on March 19th (it's here!)

Well, today is my due date! I can't believe it's here! I know we may not meet Graeme today, but that's okay. He will be here very soon, and I am just happy to have come this far. Nine months!

Sunday, July 14, 2013 was when we saw our first positive pregnancy test. That was 248 days ago. Crazy.

I was looking back in my journals to remember some of the hard times and great times of this pregnancy. I keep a journal during my quiet time as much as I can (not always as much as I should). Plus, Aaron bought me a "pregnancy journal" back when we first found out about our little Baby Bauer.

The very first written record I have of Graeme (before we even knew he was a boy or his name!) is from July 25, 2013 in my personal journal. I'll fill you in on some of it. The dots are where I skip some stuff.

"You have answered my prayer again. We are pregnant!

....

Yesterday we went to the doctor. We could only see a little black dot on the screen. The doctor said I was only 5 1/2 weeks a long.

....

I don't want to live in fear during this pregnancy [because of our previous miscarriage]. Lord, I know you have a plan for this baby greater than we can imagine. I know this baby is not mine. Not ours. But yours."

Looking back now, I can say with confidence that God did have a plan for this baby and He continued to prove His faithfulness over and over again! At the beginning especially, it was hard for me to be completely excited all of the time because there would often be a fear that would creep in. I did a lot of surrendering my thoughts and worries. I know now more than ever that God is faithful. No matter what.

On August 9, 2013 we got to see our baby for the first time (when you could actually make out a baby shape at least). We saw the little heart beating (didn't get to hear it that time) like a steady blinking light. It was one of the best days of my whole life.

The first trimester was halfway over, and I was definitely feeling yucky. I wrote in my pregnancy journal a few days after that appointment...

"I've definitely felt you [baby] in there this month...unfortunately, it's been because I've been sick a lot more! I just try to remember that it's all worth it. I'd be sick for you any day, sweet baby!"

It was a little over a month until our next appointment, which seemed like forever (little did I know how hard the waiting got at the end!). We got to hear Baby Bauer's heartbeat this time, although they couldn't find it right away (all I could do was pray or I would have freaked out a lot more!). When we heard it by ultrasound, it was amazing, miraculous, wonderful, and all of the other happy emotions. We went home and announced our happy news to the world (wide web) afterwards.

The next day I praised God for again proving His faithfulness to me...

"Yesterday, as I was lying there and they couldn't find the heartbeat and then waiting for the ultrasound, I heard You ask if I still trusted You. And it was then that I felt peace. I can't praise You enough for bringing us through this next milestone. Thank You that the baby is safe and healthy. I'm glad You love it more than I do."

We had made it to the second trimester, and I would say I was pretty happy about it according to my thoughts back then (although, now, it's hard for me to remember being so sick!)...

"This last month was definitely the most challenging so far. I've been pretty tired and sick! The last couple of days I've finally felt much better. I think I've hit the much bragged on second trimester."

On October 23, 2013 we finally got go see if our Baby Bauer was a boy or a girl. I could hardly sleep the night before because I was so excited.

A couple of days before the appointment I had written...

"I can't get over this miracle inside of me. You have created life absolutely amazing. Whoever this baby is, they are Yours. Even though we are excited to see if there is a little Graeme or _____ (still keeping this name a secret!) in there, we really only pray for a healthy baby. We are all in Your hands. I trust You no matter what."

As we all know now, we found out we were indeed having a sweet, snuggly boy!

I wrote in my pregnancy journal as prompted by it that My first reaction [to finding out the gender] was...

"I don't know! It was surreal. I couldn't believe we finally knew. After it sunk in, I was beyond excited. A little boy. I love you so much already, Graeme. I feel like you are even more real. Of course you've been real. But seeing all of your tiny working body parts, your little face, and knowing your gender make it much more tangible. I can't wait to meet you and help shape you into the man God created you to be!"

This blog is getting really long! Sorry. I'll try to sum up the end quickly because I've said most of this in my weekly updates anyway.

