February 23, 2011
I Stand In Awe
Just sometime last week, I saw this incredible sunset (and for February, I say that's pretty good) that I thought I would share with everyone. This just goes to show how magnificent God is, and how creative He is too. Who wouldn't love a God like this? Hope you enjoy this picture.
My Big News!
Well I have discovered that I am really bad at keeping updates on here. Hopefully as time goes on, I will improve on updating this. :o)
Anyways, Zach and I had some big news. On December 26th, 2010, we found out we would be adding to our family....a baby! At first I was a bit shocked, not that this wasn't completely planned, but just didn't think it would happen at this time, seeing as I hear that usually couples that are trying for the first time, don't always conceive right away. But anyways, it was joy that filled in my heart. I actually took 4 at home pregnancy tests just to make sure that it was accurate (and yes, all 4 came back positive!).
We decided that we only wanted to tell our parents until the first doctor appointment. We definitely were excited but wanted to make sure the doctor can truly affirm the pregnancy. My parents were the first to find out since after church the morning of the 26th, we went back up to my folks to spend a little more time since Christmas was rushed due to Zach's pastoral duties. My mom was shocked (in a good way) and cried, and my dad was excited--so excited he wanted to start telling his friends already! :o)
We told Zach's parents when we went up for the New Years weekend. Since Christmas was with my family this year, we celebrated Christmas was Zach's family on New Years. We were finally able to get his parents alone, and Cindy was excited, and Jim's reaction was my favorite. He was watching tv and when we went in to tell him the great news, he looked at us and smiled, and said "Neat.". Love it....classic reaction.
My first doctors appointment was in the middle of January, and that was the time we decided to tell our siblings. But first, at the doctors office, I had my first ultrasound to see my little one forming. I was just in awe to see that there is a live being developing and growing inside of me! Zach was with me, and was able to see as well. We were able to hear the heartbeat already, and I was only 8 weeks along! Hearing the heartbeat made me smile with such joy. After the appointment finished, we called all our siblings, and so then more excitment began!
We wanted to wait before telling our aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc until I got to the 12 week mark, seeing as we were told that when you get to that point you are less likely to have a miscarriage. It was such an exciting time to tell all our relatives. This will be the first grandbaby for my parents & for my mom's side of the family, so it was really exciting for my relatives on that side. But all were so excited and can't wait to share in this special time with Zach and I.
Here is the picture of our first ultrasound at 8 weeks. :o)
Anyways, Zach and I had some big news. On December 26th, 2010, we found out we would be adding to our family....a baby! At first I was a bit shocked, not that this wasn't completely planned, but just didn't think it would happen at this time, seeing as I hear that usually couples that are trying for the first time, don't always conceive right away. But anyways, it was joy that filled in my heart. I actually took 4 at home pregnancy tests just to make sure that it was accurate (and yes, all 4 came back positive!).
We decided that we only wanted to tell our parents until the first doctor appointment. We definitely were excited but wanted to make sure the doctor can truly affirm the pregnancy. My parents were the first to find out since after church the morning of the 26th, we went back up to my folks to spend a little more time since Christmas was rushed due to Zach's pastoral duties. My mom was shocked (in a good way) and cried, and my dad was excited--so excited he wanted to start telling his friends already! :o)
We told Zach's parents when we went up for the New Years weekend. Since Christmas was with my family this year, we celebrated Christmas was Zach's family on New Years. We were finally able to get his parents alone, and Cindy was excited, and Jim's reaction was my favorite. He was watching tv and when we went in to tell him the great news, he looked at us and smiled, and said "Neat.". Love it....classic reaction.
My first doctors appointment was in the middle of January, and that was the time we decided to tell our siblings. But first, at the doctors office, I had my first ultrasound to see my little one forming. I was just in awe to see that there is a live being developing and growing inside of me! Zach was with me, and was able to see as well. We were able to hear the heartbeat already, and I was only 8 weeks along! Hearing the heartbeat made me smile with such joy. After the appointment finished, we called all our siblings, and so then more excitment began!
We wanted to wait before telling our aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc until I got to the 12 week mark, seeing as we were told that when you get to that point you are less likely to have a miscarriage. It was such an exciting time to tell all our relatives. This will be the first grandbaby for my parents & for my mom's side of the family, so it was really exciting for my relatives on that side. But all were so excited and can't wait to share in this special time with Zach and I.
Here is the picture of our first ultrasound at 8 weeks. :o)
December 9, 2010
Journey to the Manger
At church these past couple Sundays, in light of the Christmas season, we are revisiting the story to the manger. After all, the real reason for this holiday season is our Lord and Savior's birth. It is amazing that a story that one could know really well, can still have so many teaching moments in it.
Let's take a look at Joseph, through the book of Matthew, and his life, and the affects on the Christmas story.
