Redeeming Love- Another Book Review:)

Come to me Beloved. Stand and Come to Me.

When I borrowed this book from a friend, I laid in bed that night and told myself I'd just read a chapter before I go to bed. I had many nights when I could not put this book down and stayed up way to late trying to fit in "one more chapter" until my eyes were so tired they would not stay open for another word. I found myself teary eyed many time throughout the book...which is not something that happens with many books that I read.

So, what was so special about this book? Well, first of all to give you an idea of what the book was about it was written based on the book of Hosea in the Bible. So basically it's about God's unconditional, redemptive, all-consuming love. A very powerful subject matter if you ask me. I won't go into too much detail about the story in case you want to read it for yourself but I'll say a little about it so this post makes sense.

The two main characters in this book are Michael and Angel. Angel would run away from Micheal's love several times throughout the book. And many times I found myself thinking, "You stupid, ungrateful woman. Can you not see what you have! Why do you continue to run back to your empty life" But as I was reading about each time she felt the need to run, it reminded me of all the times that I thought I could take my life into my own hands. Trying to go back to my life before God was in control of it. When I do this I feel empty and then God's unconditional love brings me back to where I need to be, and once again I am full of life. When I finished this novel, I could not do anything but that God for His forgiving, faithful and redeeming love.

"Come, let us return to the Lord; for he has torn that he may heal us; he has stricken, and he will bind us up." Hosea 6:1

Getting ready for our little boy!!

We finished the nursery today!! Here are before and after pictures of his space:)
Before:

After:


Now we are just waiting for him to get here!! I'll be full term next week!! We are hoping he'll come a little early;)

35 week update

All was very normal at the 35-week checkup. He hasn't dropped into place yet, but should definitely do so soon. His estimated size is about 5 pounds and maybe 17-18 inches. If there was a 1-10 scale for feistiness in the womb, Noah would score an 11. I am predicting he will be a hand full.

Amy has sore, swollen legs and is uncomfortable about every other day. It is hit-and-miss. We had childbirth class last Saturday and will have lactation (breastfeeding) class this next Monday night.

For those wondering, we will be delivering at Harris Methodist Southwest off Bryant Irvin Road in SW Fort Worth.

The church shower for Amy is this Sunday (1/31) from 2-4 pm in the Fellowship Hall for all those who are in the FBC Benbrook family. We are getting to the point where most of the bigger items are taken care of and the need is shifting to diapers, wipes, etc. We are discovering that Pampers Swaddlers are our favorites followed closely by Luvs. I imagine for budgetary reasons we will be going with mostly Luvs!

One of our friends delivered today, another is delivering next week, then another the week after that, then us in four weeks, then three other friends in the early Spring. No, we did not get together and plan this. We just live at the Seminary, where we are second in America only to Babyland General in pumping out new infants.

Another update coming soon!

-JustinP-

Bring On 2010

Well, it's that time of year again...where we look back on the past year and look forward to the next. So here it is, my ramblings of the past year and next.

2009 has been such a busy year! Some of the highlights include finding out we were expecting and then finding out he was a baby boy! Nothing can compare to that feeling when you walk into the doctor's office the day you are supposed to find out, looking at your little one on the sonogram and finding out the gender of your baby! Everything starts from there, decisions on names, nursery decor, little outfits, and everything else that comes from finding out.

We also enjoyed having Justin's family here for the first time. We had a great time and especially enjoyed seeing our niece and nephew...they get bigger every time we see them!! It was also a joy to work with a refugee family from Afghanistan as they transition from one country to another. It was such a blessing to help provide for the family coming with nothing to the States and ministering to them over the past few months.

Justin and I both started new jobs working in after school programs this year as well. It has been such a joy to me to return to working with children. As many of you know this is a passion of mine and gift God has given me. It will be sad as the school year ends and we will have to say good-bye!

And that leads me to what is in store for us in the months to come of 2010. First of all we are looking forward to our little bundle of joy to arrive in February...our baby boy Noah Thomas. We are so excited for him to be here! And believe me my aching body is ready as well. Please pray for us as the time comes closer that we the rest of the pregnancy will go smooth and the labor and delivery won't be the end of me;).

