happy mother’s day to all the moms, and especially to the mom at our house. considering this special day, we are thrilled to announce that we have another baby on the way! woohoo!!!
some details: as of tomorrow we’re 10 weeks along. the due date is mid December (actually it’s technically earlier than “mid” but we seem to go about a week late, so we’re setting expectations). that will make 3 December birthdays in our family. Alice will just be 3, and Caleb will be a little over 4 at that time. the kids are thrilled and keep going back and forth whether they want a boy or girl. mama and daddy dont have a preference, since we think both boys and girls are awesome of course.
we’re thinking we’ll mix it up a little this time around and NOT find out the gender. we found out with both Caleb and Alice and loved doing that, but we think it would be exciting to be surprised. who knows, we may change our mind, but that’s the idea so far. we’ll just need to pick 2 names (which we wont be sharing either, but feel free to guess).
in case you’d like to know, mama is pretty sick with the usual first trimester nausea. not as severe as the hook-me-up-to-the-IV stories you hear, but she feels pretty yucky and really tired most of the time. some days are OK and some are not, so we’re hoping she’ll turn the corner in a couple weeks. if you see her, try to ask her something BESIDES “how do you feel?” since apparently talking about it tends to make it worse :-)
anyway, we’re super thrilled to be adding to the family. I’m tempted to say it’s going to be a LONG time until December, but with 2 toddlers keeping us busy, I’m pretty sure it’ll go by fast. woohoo!!!
ps…for the grandmas and anyone else who may like to see, here’s a video of the ultrasound, including audio of the heartbeat:
here’s an update I sent to those who are supporting my Ireland trip:
Thank you so much for your financial support for my upcoming trip to Ireland. I am very happy to report that thanks to God working through you, we already have over 75% of the support raised! Amazing! So please praise God with us, and thank him for his quick and generous blessings. It it very very encouraging to me, and confirms once more that God is doing something in all this.
Thank you also for your prayers and your pledges to continue to pray. God is certainly answering prayer. Will you please remember to pray for our friends Jim and Laura Pettit? They are in process of raising support for full-time ministry to Dublin. Pray that their needs will be raised quickly so they can follow their hearts to where God is leading. I am very excited to be able to go and see where they’re going, and to be a support to them. So please pray that my time will be fruitful in building the ministry that they are working toward.
One other exciting development is that there are plans in the works for me to stay an extra couple days in Ireland for business purposes. My employer (Unum, formerly known as Provident) just started a satelite office in Carlow, Ireland, and there are a few folks in that office that will soon be working closely with my department. So my bosses want me to go pay a visit and hopefully do a little training for them. Plans are still in the works, but if it does work out I’ll have an extra couple days to see the country and people and hopefully establish some good working relationships.
Finally, if I may share a verse I recently came across. In my opinion one of the most amazing verses in scripture is 2 Corinthians 5:21. Indeed, the whole chapter is very rich. But right before verse 21 I was struck by this: “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.” That is what we’re here for, and what I hope God uses me for in Ireland and here at home: to be ambassadors for Jesus, to call others to be reconciled to God through Him. Please pray that God will do this!
Thank you once again for your generosity and your prayers. I’m looking forward to sharing more with you soon.
it’s been a while since I was into reading much, since most of my free time is spent with the kids, handing out with friends, or doing music. but since I’ve been riding the bus, it’s given me time to read on the way to and from work, and with that momentum I’ve been reading during lunch lately too. I’ve been into non-fiction lately, so here’s some of the latest:
Secrets of Songwriting - not exactly what I was hoping for, but the best I could find at the library. this is focused on getting a #1 country hit, which I care nothing about. but it was good to get the perspectives of different songwriters.
Worship Matters - picked this up on a bit of a whim since lately I’ve been thinking about worship music and worship in general. a very good biblically-based overview. written mostly for worship leaders and pastors. hopefully I’ll take the time to put down some more thoughts on this one.