For starters, Joseph was pledged (aka "engaged") to marry Mary. When Mary was told that she was to have the son of God, it meant that she would be pregnant before the two were married. As stated in Chapter 1 verse 19, "Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly." In those days, being pregnant before marriage was looked down upon. Joseph didn't want people to know that Mary was pregnant because of the many assumptions is could lead to, for instance...1) it would have meant that they would have had premarital sex before marriage (a sin of course), thus damaging their reputation 2) Or Mary had an "affair" and became pregnant not with a child of Joseph's, thus damaging Mary's reputation forever, and embarressment to Joseph 3) hide the pregnancy, then divorce quietly and nobody would know, thus a "win-win" situation. Clearly you see the affects of what the world thinks rather than just trusting in the Lord.
Now we all know that the Angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, and offered reassurance that all will work out for God and His glory. It was through that dream, and the faith that Joseph put in God, that allowed the "Christ"mas story to continue.
The role that Joseph plays in the birth of Christ is crucial. Even after the birth in Bethlehem, Joseph had to remain strong and true to God. Since Herod did not like the fact that the Son of the Most High God, and known to rule over all men, was born, he became angry and jealous, and wanted to find this "child". He planned to kill every child under the age of 2, in effort to eliminate his "threat". The angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph, warning him of this, and told to go to Egypt. Joseph could have panicked, could have tried to protect himself in another manner, but followed God's instruction to the "T".
This is the kind of faithfulness that we need to have in the Lord. We need to trust in the direction that God takes us even if that is not what we had planned for our own lives. Many times people get caught up in how they see their life going....graduate high school, go to this college-graduate, meet the man you want to marry, married at age 25, kids by age 28, start your career sometime in between then, etc. It is best to learn to not hold close to those plans, because God has something greater in store for you. Joseph could have left Mary, to be with a woman that would not have been pregnant before marriage. He could have thought being the earthly father to the Son of God would be too much of a task and pressure, but instead he remained faithful. He realized that we are not on the earth for our own needs and wants, but to serve and glorify our God according to His individual plan and purpose for each person.
How are you living your life? Would you be willing to drop everything you have come to know, and go in a completely different direction because God called you to go that way? Would you trust in the greatness of our God, and know that you will be taken care of, even if it meant you couldn't have some of the luxuries that others have?
Something to ponder, as we journey on our own way to glorify and worship our Heavenly Father.
Let's take a look at Joseph, through the book of Matthew, and his life, and the affects on the Christmas story.
For starters, Joseph was pledged (aka "engaged") to marry Mary. When Mary was told that she was to have the son of God, it meant that she would be pregnant before the two were married. As stated in Chapter 1 verse 19, "Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly." In those days, being pregnant before marriage was looked down upon. Joseph didn't want people to know that Mary was pregnant because of the many assumptions is could lead to, for instance...1) it would have meant that they would have had premarital sex before marriage (a sin of course), thus damaging their reputation 2) Or Mary had an "affair" and became pregnant not with a child of Joseph's, thus damaging Mary's reputation forever, and embarressment to Joseph 3) hide the pregnancy, then divorce quietly and nobody would know, thus a "win-win" situation. Clearly you see the affects of what the world thinks rather than just trusting in the Lord.
Now we all know that the Angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, and offered reassurance that all will work out for God and His glory. It was through that dream, and the faith that Joseph put in God, that allowed the "Christ"mas story to continue.
The role that Joseph plays in the birth of Christ is crucial. Even after the birth in Bethlehem, Joseph had to remain strong and true to God. Since Herod did not like the fact that the Son of the Most High God, and known to rule over all men, was born, he became angry and jealous, and wanted to find this "child". He planned to kill every child under the age of 2, in effort to eliminate his "threat". The angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph, warning him of this, and told to go to Egypt. Joseph could have panicked, could have tried to protect himself in another manner, but followed God's instruction to the "T".
This is the kind of faithfulness that we need to have in the Lord. We need to trust in the direction that God takes us even if that is not what we had planned for our own lives. Many times people get caught up in how they see their life going....graduate high school, go to this college-graduate, meet the man you want to marry, married at age 25, kids by age 28, start your career sometime in between then, etc. It is best to learn to not hold close to those plans, because God has something greater in store for you. Joseph could have left Mary, to be with a woman that would not have been pregnant before marriage. He could have thought being the earthly father to the Son of God would be too much of a task and pressure, but instead he remained faithful. He realized that we are not on the earth for our own needs and wants, but to serve and glorify our God according to His individual plan and purpose for each person.
How are you living your life? Would you be willing to drop everything you have come to know, and go in a completely different direction because God called you to go that way? Would you trust in the greatness of our God, and know that you will be taken care of, even if it meant you couldn't have some of the luxuries that others have?
Something to ponder, as we journey on our own way to glorify and worship our Heavenly Father.
My Camera
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| Not my exact camera, but this is it!! |
December 2, 2010
How Valuable Life Truly Is
Today, our church received some bad news. One of the members passed away unexpectedly, and not to mention, it was a parent of one of the kids in Zach's youth ministry. Talk about hard news to receive. My point of me writing this is to reiterate to everyone that life is short.
