letter to my favorite pants/capris

hello old friend!
it's so lovely to see you! i can't believe that i have forgotten about you the whole time i've been pregnant! you are so comfy and stretchy (which is key when my abdomen is growing daily!) and when i found you, i couldn't believe that you hadn't come to mind when i was complaining about only having one pair of comfy lounging pants! what happened was that i packed you away in a bin with all of my ugly missions clothes...and i'm not going to lie, you are definitely not in style any longer, however i am pregnant and couldn't care less how fashionable i am around the house! so...i am thrilled that i found you...when i put you on, i can't help but think of sri lanka...thailand...the airport in taiwan, and of course bangladesh. we've been together so long and we've traveled around the world together! I am so thankful for you even if you are faded and old! i'm pretty sure that you will fit well into my third trimester, and i couldn't be happier that i remembered you tonight!

love,
me.

spiritual parenting

This past weekend, we attended a class at church with our Families Pastor...it's called Spiritual Parenting and it's the basis of our entire family ministry philosophy. I had taken it before and I live in some of the concepts day in and day out...only in a classroom setting on weekends as opposed to a home setting. It was a long day, but well worth it. Alex and I both walked away with a lot of AHAs. It was so different for me to be thinking through the concepts in regards to this little one growing in me as opposed to the little ones that we have the privilege of working with each week.

It's hard to express my learnings from the day, but I am thrilled that the book will be out by summer and I'll be able to share it with those around me that I love. I believe in the philosophy whole-heartedly...if I didn't, I think I would need to find another job!

Since the weekend, I've spent quite a few hours reading articles from different prominent names in the christian parenting world and to be quite honest, I have had mixed emotions about them. On the one hand, I have been saddened that so many of the articles have been focused on behavior, breaking the child's spirit, and dominance of the child. It breaks my heart that many of the authors focus only on Old Testament passages that they take quite literally instead of looking at the original language and audience to see what the original author intended. It saddens me that the New Testament and the teachings of Jesus himself seem to be ignored in order to push a very behavioralistic approach to parenting.

Oh the other hand, I am completely thrilled that Michelle's book, Spiritual Parenting: An Awakening for Today's Families, will be out in early summer. I am hopeful that this book will be a tool to awaken a generation of parents to what their true calling is, and I am hopeful that this generation of children will grow up learning to know God's voice and desire to obey HIM by depending on the power of the Spirit. God doesn't want perfect children...he desires faith, and I know that there are people out there who are craving more for their children and themselves and just don't have the resources. I pray that this book would be a resource that would inspire parents to living a life different than the christian status quo and that they would look to God as the ultimate example of a parent.

*sorry if this post is a little heavy, but it's been on my heart and had to share :)

let the crazy begin...

When people ask us (and by us, I mean my coworkers) when our busy season ends, we are never quite sure how to answer that...we move at a crazy pace and really, we have the month of January to recover and try to gear up for the ENTIRE year! It's a little nutty, but it's just the way we are. It's the culture of our church and they are all good things, it's just a bit crazy sometimes. We are heading into a couple months of being very busy and that will slow down just after Easter...oh, and I'll be about 8.5 months pregnant at Easter :) I've already requested my chair for Easter morning and I'm counting on God to provide leaders to help lead the way so I can use said chair!

In the next 2.5 months, we will have 1 spiritual parenting class, 3 parent orientations, 1 small nighter (movie night for preschoolers AND their parents) event, have multiple doctors appointments, start our preparing for baby class at the hospital, go to Big Bear for our family trip, go to the desert for a work retreat, go to San Diego for a conference, have three baby showers, coordinate and set up Easter at the fairgrounds...oh, and prepare to welcome our son into the world just one short month after all of the crazy ends! All I can do is laugh. I know it's crazy, but it's my life and I love it. I love what I have been entrusted with and I love the people I work with....and the best part is that I am one of 4 people on our team who is expecting, so we will all be going through the crazy together!

Oh, and did I mention that I'm incredibly thankful to have the most amazing and supportive husband in the world?! I couldn't do all of the above without him!!