The second trimester was a breeze and flew by thanks to birthdays and holidays. I felt great since about the 14th week. We also had fun getting the nursery all painted and ready. Other milestones were feeling the first kicks around week 17 (a few weeks later for Aaron to be able to feel them). In trimester two, I bought two pairs of maternity jeans, one pair of maternity "comfy pants," and one maternity shirt. I was given everything else! So that was awesome. I have not needed to buy anything since then for my wardrobe and still wear almost all my "normal" shirts (jeans are a different story).

As Christmas passed, we entered into the third trimester, and thankfully, I have continued to feel great even to this day. No complaints. Like I said at the beginning of this post, God has over and over again proven His love and faithfulness to me throughout this pregnancy. 

I will end with a couple more thoughts from my journals...

From my pregnancy journal, the prompt was My wishes and hopes and dreams for you (Graeme)...

"I want you to be amazed my your Creator and have a heart that's drawn to Him even as a young child. I pray You will know His love and choose to follow Him forever."

And lastly, from February 11, a good reminder to me as all of this comes to be reality soon...

"Every once in awhile, the fact that I'm going to have a child scares me a little. I guess because it's unknown. I can't imagine doing this without Aaron. And we couldn't do this without You.

I want to always rely on You and your Word for wisdom in parenting. 

When there's bad days, I don't want to forget that You're with me.

When there's good days, I want to give You the glory because it sure won't be because of me!

Help me not to waste a single moment of the short time Graeme is with me. I want him to grow up to be so in love with You."

So then, here we are on March 19, 2014. It's been quite a journey, and I wouldn't trade any of it. The destination is right around the corner. At least, the first stop is. Thanks for reading my rambling thoughts as I'm distracting myself today as much as possible!

(Also, for an actual update, if you've made it this far:  if Graeme doesn't show up today, we go in tomorrow for an ultrasound to check on him. Depending on the findings, we can discuss options for his arrival. So, we are pretty pumped to "see" him tomorrow regardless! We won't complain if he makes us miss the appointment though!)

while I wait. and wait. and wait.

Being pregnant has taught me many things, but recently, I am learning patience.

I don't think it has ever been this hard to be patient for something. I mean, it was hard waiting for our wedding day, but at least I had a date for that. This baby is going to come out when he's ready and there's no telling what day it will be.

As someone who loves scheduling and keeping a calendar and having things planned...well...this is really hard!

These last two or three weeks have found me constantly checking my "happy heart" status and remembering to be patient. And also remembering what I know to be true:

• God's timing is always perfect.
• I can trust God no matter what.
• I am only seeing a small part of a big plan.
• God loves me and Graeme way more than I can fathom.
• God knows best.
• Lots more, but you get the idea!

Thankfully, I'm not physically miserable yet. Despite some slight discomfort, I feel great. So it's really just mentally and emotionally that I am experiencing the end-of-pregnancy blues.

The other day, I went through the concordance at the back of my Bible to claim some truth to get me through another day. These verses are what I am praying as March 19th is fast approaching (and could very well pass by with no baby to be seen yet)...

"We want each of you to be faithful to the very end. We want you to be sure of what you hope for. We don't want you to slow down. Instead, be like those who have faith and are patient. They will receive what God promised."

Hebrews 6:11-12

"Love is patient. Love is kind. It does not want what belongs to others. It does not brag. It is not proud."

1 Corinthians 13:4

"I was patient while I waited for the Lord.  He turned to me and heard my cry for help."

Psalm 40:1

No matter when Graeme comes, I know it will be right on time. The trick is to just remember that when I start to forget! We are patiently (with God's help!) waiting because that's all we can do. We can't ask for anything more than a healthy baby boy and we praise God and trust Him for this gift of our son.

So, Graeme, we are out here (in this cold, rainy world at the moment) trusting your impending arrival to our great Heavenly Father who knows everything and loves you way more than we do! Whenever you want to join us, we will be ready. We love you a lot and are sure that love will grow even more when we see you. And we hope to see you soon!

in pictures

I told you last Monday that we had a project for our college small group, Journey18:25, to take a picture to represent each day of creation. Since I love creation, and small group, and taking pictures...I did my homework.