The Reason for God - I was recently confronted with a dose of skepticism, but I hadnt thought much in philosophical or theological terms in a long time. so I was pointed to this book and I’m very glad I read it. a good treatment of belief and skepticism. there’s a good preview here.
do I really need this money that the government wants me to spend on more junk to fill up my house? probably not. so what might I do with it? probably pay off debt and/or save it. I thought I was taking the high road. Piper has a different idea.
at long last, the teal mobile is no longer. I thought about fixing it up, but the bus has been treating me well, so I sold the carcass for cheap to someone who might be able to give it yet another life. I’ll miss the inherent freedom of an extra car, but I definitely wont miss features such as: driver-side window didnt go down, the stupid automatic (and messed up) seatbelts, the broken seats (necessitating milk crates), the lack of mirrors (1/2 was my own doing) and of course the beauty marks all over it. yet somehow I was fond of the old dead bumblebee in the back window, and of course the Lilt sticker in the window. so the kids and I waved goodbye, and I’ll continue to ride the bus, for now at least. once again, many thanks to Andy and Katie and families for passing it on.
last night mama needed a little peace-n-quiet, and I’ve been wanting to check out the Irish music of the chattanooga session folks (they used to play at Durty Nellie’s before its demise, and I work with the fiddle player). so I took the kids to the Tremont Tavern to take in a little music together. on the way there I promised french fries, so of course they were also asking about chicken nuggets, chocolate milk, and prizes (the other staples of their not-so-often fast food experiences). but I said this isnt that kind of restaurant, but they DO have cool music. they seemed a little discontent with the tradeoff but willing to go along.
so we got there and found a table with a good view of the musicians and the kids were transfixed (the big screen behind them, which was featuring a motorcycle race, didnt hurt). after a while Caleb started looking around and noticed a beer-bottle-shaped neon sign on the wall. upon a little reflection he said, “this must be a beer restaurant!” indeed son, it is, and we usually call it a “bar”. I suppose it’s a little odd to take your 2yo and 3yo to a bar, but I didnt really think about it like that, especially since there’s no smoking (hooray!).
so we enjoyed our french fries and beverages (beer, apple juice and apple juice) as well as the music of course. we made our stuffed animals dance, and I had the kids dance a little too, and we clapped along. Alice exclaimed, “I LIKE this music!” and I think she ate most of the fries. Caleb asked about his prize toward the end of our stay, so they got beer coasters. he wasnt too thrilled with it.
anyway, I highly recommend checking out the Irish music at Tremont Tavern, Sundays starting at 6:30. and maybe one of these days I’ll work up the nerve to do their open mic on Tuesday nights.
for a few years we enjoyed a little vegetable gardening, but since the kids came around we never took the time. but now they’re old enough to “help” and enjoy it too, so I figured we’d start small this year. there’s a pretty nice sunny spot out back, so last week I cleared the construction trash that had been there for over a year (from when we had our deck built). so we got a handful of tomato plants and a couple cukes and Caleb and I put them in the ground this afternoon. no real big deal, just digging holes and mixing in some soil and such. Caleb loved playing with the worms and helping dig and plant a little, and when it came to watering he had a very good time with the hose (he was soon soaked). so we’ll see how it goes.
oh you can see a little of Caleb’s recent haircut in the pic too. still has curls, just less bushy now.
I asked a friend to pray for my upcoming Ireland trip, and he requested some specifics. so here they are:
-Pray for Jesus to be glorified in me and through me in this. That I will know him and his agenda. For faith and vision.
-Pray that the funds will come in (so far so good, by the way)
-I know it’s a bit general, but pray for the work that World Harvest is doing in Dublin, and for the people there, that they would know Jesus.
-Pray that my time there with Cal and Susan will be helpful to them and our relationship.
-Pray for our church that we’ll be more missions-focused and outward-focused. I hope that this trip can be a part of that.
-Pray that God will show me His will through this trip. I feel like He’s starting to break me out of my usual self-focus. Michelle and I really excited to support Jim and Laura as they work to go to Ireland, so I’m hoping that this experience will be a good way to see their needs and be able to support them more effectively. Beyond that, I really dont know what God is up to in all this, but I’m pretty amazed that He’s taken me this far this quickly. He really knocked down my fears and anxieties about this trip, and soon as I opened myself up just a little it all rushed in. I’ve been feeling for a while “there’s got to be more than this” kinda feelings. I feel like God is doing something and wanting me to respond. So I feel like this is a step, and I’m eager to see what’s next. I really am amazed at what’s happened once I laid down my fears. Pray that I’ll keep doing that.
