From the Desk of Gina

Baby Woodyard!

2008-06-23T12:33:00.000-07:00

For some of you this may be a surprise, but thanks to Facebook I think most of the world knows our good news already! We are “scheduled” to bring a beautiful (of course it’s going to be beautiful) baby into the world on December 29, 2008. Wow….
Lots of things have gone through my head over the last few weeks. Names, weight, height, hair color, whether he/she will arrive on time or early, are we ready, etc. Thoughts of amazement and praise that God has chosen to give us such a wonderful blessing run through my head constantly. We are officially through the first trimester, so we can breathe a little easier knowing that things (as far as we can know) are going smoothly.
I am so excited for my energy to start coming back. I feel like all I have been doing is sleeping the past 2 months. Lucky for me, I have a wonderful man by my side to pick up where I have slacked off:). I can get through the day now without taking a nap, but an early bed time is still a must.
Here is something that I would like to hear your opinion on: whether or not to find out the gender of your baby. Jonathon and I are on opposite ends of this decision. Not that one way is better than the other, but what do you think you would do? Jonathon wants to know, I do not. How do you compromise? Let me know your thoughts.

Hard Day at the Office

2008-05-20T12:53:00.000-07:00

Block

2008-05-13T06:52:00.000-07:00

Tell me what I should write about, because at this point in time my mind is blank!

Don't Kiss the Mirror

2008-04-24T09:48:00.000-07:00

According to a news report, a certain private school in Washington was recently faced with a unique problem. A number of 12-year-old girls were beginning to use lipstick and would put it on in the bathroom.That was fine, but after they put on their lipstick, they would press their lips to the mirror leaving dozens of little lip prints. Every night the maintenance man would remove them, and the next day the girls would put them back.Finally the principal decided that something had to be done. She called all the girls to the bathroom and met them there with the maintenance man. She explained that all these lip prints were causing a major problem forthe custodian who had to clean the mirrors every night (you can just imagine the yawns from the little princesses).To demonstrate how difficult it had been to clean the mirrors, she asked the maintenance man to show the girls how much effort was required.He took out a long-handled squeegee, dipped it in the toilet, and cleaned the mirror with it.Since then, there have been no lip prints on the mirror.
There are teachers .... and then there are educators.

Thoughts about summer time...

2008-04-23T13:26:00.000-07:00

A few things I am looking forward too now that spring/summer is here!
(the following are in no particular order)

1. Walking outside (gotta love walking the dogs)

2. Cookouts

3. Playing tennis (and winning, of course...haha....jk)

4. Eating ice cream

5. Going on vacation (to the beach!!!!)

6. Weddings:) Congratulations to all those getting married in the next few months.

7. Being more tan than I am right now

8. Long lunch breaks at work (shhh...don't tell)

9. Wearing sandals/flipflops/whatever you call them

10. Fresh air in the house!!

Enjoy your summer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lilias Trotter

2008-04-16T08:51:00.000-07:00

Hello Ladies!!!
I know that a lot of the girls in Ignite have a copy of the book "Faithful Women and Their Extrordinary God". One of the ladies in the book is Lilias Trotter. She has an amazing story of courage, commitment, and sacrifice of life in Algeria.
During our conversation about her we came to the conclusion that we wanted to see her artwork and read her writings first hand. Well that is now available to us!!!!!!! Get Hype!!!!
The book is called "A Blossom in the Dessert" and is available on amazon.com
I really hope that you check it out. She was an amazing woman with lots of awesome insights into our relationships with God.
Thank you, Noel Piper, for bringing this book to our attention.

Random finds

2008-04-15T13:24:00.000-07:00

Turn up the volue, this is hilarious!!

This is the kind of car I need!

Protection

2008-04-09T12:55:00.000-07:00

I was reading Noel Piper’s blog today (which I didn’t know existed before today), and came across a post which really made me think about the awesome power and sovereignty of God. Her words humbled me as I thought about God’s provision and protection in my life and how ungrateful I am for it.
The post is about how she was in a car crash and how perfect God’s protection was. Most would call it coincidence…. I would call it God’s providence! The quote that that jumped out to me the most was… “I pray that my children would recognize God’s loving precision, even if they were at the mortuary right now.”
What an influence we could have in this world if we all trusted in the divine control of our King!
You have to read the post…its awesome read here

Are We Crazy?

2008-04-03T07:14:00.000-07:00

No wonder English is hard to learn.....

