Prayer Request

From Dee:

Hey all,
I want to request that you pray for a student that goes to my school. His name is DeAndre, and I occasionally give him a ride the second half of his commute to school, whenever I see him walking up the road while I'm driving. Our time is brief, but I typically listen to a sermon or the ESV audio in the mornings, but I always get my MP3 player ready to switch fast to some Cross Movement just in case I see DeAndre. Well, he definitely likes the beats, and asks me questions all of the time about why I listen to Christian rap versus, "violent rap" (his term). We get around 5 mins during our quick trip up the road maybe twice a week. The conversation is not very fluid because he is in speech therapy and can be pretty hard to understand at times, and I have to ask him to repeat himself often. The other day he asked when did I started listening to Christian hip-hop, and why did I start listening to it. I proceeded to tell him that 10 years ago I prayed to receive Christ, that I told God that I believe His Son died for me, and that I wanted to stop resisting Him. I then told him that it was shortly after that God began changing my desires, and that included what I listened to. As DeAndre was getting out of the car, without flinching, and with the clearest speech he replied, "I like violent rap. I like shooting and sex. That's what I like." Door closes, and he's off to class. Can you pray for him, and that I would faithfully continue to pursue him? Thanks.

No TV Day

OK, so I know this sounds so petty and probably reveals a lot about me, but today I didn't turn on the television once. That usually doesn't happen when I am at home all day with no visitors. I don't think I am a TV junkie nor do I spend endless hours in front of it. But admittedly, I usually do have it on either in the morning or afternoon...(sometimes both). It usually starts with watching the news or GMA or Regis & Kelly while I eat breakfast or something while I eat lunch. I am one of those who doesn't like silence. I enjoy music, but when I am just sitting, I don't want to look at nothing. (I know! I know! I could look at a book! And I actually love to read.) And I don't have little ones running around yet...Karis still takes 3-4 naps a day. So it can start with sitting down for a meal and then sometimes it just stays on. Certain days I am around the house doing other things sometimes tuning in and sometimes ignoring it. Other times I find myself at the end of a program seeing what will come on next.
But today was great! Now don't get me wrong I don't think TV is bad or watching it is terrible. I just think I have spent too much time there. So today it didn't come on at all. I really enjoyed the day filled with exercise, playtime with Karis, reading, great conversations with dear friends, catching up on others' lives through blogs and a little cleaning. I do these things on other days as well, but not as much. I spent more time thinking through what I was reading and really seeking the Lord over some issues in my heart. I can see where they say TV has a loose link to ADD. Multitasking can be the death of mental sharpness.
I am not vowing to never watch TV again, (we are pretty big fans of American Idol around here), but I was encouraged today at what can be accomplished mentally, relationally, and spiritually without it!

YESTERDAY

Yesterday was a fun day with the camera. So here are some pics of our afternoon & evening...

Reading in the Bumbo seat...yes, the book's upside down. We're working on that! :)













You talking to me?













Some cute faces






















Dee playing with his favorite boys...























Karis' usual spot at dinner

K.B.B.K.

Kare-Bear-Bad-Kold. She actually has a respiratory virus and an ear infection. Please pray for our little sweetie, and her mom as well. Thanks.

--Dee

THINGS KARIS DOESN’T CARE ABOUT…

1. If I don’t get out of my pajamas until 2:00
2. That the kitchen floor needs to be mopped, the furniture is dusty, I need to clean the bathrooms, and the laundry is piling up
3. When I’m having a bad hair day
4. When we are late to appointments
5. That we’re almost out of toilet paper
6. That the dogs bark…a lot!
7. If I don’t know what we’re having for dinner
8. My to do list
9. That we have NO money!
10. The future

She really cares about right now…if her tummy is full (of milk, not gas!), her bottom is clean and dry, her sleep is adequate, and if Mommy and Daddy are paying attention to her, giving her love and hugs and kisses, knowing that they will take care of the future.

Why can’t I be more like her? My only concern being that my present needs are more than taken care of and I have my Daddy’s full attention and He will take care of the future…the next moment, the next day, the next bank statement, and the next year.

At 3 months, that little girl can teach me a lot!

Who Does She Look Like?

One of the first questions we all get when we have a baby is "Who does she look like?" With our precious little Karis, we have gotten a mixed response. There have been a few "just like Daddy" or "just like Mommy" comments, but mostly it's been "I really can't tell" or "She's a really good mix of you both". Well, as I was browsing some pictures the other day, I thought I would share some baby pictures of all of us and let you decide? What do you think?

