Christmas!

We decided to post our family's Christmas morning for Grandma's and Grandpa's to see. Others can enjoy as they may.

My favorite is right at the beginning when Isaiah goes, "There's a tractor!" Priceless.

Lost in Translation...

Reading my daily blogs, I came across an article by Andrew Connard. He sees a really cool site that does concise, post-Modern, teaching videos. The particular video he references was on blogging, and I highly recommend seeing the clip...it's quite witty.

Anyhow, he asked the question, "Why aren't we doing this?"

Being who I am, I asked, "Why not!?!" Then I emailed Bishop Coyner about the idea of doing short video clips about Baptism, Communion, What is Church, etc. These videos could be tools for all UMC's to use in Confirmation classes, Membership classes, even on websites.

My biggest question in all of this is as follows: Are we willing to do things in new and innovative ways to reach new people?

I looked at a section of the UMC.org website for seekers, and it was a page with a huge amount of text. No videos. No flash. No eye-candy.

Yes, we have good information, but I don't think we were or are translating our important message very well.

Take a look at the video, and please comment: What would you like your church to answer with a short, teaching video like this?

Praise You in the Storm

We went to the Casting Crowns concert in Ft. Wayne (in late November). They played the song "Praise You in the Storm," which I vividly remember hearing as we were driving away from one of the darker Dr. visits we had during Sophia's issues. I'll never forget hearing the lyrics "I lift my hands and praise the God who gives...and takes away." As I wrote here, that was a faith stretching moment. Could I really praise God in the storm...Man, at the time, I didn't know if I even wanted to, but we did. It's all we could do.

At the concert, a tsunami washed over me all over again. Sophia was alive, healthy, growing, and my little girl. The song brought back those months to my mind, and I cried tears of relief and thankfulness...Tears of grace and mercy received...not just for my little girl, but for me too.

Now the words that stand out so clearly are different..."As the thunder rolls, I barely hear Your whisper through the rain, "I'm with you."

It brought back home just how blessed we really are. I invite you to listen to Casting Crowns sing this song that has meant so much to me and my family.

Snowed In!

Stephanie, Isaiah, Sophia, and I spent the weekend snowed in! Sunday was a level 2 snow emergency where we live, so we were able to be together all day. It was fun. We played games, watched TV, slept, ate, and played together.

Such a simple thing, snow, shut everything down; yet, for me the weekend was what the Winter holidays are all about: We enjoyed each other. We spent time together.

Earlier in the summer, Steph and I went to a church worship arts conference entitled, "What's Right in Your World?" The presenters articulated that so often the Church talks about what is wrong with the world (and there are some things wrong with and in the world); however, there are definitely things good and right with the world, too!

The snow days reaffirmed something I already knew: My wife and my babies are what's right with my world. There is no better day than the day spent with those I love most...playing, praying, and being family.

What's right in your world?

Getting Back to Blogging

I'm back (again).

More to come soon.

Something Unique?

In the history of religion, one is quick to notice that many of the deities are feminine. In fact, the earliest practices of religion and icons of god are fertility cults that depect the god(s) as feminine.

Something that many Protestant Christians, Jews, and Muslims take for granted is our masculine language for God. Within our sacred texts God is often portrayed as husband and/or Father. While feminine attributes are used and traditionally feminine qualities uplifted, the language of God is most often masculine in our texts. In the mid-20th century, the masculine language of God was called to the carpet.

What is taken for granted is that throughout history this masculine dominance of the Abrahamic faiths has been challenged. Textual and extra-textual evidence clearly demonstrates that priests and common folk alike wanted to give the LORD a female consort. Yet, the text resists this.

Despite the numerous cultural pressures: the Canaanites, the Babylonians, the Greeks, the Romans, all have pantheons including feminine deities. Time and time again we see these outside pressures affecting beliefs. Yet, the text resisted these pressures. There are no female names for the LORD; furthermore, the LORD has no female consort.

