2000 Christmas letter from the Peck family

December 25, 2000

 

Hear Ye! Hear Ye!

 

Let it be proclaimed throughout the land “It’s time to share love with family and friends once again.” As Christmas draws near, we spread our cheer with our Christmas cards and letters. Be sure to view our photos on-line. And don’t dare miss the lengthy thesis about Randy on the back of this scroll.

 

Julia made some adjustments this year with Randy changing careers. Perhaps, her most notable achievement has been getting involved with graphic and web site design. She has joined the National Photoshop Users Group. She still functions as a good full-time mom, but manages to fit her career and fitness workouts around that. In early 2000, Julia worked full-time as a ski instructor at a local resort. She plans to return to that part-time this upcoming Winter. She continues to teach Martial Arts to children.

 

Julia continues to cross train and this year she competed in two half-Ironman triathlons (swim 1.2 miles, bike 56 miles, and run 13.1 miles). She ran a marathon in November, eclipsing her previous best time by more than 15 minutes. She organized multiple running events for a local running club (www.culpeper-roadrunners.com).

 

Caren is 15 and has become a beautiful young lady. She’s doing well in tenth grade. Caren was confirmed in the Catholic Church in the Spring. She won a cash award from the Veterans of Foreign Wars for an outstanding essay she wrote about freedom. She’s been driving for 7 months with a learner’s permit. She played soccer in the Spring with the JV team, leading that team to its best record ever. In the Fall, Caren played tennis for the varsity high school team and soccer for a travel team. She recently began soccer in an indoor league for the Winter. Caren enjoys hanging out with friends, going to parties and school sporting events, and chatting on AIM (AOL Instant Messenger). She is doing volunteer work to complete her requirements for the bronze medal with the Congressional Award program.

 

Robbie is 13. He’s in eighth grade and doing well. This year Robbie was invited to speak twice in front of large groups to share his job-shadowing experience. The first occasion was an important meeting for Career Partners, Inc. The second occasion was the annual Culpeper Chamber banquet in front of about 300 adults. Robbie finished his second year of Junior Cotillion in the Spring. He played soccer in the Spring and Fall on a travel team. He began a new basketball season recently. No street hockey this year. Robbie enjoys hanging out with his friends, using the Internet (playing Everquest and using AIM), playing paintball, and riding his dirt bike (motorcycle).

 

Our golden retriever, Ginger, is now 6 years old. “Well fed”, but losing weight on a strict diet, per vet orders. She’s a great companion and a good watch dog (if you don’t know she doesn’t bite).

 

Some highlights of 2000 included a two week trip to Italy for Julia and Randy in May, a June beach vacation in North Carolina for the family and two friends, and a first-time trip to Mexico for Randy and Robbie in November. Plans for 2001 include a family ski trip to Colorado or Utah, a trip to France for Julia and Caren in early summer, a family cruise in mid summer, and a family beach vacation in late summer.

 

Love, 

Randy, Julia, Caren, & Robbie Peck

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Randy’s Thesis for 2000

 

Last year (1999) as I prepared to send out more than 350 Christmas cards and letters, Julia asked me if I felt the Christmas season was consuming me more and more each year, possibly because that is how she felt. I told her “No”; that I look forward to saying thank you to family and friends for being a part of my life. I look forward to receiving special Christmas cards and letters from people who take the time to share their experiences. You are not just someone on a list; you are someone who has made a positive difference in our lives. Thank you for caring about us.

 

2000 was another wonderful year for me, not because every day was perfect or what I wanted it to be, but because I now realize that every day I begin a new life and I have a choice to live that day as if it is my last. And after all, how many people in history have had the opportunity to welcome in a new millennium. I am grateful for every family member and every friend who touched me favorably in my life.

 

The most significant event for me this year was deepening of my faith. Ever since I was a boy, God has been the highest priority in my life, or at least I wanted that to be the case. I have relied on God for guidance and that has made a tremendous difference in my life. This year I was fortunate to have the opportunity to read more, to learn more, and to share more about God with others.

 

Mark Jarvis, a pastor I first met in June 2000, has taken a personal interest in helping me in various ways. Recently, he told me a person can share his faith by asking another person two questions. First, “What is your religion?” And second, “What are trusting to get you into the Kingdom of God (heaven)?” Intriguing! I have added a third question: “If you truly love God and God is a priority in your life, isn’t it reasonable to go to church at least once a week to give thanks and share your love with others?”

 

In 2000, I did some work as an anesthesiologist, but very part-time. I did six weeks of anesthesia as a sub from late June until September. My goal for 2001 is to keep my foot in the door by doing about one week of anesthesia every month, perhaps three weeks every three months. Soon, I hope to be giving anesthesia part-time for the sole joy of helping others, not because of what I get paid. Ultimately, I would like to share my skills as an anesthesiologist by training other people in third world countries to administer anesthesia.

 

My main occupation now is professional web design and marketing. Someone I work with at an Internet company told me that an Internet expert is someone who has been working with the Internet for at least a year. Well, my one year anniversary has just come. A few weeks ago, I took the plunge and reserved my own dedicated server with a nearby hosting company which has become a business partner. Now my company can personally host web sites it develops. I am particularly proud of two Internet achievements this year. First was the development of a personal and family web site (www.randypeck.com). The second was the recent launching of “Information for Virginia” (www.info4va.com), a directory of community web sites for Virginia, each with a common look and feel.

