remembering and reaching

this morning i've been swimming in psalm 143, written by david.  while the enemy is pursuing his soul, crushing his life to the ground, making him sit in darkness like those long dead (v. 3) he cries out to God, saying...

"i remember the days of old; i meditate on all that you have done; i ponder the work of your hands.  i stretch out my hands to you; my soul thirsts for you like a parched land."

currently, i'm not aware of being pursued, crushed, or in left in darkness.  honestly, i feel like i'm in a "land of plenty / streams of abundance / sun shining down on me / world's all as it should be" time of life.  but i know that i can never forget to remember all that God has done - not just in my life, but his wonderful works throughout history.  i can never forget to stretch out my hands to him, to reach for him and express my dependence on him.  even in these "good times" i need to practice the discipline of remembering God's faithfulness and reaching for his sustenance.

baby butternut squash

well, it's been a while since i've posted anything. thought i'd give an update on how baby hinkle is growing...

this is week 29! our baby now weighs about 2 1/2 pounds (like a butternut squash) and is a tad over 15 inches long from head to heel. muscles and lungs are continuing to mature, and the head is growing bigger to make room for a developing brain. to meet increasing nutritional demands, liz is getting plenty of protein, vitamins c, folic acid, and iron. and because the baby's bones are soaking up lots of calcium, liz is drinking lots of milk (and other good sources of calcium, like cheese and yogurt). this trimester, about 250 milligrams of calcium are deposited in our baby's hardening skeleton each day. fearfully and wonderfully made!

as you may or may not know, we don't know if we're having a boy or a girl! we want to be surprised! and we're keeping our name choices under wraps, too! the due date is april 7th, only 11 weeks away! we're eagerly awaiting baby hinkle's arrival!

psalm 139:13-16
"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.
wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
my frame was not hidden from you,
when i was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them."