Why? Why were the Abrahamic faiths, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, so resistant to the feminine divine? Each of these faiths presented rights to women...often above that of the surrounding cultures. Yet, they resisted.

Why? I'd love to hear your thoughts. What about this faith of the LORD (all worship the God named the LORD even if quite differently)? Why has it been so resistant to the feminine divine? Should our masculine language of God be viewed as an anachronism to be left behind? Or, is it possible that this masculine language of God is something unique to be treasured? What do you think?

New Life?

Last week cnn.com ran an article on an artificial intelligence (AI) designer and his attempts at a learning, household robot. He has had significant success, and he believes he is three years away from selling Zeno, a cartoonish looking robot that learns.

Zeno's programming is designed for him to learn, to read emotions, to talk, to walk, and be in all regards a robot pet.

For a long time, I have believed that sentient AI (computers that are self-aware) will be achieved in my life time. Some of us believe it could happen in the next 10-15 years. Imagine the movies Bicentennial Man or AI as real life. Each family could own its own robot housekeeper or gardener. Families could even be "adopting" robotic "children." Life will never be the same.

Sentient AI will be one of the greatest challenges to human ethics and our understanding of life. We will be forced to face unanswerable and difficult questions: Can we truly create life? What is life? Will non-biologicals have equal worth as biologicals? Will it be OK for us to have robot "servants?" Will it be acceptable to shut-down sentient AI? I'm sure everyone will debate hotly: Do AI's have souls?

I do believe all sentient life is of value, and it is important for the future of the human race that we begin to discuss this issue. Too many times we have devalued life because it was different from us. In the 1800's, Native Americans and Blacks were thought by some to not have souls; rather, they believed that they were "almost" humans...worthy for slave labor and property. Color of skin, gender, and ethnicity have been sources for prejudice, but we will soon see another (and I believe very violent) prejudice against non-biologicals. It will be a fun discussion (to understate it a tad).







What do you think? Do you think we'll ever create sentient AI? Will you consider it life? Will its worth be that of your own?

"Where are you?"

We all know what it's like to feel ashamed, alone, or even abandoned. We want so desperately to be known and to be loved, but it feels like all that's out there is empty...or gone. It'd be nice in those dark times to turn to God and receive a big hug (or handshake if you're a non-hugger). So often we walk through this life asking God, "Where are you?"

The book of Genesis addresses this issue, but it has a radically different take. When adam (which means human) and his wife take of the tree of good and evil, they realize shame. They flee and hide for the night. But before night can fully set, God comes looking for them, but God cannot see them. They have hidden themselves.

Next comes something so profound, it takes my breath away.

God says, "Where are you?"

Vayaqra Adonai Elohim el-ha'adam vayomer lo aneka?

"So the LORD God called out to the human, 'Where are you?'"

The question turns our world upside down. The God of all the universe crying out, "Where are you?" In his shame and guilt and fear, Adam hid. He hid from God and tried to avoid being found. It wasn't God who was absent...it was Adam...the Human.

The story of Adam and Eve is our story. We are Adam for we are 'Human.' C.S. Lewis' Narnia books rightly call us "Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve." This story is our story. When Adam hides, we see ourselves, hiding from God. Hiding from each other. We too hide. We hide behind our power, our toys, even our humor and anger; yet, we are still humans, naked, hiding, afraid to be found out for who we really are.

This is why God's question is so profound: God seeks us. For all of human history, God has been calling out, "Where are you?" Our Creator is the greatest lover of our lives: The same image is present in the Song of Songs as the lover dreams she can't find her beloved. She cries out for him, but he is hidden. God wants so desperately to find us. God loves us regardless of who we are or what we've done or where we've been. God wants to be with you to love you.

Where is God? Where are we!?! God is crying out for us, calling to us, ready to cover our shame and offer us a new start to life. God loves you, and He is desperately calling out, "Where are you?"

