A Tornado and 1 Peter 1:13

[I began writing this last night not knowing whether or not I would even post it.  But here it is - honest but unedited!]

It started out as a nightmare but ended with praise.

Tonight was yet another unforgettable evening as God, in His gracious providence, reminded us of His sovereignty and power.  As we were leaving church tonight, a church member informed everyone about the possibility of a tornado being in the Louisville area.  And as I have said before, yes, we do love our church family, but I couldn't have agreed more with my husband as he shared that a church building as old as ours may not be the most ideal place to be when a tornado lurks around the corner.

So we headed out, gazing at the eery, low-lying clouds that hovered over what looked like miles.  And anyone who knows Paul knows that he... well... he's a recycler who has been known to get cardboard out of the church trash to take to a recycling bin nearby.  So on our way home tonight we made pit-stop to drop off a car load of boxes, and then we continued on our drive home.  As we entered onto the interstate, we kept an eye on some suspicious clouds that provoked concern in both of us!  The car ride silent, I knew that Paul was not taking the swirling clouds lightly.  We continued along interstate 65 and passed the University of Louisville area, and the cloud that initially drew our suspicion began to form splotches that dwindled down towards the ground, and the tension in the car felt suffocating.  This cloud to our left and no darkness immediately above our car, I felt somewhat comforted...

Until terrential rain pounded on our car out of nowhere, and strong wind accompanied this random rain.  I thought to myself, "At least things aren't swirling around... LORD, please get us home safely!"  But then as my focused husband kept his eyes on the road and his lips shut, black debris started flying all across and around our car and the rest of those who were on the interstate.  Simultaneously, we saw red brake lights from all of the other cars who were experiencing the same debris, and it was as if all of us were thinking the same thing- "wrong place, wrong time."  Instead of braking, Paul hurried us up the interstate, hoping to escape this storm as quickly as possible.  By the time we realized that we were out of the worst of it, Paul and I felt relieved, though I hoped that my tearful anxiety wouldn't cause early labor at 32 weeks today!

And by God's inestimable grace, we managed to escape the storm and arrive to our temporary haven of a home.  I don't think it was until about 11:00 p.m. tonight that the adrenaline rush truly diminished, and it was then that a verse that I've been reading recently came to mind:

"Therefore, preparing your minds for action and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ."  (1 Peter 1:13- emphasis mine)

Every human knows what it's like to be scared.  We all experience the misery of fear from one degree to another.  And I don't know that I've ever before experienced the type of fear I did tonight in those few moments of silent terror and complete awareness of man's powerlessness against God's creation.  Though Paul was right as he comforted me by the reminder that, "When it's our time to go, it will be our time to go!", the human instinct of self-protection in moments such as tonight amazes me.  Because when threatening situations arise that seem to come from out of nowhere, we tend to do exactly what my husband did tonight:  escape the situation as best as possible.  In the moment, we don't like tangible reminders like tornadic activity to remind us of how unreliable and incapable we really are, and we want to get out of them.  Yet what encouragement a verse like 1 Peter 1:13 is to me!  Those of us who know and love Christ will receive grace at His revelation one day.  With Him, we will never again experience that type of fear.  We won't think those stomach-wrenching thoughts such as "What if this situation causes me, my husband, or my baby to die?"  Fears will cease.  Insecurities will fade away.  Anxiety will be a part of the past.  And the incomprehensible glory and joy of being with Christ will be in the present and in the eternal future.

No, we weren't at the wrong place at the wrong time.  Thank you, Lord, for setting my hope back on the grace that lies ahead!

Showered with Showers

Planning for babies is a thrilling yet overwhelming process in so many ways, and any expression of support in this process blesses us beyond words. This past weekend our friends and family in Memphis showered our family with affirmation through their encouragement and through their generous presents.  Here are some pictures of the unforgettable weekend.

My friend, Julie, made these lion cake pops!  Her time and effort spent making these paid off- they were incredible! 

Julie also made alligator and elephant shaped butter cookies to match the jungle theme of the shower.  Tasted like they came straight from a bakery!

My wonderful mama

Here's my Aunt Sharon, one of the hostesses of the shower, who is presenting to our kids the biggest teddy bear known to man...

who is appropriately named "Costco," thanks to the suggestion of a friend.

My best friend since I can remember and hostess of the baby shower, Julie!

