Our New Life Has Begun

Much has happened since I last updated the blog. The biggest, most exciting news is that we are expecting! Baby Lucas will be arriving sometime at the end of May, and we could not be more thrilled. I am grateful to say that this pregnancy has gone well so far. I haven't experienced any nausea or morning sickness. There have been minor inconveniences and discomforts (back pain, heartburn, etc.), but that is to be expected. The baby and I visit our doctor regularly and have remained happy and healthy. God has been incredibly good during this new adventure (just as He always is).

The Facebook announcement that we published on Reformation Day (Halloween)

It's amazing how getting pregnant changes the whole dynamic of your life. Ever since we started trying to conceive in July, my focus has been all about baby. Each milestone makes this journey more and more real to me. Getting that first "positive" result (and then another and another just to be sure!); sharing the news with our parents, families and friends; the first doctor's visit; the first ultrasound; finding out the gender (it's a boy!); feeling him kick and move; reaching the halfway mark; and now I am looking forward to our first baby shower. My mom and our home church are hosting a shower at the end of February (only 23 days away!). Each of these treasured moments brings us closer to the day that we get to meet our firstborn son. Words cannot describe how that feels.

20 weeks on New Year's Day

Another fun experience has been slowly researching baby gear and adding items to our registries. At first, I was overwhelmed by the idea of registering. There are so many different things you need or may want when welcoming a little one into the family. I had no idea where to begin. Thankfully, God has blessed us with a phenomenal church family filled with countless experienced moms and moms-to-be. These generous women, my coworkers, my aunt who on Thanksgiving gave birth to her firstborn daughter (HG), and other family and friends have shared a wealth of welcomed advice and wisdom. We finally narrowed down options and made some decisions. Although a work in progress, our registries include the following:

- Amazon (www.amazon.com)
- Babies "R" Us (www.babiesrus.com)
- Carousel Designs (www.babybedding.com)
- Target (www.target.com)

The bedding we chose for Baby Lucas

Regarding the future of our family, we have made the unofficial decision for me to stay at home with Lucas when he arrives. Although I love my job, I feel confident that this is the perfect time for one door to close and another one open. We have been budgeting and saving for this next step in our lives. We trust that God will provide us with the knowledge and means necessary to become a one-income household for a while. The official decision will be made in the next month or so.

24 weeks down and 16 weeks to go (give or take)!

June 2013

Fun events this month:

-Central Baptist 5k to raise money for the Ecuador mission trip. I did not prepare for this race very much, so my time wasn't impressive. What was most memorable about this race is that we ran it in the pouring rain! I have never done that before, and it was totally worth it!

-VBS at Central Baptist. I volunteered in the nursery this year. Lots of sweet babies and girl talk!

-Britt and Adam's wedding. They had one of the most beautiful receptions I've ever been to!

-5 year anniversary photo session with Abrea Garwood Photography. Photos to come!

-James's scuba trip to Mermet Springs.

-Weekend in Millington to spend Father's Day with my family and to go to Janell and Joseph's wedding. This is also the weekend that Eric moved out of our parents' house and in with James and me. He plans to go to UTM this fall.

My mom got to meet country singer Jimmy Wayne!

-Copeland/Hawkins/Tull family hiking trip to Mt. Cammerer. James, his dad, uncle, brother-in-law, and cousins went hiking in East Tennessee.

James and his dad at the top of the mountain

Copeland/Hawkins/Tull Family

March 2013

March was a particularly chilly yet busy month. Despite the cold weather, my mom, my friend Felecia, and I had a garage sale the second weekend of the month. I spent most of spring break preparing for it, and it went really well! These are the signs I made for it:

My birthday was the day before the garage sale. I spent the day preparing for the sale and cleaning the house. Not the most tempting way to spend a birthday, but honestly cleaning and organizing are two of my favorite things to do on a day off so I enjoyed it very much. Before my parents drove into town that night, James took me to dinner at the Opera House and then we got a strawberry cheesecake to-go from Huddle House. That was the icing on the cake, so to speak.

My parents stayed with us the entire weekend. We had a good time visiting together. My mom had been to our church before, but this was my dad's first time. Earlier that week, I planned out all our meals for the weekend and then made everything gluten-free for my mom. I made a "Pantry Raid" Chicken Enchilada Casserole for dinner Saturday and Slow Cooker Beef Curry for lunch after church on Sunday. Both were fairly simple to make, and the unique flavors were delicious. We didn't eat out a single time, and for our family, that is quite an accomplishment!