Words

"Sticks and Stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me."

It's a nice theoretical line. I remember saying it as a child. It was the perfect response to all those who put us down. I think we all so desperately want this to be true...words never hurting us. But, we know it's a lie.

The alternative 90's rock band, Bush, wrote a line "nothing hurts like...your mouth...your mouth...your mouth." Indeed, nothing hurts any worse than cutting words from those around us. Gossip, slander, lies, even hurtful truths can cut our souls to the quick. If words had no effect, why do we work so hard perfecting our comebacks and our put downs.

The number one thing that makes me angry, and I do mean angry, is when someone talks behind someone's back. Cowards without the guts to say things to one's face speak criticisms so easily when there are no repurcussions. What astounds me is the way our culture has embraced this attitude. Speaking truth to someone is "rude," while destroying someone behind their back is acceptable.

It is amazing to see someone abhor violence or violent TV and movies use words to beat others to death. Ironically, one of the loudest voices in theological pacificism is one of the most verbally violent people I have ever met.

Proverbs 16:27-28 says, "A scoundrel plots evil, and his speech is like a scorching fire. A perverse man stirs up dissension, and a gossip separates close friends."

I've found that nothing hurts others like the words we use. They separate friends. They lead to divorce. They lead youth to see themselves as ugly or fat or unsuccessful.

Words have power, and they can do more damage than any weapon ever will.

Beat me with sticks. Flog me. Do what you will, but please, don't cut me with words. They go deep, and they wound the soul.

I pray for all of us: that we are able to watch what we say, knowing that what we say about others can encourage them or harm them. Real friends, real Christians talk to each other. This is love. That is what it means to follow Jesus.

The North Star

I love space. My wife shakes her head everytime I look up at the sky and say, "I want to go up there so bad." From my childhood days of peering through a telescope with my dad to my young teen years taking pictures of the moon and Jupiter through my telescope and now to my constant monitoring of the space program, I am fascinated by the Heavens. I want to see them. I can't imagine the breathtaking experience of visiting another planet.

With my telescope, I've seen the rings of Saturn. I've stared at the Great Red Spot of Jupiter. I've seen our red little brother, Mars. I've tried desperately (but failed) to see the nebulas of Orion's belt. Seeing the moon with a telescope is stunning. Its features look like mountains and plains instead of light and dark spots. I've seen pictures of Uranus and Neptune from Voyager I and II. I've heard the whistling of alien winds on Titan, a moon of Saturn. I'll never forget seeing the first pictures of the Martian Rovers...I love the universe, and I sometimes wonder if NASA needs chaplains for its first trip to Mars!

However, there's been one thing in my limited understanding that I always thought was overrated. The North Star. It's small looking, not very bright, and it is pretty plain. You always here people excited to point out the North Star, but I inwardly always thought, "Bah, who cares." Until recently...

The Hubble Telescope recently discovered that Polaris, the North Star, is actually a Triplet Star. It is a massive yellow giant with two other stars orbiting it! This ho-hum star went from boring to amazingly interesting. There was more there than I thought.

The North Star is called such because it is almost fixed on the Earth's polar north. It doesn't move in the sky that much. It is constant. While the stars in Orion, Scorpio, Drago, even the Big Dipper have their seasonal positions, the North Star stays put. For this reason, humans have looked to the North Star as a compass. It was the sure direction finder at sea when there were no other landmarks.

I was wrong. The North Star is a big deal. Not only is it astronomically interesting, it has guided human history. For some of us God is like that. We're not real excited about it. It seems like something to do on Sundays for a few folks who we're not sure are any better than us. It seems boring and uninteresting. But, then we see it. We get it. We experience God, and our perspectives change...We make God the center focus of our lives, and we live by His light. I remember vividly the night Jesus became the center and my compass for life. Jesus is my North Star, and by his light I sail my ship.

