overdue but worth the wait...

So, it has been almost two weeks since I have posted and such negligence is inexcusable. Anyway, I figured I would make the wait worthwhile by posting the images from our ultrasound. This is "baby A" and we don't know whether we'll be having a boy or girl. We don't want to find out and the ultrasound tech. said she couldn't tell anyway because the baby was squirming all over the place and sitting cross legged. Our child is already rambunctious and uncooperative - Hillary thinks the baby takes after me. It was pretty exciting to see the pictures and the baby and mother are continuing to grow and develop. We're headed up to Hillary's Dad's in New York and are pretty excited. Have a wonderful Christmas.

ultra sound

This past Thursday Hillary had her 18 week ultra-sound and we got to see the kido. She or he is healthy and developing fine, but was rather squirmy and uncooperative - Hillary joked that the baby takes after me. While the technician, nurse, and doctor were trying to measure femurs and the nose bone the baby was wiggling all over the place, so it was kinda difficult for them to get accurate measurements. At other points the baby was sitting in such a manner where you could mostly just see his or her feet. It was a good thing we didn't know the sex of the baby because we wouldn't have been able to tell due to her or his position and squirminess. The ultra-sound is more fun in retrospect than it was in person. We were there for a while and it was often hard to tell what we were looking at. I accidentally dozed off for a few minutes (we were sitting in a dark and warm room - that spells trouble for me staying awake). We'll try to scan some of the pictures and put them online for you all to see.

getting on track

I find, that when I'm out of town, even for a day or two it is hard to jump back into the rhythm of things. It is like when I am backing into our driveway and accidentally run up on the logs which mark our flower beds - there is always a few seconds before you can get off. If you jerk the wheel hard and try to get right back on track you can careen into the hedge on the other side, so you just need to ease it back towards equilibrium. With coming and going for Thanksgiving, Weddings, and various other things I'm feeling like it is hard to reach equilibrium. This especially plays out in setting time apart to spend with God and doing the same with Hillary. Self-discipline and intentionality are much harder as life continues to change, but I think I will learn even more about this reality once we have kids - yikes. My mom noted that I often change the subject when she brings up us having a child and how I feel about it. I'm excited and nervous, and realize that however much or little I think about it I will continue to be nervous and excited. Oh well.

turkey birthday

This Thursday is pretty awesome because I get to celebrate Thanksgiving and my birthday. I am convinced that the Thanksgiving/Birthday combo is the ultimate in birthday/holiday combinations. There is a large family gathering with excellent food, and you get presents. There aren't other disctractions like fireworks (4th of July), parades (Vetrans Day) or everyone being out of town (Memorial Day). Unlike the Christmas/Birthday combo there is little danger of double gifting (one gift which "covers" Christmas and Birthday). In addition it is generally expected that you will watch football and lie around, both of which I enjoy. As you can probably tell I am pretty excited. The best part will be spending time at home with my family and just relaxing. I've got a few good books packed - two serious and one that's pure fun. I hope you enjoy your Thanksgiving as well.

driving through the night and Admiral Stockdale

Hillary started driving around 10pm and I as lay there in the reclined car seat I was staring up following the moon as its light reflected off scattered clouds. It was a beatiful evening twisting and cruving along Interstate 81 as we traveled through Virginia and West Virginia into Pennsylvania. I had the 12:40-5am shift at the wheel and the first two and a half hours were great. I was rested from my nap and enjoyed the lonely time of the morning when there are few distractions and plenty of time to think. I spent the time listening to instrumental music, talking with God, and thinking all sorts of thoughts. I like being up late into the night/morning, but don't get to do so very often.

I've been thinking about this thing called the stockdale paradox which talks about confronting the most difficult aspects of your present situation while believing that you will eventually truimph. Looking back on the past year of serving Christ in CT and looking forward to the next I am very aware of my need for faith in God. I don't want to be merely optimistic, but to trust God's call and wisdom in leading us here and believe that he will work despite various difficulties.

eating our way through the day

This past weekend we were visiting EPC, the church I went to while I was a student at the University of Delaware. Hillary and I were participating in the missions conference, sharing about our ministry in CT. It was a great time as I caught up with many that I hadn't seen in a while and was able to introduce Hillary to them. Furthermore, they had guests from Chile and Northern Mexico who described God's work in these areas. I had fun using my broken Spanish to communicate with a couple serving in Saltillo Mexico and was encouraged through my interactions with these different people. We stayed with a family that I knew while I was a student and were pampered by their wonderful hospitality. They continued to bring us snacks, and ask if we would like some tea. Between these treats, sharing meals as part of the conference, and getting together with some other friends over coffee, Hillary remarked "it seems like we are eating our way through the day." We drove back this afternoon and are glad to be back in town.

the communion of the saints

I've been reflecting more this past week about what it means to live as a group of Christians and not just as an individual believer. Here are a few thoughts that have come to min. Ephesians 5 talks about Christians being imitators of God and as we were talking about how this plays out in the church the image of a mosiac came to mind. Each tile, on its own is nothing special but when put together in the right order and place, these little colored pieces form beatiful pictures. Each Christian cannot imitate the full nature and beauty of God, but if you put enough people together who are trying to live so that God is seen, a picture emerges. As I think about this reality, I realize why some churches or Christian movements have been attracted to the notion of a mosiac. Here are two quotes which I came across while reading...

"many Americans... in the contemporary church ... treat churches like leased automobiles, trading in the old one in for a new one every five years."

"But after we have done our best to communicate to a lost world, still we must never foget that the final apologetic which Jesus gives is the observable love of true Christians for true Christians"