On the first day, God spoke light into existence, and then separated the light from the darkness.

On the second day, God separated the waters on earth to make a huge expanse called sky.

On the third day, God gathered the waters on earth and made land, and trees, and flowers, and plants.

On the fourth day, God made bright lights in the sky. He made a brighter light to rule the day and a lesser light for the night. He also spoke the stars into existence.

On the fifth day, God created birds to fly in the air and fish to swim in the waters. (Side note: I thought I would be stuck taking a picture of our betta fish, Jonah, but then I took Penny outside and captured these two birds. God thing.)

On the sixth day, God made the land animals, like sweet puppy dogs and giant elephants. Then, he created man in his own image. A man and a woman. It was definitely the best day.



So, those were my pictures for the days of creation. 

God saw everything he had made. And it was very good. 

about seeds and faith

I cooked with mustard seed for the first time this past week. I wasn't even sure what it looked like until I bought it.

It's pretty tiny. I couldn't help but think of what Jesus said about mustard seeds...

"What I'm about to tell you is true. If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, it is enough. You can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there.' And it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."

Matthew 17:20-21

Wow. I don't know about you, but I don't feel like I'll be moving any mountains this week. My faith must be so, so small. Definitely smaller than a tiny mustard seed.

So, how do I get more faith? Well, He knows the answer to that too...

So faith comes from hearing the message. And the message that is heard is the word of Christ.

Romans 10:17

It's as simple as that, but it's easy to make it seem so much harder. I pray that I can be faithful in the small things like just spending time each day reading His Word. So one day I can have faith in Him to do really big things.

You know, like asking mountains to move and such...

scripture

A good word that I needed today.

about Esther

Yesterday morning I sat down with my bowl of cereal and propped my iPad up to read from God's Word. I'm on the last few days of a reading plan that I started last January. I have been reading through the Bible in chronological order, which has been very interesting.

Anyway, I opened YouVersion, which just had an update over the weekend, only to see the spinning wheel of death. YouVersion just stayed on it's welcome screen spinning and spinning until it finally closed.

I tried again.

Same thing.

I was a bit annoyed. Stupid YouVersion and their crappy update.

I tried to open it on my phone instead. I mean, the screen is a lot smaller, but at least it was something.

Well, that wouldn't work either. Oh, first world pains. The struggle.

I quickly checked my attitude before it got too bad and decided to pull out an actual Bible.

I do love reading from a paper version of the Bible even though most of the time these days I find the electronic version more handy.

I had no idea what was on the schedule for my reading plan that day so I instead turned to one of my favorite books in the Bible:  Esther.

Now, if you don't know the story of Esther, you should totally check it out. Esther is one of my heroes.

1. She is a princess. Well, she's actually a queen. But, if you know me at all, you know I'm obsessed with princesses and claim to be one. So, I like to say she's a princess.
2. She loves her family. She risks her life for them.
3. She respects her husband.
4. She is brave and kind and wise.
5. Did I mention that she's a princess? I mean, that's just the coolest.

Esther becomes queen with the help of her cousin Mordecai. Everything is going well. Mordecai even uncovers a plot to kill the king. All is well, that is, until the king's right hand man, Haman, sees that Mordecai won't bow down to him. Haman doesn't like that very much. He finds out the Mordecai is a Jew and sweet talks the king into destroying the Jews.

Mordecai begs Esther to help save her people. She wants to, but she's not supposed to go see the king unless he asks her to come. She will die if she goes to see him unwanted unless by chance he grants her favor. Mordecai warns her that she can't escape destruction just because she's in the palace. After all, she might have become queen for a time just like this.

Esther bravely goes before the king and she does find favor in his eyes. He offers to give her anything she wants, so she invites the king and Haman to dinner. At dinner that night she still doesn't request anything more than that they come to dinner again the next night.

Haman is feeling pretty special that he and only he was invited by the queen to come to dinner with the king. That is until he goes out and sees Mordecai at the palace gate. Mordecai still won't bow down to him, and that puts him in a sour mood. He consults with his wife who suggests constructing some gallows to hang Mordecai. Haman hurries to tell the king his plan.