What is your North Star? What do you look to to guide you on the seas of life? What gives you assurance that you are headed in the right direction? Len Sweet in his book Aqua Church encourages us to see Jesus as our North Star, a guiding light in the darkness. When all else is spinning out of control, Jesus remains steady, leading us home.

The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;
night after night they display knowledge
their voice goes out into all the earth,
their words to the ends of the world(s).
- Psalm 19:1-4

Weary

Have you ever been weary? I don't mean tired, but weary. We all get tired quite often. We work hard or don't get enough sleep or sometimes we even play ourselves tired. Tiredness isn't necessarily a bad thing, it's just running out of steam for the day. We rest, get some sleep, and we are recharged for the next day.

Weary is different. It is an exhaustion, an emptiness. It is a feeling that one has nothing left to give. Weariness, though, often is an expression of the soul. It is a tiredness of the heart.

I know a lot of people who feel weary right now. I think I'm there, too. Jobs, busyness, complaints, stress, lack of encouragement, unrelenting demands: These all make us weary.

Too often we dismiss weariness as tiredness. Weariness, however, is not solved by merely sleeping. One must find peace and strength to face the arduousness of life. Sometimes that means taking some time off. For others it might mean picking up a hobby to escape or unwind. Others need to spend time with their friends. In a time when we have so much and we have the means to spend out time as we wish, I find it ironic that we are so weary. Perhaps finding the rest from weariness is more than time "away."

Jesus said, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."

My prayer for all of us who are weary is that we might find rest in Jesus. That we would know that we are not alone. That we would remember that Jesus taught us to stop all of the busyness and take time for each other. May we remember that Sabbath is for us, and a day of rest is holy time. God, may we find rest in you...heal our weary souls.

4-H

This week is our county's 4-H fair. It's always fun to go and see all of the animals...especially for my 2 yr. old son! I believe 4-H is a valuable resource for our communities. It's something everyone should support. Even if you aren't a "farmer," you eat, so you need to be somewhat interested in how our food is grown! Here are my reasons why 4-H is great program:

1. It teaches young men and women how to treat animals. One of the things my family always taught me is that you don't mistreat animals. They are God's creation, and they are your income/food.



2. 4-H encourages local agriculture. In a day when we buy dog food from China, fruit from South America, and juice from Pakistan, it is encouraging that small, local farmers are still producing quality food products that are safe to eat. No farmer is going to jeopardize the safety of the food their family eats.



3. 4-H is about community. The giving and taking of help and ideas foster the idea that all of us are in this together. 4-H is not just a one week event. It's a year round project. When animals are involved, it's often a life style. 4-H-er's often share resources, skills, and sometimes animals.



4. Having animals teaches responsibility to the young men and women feeding and taking care of the animals.



5. Raising an animal (very much like a pet) and leading it to be processed is one of the toughest parts of 4-H. I firmly believe, however, that this is an important aspect of life. The animal or plant must die for us to live. We are part of a vast cycle of life and death. Most of us live our lives oblivious to this, but there is a very spiritual connection between a farmer and the land/animal. This is why farmers tend to be more religious. They get to see the mysteries of life, birth and death, on a regular basis.

Don't get me wrong, there are bad parts to 4-H as well...such as the competition aspects. Painting hooves, using hairspray on tails, making sure the youth wears the right clothes, is all bogus and has nothing to do with 4-H; however, the real experience of raising an animal, taking care of it, and joining the world of agribusiness are important and vital maturation points for our communties' future agribusiness men and women.

Have you been to the fair yet? Hope to see you there!

I'm back!

Sorry, I was out so long. Between annual conference, mission trips, vacation, work, and general laziness, I got behind in my blogging. I'm back, and I'll be posting at least once a week.

Volume 6: What is the Emerging Church?

Emerging church struggles against the consumer orientation of worship. Do we come to hear the funniest, best sermon from one man or woman? Or do we come to experience God? What if we brought our best to church? What if we brought our faith TO church? What if we open our hearts to something bigger than consuming a product offered on Sunday mornings?

