Titus 2 Women

Titus 2: 3-5 "teach what is good. 4Train the younger women to love their husbands and children, 5to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God."

Last night was the last Apple of Gold class. All the husbands were invited too. I went home to meet David for the class. To my surprise, he chopped down the two cider trees on both sides of the door already and put them with the broken tree branches. He did that by himself! We have talked about removing those two trees to make the entrance more open and clean. But we never got time to do it. I was so glad David did it! He took a shower and we were off to the Polk's house. We had a wonderful time there. We started with the snacks (corn and bean salsa, queso, chips, dipped vegetable). Then all the girls and guys were separated. Mary Kay gave the girls the lesson on hospitality. Alice gave the guys the lesson on table settings. The husbands joined the wives at 7:30pm for a group sharing on how to resolve marriage conflict, how to develop good relationship with your kids, what changes to make to make marriage better, etc. We got to hear the experience and advice from couples who had 35-45 years of good marriage. That was so encouraging! After class, we were ready for the dinner. The theme for tonight was Mexican food. The seats were not assigned. David said:" I wish we could sit with Jeremy, Brian, and a mentor couple." They were in the similar age group as us. I was surprised how things turned out. David and I were the first couple in the line. After our table was filled up, we ended up sitting with Jeremy and Rae, Brian and Kate, Amy and Wes, Linda and Gary. That was exactly what David wished before the meal! We enjoyed talking with everybody. After the dinner, I handed out the gifts for the mentors. They all loved it, especially with the apple (of gold) logo on the class picture. I'm so thankful for these wonderful ladies, for their willingness to share and to teach, for their great examples, for their giving spirit. They are true Titus 2 women who not only teach, but also live out their teaching!

David and I didn't get home until 10:30pm. On the way home, David said Alice corrected him a couple of times on table settings. She apologized for being hard on him. But he said to Alice with a smile:"My wife still loves me even I did wrong. Her love is unconditional ..." I was happy that he knows that! After we came home, David played piano for a few minutes. He always has tons of energy. And he is always excited about everyday. That's one of the many reasons why I love him so much. Since he has to get up early for the accountability breakfast tomorrow morning, we went to bed not long after.

(A side note: I start having backpain these days, especially from 2:00-6:00pm. I'll have to watch myself to have a break and stretch every half an hour. Many pregnant women have the similar experience. Hope it will be better soon!)

A Husband After God's Own Heart

We had a doctor's appointment yesterday at 1:30pm. David picked me up at my office at 1:15pm. We got there right on time. The doctor rolled the dopler device on my tummy and the fun part began. We tried to hear the heartbeat. But the baby seemed to be always moving. It was hard to hear it when the background noise was loud. I wished David could hear the heartbeat and see the baby. He was excited just hearing the baby moving! Well, I guess we'll have to wait until next time. Right in the middle of the doctor visit, a nurse popped in and told the doctor that some lady was waiting for him to deliver the baby! We ended the visit in a hurry. After the doctor's visit, we had performance review at work. I told my boss about my pregnancy. She was so excited!

David had two friendspeak students last night. I stayed at home waiting for the doctor to call back. He did right before eight o'clock. I really didn't have much to ask except some common discomfort caused by pregnancy. My friend Lynn called and gave me some advice on diet. When I told her that David went to the doctor's appointments with me and read those books our doctor gave us, she sighed that her husband only went to the doctor's office once when she had the first baby and none for the second baby. I thought what a difference a godly husband makes! David is a husband after God's heart. He does everything and more than I could ever ask for. Every time when he says I Love You, I reply with I Love You Too. And he replys back But I Love You More! I stop there. How can my love compete with his when he always asks me what he can do to make me feel better; when he makes delicious and nutritious breakfast for me while he just grab a bag of oatmeal for himself on the way to work; when he takes on all the responsibilities at home after a busy day at work and some extra time at church ... He not only loves God more, loves me more, but also loves other people more. He always tells me:"She needs a bear hug" or "He needs encouragement". Every day is wonderful being with him!!!

