Waiting On Baby!

Well, five days from today is the due date. May 7th, to be exact. Today we wait. We don't know when, but we are getting excited! We attended our childbirth class today and toured the hospital. We were afraid we might not make it to the class before starting labor. Our original date was set for a month ago, but had to be postponed until this weekend.

I'm not sure everyone is aware of the miracle that has happened. I choose the word miracle because from my vantage point, no other word does it justice. My wife and I have been married for 14 years this coming May 13th. Fourteen years is a long time to be married and to not have children naturally - assuming you a couple wants children. Rachel and I began questioning the possibility of infertility about 8 years ago. Our status was simple math. No birth control and no children for 8 years meant we should talk to a doctor. Our diagnosis was never definite or even very bleak. It was always, "regulate this, start that, lower this and then things will change." Eight years grew to twelve and still nothing. Until we met a new doctor.

Rachel and I moved to Maryland in 2005 and wanted to really focus on starting a family and decided to find some real answers. Even if they were not what we wanted, we still wanted the truth. Through a series of events, including a trip out of the country, we heard of a doctor at Johns Hopkins that might could help us. From the first time we met her, we knew she was who we needed to figure out what, if anything, could be done. Rachel had been reading up on her symptoms and attempting a self-diagnosis and figured on Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) being the culprit. Within days, our doctor confirmed this was indeed an issue.

This was quite a relief. It was the first time in 12 years we had heard that there was an issue and that it was treatable! We were excited. The baby we had been waiting on was actually a possibility now. We used this time to decide what our future would look like, even if we were not able to have children naturally. God seemed to bring us to the point where we made the decision to adopt, no matter the outcome of naturally conceiving. Rachel and I were on vacation back home in Texas when we found out that for the very first time, after 13 years, we were pregnant. We were so excited! We couldn't believe it! We honestly were thinking that time was running out and now we had made it!

Unfortunately, our excitement was short lived. Within a few weeks, we learned that the pregnancy was not viable. Honestly, it was a huge let down, and Rachel and I spent some time really questioning God's intention or even trying to figure out why He allowed such an event to occur. Ironically, the miscarriage did produce hope. I knew that even though we didn't have a viable pregnancy, that a viable pregnancy was really possible!

One year to the day that Rachel miscarried, we found out that Rachel was pregnant again. Rachel was so excited, I was tentative. I had already been down this road once and didn't want to get too excited too quickly. We had been waiting on this day for so long - and now we had another opportunity.

It's hard to believe, that after 14 years of not knowing, wondering and waiting, the time is finally getting very close. Here we are only a week out. It could be any day now. These days do seem surreal. It's hard to take all the emotion in. We have had so much love and support from so many people, its been overwhelming. We feel like we are in a stadium with so many people cheering us on. We can't thank our family and friends enough. We are so excited! We don't know if its a boy or girl yet, ahhhh the anticipation. We are so glad that so many of our friends and family are journeying through this with us. It makes it all the more special.

God, I am so grateful to you for each of the people you have brought to Rachel and I to encourage us and support us along this 14 year journey of faith. We are so grateful to you for your faithfulness to us. You have certainly heard our prayers. May we work hard to accomplish your desires for our family over the coming years.

Thank you for all those that are with us in this as we continue, waiting on baby!

In Him,

Jason

Don't Hate Me

Okay, so don't hate me. It occurred to me the other day that alot of people may actually like the apps that are available in Facebook. That means that some of you have been very kind and decided to even include me in the fun of Facebook's application world, and for that I would like to extend a real "thank you."

If you have sent me and ap invitation, I probably owe you an apology, because I probably didn't accept your invitation. Now you may be wondering why I chose not to accept your invitation to become part of a worthy cause, or join you in a fun game, or perhaps work hard at discovering my true top friend, but the truth is, I'm in a dilemma. I find some of the apps overwhelming, some useful, some fun and some of them mind numbing (but probably not the one you sent.)

How does one solve such a dilemma? Easy. You do nothing at all. Therefore they collect into one location. Currently I have received somewhere over 216. I hope I haven't offended you by not responding & I certainly hope you understand. I figure there are some things in life you have to say no to, and so far, Facebook Apps are it. Who knows, I may add a few one day.

So for fun, how many Facebook applications do you have?

A little update!

