Super Jonathan! Saturday, Feb 6 2010

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Theoretical turned Actual Wednesday, Jan 27 2010

Last week at 3 AM in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), I found myself praying that God would be Glorified in the life of my newborn son, however short it may be.

It was odd that I was praying for God’s glory more than Jonathan’s healing. But it showed me how God has worked in my life. Isn’t not my greatest desire that I would be able to have a healthy son who will grow up to love Jesus. I do desire that, more than I desire to eat or sleep. But it was my greatest desire that Jesus would be glorified in Jonathan’s life.

Last January we had a miscarriage. It was incredibly hard. We mourned for a long time. And when I talk about it today, I get a lump in my throat and sometimes my eyes start to feel watery. But I know that God was glorified in the short life of that tiny, unborn baby. I can only hope for the same with Jonathan, that God would be glorified in his life.

It’s not that losing a child, born or unborn, is easy. It’s not that it doesn’t hurt or that you don’t cry and mourn the loss of that life. And it’s not that you aren’t supposed to love your children. Of course you are. Those things are still hard. You are still supposed to mourn. You are still supposed to hurt. That is why you hurt when they are hurt and well up with joy when you just look at them. But that love for your child should be overshadowed by your love for Jesus.

Today we’re still mourning the loss of our unborn and celebrating the life of our first born.

But the mourning and hurting is temporary. This life is temporary. And while we’re here, our main goal should be to Glorify our creator, the God of the universe, who loved us so much that he sent his son to save us from our sinful selves, to reconcile us to Himself. We don’t come to Jesus for a “better way” or for “wisdom” or even to be forgiven from our sin. We come to Jesus to glorify his name, to praise our creator, and to worship the one and only God who has blessed us with the life of his Son, while we’re still sinners who don’t deserve it. We glorify His name because He is the only one worthy of receiving glory.

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21)

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A Thank You. Sunday, Jan 24 2010

Thank you to our church family for praying for us over the past few days. We’re so excited to be home and know that Jonathan doesn’t have any infection anymore.

Since we were in the NICU, we couldn’t really have visitors while in the hospital. So for those of you who missed out on visiting us then, we want to give you that opportunity over the next 3 days.

Sunday 1/24 thru Tuesday 1/26, we’d like to invite you to visit us at our home between the hours of 10AM and 6PM to meet Jonathan. We do ask that you observe the same precautions that the hospital recommends for newborns’ visitors: healthy adults only.

The Care Team has already started bringing us meals and we are so thankful for that blessing!

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We’re Home! Saturday, Jan 23 2010

Today at 4PM we got to take Jonathan home. After talking with the doctor, getting our discharge paperwork, and a few last tests out of the way, we were off to bring our new baby home.

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We’re thrilled to have him home. Tonight, our church brought us dinner. Our Care Team is wonderful. Any time a big event happens in someone’s life, the Care Team steps in and starts helping out. For the birth of a child, they usually provide 2 weeks of dinners starting as soon as you get home. For one couple in our church, they’re providing a meal a day for the rest of their pregnancy because the mom is on bed rest. It’s such an awesome picture of how we as Christians should love one another. It’s also an awesome support system to be a part of.

Lucy was SUPER excited to see us. She hasn’t seen us for 3 days and was so thankful we were home. In her excitement, she welcomed Jonathan with a big lick that covered his entire face. I think he liked it.

She’s getting used to the idea of having a baby in the house. I think she’ll be an excellent best friend for Jonathan.

We’re going to stay home for the next week to recoup.

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Update: Day 3 Saturday, Jan 23 2010

On my way back to the room with breakfast this morning I passed our nurse, who was on her way home. She stopped to let me know that Jonathan’s CRP level is below 5!

Praise God! Thank you to all of you who have been praying.

There are two last hurdles we’ll have to get through before we can go home. Please pray for the following:

• Pray that Jonathan could be circumcised soon and that it would all go well.
• Pray that Jonathan would wet a LOT of diapers, to prove that he’s not dehydrated (a minor concern they had).

I’ll keep updating here as the day progresses.

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An Update on Jonathan Friday, Jan 22 2010

Today we moved into a room where Jonathan can stay with us. Praise God!

Though we’re not home yet, it’s a huge improvement. The room is a little larger than our closet, but with all three of us in there at the same time, it’s just right.

