Welcome July ICLW Bloggers

It's been a few months since we have participated in this.  It's International Comment Leaving Week.  Comments are the new {Hug} - a way to say hello and encourage each other.




IComLeavWe: Join the Conversation

Welcome to our humble blog.  This blog was originally created as an online journal for my college Bible Study and it has evolved over the years into a website for our ministry with Wycliffe Bible Translators.

A little about us:  
My husband and I met at Bethel College and decided that we liked each other enough to get married in May 2007.  Until this summer, we both had one full time job at the YWCA north central indiana and part time jobs at different Sears stores.  We are also members of Wycliffe Bible Translators which take some more time, but it's important work and we love it.  Steve has now quit his job with the YWCA and is focusing his time with Wycliffe and still working part time at Sears.

If you want to hear more about our ministry and how you can possibly partner with us as a prayer partner or a financial partner, you can join send a message here or write a message in the comments.

***pregnancy mentioned***

We are currently expecting our first-born child in October 2013.  We could not be more excited. It has not been an easy journey for us to get here, so we know how blessed we are.  We do not know the gender yet, because we are currently "Team Green."  I can't believe that in less than 90 days, we will meet our rainbow.

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Get to Know You Questions:
Join our blog and answer in the comments:

1) What is your favorite form of exercise?

2) If you won the lottery, what is the first thing you would do (after you paid off all your debt and did all the responsible things)?

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My answers:
1) Walking along our city's Riverwalk. It's beautiful.
2) After we became debt free, funded retirement and started a college fund for baby, I would put the rest in a mutual fund to fund our ministry.

Hello Third Trimester

We feel so blessed to have gotten to this point.  We have so much left to do to get ready for the baby and so much to learn, but we are excited.  Between getting ready for the baby and preparing our ministry, we are very busy.  I wouldn't change a thing.  We even started thinking of names for little one.  We decided on a really great boy's name, but we are still narrowing down a girl's name.  We won't be sharing the names until much later though.  I signed up for a free Prenatal Yoga class at the Women's Care Center that starts on Saturday.  I'm really looking forward to it.  After all we have been through, I can't believe we have actual hit the third trimester.  I never thought this day would come.  We know how blessed we are.

How far along?: 27 weeks

How big is baby?:

Your baby's the size of a rutabaga!

At 13.6 to 14.8 inches and 1.5 to 2.5 pounds, she's not just getting bigger, she's getting smarter.

Any appointments or updates this week?: We had a regular appointment last Monday and it went really well.  The doctor had so concerns at all.  She said she could hear the baby moving around and kicking on the Doppler, which was pretty cool.  She predicts that he or she will be a tall baby.

Best moment last week?: The best moment was definitely when Steve could feel outside movement.  I could tell that he really enjoyed that too. 

What I'm looking forward to?: Even though I have loved being pregnant, I'm looking forward to meeting our sweet rainbow.

How Bible Translation Changes Lives

Translators Ed and Debi Condra were repeatedly saddened as they watched Kudal grow up. They were translating the New Testament into the Papatar language in his village.  Kudal grew increasingly violent and foul mouthed through his teen years.

In March of 1998, the New Testament was completed and dedicated and the Condras weren't able to remain in the village. But after several months, Ed was able to return for a short visit.  Travel conditions and weight limits on the small aircraft severely restricted Ed's luggage preventing him from bringing even his copy of the translated New Testament.

When Ed arrived in the village, the young man Kudal was one of the first people he ran into.  Ed remembered Kudal's sister buying a New Testament and asked Kudal if it were possible to borrow it.  Ed was surprised when Kudal reached into his shoulder bag and pulled out a copy of the New Testament. 

Further surprised, Ed noticed specifically that it was worn and underlined, a well used Bible.  He received chills as he began to understand.  It was evidence of the Holy Spirit working in the young man's life, transforming him.

Bible translation is about more than just giving people a Bible in a language they can read with their heart.

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Wycliffe Bible Translators started about 70 years ago by a man named William Cameron Townsend who had an incredible passion for everyone to be able to read and understand the Bible. Here in the US, it is a simple task to pick up a Bible and read from it.  Many people around the globe pick up a Bible, if they can get their hands on one, and when they try to read it they do not understand the words on the page.  Wycliffe formed around the vision to see God’s word accessible to people in the language of their heart. 350 Million people are still waiting for this to happen.

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Fourth of July Celebration/25 Week Update

We had a great 4th of July.  I spent the morning buying some flowers to plant in our front yard and going for a walk around the Mishawaka Riverwalk with Erin, mom, and dad.  I love the Riverwalk. It's so beautiful and peaceful.  It was a very hot morning, so I made sure to drink a lot of water and wear light clothes.  My sister got a great picture of me in the rock garden.

