not do this without them! All of our kids were home for school this year. William did a virtual academy, and Adelaide was home schooled. William and Adelaide took turns doing school work and caring for Stafford in the mornings. And then after Gresham was born, they also helped me care for him!

It has been quite a blessing to have their full-time help at home. If Gresham wakes up and wants to play, but I need to get more sleep, then I just call William. He comes to take the baby, and I go back to sleep. It has been an incredible gift! I am more rested during this postpartum time than I ever have been before. So while I am still tired, and I am kept busy with caring for four children, I am feeling better than I ever have at this point after pregnancy.

It has been hard for me to blog while caring for a baby, and I expect that my blog posts will probably continue to be sporadic over the next year or two as I care for a baby and then a toddler. But I still plan to keep this blog going, and I still plan to write and serve others online as the Lord provides the strength and opportunity.

Our kids are out of school for the summer, and we are looking forward to summer fun, time with cousins, time at camp, visits from family and friends, and hopefully some rest in there too! 

I hope you all have a wonderful summer! What are your plans?

Diamonds Conference and Study Guide

The Diamonds 2021 Conference starts this weekend! Have you signed up to attend? I would love to see you there! The conference starts on Friday at 11 am EST. You can view a full conference schedule on the conference webpage. 

What is Diamonds 2021? Diamonds 2021 is a free online conference for chronically ill Christians. 

When is Diamonds 2021? January 22-24, 2021

Who is speaking at Diamonds 2021? Over twenty people who are affected by chronic illness in various ways.

What does Diamonds 2021 cost? Nothing! The conference is free during the conference weekend. If you wish to view the conference after the 24th, you may purchase an all-access pass for lifetime access to the conference videos!

Where is Diamonds 2021? 100% online. You can register for free at this link.

I am happy to say that the study guide is now available on Amazon! The Kindle copy is FREE! Or if you prefer to have a physical copy, you may purchase a paperback study guide for $5.99.

Chronic illness is messy, and so often we let it become who we are. But illness cannot steal either your purpose or identity. Diamonds 2021 is an online conference for chronically ill Christians. The goal of the conference is to encourage all those facing invisible battles.

You aren’t alone — far from it.

This year, twenty authors, bloggers, and ministry leaders who battle chronic illnesses themselves are joining together to offer hope and insight as you navigate relationships in the midst of long-term illness. Hear from people like Susie Larson, Chris Simning, Kara Swanson, Mary Frey, and many others about topics like:

• Navigating Grief and Chronic Illness
• Marriage with a Chronic Illness
• How to Create Your Unique Support Community
• How to Serve God When You’re Chronically Ill
• And much more!

This study guide will help you make the most out of the Diamonds 2021 conference and remember what you learned far past the end of the conference.

I hope you will be able to join us this weekend! If you live with a chronic illness, or are a caregiver for someone with a chronic illness, this could be a very encouraging and helpful conference for you. You are not alone in the struggles you face. And this weekend we are coming together to encourage and pray for one another. See you there!