Continual Adjustments

Life never goes entirely as planned and sometimes it goes completely contrary to the plan. Some of life's surprises are wonderful and some raise our level of concern and we ultimately make some adjustments. Going to seminary was a late adjustment to our plan in life, as was the addition of a third child. Both of these have been wonderful adjustments.

This past week we've also had to make some adjustments that have caused us some concern. The government job that my wife had been told was hers provided that she pass her background check was given to an internal candidate. The bright side to this is that there is another position in the same office that she qualifies for, but the whole selection process is starting over and there is nothing to say that she will be selected for this other position.

The encouraging thing we have to remind ourselves is that this does not come as a surprise to God. And as such we take comfort in knowing that God is in control and will provide the finances we need to continue our Venture.

Our baby girl continues to do well. She is as healthy as can be, and she is growing noticeably everyday. However, each evening she does have some screaming fits which we believe are gas related. These episodes generally last a few hours which can last until the early morning hours. We've been blessed to have family visiting us since the birth which allows me to get some sleep at night knowing that with the extra help here, my wife can try to make up the sleep during the day.

The other two kids are both doing well too. They love their sister and really enjoy giving her kisses on her head. Mad Science and dance lessons continue for both of them. This past week we went to a "trunk or treat" event at my son's school where both kids dressed up and came away with enough candy to last them well into 2010! My daughter especially had a good time participating in the parade of costumes. She dressed as Minnie Mouse and my son was Captain Rex from Star Wars: The Clone Wars series.

Starting in mid-November I will be joining the staff of a winter shelter in St. Louis. I will be working there one night per week. I'll arrive around 6:00 PM and stay there until about 6:30 AM. I'm really excited about this opportunity. Admittedly, I've been a bit pharisaical regarding ministry to the poor and needy among us. This is work that I've always wanted to participate in, but I've never been intentional about actually doing it. So when this opportunity came up, I jumped on it and was glad when I got the call offering me the position. I will be writing about my experiences there over this upcoming winter. I know that God is going to use this opportunity to teach me plenty about myself and about His love.

Here She Is ... Blessings Upon Blessings

My mom was due to arrive on September 30 at the airport. Unbeknownst to me, her flight was delayed by about 20 minutes. This left me some time to wander about the airport and get the lay of the land. Within a minute or two I passed by an older gentleman standing at a booth across from the coffee shop. He eagerly called me over. Having some time to kill I had no problem going over to see what he was "selling." His first question said it all, "Do you believe in karma?" I said that I didn't to which he began asking a whole bunch of follow-up questions. Eventually, he offered me a book of "sacred scripture" written in Sanskrit over 5000 years ago. I asked him how he knew that these writings were scripture, and he cited "circumstantial evidence." So I challenged him by saying that Christians believe the Bible to be holy scripture, and he replied that the Bible was indeed scripture and that his book "goes right along with it." We talked some more and we were having a wonderful friendly conversation until I disagreed with him on the question of, "What does God require?" He claimed that all religions were in agreement on this question saying that God requires us to love Him and submit to His will. When I told him that Christians believe that God requires us to submit our lives to Jesus Christ, his friendly demeanor quickly became stone cold and he said, "Well, I guess you have to go now." And with that our conversation was over. The truly unfortunate thing was that I had left my Bible in the car and had I brought it with me I would have gladly agreed to take and read a copy of his book, if he would agree to take and read mine.

Anyway, mom arrived safely and she has been a tremendous help in the days since. On the morning of October 1 (around 5:30 AM), the hospital called and said they were ready for us to come in for our scheduled induction. We got to the hospital around 7:00 AM and got checked in. Everything went pretty much as we had expected, and around 4:30 in the afternoon we had a daughter. My wife requested an epidural a little before 3:00 and it was almost 4:00 before they were able to get it in and she began to feel the affects. About a half an hour later it was all over. The doctor almost missed the delivery because no one had really checked on my wife's "progress" in several hours. By the time the doctor got into the room, adjusted the bed and got his gown on, my daughter's head was already showing. Three pushes later, she was born.

Since then, my daughter has been doing extremely well. She has taken to eating well. She has already gained back most of the weight she lost after birth. She sleeps really well at night. She doesn't fuss a whole lot - except when she should. The Lord has really blessed us. My other two children have taken to their new sister quite well. They both insist on giving her a kiss on the head before bed each night. They are also eager to hold her - except when she is crying. For my son especially - the whole idea of learning to be gentle has really been good for him. Did I mention how much God has blessed my family?

We have also been extremely blessed by our church this week. We have been receiving meals from different families each night this week. The food has been fantastic and it has allowed us some teachable moments with the kids regarding what it means to be a blessing to others and what it means when someone chooses to be a blessing to you and how you can show gratitude for those blessings.

Have I mentioned how much God has blessed my family? :)