New News

Although we have told almost everyone about our new news, we still felt it important to post it in case there was someone we may have missed. Our new news is that Greg and I are expecting our first child. I am currently 13 1/2 weeks and our baby is due October 27th. The first trimester was everything that I was told it would be. Lots of nausea, vomiting, and sleeping. Now that I am past the first trimester I am feeling much better. We got to hear our babys heartbeat on April 4th and are looking forward to hearing it again on May 9th. If things continue as planned, we should be able to find out if we're having a boy or girl on May 30th. We'll keep you posted!

Where is Your Hope?

Last night I was doing a little bit of self evaluation. I was thinking about why in almost every situation I tend to be more pessimistic rather than optimistic. After discussing this with Greg, he asked me the question, "where is your hope?" He encoraged me to read Romans 5:1-4. In this passage I saw that their is an order, a process, of how our hope developes. It begins with tribulation, which leads to perseverence. Perseverence then leads to proven character, which results in hope. As I began thinking back to the times when I have been pessimistic I realized that in almost every one of those situations a problem preceeded this feeling and that rather than persevering through the problem, I simply gave up. Giving up is the easy choice, but in the long run I will lack a certain kind of character that only persevering can build. Another important thing, more important than learning to persevere, is decideing where or who your hope is going to be in. It must be in Jesus Christ. He is our refudge and strength, and an ever present help in our time of need. He is our Savior and Redeemer. Placing our hope in anything else is meaningless and will only leave us disappointed. So, if any of you out there tend to be a little on the pessimistic side, I encourage you to persevere and place your hope in Jesus Christ, our solid rock.

I was talking to a friend at work today about the church. Not the building on the corner with a concrete floor, four walls, and a roof. The real church. The body of Christ. A few minutes into our conversation I began thinking about the journey that I have traveled to gain a proper understanding and love for the church. When Greg and I first moved to Louisville I took a women's ministry class at Boyce College. My professor often talked about her love and passion for the church and how important it was for us to minister to the church, not just in the church. Coming from a church that did not view the body of Christ in this way, naturally I was left with mixed feelings. Yes, it would be great to feel that way about the church, but the truth was...I just didn't. I never had and wasn't sure if I ever would. About four months ago that all changed. Through sitting under Dr. Cook's preaching and watching the other members of Ninth and O love and serve each other, God changed my heart. I gained a new understanding of the church and saw ministering to the church in a new light. Greg and I are now helpers in the nursery and are blessed each month by being able to serve the church, the body of Christ, in this way. By playing with these children for an hour and a half on Sundays, their parents are able to be involved in corporate worship and small group fellowship. They are able to grow in their relationship with Christ and in return be more effective and Christ-like moms, dad, husbands, wives, friends, and co-workers. The body of Christ is a beautiful thing. I'm thankful that God has changed my heart and I pray that I will continue to have this love and desire to serve the church.

A new school semester is about to start for Greg and I am filled with mixed emotions. I’m excited for him because I know that he only has two semesters of school left, but I’m nervous because that means we have less than a year before we venture back out into the “real world”. Our time here in Louisville has been a time of refreshment, refueling, and refocus. We have had the chance to sit back and learn about ministry from our pastor and his wife, as well as some very respected professors at Southern Seminary. We have also had the chance to begin stepping back into ministry at Ninth and O. First as nursery helpers, and now as the Assimilation Coordinators for our Sunday School class. We are excited about the next place God will lead us, and are continuing to prepare ourselves to be the best “hands and feet” we can be.