Eric's 1st Post!

Hey, since this is called TEAM Zanger, I figured I'd eventually get back into writing again. Our school has a newspaper called The Chronicle, and they had teachers sign up to be their guest columnist. I took last month to be the guest columnist, and I wanted to bring something to the table that God was teaching me, out of a hope that it would bless somebody. So, here it is, out of a hope that it will bless you. God is enough. God is most definitely enough.

Eric

When it all goes wrong, is God still enough?

Eric J. Zanger

We like to blame God. In our minds, we place ourselves as the prosecuting attorney and put God in the defendant’s seat all too often. Moreover, we then begin a diatribe, peppering God with questions: “Why did this happen to me?” or “Why didn’t you stop ____?” or “Why haven’t I received ______?” or “Why don’t you listen to my prayers?” or “Where is my blessing?” often linger in our minds or maybe come out of our mouths. For questions like these to come out at all is problematic; however, a consistent attitude like this belies a heart and a mind that have not fully grasped the riches of God’s salvation.

We have bought a lie that states, “God wants you to be happy. So come to him and he will give you what makes you happy: A new car, more money, great grades, good friends, obedient kids, or success in life.” That’s not true—that’s idolatry. That is taking God and using him as a means to something you think is better. God does in fact want you to be happy—but happiness must be defined by our being satisfied in GOD, not by being happy in the things God gives.

Hebrews 11 contains the Hall of Faith, where the writer of Hebrews demonstrates how living faith produces action. As we look at Hebrews 11, it is easy to see all the amazing ways that God blessed those with faith. At the same time, it is also easy to gloss over some vitally important verses. In verses 33-35, we see how faith helped people conquer kingdoms, enforce justice, obtain promises, stop the mouth of lions, quench the power of fire, escape the edge of the sword, be made strong out of weakness, become mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight, and that women received back their dead by resurrection. If I am honest with myself (and hopefully, if we are all honest with ourselves), I really like when faith brings that type of result. I would love to be able to put foreign armies to flight! I would love to obtain promises and stop the mouth of lions! Who wouldn’t?

However, verse 35 turns dark. We see that faith also led to some painful results: “Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated—of whom the word was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth” (Hebrews 11:35-38). Did you catch that? Faith in God led to torture. Faith in God led to people refusing to accept release and wanting to die! Faith in God led to mocking and flogging! Faith in God led to prison! Faith in God led to death by stoning! Faith in God led to being sawn in half! This is unbelievable. Faith in God led some to quench the power of fire, escape the edge of the sword, and stop the mouth of lions. Faith in the same God led others to be sawn in two or stoned to death.

I hope Hebrews 11 shatters your thoughts that God owes you cheery rosy days with no conflict, no sorrow, no pain, and certainly, no suffering of any kind. It is easy to thank God for sunny days, but at that point, are you more thankful that you know God or that you have a sunny day? It is much harder to thank God when it is thundering outside and your life seems very dark and impossible. However, that is exactly when God is glorious because he is God, not because he is the giver of stuff.

I want to end this article by asking you two questions. First, why do you love God? Is it because of the blessings he gives you or because you have a good GPA and if those things stop happening, you get angry? Or is it because he has rescued you from the domain of darkness and has brought you into His kingdom? Second, if everything went wrong in your life—you failed your classes, you lost your job, you got cancer, or your best friend died tragically—could you cry out like the psalmist and say, “Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” (Psalm 73:25-26)? Could you, through the deepest possible pain, cry out, “God, I do not know what you are doing, but I trust that you are good and that you are more than enough for me”?

I pray that you will and that I will be able to believe that God is enough for us, because there is no promise of sunny days and blue skies in the Scripture.

Still Waiting...

Update from our Doctor's Appointment on Friday

(38 weeks + 5 days)

Little Girl Zanger is healthy & seems to have evened out in all of her measurements. Meaning her head circumference, abdomen circumference, and femur length all seem to be measuring only 1 week ahead of schedule now (39 weeks +5 days). Of course, I don't think parts of her magically shrunk or grew extremely fast. This just goes to show that Ultrasound measurements in the end are only estimates. And the estimate for her weight is 8 pounds 3 oz now.

The good news: I am now 50% effaced & the doctor said this time that we could have "delivery anytime" now. Yay!

Oh... and apparently she has lots of HAIR!

However,

The kind of scary news: Baby Z is still floating... aka - hasn't "dropped" into the pelvis yet. I know that in 1st babies, this usually happens 2-4 weeks before birth so I asked the doctor about it. He said she could still drop or it is possible that her head is too big. Personally, 8 pounds, 3 ounces does not sound too big to me yet, considering that I was bigger than that when I was born. (And it's just an estimate anyway). But, I guess to be honest, he told me that at this point there is a 2/3 chance of normal delivery still and a 1/3 chance of c-section. (Which I DON'T want.) He also said at our next week's appointment, if the baby hasn't come yet, that he wanted to start talking about induction as well. (Which I also DON'T want.)