May God show us the way to faith together. I pray to God that I never become the center of church or Sunday mornings...for then my life's purpose has failed. I pray that everyone sees my weakness and my inadequacies. I pray they see I am just a broken man. My prayer is that we bring our faith in God together, and together, we celebrate the God who loves us all. May we truly experience God.

Volume 5: What is the Emerging Church?

Here is an excellent example of a church using an emerging worship paradigm. We've done some things like this at our church, too. Using the fine arts is a great way to communicate the message of God in an open way. Words are so confining, yet art is beyond words...it speaks to the very soul, and I believe God speaks through it. Enjoy!

Volume 4: What is the Emerging Church?

On YouTube there was a video discussion going on about the Emerging Church movement. One older gentleman (trust me, I am using that word VERY loosely) was calling Emerging Church "stupid, heretical, and unorthodox." I have refrained from putting his voice up here because it is filled with such vitriol. This video is of a Roman Catholic priest defending the Emerging Church movement by responding to said gentleman!

I thought it might be fun to just hear what a younger Catholic perspective might be.

Volume 3: What is the Emerging Church?

Mark Driscoll, Evangelical author and pastor, comments on his views of the Emerging Church. His views are a mostly fair minded, Evangelical perspective, which is why I include him. It is wise to hear from a variety of traditions and viewpoints.

You can hear his discomfort with parts of the emerging church when he addresses an important issue of what values and beliefs we can/are willing to leave behind. This is an appropriate question and concern that gets to the heart of Emerging Theology: The doing away with doctrines. Scary for some. Liberating for others. What makes a Christian? Believing propositional statements or following Jesus with our lives? I believe the latter, and so I believe it's time to do away with Modernist propositions that do more to divide than unite.

Unfortunately, he also makes an Al Gore claim of being one of the "founders" of the Emerging Church movement. Just like our former VP and the internet, the facts don't quite work out that way...

The beautiful thing about the Emerging Church movement is that it was born around the globe simultaneously over many years of painful soul searching. Surely there was a better way to be the Church? We've failed in so many different ways. What does it really mean to be a Christian...a Follower of Jesus the Christ? These questions drove several Christian faith communities to explore theological and methodological traditions from our past. It wasn't created in one place by one person. In my humble opinion, the Holy Spirit is bringing the Church together from many different places and traditions in order to do something new. That is exciting.

The one thing Mark really brings out is the contextual and missional component of the Emerging Church. That seems be a cornerstone of the Emerging Church movement: New forms of communication, new ways of thinking, new ways of speaking will all need new ways to contextualize the Gospel (i.e. make the Gospel speak today's language and culture). Afterall, just by reading this you are partaking in a new way of sharing our lives together.

Volume 2: What is the Emerging Church?

This video is 11 minutes, so it is long. However, it is a documentary of the Emerging Church movement done from within the movement itself. It is done alongside Solomon's Porch an emerging church flagship. Again, notice about midway through the discussion that he speaks of "going native," which is a discussion of how the Christian life is by definition missional. We believe that the Church needs to wake from her slumber of complacency to a faith that Jesus died to give: A faith that tranforms our lives such that we reflect the love of God in all that we say and do.

Volume 1: What is the Emerging Church?

This video has Dr. Ray Bolger, an emerging church leader, speaking of the emerging church. His insights are very helpful, and I believe representative of most emerging churches. Church as family vs. institution is critical. Emerging movements are all about community...not building or organization.

I really like his description of the emerging church as trying to find God's fingerprints on culture. My view of truth is that Truth is God's fingerprints in the universe. Therefore, in all things we can find some truth, but in no single thing can we find all truth. Emerging Church movements recognize this and are approaching faith more humbly. We believe in Truth, but with the understanding that we know only in part...as through a mirror, dimly, but one day we will know fully...and be fully known.

