Bun in the Oven!

I am currently 4 months pregnant and can't believe how quickly the time has past by! I am so thankful I did not get sick during my first trimester and was still able to give my students my all. I was completely drained when I got home, but Tim was so gracious with me during those 3 months when no dinner being made and our home was a mess. :)

We are so excited to be parents, but also a little nervous about the responsibility. The 2nd trimester has been great! I have more energy and I am even cooking dinner now. :) We had our 3rd dr. appt this week and heard the heart beat again. It was much stronger this time and louder. Sometimes I think, "Am I really pregnant?" because I am not showing too much, but when I hear the heartbeat, it's like music to my ears. I can't describe the feeling I have when I hear the heart beat. There is a little life inside of me! It's so crazy to think about. I get to be a part of God developing this precious little life.

One of my favorite Psalms is 139 and right now God is constantly bringing me back to this Psalm to show me how He is in control of all things and every little detail of our development physically and spiritually.

Psalm 139:13-17

13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.

14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.

15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

16 your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

17 How precious to [b] me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!

Not only am I "fearfully and wonderfully made", but so is the sweet baby inside of me. I receive emails from babycenter.com once a week which describes what is developing that week and it's amazing to know each week during the pregnancy is important and vital for the whole development of the baby.

I feel silly sometimes talking to the baby but it's so fun share my heart, dreams, and prayers with my baby. It makes me wonder "What is the baby's personality going to be like", "Is he/she going to be a momma's baby or a daddy's baby?", or "What does God have in store for his/her life?"

It's such an exciting time and I am enjoying every minute of it!

Shelly's 30th Birthday Party

This past weekend we celebrated Shelly's 30th Birthday. Her husband Chris planned a surprise birthday party and invited all of her friends and us to enjoy a delious turkey dinner. We ate like crazy, enjoyed getting to know their friends, and partied like there was no tomorrow! :)


Shelly turning 30, but still being in strong health to blow out the candles. hee! just kidding, 30 is not old. :)


Her cake is so cute!! Chris had it made with a baby picture of her on it.


We had a fabulous time celebrating!!

Shubhra's "Back Home Celebration" and "30th Birthday Celebration"

This past weekend we celebrated Shubhra's return from Iraq and her 30th Birthday! Shubhra has been in Iraq since Ausgust 2007. For 15 months she has been seperated from her husband and family. With alot of prayers, emails, and packages Shubhra made it and has returned safe and sound. We are so thankful that God protected her and gave her strength when she was in Iraq. Below are a few pictures of her celebration. She had a blast reuniting with everyone and grubbing on yummy indian food. :)


Chad and Shubhra together again. They look great together!!



Nayan and Sanjay sporting the black and pink theme of the night.



My sister and me!



Deepika, the hard planner and doer of the night. She organized everything and worked really hard that night.



Shubhra's friends since elementary school.


Tim and I had fun hangin out, sharing our big news about being pregnant, and catching up with everyone.

Beauty (and some random thoughts)

My sister sent me a lot of pictures similar to these representing God’s beauty and creativity. I hate it when I think I am too busy and miss the beauty God has created all around me. I often go back to these pictures and look at them in awe of knowing how beautiful creation is and to think our God is so much more beautiful than this. This phrase from a song makes so much sense to me right now, “the art we make is only a faded reflection of something He has already made”.

I serve a God who gave me life even though I don’t deserve life. I have a personal relationship with Him now and for all eternity and I treat it sometimes like a chore to spend time with Him or give up my fleeting desires for fulfilling desires from God.

