The Best Compliment

So, i went to the doctor last week for a regular baby check up - and i received the nicest compliment. I was seeing Dr. Slusher and so she checked the heart beat and all and said, OK we'll see you in four weeks. I wanted to be clear about what i was told previously so i asked her, "that's for another ultrasound, right?" She was a bit confused as to why i was told i would be having a late ultrasound. So she sat and thought for a few moments, and finally she said "OH, i know, i can get you one based on your age, YOU JUST DON'T LOOK YOU AGE!"
and of course i said "Well, Thank You! that's always nice to hear." So one advantage to being in the 'old' category when it comes to birthing years!
And Praise the Lord, there is NO other reason to get an ultrasound! He is Faithful!

Have a blessed day.

The Love of My Lfie

Happy Valentine's Day...

A tribute

The man I love…
Why do I love thee, let me count the ways

1. He’s smart, he carries around more information in his head about random things as well as necessary things than most people I know
2. He’s handsome, he takes care of himself by working out and running, he tries to cut back on food portions (doesn’t always work)
3. He’s funny, he can make me laugh :0) At just the right times he can make me smile…. Sometimes he makes me laugh so hard I’m crying…
4. He loves Jesus! A REAL man! Following hard after God, learning and wanting to do whatever it is that Jesus has called him to
5. He’s a hard worker! Not only has God blessed him with the ability to be lucrative, he knows what it means to work hard and to accomplish what’s been put in front of him
6. He loves me! God has put a special love in his heart, just for me. A love that knows what I need to hear and what I need to feel. A love that knows when to pull me close, and a love that knows when to give me space.
7. He loves Buxton! Well… Matt might disagree a little with that term ‘love’ for buxton…. But he sure has grown attached to our 9 year old Lab! He plays with him, takes him running, gives him treats (not as many as me, but still plenty)… he even rubs his belly!
8. He’d fill the ice trays if we had them! That’s an old ‘joke’ prior to marriage…. A man that fills the ice trays- now that’s a catch! Almost as good as putting the toilet seat down! (which he does…. Most of the time :o))
9. He listens to me! When I just want to talk or babble about junk, about work, about friends, about whatever, he sits and he listens- and is always so good at providing input into the situations that concern me.
10. He values my opinion…. He is interested in what I THINK about so many things. He is slow to make decisions until we can discuss and pray about them
11. He’s prepared… what a planner…. He covers all the details! He is very thorough and thinks things through before he acts! (that saves us a lot of headache in the long run, generally…)
12. He is a financial wizard…. Again, always planning ahead for our future! The goals he has set for himself, impress me. A risk taker (more than me) but that generally works well for him- thank you Jesus!
13. He’s going to be a great dad! In about 3 months he’ll be a daddy…. And he has such a father’s heart! He adores children and has a special way with them. I know that he and our child will have a bond like no other.

I could keep going and going and going, but I’ll pause for now. Thank you Lord for bringing just the right man into my life, the man YOU knew I NEEDED!
I Love You Matt, more today than on our wedding day.

Prayer

Prayer... what a beautiful thing! Please join in prayer with us as we lift up the family of our friend that went to be with Jesus this morning. Her husband, Brian, and her 4 children- ages 4 years old to 17. Lots of family travelling and lots of 'things' to be dealt with. Pray for the Glory of God to be evident in this family!

Sweetheart Fudge

I just HAD to post! Friends of ours are adopting, they are raising some funds by selling homemade fudge. I bought some today, and it is out of this world delicious! So creamy and smooth! Here is an email I received regarding the info:

Greetings and Happy Valentine’s Day!

Aaron , Gabi and I are anticipating the arrival of the child that God has for us with much excitement! We also are thinking and praying of ways to help offset some of the expense of an adoption.

We have decided to have a small fund raiser for the month of February! We will be making a wonderful smooth and rich ambrosia fudge to give to your sweetie (or for yourself if you love chocolate!)

