An unEXPECTING Surprise

The picture says it all. Read it carefully. Now, imagine my surprise when I opened a birthday card and read those words. In fact, the first time I read the card, I misread what it said and didn't get the message. After a couple of readings, I finally caught on to the key word: DAD.

That's right. Christine and I are expecting our first child. My lack of catching that detail initially was due to the fact that I have never really associated myself with the word, dad. There's really no way to explain what was going on in my brain when the message finally sunk in. It's still a bit surreal, even to this day.

Currently, Christine is about 10 weeks into the pregnancy. We have an appointment set in January to hear the heart beat, which undoubtedly will be utterly remarkable. At this point, we do not know the gender. We will post again when we find that out.

Life, as I know it, is now forever changed. Oh, what exciting times lie ahead!

"May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen." -Philemon 25
-William Masopust
www.revisedcommonversion.com

Cast All Your Care Upon Him

"Casting all your care upon him, for he cares for you." -1st Peter 5:7

Here is another entry from the Morning and Evening devotional by Charles Spurgeon.

It is a happy way of soothing sorrow when we can feel-"HE careth for me." Christian! do not dishonour religion by always wearing a brow of care; come, cast your burden upon your Lord. You are staggering beneath a weight which your Father would not feel. What seems to you a crushing burden, would be to him but as the small dust of the balance. Nothing is so sweet as to

"Lie passive in God's hands,
And know no will but his."

O child of suffering, be thou patient; God has not passed thee over in his providence. He who is the feeder of sparrows, will also furnish you with what you need. Sit not down in despair; hope on, hope ever. Take up the arms of faith against a sea of trouble, and your opposition shall yet end your distresses. There is One who careth for you. His eye is fixed on you, his heart beats with pity for your woe, and his hand omnipotent shall yet bring you the needed help. The darkest cloud shall scatter itself in showers of mercy. The blackest gloom shall give place to the morning. He, if thou art one of his family, will bind up thy wounds, and heal thy broken heart. Doubt not his grace because of thy tribulation, but believe that he loveth thee as much in seasons of trouble as in times of happiness. What a serene and quiet life might you lead if you would leave providing to the God of providence! With a little oil in the cruse, and a handful of meal in the barrel, Elijah outlived the famine, and you will do the same. If God cares for you, why need you care too? Can you trust him for your soul, and not for your body? He has never refused to bear your burdens, he has never fainted under their weight. Come, then, soul! have done with fretful care, and leave all thy concerns in the hand of a gracious God.

Read this verse in context by reading chapter 5 of 1st Peter.

"May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen." -Philemon 25
-William Masopust
www.masopust.us - www.revisedcommonversion.com

The Power of His Resurrection

"The power of his resurrection." -Philippians 3:10

Here is another entry from the Morning and Evening devotional by Charles Spurgeon.

The doctrine of a risen Saviour is exceedingly precious. The resurrection is the corner-stone of the entire building of Christianity. It is the key-stone of the arch of our salvation. It would take a volume to set forth all the streams of living water which flow from this one sacred source, the resurrection of our dear Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ; but to know that he has risen, and to have fellowship with him as such-communing with the risen Saviour by possessing a risen life-seeing him leave the tomb by leaving the tomb of worldliness ourselves, this is even still more precious. The doctrine is the basis of the experience, but as the flower is more lovely than the root, so is the experience of fellowship with the risen Saviour more lovely than the doctrine itself. I would have you believe that Christ rose from the dead so as to sing of it, and derive all the consolation which it is possible for you to extract from this well-ascertained and well-witnessed fact; but I beseech you, rest not contented even there. Though you cannot, like the disciples, see him visibly, yet I bid you aspire to see Christ Jesus by the eye of faith; and though, like Mary Magdalene, you may not "touch" him, yet may you be privileged to converse with him, and to know that he is risen, you yourselves being risen in him to newness of life. To know a crucified Saviour as having crucified all my sins, is a high degree of knowledge; but to know a risen Saviour as having justified me, and to realize that he has bestowed upon me new life, having given me to be a new creature through his own newness of life, this is a noble style of experience: short of it, none ought to rest satisfied. May you both "know him, and the power of his resurrection." Why should souls who are quickened with Jesus, wear the grave-clothes of worldliness and unbelief? Rise, for the Lord is risen.

Read this verse in context by reading chapter 3 of Philippians.

"May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen." -Philemon 25
-William Masopust
http://masopust.us
[Sent from Gmail.]

A Tine Update

Hello! Or as my grandma says, "Hellloooo!" All is well in the land of Edmond. Bill and I have settled into a routine and are definitely liking the conveniences of a city life. Currently, we are waiting for a contract to go through on a house. It all seems unreal! It's a three bedroom home with a huge master bath, fire place and a decent back yard conveniently located off Edmond Rd. and Kelly! It's not a done deal yet, so we're trying not to get our hopes up too high. There's a pic below. After looking at so many houses, Bill really could pass for a house inspector! Lol. He learned a lot from his dad, David. We couldn't have done it without his insight. David is the handy man's handy man, in case you were wondering.


