Wednesday, August 26, 2009

God Changes Dreams

I am so glad that I have a God that can change dreams. If I did not, I would be subject to a depressed life. I dream with such a passion that when a dream dies I don't see how to go on. However, God provides new dreams. If I did not have God and want to be a part in his plan then I would find it hard to recover when a dream was gone.

Bobby and I met at a camp called Camp Good News and worked there as counselors and program directors for years. This was always for the summer (although we helped out with some retreats during the year) but we always imagined what it would be like to be the Camp Directors. We loved camp, we loved the outdoors, and we loved children- all perfectly fitting to be the Camp Directors one day. In the summer of 2007, that dream became a reality. We were asked to be the camp directors not just of any camp but of Camp Good News- a camp dear to our hearts.

We worked there from the summer of 2007 to this most recent summer 2009. We lived on camp, ran retreats during the time that there was no summer camp, and went through a lot of changes with camp. Because of some of those changes, we found that our place at camp wasn't where we should be any longer.

We held on for dear life at first and cried when we realized we finally had to let it go. But, like I said, God can give new dreams. I haven't yet cried all my tears for camp, but I am enjoying my new life so far. We have only been in it a few days, but I hope it will turn into something wonderful, and right now my heart is more peaceful than I expected it to be.

Bobby is teaching 4th grade at Baytown Christian Academy ( I am running the house and doing hair from home) and we are both House Parents for 3 foreign exchange students. Tony and Evan are from China and Yun is from Korea. They do not come from Christian homes but are attending a Christian school and are living with us. We hope through our actions and words that we can minister to them. We also hope that now that we have nights and weekends (almost unheard of at camp) that we can, possibly, begin a bible study with people we whose lives we have had a part in over the years. Most of them have ended up working at camp at one time or another so we can say a bible study with "camp people." But this doesn't mean it was the extent of our involvement with them. Some we met before camp and got them involved and some we met at camp, but communicated with them outside of camp, and some we met at camp and never got an opportunity outside of camp but hope to now. This is our new life and our new dream.

Friday, August 21, 2009

Elijah James

I haven't written a blog in a bit because I worked very hard on a particular blog in July and it somehow didn't save all the way and I got very discouraged. I will try at some point to write the blog over again, but I have to go through a mourning period for it first. Writing another blog is a good exercise in getting over the other one I lost.

Anyway, this past Monday (the 17th) I went to get my third ultrasound. I am not sure why but I guess the doctor just wanted to see what his weight was and how he is devloping (I am 36 weeks, by the way).

The technician spread the jelly over my belly and began moving the instrument around to get different shots of my baby boy. Sometimes I could almost make out what part she was looking at and sometimes I just trusted that she knew what she was talking about. She did get a shot between his legs and said "Yup, it's still a boy." I could actually make that one out when she told me what it was.

The most wondrous thing, though, was when she came to his face. You could see his face so clearly. At first, he had his hand balled into a fist and stuck into his mouth. The technician wanted him to take his hand out so she could have a better shot of his face. He did take it out and visibly yawned and stuck it back in his mouth. It was so clear that he yawned that I reacted with a yawn. You know how when you see a person yawn and then you have to as well? That was how it was and he is not yet outside my womb. I thought that this was so cool.

He yawns and kicks and sleeps. He is, apparently, at about 5 pounds 10 ounces or so, still a boy, and doing great by all measurements. His name is Elijah James and I will be meeting him soon.

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