Whispers

I've been listening to several messages from Pastors around the country lately. One church I love to listen to is Gateway Church in Dallas, TX. Their senior pastor is just wonderful. His name is Robert Morris. I also really enjoy the various speakers that he has fill in for him occasionally. Around New Year's they had a conference at this church and four different pastors spoke. Each of those messages have been great! The latest such message has been by Bill Hybels. He pastors a church in Illinois. He spoke on the whisper of God, the "still, small voice" as it is often called. I got to thinking about this while listening to the message. Why does God choose to speak in a whisper? A simple answer occurred to me... We have to be close to Him in order to hear.... Pastor Hybels told many life stories of times when he heard a whisper. Sometimes he would heed the voice, other times he would not. One such whisper which he heeded was to start a local church. At an early age, he chose to forego the lucrative family business and start a church. His dad was disappointed and heartbroken but Bill knew he had to heed the whisper. As a result, thousands upon thousands of lives have been eternally changed. Another whisper which he did not heed was to reach out to an old high school friend, Don. Bill had not been in touch with Don for decades but heard God whisper that he needed to reach out to him. He did not do it. About two weeks later he got word that Don had chosen to take his own life. God used that tragic event to teach Bill the importance of heeding God's whisper.

So cool!! I love the idea that the God of the Universe whispers to me too! Not only does he talk to me, but His Holy Spirit lives inside me and offers direction to my life. What a blessing to have the Creator of all life offering advice on how to live. Again, so cool!

This morning when I got to work, a homeless guy named Reginald was there. He sometimes stops by the office to chat (and ask for money). We talked for a little while and sure enough, he asked for some money for food. The Lord whispered to me that I needed to pray with him. Not to just give him money like I had in the past, but to start praying with him. I had heard this whisper before, but this time I DID IT!!! I gave him a few dollars and he quickly had to run catch the bus. I walked in the office so giddy. I felt like a child that had just figured out a puzzle. I had heard the whisper of God and I had heeded it.

"The amazing grace of the Master, Jesus Christ, the extravagant love of God, and the intimate friendship of the Holy Spirit, be with all of you." ~2 Corinthians 13.14

Ka-ra-Tay.... Black Belt

So, I was encouraged by Chris that it was time for Mama Wolfe to contribute to this blog. We all know my creative juices are not my best quality. I always said when the Lord was handing out artistic/creative talent, I was definitely taking a nap at the time.

Anyway, I had a neat experience night before last and thought it would be fun to share. Now that I'm 20 weeks several people have started to ask me if I'm feeling the baby kick. This last week, I have really been able to feel he/she kicking much more, which is a blessing considering the scare we had. Tuesday night I experienced what I know is just the beginning of many more nights ahead and that was the baby was moving so much it was actually keeping me from falling asleep. I mean it was going to town for a good 15 minutes or more. I'm concluding that this child doesn't only know a few Ka-ra-Tay moves, but it felt like it is Black Belt certified already the way it was going after it that night! :) Eventually the little sweet pea settled down, went to sleep and so did I, but that was definitely the most I had ever felt it move at one time. Because it was my late night for work, Chris had cooked breakfast for supper which included delicious pancakes and syrup. Maybe all the sugar in the syrup caused the baby to get a little excited. Regardless, it was a treat to experience!

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." James 1:17

Namesake

This is a picture of this blog's namesake, Mattie Lou Wolfe. Mattie meet the world, World meet Mattie Lou.... This was about a year and a half ago when Carrie got her. She was about 5 months old at the time. She will be turning two next month. Mattie, or "Marty" as Penelope calls her, is a cutie. We love having her around and we think that she is going to do really well with the baby. We have had a couple friends bring their children over to the house and she has been really sweet with them. She probably will struggle a little bit with the lack of attention that she gets once the baby arrives but we'll work through it. :)

Ka-Ra-Tay (spoken with your best Japanese accent)

Our little one has started to kick. Yay!!! The other morning, Carrie and I were up but hadn't gotten out of bed yet. Carrie grabbed my hand and put it on her belly to let me feel it kick. And it wasn't just once. Our little one was working on its moves. So cool!!

