30 years old and 9 months pregnant!

               

I've spent the last couple of days reflecting on my 20's and the new decade ahead of me.  I enjoyed a wonderful 30th birthday and I'm very thankful for all my friends and family that shared it with me!
             One of the things that has bothered me most about the past couple of years is my lack of writing.  I used to write daily, but slowly got away from that habit.  I'd like to practice that more often going into my 30's.  I feel like I've been more absorbing everything around me the past few years, instead of releasing things on paper.  The problem with not writing is that we tend to forget the little memories and special things that have happened to us over time, if we fail to document them.  Just yesterday I found three old letters from Zac sent to me on my 25th birthday.  I read them to him and he said wow, the cool thing about memories, at least the good ones is that they remind us of the goodness of God and the special things that have happened to us in our lives.  I didn't remember all the little detailed things Zac had done for me until I was refreshed by those letters.  So are we refreshed by the word of God when we read the letters in the Bible.  We are reminded of what God has done for us, especially through the stories of Jesus' death and resurrection. If we don't remind ourselves over the years, the power of that one event will fade until we don't even recall the details at all.
                    There is a special power and life locked inside our memories; why do you think the Bible is basically a retelling of what has happened? It's about the lives and events of those who came before us.  It's a memoir of Gods love for us.  It's a compilation of stories to help us remember.  Don't let anyone discourage you into thinking your story doesn't matter, including yourself and especially don't let anyone tell you the stories in Bible are no longer relevant.  Peoples stories and memories matter, and they should be told and retold.
                  My hope for my 30's is to continue to document Zac and my story while not losing sight of our precious memories.  I believe that Zac and I will also play a special role in the documenting and retelling of other peoples stories.  Learning of other peoples stories helps us realize how our story fits into the bigger story of mankind.  Help cheer Zac and I on as we venture into parenthood and further pursue our not fully realized dreams as storytellers and visionaries by praying for us and sending words of encouragement our way...or even by blessing us with some baby items ;-) We still need a few things off our registry if you feel so inclined we are registered at Amazon.com and Target.com under Zachary DeDominicis or Leilani VanArsdale. You can leave us comments here on our blog or write us via email at leilaniola@gmail.com, and we love snail mail hand written letters sent to our address at :
4045 George Busbee Parkway #1309
Kennesaw, GA 30144
                  I'm just now starting to process the fact that Zac and I were both ordained as ministers in late March at Living Word Chapel in West Hurley, NY.  Though the service was long I am glad that it was documented for us to not forget the words of encouragement spoken over us and the gravity of the event. (You can watch the service here by copying this link into your browser: https://livestream.com/LivingWordChapelLivestream/events/7183168/videos/152679014) If you fast forward to 1:57:00 that is when Zac gets up to speak. We do not take it lightly and I pray we take this call to ministry to it's fullest capacity, and inspire and encourage many people with our service.  Let us know if we can bless your life in any way, whether it be through prayer or some other means.  We would love to stay in touch with those near and far, and know what is going on in your lives by sharing in your victories as well as your hardships as you share in ours.    
Remember this verse as you go about your week:
"He fills my life with good things, so that I stay young and strong like an Eagle." Psalm 103:5