Gingerbread House Demolished

Steph and I made a gingerbread house about a week and a half ago and slowly have eaten small pieces of it. Here's the aftermath of our gingerbread house:



Then here is a picture from us when our youth group when ice skating Friday night. Notice that I (Marc) look incredibly tall because I had ice skates on and Stephanie did not :) We had a great time with our students and leaders. I think we all have learned to appreciate Christ's birth even more this year than ever before.


It's really been a great few weeks!

Cool Song I'd Never Heard Before

Here's another song I came across in the hymnal. It's called "Our Savior's Infant Cries Were Heard." It was written by Thomas Troeger, who wrote:
Our Savior's infant cries were heard and met by human love,
Before He preached one saving word or prayed to God above.

By trusting Christ to human care, God blessed forever more
the care of children everywhere--the bruised, the lost, the poor.

Whoever calms a child by night or guides a youth by day
serves Him whose birth by lantern light was on a bed of hay.

For Christ, who was a refugee from Herod and his sword,
is seeking now, thro' us, to be our children's friend and Lord.

I probably don't need to explain why this is such a beautiful song in my and Stephanie's minds. I hope that you are blessed by reading it and most of all by being reminded of how amazing it is that the Agent of Creation took human nature upon Himself to save from sin!

Pregnancy Progress

Yes, I'm alive! I'm not really into the whole blogging thing yet, but I anticipate more interest after our little one is born. =) I'm feeling really good! I am definitely noticing a change the last 2 weeks in my nausea for the good. Yeah 2nd trimester! I am almost 14 weeks. It's going by really fast, thankfully! My worst symptom was hating the smell in our apartment, even though it didn't smell to anyone else, but now it barely bothers me! I went to the doc Tuesday and had a good update. I've gained a few pounds, partially due to Thanksgiving and lazy eating the last few weeks I think. I'm actually really okay with weight gain as long as it's for the baby, not a result of me overeating. =) I'm showing just a little and can't wait to show for real!

I thought I would add a few photos of some fun baby stuff I've been looking at. Many of you know that for a while I struggled with really being excited about being pregnant. It was all so new, and I felt so out of whack. Now that I'm used to being sick, have seen the baby, and I am committing much more of my journey to God through prayer, I am definitely excited. It's neat to share the joy with the youth group too. They're already setting up a party in the hospital waiting room. =) I remember how fun that was when Ruby was born, and I look forward to being on the other side of the room. =)

On another note, Marc and I finished a book called Living the Cross Centered Life. It was all about keeping the gospel the main focus in your life. Easy, right? =) C. J. Mahaney really struck me when he said that when people ask how he is he says, "Better than I deserve." Isn't that so true??? When we really understand what we deserve....eternal separation from God in Hell....and understand that Christ, who was without sin, came to be sin for us on the cross, we cannot help but look at our lives differently. So, today, whether you're facing a hard test at school, a death or sickness in the family, or the everyday hassles of life, remember/discover the joy you should have if you trust in Christ as your Savior and Lord. We should always be better than, "Okay." If you have no idea what that's like, email me, I can tell you all about it. =)

Be blessed today!

This is the pattern we like at Target. It's called Melbourne by Graco, and the travel system, high chair, and pack n' play are all at the store! It's cheaper than many of the patterns, but just as cute!

Another cute cheaper pattern at Babies R' Us called "Oh" by Evenflo.

We've always loved the G-Galore pattern by Graco because of our name, and we know Aunt Megan thinks it's cool too. =) We're bummed, though, because the travel system comes with a car seat that we don't like because it's extra heavy. We might still get the Pack N' Play...we'll see. =)

We're pretty positive this is the nursery. We aren't finding out the sex of the baby probably (!), and we've always wanted a gender neutral nursery anyway. It's called NoJo Jungle Tales, but it's only available online at Babies R' Us...bummer. I like the polka dots a lot! =)

Baby It's Cold Outside

Well, the weather is pretty awful here. There's ice on the roads and our county is in a Winter Weather Advisory. We got a little spoiled in Louisville the last few years, but we're back up further north now and back to the weather we're more used to :) A concert we were going to attend tonight got canceled, so we decided just to stay here tonight, play some cards, watch t.v., read a psalm and pray together, etc.