After our walk, my mom came over and planted the flowers I bought in our garden.  With all the rain we have had, the flowers are growing really big.  Last year, we hardly had any rain by this time.  Most places canceled fireworks because we hadn't had rain in more than a month.  This year it seems to rain every week.
 
We were invited to a cookout at our friend's house, so I cut up a watermelon and ate great food with friends and family.  Steve met us there after work and we watched fireworks along with river in Mishawaka.  It was a great day.  The weather was perfect.

How far along?: 25 weeks, 3 days

How big is baby?:

Your baby's the size of a cauliflower!  During month six, the average fetus measures about 13.6 inches to 14.8 inches and weighs about 1.5 to 2.5 pounds.

Any appointments or updates this week?: Our next regular OB appointment is on Monday.  I can't believe I'm this far along all ready.  100 days left!  I have to schedule my glucose test next week.  Oh goody.

Best moment last week?: I can definitely feel movement more than I could last week.  Hopefully, soon we will be able to feel them on the outside so Steve can feel them too.

What I'm looking forward to?: Feeling kicks on the outside and holding my perfect baby.  The answer to this question will probably be pretty consistent.

We are so Blessed

If there is one thing that I have learned in the last year, it would be the value of friendship.  Some friendships come and go but there are some friends that stick with you through the good times and the bad.  Some friends will walk away when things get tough, but others run towards you when you feel like the world around you in falling in.

We know that we are blessed with some amazing friends and a spectacular family.  I'm so glad that we got to spend some time with them this weekend.  The amount of people that have called or emailed us offering to give us things for our baby or for our garage sale or to partner with us in our ministry has been humbling.  It really is humbling to see God use His people to provide for your needs when you feel so unworthy.  This has been a year of a great change and great anxiety, but God has continued to show that He is still there and He continues to provide for everything we have needed.  We have learned new lessons this year about where to put our trust and our hope.  Our trust and our hope is planted firmly in Christ.  We look forward to what's next.

Our beautiful rainbow is going to be so blessed and such a loved baby because of God's amazing people. 

A Refreshing Weekend

Steve and Adrian surprised Erin and I with tickets to the WFRN Friend Fest for our birthday.  He even called my boss at my weekend job to ask her to give me some time off.  Friday, I had to work until 7 so missed Day 1 of the concert, so instead we went to the Mishawaka Summer Fest.  It's not a big festival, but I love that city puts in on every year.  It's a chance to get together with friends for some fair food, games, and fireworks and admission is free. 

We watched some fireworks with my sister and her new husband and my best friend and her beautiful girls.
Happy 7th Birthday to the amazing Cadence!  These girls love Steve so much and he loves them too.
We are so blessed to have such great friends and family around us.  On Saturday, I had to work until 3 then Steve picked me up and we met Erin and Adrian at the WFRN Friend Fest.  Oh my gosh, it was just a great concert.  We got there and ate some tasty food for dinner.  Erin found some great seats and we watched Jamie Grace, then Peter Furler with Phil Joel.  Yes, that really happened.  It was like a Newsboys reunion.  That was definitely the best part of the concert for me.  I grew up listening to the Newsboys, so that was fun.  I'm sure even Baby Pitney was dancing around to the music.  Toby Mac was the headliner and he came on stage at about 9pm.  Toby Mac is definitely a great entertainer.  His music got a little loud at times, but it was still fun to be there dancing and worshiping God with thousands of my "friends."  I was exhausted on the way home, but I woke up this morning so refreshed from the great weekend. 

Week 22 Update/Anatomy Scan

I'm sure that someone is waiting for updates and "bump pictures."  I was pretty anxious to put up any updates until after our Anatomy Scan.  We had a great appointment on Monday morning.  I was a little anxious about it because Steve found out at the last minute that he would have to work.  He had a volunteer group showing up at YWCA that he had to assist.  My amazingly wonderful mom went with me though, so I didn't have to go alone.  Steve has been to every pregnancy related appointment of mine except for one, so I'm sad that he had to miss this one.  I had my mom video the whole appointment on my phone so Steve could feel like he was there.  I have tons of pictures too.

Baby Pitney is a perfectly healthy baby, weighing 1 pound.  The OB had no concerns at all.  She said the baby was feisty and kept putting its arm in front of its face when she was trying to check out its face.

I know that I am so incredibly blessed.  

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How big is baby?:

Your baby's the size of a Papaya!

During month five, the average fetus measures about 10.5 to 11.8 inches and weighs about 12.7 to 20.8 ounces.

• Now that he's got more developed eyes and lips, he's looking even more like a newborn.
• He's sleeping in cycles -- about 12 to 14 hours per day (hint: they're probably those times you're not feeling any kicks!).

