I would be delighted!

I was reading "A Place of Quiet Rest" again this morning (by Nancy Leigh DeMoss). There have been so many rich truths in this chapter entitled The Outer Walk. In this chapter, Nancy talks about the purpose of a devotional life, specifically with regard to how it affects our daily walk.

Lately, I have really been struggling with resting in God's will. Even the littlest change of plans can throw me for a real loop these days. I could blame it on pregnancy hormones, but the reality is that it's just the state of my unsubmitted heart before the Lord. Nancy related the account of Jacob. He wrestled all night long with the Lord and refused to give up. It was a useless battle, really. Who can win a battle with the Lord? Jacob found himself not only with a broken hip in the morning, but also with a broken will.

We also will have those times with the Lord. I know I do! In then end, however, we should be able to say as the Psalmist did in Psalm 40:8 "I DELIGHT to do thy will, O my God." I read that verse and it really struck me. That should be my posture before God as I respond to His will. The NIV says, "I desire to do your will, God." I actually prefer the King James version here. We should DELIGHT to do God's will.

At the end of an encounter with a patient at the office, the patient will occasionally thank me for taking care of her. My response is often, "It's my pleasure." I say that time and time again at the office, but is that how I respond to my loving, compassionate, caring, tenderhearted God when He presents His will for me? Sadly, not always.

So, how do I get there? Nancy pulls out another verse that struck me. Proverbs 16:3 says, "Commit thy works to the Lord , and thy thoughts shall be established." So, as I commit my desire to DELIGHT to do God's will, He will direct my thoughts to follow by the Holy Spirit.

I'll be eager to see how many times the Lord allows me to practice this today. Will there be changes in the schedule? A wrench thrown in my well-sculpted plans? :) As He does redirect my steps throughout the day in the manner that He deems best, I pray that my response will be, "I would be delighted to do your will!"

19 Weeks!

Here's the latest belly pic! I think this one actually qualifies as a belly pic. Didn't have very much to show in the last one. What a joy! Pregnancy is such a gift!

Sugar and Spice and EVERYTHING Nice!!!!!!!!!!

Well, it seems our pollsters had it right all along. Baby Doty is a GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!! Our ultrasound experience yesterday was absolutely wonderful. Although little girl gave the ultrasound tech a run for her money, she was able to capture some really neat pictures. Initially, the baby was very modest, knees tucked up to her chest with her legs crossed at the ankles, blocking the view to "everything" we needed to see. The ultrasound tech had to jiggle my belly a few times even to get her to show her face! Nevertheless, after a little coaxing, she waved at us and gave us a "thumbs up" sign.

Everything looks just fine with the baby, praise God! However, just a small note for prayer... the placenta is low-lying, meaning it is located very far down in the uterus, close to the cervix. Most likely, it will migrate back up where it needs to be (i.e., God will place it just where it needs to be). Please pray that it will be found in the right location at our follow-up ultrasound in six weeks. I'm not worried in the least, God has clearly told us in His Word that He forms and fashions us in our mother's womb. I believe Him!

Here are a few photos of precious baby girl:

This is my favorite photo: precious little feet!!!!! (crossed at the ankle, just like a little lady :)

Baby Girl's Profile

The ultrasound tech captured this image and slowly typed in "I'm a (very long pause) GIRL!"

Baby Girl's hand is tucked up by her face. So sweet!

Resting on her side

That's all for today! Thanks for praying with us! What a joyful time! Now, we're in the process of seeking the Lord for just the right name for her. We have a few ideas.... :)

A Place of Quiet Rest

Oh, boy... yesterday was quite a day. I woke up and felt the Lord prompt me to pull out a book I purchased quite some time ago but hadn't read. It's called A Place of Quiet Rest by Nancy Leigh DeMoss. While all I had been able to do for the past 12 weeks was "rest" (literally, I had NO energy and the little smidgen of energy I had was spent staving off constant waves of nausea), I have been struggling quite a bit to find rest for my soul lately, even with newfound 2nd trimester busts of energy.