I am currently reading a book that talks about how we try to put knowing God into a box and into a formula. God is not a formula to put together or scientific proof to make the world believe with earthly facts. I know I am not articulating this as well and he did, but this really struck a cord with me. He is a God who is BIG, BEAUTIFUL, and MAGNIFICENT!
“For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.”
Romans 1:20

I work with kindergarteners and I go crazy sometimes thinking about what is the best way to share Christ with these kids. I don’t want to push God on them and I want them to have a clear understanding of who God is and for them to know God at a young age. God is revealing to me, don’t make it so complicated. This is my hearts desire and He knows I plead with Him for my own child’s soul and these students. He is showing me this is the best place to be, at His feet.
“We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders that he has done.”
Psalm 78:4

I know these are some random thoughts, but I wanted to share what’s been on my mind lately.



"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities -all things were creatd through Him and for Him.
Colossians 1:15,16







"The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord, over many waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty."
Psalm 29: 3,4


"Let the heavens praise your wonders, O Lord, your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones! For who in the skies can be compared to the Lord? Who among the heavenly beings is like the Lord, a God greatly to be feared in the counceil of the holy ones, and awesome above all who are around him."
Psalm 89: 5-7

Cherish

We recently had a close friend, Jill Attebery, pass away. Why is death so hard to deal with? We know she is in heaven with her heavenly Father and He is saying to her, "Well done my faithful servant." But it still does not take the sting away of her not being on earth.

To read more about her, go to:
www.theblessedbairdbunch.blogspot.com

She was a believer who lived her life to glorify God and lived out the gospel with her every moment. The funeral was a true testimony to this. Different people read excerpts from her journal and bible and I was truly in awe of her heart and desire to know God more. Not to look holy, not to be knowledgeable about God, but to personally know God within her deepest being. She cried out to Him in desperate times, in joyful times, and in times of confusion. She had 3 parts to her prayer life: her personal relationship to God, her husband and her relationship with her family, and the people she discipled and influenced. Her marks in her bible made me laugh and brought tears to my eyes. She would make notes to herself like in Romans 9 "Understand God is sovereign before moving on" or in Psalms "He is my refuge, don't ever forget this".

She made a huge impact on Tim's life growing up. When he was in high school, she really taught him God is grace and love and we have nothing, but God still chooses to lavish His truth upon us. After Tim came back from Romania on a short term mission trip, she was the first person he wanted to share with about what God revealed to him and how God used him in Romania. She was so excited and told him, "God is going to make you a missionary. I know this is what God is going to do and that is what I am praying for you." Well, it was true. God is using Tim to be a missionary in Dallas and eventually in Austin. God has placed on our hearts to be missionaries wherever we are.

I did not know her as well as Tim or as long, but she made a huge impact in my life as well. She sang "Own Me" by Ginny Owens in our wedding. On her own without her husband, she flew in from Arkansas Friday night for rehearsal, stayed in a hotel by herself, sang at our wedding, and hung out the whole night with people she had never met. We did not get a chance to spend a lot of time with her because during the wedding time things were so crazy. But she never complained and was always so encouraging to the both of us. She was a BIG reader and and was always buying people books to read. (this was told at the funeral) Well guess what, I was one of the recepients of those books. A few weeks after our wedding, she mailed me a book called "Feminine Appeal" by Carolyn Mahaney with a 2 page letter she wrote to me the night of our wedding. The letter said she wanted to disciple me from afar and encourage me in my journey of marriage. The first time I met her was at our wedding, but I felt like she was a close friend.

Her husband Scott really showed me how in marriage you reflect your spouse. When we spoke to Scott at the funeral, the first words that came out of his mouth were, "I am so sorry I was unable to make it to your wedding." (He is a pastor and was unable to make it). He totally took the focus off himself and put it on us. This displayed to me such selflessness. He told us what a great time Jill had at our wedding and what an honor it was for her to be a apart of our wedding. She has no idea what an honor it was to us for her to be a part of our wedding. Scott told Tim, "Jill was really proud of you." This meant the world to Tim and to me.

Please pray for her husband Scott and their 10 week old baby, Bryce. They are amazing people with an amazing love for the Lord. They know God is sovereign and good and this is the only thing they have to rest in.

You can go to www.keltys.org to see the Memorial Service they had for Jill in Lufkin, TX.