Teen girls

It is hard to believe I am really done with teen girls ministry. It has been an unexpected blessing in my life, but it is definitely time to pass it on to someone else. I've been thinking about how much of what I have done has been with Miriam on my hip or sitting on my lap. It's been a juggle, for sure. I feel so blessed that Kaytie is around to continue working with these girls. It makes it much easier to let go. These girls have been (and will continue to be) so special to me. I'm glad I'll be around to see the next steps in their lives.

The pictures are from our last Tuesday Bible study together. We finished our lessons on sexual purity and gave the girls an opportunity to sign pledge cards, promising to wait for marriage before having sex. Then the girls got to make bead necklaces or bracelets as reminders of this promise. Please pray for their courage in the face of temptation, and for Kaytie as she loves and listens and spends time with these girls.

Thanks to all of you who have followed this girls ministry and helped in so many ways. Your prayers have been an encouragement. May God bless you as you minister to those in your corner of the world.

We are all a little LOST

I was talking to Ric, a social worker at the hospice in which I now work as chaplain. We both enjoy watching the TV show LOST. Prior to our discussion of the show, we had talked about how people do things for a reason. There is usually a cognitive, belief statement from which they operate. This leads to the feelings and actions that flow. These beliefs may not be true. Every now and then we stop and reflect. We ask ourselves, "Why am I doing this?" As we talked about the show LOST, I shared the frustration that the characters rarely stop and say, "I am not taking one more step until somebody around here explains what is really going on around here on this strange island." The characters do, but they stop so short of what I think that I would request. I connected the two discussions and realized that I do the same. Often I just keep doing the same old stuff over and over without stopping and saying, "I am not taking one more step without looking at this."

Waiting for the baby....

I am discovering how impatient I am. Miriam was born 10 days early, so I never had to sit around and wonder if she was ever going to show up. But this time....I'm not even to my due date and I'm so restless!! Because Miriam was early, I felt the need to finish all my to do lists early this time. So now I'm sitting around with my list (for the most part anyway) completed, and wondering what on earth are we waiting for! Here's a picture of me...SO ready to meet this little one!

Congratulations, Bob!

Bob graduated from CPE (Clinical Pastoral Education) training on May 15th. It was a busy and intense 9 months. It is so nice to have him come home each day and not have homework. It is also wonderful to have him home every night - no more on call nights at the hospital - Hurray! (Although, to be honest, Miriam loved that part. We'd eat dinner in the cafeteria and then she got to play in the on-call room. So much fun for a 3 year old!) The picture is from graduation day. Good job, Bob! We are so proud of all your hard work!

Bob started his new job on the following Monday. Much of his time so far has been spent in training, but so far he is really enjoying it. Praise God for his many blessings!

The Dying as Astronauts

In talking to a social worker with hospice, he said that one person likened the dying to astronauts. They look at life from a perspective that helps us see ourselves and the world around us in amazing, new ways.

The goodness of the Lord

We have shared the good news with most of you, but in case you haven't heard...Bob has a job!!! His current job is as a chaplain resident, which means he has a 9 month training job learning how to be a chaplain. Those nine months are also the same 9 months of our pregnancy, which meant right about the time baby shows up, Bob would be without a job. These last few months had some stressful moments for me, I confess! But how could I ever doubt the Lord? Just in His time, He provided. Bob had an interview a week and a half ago with a hospice here in town. By that afternoon they had offered him the job! We are so excited about this new opportunity, and so happy that we get to stay here in our home and among so many friends. We thank all of you who prayed for us, and most of all we Praise God for his faithfulness!