Bill started working for DLO, the same company that I work for, and is really liking it. He works with all the big dawgs. ;) Before he started working for DLO, I was the nobody, everybody didn't know. Lol! Now, everybody who is somebody, walks into the lab and learns my name is like, "Hey! I met your husband!" It's kinda funny. : ) DLO has really been putting Bill to work and as a result he's been sleeping much better. Since, he started working, he occasionally visits the Edmond lab were I work. The first time he came, he was getting a tour of the different facilities, I seriously lost my cool! It was like dating him ALL over again! I got nervous, forgot what I was doing and was walking around the lab like an idiot because I couldn't stop smiling! And yes, he noticed! Ahh! How could I hide something like that from him. He knows me better than anyone I know. Needless to say, it's nice to be pleasantly surprised by his visits.

My new job has been a great experience, so far. There's so much to engrave into my head, but I'm the most confident I've ever been since becoming a med tech. I found myself instructing more experienced techs a few weeks back and when I realized what was going on, I almost couldn't believe it! Part of it, definitely, came from being trained as the key operator for our chemistry instrument. Don't worry, I won't get a big head. It's just nice having a niche. Since the beginning of October, I've been working evening shift and Bill has been working day shift. I really only get to see him on the weekends. This is were you all think, "aww!" I know, right! It stinks to high heavens. During our engagement, we would spend one to three weeks apart at a time. It's more tolerable knowing that when December hits, I should be back to days. In the mean time, I get to leave notes in random places for him to find, such as the one below left in his lunch box.


In other news, Bill and I are looking into biking/cycling! It's still just a thought, but I'm stoked about having a partner to "work-out" with. It turns out, that Edmond is the place to be if you want to get into cycling. Edmond is well supplied with beautiful houses and trees, it's hard not to please the eye here, making cycling all the more enjoyable.

Well, I could go on but it's getting late.

Night!

--Christine

Our Antique Store Find - Kodak Camera

Today, Christine and I decided to do some antique store shopping to try and find some decorations for our new house (when we get one). This little camera is what we walked away with. This camera was made by Eastman Kodak Company (currently known as just Kodak) in Rochester, NY. Imagine that: a camera made in the USA. You don't find that anymore. Unfortunately, I can't find any dates on it so I don't know how old it is. I do know that this particular model was made between 1949 and 1961. I would imagine this one being one of the later models.

-William Masopust (via Evo)
http://www.spiceminesofkessel.com

Preposterous Patriotic Preaching at the Pulpit

The experience of finding a new church yesterday left me with a couple of observations, namely, that patriotic songs are not a substitute for worshiping God, even if God is mentioned in the song (i.e., do not sing The Star Spangled Banner as a way to sing out to God, even though "In God we trust" is in the second verse); and second, proclaiming, "God bless America!" expecting the shouted response, "Amen!" has no place in a Gospel message, especially if done several times. I'm not trying to be antipatriotic, but when Christians gather to worship God, He's who they should be worshiping. Yes, I know yesterday was September 11th (the same would apply for Memorial Day, Independence Day, and any other patriotic holiday), but let's pay our respects to the people involved in those events separately from giving our due worship to our Lord and Savior. There is more than enough time in a day to do both.

"May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen." -Philemon 25
-William Masopust
www.spiceminesofkessel.com
www.masopust.us
www.revisedcommonversion.com

Our Antique Mall Find: A 1960/70s Panton Chair

Today, Christine and I set out on a mission to locate a yellow vintage or vintage-looking chair for our new apartment (and future house when we find one). We chose yellow because it would work well with the look we are trying to accomplish for our home. We began our search in downtown Edmond, Oklahoma, where there are three antique malls. The first one we came to is called, Edmond Antiques. This antique mall is divided into a north side and a south side. After browsing through the north side, we began on the south, and that's where my eye was drawn to a particular chair sitting in the window (the one pictured in this post).

That chair, after looking at the written description, is a Panton Chair, also known as the 1960 Panton Chair, designed by Verner Panton. Now, this chair is not a first-run 1960s Panton, but it is a third series from the 1970s and it is said to be an original Panton chair. This chair is unique, not only for its curves and look, but also for its construction. The 1960 Panton Chair is made of one solid piece of colored thermoplastic polystyrene. Surprisingly, the chair is quite comfortable. We're really going to enjoy having this chair in our living room.

"May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen." -Philemon 25
-William Masopust
www.spiceminesofkessel.com
www.masopust.us
www.revisedcommonversion.com