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Any appointments or updates this week?: Just the Anatomy Scan.  This is the appointment when we could find out the gender, but Steve wants to be surprised.  So for now, we are Team Green.

Maternity clothes?: I have been wearing stretchy and maternity pants since about week 10 or 11.  I did get really comfy maternity shirts at a garage sale two weeks ago for 50 cents each.  Score!  I love dresses the most right now because they are just comfy.

Best moment last week?: This week has been a roller coaster of emotions.  I started feeling more consistent flutters this week.  It's a pretty cool feeling.

What I'm looking forward to?: Holding my perfect baby.  The answer to this question will probably be pretty consistent.

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Introducing Baby Pitney: Age 22 weeks

Bibleless People Prayer Project

http://www.wycliffe.org/Pray/BiblelessPeoplesPrayerProject.aspx

"The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results." James 5:16 NLT

What if you could pray for a people group still waiting for God’s Word—and follow the progress of translation for their language? As a part of the Bibleless Peoples Prayer Project (BPPP), thousands of people are already committing to pray all the way through the end of the translation process.

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Befang of Cameroon

This language is also called Beba-Befang, Biba-Bifang, Bifang, and Menchum. It belongs to the Niger-Congo/Atlantic-Congo language family. Speakers are located around Befang, straddling Tuba Subdivision in Mezam Division and Wum Subdivision in Menchum Division of North West Province. Modele, Ushaku, Befang, Bangui, Obang, and Okomanjang are dialects of Befang. Pray that speakers of this language will be inspired to translate the Scriptures for their people. “Forever, O LORD, your word stands firm in heaven. Your faithfulness extends to every generation, as enduring as the earth you created” (Psalm 119:89-90, NLT).

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Pray for the message

* Pray that the last languages of the world would receive the Scriptures in whatever form they need it. Dare to ask God for big things! Ask Him to provide a person in the world with His world - just as He has already provided it for us - written and in the heart language.

 Pray for the people

* Pray for the safety of the Bibleless people. Many are residents in, or displaced from, countries with poor political and social conditions.

Pray for the completion of the Task to the Glory of God

* Pray for perseverance. Pray that those involved in the translation task would not grow weary or give up before the work is complete.

Unreached People of the Day

We added a cool new feature to our website. Each day it will change to a different unreached people group. Visit our website everyday so you pray for each unreached people group.

Crisis Averted

It was so hot the other night and Steve realized that our air conditioner was not cooling down the house.  After some research, he figured out that it needed a new capacitor.

Yesterday, he fixed it. Yay!  We have a working air conditioner now and it was fixed for only $13.  Steve is amazing. Woo hoo.

New Hope Presbyterian Church, SC Trip

Steve had a great trip down to South Carolina this past weekend.  I was not able to go with him because of my work schedule.  He flew out of Chicago to Atlanta on Friday morning.  Our great friend, Damian, drove him to the airport and got him safely on the plane.  His mom picked him up from the airport in Atlanta.

 

His final stop was Abbeville, South Carolina.  He was traveling down there to speak on Sunday morning at New Hope Presbyterian Church.  I wasn't with him, but he tells me that he had a great time meeting new people and telling the stories of our ministry.  He spoke at the fellowship meal after the service about how Bible translation can really have an impact on people's lives because they can understand God's word in a way they didn't before.  

He got to see some family that he hadn't seen in awhile that live down there too.  Overall, he said it was a great trip.

I wish I could have been there with him, but I was stuck at home to work.  I did have some fun outside of work, like shopping with my sister and some gardening (light work, of course).

Steve flew home on Monday and we relaxed for the evening with dinner and a rented movie at home.  I was glad he was back home.

Cameroon Language Groups

Please pray with us for each of these language groups in Cameroon.

Celebrating Mother's Day

All day I was celebrating the beautiful life inside me. The last almost 18 weeks have been filled with anxiety, fear, and joy.  Steve has been walking this adventure with me one day at a time.  We could not be more excited about welcoming this baby into our family in October.  Yesterday was a celebration of ALL mothers, whether you hold your children in your arms, you hold your children in your hearts because God holds them in Heaven, or you hold them inside expecting them this year.

Happy Mother's Day!

Source: social.kidspot.com.au via Bridget on Pinterest

I got the only thing I needed for Mother's Day this year.  We listened to the heartbeat first thing in the morning.  It was nice and strong.

Celebrating Our Anniversary

This weekend, Steve and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary.  It was an absolutely beautiful weekend in South Bend.  On Saturday, Steve and I celebrated by going to out to dinner to Salsas Mexican Restaurant.  I love Mexican food but I forgot that our anniversary is a "holiday" until we got there and it was packed.  We got a sit pretty quickly out on the patio outside and there was a live band playing.  The food was really good, as usual.