1). Rach is doing well and we are in the 14th week of pregnancy! And by "we," I mean all of us: me, Rach, and the baby. It's been hard on me. Having to eat for 3 and continue the normal routines. It's like I'm climbing a mountain - only with a pregnant lady :)
2). I'm reading a good book by John Eldredge called Walking with God. It goes well with another book I'm reading called Letters by a Modern Mystic. It's by Frank C. Laubach.
3). I've been thinking about the nation as a whole lately. So many people with so many opinions. I'm continually intrigued by Jesus and his lack of involvement in politics. Not sure what that means for me yet. I do know that I am glad the election is over. I also know that I've grown tired of reading about all the people ready to "flee to another country" if McCain or Obama were to win. I think that is ridiculous. "For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Romans 13:1"
My faith has never been in a President, but rather in a King from another Kingdom.
4. A big shout out to my friend Todd Wright is in order for his great news! Todd has recently had one of his songs off his new CD entitled All The Freed get picked up by SongDiscovery. Very cool news. Very excited for Todd and Kristin and their family as it is so evident God is doing some awesome things in their lives. You can hear all about his news here if you're so inclined.
5. I forgot to call my dad on his birthday. Yep, I'm a loser. Sorry Dad. Happy Birthday (Belated) Dad, Rach and I miss you tons!

Yep, it's my birthday!

Okay, it's been forever since I've blogged, so instead of hiding on my birthday, I will just own up to it. I know it sounds conceited to blog about your birthday, but come on it was pretty conceited of me 33 years ago as well. I mean, I made quite a fuss back then with all the attention I was demanding. At least I'm not demanding attention this time, barging in and expecting everyone to answer to my beckon call! (Wow, was I rude when I was born.) I mean, I expected so many people to drop whatever plans they had and come see me, and then there's my mom and dad, who gave up so much just to make me happy. Wow! Do I owe them alot! Thanks mom and dad for giving me such a firm foundation of family and a genuine love for Christ!

So on this birthday, I turn this whole thing around. Not Happy Birthday to me, but thank you to everyone else! I know it sounds trite, but I really am thankful to so many that have invested in me over the years, and now I'm grateful for those that have settled down to call themselves friends! You people are great! Not everyone has friends, but I do and so for that I say "thank you for being a friend."

I turn 33 today. That's roughly the same age that Jesus was crucified. Me being a pastor makes me look at Jesus and His ministry in a new light considering my new age. It makes me think of something weird. Jesus completed his ministry in 3/3.5 years. It makes me wonder about what God has in store for me in the future in regard to influencing people for eternity. I want to make everyday count. Toward that end, I've decided to change a few things. Rachel and I are running more. Notice the Nike+ pic up top. Yep, it says 8 miles. We did 6 the week before. That seems crazy. I know it's not "ministry," but I sure enjoy spending that time with Rach. I've also vowed to read more. I've even taken the extra step of rearranging furniture so I have a "reading chair." We'll see out it goes. I'm looking at this birth day as a wake up to guard against insignificance. No, I haven't lost purpose, vision, hope or am I even depressed. I just want to start finishing strong, whether I'm a 1/3 to the finish or over 1/2, and there's no better place to start again than on a birthday.

Thanks friends!

Random Blog Thoughts

We just got back from Vertical Weekend 2008 at Whitetail Mountain. It was a great time. Jonathan Taylor Martin came up with a friend, Patrick Lockwood to lead us in worship. They did a great job. I had a friend from Grace Fellowship (Columbia), Jamie Schaad, come and teach the retreat. He did an amazing job. It was a great time. You can check out a few picts over to the right. (It's also some picts from my awesome trip with Rob's group to CO.)

P.S. I love my students and leaders! They were/are awesome!

Randominity:

- the shadow at the bottom of the picture is me.
- rach and I just purchased 1/4 of a steer (freezer beef) totalling 158 #s. I truly am from Texas.
- rach downloaded Eye of the Tiger from itunes; it reminded me of getting ready for church on Sunday mornings as a child. I would always get ready early and go listen to Dallas Holm's song Rise Again, and promptly after that I would play, mind you it was a record, Eye of the Tiger. Nothing like worship prep!
-I started watching LOST, but only the 1st 3 episodes on DVD. Long way to go but i'm hooked.
-I really love my wife. We seem to get along very well - and we've been married 12.5 years now.
-I'm already trying to figure out how to go skiing again before too long. Pitiful.

ok. done.

Career Day

I had the great pleasure of being a part of Career Day today at Sykesville Middle School. I had a great time and enjoyed getting to share about my career and getting to interact with the students. I am certainly grateful to Sykesville Middle, Mrs. Corbell, and all those that put Career Day on and hosted each of the presenters. The lunch was very nice and it was a very enjoyable experience! Thanks again!