I continued reading through some Christmas hymns--of which there are tons by the way! Here's one I loved when I read it. It's "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day."

I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

I thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along the unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And in despair I bowed my head:
"There is no peace on earth," I said,
"For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men."

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead, nor doth he sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,
With peace on earth, good will to men."

Till, ringing singing, on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime, a chant sublime,
Of peace on earth, good will to men!

This was written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in the 1800s. I think he beautifully depicts the story of someone hearing the old Christmas adage derived from the angels' proclamation of "peace on earth, good will to men." At first he just is caught up in the spirit of the music--how "wild and sweet" it is. Then in the third stanza, upon deeper thinking, he despairs that their message might be an empty promise after all--because the world he knows is not one of peace and good will. But as he continues to listen to the music, he is encouraged that God is not dead or sleeping. There might still be injustice and suffering in this life and in our experience, but he remembers to take confidence in God's ultimate justice and the hope for something greater that we have through Christ. Finally, as he realizes this, the dark thoughts turn to brightness as the truth of the angels song sinks into his heart again.

I wish the song more clearly tied our hope of "peace" and "good will" to the life, death, and resurrection of Christ--more than to just "God" in general. As it is written, a believer in any god could resonate with the meaning. But if Longfellow would have somehow communicated the gospel of Christ more clearly, this song would be even better than it already is. All in all though, a great song!

Music all around

Steph and I participated in our church's Christmas musical this weekend. We did two showings of "Christmas Shoes." Both went very well! We had a great time singing with our fellow choir members and bringing glory to Jesus--even through goofy songs like "Mr. Grinch." Hopefully the gospel message was presented clearly through the starting point of the Christmas story our culture is quazi-familiar with.

Here's another verse that I liked from a Christmas hymn. The third verse of "Joy to the World" goes as follows:

No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found,
Far as the curse is found,
Far as, far as, the curse is found.

The Bible is very clear that death, suffering, and pain are all part of the curse that God has placed on humanity--and on the earth in general--because of Adam's sin. "Sins and sorrows" are prone to grow all around us, because our hearts are naturally slaves to sin, and sorrow is part the punishment that our sin has brought upon us. And "thorns infest(ing) the ground" are constant reminders to us that the world is not how it was created to be. They are a visible symbol of God's judgment for sin (see Genesis 3). So, the curse's effects are far-reaching; it affects everything we experience in this life.

BUT, through the incarnation, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, God has shown human beings an undeserved blessing. We can have forgiveness of sin. We can be set free from sin's chains. We can have hope in the face of sorrow. In this life, we can find victory over evil. In the next, that victory will be completely realized! What great hope Jesus has brought to us who are living in a cursed world!

Hopefully there will be more posts to come with even more great songs.

Steph goes in for her next check-up tomorrow. So please pray for us and our baby--that God would protect them both and that He would give me the serving attitude that my wife really needs right now.

Christmas Lyrics

I wrote a post yesterday that I don't want you to miss, so check it out below...But I wanted to follow it up with some more lyrics from Christmas songs. Here are some I ran across tonight:

The third stanza of "O Little Town of Bethlehem" is as follows:

How silently, how silently
The wondrous gift is given!
So God imparts to human hearts
The blessings of His heav'n.
No ear may hear His coming,
But in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive Him still
The dear Christ enters in.