Sunday was our actual anniversary and I had the whole day off work.  It was marvelous.  Steve had to work though. {Sad face}  Sunday, after church and lunch, Steve had to go to Sears and I had a great day of relaxing ahead of me.  Actually, I was quite busy but nothing on the schedule.  I went shopping, visited some some friends, did some things to get ready for our garage sale, and then visited Steve at Sears for Friends and Family night.

Oh and Steve wanted to celebrate our anniversary by posting this announcement on Facebook Sunday morning before church.  He had some fun creating it.  My sister took some great pictures of us and so I posted some of them too.

We ended the day by listening to our baby's heart beat on the Doppler and Steve recorded it.  That sound never gets old.

Passing a Candle for Liam

 

Please pray for a special member of my online community.  My heart just breaks for her and her family.  They discovered a few weeks ago that their sweet baby, that should have been their rainbow, had Trisomy 13 and was incompatible with life.  Their precious baby went to heaven this Saturday at 17 weeks, 1 day.  His name is Liam and he is loved by more people than he will ever meet.

I saw the most beautiful outpouring of love this weekend.  For 24 hours, from Saturday night until Sunday night, nothing was posted on the board except for candles and messages of love for sweet baby Liam and his amazing mother.

Please keep this family in your prayers.

I Will Carry You (Audrey's Song)

There were photographs I wanted to take
Things I wanted to show you
Sing sweet lullabies wipe your teary eyes
Who could love you like this
People say that I am brave but I`m not
Truth is I`m barely hanging on
But there`s a greater story
Written long before me
Because he loves you like this

So I will carry you
While your heart beats here
Long beyond the empty cradle
Through the coming years
I will carry you
All my life
And I will praise the one who`s chosen me
To carry you

Such a short time
Such a long road
All this madness
But I know
That the silence
Has brought me to his voice
And he says

I`ve shown her photographs of time beginning
Walked her through the parted seas
Angel lullabies no more teary eyes
Who could love her like this?

I will carry you
While your heart beats here
Long beyond the empty cradle
Through the coming years
I will carry you
All your life
And I will praise the one who`s chosen me
To carry you

Visit to Columbus, OH

Steve and I took a trip this weekend to Columbus, OH for his brother Kenny's graduation from the Ohio Police Academy.  Now Steve has two brothers that are cops.  We left Thursday in the early evening and drove the 5 hours to Columbus.  We are actually staying in a hotel in Dublin, which is a suburb of Columbus.

Steve, of course, loves being back in Ohio.  After the graduation, we walked around The Ohio State University campus.  I had never seen it, so it was cool to be there.  I bet it's crazy there on game days. I, unfortunately, did not wear very good walking shoes so we didn't walk for very long.  We even went to Walmart to get me some new shoes, since the dressy shoes were the only ones I brought.

 I love the stained glass "O" behind us.  It's really pretty.  The most fun thing about these pictures on campus is that complete strangers took the pictures for us.  We walked up and they were talking pictures of people that we though was their family, but I guess they didn't know them either.  People in Ohio are so friendly.

This morning, we met with one of Steve's friends for breakfast and later this afternoon we are going to be meeting with Steve's old youth pastor. Weather here is really beautiful.

Easter Missions Breakfast

 

Steve and I, as part of the Missions Committee at Gospel Center, served an Easter Breakfast before church on Sunday.  I would call it a success.  We estimated about 150-180 pancake eaters that attended.  I wish I would have taken some pictures.  I was running around making sure that the servers had pancake mix, cleaning up spills, etc.  Steve was a pancake maker and server.  We also had sausage, bacon, fruit, and juice for people to eat and drink.  It looked like everybody got enough to eat.  We even had some food leftover.

Stan and Anna did a great job organizing the event and creating table decorations with information about all the missionaries that Gospel Center supports.

All the money raised went to the Missions Committee for outreaches and future mission adventures.  I really enjoyed it.  We actually missed church because we were washing dishes and cleaning up after the breakfast.  It was a good time though.

525, 600 Minutes - How do you measure a year?

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One year ago, we said "see you later."  I'm looking forward to 2013 being a brighter year.

Spring in Michiana

It's finally Spring in Michiana. I miss when Spring meant warm with pretty flowers.  The last few years, we have gone straight from a long winter to Summer.

30°

HIGH

We Made our 20% Goal

Tonight, Steve and I are sitting in the Indulgence Cafe working on our next Wycliffe newsletter and some other Wycliffe stuff.  We are trying to pick the best story to put in it.  We think we found one that you will really enjoy.  I love hearing about all the people around the world receiving God's word and I hope you do too.  If you are not receiving our newsletter already and want to please let us know.

