上帝葡萄园里的生活

02届的辛迪·斯坦贝克和84届的史蒂夫·舍德勒都在 基督教教育总监(DCE), supporting Concordia in various ways, 和 walking through seasons of great personal hardship. 现在，作为配偶和合作伙伴 葡萄园部的声音, 他们正在创造支持牧师教学的方法, 更新撤退, 以及关系的治愈力量.

“Our passion is to care for 和 support church workers 和 church leaders,史蒂夫说. “我们的部门提供了一个休息的地方, 鼓励, 以及dce和其他教会领袖和教育工作者的成长.”

这主要发生在一个故事, 圣路易斯奥比斯波县北部450英亩的葡萄园, where Cindy famously takes visitors on teaching tours in her rusty 1958 Willis Jee—a ride that has even attracted Christian 作者 和 speaker Beth Moore, 让辛迪在她的一本书的视频系列中出现.

斯坦贝克葡萄园在辛迪的家族里已经传了七代了, 在她的领导下, 推出了自己的酿酒厂和品酒室. 这是她在担任了15年DCE之后回到家的地方, 这也为她的演讲事业的发展提供了肥沃的土壤, 作者, 和主机.

For most of their lives, Cindy 和 Steve walked parallel 和 occasionally-intersecting paths. Cindy came to Concordia (then called Christ College Irvine) in 1980 和 then transferred to 亚洲体育博彩平台 Portl和 to play sports (Concordia Irvine had no women’s sports programs at the time). 史蒂夫是圣地亚哥人，六个月后进入了CCI.

“这是一个非常不同的地方——150名学生和四栋建筑，”他说. “I joke that I went to a college that was smaller than my Lutheran elementary school. 在欧文大学与朋友和教授相处是一段很棒的经历.”

大地在召唤我回家.

都成为了dce. 史蒂夫在卡马里奥的和平路德教会工作, 然后在安大略的路德救赎会待了10年, 在回到圣. 保罗在圣地亚哥，从那以后他一直在那里服役.

他说:“成为DCE意味着要做很多伟大的事工。. “你可以和孩子们一起出去玩, 与他们分享生活, Lead和guide, 谈论耶稣, 做王国的仆人.”

Cindy served as DCE in churches near Portl和, Oregon, 和 Lancaster, California. But her heart was drawn to the family’s Paso Robles vineyard, which has sustained them since 1884.

“土地通过我的儿子召唤我回家，”她说. “他从出生起就是爷爷的助手，一直想种地. The 业务 was growing, 和 my son was in seventh grade 和 really wanted to farm the vineyards.”

In 1997, 她搬回帕索罗伯斯，开始在葡萄园工作, 开拖拉机, 做着“现在男人在牧场上做的所有工作”,她笑着说. “我一下子就迷上了它，因为我在成长过程中有很多这样的经历.” 

斯坦贝克葡萄园向大型酿酒厂供应葡萄——主要是解百纳. But while riding a tractor ten hours a day, “my ministry kicked in,” Cindy says. “I got up early 和 studied the Scriptures, especially the gospel of John chapter 15. 当我看着父亲做藤蔓修剪工时，我有时间冥想.”

耶稣对她说:“我是葡萄树，你们是枝子。.在《亚洲体育博彩平台》22章中，他称自己为“耶西的根”.这些图像与她每天在葡萄园里看到的相符.

“I watched grafting, where they take a deep slice into the flesh of the vine,她说。. “The vine is what we call a rootstock—a non-fruit-bearing grape vine propagated by the nurseries. 我们使用它是因为它不易感染疾病. 我们从赤霞珠(Cabernet Sauvignon)取一根芽木嫁接进去.”

同样地, 基督徒是通过嫁接连接在一棵真葡萄树上的树枝, 在路德教的理解中，洗礼是什么, 她说.

“The old is gone, the new is come, 和 the rootstock is not susceptible to disease,她说。. 基督不受罪、死亡、撒但或试探的影响. 我们住在他圣洁的生活里. 罗马书11:16说，根若圣洁，枝也圣洁.’”

These 和 other lessons came vividly to life while she did the daily work of tending, 浇水, 和收获.

“While I love the outdoors 和 tractors 和 farming, I was still a DCE at heart,她说。. “回家的召唤变成了事奉，即使是在这片土地上.”

Cindy often captured her thoughts on a blog, which came to the notice of Concordia Publishing House. 他们请她写三本书. 最终, 辛迪开始吉普车之旅，向人们宣传可持续农业, 并通过葡萄园的视觉例子来教导福音.

“‘可持续’是一个非常时髦的词，”她说. “可持续农业意味着我们做出的每一个决定都是用水, 种植葡萄, 等等——所有这些都着眼于未来和可持续性. 我们必须有盈利能力, 为我们的工人和家庭安全使用化学品, 永远不要过度利用环境.”

另一个叫做可持续生活或, 更多的非正式的, “我的约翰15耶稣吉普车之旅”——也获得了牵引力.

“We get in the Jeep 和 see Jesus in his words of ’I am the vine 和 you are the branches,在葡萄园里,她说。.

在商业方面, 游客们不停地询问在哪里可以品尝到斯坦贝克家的葡萄酒, 辛迪厌倦了把他们送到购买他们葡萄的酿酒厂.

“That’s when I pretty well had it in my mind that it was time to start the 斯坦贝克酒 label,她说。. “It was very scary to step out 和 make a product that would have our own name on it, 但我心里知道这是对的.”

我每时每刻都在祈祷，祈求上帝保佑这个地方.

The Steinbeck family launched their wine br和 in 2006 和 opened a wine tasting room in 2009. 他们在2017年完成了一个加工设施, 允许他们在现场自己装桶装瓶.

