"In everything give THANKS for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you" 1 Thess 5:18

So thankful for my family! We enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving at my mom and dads. I am even more thankful I got put on call and didn't have to go into work...YAY! We had an early lunch and then spent the rest of the day relaxing, playing bean bag toss, snacking ;), building a ginger bread house (that was destroyed by an earthquake or looks like it anyway), and finally ended the day watching Prince Caspian.

Lead Me

Did you think we had disappeared (if anyone actually reads this blog (: ) from the blogging world? I am quite sure that October has been the busiest Month this year for the Lail family. We have moved, went on vacation, celebrated 2 years of marriage, and enriched our lives at a Ultimate Refreshing conference all in one month. I have learned alot about my husband in two years and there is still ALOT to learn in the years to come. I have also learned a great deal about myself along THE way. As much as I would love to say that marriage is easy and a piece of cake I have to be honest in the fact that yes marriage is a true blessing but it is also something that requires sacrifice and a servant's heart. My husband does a great job at both of these, usually always putting me before himself. I am thankful for these two years of growing and stretching and I can only imagine what lays ahead with a child on the way! Sometimes it is hard for me to let go and let Zac lead this family but ultimately that is God's design for marriage, which is a picture of Christ and the church. Watch this video...the message will bless you.

YouTube - Lead Me (Acoustic - with Lyrics) by Sanctus Real/

"For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.
So, they are no longer two but one. Therefore what God has joined together let not man separate." Matthew 19:6

Wives are looking for their husbands to lead, but God is looking for someone to follow His lead. He is looking for His children
to follow the design He has set up in His Word. He is looking for believers to love and to forgive and to come back to the commandmant to
love God with all your heart, mind, soul and spirit and to love others as yourself. He is looking for believers to let go of hurts and offenses
so He can shower them with the healing and blessing He so longs to pour out. Will you let Him lead???

Our little Blueberry

So Zac and I found out a couple weeks ago that I was pregnant. It shouldn't have been a complete surprise...but it still was. We weren't exactly trying and then again we weren't exactly trying to prevent it either. I think our attitude was that whatever God's timing was that would be fine with us...until I found out that I was indeed pregnant. Don't get me wrong I am super excited and thrilled it just took a while for those feelings to sink in. Please don't think any worse of me, but my first reaction was to cry and think "what are the going to do". I was in no way ready or prepared to bring a child into this world...but is anybody ever really ready? I have to admit that my mind was racing with all the reasons it was not good timing...most of them selfish of course. And my husband who I love very much was also shocked because the first thing he said to me was..."Are you sure" I said "yes I am pretty sure" again he says "you're sure?", I told him that I had alreay taken two different tests to make sure. Well, when he got home from work he had to see to believe (doubting Thomas) he made me take a third pregnancy test while he stood and watched it change from one line to two.

So, our lives are about to change, for the better I am sure of, but change neverless. I am praying with all my heart that Zac and I will be good parents raising our children up in the word and not up in the world. We know God already has a plan and a purpose for this little ones future as He is fashioning and forming them in my womb. What an incredible thing that is taking place inside of me, it makes me more amazed at my God and His greatness.

Zac now goes along singing "I'm going to be a daddy, I'm going to be a daddy" at least once a day. I think he is going to be a great dad and a proud father. I am keeping a journal for our first little one of prayers and scriptures that the Lord puts on my heart along the way. I pray I can be diligent enough to continue until they are old enough to understand and start keeping a journal themselves.

Oh and if you are wondering about the blueberry thing... When Zac was looking on the internet to learn more about the baby, he came across something that says our baby is the size of a blueberry...which sounded alot better than a lentil or a kidney bean so it stuck! :)

Mrytle Beach

We took a short trip to Mrytle Beach at the 1st of Sept to celebrate Zac's 29th :0 birthday and to visit his family. We had a great time mostly laying out on the beach and eating... way to much! Zac's dad spent quite a bit of time hunting for shark's teeth while we were there and he ended up coming home with quite a collection. We saw a few sharks while we were there jumping out of the water chasing fish. Zac seemed to want to go into deeper water after seeing the sharks...me on the other hand not so thrilled. I love the ocean and something about being there always makes me want to think a little deeper, try to hear what God is speaking to me. I don't know if its the wind always whipping, or the waves crashing, just something about it makes me think He is trying to speak. I wish I would have listened a little harder while we were there though, its always in the early morning or the late evening when things start to settle down that I feel His presence the most. I feel like the weekend went by way to fast and I had way to much on my mind to enjoy it to the fullest. That and the fact that Mrytle Beach is not exactly quiet and serene. As much as I love the ocean though it will never compare to my love for the mountains! I didn't end up taking many pictures but here are a few from the short weekend.