We also have some job changes this year as well. Justin has been offered a contract to teach at a Christian school in Japan starting in August. We are so excited to be given this opportunity and to spend some time overseas in ministry. We will be spending two years there starting August 2010. But, we have a long journey to get to where we need to be by August. First off there is the fund-raising part of the ministry. We'll be spending our first few months of 2010 raising money for this adventure and although we have no clue where the money will come from, we know God will provide as we seek to serve Him. Also, we will be traveling, traveling, traveling starting in June! As you can imagine this will be more challenging with a 3 month old, but again God will provide;) We will be spending time in June training for Japan and then we are blessed to be going home to spend time with family in the month of July. And we will be off to Japan around the 1st of August! Please keep us in your prayers as well as we begin this adventure starting in January as we fund-raise, travel, prepare ourselves spiritually and look toward this ministry opportunity.

Other fun things in 2010...my brother Tucker will be graduating high school! Wow! Time so flies when you leave home. It seems like yesterday he was still 10 and young and...this is making me feel old. I am so proud of him and can't wait to see what God is going to do with his life! And this will also be the year that every single person in my family will have drivers licenses! Yes, it's true..my youngest brother Thomas will be driving!! We are all getting too old;) We will also have some visits from our family members to see baby Noah and we are really excited for that time we will have with each one of them.

So, as you can see we are looking forward to a full year next year! And of course the year will fly by too fast, it will seem like I just wrote this yesterday when I am writing the letter that ends 2010. Do you have some exciting things happening in your life next year? Let us know how we can pray for you as the new year begins. Happy New Year everyone and may God bless you and your family as we begin a new decade!

A White Christmas Eve in Fort Worth!!!

What a day it has been!! We have had snow ALL day and there is so much of it on the ground!! I am hoping that we'll wake up to a white Christmas as well:)

Fun with Family!!

We love it when our families comes to town!! This time we had our niece Dana come for a week and really had a great time!! We spent time at Holiday in the Park, hiked at Mineral Wells, enjoyed some fun restaurants and spent an evening downtown with all the Christmas lights!!

1st Christmas

This year we were blessed to have a Christmas night with our family we have been working with from Afghanistan. This is their first Christmas here in the states and so we welcomed them to our home and had a Christmas dinner! We enjoyed the time with them and watching the kids open their first Christmas presents! We also got to share with them the Christmas story. Here are some pictures from our night!

We Are Getting Closer!

Here are some sonogram pictures from 26 weeks of little baby Noah! Enjoy!

Fun in the Kitchen

So, there are some nights where I just want to try something totally new that I have never made before and this week's experiment was broccoli and cheese soup. I always get this if I see it on a menu and I thought it would be nice to know how to make it at home and then I wouldn't have to go out every time I would like it. Anyway, I used the Panera recipe to make this and let me tell you it was SOOO good. Since it is getting to that time of year where soup becomes an evening meal occasionally I thought I would share the recipe! Here you go!


Ingredients

* 1 tablespoon melted butter
* 1/2 medium chopped onion
* 1/4 cup melted butter
* 1/4 cup flour
* 2 cups half-and-half cream
* 2 cups chicken stock
* 1/2 lb fresh broccoli
* 1 cup carrot, julienned
* 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
* 8 ounces grated sharp cheddar cheese
* salt and pepper

Directions
1.Sauté onion in butter. Set aside.

2.Stir constantly and add the half & half.

3.Add the chicken stock. Simmer for 20 minutes.

4.Add the broccoli, carrots and onions. Cook over low heat 20-25 minutes.

5.Add salt and pepper. Can be puréed in a blender but I don't. Return to heat and add cheese. Stir in nutmeg.

It's A Boy!!

We had a excellent doctor's appointment with the baby today! We had perfect measurements and everything!! It was so much fun seeing our little one kick around as we saw all the different body parts that had formed since week 10. And of course we found out we are having a little boy! We are going to name him Noah Thomas Perry!! We are so excited and blessed to have this little treasure coming into our life in February!! Thank you to all those who have been praying for this pregnancy...we really appreciate it! Continue to keep us in your prayers as little Noah continues to grow!