 

For recreation, I still like to bike and run. I make time to read a lot. I spend more time with the kids than I used to. Each Sunday morning, I spend 1-2 hours reviewing my written goals for the week, the month, the year, and my life. I think about whether my actions in the past week have been consistent with my goals. While I don’t always adhere to my goals, I continue to strive hard for them. One of my main goals for 2001 is to substantially improve communication and effectiveness for my extended family, primarily through the use of the Internet (e.g. quarterly family newsletters, development of more family web sites, and email).

 

Love,

 

Randy

Merry Christmas from Randy, Julia, Caren, and Robbie Peck!

More than anything else, I want my family to be blessed by God and for us to bless Him by fulfilling His purposes for us. Nothing matters more than knowing God’s purposes for your life. Knowing your purpose gives meaning to your life, simplifies your life, focuses your life, motivates your life, and prepares you for eternity. Living on purpose is the path to peace. The Bible says “You LORD, give perfect peace to those who keep their purpose firm and put their trust in you.” (Isaiah 26:3, TEV)

 

My theme verse for 2004 comes from Matthew 6:13: “For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever.” Rick Warren, the author of the book The Purpose Driven Life , preached on this last phrase of the Lord’s Prayer in his 8 week sermon series titled "The Lord’s Prayer: Path to Inner Peace". Rick calls the last phrase of the Lord’s Prayer "the prayer of blessing." In his sermon CD, Rick states that there are 3 secrets to being blessed by God, namely seeking God’s kingdom first, depending on His power (i.e. that’s faith), and living for God’s glory.

 

In early 2002, I wrote down my commitment to increase my daily quiet time (QT) with God to an average of 4 hours by 2012 after Michael Stay coached each person in our Christian accountability group to write down our 5-10 year visions. For the last 3 months of 2003, I prayed frequently for God to give me the courage to step out in faith to commit to increase my daily QT from 2 to 4 hours by the start of 2004. I knew that I was very busy and realized that the only way to slow down and accomplish much more was to spend more time with God. I knew from first hand experience that God takes everything we give from our hearts and multiplies it miraculously. It’s a paradox that spending more time with God allows us to accomplish more in the time that remains. I asked God to make my life and my family’s life a testimony of His goodness and greatness when someone truly puts Him first in all aspects of his life, including time, talent, and treasure. In January 2004, I began spending an average of 4 hours of daily QT and started on-line prayer journaling, which I had heard about from Rick Warren. Those two habits resulted in the most blessed year ever by far for me and my family.

 

While there were many highlights in 2004, for me, three of the most special were the 70th birthday celebration of Jane Kim (Julia’s mother) in Feb, our first-ever family trip to Europe in August, and a four member family baptism on Nov 21, including Julia, Robbie, Issi (Julia’s identical twin sister), and Angelika (Issi’s daughter).

 

In August, we flew to Europe to spend 1 day in London and 8 days in Italy, including Milan, Verona, Venice, and Rome. For each of us, the highlight of our entire Europe trip was the time we spent with Rosa’s family in Verona. You see, from 1959-1963, when I was just a little child, Rosa lived and served my immediate family in the capacity of a nanny. She has always treated my brothers and me like we were her sons. She has been like a second mom to us. What a blessing it was to grow up with 3 loving parents. God teaches that to those who have been given much, much is required.

 

God blessed Julia with a great year and good health. Julia’s two greatest passions are fitness and graphical design. A few of her accomplishments this year included earning her second degree black belt in Tae Kwon Doe, winning numerous running events for her age group, and placing first overall in the Xterra triathlon series for her age group in this region of the country. This year Julia introduced two of her friends to triathlon competitions. Her team, called “Splash, Dash, and No Road Rash,” placed first in the coed division at the Lake Anna half Ironman triathlon (swim 1.2 miles, bike 56 miles, and run 13 miles) and Richmond Sprint Triathlon.

 

Julia had a variety of part-time jobs - this included teaching skiing, kickboxing, and Tai Chi, serving as a personal trainer, working at Cameron Street Coffee House, and doing graphical design, including business cards, post cards, etc.

 

Caren is 19 and in her 2nd year at the College of William and Mary. This Fall she qualified to be accepted into the highly competitive Business School at W&M. In late Dec 2003, Caren went to Illinois with Andrea Kebede to participate in Urbana (www.urbana.org). About 18,000 people, mostly Intervarsity college students, attended this five day world mission conference. In May 2004, Caren participated in a week-long Christian leadership training camp in Rock Bridge VA. In July, she worked at Shenandoah Springs Camp, a local Christian camp, taking hundreds of photos each day to prepare an evening slide show for the youth campers. In the Fall, Caren began serving as a small group leader for Intervaristy at W&M. During her college Spring break in 2005, Caren will be joining 15 other students from W&M to go on a mission trip to Honduras.

 

Robbie is 17 and will graduate from Culpeper High School in June 2005. He has matured a lot spiritually, mentally, socially, and physically. In June 2004, he went to Lynchburg VA to participate in Boys State, a national program sponsored by the American Legion. Following that, Robbie went to a week long Young Life camp at Lake Champion in New York. He has been very active in our local Young Life organization (www.younglife.org) and assumed a leadership role for that this year. We are thankful that Robbie works hard in school and does well academically. This school year, Robbie is serving as Treasurer of the National Honor Society and Treasurer of the Culpeper High School Ski Club. He ran indoor track during the winter of 2003-2004, played varsity soccer in the Spring of 2004, and club travel soccer in the Fall. He is learning to play guitar.

