A Father's Day Update

Let me begin with an apology for not keeping this blog updated. As you can imagine, along with Summer began a whirlwind of life for our family. Nathan is still hard at school and his two jobs. He sacrifices so much and literally burns the midnight oil to care for his family. We are hit and miss on the home front right now. We are hoping within a few months to begin living a new normal. Nathan should be finished with school in August, and we will begin settling in and preparing for the reality of our growing family. (Forgive me if the update is brief, as today is father's day, and I'd like to get back to the festivities!) I'm still working also. I'm working a lot. We're praying that at the close of my pregnancy, God will allow me to focus on just being a mommy. And we're working very hard to try to make this happen. We're also planning a very monumental move to another part of the country to share the gospel with a group of people who are missing out on it. More on that later...

The pregnancy is going VERY well, unbelievably well. I don't remember it being this easy to carry a child. The last two, I worried with every twinge, but early on with this one, I told God that I needed Him to carry the burden of this pregnancy, and He really has. The baby is growing and has weight that I can feel. The baby is moving and rolling. It is becoming more and more exciting as each day closes. We'll learn more about our baby on June 24th at an ultrasound.

As all of the events and craziness of our home has continued to escalate, God has been teaching me about compassion. Since April, several people that have been close to my heart have lost loved ones (I can think of four families the very moment) and I have been beside myself with grief for them. I feel deeply convicted to "carry one another's burdens" and to make sacrifices in order to do this. This is where I fight the sin of selfishness and sloth, because, with so many other things occurring in the household, I could easily make an excuse for my unavailability. I do believe that God is showing me an area that he desires for me to grow and deny myself. And I hope that he continues to give me creative opportunities to deny myself for the gospel. I can tell you that it is so sweet when He teaches us about Himself.

That is all for now. Father's Day must resume. Let's remember to celebrate all of our hard working Dad's and take note of the many ways they sacrifice to give to the families God is giving them. Tell them "Thank you!" and mean it!