The opening passage of the chapter cites Psalm 27:4 and my soul was instantly convicted. "One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all of the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek Him in His temple." Actually, my personal Psalm might have gone more like this... One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in my clean, tidy, organized home all the days of my life, to gaze upon my husband (ie, spend time with him), and to live a life of ease and physical rest. Hmmm... quite a disparity between the Psalmist and me.

The book goes on to describe a day in the life of Jesus from Mark 1. He woke up early (while it was dark... yikes!) and spend time with the Father. He preached in the temple, no doubt several hours of preaching. In the middle of his sermon, He cast an evil spirit out of a man. He then attempted to spend some time with his disciples at the home of Simon and Andrew and I'm guessing needed a bit of a break. It didn't happen. Simon's mother-in-law was ill and Jesus healed her. People began to line up at the door and, from the sound of it, Jesus healed people and cast out demons well into the night. Whew! It makes me exhausted just thinking about it!

So, how did He do it? Very early in the morning (v 35) Jesus went to spend time with the Father. It was there that His heart was prepared for all that the day had in store. It was there that Jesus found a place of quiet rest for his soul. That's the key.

Please pray for me that my soul would again learn to find that place of quiet rest. Especially with pregnancy fatigue still crouching at my door, I want to guard my time with the Lord, not out of obligation or duty, but out of desire and need. One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek...

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One last thing, could you please pray for David and I as we go for baby's ultrasound tomorrow afternoon? I'm feeling a little anxious about it, although a whole lot more excited than anxious! We're eager to see the face of our little one and catch a glimpse of his/her world. We're also really looking forward to see if God is forming baby boy Doty or baby girl Doty. Thanks for praying with us!

It's Friday!!!!

What a great day! It's absolutely beautiful here in Charlotte... nearly 60 degrees and sunny. Although I won't get to see any of it from the office, it's still a sign of spring on the way!

David and I hosted church member last night for the first of a four week series entitled, "Just Walk Across the Room." It is a group discussion on relational evangelism. We really enjoyed our first lesson! It reminded me that evangelism is really quite simple... befriend others and point them to the cross. It's all about relationship and small steps of communication. We look forward to three more weeks of lessons.

Here's my latest discovery in pregnancy... the belly band. I love it! Because none of my pants fit at this point, but maternity pants seem to slide right off, I had to do some research. I bought a wide, fitted band that covers the top of my pants (in order to hide the open buttons). It's wonderful!!! This way, I'll be able to get a few more weeks out of my regular clothes before I have to switch to maternity pants. I think it might be the greatest invention ever!

Only a few more days to vote in our baby poll! David and I will go together for the ultrasound on Monday afternoon to see our little one and hopefully find out the sex. I can hardly wait! The baby has been moving a lot lately and it's so much fun! The baby's feet are one inch long now. How precious! It really is a miracle!

Thanks so much for your kind comments. I'll post more next week, hopefully with a new belly pic (for real this time!) and some ultrasound pictures.

Happy Birthday, David!!!

I'm so grateful for my amazing husband! Apart from Christ, He has been God's greatest gift to me. He is such a wonderful example to me in so many ways. His LOVE of God's word and consistent time spent hiding the word in his heart spurs me on toward deeper study of Scripture. Nearly every day, he has a testimony of another co-worker he is reaching out to with the Gospel. His diligence, integrity, and steadfastness in the workplace have earned him the respect of co-workers and superiors. I don't know how he does it, but he balances school, work, family, church, and friendships seemingly without struggle! He LOVES his kids and is faithful to train them in righteousness, to affirm and correct them, to pray with them, and to play with them. David is always pressing in to know more... more of God's truth, more of God's plan for his life, more of God's plan for His people. He has a quiet reserve that doesn't draw the attention of others but also a fantastic hidden sense of humor and liveliness that keeps him singing all the time around our home. He cherishes me and loves me in a manner that reflects the Gospel. He makes me feel so special! Oh, there are so many more wonderful attributes of my husband... I am so grateful to God for him! Happy Birthday, my love!