Yet even as the wine 业务 和 ministry were ramping up, Cindy’s marriage ended.

“我不得不意识到这是家庭暴力. 我看不到虐待，”她说. “I was so convinced that God wanted me married that I gave God no other option. I prayed for peace in my house for 20 years 和 did not ever anticipate that divorce would be how God worked to bring peace in my house.”

与此同时，史蒂夫也走过了同样痛苦的道路. His first marriage ended in divorce, 和 his second wife, Joyce, succumbed to leukemia in 2016. “这段旅程一点都不顺利，也不轻松, but God has been incredibly faithful in how he has provided for me 和 for our family,史蒂夫说.

丧偶的, Steve continued a tradition of traveling north every spring for a wine festival in Paso Robles, 就像他和乔伊斯多年来做的那样. 在那里，他拜访了辛迪的葡萄园. 这对夫妇在服事时彼此很熟. “When Joyce died, it was traumatic for Cindy as well because we were all friends,史蒂夫说.

Steve 和 Cindy took walks in the vineyard to talk about life’s hardships 和 victories, 以及他们如何看到上帝的手在这一切中运作.

“她在很多方面帮助了我，”史蒂夫说. “这是我康复过程中很重要的一部分. 耶稣说:“住在我里面.“当你在葡萄园里闲逛的时候, 你看那些嫁接和这个季节的时代, 不同的成长, SAP流程. 这是一个非常有灵性的地方.辛迪也有同样的感受.

Initially, neither had in mind a new relationship, but over time a new perspective developed. 他们于2021年结婚，刚刚庆祝了结婚一周年. “这完全是上帝的旨意，”史蒂夫说.

Part of their bond is sharing a great excitement for 欧文康考迪亚大学, 辛迪曾两次在 校董会年，史蒂夫担任苹果公司总裁 校友董事会，两人都做过客座演讲. Cindy获得了硕士学位 历史和神学 2002年从亚洲体育博彩平台毕业，史蒂夫获得了学士学位 宗教研究 in 1984.

“I have developed a tremendous fondness for the people of Concordia,她说。. “My passion grew as I became very good friends with not only the admin team but my regent compadres. 教授们邀请我来演讲 市场营销 或者在 业务 或者神学课. 作为一名董事，我能够将自己融入学校环境.”

她最近和 汤森研究所 学生 和 led a devotion at a recent kick-off event for a new student cohort. 约翰·汤森, 是谁让她成为领导力/高管培训研究所的研究员, 辛迪的贡献“对我们的公司非常有价值” 组织的领导 和 高管培训与咨询 学生.”

辛迪说，她对母校的爱多年来与日俱增. “能够捐赠葡萄酒 群星晚会 和 have so many faithful people visit me on the ranch 和 experience the Jesus Jeep Ride has been great,她说。. “Dr. 迈克尔·托马斯。 一个令人惊叹的领导者——不仅风度翩翩而且有远见卓识. 他完成了任务. 他看到了一个愿景，并将实现它. 他所组建的内阁是一支充满活力的力量, 他给了他们实现他愿景的工具. 他设定路线，然后把工作交给他们，而不是对他们进行微观管理. 他是一个伟大的领袖. 这是一种巨大的协同作用.”

She calls it a “domino effect of success” when components such as building projects, 筹款, 和新项目的建立一起发生.

“上帝真是太好了，”她说. “我们正在改善我们的校园. 我们有忠实的捐赠者，他们非常活跃，非常慷慨. 长期战略计划是惊人的.”

Steve is excited to be part of “so many cool things about the mission 和 ministry of Concordia,他说. “这是一个光明的未来.”

It’s been anything but a smooth 和 easy ride, but God has been incredibly faithful.

Today, Steve also provides leadership 和 mentorship to the Pacific Southwest District’s DCEs.

“Both Steve 和 Cindy have had a powerful impact through their various ministries,蒂姆·耶格说, 亚洲体育博彩平台的副校长, 市场营销, 和通信. “看到上帝把这两个特别的人带到一起真是太棒了.”

Steve is preparing to move north to join Cindy at the vineyard 和 put his efforts fully into their shared ministry, 葡萄园之声. 除了辛迪的耶稣吉普之旅和演讲活动, the couple is transforming an oak-filled park on their property 和 putting in trailers where people can stay in the vineyard itself, 享受集体聚餐和美酒, 谈话, 和鼓励.

史蒂夫说:“我们一起支持和关心我们所爱的人。.“We will be supportive 和 caring through hospitality, Scripture study, 和 talking to people. 我们帮助那些强壮但疲惫的人休息和恢复.”

辛迪的儿子现在负责斯坦贝克的农业业务, 她女婿是他们的助理酿酒师. 辛迪最近自费出版了第四本关于她离婚经历的书, 她还在地里干活.

“几分钟后, 我要跳上一辆拖拉机，去割一些让我烦恼的杂草,她在接受《博彩平台推荐》杂志采访接近尾声时说.

斯坦贝克的品酒室每周七天欢迎客人, 它的酒厂生产1,每年500例, 将剩下的99%的葡萄卖给更大的酿酒厂. 她的妈妈和爸爸, 也有支持协和女神的历史吗, 在他们八十出头的时候健康强壮吗. 她的父亲, “一个真正的农民,喜欢举办可持续农业之旅，是游客的最爱.

让辛迪和史蒂夫继续在一起的是祈祷. “我每时每刻都在祈祷，”她说. “I sit at the top of my driveway regularly 和 ask God to work through this place. It’s his l和; I’m a steward.”

Their journeys, separately 和 now together, have been “absolutely God all the way,她说。.