"Safely Home" - A great book

Last week, I read Safely Home by Randy Alcorn. Living in the wealthiest, most comfortable nation in the world, causes me to forget the trials that our brothers and sisters face around the world. Alcorn does a fantastic job of presenting the daily lives of God's faithful who suffer for their love for Him and at the same time reveals the incredible award that awaits them on the other side. "Real gold does not fear fire" is one of the Chinese proverbs often spoken by Li Quan. The fire of persecution has purified the church in China and many other countries closed to the Gospel. After reading this book, I consider how I would fare while enduring the persecutions they face on a daily basis. I thank those who cause us to ask these questions.

Pleeeeeaase Daddy?

Ok, no new earth shattering news, but we just had to add this picture!

Building the Porch

The porch is just about finished, thanks to Dad. We recently got the front door in and the siding should be done, and the cabinets installed next week!

It's a Boy!

Last week we found out that our baby is going to be a BOY! We are very excited and want to find a name soon. As you can see from the wedding shots, we are "expanding" and are 5 months along. Maggie talks about being a "big sister" and having a "baby brother". We recently bought her a baby doll and it's so fun to see her carrying her around, feeding her, putting her to "sweep" with Monkey, pushing her in her stroller and even bossing her around. :-) She will definitely be an attentive big sister.

God's Character

Todd is still enjoying teaching Sunday School and recently the topic was on why God lets evil happen in this world. We've felt so incredibly blessed by God recently, with a new baby and new house and even a new truck and a free cruise coming up. We are so blessed by each other, our family and friends and realize the gift of these relationships. But we want to love God for who He is, not just what He gives us and have been giving a lot of thought and study to praising Him and enjoying His character even in the face of disaster. The recent anniversary of 9-11 has reminded us that we need to praise Him in all things, and His character is always, good, righteous and loving, no matter what our circumstances or what events come into life. God's willingness to let evil sometimes happen in this world is just as much of a part of His character, and accepting this, and loving Him with all of our heart is definitely something that we've been thinking about. We are grateful for every part of who God is and want to praise Him in all circumstances. He is always GOOD!

John & Lisa's Wedding

We recently had the privilege of being in our friends' John &Lisa's  wedding. It was such a wonderful day and we enjoyed it thoroughly. We are so proud to have such great friends who have honored God in their relationship.

Progress!

It's so fun to see the house progress. There are a couple more outdoor things to do and then all we have left is indoor projects like painting, installing cabinets, and flooring. We are so looking forward to moving in. Building a house is exciting, but also exhausting and we'll be looking forward to a little less busyness! However, we are very grateful and know we are blessed.