Makenzie's Big Day

Happy Birthday, sweet Makenzie! Makenzie turns 9 today and we celebrated with her this weekend. We had a slumber party for 6 little girls and it was quite an adventure! It has been so much fun watching Kenzie grow up over the past two years. She has such a sweet spirit and a tender heart for the Lord. We are excited to see all that God has in store for her. Her laughter fills our home and she has a contagious zest for life. Her sensitivity to the Holy Spirit has become more apparent over the past year and it's been a blessing to watch her grow in grace. We sure do love her!

Grace, Alina, Kiersten, Yesi, Makenzie, and Hannah

Lots of giggling!

Makenzie opening a beautifully hand-made card and origami envelope from Grace.

Great job, Grace!

Makenzie's horse cake... with green cupcakes for grass and blue cupcakes for the sky.

She loves horses and cats!

Makenzie and Kiersten spent the morning baking E-Z Bake Oven cupcake sundaes. Yum!

Thank you to everyone who helped us to celebrate Makenzie's birthday. It was a special day!

Belly Pic

Here is the first belly pic! Not really impressive, but I'm sure next month's picture will be much different. My pants are getting tighter by the day! Pregnancy has been much more fun at this point. I'm feeling so much better. Thanks to all of you who have been praying for us! I marvel at God's hand at work as I watch my body change every day and read all about the baby's growth and development. Pregnancy really makes Psalm 139 come to life! He really does knit us together in our mother's womb. What an amazing miracle. There will be more to post next week when we have our ultrasound for anatomy. It's not too late to vote on our poll. Do you think baby Doty is a boy or a girl? We can't wait to find out!

This photo was actually taken two weeks ago when I was 16 weeks pregnant. My belly seems to get bigger every day... we'll see how next month's photo looks!

Catching up...

Whew! Time flies and it seems I haven't posted anything in 10 days. We've been pretty busy lately, but my lack of posting is mostly because of fatigue that still seems to linger into my second trimester. Thankfully, the nausea has mostly subsided, PRAISE GOD!!!!!!!!!!!! That was an awfully long 10 weeks! I have my next OB appointment in the morning and I'm really looking forward to it. We decided to change to a new obstetrician and I'm looking forward to our first visit.
I do have a few pictures to post, but that will have to wait another day. I even have a belly shot, but there's not much to see yet. :)
Over the past few months, our family has been reading a wonderful book called The Heavenly Man. We usually spend about 30 minutes or so reading together in the evenings and we've almost finished the book. I highly recommend it! It is a biography about a Christian in China who undergoes severe persecution for the sake of the Gospel. It really is a phenomenal story of God's power and this man's faith. We are repeatedly amazed to think that this took place only ten years ago. Although the book shares fairly graphic details of his persecution, our kids have been captivated by the story. We think it's good for them to hear accounts of what God is doing in the rest of the world. David asked me last night if I thought we would ever see miracles like that in our country. I'm honestly not sure... it's been an interesting question to consider.
I also just finished reading The Shack... thanks, Mom! It was a fascinating book that has really caused me to pause and consider the dynamics of my relationship with God. The author presents his perspective of God in a very unique way. Has anyone else read the book? Any thoughts?
Better go for now, but I'll try to post some pictures this weekend. Kenzie's 9th birthday party is on Saturday, so we're busy preparing!

Photo Recap

Here are a few photos of the past month or so... Enjoy!

Above: Kenzie loves to swing on the trapeze in our backyard.

Left: Sean gave Drayton his first motorcycle riding lesson.

We enjoyed celebrating Christmas with my family on December 20. We had a feast of "heavy appetizers." It was an amazing buffet of food! Thanks, Mom and Dad!

Kenzie got and E-Z Bake Oven for Christmas and made us this yummy vanilla cake with chocolate glaze... and sprinkles, of course!

We visited David's family the weekend after Christmas and enjoyed some tasty desserts. Yum!

We've had a wonderful holiday season, but I think we're ready to get back into our regular routine. The kids go back to school today and David begins classes for his Masters program on January 13.

One last thing... just a funny moment from work this weekend. I walked into an exam room to see a patient and before I could introduce myself, he remarked, "Now, those are some nice choppers!" Guess all the orthodontic work during my childhood paid off. Thanks, Mom and Dad! :)