Just like Barack Obama

This has been an extremely hard first trimester for me. I am learning to trust in God like never before and being challenged daily to lean on the Lord for strength. One morning at the breakfast table, I leaned my head down on my arm as Kalena and I sat talking and eating our cereal. She sweetly exclaimed "Oh Mommy, are you tired?" "yea, mommy is tired" I said, then she asked, "Mommy, why are you tired?" and I answered "Because mommy is pregnant" I said, knowing she has only heard that word several times. "Oh" she exclaimed knowingly "just like Barack Obama" she said with confidence, going back to another bite of cereal. In my sleepiness I sat up and looked at her. What did she mean by this... it had to make sense in some way to her little brain because she was so sure of her statement. Then it hit me. Barack Obama is president, and mommy is Pregnant. Words anyone could confuse :) I giggled at the connection she had made and explained to her the meaning of the two words, and that Barack Obama is not pregnant. :)

Lyon Cub #3!!

We are so excited to announce that we have a third Lyon cub on the way! We can't wait to find out more about our next little one. The Dr. apt reviled a strong heart beat and a due date of November 23! Just in time for Thanksgiving!! What a thankful time it will be.
I have explained the idea that a new baby is inside mommy to Kalena (now 2 1/2 years old) and she seems to understand. One night while we were cuddling before bed I asked her if we could come up with a name for the new baby. First this is what she informed me of "I am going to ask Jesus for 5 babies. One for mommy, one for daddy, one for Sara and one for me.." I then showed her with my fingers that that was only 4... and asked who the last baby would be for and she exclaimed "Oh that one is for me too." Next we embarked on the task of giving the baby a name. Kalena has not named any of her dolls or stuffed animals at this point in her development. We encourage her too but she just calls them "baby doll" or "teddy." For naming the baby, she went through all the names of everyone in the family "Grammy?" I said "no we already have a 'Grammy'" and we went on this way though the entire family and extended family. I was about to give up when she exclaimed "Pops!" She looked at me for approval. I looked questioningly and said... well what else, pops is nice. Then she said "how about ants" "ummmm maybe Pops is better" I said so we stuck with pops. Now she loves to rub my belly and talk to pops, often saying "Oh pops, your sooo cute, little one" with a high pitched voice. Priceless!

Questions to Ask During Moments of Dryness by Andrew Gutierrez

A Passion for Jesus Christ
By Andrew Gutierrez

Question to Ask During Moments of Dryness:

1) Do I have a passion to know all that I possibly can about my
Lord? Verses about his deity, prophecy about his first and second
coming, etc…

2) Do I enjoy what He enjoys and hate what he hates? Do I know
what these things are?

3) Am I excited about heaven everyday? Am I excited because He
will be there?

4) Do unbelievers or Christians outside of my local church see me
as being loyal to my Lord above any spiritual leader of mine?

Resources for Help:

1) Scripture – OT (Law, Prophets, and Psalms – Luke 24:44) NT –
Gospels, Hebrews, Epistles, Revelation

2) Books – Daily Readings from the Life of Christ by John MacArther, The
Gospel According to Jesus by John MacArther, What Jesus Demands from the World
by Piper, How to Worship Jesus Christ by Joseph Carroll, The Glory of
Christ by John Owen

3) Understand that I am prone to wander
a)Beg the Holy Spirit to keep my fixed on my Savior
b)Understand passages like John 6:66 and Revelation 2

Just a Few More Weeks...

Kalena was watching one of her favorite videos of Elmo and Abby Cadabby. It was time for bed and the DVD was over so I picked her up and said "Ok Kalena, time to get ready for bed." Wanting to watch more, and knowing that she wanted more than "just a few more minutes" Kalena struggled slightly with what to say next then exclaimed "Mommy, just a few more weeks, OK?"

Kalena Makes A Friend

Kalena is at that age where she loves other little children and gets excited whenever we see them out and about. Frequently she will also yell across the store to another child "What is your name" or wave frantically saying "Hi... Hi... Hi.."
While shopping at Costco, today, Kalena and Sara were sitting side by side in the cart while I picked out some fruit. Across the isle was a little girl parked in her cart, and of course Kalena struck up a friendly "conversation" with the little girl.

"Is that your mommy?" she asked, gesturing to the adult next to the little girl.

The other little girl was a little younger than Kalena, I think, and she just stared blankly back at her.

"This is my mommy," she continued, pointing enthusiastically at me.

Still no response, but of course this didn't slow Kalena a bit as she continued to talk to the girl, waving and trying to get the girl to wave back. When it was time to move on we said good bye to the little girl, who was still sitting expressionless in her cart (maybe she didn't speak English?).
As I pushed the cart away I asked Kalena, "Kalena, did you make a friend?" hoping Kalena wouldn't feel badly that the girl never responded.

"Yeah, I did," she said happily. "Mommy, she was SOOOOOOOO nice."

Sara's First Tooth!

Our little Sara Bear had her 10 month birthday yesterday! Monday March 2nd right after Grammy had left, Sara chomped down on my finger and I felt the little sharp tooth! I called for Daddy and Kalena to come see and we all spend the next few minuets trying to pry Sara's mouth open so we could see. That didn't work well but playing "peek-a-boo" made her giggle so much her mouth opened right up and we could all take a look at our new perly white tooth! Time to get Sara a tooth brush!!

Krapina, Croatia

About 10 years ago I had the privilege of going to Croatia with NorthCreek Church for several summers in a row. We worked with a church there in Zagreb doing outreach into the community with conversational English. The pastor took me and his daughters on a day trip to this little town called Krapina, to encourage the believers there. This little trip changed my life. Never had I been in a place that was so spiritually dark. I had read about these places where there was little to no church established but the actual experience of being there really touched my heart. There were only a handful of Christians there and I knew we had past numerous towns on the way, that were in the same spiritual condition. We could have driven all day and not found one church. I equate this experience with reading about starving children in a magazine, but then to actually holding a starving child in your arms is a totally different experience.

I came home from Croatia with a new passion to take the gospel to places Jesus' name has not yet reached. I was given the opportunity to speak at NorthCreek about my time in Croatia and this experience of going to Krapina was my focus and passion. "Imagine if even some of our church (of thousands) brought the gospel to a place like Krapina!!" I said to my missions minded listeners and prayer worriers. My heart was on fire to make God's name known in places like this and I let everyone know about this little town. I also mentioned it to my supporters in my return letter.

Today, 10 years later, I headed over to Every Woman's Grace at my church, 300+ miles from the church I went to Croatia with. I was attending the Mindset for Missions fellowship. Little did I know, as I took my seat, what was about to happen. The missionary was from Croatia and started with a presentation about his ministry. It turns out that he is a lives a short distance from Krapina and is a seminary instructor IN KRAPINA at a seminary there!! The first class of the seminary graduated in 2004! I did not keep up with the news of Krapina, but of course I never forgot about it. It felt like years since I have thought about this little town. How amazing that right now, a time in my life of such uncertainty in my future, and facing the very real possibility of leaving all my family and friends, God would send me this not so subtle reminder. It is a reminder that when we pray for workers in the darkest harvests, God will hear and answer. When our passion is God honoring, He will confirm it to us. Out of all the places in this world... God chose to let me know, today, about a seminary that has started in.. of all places.. Krapina.