After David came back home, we talked about the arrangement after the baby is born. I was ready to stretch my back. So I got into bed early. When I woke up by the storm, David already rescued the plants from the backyard; moved and organized all the boxes in the garage so that we could park both cars inside! That was a lot of work for him! I was shocked when I saw the neatly piled boxes and the car in the garage before I went to work this morning. Luckily we didn't have much damage. Our fence leaned over. But it's still there. Six of our neighbors' fences were torn down. The tree branches were chopped down everywhere. Some of my co-workers even didn't make it to work. Some had to take care of their fence damage; some had to take their kids home because the school was closed; one side of EDS' building lost all the windows. A helicopter just flew by to take pictures of it ... Fang called to check on me. She said Fred is driving around to look for a place that he could use computers since the power of their house was still out. I'm wondering how our rental house is doing. Hope it is fine!

Meeting Our Neighbors

David and I have prayed to meet our neighbors in some ways. But we don't know how. Everyone seems to be busy doing his/her own things. Occassionally we saw a few neighbors and waved at them when they got ready to leave their house or when we just got home. But we never got chance to stop and talk. Today, after dinner, David and I were chatting at the dining table. Our door bell rang. David opened the door. It was our next door neighbor on the right hand. Her name is Julia. She came to tell us that her husband and she were going to tear down the fence and put up a new one. We got to talk for a few minutes. She was a nurse working with hundreds of pediatric doctors. She was very happy to know that I was pregnant. "Whenever you have baby questions, come see me!" David and I were very glad to meet her. My other side neighbor is what I call "the good neighbor" who takes care of my lawn for $15 a week. His name is Frank. He takes care of the landscape of HOA. He also fixed my sink, alarm, sprinkle system, and toilet problems without any labor charge. Not long ago, I met him in the post office. He told me that he was separated from his wife and move out. He said:" But you can still call me whenever you have problems. You have a brother if you let me be one." I was sad to lose a good neighbor. But I know he is a call away if David and I need him. We just wish we could meet more neighbors in our neighborhood.

When I was washing the dishes, David was cutting up the strawberries to make a fruit dessert. David said:" We need to prepare a baby room now. Todd said it's better to get the room ready two months before the due date. Maybe we can use the front sitting room as office and change the office into the baby room." I really like that idea. This way, we will be able to keep our two guest rooms and make better use of the front sitting room.

David began to study Chinese. I sat beside him to work on the picture frames that I was going to give to the Apple of Gold mentors. I found out the frames were too small for the pictures. David went out again to see whether he could print 3x5 pictures or find larger frames. But neither Walgreens nor Walmart could print smaller pictures. I had to work around what we got. It didn't turn out as what I wanted. But that is not bad. David did his best for this project. I really appreciate his help. It's our project!

Dr. Jack

David took such good care of me consistantly. Every morning when I woke up, the breakfast was ready. I'd be feeding on his love before I start the day. Last Friday morning was his accountability breakfast with the guys. I was suprised to see the breakfast on the table since he had to leave before 6:30am. He told me that he took a shorter shower that morning ... I love my husband more and more each every day. I never had to ask him to do anything. Most often he gave me more than I would ask or even think of. I pray that God will bless us a long life together - together as effective servants, and together as loving companions.

I got a call from Robert in the afternoon that Dr. Jack passed away. It was a shock to me, because David and I were just thinking about him and his wife Sunday night. His bright smiles were still fresh in my mind. His thumb was still buried in his Bible pages. His arms were still putting around his sick wife's shoulders ... David had a favorite picture of Dr. Jack reading his Bible while he waited for his Friendspeak reader to show up. His mind was so concentrated on the Word. Nobody could count how many medical mission trips he had participated. No wonder so many people love him so dearly: Robert and Gail, Don and Linda, DG and Louella, etc. What inspired me and David the most was his constant loving care for his wife as long as we've known him. He definitely set a standard for us to live up to.

I had some back pain today. After dinner, I rested in bed. David went out to print some pictures and buy some frames for my project. I wanted to give each mentor in Apple of Gold class a framed picture with every student's signature. I was so happy that David bought me the exact frames I wanted. I can't wait to work on them tomorrow!

Sabbath Day

"Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work..." (Ex. 20:8- 10).

David and I tried to rest on Sundays. Today David happened to study Genesis 2 with his reader Hongyu. So he did extra study on Sabbath: what Bible says about it and how we are to follow it. We enjoyed Bob's sermon on the different soils of the hearts. After the service, we got to talk to Eileen for a few minutes. Bill McDonough came over and told us about the opportunities in Cambodia. He asked David to help recruit some singles to go on the medical mission trips. We hurried over to the China town for the International Ministry meeting. Robert, Brenda, and Andrea were there already. Ted and Mary followed us. We had a wonderful meal at the Chinese restaurant and talked about the ideas on how to expand the International ministry. I loved it when we have a meeting at a Chinese restaurant! David joked:" our mission field is right here - everyone in this restaurant is International!"