New Pics!

Flash Slideshow

Answered Prayer

From Dee:
Thanks for all of those praying for my job situation. Last week my principal let me know that he was able to procure enough funds to offer me a full-time teaching position with benefits for next semester. Praise God. Future aspirations of course continue. Keep posted and keep praying. It's my desire to fully enjoy and spread the joy of Him.

What happened to your hair?

Growing...






Going...









Gone...




So I decided to cut my hair, again. It has been amusing to get the reactions of shock from my colleagues and students. Bottom line, I have been interviewing for several sales jobs and though that may or may not be where God lands me, I recognize that stereotypes do exist, and I have bigger battles to fight than to stake my identity in a hair style. I believe that was the final time with locks!

Speaking of bigger things, Stacey and I go to the hospital tonight. Karis is coming!!!

LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL

well, doctor's report from yesterday is...i have not progressed at all from last week and they will induce labor. we will go in thursday night for them to start prepping me and start meds for induction friday morning. so we will have a baby by saturday at the latest. definitely pray for strength for me & karis to go through this and for her to be completely healthy. pray for us as we try to rest these last few days. of course, we could go into labor before thursday and i would not be upset about that!

PLOTTING FOR HELP...:)

Well, we had a bit of an adventure this week in our house. As some of you know, I have been nesting in a major way for quite some time getting everything ready for Karis, I have had wonderful help from friends and my mom cleaning and getting everything we need/want for her. So, I have felt very restful and peaceful about the house...until this week. My husband had a great plan to get even more help! Maybe he didn't think it was clean enough around here, so here's what he did...
He has been making the last finishing touches on the tile job from the summer. Unknown to us, the edges of the tile where it meets the carpet have to be perfectly straight and cleaned up in order the carpet to be tacked properly. So...with no other option, he cut the edges of the tile and cleaned up the morter. So, now the tile looks great and we are able to really finish it off. Oh, wait, then there's the rest of the house. Cutting ceramic tile does create quite a cloud of dust...everywhere! He had 4 places to cut in the foyer, living room, kitchen, and bath, so basically every square inch of the house from ceiling to floor in EVERY room (yes, the nursery too) was COVERED in tile dust. So, Wednesday night, I made some calls to the troops to come in and help clean/dust the house. So, three precious friends, Christy, Dana, and Ali came in at different times from morning to night and helped. They dusted the walls from top to bottom. Every surface and item in our house was touched. All fabrics, blankets, sheets, towels, clothes, pillows, stuffed animals, were washed. All furniture and curtains were vacuumed. Every surface in the entire house was wiped down. Floors were swept and mopped multiple times. Blinds were cleaned multiple times. Every item in every room was picked up and cleaned. EVERYTHING was cleaned. So, basically our house is cleaner than it ever has been right now and I feel even better about it :) Dee said at the end of the day when all the furniture was being put back into place and our last help was leaving around 9pm, "Wasn't that a good plan, honey? I messed up the whole house and now it's ALL clean!"
How wonderful of my husband to serve me like that. See, he understands my nesting finally and knows how clean I need things and he knows I need help right now. What an amazing way to make it all happen! ;)

STILL WAITING

Well, no baby yet! We are 2 days past our due date and we are patiently (well, sometimes) waiting. The Doctor on Wednesday said everything looks fine...everything is moving in the right direction, just moving slowly. We have another appt on Monday where they will do a 20 minute heartrate test on the baby and if still nothing is happening, we'll schedule an induction for sometime next week. I really would like to deliver on my own without an induction, so we will be praying for that, but we will take whatever the Lord gives. We are ready to meet our little girl. She is moving so much these days and definitley running out of room! We're pretty sure she will be a big, healthy girl! We'll keep everyone updated!

The Definition of Ready!

read‧y: adjective, read‧i‧er, read‧i‧est, verb, read‧ied, read‧y‧ing, noun, interjection
–adjective
1. completely prepared or in fit condition for immediate action or use: troops ready for battle; Dinner is ready. Stacey is ready to have Karis!

It's so fresh!