A death that hits close to home definitely makes you realize not to become too "comfortable" in this life. Remember that earth is just a "temporary" home in preparation for our eternal life in Heaven with our Maker, and Creator. How are you living your day to day life? Are you living to glorify God or are you living to see how far you can get/how much you can achieve in this life? How do you treat people that come and go in your life? Do you treat them with God's unfailing, immeasurable, and unconditional love despite if at times you are wronged by them? Do you hold grudges or are having a hard time forgiving? These are the questions that you must ask and check yourself. Where do you fall in this scale?
Don't leave a conversation on the telephone, don't walk away from someone with a bad outcome. Take the time to mend because you never know if it will be your last day or the people that are in your life. Love God, Love others, and Love yourself!
I want to take the time to tell all my family and friends, near and far, that I love you and there is nothing you can do about it!!
A death that hits close to home definitely makes you realize not to become too "comfortable" in this life. Remember that earth is just a "temporary" home in preparation for our eternal life in Heaven with our Maker, and Creator. How are you living your day to day life? Are you living to glorify God or are you living to see how far you can get/how much you can achieve in this life? How do you treat people that come and go in your life? Do you treat them with God's unfailing, immeasurable, and unconditional love despite if at times you are wronged by them? Do you hold grudges or are having a hard time forgiving? These are the questions that you must ask and check yourself. Where do you fall in this scale?
Don't leave a conversation on the telephone, don't walk away from someone with a bad outcome. Take the time to mend because you never know if it will be your last day or the people that are in your life. Love God, Love others, and Love yourself!
I want to take the time to tell all my family and friends, near and far, that I love you and there is nothing you can do about it!!
December 1, 2010
Bella
Of course I have to have a post about my sweet little baby, Bella. She entered our lives last Christmas, as she was a Christmas gift to me from my in-laws (of course Zach planned it with them, and gave the approval-thanks babe!). She is a "pomimo" breed which is half pomeranian, half american askimo. She is the sweestest dog in the world. Loves to give you sweet kisses, and of course play with you. She does have a few tricks she can do as well....you'll have to have us do them for you sometime. She can do the basics like sit, lay down, stay, etc., but I have taught her to roll over, play dead, spin around, give her paw, she even will catch ice cubes that you drop out of your mouth (this was Zach's little trick that he does with her....it's very cute). She is an excellent snuggler, and is the best dog ever.
I will give a shout out to my family dog, Angel. Sadly, at the age of 16 years old, we had to put her down. She was really the best dog any child growing up could ask for. Such a loyal companion, and beautiful dog. I have some pics of her too :o)
My First Blog---it's a long one! :o)
It is December 1st, and Bloomington, IL has just experienced its first snow. It was not a lot of snow, but enough to lightly "frost" the ground. The grass and trees really look beautiful when it has just a light "dusting" of snow on them. The only downside to all seeing snow is that you know the weather is unfortunately only going to get colder, which is not my favorite part about the winter.
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| Our First Snow |
Hard to believe another year has come and gone, and the fact that Zach and I are entering into our 3rd year of marriage. Crazy how fast time flies, and it amazes me that the older you get, the faster it goes. I don't remember days going by so fast when I was young. A sum of our lives to this point....
Well Zach has been the Youth Pastor at Cross Pointe Church of God for over 2 years now. Hard to believe that means I have been a Pastor's Wife for that long. :o) He is learning so much about ministry, and how to reach the junior and senior high kids. It has been quite the honor to be side by side with him at this time. He has such a strong desire to grow not only in his walk with the Lord but to help the young kids as well. It is quite the challenge, for all those you really think that Youth Pastors have the easiest job in the world--not that I look down on you at all because I used to be one of those people. God has been good in the ministry. We have the greatest kids ever, and they are so eager and willing to learn and grow. We have had our fair share of tough times with them (the more stubborn ones) but God is always there to pick us up and get us back on track. I have learned so much about leaning and trusting in the Lord. I have grown so much in the past 2 years. Please continue to keep this ministry in your prayers.
Upon getting married, I had no full-time job. I had worked as a sales associate at Old Navy since my senior year of high school and throughout college to make money, so when moving to Bloomington, I had transferred to the Old Navy down here. After a few months or so, I was moved to Merchandise Supervisor. It was a great learning experience role for me as I have never be in a leadership role, but I really enjoyed it. I got along great with my fellow co-workers, but money was tight for Zach and I. I was not full-time there so I knew that I had to begin looking. I struggled a lot with what God's purpose for me in this life. I thought it would be very clear but it was very difficult. But this is where the leaning and trusting in God comes into place. After a year of looking, a friend of my mom's (a sorority sister from college) heard about a job opening for the Illinois High School Association--I didn't even realize the home office was in Bloomington! It was a receptionist position, and after long prayers and God humbling myself, I took the job, knowing I needed this for Zach and I. God was not done showing off to me. A year ago today, I started with the IHSA, and in this past April, I was promoted to Administrative Assistant. I love my job! And I am very thankful for God and all that He provides. He knew exactly what he was doing. He is AWESOME!!
All this brings me back to the verse in the Bible- Jeremiah 29:11-"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD,"plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you help and a future."
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