Baby Bump!

Well, I am now looking towards my second trimester which starts on Sunday! I am completely over the morning sickness, tiredness and aches and pains that came with it. We visited the Doctor this week and heard the baby's heartbeat loud and strong! It really is amazing! I am enjoying being pregnant and dreaming what our little one will look like and if it will be a boy or girl. We have an appointment to find out the gender on October 7th. I can't wait:)

On to other news...Justin is STILL looking for a job. The school year has started and no teaching position has been offered. We are not sure what the next step will be if he does not get a teaching position but hopefully God will guide us in the direction He wants us to go...before we are out of money;).

Fall is just around the corner and I am so excited for the cool weather and all the other fun things that happen during that time of the year. I'm pretty sure it is my favorite time of the year:)

Well, enough of my random ramblings! Have a great day!

New Job

I am starting a new job next week. I have taken a postion as an After School Director with Camp Fire USA. I am so excited to be back working with children and cannot wait to get started! I will be working at De Zavala Elementry here in Fort Worth and I will be creating activities on a daily basis for the children that I will have. I am learning the ropes now and have training next week. Pray for me as I start this new adventure, that I will give 100% to these children everyday to do my part in growing them into the adults they need to be. ~Amy

Prayer Requests

What an interesting month it has been for us! We have been through so much and are continuing to go through some unsure times right now. I just wanted to ask you all if you could take a few minutes and pray for some things going on in our lives right now:

1. Please pray for Justin to find a teaching job. We have been praying for this for sometime now and as the school year gets closer and closer we are praying harder and harder! Justin has finished all his certification over the summer and is ready to go...he just needs an interview! Please pray that his job situation will work out.

2. Please pray for my health as well. I have been battling a nasty sinus infection on top of all the sickness from the pregnancy and I am warn out. I have missed many days of work and when I do go to work I am misreble. I am starting a new job next week and I am praying I will be able to give 100% as I train. Also, pray for baby Perry as he/she continues to grow.

3. Please pray for our finances. With me being out of work several days and Justin working a few hours here and there until he finds a full time job money is tight. Please pray that the Lord will meet the needs we have in the next few unsure weeks ahead.

Although we have many things we could worry about we are doing all we can to trust the Lord because He is so good. He has brought us out of situations before and I am confident He will do it again. Pray for us to stay strong and to remember at all times the Lord is in control and has the best plans for our lives.

Thank you to all who read our blogs and pray for us! You are such a blessing to our lives!

We Are Expecting!

It's true! We are expecting Baby Perry in February! We went to the Doctor's yesterday and saw our little one kicking and it was so exciting! Please pray for the pregnancy and our little one in the coming weeks:) It would mean a lot to us! Here is a picture from the sonogram taken yesterday. Enjoy!

Summer Reading

She’s so special already, Lord, Daria Parker prayed. Now she has You, and I can’t help but wonder if You might have something very remarkable and unfamiliar for our Shelby.

I like to spend part of my summer reading new fiction books and have a read a couple so far. I just finished one called "The Princess" by Lorri Wick. My friend gave this to me to read when we went on our beach trip and I didn't pick it up once. When I got back I still waited a few days to start it because I didn't think I would get into a book called "The Princess"..it just didn't sound like a book I would like. But this book was a wonderful surprise! It is a book about love. From one character's standpoint it's about loving someone who is unloveable. And from the other main character's standpoint it is about loving someone when you feel like you can't love. It's a christian book and it shows you how to do those two things through this very cute and creative story.

If you are looking for a short book that is easy to read to continue your summer reading I would suggest this book! Enjoy! ~Amy

Girl's Weekend in Florida

Last week a couple of my close friends and I spent 4th of July in Florida in Bonita Springs! We had a blast! We spent most of our time relaxing on the beach (a well needed break!) and soaking up the sun! On July 4th we went up to North Fort Myers and spent the day with my family at one of the big holiday parties they always have! We spent the day swimming, playing rock band and just enjoying time with my family. We also got to go on several boat rides while we were there! One of the neatest rides we took was off of Sanibel Island. We had several dolphins playing in the waves from the boat and it was really neat to watch them! We also got to spend one evening in Naples on 5th avenue! We had a really nice dinner and walked the strip to the beach! Here are some pictures from our adventures! Enjoy and hope you all had a Happy 4th! Amy~

Boomerang Express! VBS!

