Yes, it's been a while...

So I haven't written a blog post since September. I have good intentions but have a hard time sitting down and actually typing an entry. That is changing today. I can't promise when the next one will come, but I am promising to do better. :) There are a lot of quick updates to make, so here goes... 1. I am 28 weeks pregnant. We are so in love with our little man and so excited to meet him in a couple months. He is due May 27th. I absolutely love being pregnant and am so honored to be carrying this life inside my body. I am blown away all the time by the miracle of new life and am so thankful for all the Lord has done in our hearts and lives through the journey we have taken. He has not left us for a moment and has drawn us so much closer to Him and to each other. 2. Aaron is now a Graduate student at Marquette University. He is in the middle of his first class and is pursuing a master's in some facet of mechanical engineering. There is a little bit of a learning curve with this class, because he is an electrical engineer, but he is enjoying the process and working super hard! I'm so proud of him! 3. After much prayer, we felt the Lord leading us to look for a new church and started the process in November. After going to a few different churches, we now find ourselves at Crossway Church and are so excited to be part of the ministry there and getting plugged in. Aaron is in a men's life group that goes over each week's message and talks about application followed by rousing games of ping-pong, I'm doing a Beth Moore study on the book of James, and we are in a 20's & 30's marriage life group on communication. We have made some great friends already and are so thankful for the Lord's leading and direction in our lives. 4. A couple weeks ago, I hurt my foot. How, I have no idea, but it is hurt none the less. I went to the walk-in clinic to get it checked out. They decided to give me this brace/air cast thing and see how it does in the next week or so from then. They didn't do an x-ray, because of the baby but will if it doesn't get better. It is more sore now than it was before, but I'm trying to use ice and heat regularly and stay off it as much as possible. 5. Yesterday was my 29th birthday. 28 was a great year! It started off rocky with final treatment for the ectopic pregnancy I had last winter but was followed by a year of growth, change, and newness. I finished out the year of teaching, knowing I wasn't going to be going back this year, I joined thirty-one, one of the best decisions we've made (I love my job!), the Lord blessed us with a healthy pregnancy, we switched churches, and we enjoyed a lot of little moments in between. 29 will be a year of growth, newness, and change as well in different ways. We are so excited to welcome our little man into this world and to learn how to do life a little bit differently. God is good. I am thankful. <3

My New Journey with BSF

Since we decided that I would be home during the day, I have been praying for God to lead me to a women's Bible Study taking place during the day. Every church one I looked into I had either already done, or they really want you to go to that church. Then a friend invited me to go to BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) with her this week. I am so excited about this new journey with BSF! We are studying the book of Genesis. We have small group time, teaching time, and homework to do throughout the week that is just questions and crossreferencing on the passage being studied. I have already enjoyed the homework so far. Today I had to underline God every time I found it in Genesis 1 (A LOT!). I was reminded once again that God speaks, and it happens. God is in masterful control of everything weaving everything together to work for His plan just as He did in creation. What a beautiful picture! The unexpected blessing is the other people I know who are doing BSF in other parts of the country. A grandma of two students I have taught that lives in South Carolina is also doing the study, and I feel like we are doing it together. Thanks, Lord, for giving me just what I needed at just the right time :) If you are interested in BSF or want to know more about it, head here. What are you studying in the Bible lately? Have a great weekend!

Little Blessings

I love when the Lord overwhelms me with the little things that are really big things when they occur. 

After my post yesterday, I got a message from a fellow thirty-one consultant going through some hard things, and I think I've found a wonderful new friend.

Our ancient wall air conditioner broke today.  The maintenance guys came within 20 minutes of my call and gave us a brand new air conditioner.  They also replaced our broken garbage disposal.

I am so thankful that the Lord doesn't just care about the big things but loves to delight us by showing His hand in the wonderful little things.

What little things have brought you joy lately?

Choosing to Trust

The theme of my life this past year has definitely been learning to and choosing to trust in the Lord.  I may not have it all figured out, but none of our life circumstances ever take Him by surprise.  He continues to use whatever comes to mold and shape us to be more like Him.  If it were my choice, I would be holding my one month old baby right now, embarking on the journey of motherhood, but that was not God's will for me.  That doesn't mean He has left me stranded or forgotten about me.  I am learning to embrace the season God has me in and trust Him for what is to come.

I have recently begun a new journey as a stay at home wife with a part-time income from my thirty-one business, which I love.  I never really thought about being a stay at home wife until recently, when my heart yearned to be home.  I can't really explain how it happened other than I thought it was going to be to take care of our children.  That will hopefully come in time, but right now, I am called to take care of my husband and our home.  A lot of people don't seem to understand this, but as Aaron told me last night, it doesn't matter what other people think.  I know that in my head, but in my heart, I want people to affirm my decisions.  I know... it should be enough that I know it's the right decision, but I'm human ;)  Now, don't go commenting that you affirm my decision - I'm just sharing a recent struggle of mine.  The hardest part about all of it is that to most of these people, it would be fine if I were staying home to take care of children.  That's being a stay at home mom, so it's okay.  I have been reminded so often in the past few months that until fairly recently, hardly any women actually worked outside the home, and no, they did not all have babies at home.  I love education, I love that I have a degree, and I love teaching, but that is not what defines me.  I am a child of God who is called to first be the wife God has called and created me to be.  If it were God's will for me to be teaching right now, I would be, but I am grateful for this place He has led me to for this season of life.  I am grateful to have the time to love and respect my husband in ways I didn't have time to do before.  I am loving this season of learning new things, crafting, scrapbooking, and using my creative talents that before were only used in my classroom. 