James's parents also came to visit us for dinner and a movie one Saturday night this month. We ate Domino's pizza, salad, and Hot Fudge Peanut Butter Pie, and we watched The Hunger Games. James and I both read the trilogy this spring, and this was our first time to see the movie after having read the books. We all enjoyed spending the evening together. I look forward to when our parents can come visit us again.

Hot Fudge Peanut Butter Pie

During one Saturday, my friends Amanda and Tara and I went shopping in Jackson. I love these girls so much and hope that we can turn our annual get-togethers into monthly events like we've been planning to do for the past few years. :) 

   
 Our four year old nephew Jax stayed with us the last weekend in March. We had such a fun time being his "parents" for a few days.

Turning the lights on and off with the remote

Watching Mickey on the big screen

Helping Uncle James pressure wash the house

Helping Uncle James pressure wash the house

The steps before/during pressure washing

 

The steps after pressure washing

After church on Easter Sunday, we drove Jax back to Paris where Tammy had prepared lunch and an egg hunt for the kids. There was a huge turnout for the event. There were kids everywhere. It was so much fun!

Easter deviled eggs that I made for lunch

Egg hunt

Our niece Evie and her eggs

 

Easter bath!

Happy Easter!

During the weekend, we taught Jax the real meaning of Easter. We would ask him, "Why do we celebrate Good Friday?" And he'd reply, "Because Jesus died on the cross!" Then we'd ask, "Why do we celebrate Easter?" He would then say, "Because He rose from the dead!" May we always remember the true meaning of Easter and celebrate Jesus's sacrifice and saving grace each and every day.

Perspective

A friend posted this today. I really like this change of perspective and how it reminds me to be thankful for all things in this life.

"I am thankful for:  
The taxes I pay because that means I have a job.
The clothes that fit a little too snug because that means I have food to eat.
The shadow that follows me because that means I'm out in the sunshine.
The halls that need to be swept and laundry that needs washed because that means I have a home and loved ones to spend my time with.
The spot I finally find at the far end of the parking lot because it reminds me that I still have the ability to walk.
All the complaining I hear about our government because it means we have freedom of speech.
That lady at church that sings off key because it means I can hear.
The beeping of an alarm in the early morning because that means I'm able to wake up to live another day."

2012 Recap & 2013 Resolutions

A recap of the resolutions I made in 2012:
1. Grow closer in my relationship with God. (Lifelong process)
2. Read and study Scripture more fervently. (Lifelong process)
3. Exercise more and eat healthier. (Lifelong process)
4. Graduate from the Master of Business Administration program in December. (Completed!)
5. Get into the Master of Science in Information Science program at UTK. (Completed! Although I'm almost certain I've decided not to continue with this program.)
6. Pass the Certified Administration Professional exam in May and get the 9% raise. (Completed! I didn't take the exam in May as originally planned, but I did take it in November and passed!)

2013 Resolutions/Goals: 
1. Grow closer in my relationship with God.
2. Read and study Scripture more fervently.
3. Exercise more and eat healthier.
4. Cook and read more. (Off to a good start: I cooked ham, green beans, purple hull peas, mashed potatoes, pumpernickel bread, and a double berry crisp dessert for dinner last night, and I am almost finished reading the first book in the Hunger Games trilogy.)
5. Train for and run in the Murray Half Marathon in April and complete it within 2 hours and 30 minutes or less.
6. Lose 10-15 pounds before our cruise in May. (I did great with my healthy eating for half of 2012. The past couple months are a different story. So goes that yo-yo effect I am bound and determined to conquer someday!)

Four Month Hiatus

Once again, I have allowed time to slip by me, and I have neglected to update my blog. I'm sure many of my readers have long since moved on since I have barely written a post this year. Although I'd like to think that life will finally slow down now that I have graduated (whoo!), I have a feeling my extra free time will fill up quickly (with things to be described in an upcoming post). I'll recap the past few months (or year, really) with the Christmas letter that we sent out to friends and family:

Merry Christmas to our dear friends, family, fellow bloggers and readers!

