the brick testament

“The Brick Testament” is a website that is dedicated to telling Bible stories depicted using Legos.  I think it is pretty cool but also fairly bizarre.  Granted, it is simplistic, but it is a fresh way of looking at the Bible for those of you who like visual things.  Kind of fun.  If you get a chance, check it out!

http://www.thebricktestament.com/

back to work

Nursery with curtains

This past week has been a busy week for us as each day we have tried to move back toward work and ministry.  Here are some of the highlights.

•  We love spending time with other people and investing in their lives.  One of our ministries is taking people out for meals and checking in with them.  Since our time was pretty flexible this week, we were able to visit with Pastor Billy, Lucy and Dolores, and Ms. Katie.  Spending time with each of them was a lot of fun and also very life-giving to us.  (On a side note- Ms. Katie is going to be 92 in November; she is amazing!) 
• After much prayer and discussion, Tim and I have decided that I will return to work full-time as a physical therapist.  I start full-time hours on Monday.  I have been working part-time at the Transitional Learning Center (TLC), an inpatient and outpatient brain injury rehab in Galveston, since last August.  I originally worked only Thursdays, then this year added Mondays once we found out we were having a baby.  Prior to coming to Galveston, we had saved money to last us through the year, but, after awhile, we also needed additional income to meet our needs and also bless others.  There are a number of reasons why I feel moving into this full-time position is the right one.
  • God is providing for us through the position.  I just feel his providence and a sense of peace in it- that things have been working out so well.  TLC has been asking me to come on full-time for months now as they are short staffed.  They are the most incredible company and have been very flexible in allowing me to work as much as I want.  Now they have been an incredible blessing in allowing both Tim and I to get group health insurance as of July 1^st.  This will solve many of our healthcare concerns since Tim’s COBRA coverage expires in mid-July.  We need to have continual coverage to avoid any issues with getting his chemo and medical bills covered in the future.  So, there will still be some medical expenses I’m sure with new deductibles or co-pays, but it is comforting that at least his brain cancer will be covered and not written off as some pre-existing condition.  Also, the baby will have good insurance when the baby is born in September instead of just my small major medical policy that we have self-paid over the past year and a half.
  • I feel like we are getting ready to take another step in our lives, whether it is in 6 months or a year or whatever.  Who knows what God has in store?  I am confident he is preparing us for something new.  I do feel that we need to be prepared for whatever that looks like, and I recognize that having financial resources will make it easier to move if that is the plan. 
  • We will have financial resources to meet expenses beyond our weekly budget.  I think this will be another way to expand our ministry as well. 
  • I will still be able to volunteer somewhat with Disaster Recovery.  There are still opportunities on weekends and phone calls I can make during the week to help out, as well as other office type projects I can do from home.  I do feel some guilt about stopping doing this full-time because there are still so many needs in the community, but I also recognize that we are transitioning in our lives to a new stage.  I think this is part of a natural transition for me.  The reality is, I would have had to stop for maternity leave anyway when the baby is born, so I am just doing it earlier.  I have been blessed to serve for a year and a half as a full-time missionary, and I am so grateful for the experience.  It is my hope that, even though I am working full-time as a PT, I will still contribute to the recovery work and continue to serve others.     
  • There is a definite need for me to work at TLC.  Two people in our department left in the past month, so staffing to provide the best care is difficult.  There is much needed work for me there in helping people recover physically from brain injury.  It is another part of ministry that I really enjoy- and they will pay me to do it.  How about that?
• Baby stuff- We have been setting up the nursery more this week.  Tim moved all the furniture around and set the guest beds up as bunk beds to conserve space.  We will need them in the nursery during the summer since we are having company.  We bought green curtains, and Tim hung them on Thursday while I was at work.  I  have also been doing a lot of laundry this week- washing baby clothes, blankets, sheets, towels, etc and organizing them in the dresser.  It is so overwhelming to me how many new and specialized things there are for just one small baby!  More fun baby stuff came in the mail this week too.  Does anyone want to let us know they sent them?  We know Tim’s Grandpop and Aunt sent us a bunch of feeding, bath, and sleep stuff.  We also received a car seat base, and still no one has told us who sent the high chair.  My mom sent us a stroller that the infant car seat snaps onto, some other toys, and stroller netting to keep those pesky mosquitos away.  We are thankful for the many blessings we have received!  Curly Bean will be excited too, I’m sure!  Stopped at a yard sale this morning and picked up a few small infant toys that can hang off of the stroller and carseat for a quarter each.  I am really enjoying preparing for the baby- looking forward to Curly Bean being born!
• Tonight (Saturday) we have a graduation party for Veronica and Mercy to celebrate their graduations from high school and college respectively.  We are looking forward to it.  After talking with Lucy this week, it sounds like a whole different type of graduation party than we are used to.  We’ll fill you in later!

Hope you also had a good week and you enjoy the weekend too!  Grace and peace to you!