Meanwhile, the king can't sleep and has one of his servants read him the daily logs of palace going-ons. When the servant gets to the page that tells the story of Mordecai saving the king's life, the king asks what was done to honor Mordecai. The servant says that nothing was done for Mordecai, just as Haman walks in the room.

The king says that Haman is there just in time to help him think of way to honor the man who pleases the king. Haman, the proud man he is, thinks the king is going to honor him, so he tells him all of the wonderful things he wants the king to do for him. Oh his surprise when he finds out the king is actually planning to honor his archenemy, Mordecai. 

Haman is forced to parade Mordecai around the next day on the king's horses and wearing the king's robes. At least he has his dinner with the queen to look forward to, right?

Well, little does he know that Esther is ready to beg the king to save her life and the life of her people. She tells the king that an evil man has plotted to destroy them. The king is outraged at this and demands to know who would do such a thing.

Haman tries to back away, but it's too late. He is hanged on the very gallows he built for Mordecai and the Jews are saved.

Esther is a hero because she trusted God to protect her and did the right thing. And Mordecai was honored and ranked almost as high as the king.

I love it. I never want to miss an opportunity that God has called me to. My "time just like this."

on "The Pursuit of God"

Aaron constantly heckles me for being a "fast reader." I suppose fast is relative. But, I guess compared to him, I'm a speed reader. He reads everything and analyzes everything. I, on the other hand, just read. For example, I started reading The Complete Works of Sherlock Holmes five days ago. I've read it about thirty minutes a day on average. He can't believe I've already read over 500 pages of it.

So, what with being a "speed reader," I never thought it would take me two months to read a 121-page book.

I've been reading A.W. Tozer's The Pursuit of God for almost two months now. It is 121 pages long. It is ten chapters. And it is so. thought-consuming.

If that's even the right word for it.

I just mean that I have to think really hard about what I'm reading. Mr. Tozer uses a lot of big words and has so many deep insights. He's been blowing my mind.

I'm really considering starting it all over again, because even underlining and journaling through it, I know I've missed a lot. I only have four pages left that I intend to finish tomorrow morning.

I've loved the whole thing. 

One passage that has really stood out to me though, is this one:

"The idea of cultivation and exercise, so dear to the saints of old, has now no place in our total religious picture. It is too slow, too common. We now demand glamour and fast-flowing dramatic action. A generation of Christians reared among push buttons and automatic machines is impatient of slower and less direct methods of reaching their goals. We have been trying to apply machine-age methods to our relationship with God. We read our chapter, have our short devotions, and rush away, hoping to make up for our deep inward bankruptcy by attending another gospel meeting or listening to another thrilling story told by a religious adventurer lately returned from afar."

Now, this book was originally published in the 1940s. And if way back then people were consumed with "push buttons and automatic machines," how much more are we consumed with them in 2013!

Talk about "fast-flowing action"...I can pull out my phone anywhere in this country and be instantly connected to the world.

I have news, photos, information, texts, e-mails and all sorts of social media streaming to my phone constantly.

Waiting? What does that even mean? Let me open this app to order a pizza. Let me open this app to see what this word is in Spanish. Let me open this app to see what is happening with my friend in California. What's the weather in Paris? Oh, here, let's see. 

Mr. Tozer is right. I often have expected my relationship with God to update like my Twitter feed.

Our culture is so used to instant gratification. We don't have to work hard for most things.

I like how the chapter ends. In encouragement, of course:

"Let any man turn to God in earnest, let him begin to exercise himself unto godliness, let him seek to develop his powers of spiritual receptivity by trust and obedience and humility, and the results will exceed anything he may have hoped in his leaner and weaker days. Any man who by repentance and a sincere return to God will break himself out of the mold in which he has been held, and will go to the Bible itself for his spiritual standards, will be delighted with what he finds there."

No matter how many times I fail, his mercy remains. And it's new every morning. 