 

I was blessed in 2004 with the routine of working 2 ½ days each week at just one place - Carilion Giles Memorial Hospital. The regular schedule allows me the opportunity to be at home with my family four days each week. It also afforded me the opportunity to begin a local radio and TV ministry called A Life of Blessing. The purpose of this media ministry is to be a catalyst to bless families and transform communities throughout Virginia to help make Virginia the brightest light in the world by 2007. That’s the year we celebrate the 400th anniversary of Jamestown, the birthplace of English speaking America and where Christianity first got rooted in America.

 

Special trips in 2004, included a visit to Kansas City in Feb 2004 to attend the 50th anniversary celebration of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and at the same time to visit with my Uncle Don, Aunt Terry, and cousin Lindy. Later in Feb, I met Judge Roy Moore in person at The Family Foundation dinner in Harrisonburg VA In Sept, I visited Bristol TN to meet with leaders and staff of the Christian Medical Dental Associations. On my way to meet with leaders of the American Family Association in Tupelo MS, I had the chance to visit Nashville TN. In October, Julia and I attended the first annual national media prayer breakfast in Beverly Hills CA. Later in October, I attended that National Day of Prayer Coordinator’s Conference at the Focus on the Family headquarters in Colorado Springs.

 

For recreation, I still like to bike and work out. However, my running this year has been limited due to a right knee problem.

 

We bless you with joy and laughter!
We bless you with a steadfast faith!
We bless you with the hopes and the dreams that your heart goes after!
We bless you with amazing grace!

 

In the love of Christ, – Randy Peck

P.S. If you have never experienced the miracle of Christmas in your personal life, we invite you to visit www.randypeck.com after Dec 31 to learn how. We expect to have lots of photos from 2004 on the web site by Jan 1.

 

Jesus loves you! He invites each person to surrender his life to Him.

How to get to heaven!

 

Merry Christmas from Randy, Julia, Caren, and Robbie Peck

 

The LORD has blessed our family in many wonderful ways this past year. My theme verse for the year has been Philippians 4:4 - “Rejoice in the LORD always, I say rejoice.” There were times and seasons this year when I did not feel like rejoicing in the LORD, yet I chose to anyway. And because of that, despite the trials and changes, God has blessed our family. Each of us has grown a lot and we have drawn closer together. Unity honors God.

 

Of all the things I am most thankful for, it is knowing I am a child of God and being able to serve Him daily. I am eternally grateful for my salvation and personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Next I am thankful for my immediate family, that we are still together and all healthy. I praise the LORD for my extended family and friends and for a job that pays well, offers much respect, and allows me an opportunity to minister to others.

 

For me, the highlight of this year was a family gathering at Massanutten, VA in August to celebrate my parent’s 50th anniversary. In this day and age of frequent divorces, unhappy marriages, and assaults on the classic family, it was such a blessing to be able to honor my parents for the 50 years of a joyful marriage they have modeled. It was also great for my parents to have all their sons, wives, and grandchildren, along with several other relatives gathered together for days as a family.

 

Another highlight of the year was our first family cruise on Carnival Cruise Lines’ Paradise ship in July. We spent seven fabulous days traveling the Eastern Caribbean. The crew included people from 49 nations. Each of us felt this was the most fun family vacation ever. We highly recommend a cruise to others. Our family also enjoyed a week vacation at a beach in North Carolina in mid June, the week after graduation.

 

Julia had a good year and paced herself nicely to compete in various athletic competitions and to help others with their fitness. Two of her major accomplishments in 2003 included competing in a half Ironman triathlon (swim 1.2 miles, bike 56 miles, and run 13 miles) at Lake Anna, VA in September and running the Marine Corp Marathon in Wash, D.C. in October. Her part-time work included teaching skiing, kickboxing, and personal training classes. She got started this year designing business cards and does an excellent job at that.

 

Julia and I started the habit of walking a mile or so most days I am home to have time alone and talk. It’s amazing how God even uses Ginger, our 9 year old golden retriever, to help ensure we get out together. Our marriage has also been strengthened by weekly date nights and date days.

 

Caren is 18 years old. She graduated #3 in her class of about 400 students at Culpeper High School in June. She had the privilege of being asked to speak and share her faith with about 400-500 people at the baccalaureate service on June 8. Her speech was very moving. The baccalaureate service is a voluntary Christian graduation service held the week before the regular graduation. Caren also had the privilege of speaking to more than 3,000 people at her main graduation event held on June 14. For several months in the first half of the year, Caren functioned as a small group leader for Christian youth at Common Ground coffee house.

 

In August, Caren started college in Williamsburg, VA at the College of William and Mary, the 2nd oldest college in the United States. Her first semester at college has been very trying for Caren. She is no longer a big fish in a little pond. Academic competition is tough. She misses home. Fortunately, Caren has participated in a weekly small group for fellowship with other Christians affiliated with Intervarsity. That has been vital to her well being.

 

Robbie is 16 years old and has matured a lot physically. He is about 5 foot 9 inches tall. Robbie participated in JV soccer in the Spring and on a travel soccer team in the Fall. He recently began working out with the indoor track team at the high school for the first time. Robbie also started biking on his own this year. Robbie has a very outgoing personality and has made many new friends. He was selected by his peers at school to be part of the “inner court” at the homecoming football game. Robbie has a good sense of humor and makes us all laugh.