Jonathan gets to come out of the NICU and stay with us in this room. He still has to go back to the NICU nurses for his antibiotics, tests, and regular vitals. But other than that, he gets to stay with us, in our room! (like naps being wasted on the young, babysitting is wasted on us, the new parents)

With Jonathan in our own room, I was able to video chat with some family in Florida and spend the day relaxed with Jonathan napping on my chest.

Tonight, around 4 AM, they will run another batch of tests on Jonathan. If his CRP isn’t at 5 or below, we’ll be staying another night. If it is at 5 or below, we’ll talk with the doctor on duty about circumcision and see how quickly we can get home.

One last phenomenon to mention. Before Jonathan I had never changed a diaper. It’s not like I was avoiding the experience. I never really get offers to change diapers and I have never been in the situation where the child needed a diaper change and their parent wasn’t there to change it. So yesterday was my first diaper change. Since then, I’ve changed a few. I don’t get the hysteria that surrounds changing a diaper. It’s not like it’s hard or disgusting.

From what I’m told… that will change once he starts on baby food.

Here’s how to pray for us:

• Pray that God would be glorified in Jonathan’s life.
• Pray that he would grow up to be a man who honors God with his life.
• Pray that his CRP falls from 11 to 5 tonight, before the tests and we would be able to come home quickly.
• Pray for Stephanie, that she can get some sleep on the pullout chair/bed we’re sleeping in tonight.

Lastly, here’s a picture from today. It’s still in the NICU, but we had so much fun sitting together. We talked about the Bible, Jesus, friendships, relationships, how much I love Stephanie, politics, foreign oil, how the internet works, and life in general. He’s a great listener.

I’ve also included a video. Sorry for the 3 minutes of his face and little movement, but that’s what happens with 2-day-old babies…

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Jonathan Daniel Gossett Thursday, Jan 21 2010

Wednesday, January 20, 2010, Jonathan Daniel Gossett was born. He was 8 lbs, 2 oz and 18″. We are so overjoyed!

How you can pray for us:

• Pray that Jonathan would grow up to be a man who honors God with his life.
• Pray that Jonathan would pass his NICU tests with flying colors, free from all infectons and other reasons to keep him there.
• Pray that Jonathan would be able to come home with us Friday.
• Pray that Stephanie would recover quickly and would not have any complications.
• Pray that our stay at the hospital would be short, sweet, and would glorify God in our interactions with doctors, nurses, and other patients.

How you can help:

• Please pray for us. We covet your prayers.
• Our church is providing meals for the first few weeks as we adjust and Stephanie recovers. If you’d like to join them and you’re on The City (our online community), join the Care Team. If you’re not on The City, leave a comment and I’ll send you the email address of the girl involved.
• Again, pray for Jonathan’s health and our patience.

How you can visit:

Because Jonathan is in the NICU, we’re spending most of our time there. If you came to Norton Suburban, you could meet Stephanie’s parents, see our empty room or if you’re really lucky, run in to one of us. Jonathan is not allowed to leave the NICU, so he can’t have many visitors.

So, we’re going to have visiting hours at our home. Assuming we get to go home with Jonathan on Friday night, we’d like you to visit us during our visiting hours at our home. If Jonathan cannot come home on Friday night, we’ll update our blog to let you know the new visiting hours.

Visiting Times: this Monday – Wednesday from 10 AM- 6 PM.

When visiting, please provide the same courtesies you would at the hospital. They are:

• All adults 18 and older are welcome. Please no children.
• If you are feeling sick or have been sick in the last 24 hours, please abstain from visiting as Jonathan’s immune system is still developing.
• We’d love for you to meet Jonathan. But for his rest and ours, please limit your stay to 20 minutes.
• As always, please wash your hands.

Here’s the story:
Tuesday morning at 10 AM Stephanie’s water started to leak. I came home from the office and worked from home while she kept busy doing just about everything to stay active. She had mild, light contractions about 7 minutes apart. We called the doctor to check in and talk about what was going on. Nothing changed until 11 that night, after Stephanie’s parents arrived from Philadelphia. As we were crawling into bed, Stephanie started to have hard contractions that lasted about 90 seconds and were about 10 minutes apart. We tried to sleep as best we could, waking every few minutes to deal with the contractions and then trying to flop over to sleep for the next few moments. At 6 AM on Wednesday, after 7 hours of hard labor, we called our doula, Leah Morris, to join us. We continued to labor at home until 11:30am and then went to the hospital.