Family Fun

Had dinner with mom and dad the other night and I actually cooked! Shocker I know...its not that I do not like to cook, but most of the time we are too busy and its just easier to whip up something fast...fake cooking I call it. I am actually a pretty good cook when I put my mind to it (is that bragging?) or at least Zac thinks so ;) We had a blast with mom and dad eating and playing games and of course I pulled out the camera! Me and mom were having fun with the camera while the men talked about manly things...sort of.

His Name and His Renown

Yes, LORD, walking in the way of your laws,

we wait for You;

Your name and Your renown

are the desires of our hearts.

Isaiah 26:8

You know alot of times in church we sing songs like "All I need is You Lord", "Your all I want", or "This is my desire..to honor You", but then we leave and other things start to invade that desire that we just so passionately sang about. It's not that we don't love God or that we really don't want to make Him first in our lives, it's that life just has a way of stepping in and getting in the way. Life... Im talking obligations, work, family, friends, social gatherings, entertainment and the like. When I read Isaiah 26:8 I am humbled by my weak attempt to make His name and His renown the desire of my heart. When I read this verse I see a person so full of passion for God that they live and move and breath Him. Let me ask you this...Why would people want what we (christians) say we have if what we really have looks exactly like what they got? In other words if our lives are as passionless and empty as the nonbelievers why in the world would they come running after a life such as that? Quite frankly I believe that people have had enough of a watered down gospel message that is void of the anointing and void of the power of the Holy Spirit. Do you think thousands of people would have gotten saved if the disciples hadn't come preaching with demonstration and power accompanying the gospel of Jesus Christ. So many churches and so many Christians are trying to share a "relevant" Jesus leaving out major pieces of who He really was. Jesus came to save, He came to deliever, He came to heal, He came to set the captives free, He came to wash away sin by the power of His blood. That's the Jesus that people will respond too, that's the Jesus that the discples shared with many getting healed and set free. I am believing that as Zac and I make a commitment to share the full Gospel nothing held back we will begin to see the signs that follow by the power of the Holy Spirit (Mark 16:15-18) Not by our might and definitely not by our power, but by HIS SPIRIT!

Those who are wise shall shine

like the brightness of the firmament

And those who turn many to righteousness

like the stars for ever and ever

Daniel 12:3

A Reflection of who He is

Though one may be overpowerd, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not easily broken. Ecc 4:12

Zac and I have been married for almost two years, and still I am amazed at the man God has given me. You know when you first get married people always say "oh you are still in your honeymoon stage" if your husband does something nice for you, giving you the impression that they will stop doing those things after you have been married for a while. Zac hates that statement, it gets him so fired up when people say it, making him more determined to be the man God has called him to be. And I have to say that I reap the benefits :) In all seriousness I too wondered when we first got married if this would last. I remember one of my earliest memories of Zac and I as husband and wife after we had returned from our honeymoon. I had woken up one morning to find Zac not in the bed and I wandered around the house looking for him, when I finally found him he was in the spare bedroom sprawled out on the floor on his face seeking God. I was so blessed by what I saw and I knew that I had married the right man. Not a night goes by that he doesn't pray over me and our family and not a morning passes where he is not on his knees in prayer. I also am never allowed to leave for work without waking him up so he can pray for me before I leave. And he doesn't just lay in bed and say a quick prayer, he gets up comes to the door and really covers his wife. I am also so blessed that he inconviences himself to come and eat with me at work even driving over the mountain on his days off. I often tell people that he is a much better husband than I am a wife although we are both a work in progress. The bible says that our husbands are to be as Christ is to the Church and my husband is truly a reflection of this scripture. It is our continual prayer that God uses our marriage to be a testimony of His great love, and that He uses us to pour out a blessing to others.