-Pray too for Michelle. She wont be going. It’s funny b/c we both prayed a bit about it and agreed that it’s not the right time for her. Not sure why, since she “objectively” would love to go, but we trust God’s leading her to stay as much as me to go right now. She will be in Vermont with my parents and the kids while I’m gone, so that’s nice in a big way, but also will have its challenges. I’ll be in Vermont for a week with just Michelle and the kids when I get back, so that should be very nice. Pray that all these crazy travels would go well.
I hope this letter finds you doing well. I’d like to share with you what God has been doing in my life lately, the opportunity He’s given me, and how you can help. Yes, this is a “support letter” because I do indeed need lots of support.
I am planning on going to Dublin, Ireland this summer (July 14-20) for a prayer conference (or missions trip, if you prefer) with World Harvest Mission. Lots of folks say something like “Wow, Ireland! Not a bad choice for a mission field…” but modern Ireland is in great need of the gospel. Yet the Spirit is moving and the opportunities are many. There is an especially exciting work starting up involving an arts and music ministry, which our friends Jim and Laura Pettit are working toward joining.
How did I come to decide to go to Dublin? In some ways I’m not sure myself, other than to say that I know that God is leading me. When I first heard about this opportunity earlier this year, I was very interested, but all my usual fears cropped up: too expensive; interferes with other plans; what good could I do over there? But God’s Spirit, through the counsel of a wise friend, showed me that allowing my fears to dominate my heart is not a faithful response. So I tried to give God my fears, and told Him I was willing to follow where He led. Almost immediately I felt led to go participate in this trip. So Michelle and I prayed and discussed and asked God to show us if this is really His will, and He continues to open doors. God has recently shown me my selfish heart and that my focus is usually on myself and my comforts. I have been richly blessed with so many good things, and I feel that God would have me use these blessings to bless others, and not be inward-focused. So I feel this is the Spirit prompting me to take a step out in that direction.
Another big factor for my desire to go is our friends Jim and Laura Pettit, who are planning on going to Dublin full-time, as I mentioned previously. We have a strong desire to support their work there. So this will hopefully be a good opportunity to learn firsthand what they will be doing and how God is working there, and what our role might be in supporting them. They are in need of long-term support, so if you feel the Lord leading you to assist in their ministry, please visit www.jimandlaura.org.
Speaking of support, the cost of my trip and flight total about $1800. This includes all of my expenses while I’m there (except for things such as a cool hat – sadly I lost my last Irish-made hat years ago). Not long ago this amount of money was overwhelming for me, but as a good friend and missionary says, “God has all the money.” So I trust that He will provide however He chooses. Perhaps that’s through you? Would you consider being used by God to provide for my trip? I would certainly be honored and humbled to receive your support.
If you do feel led to support this trip financially, please make out a check to my church: St. Elmo Presbyterian Church (or SEPC) and be sure to put a memo of “Bob Wiegers Ireland Trip.” Please send it to my address (1610 W. 51st St, Chattanooga TN 37409) and I will submit them all at once. Your support will be tax-deductible. The deadline for sending the funds to World Harvest is fast approaching so please send your support by May 21 (that’s less than a month!). So far over 25% has already come in, for which I’m very thankful.
I hope it goes without saying that I need your prayers. Will you please pray for me? The people of Dublin need our prayers. The Irish pastors and Christians, as well as those working with them at World Harvest Mission need our prayers. That is really why I’m going: to pray, to learn, to seek and to do God’s will.
here’s a slideshow of all the pictures Caleb took yesterday afternoon.
after naptime yesterday, Caleb wanted to go out to the front yard to play with Darby, his stuffed-animal dog. he likes throwing him up in the air, usually saying “weee….ouch”. good fun. then he got the idea of putting him up in the dogwood tree, which happens to be in gloriously full bloom. so we put him up in the tree and I got Caleb a long stick to get him down. at some point Caleb wanted to take Darby’s picture, so I got the camera and let him have fun. he already knew which button to push to review the picture he just took, and I showed him how to zoom in and out. over the next hour or so he took pictures of all kinds of stuff in the front yard, including of course Darby in the tree. it was super cute to see him take it so seriously, and he certainly enjoyed himself.