We got some really exciting news tonight. We got a call from a pastor that has agreed to partner with us, along with his congregation.  His commitment brings our total pledged monthly amount to over 20%.  How exciting is that?  I love watching God provide for us.  So many new adventures will be coming our way this year and I love that our friends and family are going to be a part of it. 

I can't wait to meet out next goal, so we can start to application process for GIAL in Dallas.

Wycliffe - Vision 2025

My Valentine's Day

Welcome ICLW bloggers!

On Valentine's Day, Steve and I went to Bethel College for their "Couples Dinner."  It was a great evening.  It was a room full of couples that got married after meeting at Bethel College.  Dinner was very tasty.  After dinner, we went to see Bethel's performance of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream coat.  The dinner and play were both included in the cost of the event.  The actors did such a great job.  I have seen the play once before, but Steve hadn't.  We had such a great time.  Then after dinner some friends from Michigan came down to see us and they met us at the theater.  Steve and I don't get to get out of the house and just spend fun times together very much anymore with us being so busy.  It was nice to get out and have a fun evening together.

The second part of our Valentine's Day celebration was on Saturday.  Steve got us tickets to see Comedian John Branyan at the Blue Gate Theater in Shipshewana.  I had never been there before.  That place is beautiful.  The tickets included dinner too and, Oh my gosh, was the food good.  I have to admit that service was less than stellar. We barely saw our server until we was bringing us dessert.  I think she filled out drinks once.  I guess that's what you get when you tip is included in the ticket price. It was so worth it though.
John Branyan was hilarious.  I laughed so hard.

Dinner was Cornish game hen, red potatoes, salad, and bread.  The salad dressing I got was their homemade French and it was so yummy.  The fresh bread they brought to the table was really good and they gave us Amish Peanut Butter and homemade Apple Butter to put on it.

For dessert...I think the picture tells you all you need to know.  I still have some left that I have to finish at home.  The piece was huge.

Inside a Snowglobe

The snow is so pretty outside. I'm not sure if you can see if the picture, but it's coming light and steady.  Looking out of big windows at work, it looks like we are living in a snow globe.

The World of Wycliffe - Information Technology

Today's missionaries enter a world that is very different from the one that most missionaries knew even 30 years ago. The world now runs on information maintained by digital systems.

Electronic communications, travel, media and the role of software in virtually everything you touch, from cars to watches to music to money, make IT the base for the global infrastructure.

This is certainly true in the "developed" world, and is fast becoming the case in the developing world as well. Everything seems to depend on IT to one degree or another. Missionaries cannot function effectively without dependence on IT any more than those who send them.

http://www.itwow.org/cms/scripts/page.php?site_id=itwow&cat_id=ITServesLinguistics

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IT professionals are among the most in-demand jobs in Bible Translation. Computers have given translators the ability the do their work faster and more efficiently. My desire is to use my skills and experience with pc repair, server backups, network and email support and so much more that computers and technology can help with.

~Bridget

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How to help us get to Cameroon:
It's really very simple. We are so close to reaching our goal of being to 20% by the end of January. Please help us reach us our next goal of 30% by the end of February.  Every financial gift, no matter how big or small, is appreciated and important to the work.  We are excited to see how God is going to provide.

Ways to Join Our Team

View our Electronic Invitation to Partnership here

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Online: http://www.wycliffe.org/Partnership.aspx?mid=AF45B1

By Phone: Call Wycliffe’s Online Giving Services toll free @ 1-866-736-4387
between 8am and 5pm (EST).

Partner by EFT: You can download an EFT form here.
Print and fill it out, scan it and email it to EFT_Orlando@wycliffe.org.

Partner by Check: If you would like to give a tax-deductible gift,
checks can be written to Wycliffe and sent with a separate note saying,
“For the ministry of Bridget and Steve Pitney.”

Send to:
Wycliffe Bible Translators
P.O. Box 628200
Orlando, FL 32862-8200

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Join Our Prayer Team
Email: steve_pitney@wycliffe.org

Healthy Recipes: Cream Corn and Fruit Salad

The second part of Monday's dinner with the in-laws was some homemade Cream Corn and a Strawberry and Blueberry Salad. Here is the first part.

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Homemade Cream Corn and a Strawberry and Blueberry Salad.

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I made the corn from some corn that we had frozen over the summer.  The first step is to cook the corn with butter in a skillet over medium heat.

When the corn is done cooking, you take corn out of the pan and put it into a serving dish.Then heat some milk and Parmesan cheese until it starts to thicken.  Once it starts to thicken up, pour the cream mixture over the corn and mix together. 