You have said, "Seek my face." My heart says to you, "Your face, Lord, do I seek."

Psalm 27:8

about influence

Two influences speaking the same thing into the life of a person is stronger than just one influence alone.

I probably didn't get that quote quite right. Aaron and our Kids team at Journey say that all of the time in reference to children. That's why we exist as Journey Kids. We are another voice that is here to speak truth to kids. If parents speak truth at home and we speak truth on Sundays, we all have a better chance to influence a child in the way he should go.

Mom and Dad can say one thing over and over again only to have it shoot right out of the other ear. But then Coach says it. Or Small Group Leader says it. Or teacher says it. And it all makes sense.

I think that's true throughout our whole life. We never stop needing community. We never stop needing sound wisdom from others.

Aaron was thinking through something not long ago and kept bringing it up. I kept telling him what I thought of his situation. Yeah, yeah, I know, he'd say.

He then had a phone call with one of his greatest role models, Jim Wideman (Infuse), and got off the phone all excited about what Jim had told him about his situation. He told me what Jim said.

It was the exact same thing I had said. But, hearing it from another trusted source solidified it. And instead of throwing at him that I had been right all along, I just smiled and said Two influences speaking the same thing...

And it proves true again this morning as I sought out advice from a godly friend about a situation. I had talked with Aaron over and over again and could never quite take what he said the right way. You're my husband. You have to say things like that.

But, hearing it from someone else suddenly made everything clear. Oh. Well, now I know the right thing to do.

God Himself said it wasn't good for man to be alone. How important is it then to surround ourselves with community!

about being ready for Christmas

This past Sunday, I was reminded about something.

All morning long, I had been asked myself, and I had been asking different people this question: "Are you ready for Christmas?"

Myself or whomever I had asked would spout off the typical answer of yes, or no, or there were a few more things to buy.

When I heard the message though, I was quickly brought back to what I know to be true, but what is so easily forgotten this time of year...

Christmas is not at all about all that stuff.

Christmas is about one thing:  Jesus.

And when the question, "Are you ready for Christmas?" is posed, that really means, "Are you ready for Jesus to come?"

Long ago, He came on Christmas after many had waited years and years.

Now, we also wait for Jesus to come. He promised before he left that He would come back for us.

And I know I want to be ready when He does.

"I am the beginning," Jesus said, "and the Ending!"

One day, [the apostle John] knew, Heaven would come down and mend God's broken world and make it our true, perfect home once again....

And he knew then that the ending of The Story was going to be so great, it would make all the sadness and tears and everything seem like just a shadow that is chased away by the morning sun.

"I'm on my way," said Jesus. "I'll be there soon!"

John came to the end of his book. But he didn't write "The End." Because, of course, that's how stories finish. (And this one's not over yet.)

So instead, he wrote:  "Come quickly, Jesus!"

Which, perhaps, is really just another way of saying...

To be continued...

-Taken from The Jesus Storybook Bible

about David and Jonathan

It's Sunday.

Aaron and I are back in town, but we are still taking a Sunday off of Journey. We don't miss a Sunday often, so it's nice every once in awhile to stay home and catch the livestream.

It's good for us, and it's good for our other leaders to get along without us sometimes. Right guys? Right?

Just kidding. They don't need us at all, and we know that God will give them a great morning. We are spending the morning decorating for Christmas!

Thanksgiving is next week, you know...tis the season. I will post pictures later.

Anyway, I am thinking of all of our friends at Journey this morning, especially my crew in MiNi CiTy.

This month in MiNi CiTy we are continuing to learn about David. Last month we learned all about how God helped David do BIG things (and how He'll help us do BIG things too!).

This month, our bottom line is God gives me good friends.

We are looking mainly at David and his best friend Jonathan.

You see, David was just a young man when he defeated Goliath and he started to become pretty popular in Israel.

The king at the time, King Saul, well he didn't like that very much. After all, shouldn't the king be the favorite?!

Jonathan was King Saul's son, and he and David became the best of friends despite what Jonathan's own father thought of David.