As 2012 comes to a close and as we all look forward to what’s in store for 2013, we hope that you and your family are doing very well! God has blessed us in great ways this year, and we would like to share some of our 2012 highlights.  

The most exciting event this year was most definitely when my dad became a Christian and then was baptized on July 22! Praise God who is faithful! Although his soul is now healed, please pray for physical healing and relief because he still struggles with a great deal of back pain and discomfort. Thank you for your prayers!

In March James and I celebrated our 4^th anniversary by spending a night at Patti's 1880's Settlement in Grand Rivers, KY. James had been there a few times with his family, but this was my first visit to Patti’s. The pork chops are definitely worth the drive!

In May James’s sister Casey and I spent two weeks in Europe for a Holocaust Travel Study with groups from UT Martin, Union University, and Rhodes College. We visited Poland (Warsaw, Oswiecim, and Krakow), the Czech Republic (Prague), and Germany (Dresden and Berlin). We toured ruins of the Warsaw Ghetto, Treblinka (extermination camp), Auschwitz I (main concentration camp), Auschwitz II-Birkenau (extermination camp), Auschwitz III (factory/work camp), Terezin (concentration camp), and many Jewish synagogues, cemeteries, museums, and memorials. Words cannot describe these humbling, surreal experiences. Casey and I have both been captivated by the history of the Holocaust since we were young, and we will not soon forget this incredible trip! 

On December 15, I graduated from UTM with a Master of Business Administration. I plan to continue working as the secretary in the Department of Engineering at the university as long as James is working on his nursing degree. As James continues his studies in nursing, he also enjoys his job installing and repairing classroom technology with UTM’s Information Technology Services. Over the past several semesters, James has also taken scuba classes. Diving has become one of his favorite hobbies. He has attained several scuba certifications and has had many opportunities this year to dive at Mermet Springs in Belknap, IL.

Speaking of opportunities, we have booked a 7-day Carnival Caribbean cruise in May 2013 to celebrate our 5th anniversary! James has already planned an excursion to go diving in the Cayman Islands. This will be his first ocean dive! Our ship will leave from Miami, FL and stop at 4 ports: Cozumel, Mexico; Belize; Mahogany Bay, Isla Roatan, Honduras; and Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands. We have never been on a cruise, so we are excited to try something new like this together!

This year we also visited with James’s aunt who was in town from Africa (my first time to meet her!), went camping with his family during a beautiful fall weekend, and celebrated with many of our friends and family who either graduated, got married, and/or had babies. This summer I helped with VBS at our wonderful church and this fall I attended an uplifting women’s conference with her mom and home-church ladies. James still actively plays the drums at our church and for other ministries through our church. We give thanks to God for how He has worked in our lives this year.

One last thing we’d like to add: In September, James officially got out of the Marines!

We hope that you and your family have a joyous Christmas season celebrating the birth of our Savior!

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace and goodwill!” Luke 2:14

April Update

Just wanted to stop in and update my dear readers on what's new with us. April is going to be an extremely busy month, so I may not get another chance. Let's see...

-I decided to defer my UTK enrollment until Fall 2013. I've had senioritis lately, and the thought of immediately starting a new program after I graduate with my MBA this fall just stresses me out. I think taking a semester off will be just what I need for a fresh start in a new program.

-James is really struggling with nursing right now. I don't want to share too much before we know anything for sure, but it looks like he may need 3 more years to finish instead of 2.

-My Holocaust travel study is in 45 days!

-I finished reading Working It Out by Abby Rike yesterday. It's such a great book about life, tragedy, fitness, faith, and hope. Abby was on The Biggest Loser during Season 8. I had the opportunity, thanks to my dear friend Brandi, to attend a Healthy Woman event at UTM on my birthday where Abby was the keynote speaker. She has an amazing story to tell, and I felt so honored to hear it. Afterward, I got to meet Abby, buy her book, and get it signed. I watched Season 8 of The Biggest Loser on Netflix during the next few weeks so I could see Abby's transformation. After sharing my experience with my family, they showed interest in getting to hear Abby too. So for Mother's Day, my mom, sister, and aunt will be attending another Healthy Woman event in Clarksville to hear Abby!