We bumped into Peggy, a Friendspeak student, in the Chinese grocery store. She was working as a cashier there. We told her that we were thinking about asking her to our house for a dinner sometime. I took a half-hour nap when David prepared for his Friendspeak lesson. When we got to Friendspeak room, we were glad to see a big crowd. DG said we had 5 new students tonight. My reader Maggie refused her brother-in-law's request to skip Friendspeak. That made me happy! I could tell that she enjoys Friendspeak very much. She has an infant at home. When she asked me about what I would do, I told her that David and I were expecting a baby. Her face beamed with joy. She was very very happy for us ...I really enjoy studying with her too. She always has good questions:"what did Jesus mean when he said 'I have other flocks too'? what is resurrection on the last day?" I have a great reader!

First fishing trip

I was very excited when David told me we were going fishing this weekend. After we got home Friday night, we packed our stuff, got the license from WalMart, dropped off Eileen's suitcase and car key, headed off toward the Palenstine Lake. We arrived at the hotel at 10:00pm and got up at 6:00am. David said to the baby:" Hi Baby, did you have a good sleep at the hotel room? This will be your first fishing trip, but it won't be the last. Mommy needs to comb her hair and daddy needs to shave his face very quickly. Then we'll catch some fish for you..."

We met our fishing guide Mr. Whitecotton at the convenient store right next to our boat. Mr. Whitecotton is a great grandfather already. He told us all about his family while we were fishing. Within half an hour, he caught a big blue catfish. We didn't have much luck fishing this side of the lake. Finally he took us to the other side of the lake where his friend was. His friend Mike Weeks jumped into our boat and casted out the net to catch some baits. But to our suprise, he caught a big striped bass with just one cast! David and I never saw that before. We "wow"ed. Then, with David's help, I caught my first sand bass! David caught one too. Later I caught another one for our baby... The fishing guide said it bothered him if his customers didn't catch fish. He just had a heart attack. His wife had the hip surgery. So he hadn't come to the lake for weeks. David and I were very happy with what we got. Mr. Whitecotton and Mr. Weeks cut and cleaned the fish for us. We headed back at noon.

On the way back, we stopped at a small family style restaurant. I had a great lunch. David pompted me to look at a couple who were praying before the meal. They looked like they didn't have much strength to hold the utensils. David said "we can never judge a person by the appearance." The journey back home was beautiful. David and I stopped at a farm to take pictures of the wild flowers. We saw so many yellow, pink, purple flowers along the highway. David thought about Sue. We stopped at her place and picked her up for an icecream. She loved it. After we got home, I uploaded the pictures while David sprayed the weed killers in the backyard. We were very thankful for a relaxing and safe day!

Apple Of Gold

Proverbs 25:11 "A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver."

I've heard about Apple Of Gold class several years ago when Alice gave me a private cooking and entertaining class. Ever since then, I heard so many good things about it from the Apple of Gold graduates: Dawn, Angela, Joanne, Lori, Jessica, etc. This year I was able to attend this class and learn from these seven fine ladies from church: Alice, Mary Kay, Pat Scott, Carolyn, Linda B., Susette M., Yevett. Each of them has tons of gem to share with us. Last night Linda taught us the lesson about purity. The theme for the night was Hawaiian. We learned how to cut pineapple, papaya, mango, kiwi, etc. Oh, I loved the Hawaiian music in the background, the luau lace on the neck, the orchid flowers on the napkin rings, the pineapple decorations on the tables, the candles in the seashells, the fire torches along the doorway, and the waterfalls along the pool ... All these just reminded me our honeymoon not long ago. I enjoyed every bite of my food and every sip of the drink. Yevett and Susette led the table topics during the meal. When Yevett asked me about the married life, I couldn't help bragging about my dear husband. I wished I had a whole evening of time to brag about him!!!

