A Big Day!

Well, today is a big day in the Thompson household. Haley is going to her very first sleepover at her grandma and grandpa Thompson's house. Not sure if it is more of a big deal for her or me. Probably for me! I think it is time! Jason and I will get to spend time together without worrying about Haley. Also, her grandparents will get to have some extra fun with her. It's a win/win situation for everyone.

God the Comforter

Sunday Pastor Dave communicated about the Father's Love for his children and how the Lord provides us comfort and compassion. He read a section from 2 Corinthians 1 about this very thing. It was awesome to be reminded of how much God really cares for us even when we are discouraged and lonely. God is our true encourager and comforter. Here it is:

2 Corinthians 1:13
"All praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the source of every mercy and the God who comforts us."

God's encouragement is a ministry of presence.

YEAH!!!!!

That's all I can say! JASON IS HOME!!!!

Today is the Day!

Today is the day that the IMPACT team returns home. They are scheduled to return to Nappanee around 5:00 tonight. I am so excited I can hardly wait! I will definitely have to keep myself busy so that the time goes by fast. Oh wait, that is what I have been doing for the past 12 days. Anyhow, it will be good to have them home. Awesome things happened while they were in Mexico. God is good! God is amazing! God is faithful! God is powerful!

Doctor's Visit

Today was a day that I had been dreading all week. Haley had her 6 month check up today. It is more than just getting weighed, measured, and checked out. It entails having 4 shots injected into her thigh. I think any mom that goes through these appointments can relate with what I am talking about. My mother-in-law went with me for some support because I think the appointment is harder on the parent than the child.

She was doing fine when the doctor was checking her out. She now weighs 19lbs. 8oz. and is 28in. long. She grew 3 inches in 2 months! She is so long. She is in the 95th percentile for her age. I guess that means she is doing great! I can't believe how fast she is growing!

Everything was going fine as predicted. Next, the nurse walks in with the tray of needles. I knew what was coming. I held down Haley's leg as the first shot went in. She started screaming! It was beginning to get difficult holding her leg. If you know my daughter, she moves her legs so fast. Then it was the second, then the third (on her other leg). Finally we got through all four shots and Haley was trying to catch her breath from crying! I do have to say, she did a fantastic job. She is a true trooper! She calmed down and we were on our way.

I now understand why people hate going to the doctor. It all begins while being a baby!

I am proud of her! I love her and love every minute that I am with her!

Ways to Pray!

Please pray the IMPACT team as the finalize their ministry in Mexico. Check out Jason's blog for more details.

A Faith Journey

Whoever thought being a Christ follower would be so challenging, rewarding, full of grace, lonely feeling(at times), mountain top experiences, and any other emotion out there? Well, I have experienced many of these emotions over the past 6 days. I know I have written about how much I miss Jason in previous posts but this is not another one of those even thought my feelings have not changed! I want to share what God has been teaching me during this period of time. This has taken me a few days to write because of everything that I am processing.

Yes I am sad. Yes I feel lonely but thank the Lord for family and friends. God has been taking me on a faith journey the past month or so and I believe that through my obedience and constant seeking, he is revealing himself to me in may ways. But this week especially, he has been showing and answering some questions that I have had over the past few months. I have been trying to figure out what my role is supposed to be in ministry as a new mom along with being a youth pastor's wife and all that these titles/jobs entail. This week I have been reminded that my role as the youth pastor's wife is to pray fervently, encourage, and come along side and be the teammate that God has called me to be. I truly miss this part of our ministry together. I have had many emotions over the past 7 days. It is kind of like something was taken away and I have been going through the grieving processes. Sadness, denial of my feelings, anger, and so on. Sounds weird I know, but that is the only thing that I could compare it to. But in all of this, God has truly revealed himself to me. I am realizing how I can be a mom, and a wife and still have time to be a partner in ministry. Pretty cool!

Even though this has been extremely hard for over the past week, I know that it is only making me stronger and more confident in who I am in Christ. It is a true faith journey! I guess this was all in God's plan. In the moment God's plans sometimes stink but when you are completely surrendered, God's plans are victorious.