-I know most people (like my mom) think that I am "skinny enough", but one of my New Year's resolutions was to "exercise more and eat healthier". I have been doing just that since the beginning of the year. In fact, I have lost 9 pounds! My goals are not necessarily to be skinny but to be healthy. Eat better, lighter, and less. I tend to overeat at most meals, and I normally don't practice self-control. In the past I have tried different things to create better eating habits, but I only ended up on a roller-coaster ride. The yo-yo effect, if you will. Most women spend their entire lives caught up in the yo-yo effect. My goal is to not do that. I want to be able to create healthy eating and exercise habits that last. This time around, I am taking tips that I've heard from The Biggest Loser about making better food choices and am exercising 3-4 times a week. I also use a calorie counting app on my phone called My Fitness Pal. It's not always fun to log my calories, but it really does help when trying to eat better. Obviously, it's working!

-Good Friday is tomorrow and Easter is Sunday! This is such a reflective time in the life of a Christian. It's just amazing to realize that Jesus gave it all so that we could have the hope of eternal life. The following is a quote that comes from Abby's book:

"Hope is many times equated with 'wishful thinking' from our society's viewpoint. But the Bible's meaning of hope is totally different from from society's meaning of hope. The word 'hope' in the Bible carries with it the meaning of: 'Confident expectation; joyful anticipation; a firm conviction about the future.' If we know Jesus Christ as our personal Savior, we not only have hope, meaning, and purpose in our lives on this earth, we have confident expectation, joyful anticipation, a firm conviction that we will see our loved ones one day. That's the hope that the gospel of Jesus Christ gives us today."

Excerpt by Tim Watson from Abby Rike's book "Working It Out"

2011 Recap & 2012 Resolutions

A recap of the resolutions I made in 2011:

1. Grow closer in my relationship with God.
This is a lifelong process that is difficult to measure. My prayer is that I will continually grow closer to Him each year that I'm on this earth.

2. Read the Bible in a year.
Fail. I did great keeping up with the daily readings for the first 6 months, and I made it through Nehemiah. This year I will start with Esther and see how far I can get. Maybe reading the whole Bible in a year isn't the point anyway. As long as I'm reading, I'll be able to achieve my first resolution.

3. Train for and run in the 1/2 marathon in April.
Double success! I ran in two half marathons this year!

4. Exercise more and eat healthier.
Overall, I'd say this was a half success/half failure. I ran more with all my half marathon training, but my eating habits are worse than ever. With work, school, training, etc., I hardly ever cooked, and we ate out several times a week. Exercising more and eating healthier will also be a lifelong goal for me.

2012 Resolutions/Goals: 

1. Grow closer in my relationship with God.
2. Read and study Scripture more fervently.
3. Exercise more and eat healthier.
4. Graduate from the Master of Business Administration program in December.
5. Get into the Master of Science in Information Science program at UTK.
6. Pass the Certified Administration Professional exam in May and get the 9% raise.

Did you make any resolutions you'd like to share?

Heaven is for Real

Have you heard about this amazing little book? If you haven't, let me tell you, it is worth the read! I loved reading this father's account of his four year old son's close encounter with death. The small boy's experience reveals a confirmation of what lies ahead for those who have placed their trust in Jesus. This book encouraged me and affirmed my faith. I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone.

Conviction, Confession, Freedom

A guest speaker delivered the message in Sunday school this morning. He covered a lot of material, but the message that stood out to me was this: Prepare yourself in private time with God so that when you're in public, you'll be ready for the opportunities God presents to you. Preparing myself for opportunities. This is something I have neglected recently. I have been reading God's Word, but I have neglected to open my heart to learn what He has for me and to know Him more. Because of this, I have missed opportunities. I felt convicted and ashamed this morning. The Sunday school lesson reminded me that reading the Bible is not enough. Spending quality time with God is absolutely necessary. It is during that time that we grow closer to God and that we become more like Him. I have not been acting like Him lately, and I sure do regret it.

God also spoke to my heart during our new pastor's message. Kylan preached on 1 John 1:8-2:2 and the message was entitled "When Christian's Sin". It was like God prepared Kylan to speak to me directly. 

"If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world." -1 John 1:8-2:2

Kylan covered the following questions:

1. Do Christians sin?

The answer: In 1 John 1:8, John states, "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." In short, yes. Christians sin.

2. Should Christians sin?

The answer: In Romans 6:1-2, Paul states, "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?" In short, no. Christians should not continue to live in a sinful lifestyle.

