Books, Books, Books!

One of my primary purposes for blogging is supposed to be reading and reviewing books, but I confess... I haven't done such a great job.

Here's a little taste of what's on my bedstand these days:

The Mammoth Book of Great Detective Stories, edited by Herbert van Thal. A gift from our friend John Maltais... 26 detective stories "gathered from every corner of the genre, from classic writers to contemporary masters," including some of my personal favorites: Dorothy Sayers, Agatha Christie, Wilkie Collins, and P.D. James.

**Perhaps the coolest thing about reading this book is the edition... its an "uncorrected proof," printed and bound in Middleboro at The Country Press.

**John... next time we see you, we want to know the story. What was The Country Press?


Discovering Jesus in the Old Testament by Nancy Guthrie. A daily devotional that walks through the Old Testament to show how specific OT passages point to Christ and how countless OT stories are completed in Christ.


A Mother's Heart by Jean Fleming. Five-stars. Highly recommend. This book was a major catalyst in my recent decision to stay home after Baby Powell arrives in January.

It casts a godly vision for what a mother is and what her role can be, and calls moms (and moms-to-be) to understand their relationship with their children as a ministry that builds the kingdom of God. It is an inspiring, empowering, realistic and Christ-centered look at motherhood. I want to purchase copies for all my friends.


What to Expect When You're Expecting by Heidi Murkoff. A classic for expectant mothers. This pregnancy handbook explains baby's growth week-by-week and explains all the curious changes in mom's body too.

According to this book, Baby Powell (29 weeks this week) is probably around 17 inches long and almost 3 lbs. He/she is close to birth length, but has a lot of weight to put on.  


Any Guesses? 

On a totally unrelated note... I was talking to my sister Meredith on the phone on Saturday, watching the snow fall, when I saw this WEIRD thing on the sidewalk outside our apartment. Jeremy went out to investigate... what do you think it is?

Without poking or probing too much, Jeremy thinks its a massive bee hive dislodged from a tree by the heavy ice and snow. It sure is bizarre looking.

A Great Autumn Weekend

This whole weekend was great! The weather was great... we spent time with great friends... and we ate an abundance of great food.

Friday 
On Friday, I worked remotely from Westminster in order to see Jeremy preach in chapel.

Thank you for praying for his preparation. He did a very solid job. Here's Jeremy getting comfortable in the pulpit before the students and faculty arrived.

The man standing beside Jeremy is the Dean of Students who organizes each chapel.

Chapel is not mandatory at Westminster and Friday chapels in particular are somewhat sparsely attended. But one of Jeremy's more renowned professors, Vern Poythress, was in attendance and since Jenna was in town visiting... she came too!

After chapel, Jenna, Jeremy and I headed to the campus library. Jeremy and Jenna worked on school assignments and I jumped into some of my many work projects.

It was great to have some "study buddies" for the day.

Best of all, we planned our annual Halloween party with Jenna, Meredith and Kyle for Friday night after Jeremy's last afternoon class.

Usually, we dress up in weird outfits, but this year, everyone was very busy leading up to Friday night, so we opted just to hang out and make dinner. At Meredith's suggestion, we did M.Y.O. pizzas:

Saturday
On Saturday, the fun kept rolling!

Jeremy hunkered down to complete some reading assignments and I drove south to Maryland to see one of my best friends and college buddies, Christy.

Christy and her husband Jamie are also expecting baby #1... which officially means the entire basketball class of 2006 (me, Christy and Eli) are all going to be moms within a few short months of each other. Awesome.


We met at Elk Neck State Park on the Chesapeake Bay in North East, Maryland. The park has a beautiful lighthouse, which was open to the public. We climbed the narrow stairs and got a view of the bay from on high.

Sunday
Unfortunately, I didn't bring a camera on Sunday, but Jeremy and I went to church in the morning and then, drove into the city (Philly) for lunch with some church friends, Jon and Shelley George.

Jon and Shelley introduced us to Zorba's, a tiny little Greek restaurant with tables outside on the sidewalk. We enjoyed hummus and delicious gyros filled with meat (lamb, chicken, beef, fish, depending on what each person ordered), tomato, lettuce, french fries (yeah!), yogurt, spices...

Then, Jon and Shelley introduced us to an ice cream shoppe where I ordered a "regular" cone and got 4 massive scoops.

Needless to say, we were in food comas driving home...

Jeremy was so full and sleepy, he needed a little shut-eye on the couch before cracking the books open again. Ain't he cute! Haha.

Prayer Requests

To our family, faithful friends and blog followers. As I write each week about what's going in our life, I realize we really need your prayer support. If you have a quiet moment, could you please lift us up to God?

(1) Jeremy is preaching tomorrow in Westminster's weekly Friday chapel service. He volunteered. Please pray that he would be guided by the Holy Spirit to prepare well and present well. 

(2) Our Soul Care group has doubled in size, and as a couple, we're taking on more leadership responsibility to shepherd this wonderful crew of young families and children.

Some are new Christians and everyone is coming from a different church background. Please pray especially for Jeremy as he teaches, and for me, as I organize meetings and focus on building Gospel-centered relationships with the women. 

(3) I finally and definitively decided that I won't be working after the baby is born. I originally thought it was critical to try to keep my job. But I realized it will demand more time and pressure than is healthy and manageable for a new mom.

God also tenderly convicted us of our need to trust Him for finances. God will provide for us. Please pray that we would peacefully rely on Him and not be prone to anxiety.

(4) Please also pray that it will go well when I tell my boss and colleagues I'm leaving. I have a tendency to feel really guilty about these things! 

Recently...

Recently, the theme of our days and weekends has been transition and preparing for future transitions.

Jeremy is back at Westminster for his final fall semester of his 4 year M.Div. degree. The school year requires a new rhythm. More quiet times at home, more intentional bedtimes, and more varied wake-up times depending on Jeremy's class schedule.

(Jeremy's closet-office)

It's hard to believe Jeremy is a "senior" and will graduate this year. But I think we're ready for change.

Jeremy is enrolled in several "practical ministry" courses that are whetting our appetite to leave the classroom and apply what we've learned in school and in life to full-time ministry.

In addition, we're being challenged as leaders of a small group (Soul Care group) to walk beside and serve other Christians on a weekly basis and to think of their needs.

We're also getting very excited/anxious/nervous/excited/excited/excited for Baby Powell. Tonight, I had my monthly OB appointment, which really just constitutes a heartbeat check.

These days, I don't need a heart doppler to tell me the baby's there... he or she is a kicker! But I love hearing it anyway.

Usually, the doctor doesn't tell me our baby's heart rate. But tonight he did... 138 beats per minute.

Old wives' tales say that anything under 140 beats is a boy. Medical professionals tell you, its a bunch of phony-baloney.

But just for one night, I'll imagine we're having a boy and go to sleep thinking about Tonka trucks, blue baby clothes, and what a mini-Jeremy would look like...

Cranberry Harvest

Last Friday, we dashed home to celebrate Jeremy's parents with a big retirement party. But... as I've come to love and respect about the Powells... it was still a working weekend!

Cranberry Harvest 2011

The weekend was extra special because both my sisters and bro-in-law Kyle also came home. Jeremy and I realize what a rare blessing it is for two families to share so much in common.

Jenna and Molly (Jeremy's cousin), long-time friends:

Jeremy was unfortunately sick most of the weekend with a high fever, chills, nausea... euck! But by Sunday afternoon, he did manage to try out his cousin's new dirt bike.

And one last photo... Bob (Jeremy's dad) and Jay (Jeremy's cousin) knocking off the berries.