A day in Chi-town

Today, my mom, dad, Haley, and I loaded up the car and headed to Chicago to spend the day with Ted and celebrate Father's day. Our first stop was the church where Ted's group was being introduced and letting the congregation know what they will be doing this summer. If you want to know more about what Ted does click here. WARNING: he has not updated his blog in awhile but you can get the idea by reading past posts. Then off to lunch downtown at the Weber Grill. This was my first experience at the restaurant. I have to admit, I was impressed! It was great. The food, service, and environment. We went around the table and shared our favorite memories of our dad. It was fun going down memory lane. He is a great dad and has sacrificed so much for us.
After lunch, we took a stroll downtown and enjoyed time in the Windy City. Then drove back to Ted's house and dropped him off. It was fun and a beautiful day!

Time flies in 6 months

It has been six months since the day that our life change. Decemeber 13, 2006 at 7:19 a.m. Haley Elizabeth Thompson joined this world. She has been a true blessing and we are so thankful for her. What was our life without her? A lot different! We have had to make adjustments and sacrifices but we would not change those for the world! They have all been good! Jason is such a great dad and it has been fun the past 6 months watching him interact with her. We with herlook forward to the years ahead.

Should I Stay or Should I Go?

Before Jason left the idea of me flying down to Mexico in the middle of the trip was given. At first I was a bit apprenhensive and decided that I would stick it out here at home. I having been praying about this now for the last 36 hours or so, I am now wondering if I should go. Not sure if the offer still stands. I hate the fact that we are not doing ministry together and I am not there. Sounds like some amazing things are happening already and I want to be there to experience them with him.

Here's my prayer:
Lord, please give me a clear answer and still my heart about Haley being left here if this is something that I should do. I know that she would be fine and well taken care of. I need your peace!

Just what I needed!

This morning as I was feeding Haley her cereal and pears the phone rang and it was Janelle. We talked for awhile and then decided to go shopping together. We both were going to the same place(Meijer) so we decided to go together. We made a few other stops also! It was so nice talking with her and just hanging out. I had fun! Thanks Janelle for listening to me, talking to me, and caring. I really needed that today!

Day 1 down, 11 more to go!

I made it! I made it through the first day of Jason being gone. That should not have been bad as he has been gone before. He has never been gone for 12 days though and that is one reason why this is hard. Thanks mom and dad for coming over with dinner and spending time with me. That was great!

There are some things that I will be doing that will keep me busy, which I need to do if I want to stay sane. Saturday I will be throwing a baby shower with my friend Janelle for Rose Lehane, another youth pastor's wife from church. I will be visiting my brother in Chicago on Sunday. My mom, dad, Haley, and I will all be making the trip to visit Ted so that we can spend Father's Day with my dad. That should be fun!

I hope to do other things but at this time that is what is on the list for now.

THEY'VE ARRIVED

Just got a text message from Jason and they have arrived in El Paso, TX. Now it's on to Juarez, Mexico. They will be travelling there by vans. PRAISE THE LORD they made it safely. Here we go! God has some amazing things in store!

Wide Awake

It's 2:00 a.m. and I am wide awake. Jason left about an hour ago to meet the IMPACT team at the church. I cannot go back to sleep so I thought I would write a little bit. I am sad, but extremely excited for Jason and the team. I can't wait to hear what God does while they are down in Mexico. I will miss Jason while he is gone but know that when he returns, his heart will be changed because of what the Lord has done. Please pray for him today as he leads his first ever NMC IMAPACT team. Read more here on ways to pray for Jason specifically. Read more here on ways to pray more specifically for the team.



I love you Jason and I am praying for you! See you when you get back!