Pics

Here are some pictures from yesterday showing how our baby is growing.

Doctor Visit

Praise God that we got the good report we were asking for! There is still a spot that is in the process of healing (more like a scar I think because it is no longer bleeding). By our due date we are 19 weeks and 4 days along, but by the baby's measurements we are 20 weeks and 2 days. The baby is 12 oz and 10.5 inches long. By all indications, everything is progressing in the right direction. Because that spot has not completely gone away, the doc wants to keep a close eye on things. So we will get to have several more sonograms in the weeks to come. I'm kinda excited about that. I like seeing our little one. He/she is so cute. It seems like every time we get to see the baby, it is doing something so precious (like rubbing its eye). Our next visit is scheduled for February 14th.

We would ask that you would continue to pray for the health of Carrie and the baby. In Jesus' name, we are believing that our baby will be born full term and full of health.

"For I am the Lord who heals you." Exodus 15.26

The Scare

The weekend of December 18th was already going to be a busy weekend for us. I (Chris) had been put in charge of organizing a 5K run for our church. It was scheduled for the morning of the 18th. Christen, Carrie's sister, was also graduating from LSU grad school that weekend. So Carrie made plans to head down to Louisiana for the ceremony. This was going to be our first weekend apart since the wedding. :( Carrie got on a plane Thursday after work. Friday morning she called me a little concerned about some bleeding she was experiencing. We prayed together over the phone and I really didn't think too much of it. I figured it would go away pretty quickly. I was spending that Friday at the church preparing the 5K course for the following day's race. By around 10, Carrie called me back because the bleeding had not stopped but had actually increased a little bit. This was really shaking both of us. "Why would God be letting this happen? We prayed about it this morning. Shouldn't that solve everything?" Fortunately, Carrie was surrounded by family and I had good friends nearby to comfort me. (Thanks Adam, AmyLeigh, and Steve for your prayers and your friendship!) As the day drew on, I was starting to make plans to head to LA that evening. I needed to get all our ducks in a row for the race and ask others to try and pull it off. With Mattie in her crate in the car and my bags packed for the trip, I got a call from Debbie around 4pm. They had been to the hospital and had an ultrasound done. Praise God they heard the baby's heartbeat and all was well. Carrie was prescribed bed rest until the bleeding stopped and her parents drove her up to Birmingham so I could stay for the race (the docs said no plane travel).

It took nearly a whole month for the bleeding to stop completely. That time was very trying, but it has also been great. Why? Because of Romans 8.28. "We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him." I don't believe for a second that God caused this to happen but I do believe that since it happened, God has used it for our good. Over the past month, my relationship with God has grown deeper. Before this event I prayed the words "We know that this child does not belong to us. It is yours God and we are its stewards." But because of this, that prayer has become a reality in my heart. At first, I was angry. I asked God, "Why aren't you healing Carrie and the baby?! We are asking for it!!" But the Holy Spirit gently reminded me that I was claiming to trust in Him. Hadn't I said "This child is yours to do with as you please."? The Lord worked on me gently as Ephesians 3.20-21 says He will. I am grateful that I serve the one true God who loves me and deeply cares for me.

We go to the doctor again today at 2pm for a scheduled check-up. We are believing in God for a great report. We believe that the baby will be 100% healthy and that there will be no complications!! To God be the glory!

"God can do anything, you know -- far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us." Ephesians 3.20-21

Telling the family

Finding out in early October that we were pregnant and having our first doctor visit in mid-October, we decided to wait until Thanksgiving to tell our families in person. We did tell a few people immediately because we wanted to have some people praying for the baby's health. So when Thanksgiving finally rolled around, we decided to give an ornament as our announcement. We bought some simple, clear ball ornaments and stuffed some curled blue and pink ribbons inside. Then on the outside we just wrote "Baby Wolfe."