For dessert, I made a Strawberry and Blueberry Salad.  I mixed fresh blueberries and fresh strawberries with sugar and vanilla.  Yum!

Healthy Recipes: Chicken with Red Potatoes

This Sunday, I was so proud of myself because I went to Martins and bought all fresh fruits and veggies - nothing frozen or processed.  The best part is that I was within budget.  I made this meal on Monday night when Steve's mom, step-dad and little sister were in town.  They enjoyed it too.

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Chicken with Red Potatoes

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In our roasting pan, I put red potatoes that I had cut in half or quarters with some vegetable oil and rosemary.  I baked them at 350 degrees for 20 minutes with the lid on.

Don't they look good already?  Then I added the fresh, not frozen, chicken thighs on top of the red potatoes.

Next, I added some spices, diced tomatoes, and onions

Then I baked everything together for 30 minutes with the lid on.  Finally, I took the lid off, flipped the chicken, stirred the potatoes and baked for another 20 with the lid off.  It turned out great.

My Leibster Nominations

This is part two of the Leibster Award.  Part one can be found here.  Now for the hard part.  I have to nominate some of my favorite blogs that have less than 200 followers and ask them eleven questions.  It's going to be hard to choose blogs that have not already been nominated before, that I know of.  Others can also answer one or more of the questions in the comment section if you want to.

Faith, Hope, and Love

Jen is my first nominee.  She is an amazing lady that I have never met in person.  When a normal person would fall apart, she never let life break her faith.  She was so welcoming to me when I joined to board and very inspirational to me when I felt my faith being stretched to the breaking point.

Learning to Love this Life

Kristen is another wonderful lady that met online.  I did get to meet her in person over Christmas and I am go glad that I did.  She just started blogging, but I have no doubt that it will great.

Things Hold Together

Sharon is a great friend that I have also never met in person.  She has been so supportive of me this last year.  She joined our Wycliffe prayer team and I know that her prayers are working.  She also sent me the sweetest card back in November as we passed our second milestone.  That meant more to me that she will probably ever know.  I am so excited that she is just months away from meeting her rainbow.

MomKup2

The author of this blog is my spectacular cousin, Gina.  She married my cousin, Pete, many many years ago.  Her and my cousin have two kids and she is a great mom.

Now for my questions:

1) What is your favorite color?

2) If you could have one superpower, what would it be?

3) What is your favorite part of your job?

4) Who in your life do you find inspirational?

5) Where were you born?

6) What is your favorite song?

7) What was your favorite class in school?

8) If you won the lottery, what is the first thing you would do with it?

9) What is your favorite animal? Why?

10) If you had the power to rid to world of one thing, what would it be?

11) Why do you blog? (I borrowed this from Stasy because I like the question)

Welcome ICLWers/Leibster Award

Welcome to the ICLWwers. I hope you can enjoy our website.

A few weeks ago, a wonderful online friend that I have never actually met, nominated my for the Leibster Award.  I definitely recommend that you visit her blog.  She is such a strong individual and I feel so special that she nominated me.  The Leibster Award is a blog to blog award that goes to up and coming bloggers with less than 200 readers.  Thank you, Stasy, for the kind words you said.  It is really is humbling to know that someone is watching your life and likes what they see, especially when your world feels like it's falling apart.

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Here are the rules:

1. Display the award image on your blog.
2. Link back to the person who nominated you.
3. State 7 things about yourself.
4. Nominate other bloggers, link to their sites, and ask them eleven questions.
5. Notify the bloggers that they have been nominated and link to the post.

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Seven Things About Me

1. I love musical theater.  Phantom of the Opera is my all time favorite.  I am listening to the music right now.
   
2. Steve and I own three vehicles and they are all completely paid for.  Except for Steve's student loans and our mortgage, we are debt free and plan to stay that way. 
   
3. I have a twin sister.  Her name is Erin and she is awesome.
   
4. I lived in four different states all before I turned 10: Wisconsin, Illinois, Ohio, and now Indiana.
   
5. My parents have been married for 32 years.  They are such an excellent role model of what a strong Christ-centered marriage looks like.
   
6. Steve and I have been married for 5 1/2 years.  I love him more everyday.  It's been a rocky year, but I think we are stronger for it.
   
7. If I could eat lasagna at every meal and not gain weight, I would be a happy girl.
   

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Stasy asked eleven questions that I need to answer and then nominate those I feel deserve the honor, asking them eleven questions in return.  The first part will not be too difficult.  The second part could be a little harder, because I have to find blogs that I love that haven't been nominated before.  Many of great blogs that I read and love, she nominated.

Stasy's Questions for me

1) If you had to stay one age for the rest of your life, how old would you be and why?Probably 25.  It's the year that I got married. 