Jonathan stood up for David and even helped save his life when Saul wanted to kill him.

God gave David good friends, like Jonathan, and He gives me and you good friends too!

Good friends are always there for each other, comfort each other, are honest with each other, and help each other love God more.

I love teaching our preschoolers that God will give them good friends as they continue to seek after Him.

“Two people are better than one. They can help each other in everything they do.” Ecclesiastes 4:9, NIrV 

about David and Goliath

This month in MiNi CiTy at Journey, we are learning that God helps me do big things! All of our stories for October and November are about David from the Bible. David the shepherd, David the warrior, David the king...all of the really cool stories about David, you know? Because God helped David do A LOT of big things.

This past Sunday, I led worship with the kids and then our really awesome storyteller, Piper, came up to tell the kids the story about when David defeated Goliath.

When I heard that was our story earlier that week, I didn't think much of it.

If you're anything like me, you've heard the story of David and Goliath like a billion times before. 

But, the cool thing about God is that His stories never get old. And as soon as Piper started telling the story, I was entranced just like the kids.

I hadn't really thought about the story of David and Goliath in a quite a long time.

Can you imagine a GIANT person? Like, I've seen a couple basketball players in my life that were maybe a little over seven feet tall. And one time at the Ripley's Believe it Or Not museum there were like statues of the tallest man ever...he was like eight feet tall. Well, Goliath was even TALLER!

And all of the Israelites in King Saul's army were terrified of Goliath. Every day, Goliath came out to mock them. And they let him. They forgot that they had a God who would help them do big things! 

But, don't worry. David took a break from watching his sheep and came to bring his brothers a snack.

When he heard Goliath come out and start his daily taunt, he was like, "Why are you letting him talk like that? Don't you remember? We have our God to help us! He will help us do big things!"

So, David went to gather 5 rocks. Rocks.

And he got out his trusty sling shot.

And he went to fight a GIANT.

A giant with a big helmet and armor and a sword and a shield.

And he slung that first stone around and around.

And BANG! He hit Goliath!

Right between the eyes!

Goliath fell over, and David won!

But not David really...GOD won!

God helped David do a REALLY big thing! And he did it in a way where he would get all of the glory! Because there is no way a little boy could sling shot a rock into a giant man without help from a really BIG God!

And that very same God lives INSIDE of me! And He's inside of you too if you've invited Him in!

Jimmy said on Sunday, "You have God IN you...so live like it!"

And that's what I want to do. And I challenge you to do that too!

"We have the Lord our God to help us and to fight our battles for us." 2 Chronicles 32:8

another post on priorities

Last week, I told you we were finishing up a discussion on priorities in Journey18:25. This discussion has challenged me a lot, mainly because my priorities haven't been lining up quite right.

It's an easy answer as a Christian to list God as my first priority. But truthfully, I really want that to be the case. And not just "first" as if He's some separate thing. But that he's first in all that I do, say, and think. I want to view everything through His Word.

I've lived through times when I have put God first in everything, and those times have always been more freeing and fruitful.

So, it's the ever puzzling battle of flesh versus surrender. I often feel like Paul when he wrote his letter to the church in Rome. This is all from Romans 7. To paraphrase, "I know what is good and I want to do it, but I keep doing the wrong thing instead. I do what I don't want to do. I don't do what I want to do!"

It's exhausting. But, thankfully, Paul doesn't leave it on that note. He asks, "Who will save me from this?" And he answers himself, just like I know this answer too, "God will do it through Jesus living in me!"

So, I know God will help me. But, I know I have to play my part too!

It's cool because Jimmy's message at Journey on Sunday went along with what I've been thinking and praying about from our talks in Journey18:25 as well. He talked about how to know God better, we must spend time with Him. And the more time we spend with Him, the more we'll want to. And the clearer we will hear Him speak.

