Ok, Ok....

I've been a very very bad blogger lately. I don't know what to say. It's not that I haven't had anything to say. When I take long breaks from blogging, it's never because there's nothing to write about. Life is way too full for that. It's just hard to know where to start sometimes.

My Bible study at church is going great - I have really been encouraged by the ladies' participation, and I can't believe we're past the halfway mark now. It has been such a good group. I'm looking forward to tomorrow's discussion. One of the chapters we've read this week is called "Worry is Like a Rocking Chair".....because it gives you something to do but never gets you anywhere! This is a topic that's easy for me to talk about because I used to live in worry. A lot. Not that there's really any life there. But I used to invest way too many of my thoughts in worry, and it was so pointless. All it did was rob me of opportunities to actively experience God's presence in the present. I missed so much of Him and the peace He longs to give, and I lost chances to be prepared for whatever was to be faced next in life. That's the thing - we never know what lies ahead. Circumstances could change in an instant - to be better or worse. If I refuse to skip out on knowing Him right now in the midst of my circumstance (even if it is a very worrisome and troublesome situation), then I can count on always being in a place where I can handle what He has next - and handle it gracefully. Trust is huge. And while I'm grateful that God showed me very specifically how to move out from underneath worry's stronghold, I still have to be very intentional about not getting dragged back in. I still struggle with the propensity to worry about things, and I have to work to stay on top of my thoughts. But it has gotten easier! And for that, I'm thankful. And excited to share with others. I'm really looking forward to tomorrow's class!

It's that time again when Mom and I are working on coordinating all the Bible study classes our women's ministry will provide in the spring, contacting teachers, reviewing and purchasing materials, and a whole lot of little details that have to be worked out and finalized in the next few weeks. I'm praying that God stirs the hearts of the right people to teach this spring and He lets us know who we need to approach and ask. If anyone has any Bible studies they'd recommend, please leave me a comment! What are your favorites? I'd appreciate all the input I can get. So many of you have had access to some great studies and know which ones are relevant to women today and really good for small group settings.

Jonah has a few new conversational habits that are just too cute. Well, some of them. For instance, he has begun responding to everything I say or ask of him with a "why?" - which really is cute only some of the time. NOT when it's used to buy himself time from obeying me. But he really just likes to hear himself talk, and he wants so much to communicate back and forth with us, in real conversation. So "why" is the best he's got, in terms of having something to say to continue the conversation when we tell him something. He doesn't really care for an answer. He just says "why". ALL the time! And he has this new thing where he's constantly narrating his activities and adds a "didn't I?" at the end of each sentence. Only it comes out sounding like this: "I put it in the trash, did I?" It's very cute but also a sign that he cares a great deal about verbal affirmation and recognition of his actions. It's not like firstborn children need any extra help in being people-pleasers! So I want to be careful not to teach him to be driven by a need for approval. Living for approval isn't exactly the best life strategy, and I sure find myself struggling with it too. So Lord, help me shepherd this child's heart in that direction.

This is very old news for most of you, but some of you don't know yet....I'm going to be an aunt again!!! My brother and his wife are having their third baby at the end of February. I waited to announce it on the blog until Amy gave me the go-ahead, but I'm pretty sure she forgot. =) So the news is a little late getting blogged about, but still...the rest of the world needs to know! They had an ultrasound yesterday (and didn't find out what they are having, of course), and everything looked great. The baby looks healthy, praise God. I'm thinking it will be a boy. I'm a little sad that with this child, we live so far away from each other. The hospital/birth experiences of my nephew Nathan and niece Maggie are some of my favorite memories ever, and I'm sad to think that I probably won't get to see this new little one as soon as he or she is born. I think that everyone who reads this should just collectively join together in prayer that God will move them back to Texas real soon. =)

All right, there you have some updates on my life. I haven't had the time to spend catching up on everyone else's blogs, but I hope to do that real soon. I'm planning on having out-of-town company this weekend and again all next week, so if the blogging remains sparse a little bit longer, you'll know why. But really I will try to do better!