6 pieces for $3
8 pieces for $5

BTW this is not diet fudge! It is the real deal - chocolate and cream J

So if any of you are looking for a gift that will be tasty and for a way to help uplift the cause of the orphan give us a call or an email!

Christina

So help celebrate life and eat some wonderful homemade fudge!!! If you want fudge and don't know how to get in touch with them, let me know and I'll make sure you do!

The "Final" Nursery Pix

(You can click on the lower left corner of the above slide show and my picture will pop up; click on that and it will take you to a full size page where you can view the slide show and captions.)

Yup.... here are the final painting pictures of the nursery! Thanks again to all the friends that came and put so much time and effort into this for us and baby Landis... we all just love it! Really, Matt likes it too!!- Especially the tree!!!

Now all we need is the crib! No worries, i'm sure it is coming in plenty of time!!!

Change Is On The Horizon

I’ve been reflecting a lot lately on things in my spiritual past that have molded me and shaped me into who Jesus is in me and who I am in Him. Two of the biggest influences, well maybe even three… in no particular order just now… are 1) Prophecy Class 2) Soaking Prayer and 3) Girls Bible Study in the late 90s early 2000s ….

I once was talking with one of our Pastors on staff at church and commented on how much I missed Prophecy Class and that he’d be a great candidate to get something similar to that up and going again. Of course his next question was, what exactly was Prophecy Class? I wish I had given that more thought at the time and found a way to put into words what it really was. Prophecy class was a Sunday morning ‘class’ that met before church weekly. It was a group of people following hard after God and anxious to see what He was up to next.

There seems to be several changes happening recently in these areas that have molded and shaped me over the years. Therefore, I’ve been focusing more on this area in my prayer times. This morning I had a short and sweet ‘euphony’ regarding Prophecy Class. I got to thinking, what was it about that class that was so attractive to me? Why did it have such a great influence in my life? What I came up with, with the help of the Lord I’m quite sure, is that Prophecy Class was a place to go every week and hear what God was up to! Yes, it is so so true that Jesus DOES speak to each and everyone of us individually! BUT… there is something about having someone else in your life tell you the same thing that Jesus just told you…. You get it? If someone else can tell you the same thing that Jesus told you- it makes it that much more REAL! Yes, it is true, I should truly just believe it the first time when the Lord tells me…but I am human, and there is something about that confirmation that I need…. So that my friends - was my eye opener this morning…. A place to go and be surrounded by people that are going after the same things you are, a place that is safe to step out and be challenged, a place where others are willing to share what God is doing and what God is saying, a place of confirmation…So, where do I find that excitement, expectation, knowledge, wisdom, relationship, insight, …. Now?

Well, I believe the Lord is working on that! Like I mentioned, there seems to be several areas of ministry that I’m involved in that are experiencing changes just now. And the leaders of these ministries have asked “us” to be praying and seeking the Lord on ‘new direction’… I’m not saying that whatever is in store for us will be a replacement for ‘Prophecy Class’ in my life… but I am so excited to see the possibilities of what He can do in our midst if we only give Him the chance! Will we be willing and able and ready to relinquish ‘control’ to the Holy Spirit in a NEW way? A way that may look foreign to most of us, but feels right in our spirit? A way that gives the Lord our first fruits and not the left-overs? A way that enhances our gifts and brings out new ones? A way that encourages our leaders as leaders and confirms in their spirits what the Lord has already spoken to their hearts!?!

Yes, it is without a doubt a time of change… but there is an excitement in my spirit! A quote from one of these past leaders in my life…”We’re just a group of people that love Jesus! Going where He is going and doing what He is doing!” keep it up Lord… don’t let us miss out on what You have in store for us because we’re too busy looking in the wrong places or too busy complaining about what we don’t have!

Oh my…. I feel as though maybe I’m not putting into words exactly the understanding I have in my heart so maybe there will be a part 2 to this….but for now…. It is what it is…