3. What happens when Christians sins?

The answer: In 1 John 2:1b, John states, "And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." Inevitably, we will sin, but we are not hopeless. Jesus defends us and pleads on our behalf. He took the sin on Himself when He died on the cross so that we may have a right relationship with God.

4. What should Christians do when they sin?

The answer: In John 1: 9, John states, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." We are not automatically able to enter into a right relationship with God just because we are Christians. We must confess our sins before our advocate, Jesus. Then He will make us clean.

Something else Kylan said this morning was that we should not condone sin. The word "condone" means to disregard,  overlook or excuse. Lately, I have been somewhat desensitized to sin and am guilty of condoning it as well as taking part in it. Thankfully though, by confessing my sin before my advocate, Jesus, I no longer have to carry the guilt and shame. I am made clean before God so that I may be at peace and experience joy in His presence. 

Thank you, Jesus, for saving me from myself and my sin. Please help me to become more like you so that when others see me, they see you...not the sinful, selfish person that I am. You have put me on this earth for your glory. Help me to glorify you in all my thoughts, words and actions. Amen.

Confession

I regret to confess that I have not fully lived up to my commitment to Lent. I have been in prayer for my family, but I have not abstained from eating sugary and fried foods. I should never have committed unless I was truly serious about it because clearly I wasn't. Maybe I'm not quite ready to sacrifice sweets and fries. Owning up this seems harmless in one regard, but in another I feel it reveals my lack of faith and self-control. I have kept my New Year's resolutions; at least I have that going for me.

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13

Ash Wednesday

Since I have attended Baptist churches most of my life, I am unfamiliar with the observances of Ash Wednesday and Lent. I did attend one Ash Wednesday service at the local Catholic church when I was a senior in college, but I only did that to fulfill a requirement for my philosophy class. Other than that, I have had no experience with these rites. 

 A dear friend of mine attends a local Methodist church where Ash Wednesday and Lent are observed. She and I ate lunch together a few weeks ago, and she told me about one Lent season where she abstained from different foods and prayed diligently for her son. She said that she truly saw a difference in his life after the experience. Her faithfulness inspired me to want to participate in Lent this year. My family is dealing with a lot of different issues these days, and I don't pray for them enough. By observing Lent for the next forty days, I hope to commit my family to prayer more diligently than I ever have. I plan to abstain from sweets and fried foods. These are not good for our bodies, so it won't hurt me to fast from them for forty days. Only good can come from this experience. When I am tempted to eat something sweet or fried, I will pray for my family instead.

My friend and I agreed to help keep one another accountable. I pray that this experience will not only benefit my family through my prayers but that God will draw me closer to Himself. I hope to develop a stronger dependence on Him.

Promises in Deuteronomy

One of my New Year's resolutions has been to read through the Bible in a year. Over the past couple weeks, I've read through Deuteronomy. These are some promises that I found while reading.

"You shall not fear them, for it is the Lord your God who fights for you." Deut. 3:22

"Know therefore today, and lay it on your heart, that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other." Deut. 4:39

"Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations." Deut. 7:9

"For the LORD your God is he who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory." Deut. 20:4

"Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you." Deut. 31:6

"It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed." Deut. 31:8

Lucy Update

Lucy's mom Kate wrote the following in her blog today:
Lucy is leaking spinal fluid from her incision.  We will be going down for a small procedure to repair the leak around 11:00.  She has a high fever and is in a lot of pain this morning.   Once the leak stops she should feel a lot of pain relief.  Please continue to pray for her today.

Oh, and she has UTI now, too.  UGH!!!!

This is the update after Lucy's procedure:
The procedure went well, but her spinal fluid came back cloudy.  When Dr. Boop came to tell us what that meant we were floored.  It either meant that she had meningitis or the cancer was worse than we thought.  So we waited nervously for a few hours until they came to tell us the results.  Praise God it was only Meningitis.  In what sick, twisted reality is Meningitis a good thing? 

But, as I've said we have a new normal.  A new way of life to adapt to.  While I am thrilled that she is sleeping and eating well tonight, I have to temper my excitement.  As we have learned, things can change in a moment's time.  Such is the way of this mighty beast cancer.