2) Favorite color?Blue

3) If you were a police officer for twenty-four hours, how would you use your authority?I would arrest people that walk slowly in the grocery store and block the aisles.  Don't you hate when you are walking down an aisle and you can't get through because someone is blocking the aisle.

4) Do you make resolutions every year? Why/why not? If you do, what was your resolution this year?Resolutions are so easily broken.  I try to make written goals.

5) If you could have any talent in the world, what would it be?I would love to be able to sing, but if that wasn't possible I would love to be able to write.  I have so many good thoughts in my head, but when it's time to put them on paper, the words never come out right.

6) If a movie were made about your life, who would play you? Why?
I would probably play a lonely girl trying to figure out what her purpose in life is.

7) Favorite sport to watch? To participate in?I'm not a huge sports fan.  I have started to like watching college football since getting married.  Mostly OSU games. 

8) What part of pop culture do you wish would just disappear?I would love for the current mindset that pop culture is creating that if you not are sleeping around or doing drugs you not "cool."  I have seen so many wonderful former students of mine fall for the lies and are hurting because of it.

9) What makes you laugh?Watching escaping baby pandas - If you haven't seen this video, then you must.

10) What single piece of technology makes your life easier? More difficult? 
Easier: The computer - without it I wouldn't be able to do my job.
Difficult: None that I can think of right now, but I'm sure I will later when I go to use it.

11) Why do you blog? 

My blog started many years in college as part of my college Bible Study.  It then evolved into just a blog about married life, my faith, my ministry, and my life in general.  This last year, it has become a blog about loss, faith, and a place to air my thoughts about living life after loss.  Since Steve and I have joined Wycliffe Bible Translators, it is also our main website for our ministry.

Road to Transformation

The Road to Transformation from Wycliffe USA on Vimeo.

The Bible translation process can be loosely compared to a roadmap of checkpoints. While each language project is unique, this map helps to simplify an otherwise complex process for the purpose of illustration.

"In 1999, we (SIL and Wycliffe) adopted Vision 2025—a Bible translation in progress in every language community needing it by 2025. That was a bold step, and we all knew it came with a commitment to change the way we worked.

Since then we have been pleased to watch this commitment translated into action through cluster projects, computer adaptation, and other innovations that have delivered the Scriptures to more people faster than ever. Along with you, we¹ve watched new translation programs started and the number of needed translation programs drop.

In October, for the first time ever, that number dropped below 2,000! The official translation need is now 1,967. For the first time there are more translation programs in progress than there are translation needs. More people have more access to Scripture than in any previous generation.
While reflecting on the number of starts is exciting, it is also sobering because it means we have more to finish!

Wycliffe and SIL exist to eradicate Bible poverty so that all language communities will have the opportunity to be transformed by God¹s Word and ultimately reflect God¹s glory. Vision 2025 was a commitment to change, not just for the sake of change, but to change so that this life-changing Word reaches people sooner rather than later.

What we do matters; God has chosen us to contribute to the greatest acceleration of the pace of Bible translation ever witnessed by the Church! Be encouraged."

~Bob Creson
President/CEO
Wycliffe Bible Translators USA

My First Pinterest Project

Today was such a great day. Steve and I both had the day off, so after church we went to lunch with my best friend, Shere and her wonderful family.  We spent several days trying to decide where to go.  We decided to meet at the South Bend Chocolate Cafe.  Steve and I had had actual food there.  We both had the half sandwich and soup comb.  We both got the Grilled Fajita Pepperjack Sandwich and I got the Lobster Bisque soup and he got the Cheesy Broccoli soup.  Everything I had was spectacular and fresh made.  Shere's girls had a great time playing in the play area while us adults chatted.  There is no better way to end a get-together at the cafe than chocolate.  I got a Hoosier Sundae - Hot Fudge, 1 Scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream, 1 Scoop of Chocolate Ice Cream, Peanut Butter Chocolate Fudge Pieces, Whipped Cream, a Cherry, and Two of Our Hoosier Candies and the six of us shared it.  Yum!

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Today was such a great day.  I think I said that already, but it's ok to repeat it.  It's been a long time since I have felt this good.  After lunch, I came home and worked out for 30 minutes on our exercise bike and did some house cleaning.  Then I got inspired to organize the kitchen.  I created a Pinterest account several months ago, but I hadn't really done anything with it.  Tonight, I looked up kitchen organizing ideas and came up with this one. I changed to idea a bit based on what I found at Lowes.

Here is the before picture of the small cabinet next to our stove.  We hadn't really used it much, because we couldn't decide what to put in it.  I found something at Lowes that would allow us to put a sliding shelf in the cabinet that fits a small trash can.  Now our trash can doesn't have to sit out in the dining room or kitchen.  It's hidden away.