Carrie's family came to us this year so that her grandparents could get their eyes checked. I believe it was Saturday night that we chose to tell. But earlier that day, Carrie's sister cornered her in the bathroom and, noticing that she had gained a little weight, asked "Are you pregnant!?" Of course, Carrie couldn't lie and that was a special moment for them to share as sisters. That night was crazy. We waited until the LSU football game was over and then planned to tell immediately but we could not get everyone in the same room. Carrie's mom was on the phone for a while and then when she came back in the room, her grandmother had stepped out. After about an hour and a half of waiting, we finally had everyone in the same room and gave them the ornaments. It was a priceless moment when her mom opened the ornament. She saw that we had written Wolfe on the outside and simply thought we were giving her a family ornament. A moment later, she turned it and saw that it said "baby" and jumped up screaming in excitement.

We drove down to Troy for Thanksgiving day. We didn't want to tell all the family that was there so we had to wait until Friday to spill the beans. My mom had a little suspicion and kinda figured once we handed her the wrapped ornament. I think she caught on because my sister had used the same tactic to announce her first child. Needless to say, she and my grandmother were both very happy and excited.

"I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him." 1 Samuel 1.27



Other funny tidbits....

Apparently after seeing Sam and Tray around September/October, Tray told Sam that he had the gut feeling that we were pregnant. We were at the time but didn't know it.

The day that we were going to tell her parents, Carrie's dad and I were talking about future plans. He mentioned that how we look at things will change once a baby comes along. And then he said he hoped that was soon. Haha. I had to hold back a smile. Later that night I reminded him of his comments earlier in the day and he said he thought I had acted a little odd when he said that. It made sense now.

Our first gift was a couple pair of Auburn booties. When I posted that on Facebook, it prompted everyone in Carrie's family to get us LSU gear for the baby for Christmas. As a note to both families... We would really like to have Christian based clothing (bible verses, veggie tales, noah's ark, etc.).

First doctor visit

Fortunately, Carrie already had her yearly ob/gyn visit scheduled for mid-October. She had already made plans to change doctors and this was to be her initial visit. This particular office is boldly Christian. I don't know how they pull that off with our government being so anti-Christian, but I think it is wonderful. They have Christian music playing in the waiting room, bible verses on the walls, and I believe the doctors pray with you before delivery. Anyway, Carrie just called ahead to let them know that rather than a routine check-up, we were pregnant!

We were able to have a sonogram and see the baby's heartbeat in that first visit. So exciting!! It was just like they joke about in tv shows and the movies. What I thought was the baby in the picture was not the baby at all. The doc had to point out the little peanut to us. :) So we received a great report and everything appeared to being progressing in a normal fashion. We couldn't have been happier and we felt so blessed.

"Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him." Psalm 127.3

Finding out

We were trying to get pregnant from the start. We anticipated that it would take a several months. Looking back, I know that there are many couples who have to wait much longer than we did, so I praise God that he blessed us so quickly. We probably really started thinking about it in July and were hoping to be pregnant in August.  We were so excited around that time each month. That time rolled around for August and we were not pregnant. I had my hopes high for September and again no baby. But the Lord chose to bless us with a child in October... Carrie took one pregnancy test after my badgering her to do so for about a week. She kept saying that we needed to wait longer to make sure she was late. But I was excited and impatient. When it tuned out positive, I wanted her to take another one to make sure but we didn't have one.  So it was about 11pm on a week night and I put a coat on with my pj's and slippers to run to CVS and buy the test. She took another one that night and then a couple days later too. (I bought two cause I wanted to be sure.... overkill, I know.) Obviously we were ecstatic and also humbled by the miracle of creation.

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb." Psalm 119.13

New Blog

Carrie and I are going to attempt to follow in the footsteps of my sister and maintain a blog to keep family and friends updated about our pregnancy. Neither of us are great at remembering to journal on a regular basis, so we may need some reminding in the early goings of the blog. As we go, we hope to update with pictures, so family can see our beautiful baby grow.