Mike Nawrocki Comes to Central

I actually got the chance to meet Mike Nawrocki. He is the voice behind Larry the Cucumber in the popular cartoon VeggieTales. I wasn't all that excited at first, but when he started talking like Larry, I would be lying if I said I didn't freak out a little inside. He and Steve Feldman, the director of Sesame Street for 8 years, visited our church yesterday morning. Our church advertised the event to the community, so we had a bunch of little ones running around. We fed them fun snacks like cupcakes, popcorn, grapes, baby carrots and juice boxes. James' sister brought her two kids, her mother-in-law, her husband's siblings and their kids. A couple of families from New Harmony, James' home church in Paris, came as well. It was quite a fun time. We were able to show the newest VeggieTales movie, 'Twas the Night Before Easter. We were the only ones to have access to it before its release date next month. The kids and their parents alike loved it.

Our nephews

James sitting with Tina and her husband's family

Friends from New Harmony

Nearly a full house

Mike Nawrocki

Steve Feldman, Rebeca Seitz, James, me and Mike Nawrocki

Keep Praying for Lucy

Thank you for praying for Lucy Krull. She made it through the surgery yesterday, but she's in a lot of pain. She and her family still need our prayers now more than ever.

If you would like to follow Lucy's progress on her mom's blog, click here.

Prayer

Please pray for this precious 5 year old who has developed a brain and spine cancer called medulloblastoma. She had surgery this morning at Le Bonheur. Her family is from my hometown county, and many people I know are friends with her family. I just want to spread the word and raise as much prayer support as we can for this sweet little girl.

James 5:15 - "And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up."

A Busy, Fun-Filled Weekend

Thankfully, the snow held off long enough for Becca and Maggie (Becca's baby girl aka sweet dog) to arrive safely at our apartment Friday around 11PM. We tried desperately to stay up and watch Steel Magnolias, but alas, we were much to sleepy. We finished the movie the next morning instead. What a classic!

We then went to the Rec Center to run 3 miles. We felt so sluggish. My guess is that it was caused from the lack of sleep. I couldn't sleep in at all on Saturday. I woke up at 5:30AM! I never wake up that early. I just could not get back to sleep though. Oh well. I got a full night's rest Sunday, so I made up for it.

Anyway, so after our workout, we made a quick trip to Wal-mart. I made "Tommy Things" for lunch and Becca LOVED them. They are so healthy and filling! We watched some tv and then got ready to go to the movie theater where we watched Country Strong. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't my favorite either. "I can't believe they killed her!" Haha. Bec and I then went to Huddle House for dinner. I sure do like their Southern Pecan Waffles! When we got back to the apartment, James was there, and we all just relaxed and watched tv. I had so much fun with Becca here this weekend. I wish she lived closer.

On Sunday I went to church by myself. James was wore out from the day before. He woke up around 5AM on Saturday to get to an early breakfast and then to a youth rally at the church that lasted the entire day. He played drums and helped out with the youth. He was exhausted from it too. After I got home from church, James and I went to lunch at the cafeteria brunch. That afternoon, James went to help some friends change a tire (repeat from last weekend...last Sunday he took the tire off and this weekend he put the new tire on) while I went to run with my friend Christa. We had an excellent run too! We just chatted the whole time without music and ran 3 miles without even realizing it. It was great!

On Sunday evening, James and I went to our Sunday School class Super Bowl party. We had a great time getting to know the people in our class even better. The more I'm around them, the more I love them all. I haven't been this happy at a church since I was in the youth group at Faith Baptist. Thank you, God, for blessing us with such a loving and welcoming church family!

Levitical Reminder

One of my New Year's resolutions was to read the Bible in a year. I have successfully been reading just as I set out to do, and by doing so, I have seen God's faithful hand in my life. I have been trudging through Leviticus for the past few days, and let's just say it is not one of the most exciting books of the Bible. Thankfully though, God sent me a bit of encouragement today through my friend's blog post. She too is working her way through Leviticus this month, and she shared some thematic insights that I had not fully thought about until today. 

In essence, Leviticus, in all its exhaustive and repetitive rules, reminds us how blessed we are as Christians to have access to God by way of the Holy Spirit because of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross. Paul states in Romans 7:6, "But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code." Praise God for the "new way of the Spirit"! There is freedom from the law in Christ. 

And thanks, Day by Grace, for sharing your insights. It was a great encouragement to me.