Intro: What is the Emerging Church?

I've had several people ask me about the Emerging Church movement. Some hear me talk about my ideas. Others have seen or heard of Rob Bell. Others still have read Brian McLaren, Leonard Sweet, or visited sites like Emergent Village. I am going to run a series of articles and videos on the Emerging Church movement the next few days...maybe weeks if the discussion is good. My goal in all of this is to spark discussion, so please feel free to comment away!!!

This video is a Nightline special about the Emerging Church. It is a good intro if you have never heard of Emerging Church before now. For those of you more into the movement, don't worry, I'm going to give better explanations later...This is afterall an intro!

BABEL

Therefore it was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the language of all the earth; and from there the LORD scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.
- Genesis 11:9

This last weekend Stephanie and I watched Babel, starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett. It is described as a movie that discusses the despair and hope of life, and it was nominated for several awards at the Oscars. Being a couple who love good movies of substance and thought, we decided we needed to see it. The title caught my eye as it conjured up in my mind the multiplicity of human languages. In that regard, it lived up to expectations. Using locals, it filmed in Morocco, Japan, and Mexico while it covered four different story lines. Each story line was in a different language. Japanese, Arabic, English, and Spanish streamed into our living room. It was a different, but wonderful touch.

Ironically, I quickly forgot I was listening to different languages as I read the subtitles. Soon, I was relating to two boys arguing over who could shoot a rifle further and straighter. Without hearing the Japanese, I was pulled into a young, deaf girl’s world as she struggled with the death of her mother. A Mexican mother burst with pride at her son’s wedding making us laugh and smile. I have always been amazed at how such different worlds contain such similar people.

Just as quickly, I was tormented by the extreme despair each storyline produced. A wife was shot, kids were lost, a girl sought love tragically, and two boys’ naively shot someone with their new hunting rifle. At one point, I turned to Stephanie and said, “I don’t like where this is going…It’s taking me too far down.” This movie brought despair. The film created that sinking feeling in your stomach that forces our mouths closed in the face of tragedy.

The storylines progressed and the movie ended; however, I wasn’t satisfied. That feeling of despair never left. Despite the beautiful sunshine outside, there was a resident darkness leftover in my mind. I couldn’t decide if I liked the movie or not, but I was leaning towards not. As the day went on, I kept replaying scenes of the movie in my head trying to figure out why. It was pretty graphic, but it was artistically done, which is acceptable for me. Sure there wasn’t a happy ending, but that usually doesn’t bother me, either. Why did I not like this movie!?!

In the middle of a conversation, it dawned on me: Hope. The movie was supposed to be about despair and hope, but it just sunk the audience into despair and left me there. Don’t get me wrong, the director tried to wrap up with hope, but it was so empty…so NOT hopeful. Innocence lost, death, fear. There are some human stories that end without hope and can’t be made pretty no matter what we do.

That was my issue. How could a story of hope be told without God? Our stories and our attempts at putting things together or making things right don’t always turn out hopeful. That is the essence of faith: God gives us hope when all else fails. God gives us the strength to recover our lives. God heals our wounds. God forgives our most heinous crimes. That pit welling in my stomach was an absence of God: It was fear and death. It was despair for the real world in which we live. It was the loneliness of being an individual. It was the alienation of being in a world where we don’t understand each other.

The story of faith is God calling out: “Fear not, for I am with you, and I will never leave you. You are not alone.” And, so, we have hope for we have God. By the way, I don’t recommend the movie.

A New Type of Christian

I got this from my friend Jeff. I thought it was pretty good!

Fun news for me!

This week I passed the 2nd round of ordination interviews. I have one more year of process and one more set of interviews left. I thought for sure I'd have to do some rewrites, but, alas, it all went very well.