There, Stephanie’s contractions continued to be about 2 minutes long and 5 minutes apart. By 4 PM, after 17 hours of hard labor, we had only progressed 3 cm (for a total of 6 cm since we were already 3 cm at our last Doctors appointment). Stephanie was exhausted from having not slept since Monday night and couldn’t keep anything down (including water) since 9pm the night before, so she was probably dehydrated. Because of extreme fatigue and no food or water to help refuel, she was having a really hard time relaxing with the contractions and so they were hurting her more and more. (I am amazed at how hard she worked and for so long!)

After consulting with our nurse (who was well versed in and preferred natural childbirth), our doctor, and our team, we decided to get an epidural for Stephanie to be able to rest (and rehydrate from an IV). Soon after, the epidural was in and we were all able to regroup. After resting for a while, Stephanie had them turn off the epidural, about an hour or two before delivery, so that she could be back in business for the pushing stage. By 8:30, our doctor said we were ready and Stephanie started to push. Stephanie was so awesome. I will always rember how great she did and how hard she worked.  Jonathan came out completely alert and excited. He cried so loud and healthily, but as soon as he was in Stephanie’s arms and she started talking to him, he stopped and muzzled her. It was awesome. Everyone in the room was overcome with joy, tears, and thankfulness for the baby.

While getting his vitals taken, his temperature registered at 104.3. Stephanie had begun a low grade fever as well shortly before delivery. This could be due to the prolonged time (36hrs) that her water was broken before the baby was born. It opens the uterus up to infection. So as a precautionary step, our pediatrician asked that he be taken to the NICU for testing and observation. We were disappointed but knew that infections can be fatal for infants. I stayed with Jonathan while Stephanie got cleaned up and moved to a new room. It was hard to watch my 30-minute old baby stuck with needles and hooked up to monitors. But at the same time, I was strangely thankful that we were in a place where he could receive such great care.

Since then, we’ve stayed with Jonathan around the clock, switching out so each other could rest or eat. We get to find out tonight, probably around 1 AM, if the 24 hour tests come back negative. If so, we will be able to go home late Friday or early Saturday. If not, there’s a chance he’ll have to stay for up to an additional 7 days to receive treatments.

We’ll keep you updated as things develop.

Here are some pictures for you to enjoy.

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Grandma’s Waffles – Tasty Kitchen Saturday, Jan 16 2010

This morning we made waffles from a recipe we found on the internet. It sounded like a really fluffy, wonderful recipe.

We’ve cleared out our schedules, hoping to be busy in the Hospital with a newborn son, which has left us with next to nothing to do.

Enter Googling Waffle Recipes.

The best part about the recipe was that it called for beating the egg whites and then folding them in later, which made wonderfully fluffy waffles. They were crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside.

I did my best Julia Childs impression while Stephanie read me the directions. It was a treat.

We realized we wanted good food and Stephanie usually makes the best food on the face of the planet (no exaggeration or kidding here). But since she’s 40+ weeks pregnant, I’m talking over the kitchen. What I lack in skill, I make up for in randomness (see Julia Childs impression).

This morning we’re enjoying some great waffles and some oolong tea while praying Jonathan will come quickly.

If you’d like to check out this waffle recipe, you can find it here.

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The Hope of Righteousness Friday, Jan 8 2010

5 For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.

via Passage: galatians 5 5-6 ESV Bible Online.

We eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. The HOPE of righteousness.

That’s not a lofty dream of one day becoming righteous. It’s an active, knowledge-based hope, knowing that is going to happen.

I can’t make it happen. As hard as I try, I can’t make myself righteous. I can’t produce righteousness. No one can. We’re sinful.

So we hope for it. We know that we can’t do anything to obtain it. Instead, we have to wait for God, who is righteous,  to complete righteousness in us. It’s an act of faith on our part, not something we can do. It’s something God does.

Why is that distinction important? Because it removes any reason for us to boast, be proud, brag or be conceited. It’s God’s work in us, not our work that counts for anything.