From Dee--

My wife is going to make fun of me for writing this. But As I'm writing you all, I'm also listening to Christian Hip-Hop in the background. This blog is supposed to be more universal, involving both Stacey and I and mainly about our family life. I'm supposed to reserve all of my hip-hop-slang-pontifications for my personal website. That is still mostly the case, but as I wanted to brag on God about our church the best word I can think of (at this very moment) to describe it is, FRESH. That is old school slang, for "good." Think, the opposite of "wack," if you need a point of reference. Anyway, really quickly, I wanted to update you and let you know that the second greatest highlight in our lives right now, second to the expected birth of our daughter, is our church. Each and every Sunday I look forward to the worship, fellowship, and Word. God has definitely been putting us through the press, but in our weakness He has marvelously displayed His strength Sunday to Sunday. Note, I am not speaking simply about Sunday worship services, or even Care Group, but the lasting effects throughout the week, the significant relationships we have formed, and the expectation to meet with Him at every gathering with His people. Today I received a short little note from our pastors with them saying that they have been praying for us. In God's providence, this small gesture has strengthened my faith. I thank God for His church universal, and I especially am thankful for CrossWay Community Church. It's so fresh!

Working Like Crazy!

I know we haven't posted in forever. I have been working like crazy at Starbucks early and at Crossroads an hour later, and then staying late and doing lesson pans. It might take a while to get used to this new schedule, but thank God for the provision.

-- Dee (Phil 3:13-14)

New Nephew!

Last Sunday at around 3:00 am we got a call from Patti, Stacey's mom, telling us that Josh and Dana just went to the hospital. Well, to make a very long story short, at around 11:30 pm, beautiful, ruddy, Isaiah Steven Hartness was born. He was 7lbs 11ounces, all cute. Mommy and daddy were pretty tired when we saw them on Friday. I'm sure it will be a while before Dana blogs on it, but check this link periodically to read on updates directly from them. We're so thankful to God for this new addition to our family.

Dee, for the Laniers

Job?!

From Dee:
Last week I got a call from Crossroads Charter asking if I was interested in teaching part-time and coaching track in the Spring. The answer of course was, yes and yes. I feel great about the freedom they are giving me as well to continue to look at other options if they come up. I love those kids, and look forward to being in a teaching capacity. I'm teaching "Teen Living" and "Parenting." FYI, around 20% of the girls there are pregnant or have already had a child. I'm also looking into something like Starbucks in the morning, because they have good benefits for part-timers. We'll see what God does.

Redoing My resume

Dee:
So I spent the better part of my morning working on my resume as recommended by one of my old professors. Anyone else find it frustrating to spend such considerable amount of time making yourself look more appealing? Or interviews: "So why are you the best candidate for the job?"

One of these times I might slip up and say, "Actually I'm not, I'm the worst of sinners!"

Please pray for me!

Phil 3:13-14

Fighting Confusion

From Dee:
Today I spent time in the word from Hebrews 9:1-10, and as an act of confession and application, had this idea: Our identity is never to be caught up in our jobs. Ok, I know some may be thinking, how did he come to those conclusions? Maybe I'll post on CrossCultured my exegesis, but by way of summary, let me just say, God had an intention behind the Law, but the author of Hebrews in chapters 8 and 9 especially seems to be saying, "it was never for the purposes in which you have made them." The works of the Law are clearly (inherently) limited.

Unfortunately, I have made literal work my identity, and I am being called to repent of such thinking. How many of us ask or are asked by way of introduction, "so, what do you do?" There is nothing wrong with that, but whenever I answer that question nowadays, I find myself cringing to respond, "I'm currently looking for work." What does that say? I have no worth if my identity is in my occupation? But look at the flip-side, let's say I worked as a physician. If my entire identity was wrapped up in that, then I would be a person of worth as long as I was still of working age, with physical and mental ability to perform my duties, and having a place of employment. So what happens when (not if) any of those things cease to exist? These are the sort of conjectures that have been swirling in my head while trying to apply the wonderful truths of Hebrews to my present reality of unemployment. Job statuses are meant to change! It makes no sense to put all of our worth in something that is meant to have a limited timeline as well as limited function behind it. No, my primary identity is a child of God. My primary aim in life is to Glorify Him by enjoying Him. Consequently, my main objective in life is to cultivate and exude that identity in all of the temporary, albeit significant, duties that I am assigned throughout my entire life. Please be praying that I find a job that I can most gladly do this, but also that I would recognize the sovereignty of God in this waiting period. Thanks so much!

Big Job!

Look what the Laniers have been up to! Special thanks to the Lehmers and Jonathan Mitchell in helping us get this project underway. Dee had no clue where to even start without the experienced workmanship of Marco and Jonathan. Kind of reminds you of discipleship, huh? Now he's making nifty little cuts and starting on the front entrance. We hope that the tile proves as a good addition whenever we decide to resell.