A table was set up for friends and family to write messages to the little one we hope to bring home from Africa soon!  I can't wait to compile everyone's messages for our little one to keep for the rest of his/her life so that this child will see the vast amount of people who are praying for him/her and are anticipating this baby's homecoming!

Here is Mrs. Colter, another shower hostess, who was kind enough to host this event at her home! 

Below are just a few pictures of some of our sweet friends with sweet hearts...

Thank you, Lord, for such generous friends!

Popping with Excitement...

In case I haven't made it clear, we absolutely love our church family.  This past week the sweet women at our church got together to celebrate the upcoming arrivals, Lord-willing, of our little ones.  My mom even made a surprise appearance by flying from Memphis to this event!  Here are a few pictures from the baby shower.

Me by the food.  I like to hang out around food these days...

Yuuuummm!!!

Thanks to my friend, Anna, and her creativity on all of the party favors!  The theme of the shower was "Pop," as in "pop"ping with a baby AND "pop"ping with excitement, and all of the food and party favors fit this theme- including these fun bubbles!

Love these girls!

Sweet friends...

The wonderful hostesses!  4 out of these 6 girls are currently pregnant, and one just had a little girl just a few weeks ago!  We can't wait to celebrate ALL of these babies! 

Thanks again to all of the wonderful Kenwood women for supporting our expanding family!  We love you!

An Unresolved Mystery . . .

What a nice surprise I found at our front door upon returning home from work today:

A box of 504 baby wipes and the book Devotions for Sacred Parenting by Gary Thomas!

This was specifically addressed to Paul and Sarah Tennant, but the return address simply showed "Amazon.com."  With all due respect to Amazon.com, I'm pretty sure that it wasn't their good will to send free items out to customers that caused these items to show up at our home today.

So whether or not the anonymity was intentional, we are very thankful for these items that will come in very useful as we prepare for and enter into parenting!  Thanks SO much!!

-Paul and Sarah

"Until Death Do Us Part"

Tonight started out as a relatively pleasant evening: Paul came home from work to eat dinner before he had to return to the hospital to work on some research.  As we cooked together and talked about our day, we were suddenly interrupted by our crazy little "Casper Dog" screaming a horrified bark that neither of us had previously heard him make; he was obviously hurt.  Both of us hurried to the window where we saw him helplessly and fearfully hanging by his collar on our picket fence.  We quickly realized what had happened:  discontent with the presence of a next door neighbor's cat, Casper jumped against the picket fence in an attempt to approach this cat.  And in the process, his collar became caught on one of the fence posts, leaving him wiggling with terror as he hung in a strangle. 

Assuming that at best, our dog's neck was broken, I was paralyzed by fear and was too afraid to approach the dog. Therefore, my reaction was, "Paul, go do something!"  And with obvious concern, Paul courageously faced any understandable fear and took control of the situation and managed to still Casper's frenzied countenance long enough to release him from his collar.  Grateful at the sight of his wagging tail, we consoled the dog until he caught his breath, and we sat down at the dinner table to catch our own breaths!  And as we ate together and wound down from this short lived adrenaline rush, I thought to myself, "I'm married to a hero." 

Yes, it's just a dog.  And yes, given his career choice, Paul regularly handles more important pressure than the incident of a strangling dog.  But his willingness to take charge- to prevent as much drama as possible in a frightening situation (though I wasn't helping him with that!)- and to step up and be a man and do what needed to be done impressed me.  And I believe that this seemingly meaningless incident was a providential event used to remind me of how blessed I am to be married to Paul Tennant. 

So to the wonderful man who may only check his Facebook once a year but faithfully reads the scattered trains of thought on this blog...

to the husband who maintains a lighthearted baseline at home but is always willing to listen to your wife...

to the most handsome man on the planet...

to the most giving man I know...

to the husband who exemplifies repentance and a willingness to apologize...

to the future daddy who already regularly tells your son how much you love him and who desires to bring  our child (okay, Paul, I'll say it- or possible children!!) home from across the world...

to the husband whose desire is that we love Jesus more...

and to the man who is so humble that he's undoubtedly embarrassed to have a blog post dedicated to him...


I love you, Paul Tennant.  God has granted us a four-year journey during which He has pruned us, tested us, softened us, and increased our for love Him and for each other. I'd take the journey of sanctification with you over simple marital "bliss" any day.  I look forward to expanding our family with you, to rearing children with you, and to,  Lord-willing, growing old with you.  Happy 4 Year Anniversary!





(Our first date at Cadduceus Ball in 2006.  Little did we know then how significant this night would be!)