Psalms 95:2-3
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
For the Lord is a great God,
and a great King above all gods.
Dear Family and Friends,
Looking back on 2013, we can truly say that God’s hands have
been on our lives. We have made many big decisions this year and we have seen
God bless us in those situations. We
rejoice in those blessings and would love to share them with you.
Psalm 139:13-14a – “For
you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's
womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”
Our biggest news of the year is that we are expecting a baby
girl around March 20th! So far, everything looks great for Anna and
the baby. Besides minor morning sickness and some sciatic nerve pain, the
pregnancy has treated Anna well. We aren’t very skilled at decorating so we’re lucky
that the previous owners left curtains and pictures that go with the jungle
theme in the nursery!
Hebrews 13:2 – Do not
forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have
shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.
Our second big piece of news is that we bought a house in
May! The house was built in 1936 and we have had the pleasure of meeting the
family that lived in the house for the first 50 years and the family that lived
in it for the past 8 years. We have learned so much about the history of this
house and we love the process of turning it into our home. We live in an
eclectic neighborhood with many different nationalities and stages of life represented.
We are trying to get to know our neighbors but that has been more difficult
that we thought it would be. The neighbors we have met have been very welcoming
and we are excited to get to know them better.
Through most of 2013, Ben continued to work at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD. In November, he accepted a position at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC! Ben is very excited about this job at headquarters. He is doing similar statistical analyses and projects to what he did at NASA Goddard, but for the entire agency.
Anna is in her second year teaching 7th and 8th grade science at Holy Trinity Episcopal Day School. Since she already knows the teachers and expectations of the administration, this allows her to invest more time into getting to know her students and improving her curriculum.
Hebrews 10:24-25 – And let
us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not
neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one
another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
We are now members of Solid Rock Church
(solidrockchurch.net). Our new home is close enough to church that we are able
to walk there when the weather is good! We love the pastors of our church and
the Biblical teaching they provide. We have been welcomed into the church
family very quickly and have many strong friendships through our Bible study and
married couples small groups. Once a month, Ben helps teach the toddlers of the
church with games, stories and songs and Anna is able to practice her baby
skills in the nursery.
We would appreciate your prayers in the following areas:
- Continued good health during the remainder of the pregnancy and a safe delivery for our baby girl
- Blessings on our house as we ready it and ourselves for the changes that parenthood brings
- Perseverance in getting to know our neighbors and eventually sharing our life and the gospel with them
- Ben completing as much of his dissertation as possible before the baby gets here
Thank you for the love and support that you give us every
day from near or far away.
Under His grace,
Ben and Anna
Philippians
1:3-6
I
thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you,
I always pray with joy because
of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being
confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to
completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
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