 

We are proud that Robbie works hard in school and does well academically. Robbie got his driver’s license in the summer and we are grateful that he is responsible and lets us know where he is. I try to spend at least one day each week praying and reading the Bible with Robbie. I am very thankful that Robbie began participating in Young Life on Monday nights in Culpeper. Young Life is a Christian organization focusing on youth and development of Christ-like character.

 

This year has worked out much differently than I originally planned as far as my career goes. I started the year intending to do only 12-16 weeks of anesthesia, but by the end of 2003 I will have done the equivalent of about 29. However, because I was willing to make sacrifices to serve others, God has blessed me in relationships, financially, and with growth in the fruits of the Holy Spirit (love, joy, peace, etc). A few months ago, I signed a 3-6 month contract to work 3 days/week at Giles Memorial Hospital, a 3 ½/ hour drive from Culpeper. The regular schedule allows me to be at home with my family 4 days/week. Because of the increase anesthesia work load, my web development business received less attention this year, yet I believe God will bless it in His perfect timing.

 

With the extra weekdays off, I plan to start a local radio ministry soon to strengthen families. While I am distressed by the downward spiral of morality in our nation, I am encouraged to know that I serve an awesome God and that one person can make a difference in the world with His help.

 

In October, I went to Lynchburg, VA to attend the “The Purpose Driven Church” Christian Super Conference, the best leadership conference ever for me. For recreation, I still like to bike and run and spend a lot of time reading.

 

Always remember that we are blessed to be a blessing to others. It is my prayer that God will bless you abundantly this coming year so that you may be a greater blessing to others.

 

In the love of Christ, – Randy Peck

 

Jesus loves you! He invites each person to surrender his life to Him.

2002 Christmas Letter from the Peck Family

December 25, 2002

	Randy, Julia, Caren, & Robbie Peck wish each of you a Merry Christmas!The LORD has blessed our family in many wonderful ways this past year. Each of us has grown a lot. Through it all, God has drawn our family closer together. As the children become more and more independent, driving themselves to school and activities now, Julia’s days are open more for helping others benefit from exercise. Her new fitness business of “Xtrainhers” now includes group fitness exercises.
Julia is on board with Culpeper Parks and Rec teaching a cardio kickbox class in the evening in addition to her Tuesday night class at the Tennis Center. She has also joined Sport and Health Clubs as a personal trainer. A recent Fitness conference in Baltimore opened new doors for her as she received her latest certification to teach the ancient Chinese martial art discipline of T’ai Chi. As a result, we all move “gracefully” about the house “parting horse’s manes” and coming up with our own “fish out of water” postures. Some of Julia’s athletic accomplishments this summer include a second place finish at the Lake Anna Half Ironman event and her first team effort in the Hi Tech Adventure Series in Richmond, Virginia. Aside from “athletics”, she maintains an even keel with her “artistic” side and passion for design and graphics creating business cards and maintaining a few web sites. For most of this past year, Caren has been dating Adam Stunkle, a delightful, responsible, Christian lad who is one year older than her. Adam graduated from Culpeper High School in June 2002 and began attending a Christian college in Nashville, Tennessee in August. Caren and Adam continue dating, mostly in a long distance relationship. Caren has grown a lot spiritually this year in her walk with Jesus. Most days she spends quiet time reading the Bible and praying. Caren began participating in a Sunday school class and a Wednesday evening Christian youth group. She has assumed an active leadership role as an FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) officer. She attended the Women of Faith Conference with Elayna Gregory in Philadelphia in Sept. In October, Caren was an angel in Heaven’s Gates & Hell’s Flames, the Christian drama that led her to accept Jesus as her Lord and Savior the year before. Caren continues to do well academically as a senior in high school and did well on her SAT’s. She has narrowed her college choice down to three. Caren helped the Culpeper varsity tennis team make it to the regional tournament for the first time in 5 years and made the second team all-district team. Caren qualified to attend the Governor’s School in Richmond Virginia for 4 weeks in July. Robbie is now 15 and in tenth grade. He grew 8-10″ in the past year and started driving with his learner’s permit last week. Robbie was confirmed at Precious Blood Catholic Church in April. He is growing substantially in his Christian faith and readily accepts his father’s teaching. Robbie is doing well academically. He played JV soccer in the Spring and travel soccer in the Fall. He recently started playing lacrosse. Robbie enjoys hanging out with his friends and playing Everquest on the Internet, his favorite activity. Ginger, our golden retriever, is now eight. She had a mishap with a car about a month ago, but has recovered fully. As a consequence of that accident, we are paying more attention to her and walking her more frequently. This has actually resulted in a better fitness level for her. A few of the family highlights for 2002 include a family trip to New York City in mid June followed by a short vacation in Williamsburg, Virginia a week later. In late July, Randy & Robbie visited Dennis, Diane, & Andy in Olympia, Washington for a week. In early August our family took Adam and went for a week to the beach near Nagshead, North Carolina. (Turn over to read the backside of this letter) Randy, a servant of Jesus Christ, to my dear family members and friends, May the peace and grace of Jesus Christ be with you and your family! This has been my most blessed year ever. This year I have realized that LIFE IS ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS (fellowship), not about money, power, titles, or things. There are 3 types of relationships, outward (with other people), inward (with ourselves), and upward (with God). Relationships with other people can not be good unless our relationships with ourselves is good. Our relationships with ourselves is great only when we are spiritually right with God. In April I was baptized as a true believer with my daughter Caren. I did not take this decision lightly since I had been baptized as an infant in the Catholic church. I prayed and waited more than a year for the Holy Spirit to reveal to me with certainty God’s will. And God has blessed me and our family in a variety of miraculous ways for being obedient to Him. Just as Jesus’ baptism launched his public ministry and served as an example to his followers, so my baptism did too. My public ministry began a week after my baptism when God allowed me the opportunity to preach a sermon (“Building on Jesus, Our Rock”) at Open Door Baptist Church, which was also broadcast on local Christian radio. God subsequently afforded me other opportunities to preach about other topics in other settings and other places, including a prison. I was blessed to be asked to share some wonderful memories of my Uncle Ozzie at his funeral service in June in Wisconsin. This Fall, God opened the door for me to begin teaching as a small group leader for 11th and 12th graders at Open Door Church.  I now have a divine purpose in my life, “to glorify God in all I do”, no matter where I am or what I am doing. Just as Jesus came to serve in love, so I seek to do likewise. While I’m not perfect and never will be until I’m united with God in heaven, this is a noble goal to strive for. When people ask me what I do, I now say “I am a servant of Jesus Christ”. My next highest priorities are to be a Godly husband and father. After that comes church, extended family, and career. Just as Barnabas was a great encourager to Saint Paul and the early church in Antioch, I seek to be an encourager.  My daily theme has become “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be given unto you.” (Matthews 6:33-34). In the Spring of 2002, I committed to spend an average of two hours (< 10% of my day) in quiet time daily to pray, read the Bible, and be still and listen to God. God has blessed this sacrifice with improved family relationships, financial rewards, and blessings of fruit of the Holy Spirit, including love, joy, and peace.  Every day for me is now CHRISTmas when I bring Christ into it by spending quality daily quiet time with God. In January 2002, I began daily prayer journaling, my best habit ever. Good habits are the key to all success. Prayer journaling has become my lead domino, something that makes everything else important in my life happen. By spending daily time meditating on God’s Word, I am filled with love and hope and my days are created anew. God has answered so many of my prayers. I realize that the greatest way I can show my love for Julia and our kids is to pray for them consistently. I would like to share the story of a wonderful miracle about the power of forgiveness and how God can reconcile relationships we can’t. Click here after January 5, 2003 to learn more! Career-wise, my goal for 2002 was to do 12-16 weeks of anesthesia and I did 15. God is blessing my web development business more as I take a stronger stand for Christianity. For recreation, I still like to bike and run and spend a lot of time reading. Despite the joy I personally experience through my renewed relationship with Jesus and my family, my heart still aches each day as I pray for suffering family members and friends, for broken & failing marriages, for people with severe illnesses, for persecuted Christians and others in the world, and for lost souls. I am comforted to know God answers prayers. Jesus loves you! He invites each person to surrender his life to Him.