In Galatians, a book in the Bible, the missionary who brought the Gospel of Jesus Christ to Galatia (Paul) is writing to the people in the church who are being led astray by false teachers who are distorting the Gospel by adding regulations to it that do not belong. Specifically, circumcision.

Jewish law said that all males needed to be circumcised. Gentiles (meaning not-Jews) were becoming Christians and believing in the Jewish Messiah (savior), Jesus Christ. They were gaining the righteousness that God freely gives through Jesus. Some men who came after Paul started to distort the message and required the Gentiles, who were not circumcised, to be circumcised in order to truly worship and be in right standing with Jesus. After all, the Jewish law says so.

Paul’s whole letter seems to return to this issue. He’s furious that some are coming to the Galatian Christians and requiring them to follow the Jewish law. Actually, Paul takes it so far as to say that he wishes these men who are wrongly teaching circumcision would emasculate themselves (verse 12).

Circumcision is such a big deal to Paul because if circumcision is required for non-Jews, than the rest of the Jewish law is required of them as well. And if that is the case, then they can only obtain righteousness by observing the whole law. And if righteousness comes through the law, then Jesus is of no value to them.

So by requiring circumcision of the Galatian gentiles, these men were removing the importance of Jesus. No wonder Paul was mad.

So here’s how this works. Here’s why Jesus is important.

Jesus lived a perfect, sinless life. He died a death he did not deserve to die. In his death, he was the sacrifice for your sin. And what he asks of you is that you put your faith (complete trust or confidence) in him and him alone. In doing so, you acknowledge that this is the only way that your sins are forgiven and you can be made right with God. You can’t do it on your own. You need his sacrifice to pay for your sins.

This is called repentance. It leads to salvation.

In the beginning of the history of the church, right after Jesus left the disciples, Peter stood up and preached a sermon about Jesus. In the end, the men listening asked him, “what shall we do?” (Acts 2:37).  ”And Peter said to them, ‘Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’” (Acts 2:38)

(to read more about the history of the church’s position on this issue, read Acts 15)

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Asking the right questions Thursday, Jan 7 2010

This past Sunday our church started a new series on God & Money. Dustin Neeley, the lead pastor, preached a sermon titled “Basic Instructions” that you can watch here.

This may be of interest to you because I make a cameo in the end.

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It’s the little things Tuesday, Jan 5 2010

We love our house. I moved in during the Spring of 2005. We got married and Stephanie moved up that October. Since then, it’s been our home. It’s decorated the way we like it. We have enjoyed having friends over and throwing parties. Stephanie and I both have a passion for hospitality. We love making people feel comfortable and at home with us. It brings us joy to have people in our home.

We’re very thankful that God has blessed us with this home.

Growing up, my parents encouraged us (all 4 children) to always invite friends over. It was important to our family that we kept the house clean so at the drop of a hat we could invite friends over and not have to worry about cleaning up first. So there were always groups of kids hanging out at my parents’ house. It was a beautiful thing.

We have the same philosophy in our home today. We always try to keep it clean so at the drop of a hat, we could invite over anyone and not worry about the cleanliness of our home. And let’s be honest, no one likes going over to someone else’s house when it’s messy. Especially if you’re a neat-freak yourself.

One of the only limitations we’ve found in our home is the size. It’s more than enough for just Stephanie and myself, but we always want to invite friends over. Our living room can only hold so many. Rather than accepting that fact, we set out to see if we can change it.

We tackled our living room to see if we could fit more people in it. Here’s a before picture:

Truth be told, I stayed up late one night after Stephanie went to bed and moved this furniture around until I landed on this arrangement. The main thing that frustrated me before this was that the couches were in an “L” shape and both facing the TV. I wanted to be able to face friends when they come over, not my own TV. We really don’t watch that much TV, so I didn’t want it to be the focal point of the room either.

But with this arrangement, once we move in extra chairs, it maxes out at 10 people. The space fills up quickly.

So, Stephanie helped me out and we mixed it up, moved it around and came up with this:

Voila. Now, we can fit 2 more people!  We can still only seat 12, but that’s a lot better than 10. That means 2 more people can be invited to the party.

What about the TV? It still works over there. Just the other night we watched the Sugar Bowl and it was just fine. When we invite people over, we actually talk or play games instead of watch a movie. I’m not against movies, I would just rather hear what you have to say than sit next to you and watch a movie.

