Quick Update!

Life on the blog has been a bit silent lately because life in the real world has been keeping me busy! Besides a full work schedule at the pregnancy center, there's been piano to teach, Bible studies and Sunday school lessons to prepare, thank you notes to write, children to babysit, and college assignments to complete!

Ever since coming back from Peru, I've made it my goal to crack down and work really hard on my Bible college assignments. With everything that has taken place in my life these last several years, like Maiden's Quest Ministries, my sister's wedding, and international trips, college work has gotten placed on the back burner. What was supposed to be a two-year degree has stretched into four years! Now that life has "settled down" somewhat, finishing my degree has become a priority. :-) I've been excited to see God's blessing on this decision. He has helped me finish the books of Ezra and Esther recently, and now I am diving into the book of Daniel. My goal is to be finished by August. I have the minor prophets and half the New Testament to go, so we'll see!

Another goal I have had since returning from Peru has been to save as much money as possible toward attending a Spanish language school next fall (thus my motivation for finishing my college degree by August!). The Lord has provided encouragement in this area by filling my weekends lately with babysitting jobs. While I might occasionally babysit for a particular family once or twice a month, this month has been unusual. I experienced three different occasions to babysit for three different families in the course of a week! It is as though the Lord is smiling on my desire to save money and saying, "Here's a little help along the way." He is so good!

Working at the pregnancy center continues to be a joy as well as a lot of hard work! Incoming phone calls and bundles of paperwork keep me on my toes every day at the office. Here is an example of a client data sheet that came across my desk this morning, reminding just how special it is to be a part of a Christ-centered, Gospel-proclaiming ministry like this:

Today, [during her counseling session], "Alicia" came to know she could not be good enough to get to God but that He is reaching out to her and offering salvation through Jesus Christ. She is accepting His love and sacrifice now and desiring to grow to know Him more and more through Bible study and prayer. Last summer, she survived a car wreck and felt God had spared her life for some reason...

This morning in an email, I received a link to an online album Katelin and Nathan compiled of pictures from their last several months together. While many of the pictures might be familiar to you, there are some great shots from the professional photographer at their wedding as well as others that you might enjoy seeing. You can check them out here.

I must get back to work now, just wanted to let you all know that I am still alive and well...just finding little time for blogging these days. :-) But keep checking back --- you never know when a moment of "blog brilliance" will strike and manifest itself in an amazing post that you don't want to miss! (Chuckle, chuckle.) :-)