My sister Bethany and her hubby Stew are expecting Baby #2!! Woooooohoooooo!! If you know Bethy, you know that 18-month-old Isabelle Kate was a long time coming. We prayed for over 2 years for that little doll, and I’m so glad God chose to bring her little brother or sister along more quickly. Now we just pray for His protection for this little one in the womb.

Because of the nature of what I do (talk/write about sex & pregnancy), I get the honor of praying for lots of women who desperately want a baby. And it is such a thrill to hear from one of them that she’s finally pregnant!! (Sometimes I even get to keep secrets for a bit which is super fun.) And I love to share in their joy when they tell the world their amazing news.

If you and your hubby are trying to have a baby, I’d love to pray for you (you can e-mail me here). I don’t have some secret line to God, but I do have a real heart for women who want to be mamas.

And for women who are going to be mamas and aren’t equipped/prepared/excited to be. So many of you have given so generously to bless women in need at pregnancy centers around the world with a copy of this book. You can read more about The Expecting Campaign here. After Cambodia, I hope to get back in the swing of blessing some more mamas-to-be in that way.

Have a beautiful day, friends!

If you’re here for the first time because you heard me chatting with 100.7 WEEC’s Ruth Book this afternoon, welcome!

For those of you who don’t live near my hometown Midwest cornfields (bless your hearts!), WEEC is a Christian radio station in Springfield, OH (about an hour NW of us here in Columbus). It was almost always playing on our radio at home growing up, and Mom and Dad were constantly listening to some Bible teaching program or another. Sad that I took that so much for granted as a kid.

My uncle Tracy (mom’s youngest brother) is the General Manager of the station, and Gabe has helped them out with their website for years. WEEC is listener-supported, and this week is their annual Sharathon.

If it’s not 1:00pm EST time yet as you read this, and you want to Listen Live to my interview with Ruth, you’re most welcome. I’ll be giving a shout-out to my sweet Grandma Joan who faithfully listens to WEEC in her room at the nursing home every waking minute (and probably many of her sleeping ones).

Ruth and I are chatting about Expecting, and I talk about all of you darling folks who have donated books to hurting unwed mamas at crisis pregnancy centers around the world. I haven’t taken an exact count lately, but I know we’re inching close to 400 books donated.

Just this month, the women I spoke to at a retreat in New Jersey donated 23 books. There’s a church in Ohio donating an entire box of 40 to 2-3 pregnancy centers in their area. An old friend from high school just donated 10. It blows me away.

And I’m not really sure how this came to be, but I was interviewed on Moody’s Midday Connection a few weeks ago, and the interview airs tomorrow (Friday) at 1:00 pm EST (12:00pm CST). I’m part of the Friday 4, so I’m not sure what time my segment will be up.

If you’re interested in donating one or more Expecting books ($8.00 per book) to an unwed expectant mother, click here. If you’d like to specify which clinic the book goes to, please let me know in the comments or e-mail me. If you prefer to pay by check, let me know, and I’ll give you my address. If you have questions or want more information, let me know.

Again, friends, THANK YOU. It’s such an honor to be a part of this cool thing God is doing. Praying you have an amazing day!

Just yesterday I was able to give one of the books to a gal with a positive pregnancy test and say, “each week changes are happening in you and your baby. This is a great tool to help you know how to pray specifically for your baby as you walk through this pregnancy.”

The conversation took off from there and we were able to share the Gospel with this precious client. Please pray for her salvation.

Oh, this thrills my heart. Praise you, Jesus!

If you’re interested in donating an Expecting book to a pregnancy clinic for $8, let me know. And a HUGE thank-you to the sweet gals in Jersey last weekend who donated 23 more books! I love watching God work!

And I’m so excited to start doing some Fund-raising in Faith for some precious, exploited children in Cambodia. (We took our Coins 4 Cambodia to Coinstar today–$24.90! Not a ton, but hoping it buys lots of snacks.)

And I know so many of you have already given to help the hurting in Haiti. We gave here.

I wanted you to know where the Expecting books have gone. I’m so thrilled that so many of you are a part of this, and I hope and pray we’ll get to see some fruit. Until then, we’ll just trust and pray that God gets all kinds of glory.

Light in the City (Estonia)

Missionaries in India

Severna Park Pregnancy Clinic (Severna Park, Maryland)

Compassion Pregnancy Center (Clinton Twp, Michigan)

Flint Crisis Pregnancy Center (Flint, Michigan)

Pregnancy Care Center of Union County (Marysville, Ohio)

Elizabeth’s Hope (Waverly, Ohio)

Crossroads Crisis Pregnancy Center of Nanaimo Society (Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada)

Pregnancy Decision Health Center (Columbus, Ohio)

Hi-Point Women’s Center (Bellefontaine, Ohio)

Miami Valley Women’s Center (Xenia, Ohio)

Miami Valley Women’s Center (Kettering, Ohio)

Promise House (Little Rock, Arkansas)

Ark-La-Tex Crisis Pregnancy Center (Shreveport, Louisiana)

Liberty Godparent Home (Lynchburg, Virginia)

Teen MOPS, Easthaven Baptist Church (Kalispell, Montana)

Pregnancy Help Center (Katy, Texas)

Dallas Pregnancy Resource Center (Dallas, Texas)

You’ve donated a total of 279 books (!!!), and 224 have been delivered so far. That’s amazing. When I think of how many women’s lives are going to be touched, I get all choked up.

