i don't deserve this man...

can i just brag on my sweet husband for just a minute? this man is truly just so amazing and so thoughtful. i walked into the living room this morning to sit and eat breakfast and spend time with the LORD, and i saw that the coffee table was all cleared off (highly unusual). there was a big envelope with my name written all the way across it.

this darling man bought me a mother's day card just to tell me how much he loves me and that he enjoys this time we have as just the two of us, but that he looks forward to future when he can pick out little gifts and pretend that the kids actually bought them. *sigh*

and it's funny, because i feel much the same way. i really, really, really enjoy our life being just the two of us right now. just yesterday, we slept in until almost 10:00!!! a friend of mine (who has 2 very little boys) joked that she couldn't even remember what sleeping in was like.

as much as neither of us can wait until we're mommy and daddy, we sure are glad to have this amazing time together...just the two of us.

wow! what a year it's been...

this is a picture of my dear friends from the girls' small group. i wanna tell you a little bit about each one.
caitlin (in the yellow): she came around before the spring semester of 08 began. she emailed us saying that she was transferring from a Christian university to come to UH because she had a heart to see people get saved and it seemed that there might more of a need on a secular campus. (how cool is that???) she and i are dear friends and i have watched her work through some tough stuff in her life the last year and half. it's not easy to always be a witness when your roommate is muslim. but i'm proud of her.
nicole (in the middle): she started hanging out with us during our summer meetings last year. she had just gone through some major life changes and realized how far away she'd gotten from the LORD. she was (and still is) very, very hungry to know the LORD and to be in right standing with HIM. the LORD has bonded us together in friendship and in love. she will be going through our leadership training course during the summer and will hopefully begin to pour her life into other young girls.
mary beth (in the red): this girl is one amazing lady! she really knows how to surprise us. she's super quite and softspoken, but when she says something...she really says something. and either it's hilarious or insanely profound. she seems to be packed with much wisdom. i've also had the privilege of watching the LORD do some really cool things in her life, as well and i know HE's not done with her yet!
caitlyn (on the end): this is one of my dearest friends and i've actually known her for many years. we lived together while i was still in school. this woman has truly been my listening ear, my right hand, my voice of reason, my source of laughter, you name it. hers is quite a long story, but the gist is that she's helped me so much this year. she's led worship for us, led discussions, and has even spent a lot of time pouring into the other girls. i love her and am so grateful for her.

there are a couple other girls that aren't in this picture because of finals or illnesses. but i love, love, love each and every one them. i LOVE the LORD for allowing me to be a part of their lives and i know we'll always be connected because we were together for a time.

I LOVE THIS MINISTRY!!!!!

DO NOT LOSE HEART!!!

http://www.newsweek.com/id/192583

this newsweek article explains why America has become a post-Christian nation. meaning, we are currently experiencing the decline, and ultimately the end, of Christianity in America.

well...i disagree, but it breaks my heart nonetheless. and i know that if my heart breaks, then how much more does the heart of the FATHER break? this is why matt and i don't take what we do lightly. the future of America is, in every way, most certainly dependent on today's university students.

GOD help us...

time for updates

first off...matt's grandfather (gramps) did pass away only a few days after i last posted. matt had already left for his trip, so i ventured down to corpus christi with my brother-in-law, james to be with the rest of the hoogendoorn (and smith) family. as sad as it was to acknowledge the end of a beautiful life, it was also such a sweet and unexpected time with my new family...who are totally amazing, by the way!
i only knew gramps for a couple of years, but he won my heart from the very first meeting...like he does with EVERYONE he meets! what a precious life lived to serve the KING! he loved the LORD and his family with everything he had and did so much to make their lives the best they could be.

and here are a few pictures from matt's trip. i'll do what i can to try to get him to write about some of the really amazing stories.

the city

the caspian sea
(and my fully-bearded husband)

a monestary

mount ararat in the disatnce

please pray with us for matt's grandfather and my grandmother. both have been fighting cancer for quite sometime now (my g-mother- 2ish years, matt's g-father- almost a year), but it seems that in just the last few days they both have become weary of the fight. my grandmother was diagnosed with cancer (i can't remember what type) but it has spread and she has just developed a brain tumor that the doctors say is suppressing her ability to cough and will eventually cause her to get pneumonia. but her body is way too weak to fight it. and matt's gradnfather was diagnosed with prostate cancer last year and they gave him chemo (as an, otherwise, very healthy and active 82 year-old man), which has completely torn down all of his immune system, leaving him in and out of ICU with several various illnesses. both have been given only weeks (maybe) to live.

it's hard to know exactly how to pray for the dying. do you pray that JESUS miraculously heals them or do you pray for their peace and comfort in their last days? of course, we love them so much and it hurts to think about life without them, but it also hurts to watch their pain and suffering be drawn out this way.

and this is the cool/difficult part of all...both families have several members that have never known CHRIST!!! i can't even begin to imagine the kind of hopelessness they're feeling right now. please pray, most of all, for their hearts. don't you know that the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY will be glorified in both of these families?!?!

my grandmother with my sister and me at my wedding

matt's gramps and granny also at our wedding

Reconaissance Mission

we just found out about a week ago that matt has been invited to go along with a group of other chi alpha campus pastors on a missions trip at the end of this month! the reason for the trip is to make connections with the missionaries who live there in hopes that we'll be able to take teams of college students in the future. they'll get to visit 2 different countries within a week and a half. one of the countries is about 90% islamic (which is why i cannot mention the names).
we are super excited about this great opportunity and are praying that the LORD would open doors for the students at UH to go and see the need beyond this land. we believe very strongly in missions and that every student (or anybody, really) should experience what it's like to serve others in a foreign land. will you please pray with us for the protection of this team of men leaving on the 18th, and that deep connections would be made with those that live in these countries.
check back for pictures and cool stories!

we are humbled...

to those of you who read this that support us:

YOU ARE TRULY AMAZING!!!!! no really...you guys totally knock our socks off every month! and some of you just plain spoil us at other random times...and we just love it!

it's so crazy to us that just when things are getting tighter and tighter and we have no idea how to make it through the month...we receive a random check in the mail or note of encouragement. you have no idea the impact this has on us! i don't know exactly what happens in matt's heart when he discovers this sort of kindness, but it never fails that i am overwhelmed to the point of tears. it is truly humbling to know that so many people love us enough to pray for us, to think of us and to give to us. i'm just saying...you totally rock our world!

thank you for being obedient to the LORD. and for being so selfless and sacrificial. we love you so, so much!