Here is the after picture.  The trashcan came with the kit.  Steve put this together in about 5 minutes.  He is really good with tools.

 

 Here is the before picture of under the sink.  It was kind of a mess with all our cleaners just thrown under there with no organizational thought.

Here is the after picture.  I cleaned the bottom and put a mat underneath everything to keep it looking nice.  Up on the shelf, I put the dust pan and rubber gloves.  The white basket holds all the miscellaneous cleaners, like oven cleaner, car cleaners, bleach, etc.  Then in the middle there is an area for the trash bags, Febreeze, and swifters.  On the right side, there is a basket for the kitchen and bathroom cleaners.  That shelf slides out and can be removed, so I can pick it up and take the whole thing to the bathroom and bring everything back at the end.

Total Cost for the whole project: $102.84

Goals for 2013

I generally don't make resolutions because they are so hard to stick with.  Instead, I have a few goals that I want to accomplish.  Some of them are small and some are much bigger.  I narrowed it down to 5 things that I want to accomplish this year.

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1) Sell our house

2) Get healthy and get back to my Christmas 2011 weight before my sister's wedding in May.  I joined, with some members of my online support group, myfitnesspal to help me reach that goal. 

Created by MyFitnessPal - Free Weight Loss Tools

3) Read 10 books - I tried this goal last year, but with everything going on last year I didn't finish it.

4) Reach 100% of our partnership goal

5)Learn how to crochet - again.

Bible Study Theme Verse

Jeremiah 17:7-8

New International Version (NIV)

⁷ “But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord,
    whose confidence is in him.
⁸ They will be like a tree planted by the water
    that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
    its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
    and never fails to bear fruit.”

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I chose this verse to be the Theme Verse for the online Bible Study I lead.  I have never met most these amazing ladies in person, but we were all brought together because we have one thing in common.  Our paths crossed because of great heartbreak, but together we are looking to the future.  Anxiety can sneak up and destroy you if you let it.  We are blessed because we trust in the Lord and have confidence in Him.  I know I'm not alone in feeling anxious when we feel like we are in a drought.  A drought is when you feel like everything around you is falling apart and that God can't possibly still be there.  It's hard to turn to God when you feel empty.  We don't have to fear the drought because God promises us that even when we go through heat we are still connected to His stream.  We always have the ability to bear fruit, even when we feel weak and empty because we are using His strength, not ours.

Reflections

The last 12 months have been months of great reflection for me.  This post is me being very open and honest.  2012 was a journey of faith for me.  I saw some pretty dark days, some even in the last few weeks.  I did not get through this year by my strength.  God and I went through some battles.  I never want anyone to think this year was easy for me or that I never had bad days.  I asked a lot of unanswerable questions.  The biggest one was, "WHY?"  I don't understand why Steve and I were thrown into this battle.  We had just given our lives to join the mission field.  Why this?  Why now?  Some people believe that just the fact that pain and suffering exists in the world suggests that there is no God.  Could God remove all pain and suffering from the world if He wanted to?  I think He could, but would we still have our free will.  God could have created us as robots forcing us to love and follow Him, but He didn't.  He wants us to choose Him.

This year shook my faith to the core, but as hard as it was I think I'm getting better for it.  Don't misunderstand me, I'm angry and God and I have had some talks that would my mother cringe.  I don't think God is afraid of our angry when we don't understand.  In fact, I think he wants us to come to Him with those questions.  I hate the Christian platitude, "everything happens for a reason."  Whether that's true or not, platitudes like that are rarely helpful. 

I had a friend, that I've never met in person, described her relationship with God as "shaky."  She was searching and, who knows, she may have been almost there, but now she is even farther away. 
-->Her words "I will admit, mine was shaky before we lost our baby and that loss is really what put the final nail in the coffin for me."  Those words made me angry.  Not angry for what happened to us, but for what happened to her.  Why? Why did you take her perfect baby  when you could have used it to remove a nail, instead of giving her another one.  I don't understand.  God, please don't let her put that final nail in the coffin forever.  Even though I went through some angry, shaky times this year, when a nail was offered to me I somehow always gave it back.  I know that Satan would have loved it if I gave him the satisfaction of walking away from God.  How many other people around are putting that final nail in?  I don't have any answers for them.  I'm walking this same journey of life that they are. 

What conclusion have I come to for me?  There is so much hurt and evil in the world that I don't understand.  There are questions that I won't ever understand until I'm standing in front of Jesus.  I think God grieves with us.  He knows what it's like to lose a child.  I believe that if I walk away and give up my relationship with God He would grieve even more for that.  I am going to continue to cast my anxieties on God because I really believe that He cares for me.  I don't think I would have it through this year without that belief.

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