A Mixed Emotion Wife

Tonight I am actually realizing that Jason leaves tomorrow for 12 days. I was originally supposed to go with him on this trip but decided against it because of Haley. I could not imagine leaving her for that amount of time while being in another country. Well, as we were praying for the next 12 days, it hit me that I am not going. I was thinking, "I'm his wife and I should be going with him. The pastor's wife always goes on these kinds of trips." Well, we made a decision for me to stay home, one that I am grateful for but, I will not get to experience everything that happens. And most of all, Jason and I will not have this experience together. That's really hard. I will look forward to the stories when he comes back. But unless you are there to experience them for yourself, you are left to just listen and enjoy hearing what God did.

I think what is hard for me is that I will not be there to support him in the tough times and in the joyous times. I will be a prayer warrior from home and know that there are other people on the team that will support him when I can't.

It's going to be a great trip and God is going to do amazing things. I just know it!

Leaving on a Jet Plane

Late tomorrow night or early Thursday morning (however you want to look at it) Jason will be leaving for Mexico with students and leaders from church. They will be going to Juarez, Mexico and working with NMC partners that have started a church in this city. Click on the picture to learn more about what they will be doing and ways to pray for the team. Jason will be missed but I know that God is going to do some amazing things while they are there.

Putting on Faith Glasses

As I have said in a previous post, our church is doing a series titled "Love Wins." Yesterday was the last week for the serious and Pastor Dave ended with a bang. Literally! It was awesome. I will write more about that later as I am still processing and listening to God. If you want to listen to the message click here.


It was the first Sunday of the series(I think) when Pastor Dave brought a faith walking couple to the stage to share a part of their testimony. This couple shared about a faith journey they took several years ago when God called them to Africa. They began working with the children in Kenya. Many of these children are born with HIV and or their mothers are too ill to care for them because they also have HIV/AIDS. They saw a need and they believed in God that he would take care of them.

They began building a baby center for these children so that they would have a place to live. They wanted this place to be a home and a health care facility for the sick babies. They had stories after stories of successes and disappointments but God was still in control.

In the midst of all of this the lady(sorry, I can't remember her name) became ill and they were forced to come back to the U.S. so that she could get the proper care. This was obviously something that was devastating and confusing. God called them there, why is he taking them away.

This is where the exciting part comes in. Our church is coming behind the abandoned baby center. We are going to help finish the project so that these children have a place where they can be safe and cared for rather than being left to die in awful conditions. I got really excited and was sad at the same time. God was moving in me and talking to me about these children. Having my own child now, this really got pretty personal. I began to think of the children who have been left to die because they are either not wanted or their moms are too sick to take care of them. I can't imagine that being my daughter. My heart began to weep for these children.

God was talking to me as Pastor Dave was finishing his message. We were all given the challenge of taking steps of faith in helping with this effort. I was asking God, "How can I help?" It was amazing, his answer was so clear to me. I came home, talked about with Jason, and we both agreed to pray about it for a couple of days. Those couple of days came and went and I knew that I needed to take the step of faith. So, I am!

It is hard to walk in faith because of the unknown down the road. But when God calls us we must be obedient. Faith is a COMPLETE trust in God.

My faith glasses are on! Is God asking you to take a step of faith? Put on your faith glasses and let God be in COMPLETE control!

My eyes hurt!

Ever heard the saying, "hard on the eyes?" That is usually referring to guys or girls when they are talking about someone that they met and they have no physical attraction. Well, my reference is not about that. Let me explain.

Today I was driving through my neighborhood on my way home and I saw something that I have never seen before and never want to see again. I glance out my window and I see a man on a lawn mower waving his arms in the air at his wife who is standing at their front door completely naked. I could tell that he was telling her to get back inside and get some clothes on. This women had a few extra pounds of weight and skin on her body. I won't go any further! I couldn't believe what I just saw. It is broad daylight and this is the main road back to my street, so it is highly travelled. Now you may ask what kind of neighborhood I live in. It is a family orientened neighborhood. But I guess there is one who has to be a rebel!

Now everytime I drive past this house, my thoughts will never be the same.

More classes!

I can remember like it was yesterday when I graduated from college. I was done with papers, projects, tests, portfolios, and everything else that comes with college. I was getting on with my life and couldn't wait to have my teaching licence in my hand because then I knew that I was finally considered a teacher. Well, that was 5 years ago.

