Thursday, May 31, 2012

Dear Prince or Princess...




James and I are thrilled to find out what the gender of the baby is tomorrow. I can't wait to wake up in the morning, throw my clothes on and rush out the door. We have a sixty mile drive to Oklahoma City, and I know I will be antsy the whole way. Plus I have to drink lots of water to have a full bladder for the ultrasound, no telling how many bathroom trips we may have to make. But I have planned the whole day and my outfit is all picked out!

We will leave around 8:30am to drive to Oklahoma City. This will leave plenty of time to get a Chickfila chicken biscuit for breakfast as we get closer to the city. Oh, and the best part, my brother and his wife get to come along! My brother also has the same affection for Chickfila as I do, so he will appreciate this as much as I do. We should arrive a little early (depending on traffic) to the appointment. I'm sure my heart will be pounding with anticipation with each minute that passes before 10am. I can't wait to see my little baby and hear the heartbeat! After the ultrasound, we will then go to Target to register for the little babe. Most likely do some shopping at the outlet stores and then go to lunch at The Cheesecake Factory. ( It will be David & Charity's first time there!) Then head back to Weatherford, smiling the whole way, to relieve the babysitter. Sounds like a great day to me!!


My sweet little prince or princess,


  Tomorrow is the big day when we find out if you are a little prince or princess. We find out if mommy has been right this whole time by calling you a girl or if daddy's hopes for a boy come true. Either way we both will be completely excited with the outcome. We decided either way, we are going to keep you and love you to pieces, and then ship you over to Russia with us! ( but we will talk about that later. :) )  Be prepared little one, you are in for quite the journey!
  Today has been a special day because I have felt you move around all day. My belly is growing a bit more now, so you should have plenty of room to keep growing! Know that we pray for you every day and love you more than you can imagine! Can't wait to see you tomorrow! 


All My Love,
Mommy

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Treasure in Earthen Vessels

"But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us." 
II Corinthians 4:7

The Lord, has worked on my heart about hiding His Word in my heart. God has entrusted in us, (earthen vessels) this priceless treasure that has been preserved from generation to generation. The Bible says, "If the gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost."II Cor 4:3. It is my prayer that God's Word can shine as a light through me, so others may see God's power and light in my life for God's honor and glory.

"Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I may not sin against thee."
Psalm 119:11

Another reason or motive for me wanting to memorize God's Word is to act as a filter in my thoughts and actions. If my mind is constantly on Christ and His Word, then it will in turn affect my thought life and actions. As a woman, my mind runs constantly. Unlike men, we don't have the ability to shut our thoughts off and think of nothing. I believe Satan uses things to trigger memories, or thoughts, that may bring us to slip backwards. My desire, with God's help, is to help guard my thought life with scripture. So when the temptation does come, I can reflect back to scripture.  

I have created the acronym "VOW" - my Verse(s) Of the Week that I hope to memorize. VOW - Proverbs 7:1-5 & 16:3.

" My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee. Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye. Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thine heart. Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister; and call understanding thy kinswoman: That they may keep thee from the strange woman, from the stranger which flattereth with her words.  
"Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established."

The Lord led me to these verses to memorize first. They explain the importance of hiding God's Word in our hearts. It's not enough to just read the Bible, but we must write it upon the table of our hearts. God's law should be as the apple of thine eye meaning something, or someone, that is cherished above all others. For me, I need to work on cherishing God's Word above all others. 
My goal is to each week memorize a new portion of scripture and dwell on it all week. The more you put something into your heart and mind, it can't help but flow out. It is my desire that God's Word will flow out of my heart and be my filter against wrong thoughts and actions.  

Just thought I would share what the Lord is working in my life about. I would like to hear what God has been speaking to you about through your devotions!

From the Heart, 
Amber & Baby Pranger 

Saturday, May 5, 2012

Our heavenly little blessing

James and I are excited to announce that we will be adding a new little bundle of joy to our family! Just when we thought life couldn't get any better, the Lord blesses us with a baby. Our due date is November 1, 2012. Yesterday, April the 13th, we went to our first doctors appointment. I was eleven weeks along at the time, and we couldn't wait to see our little baby. Nothing could have prepared us for the joy that flooded our hearts when we saw our baby for the first time.

Our little one was squirming around with his or her arms and legs going everywhere. I just laid there and shed a couple of tears just watching our baby alive and well! Then I would glance over at James who was grinning from ear to ear at what he was seeing. (James was really hoping to see two little babies in there but there was only one :). Maybe next time!) We watched the heart beat on the monitor -144 bpm- nice and healthy! We praise the Lord that our baby is doing well so far!

As the doctor came in, he let us know that everything was looking great. And just when we thought our day couldn't get any better, he said " Why don't we see if we can hear the heartbeat?" I was so excited! The nurse had told us we wouldn't be able to hear it until our next visit. So after a few minutes, we heard the sweet little "swish swish swish swish" of our baby's heart beat. Music to our ears! That Friday was truly a gift from the Lord. And we will forever cherish those moments.

We truly appreciate your prayers for us during this time! As many of you know we are on deputation traveling around America. I won't be able to go to monthly appointments like I am suppose to; but I trust the Lord will take care of me and the baby while we travel. This is such an exciting time for us as we prepare to go to Russia in fall of next year. And we are even more excited to be taking a little one with us! I'm sure there will be new challenges with traveling with a newborn, but nothing we can't handle with the Lord's help!

We look forward to keeping you posted on our deputation and pregnancy. :) God is so good!!