Even though the process is long and cumbersome, I am glad to know that our church is doing a good job at screening ministerial candidates. My prayer is that this process would encourage people into ministry, and that God would use it to sharpen our ministries and calls.

That being said, I had some friends who didn't make it through. Please pray for them as this leaves career, calling, etc. all up in the air.

Sophia Update

Sophia is doing well. She is gaining weight and growing longer! Our fun news for the week is that we moved her to her own room, and now Mommy and Daddy are getting more sleep!!!

Please continue to pray that she would make enough red blood cells to replace the ones she's losing. We're almost out of the woods...two more weeks...we think!

Thank you so much for your prayers and support!

*This picture was taking in the hospital when she was first born, but I thought that her shades were quite sporting!

Home and Well!

Sorry it's been so long, but it's been quite a ride!

Sophia is home, and she is doing well. 3/26 She did have a blood transfusion, but everything went really well. I think the only thing awry was Mom and Dad's nerves. It's really weird to see your newborn hooked up with IV's, etc., especially when they're on the head.

Her blood levels eventually stabilized, and so far we haven't had any more transfusions. The rollercoaster continued when the Newborn Screening indicated a possible problem with something called Organic Acid Disorders.

The good news just came in yesterday that the test was a false positive, and as far as we can tell, Sophia is now a healthy and normal little girl!!! We are so greatful that God has gotten us through all of this. We know that millions of couples go through much more difficult circumstances with their children, but as we have learned when it is your child, everything is major. And, so we pray for those families who don't have clean bills of health for their children. Our hearts go out to you.

She's Here!

Isaiah has a little sister! She was born March 23rd at 9:25 a.m. At birth she was 20.5 inches long and 7 lbs. 10 oz. She is a little darling!

We are awaiting tests to see if she'll need a blood transfusion or exchange transfusion.

Almost There!

Stephanie and I are so excited that we are just a few weeks from seeing Sophia. All the tests are continuing to be a little high, but they are OK for now.

The day long trips to Indy are getting old. The only positive is seeing the 3-D ultrasounds. We think she looks like Isaiah did when he was first born...It really is amazing what all you can see on those things!

Our C-section is schedule for March 23rd @ 8:00 a.m.

Wow, that's close! We gotta get on that nursery!

Miracle babies

Our first ultrasound exam for the middle cerebral artery showed a really high level, and we thought that we would have to have a transfusion in utero. We were very scared, but we asked everyone we know to keep us and Sophia in their prayers. Three days later we go for the exam and potential transfusion...Instead of going up, the levels went WAY down! God had answered our prayers. One of the doctors said, "I don't know why it went down. It shouldn't have done that...." Steph and I squeezed each others' hands, smiling knowingly. This wasn't the first time God has provided for our children. Isaiah was taken c-section because he was breach; however, when Dr. Cly began to pull Isaiah out, he said, "God was with you. The umbilical cord is wrapped around his neck twice." Later he explained that Isaiah would probably have died or been handicapped if he weren't taken c-section. We thanked God for the miracle of a breach baby that couldn't be turned around.

We've had some scares but so far everything is going well with Sophia. The anti-c antigen has caused her to be a little anemic, but so far we haven't had to do a transfusion. Every week we go without a transfusion, the better off we are.

It is always hard when it is your children who are sick. We want so badly for our children to be healthy. During pregnancy we dream dreams and have high hopes. We are finding it stressful to be doing these tests every week, but we are greatful for them...We are still dreaming dreams:)

Baby Sophia

From January 3rd we have known that Stephanie had a somewhat rare antibody that was attacking Sophia's red blood cells. It is called an anti-c antigen. You can read more about that here (warning it's very heady stuff!). This basically meant that we would have to watch Sophia for signs of anemia. We had to go to Indy nearly every week so that they could check the velocity of the blood flow throw her middle cerebral artery by doing ultrasounds. The picture to the right is a picture of an ultrasound screen during such an exam. We are so greatful we live today when there is stuff to help us out!