December 25, 2001

 

Greetings!

 

Julia’s father, Jim Kim, broke his hip in early February and had a steady downhill course until he died on May 19, 2000. This followed a brave 6-7 year fight with prostate cancer. Jim was beautifully honored by many family, friends, and military service men during his funeral service at Arlington Cemetery on June 19. Jim spent the last few months of his life at home with hospice care, being visited numerous times by all his children and grandchildren. Julia was fortunate to be with her father when he drew his last breath and died in peace.

 

After the trying events of the first half of the year with her father, Julia began to spread her wings and explore many opportunities she had postponed while our children were small. This included lots of traveling (California, Colorado, New York, Massachusetts, etc) and new friends. Her physical workouts picked up once again. In early 2001, Julia worked part-time as a ski instructor at Massanutten, a local resort and plans to return to that this coming winter. Julia continues to refine her graphic design (Photoshop) skills. She taught a few martial arts courses to children in the summer. In the Fall, she began working part-time at Café Fairfax, an upscale local coffee restaurant.

 

Caren made a decision to accept Jesus as her savior on September 23. She is 16 and has been driving her own car by herself for half a year. She continues to do well academically as a junior in high school and just took her SAT’s. She played soccer in the Spring, making the first team all-district team in her first season as a varsity player. This whole year she worked out regularly with strength and endurance training. In the Fall, Caren played tennis for the varsity high school team and made the first team all-district in that. Caren played soccer at the same time for a travel team, which had a good comeback in the second half of the season. Caren recently qualified for the newly formed high school pom-pom squad. She joined the FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) in September.

 

Caren officially received the bronze Congressional Award in June and plans to work for the silver medal in 2002. She was inducted into the National Honor Society in October. Caren is quite social now. She enjoys hanging out with friends, going to school events, and chatting on AIM (AOL Instant Messenger) when she has spare time.

 

Robbie is 14, in ninth grade, his last year at the Middle School. He’s doing well academically. He played basketball in the winter. While he didn’t score a lot of points, his Dad was proud of his excellent defense. He played travel soccer in the Spring, but decided to play soccer on a house league team in the Fall to cut down on weekend traveling. Robbie enjoys hanging out with his friends. His favorite activity is playing Everquest on the Internet. He asks a lot of intelligent questions about Christianity and comforts his Dad frequently.

