So a lot has been going on the past few weeks since I last wrote! JD and I are doing are usual thing, but there are always changes and challenges one must face from time to time. It's just part of being human I suppose! Thank the Lord though my energy is coming back now that I have rounded that first trimester corner into the second! It's still hard to believe there is a life growing within me! I am so blessed to carry a life within me. It's a beautiful adventure even with its challenges. JD and I are looking forward to finding out the gender of the baby in the next month or so! We are planners, so we don't mind finding out. We can pick a name out and get the baby nursery ready! We'll probably still get fairly gender neutral stuff for the nursery though so we can reuse it for any future siblings that may come along. :) We're all about efficiency! ;) We also love hand-me-downs! (hint, hint, hint) We're also planning on having a gender reveal party in a little over a month, so get ready for that! We'll probably have people just bring diapers since they won't know the sex. (That's the point of the party anyways! haha) If anyone has any good ideas for a nerdy reveal party, please let me know!
Here's our sweet Baby D! Can't wait to meet him/her! :D
My brothers and sisters in Christ have been a lot on my mind lately. After having a tough and slightly heart wrenching experience with a fellow member(s) of the body, I don't want to take Christian unity for granted, and it's amazing to see how little things can tear us apart. Something that I did a lot in college was visiting the different denominational groups on campus as well as going to churches that were not my original denomination growing up (Southern Baptist) because I hated the fact that we were so divided. It still saddens me, and if anything, I have learned we will NEVER agree one everything until our Lord comes back. And that's OKAY. That should NOT stop us from loving one another and serving one another in brotherly affection. Ephesians is a wonderful book to read when it comes to unity and the gospel. It's convicted me and given me hope. I have been praying a lot for my brothers and sisters in Christ in different countries, and I have stayed in contact with several. I have some brothers and sisters in Christ I haven't even met yet in countries I've never been to giving me the low-down on what's going on with them. (The internet is a wonderful thing sometimes!) Please pray for my friend Kalu in Nepal as he works hard to bring the gospel to his people and his wife who helps women find work and God. Please pray for my leaders I've had in Japan. A couple has moved down to the Tohoku region where the tsunami hit years ago to help rebuild the people's lives and their faith. Pray for another leader as she works in Taiwan and different parts of China after having worked several years in Japan. Please pray for a dance team CMA in Japan I met while in Japan myself doing work there this very moment.
A few of you may have noticed my new profile pic. It represents really nothing new, but I wanted to support my brothers and sisters in Christ in a small way there in Mosul, Iraq. Many have fled under Islamic rule that has given them these three choices. 1.) Convert to Islam. 2.) Pay a very high religious fee for continuing to practice Christianity. 3.) Leave or be killed. This is very common in the Middle East unfortunately, and I feel very weak for thinking I have anything to complain about being a Christian here in this country. It will probably get worst here (if current events are any indication), but for now, Christians in the USA are very blessed to practice their religion without getting killed or having their way of life taken away from them. (Though this has happened in small cases.) The symbol that I have on my profile is a "n" in Arabic which the Muslims have been using to mark Christian homes in Mosul. I think it's awesome to turn around and use it as a show of support and love, just like the very term "Christian" itself. Here is the link to the article if you want to read about it yourself: http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/491391/Online-symbol-of-solidarity-after-ISIS-tell-Iraqi-Christians-to-convert-pay-or-face-death.
All in all, I am blessed to have the Christian brothers and sisters that are in my life. Some I have only met on trips either in or out of the USA, but still doing the same amazing work. All I have to say is that you guys rock! And I hope I can do justice to my calling with Jesus' help! We have such good news to tell everybody! A big thank you to all those women who have been so helpful and supportive during my marriage and pregnancy! You guys know who you are! :)
With some friends getting all ethnic and stuff! We made okonomiyaki, a favorite past time of mine (or one of many) in Japan! First time I tried making it without Japanese help!
Another thing I want to encourage my sisters in Christ in is supporting the right kind of things. This is just one of the many things we come face to face with, and it is so EASY to just accept these things and enjoy them instead of saying no. I want to again emphasize ENCOURAGE. We down men all the time for using porn and enjoying it, and yet we love romantic novels that give us a false picture of men as well as those that border on the pornographic side. Women, we are emotional, and that's okay! We just need to make sure it is within the limits God has so lovingly given us. We have so much to learn, or should I say I have so much to learn. So this is just one thing I have learned that I want to encourage other women with. Please do not read or encourage books such as "Fifty Shades of Grey." Please. Pre-marital sex in any context whether romantic or just plain erotic is wrong. Plain wrong. This is biblical. Sex is used now a days as the ultimate sign of love. That is not what love is! It can be a part of it, but it is not the ultimate sign nor the "final step." Having struggled with this as a younger woman, I can tell you younger women who are not married yet that it is worth it not to dwell there as hard as it is! Instead fill your minds with the things God would have you fill your minds with. It is beautiful and guilt free! Matt Walsh writes a very good article from the man's point of view: http://themattwalshblog.com/2014/07/25/women-america-4-reasons-hate-50-shades-grey/. If anything else, look at if from the way God views it. Simple as that.
JD and I have decided to stay in the apartment for the next year! That means it's time to start actually nailing things to the wall! Hooray! Our home is looking more and more homey! I've been practicing the whole homemaker wife thing, and it's much easier said than done! (I'm sure I've got some fellow women who can relate!) But I am enjoying the experience! Trying new recipes, cleaning the bathroom, making the bed, doing laundry, doing the dishes, etc. I'm looking forward to being a stay at home mom (Lord willing!) and using my home as a place of learning and cleanliness! But at the utmost top of my list is glorifying and serving the Lord! I'm also looking forward to getting out into the community more and using my skills to honor the Lord. My depression can make it difficult at times, but I won't let it take me down! At least, not without a fight! And luckily, my pregnancy has evened out a lot of the chemicals in my brain for the moment, for which I am extremely thankful for! There's a lot ahead of JD and I, and we can't wait to start the next phase in our life with the Lord by our side! First we've got to straighten out the "organization mess" we've got in the living room though. ;) Baby steps.
JD and I enjoying the show at Stone Mountain this Fourth of July! Thank you to all our military and veterans! We wouldn't be here without you!
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. 7 But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift. Ephesians 4:1-7
Peace to you all!
Keri Lynn
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