Ear piercing adventure

Mia got her ears pierced today and I just wanted to post a few pictures. I had wanted to get her ears pierced since she was born but I was continuously afraid. I just hated the thought of having something done that would hurt her but was completely unnecessary. After six months of deciding to go for it and then not going through with it, I finally did it. I went to Walmart not really thinking about getting her ears pierced. I filled my cart full of groceries and when I passed by the jewelry counter I thought, "It's now or never" and I just went for it on my way to the check-out. The lady marked her ears with the purple marker and called another worker over to help. I hated having to hold Mia's arms down and her head still but she did really well and didn't fight against me. They each took their turn with the piercing guns...pop, pop...and it was over. Mia screamed for about 20 seconds as I prepared her bottle, but as soon she got it in her mouth she had forgotten about the whole incident.

One of the reasons I wanted her to have earrings so badly was because she doesn't have much hair and a lot of people have thought she was a boy...even once when she had a pink shirt on with flowers. So, I thought that getting her ears pierced would keep people from calling her a boy, but I guess that was too much to expect because as we left the post office today...with her new earrings shining in the sun, her shirt with a lace collar, her sweater adorned with flowers...a lady commented, "Aww look at him, he's so cute." I've done everything short of tatooing "I'm a girl" on her head. Oh well...

Hope you enjoy the pictures.

Matthew: A Call to Humility

Is anyone else attempting to read through the bible in a year? I've made it so far...although I'm about 5 or 6 days behind. It has been relatively easy to keep up with this time despite that I now have a 6 month old, a house with more rooms, and a new role as a pastor's wife to compete for my time in the Word. God's grace has really been upon me and He has kept my heart and mind eager for Him.

A theme that I have noticed over and over as I read the book of Matthew, is resisting pride and striving to be humble. In Matthew 6 we are reminded that if you seek your recognition on earth that is your reward but if you are humble and do good things because it pleases the Lord then you will be rewarded much more in heaven. In Matthew 18 the disciples ask, "Who is the greatest?" and Jesus tells them that unless they become humble they will not enter the kingdom of heaven. And in Matthew 20 James and John's mother desires for them to be at Jesus' right and left hand but Jesus simply reminds those who were listening that he had come to do the will of his Father...he came not to be served but to serve.

Jesus is our ultimate example when it comes to being humble. He healed the sick, he spoke to the outcasts and he spent time with the sinners who no one else would have anything to do with. He humbled himself to leave heaven and spend time with people like us knowing that we would reject him and he would end up on a cross to be a sacrifice for us. How can we have an ounce of pride in our hearts if we would even think of how awful our sin is in the light of Christ's holiness?

Update and Prayer

I finally feel like I've established some sort of routine here after the craziness of the holidays. I realized today that it has been over a month since I've posted and so much has happened over the last few weeks. My family and I had a successful move back to the great Scioto county where I was born and raised. The minor problems we had with the truck seems so minuscule to me now after all that has happened.

David's job at Bigelow Church was in full swing only a week after our arrival. He is currently in charge of the order of service as well as leading the worship on Sunday mornings. He co-teaches one of the adult Sunday school classes--a review of the Reformation (if you know my husband well, you know that is a complete dream come true). And he is helping to write the curriculum for the next class on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood. He also is scheduled to preach next Sunday morning. He gets along really well with the other pastors and elders and we are constantly amazed at how quickly this church has begun to love and welcome us.

I've already had many opportunities to get involved at the church. My first calling is to help my husband, so I have helped him introduce new songs to the congregation and given him feedback on the service and his Sunday school lessons. I'm getting to know the other pastors' wives pretty well and have already learned so much! I'm excited to glean from their experiences. I've read a lot about being a pastor's wife but nothing compares to observing a wife who has been by her husband's side for over 20 years while he pastored the same church. David and I are meeting new friends at our small group and I've been asked to help plan a women's retreat in the Spring.

As many of you know we had been praying that David would get a job. Our prayers have been answered! David was hired on Tuesday last week as an adjunct professor in English at Shawnee State University. He had wanted to teach there since the first time we thought we were going to move last July but had continuously been discouraged since they weren't hiring and he found out that they required a PhD to teach there. He thought this job was out of the question and had applied at Starbucks, Kroger, and UPS (all places he was just willing to settle for) until our pastor mentioned he knew someone and could get David an interview. The next day he was hired on the spot. God is so good...he orchestrated it so that our faith was strengthened and that David got the job he had truly wanted. Now David is in a position where we are more available to minister to the college students at Shawnee, which is what we had really had a passion for all along.

Please continue to pray for us as our ministry here progresses. We need prayer to help us reach out to the people in our community and to minister to the members of our church. And as well, I still struggle with trusting God with Mia's health and the complications that her condition presents as we try to find insurance. But in all, I am praising the Lord because He has done so much for us and taught us so much...I'm excited to see what He has in store for us.