Phillips Brooks, the author, is playing on the idea of Jesus' birth coming rather "silently"--although I don't know how "silent" it truly was with the angels proclamations and the shepherds spreading the word. But it is true that the whole world wasn't completely fascinated or awed by Christ's birth at that time. So in a sense, while angels were singing God's praises and marveling at the birth, the world rolled on as usual...Brooks is reminding us that Jesus invades the hearts of sinners like you and me in the same silent way when we are "meek" and repentant. The world may not take much notice of the change or appreciate it (they moved on from the birth of Christ rather quickly it seems--except for King Herod), but it is real none the less.

The last stanza goes like this:

O holy Child of Bethlehem!
Descend to us, we pray;
Cast out our sin, and enter in,
Be born in us today!
We hear the Christmas angels
The great glad tidings tell;
O come to us, abide with us,
Our Lord Immanuel!

Brooks very simply helps us sing to our Savior and invite Him to daily live within us. Of course, He never leaves us. It is not as if the Spirit of Christ has to be born in us again day after day after day. But Brooks is poetically having us ask Jesus to "abide" with us daily and to help us cast out sin from our lives daily. So in that sense, He can be born in us each day and influence us afresh. This idea of "abiding" is a rich biblical teaching that John especially focuses on and one that we can certainly be reminded of at this time of year where we celebrate Christ's first entrance into our world and into the lives of humanity.

I'd encourage you all to take time to read through some songs and take time to think about what they're really saying. There's some beautiful and deep meaning there.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Time

Well, Christmas "season" is officially upon us. It's been a good few weeks since our last post. Our ultrasound went really well. We have a few pictures, which most of you have probably already seen. But we found out there is only one baby and that it is measuring almost exactly as we expected it to. The due date is June 21st--which is Father's Day and only four days removed from my (Marc) birthday! So it should be an exciting time. We will keep you posted as we find more information...But it was absolutely amazing to hear the heartbeat and to see our tiny little child move around. We have a VHS of it and have enjoyed showing it to our families :)

Stephanie and I are going to perform in our church's Christmas musical, "Christmas Shoes," this Saturday and Sunday. I even have a solo; it's only two lines, but still. We've really enjoyed learning these songs and practicing together. Singing parts is surprisingly fun!

Speaking of music, one thing I want to do this Christmas season is read through Christmas songs in the hymnal to see if there are any songs of real depth that I'm unfamiliar with. I ran across "Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus." I didn't recognize it until Steph figured out the tune and sang it, but it has great poetic lyrics. Here they are:
"Come, Thou long expected Jesus, Born to set Thy people free; From our fears and sins release us; Let us find our rest in Thee. Israel's strength and consolation, Hope of all the earth Thou art; Dear desire of every nation, Joy of every longing heart.
"Born Thy people to deliver, Born a child, and yet a King, Born to reign in us forever, Now They gracious kingdom bring. By Thine own eternal spirit Rule in all our hearts alone; By Thine all sufficient merit, Raise us to Thy glorious throne."

If I come across more in the next few weeks, I'll share them here.

On another note, Stephanie went to North Carolina last week to help with Operation Christmas Child in their warehouse. A small group of ladies from our church went and really enjoyed serving together out there. My wife has a real heart for orphans and underprivileged children both here and overseas, and we really believe that at some point in the future we might adopt. God has adopted us as His children even though by nature and by choice we were not one of His. So how beautiful it is for Christians to welcome orphans into their family! There's maybe no clearer image of living out the gospel in real life.

I've been reading through Titus recently and Steph has been reading through 1 Thessalonians. A verse that has really struck Steph is 1 Thessalonians 2:8, where Paul writes, "We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us." It really struck her that we should "delight" in sharing the gospel with others rather than seeing it as a burden to bear or an obligation that we have to do grudgingly. And a verse that struck me was Titus 2:7a, where Paul writes, "Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works..." Titus was a pastor, and Paul was reminding him that his life is on display for all to see the gospel lived out. God used this text to bring to mind areas of my life that were not "models of good works." We are so thankful that God's Word is alive and that it sharpens us! Humbling, but much needed.