Yet, when I think of how much hurt and need is out there, it makes my heart ache. I’m trusting God to take our small offering and multiply it as only He can.

And on an unrelated, personal note, I’ve had a hard time trusting God this week in a certain area of my life. Even after all that Zoo Provision, I still have this horrid habit of thinking that if I don’t see a way, there must not be one. Please pray that my faith will be strengthened, and that I’ll trust my loving, knowing God absolutely and completely.

Can I pray for you this weekend?

Fun verse, huh. So, maybe that wasn’t the intent of the original Hebrew. I don’t think God minds.

I had the BEST time tonight. I spoke to the super-cool, way-awesome MOPS group of First Baptist Church in Kettering, OH, and they blew me away. So sweet, so kind, so fun. They just really made me feel all loved and cozy. THANK YOU, girls. What a great night!!

And I can’t wait for you to start leaving comments about getting your homework done! Who’s going to be first??

I got to see Beth and Gwen–two gals I met at church camp when we were in high school. And Holly, a gal who has heard The Sex Talk before at another MOPS group and came to hear it again. Ha! I love it!

I’m so thankful that God has given me such neat opportunities to do what I love and bring Him glory at the same time. Praying He touched your hearts, ladies! And I prayed through your requests and will again. Thanks for sharing them with me.

In other news, I have more Expecting books signed and ready to send! Woohoo! If you’d like to sponsor the shipping costs for either a box of 16 ($11) or an envelope of 5 ($4), please let me know! I need 3 sponsors at $11 and 4 at $4. EDIT (4:30pm): We’re all set! THANK YOU!

If you’re new here and aren’t sure what I’m talking about, check out this post.

Some of you asked if I’m accepting donations for more books. Not yet. I need to get the difference made up (between the $5 donated and the $8.25 cost of the book) first. Does that make sense? I’m hoping in a few weeks!

Short and sweet today! Speaking of short, I’d love to know how tall you are. I’ll start. I used to think I was 5’10″, but I think I’ve shrunk to 5’9″.

How about you? How short are you?

I have some lonely (and unopened) boxes of Blushing Bride books sitting up in my closet. There are 44 books to a box. For a donation of $60 toward the Expecting campaign, I’ll send you a box. Use them however you’d like. Bridal shower party favors. Donate them to your church’s pre-marital ministry. Hand them out to college students. Sell them at your next garage sale.

First 3 people to e-mail me or message me on facebook or twitter, they’re yours (free shipping). SO excited about what God is doing with these Expecting books! Thanks for being a part of it!

I would love your prayers–that God will be glorified, Grandma will be tickled, and the rest of the women will be impacted for Him. Thank you!

And now! Here are the names of the centers that have already received their books (or will soon because they’re in the mail) and the names I wrote in the books. I’m going to start from the beginning one last time. From here on out, I’ll just pick up where I left off. 93 books have been sent out of 224 (!) donated. I’m waiting on a shipment of books from the publisher right now.

Light in the City (pregnancy center in Estonia–the country)– Donna, Emily, Amanda, Sarah and Rebecca.

Missionaries in India– Stephanie and Daniel (2), Sarah, Anne and Nicco, Conny, Kaye, Val, David and Rhonda

Severna Park Pregnancy Clinic (Severna Park, Maryland)– Lisa, Elizabeth, Sandi, Matt, Jessica, Living Proof Ministries

Compassion Pregnancy Center (Clinton Township, Michigan)– Tami (4), Shari (2), Sarah, Mary, Ann, Bethany, Gail, Kelli, Kandice, Liz, Rachele, Elizabeth

Flint Crisis Pregnancy Center (Flint, Michigan)– Kristen, Margaret, Kimberly, Donna (3), Anne and Nicco (3), Living Proof Ministries, David (2), Tami (4)

Pregnancy Care Center of Union County (Marysville, OH)– Rhonda, Kaye, David (2), Rebecca, Sandi, Kimberly, Morgan (2), Tammy, Amanda, Melissa (2), Chuck, Amy (2)

Crossroads Crisis Pregnancy Centre of Nanaimo Society (Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada)– Karen (2), Lindsey (2), Rhonda (2), Tami (2), Elizabeth

Elizabeth’s Hope (Waverly, OH)– David, Elizabeth (2), Sandi (2), Lindsey (2), Chuck (2), Bethany, Patti (5), Kathi

Praising God for His awesomeness!

Working on boxes for Centers in Virginia, Louisiana, Ohio, Arkansas, California and Illinois. Again, if you have personal connections with a pregnancy center near you (or not near you), please let me know!

If you’re interested in sponsoring a box (paying for shipping–$10.35), contact me. (I think my e-mail form is working now.) And you can absolutely still donate books for $5 apiece here.

Have a great weekend, friends!