This project costs us $0. We had to get creative and try out different arrangements. Often we didn’t think it would look good before we put the furniture there, but after trying it out, we actually liked it. Sometimes you just have to try it out.

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Ok, I’m ready… Sunday, Jan 3 2010

We’ve been ready for a little while, but today I’m REALLY ready to have a baby.

Stephanie is too.

Come quickly Jonathan!

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Baby its cold outside. Saturday, Jan 2 2010

So it’s way too cold outside today. The windchill says it feels like 1 degree.

It’s cloudy and lightly snowing outside. There’s not really any snow on the ground, but it’s nice to watch the snow fall.

We had pancakes this morning and watched the snow gently fall on our patio while sipping my french press and Stephanie with her tea.

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Happy New Year! Friday, Jan 1 2010

We brought in the New Year with a bunch of friends. It was an awesome time. We laughed a lot.

It seems the older I get, the faster I want to go home after the clock strikes 12. I am happy to report that I did not fall asleep before midnight this year.

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There’s an app for that Wednesday, Dec 23 2009

While at a local guitar shop, my brother-in-law Graham found a new use for his iPhone.

That’s right, slide guitar. Awesome.

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Lucy and Nolan Wednesday, Dec 23 2009

It’s Christmas with the Bucks this year. As a surprise, my brother-in-law Graham and his wife, Becky, joined us in Louisville. Nolan, their 10-month-old son, joined us. It was the first time I met him. We’re best friends now.

Lucy has also been really happy to meet Nolan. They’re quite a couple.

They do love each other.

Lucy especially likes his taste.

This is just a foretaste of things to come. I am sure Lucy is going to love Jonathan…

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Organization Tuesday, Dec 15 2009

A large part of what I do is organize things. My sister-in-law Rachel shares my passion.

When I was home for Thanksgiving, I noticed the top of my mom’s pantry. The really funny part is I did this exact same thing with clear Tupperware and index cards in my office.

It may be nerdy, but it’s organized. And I guess this apple didn’t fall too far from the tree.

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More Cuban Coffee Sunday, Dec 13 2009

Yesterday I posted about going to the Empanada Factory, one of my favorite breakfast places in South Florida.

A good friend of mine, Philip Wilson, just moved to South Florida. He has the luxury of having Cuban Coffee and deep-fried empanadas all the time. Though, I don’t know that you can eat more than two empanadas like that in any given 6 months and live.

When we were down for Thanksgiving, we met up with Philip, his family, and Matt Peavyhouse, a former Crossing Elder who is planting a church in Hollywood, Florida.

Of course, being South Florida and all three of us are big coffee fans, we had to meet for some Cuban Coffee. We had brunch at the Latin American Cafe.

I’m really excited for Philip, his wife Elizabeth, and their daughter Mackenzie. Philip is the student ministries pastor at West Pines Community Church. They’re an awesome couple who are a LOT of fun to spend time with.

If you’re in the Pembroke Pines area, you should look them up.

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The Empanada Factory Saturday, Dec 12 2009

This place is awesome. Every time I’m in Hollywood, Florida, I try to swing by at least once for breakfast.

For those of you who have never had one, let me explain what these Empanadas are like. It’s a corn pastry that is similar to a pita. You put the ingredients in the middle (my favorite is the Guava and Cheese) and then fold if over and seal the other side by pinching it together. At this point, it’s similar to a calzone. The, you deep fry it. Yep. Fried. Amazing. The guava and cheese melt together creating a fantastic, euphorically yummy concoction.

Always, always, always enjoy an empanada with Cuban coffee.

What? You’ve never had Cuban coffee? Ok, it’s really strong, like a shot of espresso. Then you whip some sugar with just a little bit of coffee to create a frothy, sweet topping. Pour the coffee into the whipped sugar and voila: you’ve got Cuban Coffee.

WARNING: the caffeine content of Cuban coffee is much higher than regular drip coffee like you can get at Starbucks or other coffee shops. Drink in smaller proportions and do not operate heavy machinery after consuming.

Last time I was down (Thanksgiving) I was able to enjoy this pictured breakfast with my brother, Tim. It was great.

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Love… Thursday, Dec 10 2009

Sometimes it’s hard to describe your love for someone.

Next time you try, maybe this video will help you out.

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