We have had a great weekend so far, and it's still continuing for us! Friday we had a pre-marital appointment with a couple we are counseling, and then Jordan and I enjoyed a relaxing night at home...stayed up WAY TOO LATE watching "Return of the King." (We forgot how long it was and vowed to never ever watch it in one sitting ever again)

Saturday started off marvelously with a frisbee game at the park. IHS played Blackman and beat them: 14-10! It was a little chilly with the wind, but really a gorgeous day, so we very much enjoyed that. We napped that afternoon and I had another counseling meeting that went great. Again, had a relaxing evening as I cooked for Sunday and that night and Jordan finished preparing his message for Sunday.

Sunday (yesterday) was just fantastic! We had full house at church due to several visitors and Jeremiah Pearson's dedication. It was such a special time to celebrate God's faithfulness, and there was overwhelming joy in everyone's hearts as we rejoiced together. If you've never heard Al & Martha's story, click HERE to download the podcast from 2/28/10 and fast forward (or listen to Jordan's fabulous message) until you get to them sharing their testimony. VERY INCREDIBLE!

We then enjoyed a HUGE Mexican fiesta after church. We do a meal after church on the 1st Sunday of each month at each New Song congregation, and it is such an amazing time of fellowship and connection, and yesterday's was extra special because of the dedication.

We finally left church close to 3:00 in the afternoon. (It's amazing how quickly 8 hours passes sometimes...seriously. I was there from 8am-3pm) :-) Ran home, changed, cleaned up, packed up, and jetted off to quickly stop by a friend's birthday party before getting back to the church at 4 to help People's Church Spring Hill youth group, Fusion, get set up in our facility for their youth meeting. They are going to be using it on Sunday nights for the next few months until their new building is finished. We are so excited to be able to partner with them and so thankful for the connections the Lord has brought about in the city of Spring Hill. We left there close to 6 and headed up to the condo in Franklin, where Kyle & Janelle & Ethan met us for homemade BBQ Chicken and Turkey Pepperoni pizzas and some seriously good times!

LOVE THIS KID!!

Today looks VERY promising! Jordan and I have had a super relaxing morning at the condo, and are meeting up with Kyle & Janelle to spend some time in the Hillsboro area today, where they are multiplying a New Song congregation and moving in a few months. Later, Jordan and I may do a little date night movie (Alice in Wonderland) and dinner (Carrabba's: courtesy Erin and Dan) I'm off school today for a teacher inservice day, which is why I can hang out like this today.

So, whatever you're doing this week, I pray it is full and blessed and exciting and wonderful! God is good!

Be Blessed,

Geez Louise, what a week it's been...here's the quick rundown:

-School: going great, but CRAZY right now. This week I had three midterm tests and a big paper due. Then for the next couple of weeks, I have two more papers and two projects/presentations...so it's been full. But it's amazing how much I am learning. Going back to school has been an incredible experience. I am soaking it in, it's just SO applicable and I know the information is much needed for my abilities as a teacher.

-Job: this has been amazing! I had been subbing at various schools since August. Well, as of Monday, I am teaching 7th grade Language Arts three days a week. They asked me to do all 5 days, but agreed to work with me since I am in school. The situation was one in which their permanent teacher has been out this entire semester, and the interim wasn't going to be able to stay. It's been amazing to see God place me right smack dab in the middle of the situation. It's a lot of weight and responsibility, but my organizational radars are going off like crazy as I get that classroom back in order: both the room itself and the students, plan with the other teachers and LEARN A TON!!!! God's grace is all over it, the students have been incredibly receptive to me and it's just awesome!

-In Vitro: As everyone knows, we have had a slight delay, because I had surgery about three weeks ago (it seems like much longer than that) to take care of some polyps. That kind of delayed things...in order for my body to heal. We are still set to go, and anxiously awaiting, but at this point, it's basically up to when my body gets ready! (I'm sparing you the major details!) The downside is that we could run into the issue of the office being closed for Christmas. The whole thing is very exact and very timed, so there is a chance I am going to have to wait until January now. The circumstances are completely out of our control, but I know entirely under God's, so I am fully at peace with this and awaiting whatever He reveals as the perfect timing.

-Church/Friends: Jordan and I are just LOVING living in Spring Hill. I mean, we've been here almost three full years now, and working in the city even longer than that. There are connections and relationships popping up ALL OVER THE PLACE! We are having a chili cook off on Sunday evening for the neighborhood, and we've had a great response so far. It is just so on our hearts to connect people, not just with us, but with each other, and watch God work as people learn to live in community.

Okay, I'm signing off...need to study for my advanced grammar midterm before I head off to class this morning. Blessings!

Pearson Story

Okay- incredible, incredible things are happening!! I may have said something before on here about my friend Martha, but this is just too amazing to not post. Al & Martha have been married almost 10 years and have had a long long journey trying to have a baby, with many heartaches along the way. Late last summer, something happened that was completely incredible, and now we're seeing it fully coming about.

(I am majorly condensing this) So, in the spring of last year, Al & Martha experienced their second miscarriage. It was heartbreaking, but still I watched them walk through it with such faith and trust in the Lord- I was amazed!! Absolutely amazed!! Heb. 10:23 has been their "theme" verse the entire time! Click HERE to read it. They continued to trust in what they knew was a promise from God. In the late summer, at an event we had at church one Sunday evening, God led a couple they didn't even know to pray for them and the lady gave them a word that she believed that the number 10 was significant for them. (They celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary this June) She also said she felt the Lord was saying that they were going to conceive and have a baby boy, and that his name was to be Jeremiah! WHOA! Al & Martha walked away from that encounter very encouraged, and after praying about what she had said, felt like God confirmed it to them as well. Martha shared this with some of us a few weeks later and we began to pray even more, our hope renewed!

They continued to trust the Lord, Martha even quit all her "charting" and anything she could do to try and control it, and right before Tgiving in November, they found out they were pregnant again. Read HERE for the story. It's been an absolutely amazing thing to watch. Martha's been pretty sick, but she actually loves every minute of it- knowing she has a growing healthy baby inside.

So yesterday, they had their 18 week ultrasound and they confirmed what we knew all along- There is a baby boy: Jeremiah inside of her!

PRAISE THE LORD! HE is SO good! Martha will deliver in early August, just weeks after she and Al celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary, and will begin to watch this promise grow beyond anything they could have imagined.

What are we willing to believe God for? He is more than able, more than willing to do incredible things in our lives, if we will just have faith!