 

Ginger, our golden retriever, is now seven. We were more attentive to her exercise needs this year and began taking her on more regular walks. She’s lost her ambition to be an Olympic long distance runner, but is still willing to train puppies.

 

Some highlights of 2001 included a family vacation in Vail, Colorado in February, a June vacation in France for Caren and Julia with the French class. We did not go on a family beach vacation this year for the first time in more than a decade. It’s more difficult to take vacations with the whole family with two teenagers.

 

Love,

 

Randy, Julia, Caren, & Robbie Peck

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Randy’s Note for 2001

May the peace, joy, and love of Jesus Christ be with you and your family during this Christmas season!

This has been the most difficult Christmas letter ever for me to write. In fact, for a short while, I even considered not sending custom Christmas cards and letters this year. I didn’t want to offend people with faith discussions, but God encouraged me through both prayer and friends. I was reminded that the reason I prepare custom Christmas cards and letters each year is to show family and friends I love them and how grateful I am for the love they have shown me.

This year my focus has been spiritual growth. On January 6, 2001, I committed my life to Jesus Christ while I was attending the Epiphany Sunday service at Precious Blood Catholic Church. (“Epiphany” actually means spiritual revelation.) While there was no formal “altar call”, God had strung together an incredible sequence of events over the previous half year to lead me to that decision. I developed a thirst for the Word of God and came to appreciate the truth in it. I surrendered my life to God and have put my trust in Him, resulting in a peace never before experienced. I still have many ups and downs from a worldly standpoint, but they bother me much less. I exchanged the security of my past for many opportunities, risks, and blessings of God.

Christianity to me has become a relationship (with Jesus Christ) instead of a religion as in the past. I finally understand that “religion” is man reaching out to God, whereas Christianity is God reaching out to man through a personal savior, Jesus Christ. My life has become centered around relationships instead of around material things. In fact, I believe I made more close friends this year than I did during my entire lifetime prior.

I’ve been accused by some family and friends of thinking of God all the time. That’s true. I’m not ashamed of the gospel or of Jesus. I can honestly say now that I love the LORD my God with all my mind, with all my heart, with all my soul, and with all my strength. However, I am working hard to learn to think Biblically yet speak secularly in non-Christian forums. I’ve been a member of the Culpeper Ministerial Association all year.

Career-wise, my initial goal for 2001 was to do about 12 weeks of anesthesia. Through July 2001, I had done 8 weeks, putting me ahead of schedule, but then I let other Godly matters be a higher priority. In 2002, I plan to do about 12 weeks of anesthesia. My web development business is slowly growing. I have started doing a lot of presentations and intend to start private coaching of executives.

A few of the special events for me this year included a Worldview Conference in Richmond in April, a national Christian Super Conference in October, a private Christian tour of the U.S. Capitol with pastors from all over the country in October, visiting Aunt Jean, Uncle Ozzie, & Sharon in Atlanta in early November, serving as the godfather for Jennifer Grace Peck (Kevin & Karen’s new daughter) on Nov 25, and visiting with relatives at Aunt Midge & Uncle Casper’s 50th anniversary and family reunion in early December in Wisconsin.

For recreation, I still like to bike and run. Surprisingly, I exercised more this year than any year in the past 6-10 years. I spend a lot of time reading. I set a goal of reading the Bible completing this year, but will fall slightly short of that. I spend more time with the kids than I used to, including cooking. My ultimate thanks goes out to Julia and the kids for tolerating a “new creation” (stranger) in their home. My love for my family has soared. 

I conclude by sharing that I believe that the most important and fundamental question that one can ask himself is “If I die today, where am I going and why?” The September 11 tragedies reminded us that none of us know if we’ll be around tomorrow. I invite you to make the national motto, “In God we trust”, the theme of your life as I have.

Love,

Randy

Jesus loves you! He invites each person to surrender his life to Him.

2005 Christmas letter from the Peck family
December 25, 2005

Dear family and friends,

Merry Christmas from Randy, Julia, Caren, and Robbie Peck!

At the start of 2005, I chose Jeremiah 33:3 as my theme verse, and what God did in our family and ministry was truly incredible. In Jeremiah 33:3, God promises, “Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.”

This year started off far different than any other. On December 31, 2004, my dream team (Christian accountability group), called Team HOPE, met for the first time ever to establish far-reaching team goals along with a strategy to accomplish those. In addition to agreeing to establish habits to abide in Jesus more deeply, we agreed to work together to make Virginia the brightest light in the world by 2007, the year the world celebrates the 400th anniversary of Jamestown, the birthplace of English-speaking America and the place where Christianity first got rooted in America.

God blessed Julia with a great year and good health. Julia’s two greatest passions are fitness and graphical design. Julia won numerous running and triathlon events for her age group. Her triathlon team, called “Splash, Dash, and No Road Rash,” placed first again in the coed division at the Lake Anna half Ironman triathlon (swim 1.2 miles, bike 56 miles, and run 13 miles), eclipsing nearly 30 minutes off their record from last year. Julia organized a few fund-raising races as well.

Julia had a variety of part-time jobs in 2005, including teaching skiing, kickboxing, and Tai Chi, serving as a personal trainer, doing graphical design, and working at Cameron Street Coffee House. She was promoted to manager at Cameron Street Coffee House, now supervising more than ten other people.