All this to say, you may not understand where God has led you, or those around you may question you or your decisions.  God never called us to understand or worry about other people's opinions.  He called us to obey and seek His will for that specific season and day, not worrying about what tomorrow will bring.  Will you choose to trust, along with me, that you are exactly where God has placed you in the season of life you are in?  You may not understand all of the why's or how's, but God has a plan.  Hold on a little longer.  He knows.  He sees.  He will act in His perfect timing.

p.s.  I am planning to blog regularly and would love to get to know you.  Please let me know if there is anything I can pray for you about.  If you have been encouraged, please encourage someone else. :)

Simple Faith

As I taught about the death and resurrection of our Savior this week in my kindergarten classroom, I was again reminded that we are taught to have faith like a child in our relationship with Jesus.

After explaining to my students what sin is, I ask them if they have sinned.  I have never had one kindergartener say they never did anything wrong.  They know right away that they are a sinner.  Many people live their whole lives trying to be good enough, to attain what is unattainable for a human sinner.  The only human that never sinned was God in the flesh, Jesus Christ.  Sometimes, at this age, it is still hard for them to truly put their mind around what Christ did for them, but they believe it.  They don't have a thousand arguments, questions, and misconceptions.  They just believe.

Oh, to have faith like a child.  So many people refuse to believe the simplicity of the Gospel that "Jesus Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures." 1 Corinthians 15:3-4  When I read this verse to my students, they believe.  They don't debate or ask how this is possible.  They just believe that God can do anything.

Do you believe that way?  Do I believe that way?  As I sit here contemplating the fact that Jesus took my lifetime of sins on his shoulders on the cross that day, I am urged to ask myself this question.  Do I just believe, or do I need to have lots of questions answered before I step out in faith and give my whole self to Jesus every single day of my life.  There will always be questions, and sometimes there will be answers in this life.  Sometimes, we are asked to simply trust and believe that Jesus is who He says He is.

I am committed this Good Friday, the day my Jesus gave His all for me, to give my all for Him.  I don't know what this will look like in the coming months and years, but I can not go wrong with Him number one.  Will you do the same?

Here is a song that has really ministered to my heart today.  Hope it does yours as well. :) Happy Resurrection Weekend!

Mercyme- The Hurt & The Healer

Seasons of the Soul

Our souls go through seasons of change just as the year goes through seasons of change.  I was reminded of this today as I sat soaking in the warm air coming through my open patio door, listening to the birds chirping away in only the 2nd full week of March.  Last year, we were praying for the snow to finally melt.  This year, we are enjoying the bliss of an early spring. All I can say is, bring it on! :)

While I enjoy the beauty of this day, I reflect on the seasons of the soul.  One of the portions of Scripture that has come to mean even more to me in these recent months is Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8.

      To everything, there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven.

      A time to be born, and a time to die;

      A time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which was planted

      A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up

      A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance 

      A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;

      A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing

      A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away

      A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silent, and a time to speak

      A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

These, in short, are the seasons of the soul, written beautifully by a man who had lived all of them, tried everything, and finally came to realize that God was all He really needed -- the wisest man who ever lived, King Solomon.

My soul has endured many seasons during these past months as we have longed, loved, lost, done it all over again, and continued to dwell in the peace that passes all understanding.  We may not ever understand why we had to go through the things we have, but we will always know that God never left our sides, and He ALWAYS has a purpose and a plan.  Our biggest cry and prayer through all of this has been that our loss and pain would be used for His glory.  We have seen glimpses of his faithfulness in using our story already and pray that we would continue to be willing vessels to be used in the midst of some of the hardest days we have endured.

My body is almost back to normal, although I am still feeling effects of the medication I was given for the ectopic pregnancy.  My pregnancy hormone numbers are almost back down to zero, which means I will be allowed to do things again (I'm on a lot of restrictions to make sure my body heals the way it needs to.)  I am dealing with some kind of stomach virus (or residual effects of the medication) this week, so I've had to miss a couple days of work, but I am praying that I will be able to live my "normal" :) life again soon.  

As I enjoy the sunshine and warmth of a new spring day, I feel my soul beginning to awaken and change as the seasons of the soul begin to change once again.  I am excited to see where the next season leads and pray that I will handle whatever comes with humility, grace, and love for my Jesus, who has never left me, and continues to carry me through everything that comes.

Now, to Him, who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages world without end.    Ephesians 3:20