To start out small, this week, I have gotten back to spending time in His Word and journaling. I have been reading my Bible quite regularly lately, but I know for me, journaling is what helps me think on what I've read and remember it throughout my day. I've not journaled in so long. It's good to be back at it!

about priorities

In Journey18:25 for the past three weeks, we have been discussing priorities.

pri·or·i·ty

noun \prī-ˈȯr-ə-tē, -ˈär-\

plural pri·or·i·ties

1

a (1) : the quality or state of being prior (2) : precedence in date or position of publication

b (1) : superiority in rank, position, or privilege (2) : legal precedence in exercise of rights over the same subject matter

2

: a preferential rating; especially : one that allocates rights to goods and services usually in limited supply 

3

: something given or meriting attention before competing alternatives

It's one of those seemingly easy, yet not so much, subjects.

It gets especially difficult when what we state as our priorities is not how we actually live.

For example, if I said reading was one of my priorities, but I never picked up a book, that would be strange. And a lie. And confusing.

In our study of priorities, we focused on the verse in Matthew 6 that says "Where your treasure is, that's where your heart is going to be."

We equated treasure with the two things people treasure most:  time and money.

So, where you spend your time, and where you spend your money, that's where your heart is going to be.

We've talked about the reality of where we are spending the majority of our time and our money to show us what are priorities currently are.

And then we decided what we want our priorities to be.

Tonight, in our last discussion, we will map out a plan that, with God's help, will get us headed in the right direction.

I think I've landed with this list of priorities, for now...although I'm sure it will change in the future:

1. My relationship with God
• Bible
• Prayer
2. My relationship with family
• Aaron
• Parents and other family
3. Preparing for our future
• My job
• Saving money
4. Health
• Exercise
• Eating right
5. Ministry
• Journey Church
• Journey Kids
• Journey Worship
• Journey18:25

Now, I know I have some work to do for my life to actually reflect this list! I struggle with balancing all of this. It's easy to shove off going on a walk or sitting down to study and journal to do something else seemingly more pressing.

I've said it before, we are typically very busy. To make what I say is important actually the important stuff, some other not-so-important stuff might have to go.

I'm looking forward to sitting down with my small group tonight and discussing a practical plan to make my priorities a reality!

More to come on this later!

Bible musings

This week for Journey18:25 we were challenged to read Acts 9:1-19. This is the story of the conversion of Saul to Paul in the New Testament.

Now, this is a story I've read and heard hundreds of times. But you can always get something new when reading God's Word. Because it is living and breathing and always relevant.

When I read the story of Saul this time, I was drawn to the other guy God mentions in Saul's conversion. Ananias.

10 In Damascus there was a believer named Ananias. The Lord called out to him in a vision. "Ananias!" he said.
"Yes, Lord," he answered.11 The Lord told him, "Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street. Ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul. He is praying.12 In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias. The man has come and placed his hands on him. Now he will be able to see again."13 "Lord," Ananias answered, "I've heard many reports about this man. They say he has done great harm to God's people in Jerusalem.14 Now he has come here to arrest all those who worship you. The chief priests have given him authority to do this."15 But the Lord said to Ananias, "Go! I have chosen this man to work for me. He will carry my name to those who aren't Jews and to their kings. He will bring my name to the people of Israel.16 I will show him how much he must suffer for me."17 Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. He placed his hands on Saul. "Brother Saul," he said, "you saw the Lord Jesus. He appeared to you on the road as you were coming here. He has sent me so that you will be able to see again. You will be filled with the Holy Spirit."18 Right away something like scales fell from Saul's eyes. And he could see again. He got up and was baptized.19 After eating some food, he got his strength back.

Ananias is like, "God, are you saying you want me to go to this person who's probably going to hurt me?"

Ananias was pretty uneasy about that idea. I am uneasy about talking to strangers too! And most strangers I see today are not going around persecuting Christians like Saul had been!

But God doesn't ask us to do something that He doesn't really want us to do. He said to Ananias (and to us) more emphatically "Yes! Go! And here's more reasons why this will be a good thing!"

Paul was chosen to carry God's story to the Gentiles. That's me. That's probably you. And because Ananias trusted God's plan, We know about Jesus today!

I have prayed this week that I will trust God's plan for my life every day and not miss out on an opportunity to share His story with the people I run into!