Caren is 20 and in her 3rd year at the College of William and Mary. She is in the Business School, majoring in accounting. During all of 2005, Caren served in a leadership position with Intervarsity at W&M, overseeing both the weekly newsletter and the website. In the Spring, she went to Honduras for her first foreign mission trip. For more than a year, Caren has been dating Aaron Roth, a wonderful Christian young man who graduated from W&M in May. Caren’s roommate at college for the third consecutive year is Bethany Stackhouse, a dear friend. For the entire Spring semester of 2006, Caren will be doing a study abroad program in Florence Italy. Recently, she was blessed to be hired to do an apprenticeship with a large accounting firm in Northern Virginia for eight weeks in the summer of 2006.

Robbie is 18 and graduated from Culpeper High School in June 2005. He has completed his first semester in the School of Engineering at the University of Virginia. His desire is to be an entrepreneur in the computer/technology field. Robbie has been dating Danielle Ruffo for several months now. In the Spring, Robbie was active with Young Life and played varsity soccer for the high school team. In the summer, he took it easy and attended a week long Young Life camp at Lake Champion in New York. He is learning to play guitar. Both Caren and Robbie worked part-time for my in the summer.

During all of 2005, Randy and Julia were blessed to be actively involved with Soul Purpose Church, a new church plant in Bealeton Virginia. See http://www.soulpurposechurch.org/.

Special trips in 2005 included one to the Dominican Republic in June for Randy and Julia to celebrate their 24th anniversary and a family beach vacation in Duck NC in July.

The best word to sum up this year for me is "LIFE" - I have never felt more alive in my life. Coming to a deeper understanding of who Jesus really is and how much He loves me fills me with endless joy. O, I still have problems and trials, but how I handle them is so much different. I also frequently weep when I learn about and pray for problems, trials, and suffering that so many other people are experiencing. But fortunately I know I serve a God of hope, a God with real answers to real problems.

I love Christmas time. I always have because I grew up in a loving home where my parents made Christmas fun. The true miracle of Christmas, the birth of Jesus, became a reality for me on January 6, 2001 when I committed my life to Jesus. Jesus is the reason for the season - He’s why love and joy abound. For me, every day is Christmas with Jesus in my heart.

As I practice the presence of God, thankfulness dominates my prayers. It’s less about me and more about Him. It’s wonderful to approach each day with an attitude of gratitude. Jesus is in the transformation business. He transformed me and then He transformed my family. Since devoting my life to Him, I have experienced so much excitement and so many surprises that I frequently feel like I’m playing the lead role in an Indiana Jones movie.

Julia has never seemed more beautiful to me. We delight in our two kids. I thank God that my father and mother and Julia’s mom live near by and that we still have the opportunity to visit and honor them. I’m thankful for all the new people I met this year and for all people who show their appreciation when I help them.

I started this year meeting with my three Christian accountability group partners. For the first time ever, we set team goals, which helped all of us accomplish much more. One physical goal I set and achieved was to compete in a 56 mile bike race as part of a half-Ironman team triathlon. My longest bike race previously was 35 miles and that was years ago.

What do I do for a living now? There are several correct answers. One is that I’m a part-time anesthesiologist and part-time entrepreneur. I’m also a marketplace minister, an ambassador for a king - Jesus. Recently I realized I’m a farmer because every day is an opportunity to sow good seeds of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control - all fruit of the Spirit. Since "what you sow is what you reap," I know these good seeds will result in either good fruit or no fruit, but never bad fruit.

My two favorite trips this year were my mission trip to Argentina in October and a visit to Elk River Minnesota in November, both for Harvest Evangelism conferences. See http://www.harvestevan.org/. Two words sum up those trips - "extraordinary miracles." My trip to Argentina was my first ever south of the equator. Of all the great people I met, things I saw, and wonderful experiences I had, my favorite was Jack Serra’s 30 minute presentation titled "Marketplace, Marriage, and Revival." Jack said "The businessman’s ministry in the marketplace will only advance to the extent that his marriage permits." What he taught hit home to me like a ton of bricks.

During the first eleven months of 2005, I had the privilege to host A Life of Blessing, a Christian TV show airing on a secular cable TV station in the Culpeper and Piedmont community. The show was temporarily stopped at the end of November when God made it clear that Julia and I were to stop funding this ourselves. I believe God is opening a gate for a world-wide TV and media ministry. I just need to slow down to rest, abide in Jesus more deeply, and wait for God to reveal His path and His ways.

Be blessed to know that "Jesus loves you!" and “God has a wonderful plan for your life!”

Wishing you a Christ-centered, memory-filled Christmas and a blessed New Year!

Randy
“Blessed to be a blessing”

2006 Christmas letter from the Peck family

December 25, 2006

 

Merry Christmas from Randy, Julia, Caren, and Robbie Peck!

For the fourth year in a row, I started the year with a new theme verse from the Bible. In 2006 my theme verse was- “Please, show me Your glory” (Exodus 33:18b). The key message for me was “On my knees, I find refuge” - a song I heard sung twice by Miriam Halsey.

On December 30, 2005, my Christian coaching group met for our second annual planning session for the upcoming year. Each of the four members reviewed successes and failures of the previous year and set individual goals for the upcoming year. This year our team decided to keep our weekly meetings focused on coaching rather than accomplishing big team goals.

