the one with the huge belly

I'm 33 weeks pregnant and I haven't taken a "belly picture" yet. So today we had a fun little photo shoot. Here are my favs...

first, I just love the one with me and my man.
second, I love the cheesy hand heart pic. maybe Chloe Belle won't think its so cheesy one day..
my favorite though is the one with the dogs. Jimmie sat at attention at my feet during the whole photo shoot. He just didn't understand why we weren't taking pictures of him. So, for our last shot of the day we had to include our first two babies.

the one about suffering

So, the good news is that I think of something to blog about 100 times a day. The bad news is that I I'm not sitting down to write it...

Lately Adam and I have repeatedly been confronted with the suffering and sin of people around us. I know suffering is always there, but the Lord has really opened our eyes lately. One day recently we were waiting in a long line at the return counter at Walmart. There was a lady ahead of us in a wheelchair who was attacking a manager about giving her cash for a return. Clearly he wasn't supposed to give her cash back, but she was really making a scene about it. Finally with a defeated look on his face he gave up and gave her the money. Then another girl in front of us was so ravaged by drug use that it was impossible to determine her age-she could have been anywhere from 20 to 40-and she couldn't stand still at all. She was miserable in her own skin. After leaving WalMart we drove to Target to return stuff there. I was pregnant/tired so I stayed in the car for AK to do the returning. A car pulled in directly across from me. In it was a couple probably in their mid-40s. They were arguing so intensely that they didn't even notice that I had a front row seat to watch their fight. They were screaming and gesturing at each other. Finally the woman realized she had gone to far because the man withdrew and she started pleading with him. He screamed at her, left the car, and slammed the door in her face. She was sobbing. After a few moments she left the car to follow him.

I was heartbroken at what I saw. I wanted so badly to intervene in these people's lives. I want to grab the woman in the wheelchair and share with her the contentment of Christ. I wanted to save the girl who struggled with addiction and tell her about the freedom Christ offers. I literally considered getting in that car with that couple to tell them about how Jesus could transform their marriage with His love.

The world around me is suffocating under the weight of their suffering and sin. I am so aware of how little I am helping. My prayer is that God would use me in a real way to preach good news to the poor, proclaim freedom to the captives, recover sight for the blind, and to release the oppressed. Oh that God would use me!!!

The First One

I feel some heavy pressure writing the first blog post. I have this need to be witty, theologically deep, and poignant. Ah well, I'm sure looking back on this that nothing will suffice, so here goes:

My motivations for starting this blog were twofold.
One, several people have been pestering me to start a blog so they can keep updated with Chloe Belle. My sister told me the other day that my mom is threatening to join Facebook because she thinks its the only way she'll stay in touch with her future grandchild. I guess she hasn't realized she just lives 10 minutes away. But, in a preemptive measure to keep my mother from constant confusion in the world of Facebook, I decided a blog would be easier.
Two, I want to talk about Jesus. Yes I know I get to teach each week at UMin SS and occasionally at Worship + Study, but that's just not enough outlet for me to talk about all the goodness that He is.

So, for the sake of posterity, here's my blog full of thoughts on life, love, and Jesus.