Where's Mark?

Okay, it's been 10 days since my last post, so I thought I'd better check in. Yes, I am on the job hunt again. If you "joined this program" recently, you may not know that I was laid off in January and started a new job February 15th. Several days ago we were told that the company is being sold and it is doubtful that the development staff will be part of the deal. I've been on this job only six weeks now, but I'll look at it as another opportunity to trust God with directing my steps. I am still working and getting paid, but my supervisor told us that we should be looking elsewhere and that if he saw us on monster.com it was okay. It still feels weird even though I have permission. I'm trying to ride it out and see what happens, but am exploring my options also. I was dreading having to use my evening and weekend time to job hunt when I was just getting back into preparing-for-baby tasks, so the liberty to surf (and job hunt) on my downtime at work was a nice gesture. Just working on my project(s) is strange. It feels like I am remodeling a condemned building.

Last weekend I overdid things and put myself in mega back pain. I worked from home via remote login on Monday and Tuesday so that I could keep icing it. I could barely walk. I saw the doctor on Wednesday and am returning today for more treatment. I still do not know exactly what I did to it. Anyway, it is much better than it was, but for a while mere sitting was agonizing, so obviously I didn't blog much.

I would appreciate your prayers that God would direct me into exactly what He wants for me at this point in my life. I know He will, but "Where two or more agree..." Thanks for stopping by and I hope to have more soon.

Life in the Biodome

In the mid-90's there was a movie called Biodome in which Pauly Shore and Stephen Baldwin starred. The movie itself was a bit silly, but for the past two or three months I have had the concept and nature of a biodome on my mind and in my spirit. In the movie, the biodome was simply a glorified terrarium (a usually transparent enclosure for keeping or raising plants or usually small animals indoors). Picture a self-sufficient environment where food is readily available and no contact with the outside world is necessary. The plants feed off the light and soil and in turn provide food for the animals. The moisture that is trapped inside serves to water the plants and animals. It's an Eden - a utopia. Why? Everything you need is inside and therefore no contact with the "outside" is necessary. You are free to make everything perfect according to how you like it. Nobody can mess with you. It's the ultimate comfortzone.

But there's a problem.

Despite our human, fleshly desires and attempts to satisfy ourselves and build our own utopia, we simply were not wired that way. We were made in God's image. God loved the "outside" so much that He sacrificed His only Son in order to help those on the outside. Jesus left His comfortzone and allowed Himself to be tortured.

It seems to me that many of us as Christians have created our own biodomes. Yes, God has given us "everything we need for life and Godliness." He has promised to meet all of our needs "according to His riches in glory." I could list all the ways that God has blessed us and provided for us, but you get the point. So what do we do now? Many of us have built ourselves huts smack dab in the middle of the biodome in order to separate ourselves as much as possible from the faint cries of those outside who are hurting and need our help. Will we dare to walk up to the glass, wipe away the condensation, and look into their eyes? Are we willing to help?

Oops, one problem, that would mess with our ultimate comfortzone. We might have to rely on Someone else. We might not find things so predictable. We might have to give up some convenience. We might have to show love to someone other than ourselves.

We might have to be more like Jesus.

Resting / Nesting

This is my wife. I am CRAZY in love with her. We went to a wedding yesterday and it was a perfect opportunity to get some pregnancy pictures. Now that she is "showing" I'll probably take some more every two or three weeks to capture the continued growth (not that I'll post all of those, but maybe now and then).

I am finally starting to catch up on sleep. So much was going on in my head when taking care of my dad and starting a new job that I got 3-5 hours of sleep each night. I'd go to bed at a decent time, so it's not like I was being irresponsible, but I'd just lie there with my mind racing. Yesterday was the first day in over a month that I felt anything like myself again. We spent several hours window-shopping for baby room ideas. I didn't realize how tough a decision something like a crib liner would be. There are so many different themes. It seemed as if we were deciding on what the boy will like or become already. Do you get the sports theme? Moons and stars? Farm animals? Firetrucks? For now, we decided on a simple Noah's Ark theme for the crib, and then just a bunch of stuffed animals for decorating the room. Reason being, it begs for interaction. I was involved in sports since I could walk, but when the boy is a baby, how would one grab a small bat from a shelf and use it for interaction? I guess one could make a "click" (bat-hitting-ball) sound and then make a "crowd" noise, but I think stuffed animals offer more creative sound-making and playing opportunities. Maybe I'll post a pic or two of the baby room when we are done. I'd post more, but I've got to cut if off here and get to more baby room setup tasks. The whole "nesting" thing is in full steam and none of the projects will get done while I'm sitting here typing. More soon!

We're Having a Boy!!!

That's right, I'm going to have a son! :) I have been smiling from ear to ear since we found out. Cindy and I were both 50/50 with what we preferred, but it is nice to know how to plan. I am having fun thinking about all the various things I'll be able to teach my son and all the things I'd like to do and say. I can hardly wait to be able to hold him. Cindy and I were together when they were doing the ultrasound. We saw the baby's little nose, hands and fingers, feet, spine, brain, heart, and, of course, the area that gave away the fact that he is a boy. Cindy is at just under 20 weeks now and her due date has been moved up from August 7th to the 2nd. April 4th is her next appointment. I'll probably scan and post a couple pics from that visit. God is so good and so faithful to us!!!