The best word to describe this year is TRANSITION. Julia prepared to start an international coffee roasting business. Caren did a semester abroad “studying” in Florence Italy. Robbie learned business and leadership skills while working extremely hard as an entrepreneur painting homes in his first full-time summer job. I terminated my three-year anesthesia contract.

This year Julia and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary. I had hoped to take Julia on a surprise cruise to the Mediterranean, but things didn’t work out . However, Julia and I did have the opportunity to take Julia’s mother to Italy to visit Caren for a wonderful nine day vacation.

God works in mysterious ways. In the Spring of 2006, the job Julia loved as manager of Cameron Street Coffee House ended after the sale of the building where the business was located. But Julia’s interest to roast coffee didn’t die. Julia asked God for a clear sign if He wanted her to bring the business to our home. God gave her that sign. Then began a six-month test of my patience and persistence as we converted part of our garage to a roasting room. According to Julia, I passed the tests. Julia plans to start roasting coffee before Christmas.

One of the top highlights for us as a couple this year was hosting a marriage LIFE group in our home. For about five years I had prayed that Julia and I would be able to attend a marriage course together. God answered that prayer in an amazing way by bringing an extraordinary marriage course right to our home to take with close friends. The nine week course is called “The Marketplace and Marriage Connection”. I believe God will use this course to transform marriages around the world.

For the past several years, I have said Julia’s two greatest passions were fitness and graphical design. This year, Julia’s graphical design passion took a back seat to starting her own coffee roasting business. Julia has been more focused this year, not doing the variety of part-time jobs like in the past. She has been an active member of Soul Purpose Church. She is sharing her faith and reaching out to help others grow.

Julia is in great physical condition. She continues to be one of the top athletes in her age group for both running races and triathlons. For the second year in a row, Julia was the regional champion for the Xterra triathlon point series and qualified for nationals, although she didn’t go. For the past three years, Julia has served as race director for the Calorie Burner 5k run/walk in Culpeper in November. This year’s event called “Run for Daniel” was the most successful, raising money for Daniel Garcia.

In May 2007, Caren will graduate from the College of William and Mary with an accounting major from the Business School. It’s hard to believe she’s in her fourth year of college. For the Spring semester, Caren did her very first study abroad in Florence Italy - the art capital of the world. For eight weeks in the summer, Caren stayed with her grandmother while doing an apprenticeship with Cherry, Bekaert, and Holland, a large accounting firm where she plans to work when she finishes college.

Robbie is 19 and in his second year of college nearby at the University of Virginia. That’s where Julia and I first met in 1977. Robbie’s major is systems engineering, which seems very practical for the business world. Robbie learned business and leadership skills while working extremely hard for College Works Painting in his first full-time summer job.

My favorite daily and weekly habits are my daily morning quiet times, my walks and talks with Julia, my weekly coaching group meetings, and the weekly Pray Culpeper meetings.

Some highlights for me this year included many answers to prayer, learning to listen better to Julia, honoring my father and mother with frequent visits, starting daily devotionals on July 1 called “Your Daily Blessing,” initiating Culpeper’s very first Global Day of Prayer service, and bringing special visitors to Culpeper. Our guests included the entire Heeren family, Jack and AJ Serra, Jeff Bernstein, Joseph Umidi, and Dan Tingley.

My favorite meetings this year included the International Transformation Network meeting hosted by Harvest Evangelism in Brooklyn New York in April, the International Coalition of Workplace Ministries (www.icwm.net) roundtable in Virginia Beach in late August, the Transformation North Carolina conference in September, and the Global Missions Health Conference in Louisville Kentucky in November.

While in New York City for the International Transformation Network meeting, God connected me with Jeff Bernstein. Jeff is a messianic Jew and the founder of Gates of Zion (www.gatesofzion.net). In addition to becoming a good friend, Jeff opened my eyes to the importance of blessing the Jewish people.

Matt Gregory, my pastor and long time coaching group partner, told me my greatest gift is being a LIFE coach. He said every coach has their unique strengths and that two of mine are uncommon ideas and being a great connector.

In his message called “Insights about Life,” Rick Warren shares that “Life is a series of problems; you are either in one now, you’re just coming out of one, or you’re getting ready to go into another one. The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort.”

Low points for me this year included failure to achieve many of my annual goals established at the start of 2006, insufficient time spent with our kids, and no summer family vacation because of difficulty coordinating everyone’s work schedule. Recently Robbie told me to write down my strengths and weakness. He shared that two of my greatest weaknesses are focus and saying “No.”

The most profound thing that happened to me this year was my decision to take a sabbatical year in 2007. In obedience to the Holy Spirit and in faith, I’m stepping away from my favorite anesthesia job ever, expecting 2007 to be a year full of extraordinary miracles.

When you get in alignment with your assignment, God’s provision will follow! My assignment is to power network the Judeo-Christian networks around the world to unite God’s army. In 2007, my focus is to bless marriages and unite God’s army in Virginia as we celebrate the 400th anniversary of Jamestown, the birthplace of English-speaking America.

Dr. Randy Peck
To see photos of our family and friends for the year, click here.

To sign up to receive my daily devotional, visit www.yourdailyblessing.com.

To learn more about how we can help you with power networking, visit www.peckwebs.com.

To order fresh coffee from Julia, visit www.worldbeanroasthers.com.

To learn more about living A Life of Blessing, visit www.alifeofblessing.org.