Author unknown

We'll begin with a box, and the plural is boxes,
But the plural of ox becomes oxen, not oxes.
One fowl is a goose, but two are called geese,
Yet the plural of moose should never be meese.

You may find a lone mouse or a nest full of mice,
Yet the plural of house is houses, not hice.
If the plural of man is always called men,
Why shouldn't the plural of pan be called pen?

If I speak of my foot and show you my feet,
And I give you a boot, would a pair be called beet?
If one is a tooth and a whole set are teeth,
Why shouldn't the plural of booth be called beeth?

Then one may be that, and three would be those,
Yet hat in the plural would never be hose,
And the plural of cat is cats, not cose.
We speak of a brother and also of brethren,
But though we say mother, we never say methren.
Then the masculine pronouns are he, his and him,
But imagine the feminine: she, shis and shim!

Let's face it - English is a crazy language.
There is neither egg in eggplant nor ham in hamburger;
neither apple nor pine in pineapple.
English muffins weren't invented in England .
We take English for granted, but if we explore its paradoxes,
we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square,
and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.

And why is it that writer's write but fingers don't fing,
grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham.
Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend.
If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it?
If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught?
If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat?

Sometimes I think all the folks who grew up speaking English should be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane.

In what other language do people recite at a play and play at a recital?
We ship by truck but send cargo by ship.
We have noses that run and feet that smell.
And how can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same,
while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites?

You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out, and in which an alarm goes off by going on.

So if Father is Pop, how come Mother isn't Mop?

And that is just the beginning--even though this is the end.

Be Honest.... Are You Aware?

2008-03-17T12:46:00.001-07:00

This was sent to me and I was surprised to learn that I am not as aware as I thought. See how you do on this awareness test and be honest with your answer:)
http://www.dothetest.co.uk/

What is you hair worth?

2008-02-23T08:20:00.000-08:00

I know, I know, I haven't posted in a while!!!!!

I came across something today that I thought had to be brought to your attention. How much would you pay for a set of four strands of hair belonging to George Washington?
Don't know what your answer is, but someone was willing to pay $17,000. WHAT!!!!!!!!!!
http://www.kentucky.com/211/story/326311.html
Check out the story. Why would anyone pay that much money for hair (not to mention that there is no way of knowing that it's actually his hair!) I hope that anyone reading this would find a better use for $17,000.

Look Jonathon, I can link too:)

Three Years.....wow

2007-12-28T09:37:00.000-08:00

Today is the day that I am celebrating the 3 year mark of becoming Jonathon's wife. I can't believe it has been three years! On one hand, the time has gone by so quickly that I feel like we just started dating. On the other hand, I feel like we have been together forever (that's a good thing). I am going to ramble a bit, so be patient:).
I want to take a minute to brag on my husband. He is the most amazing (and handsome) man I know. I stand in awe of His love for the Lord and for the people of God. His desire to see the Lord glorified in all things and for the people of God to be conformed into Christ-likeness is a huge challenge and encouragement to me. He knows he is not perfect, but is willing to let God mold and change him, which is why I love him more today than on the day we got married.
We have gone through alot this year together. After losing our baby, Jonathon comforted me, held me, loved me, but most of all, pointed me to Christ, who is our rock throughout the suffering. I am blessed with a husband who is not affraid of being the spiritual leader of our home.
Marriage is an interesting thing. It has made me discover things about myself that I would have rather not known. I bet that most married people would say that marriage brings out the best and worst in people. I know that I have realized how selfish I truly am. To you, Jonathon, I apologize deeply!
Something I think that people need to realize is that marriage is not simply a institution recognized by the government, but it is a union of two people becoming one flesh in the site of God. My life (including my spiritual life) directly impacts the life of my husband and I pray that I am a helper to him and not a hindrance. Our union should reflect the relationship between Christ and the Church. What a standard we must strive for!
We are to love each other unconditionally, just as Christ loves the Church. This means that marriage may not always make you happy, but by being obedient to Christ you are being made into His image. There is no greater blessing!
I love Jonathon with all my heart and can't wait to see how we will both change, for the glory of God, over the next three years.

My First Post!!!

2007-12-27T08:30:00.000-08:00

Hello!!! I am finally entering into the blogging world.
Jonathon has convinced me to start writing my thoughts down to have everyone look at what is going on in my head. Not sure if this is a good idea:)

I hope that you had a wonderful Christmas, celebrating the birth of the glorious Savior!