It was that time of year again! VBS! Our church had a GREAT week this year! I was stationed in the pre-teen group this year and we had a blast! I spent the week doing various things from teaching a lesson on Missions to craft time to snack time. It was my first time really working with this age group (I usally work with a little bit younger kids) and I didn't know how it would go but I LOVED it! The kids were great and I really enjoyed getting to know several of them. It is always such a joy for me to work with children! Anyway I thought you might enjoy some pictures from the week in "Australia" at VBS! ~Amy

Family Time in Fort Worth

June has been a very busy month! Justin has been working away at his many classes he is taking for his Masters and to teach school next year and I am working my normal job, staying busy! We really had a treat this month though because we were able to take a week break and visit with Justin's family and we had a great time! They drove all the way out here from Tallahassee and we didn't waste a minute. We literally went all over the metroplex. We spent time in Dallas, at the zoo, at a baseball game, visted Dinosaur Valley State Park, spent an evening in Sundance Square, and many more activities! It was really neat to spend some time with our little nephew Aiden. He has grown so much since we last saw him and he is actually walking now! He is super cute and such a great little boy! And our niece Dana is turning into a beautiful young woman! We always enjoy spending time with her too:) One of the biggest hits while the family was here was Babe's Chicken Resturant. They liked it so much we had to go twice! Don't know what Babe's is? I guess you'll just have to visit us sometime and find out:) ~Amy

It's May?

Wow, So I posted at the end of March and BAM! It's May already! We have had such a busy month I haven't had time to take many pictures (the picture is from our friends April and Brook's birthday..at least we got one pic this month!) or write but here is a recap of April! I took my annual trip for work to Richmond the first week in April. I had a great time this year just like last year. Richmond is a beautiful place and staying at the ILC is ALWAYS fun and exciting. While I was gone Justin decided to ride the train in our area from Fort Worth to Dallas. He took his books with him to study and write papers. He actually met a few other students who were doing the same thing! I think he found a new favorite place to work on his studies! The rest of the month consisted of Justin studying and writing papers and me working with students, working events for students and finishing up the semester. It has been CRAZY! But we can breathe now! Justin finished all of his finals and has finished the semester! I have finished the crazy part of the semester at work and I am actually looking forward to a slow summer in the office.

The only sad part of this time of the year is saying good bye to our close friends who are leaving for the field or for ministry. This seems to happen every semester and although we are really sad they will not be around campus anymore, we are so excited to see what the Lord is going to do through them. This semester we are saying goodbye to our good friend Rebekah. We met on our trip to Thailand last year and we have had a blast getting to know her. She is leaving us for the field and we are super excited to see God bless her ministry overseas.

We are looking forward to this month and next because we are going to get some down time, maybe a vacation and visits from our family so we should have some good posts and pictures soon:)

Prayer Request:
My Uncle Tommy has been going through a terrible infection the past three months and has been in the hospital for almost the whole time. He just completed a three day surgery and will be finished today. Please pray for his healing and that the rest of the procedure will go very smoothly.

Thanks so much for reading our blog and keeping up with us:) We really appreciateyou!

The Cross: Arthur Blessit Story

Friday Justin and I went to see a movie called "The Cross: The Arthur Blessit Story". Arthur Blessit is a traveling Christian missionary, most famous for carrying a cross through every nation of the world. We came across this movie actually looking to go see another movie and we thought it looked interesting, ecspecially since we have met him before. And it was extremely interesting. The story is absolutely amazing. It was a great movie with a powerful and compelling story!! I was moved by Arthur's humility and love for the Lord! If you get to venture to the movie theater soon, check this one out. It's limited release right now so you might need to look for the theater in your area that is showing it. But you will not regret spending your money on this one.

On a side note, I am travelling to Richmond, VA for work tomorrow for four days. Please pray for safe travels!

Amy~