Fast forward to the present. I just finished my 4th year of teaching and am loving it. Time flies! Well, that license that I mentioned earlier expires this year. In December! Not a big deal, right? Not really other than having to renew it and take MORE CLASSES! Now, I agree that all educators need to be up to date with today's way of teaching and the culture that is around us. I just don't want to take more classes every 5 years. On top of it, I have to pay for it. 6 credit hours every five years. You do the math! It's alot of money.

Want to know my opinion? Probably not, but I'll share it anyway. If the state requires every teacher to take 6 credit hours every 5 years, they should be flipping the bill. I know that won't happen but I can dream! I'm still paying on my first round of college and probably won't be finished paying that off until Haley goes to college.

I know I will get it done!

Teething, Snot, and Niagara Falls

The past couple of days have been somewhat rough from the motherhood standpoint. Haley is cutting teeth and believe me it is not fun. She has 2 teeth already which popped through about a month ago. We went through the snotty nose and cough just fine. I was thinking that it wasn't so bad in comparing to what I had heard. Well, this week I can relate to all of the other mothers who have gone through the cutting teeth. Haley once again has a snotty nose, a cough, and a snotty nose! So I do what I did the last time. I got out the prescription that we were given the and the tylenol. I thought we would go through a little bit of crankiness but boy was I wrong. She is very grumpy! Nothing makes her happy.

I was doing my best at being patient. I fed her at the normal time in the afternoon. Her bottle was almost empty and she acted done. I started to burp her. Then next thing I knew, Niagara Falls arrived right inside of my house. Haley was puking all over. I was drenched. She was drenced and so was the chair I was sitting in. She did this 2 different times. It was gross! The joys of motherhood!

Hopefully tomorrow is a better day!

What's My Role?

For about the past 4 weeks, my church has been doing a series titled, Love Wins, a series on how we as a church can plug in to the body and use our gifts, talents, and passions for Christ. Now mind you, I have been attending NMC for almost 11 years now, and I can't remember a series that has hit close to home as much as this one has. I have been wrestling through some issues that have been brought to my attention through this series. I will share more in another post but right now I am trying to figure out where I fit in the body of Christ.


Since I graduated high school way back in 1997(yes, my 10 year reunion is this year) I have been heavily involved in student ministries. I have been a small group leader, youth class teacher, and been a leader on several of our trips. I have loved every single bit of it and have gained many lasting relationships through these times. I love to talk with teenage girls and listen to what they are going through and in the process try my best to be a good listener and advisor. There have been times that have bombed and times that have been great. I have learned through both circumstances. So you might say, "sounds like you have found your fit in the church." You're right to an extent. Am I ready for something else?


This past year I kind of removed myself from being a small group leader because I was having a baby. I knew that with that life change, my focus and attention would not be on my small group. I didn't think that would be fair to the girls. So, I said that I would be a small group leader to small group leaders, college girls. Well, I can honestly say that I didn't do a very good job at that. It was harder than I thought and I didn't put much effort into it. Sorry girls!

So now, the school year has ended and summer is here. It is time to start thinking about next year. Will I be involved in junior high, high, school, or something else? I don't know, that is where my questioning comes in. What's my role? I want to and love doing ministry with Jason. I think that we make a good team! Being removed for a year has been great so that I could be a mom and just sit on the sidelines. I am reminded that sitting on the sidelines is not what God intended us to do. We are to be involved somewhere, somehow in the body.

So, that's where I'm at. Searching for my place! I have many questions. I pray that Jesus will show me a clear path. I know he will, just when and what is the question!

I figured this out!

I have had this blog for a few weeks now, but I am just now figuring out how this works. I wanted to begin a blog to share thoughts, feelings, and occurences that happen in my life. If no one reads this, it's ok. I might be sad but it will be fine. I really want to share some things that God is stirring within me. So, if you are reading this, hopefully you will enjoy!