When I got home at 10:00pm, David was still studying Chinese in the computer room. He had done Friendspeak with Mike tonight. I showed him all the goodies I got from the class: Linda gave us the Ivory soap to remind us about the purity; Alice gave us the spices and seasonings to use for our cooking; Pat Scott gave us the Mexican vanilla to add flavors; ... I told David that I want to give them something next week (which is going to be the last class). I'll have to think hard about what to give to thank them for 6 wonderful evenings.

We talked to Donna about our travel plan before we went to bed. We were glad that she is considering to have the same itinerary as ours. We are going to have great time!

He Will Make A Way

Isaiah 43:19 "I make a way in a desert and streams of wasteland."

We went to the IMPACT worship at Prestoncrest North Campus last night. David had finished Friendspeak with Jerry at 6:30pm so we could be there on time. It's only 3-5 minutes away from our house. But we don't know whether we'll be able to continue attending it in the future. The class started with a puppet show named "Three Trees" from the kids. Matt Matza taught the class afterwards. We were amused by one of the kids' answer to the question "What do you want to be when you grow up?" He answered:" I want to be a single!" That was an unique answer. Someone needs to talk to this little guy - he hasn't graspped anything about the blessings of a married life yet!

After the class, we saw the email from LST about our itinerary to China. David and I were a little bit discouraged that it takes us 3 days, more than four stops just to get there and more than 24 hours to come back. That's not what we expected at all, especially we don't know how I will feel at that time. We prayed earnestly that God will guide us and give us the best itinerary for us. David couldn't sleep well because we could have got better arrangement if LST bought the tickets when David submitted our travel plan two weeks ago. He reminded them at that time that the seats were gone very fast. Was that God's will for us? I wasn't settled at that arrangement so I called my Chinese travel agency this morning. They gave me a quote that can save us 6 hours on the road. That was better than what we got. During lunch, I prayed boldly again that God will provide us a better arrangement and protect us (and the baby). I was even considering paying $1600-1700 to get the one-stop ticket if available. Around 1:30pm, David called that the travel agency found us the best deal: $920 per person with only one stop at San Francisco from Dallas to Beijing (since there's no direct flight to Beijing)! I called and emailed LST right away. They were thrilled about the deal and they will get the tickets tomorrow! That alone will save us not only several hundred dollars per person, but also more than 30 hours on the road!!! And we are able to attend the Sunday service in Beijing, instead of spending time on the plane! Yeah! God is so good!!!

David was reading the book "The prayers that God Answers" by Michael Yousef last night. In the first chapter, it talked about Abraham's servant prayed boldly when he was searching a wife for Isaac. I can remember how bold and specific his prayer was. And God answered the prayer immediately as he prayed. I thought about what happened today. Normally I would be content with whatever I get. But since I have the baby now, I'll have to ask for more than I would for myself. I'm so humbled and grateful that God granted that request and made a way for us!!! God loves us! HE constantly reminds us that HE cares about every detail of our life!

Heartburn

I've been having heartburn these days. It's said to be a common problem during pregnancy. So I read about it. Heartburn really has nothing to do with the heart. It is actually the result of stomach acid reacting strongly to certain foods during digestion. Fruit juice, tomato, spicy food, citris fruit, dark green vegetables like broccoli, carbonated drinks and hight fat foods normally will contribute to the problem. While spices like fennel, cayenne, ginger, mint, and papaya, milk, yogurt are the foods that relieve heartburn.

I've never been so picky about food as I am now because food is important at this time. David and I went to the library to checkout some Chinese language books and audios. Then we went straight to the Chinese market to buy some vegetables. I determined to eat well and keep all problems to the minimum through healthy eating. It's so much easier to achieve that with a husband who is loving and cooperative!

8th week

It's like a revelation to me that the 8th week is much easier than the previous two weeks. Most of the fatigue and the body sour went away magically. It's great to feel well and go out to do some errands! I've been taken 6 pills of prenatal vitamins everyday. One of the books I read joked that Americans have the most expensive urines because the excess vitamins will go out of our bodies. Thank God for our doctors, hospitals, and all the resources that are so easily accessable today!

We sold our car to a single dad. I was glad that the money can compensate a little for our new car. David brought home the spicy fish and eggplant for dinner. They were so delicious!!! I couldn't stop eating until my stomach hurt. David pulled out the weeds out of the backyard and fixed the bathroom sink after dinner. I organized the recipe book and uploaded some pictures before going to bed.