He said a bit more, but this was the main jist of the appointment. So, could you please join us in prayer over this situation. My husband reminded me on the drive home from the hospital that God is bigger than statistics and He is ultimately in control of when and how every baby arrives into this world. So, please pray for peace in this situation for me (that I wouldn't stew over it or constantly be anxious). And pray that our baby would "drop" in God's timing and I'd have enough strength to push her out. (if this is God's will)

Thank you all for your love and support. Again, we'll keep you posted!

Quick Baby Update

No pictures this time.

We had another baby Dr. appointment yesterday and several people have been asking how things are going so I thought I'd share them here. Yesterday we were 37 weeks +4 days. At Samsung, we had an ultrasound, non-stress test, and an examination by the Doctor. Overall, the outcome... things are just fine!

Again, they say the baby is a bit big... 8 pounds already! But of course that's just an estimate based on the sonogram. A friend of mine recently encouraged me that they (at the same hospital) had told her that her baby girl was 9.5 pounds but in the end she really only came out at 8.1. So, that's encouraging to me at least!

Baby is in the correct head-down position. During the non-stress test it was neat to see that I had 2 short sharp contractions (which I couldn't even feel.) But... at least my body is starting to gear up for the main event!

Other news, though, wasn't quite as promising. The baby is still floating (as in hasn't "dropped" yet), no dilation, and only 25% effacement. At the end of the appointment, the Doctor said, "in my experience, delivery is not impending." Which basically meant, "see ya next week!" Which is fine. I'm ok with another week or 2 or even 3 if need be. My vitals are doing good. Weight and blood pressure are steady. So, we'll see when this event actually gets going.

We'll keep you posted as things develop further!

Baby Room

So, we did this a couple of weekends ago, but I forgot to post the pictures. We were finally able to go to E-Mart and purchase the last few things (for now) that I thought we needed for the baby nursery. Things are looking quite nice in there now I must say. Check out the pictures and notice the new additions of the plastic dresser/drawers, cool rug, and cutesie trash can.

Valentine's Post

My husband was so good to me over this last Valentine's week. We ended up going out 3 TIMES in one week! Friday night before Valentine's Day he took me to get pedicures... one of my favorite things to do here especially when he does it WITH me! He likes it, too. Don't let him tell you otherwise. He LOVES having his feet tickled. :)

I don't have any pictures of the pedicures. But then on Saturday our church had a Valentine's Banquet that we attended. Here is a picture of up at that event.

And then on Monday, my Love took me out to Outback Steakhouse. So yummy! We don't get to splurge like that very often so it was a great treat for us. Then we came home, took a walk & discovered a new Christian Bookstore close to where we live. We explored that (although don't get too excited because everything is in Korean). Then we came home, played a board game and have some family devotion time. Such a great evening. Thanks, Baby!

Sunday Sermon

http://www.songtanbaptist.com/category/sermons/

Click on the link above to hear the sermon Eric preached in church this morning.

A few pics from Spirit Week

Wacky Tacky DayEric posing as a nerd with practically the only 7th grader who dressed up with him.Twin Day!

All Things Baby

So this last weekend has been a big weekend with several of our activities being related to Baby. On Friday we went up to Samsung Medical Center in Seoul for our 1st doctor visit with the Doctor we'll be delivering with. We were really impressed with the facilities, the Doctor, the tests they ran, the fact that they have an International Section with doctors and nurses who speak English, and the general service they gave us (but of course it's Korea, so would you expect less?) Doctor Kim checked me out thoroughly, let us ask lots of questions, and also had us get an Ultrasound and do a Non-Stress Test (which measures stress on the baby and if you are having any contractions). Everything came out normal. He, like everyone else, said the baby is a little big but that it was no problem. We are excited to continue going there. Our next appointment is in 3 weeks. Here are a few pictures from our little excursion.

Me on the 4th floor of the parking garage with the Hospital behind me.Talking with Dr. Kim in his office.

Me getting the Ultrasound. See my big belly?

A couple of the Ultrasound pics. Again, sorry for the blurriness.Is that hair I see???

Then today I had a Baby Shower hosted by several ladies from our school.

The ladies who helped plan the Shower.

The beautiful cake Mylene made for the shower.Opening some of the gifts. Don't you just love the blanket and teddy bear that Grace MADE for our baby?? I think they are awesome!Then, this weekend Eric and I have been working on transforming the baby room from looking like this...and this...to something more like this...and this. It's not perfect yet, but at least things are progressing!

Christmas: Part 2

Opening gifts with Larry & Bonnie in Chicago.

Didn't get a picture of Julie & Jerry, but we did get a picture of me opening their baby gift for us! Thanks so much!Eric had fun assembling our new Pack 'n Play and Stroller/Car Seat from Bonnie & Larry.The finished products.Guess what Eric & I did on New Year's Eve??? :) Well, we also went to see the movie "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader." Good movie! Good date!Elise, Kyle, & I at the Family Baby Shower that Bonnie & Laura threw for us. Thanks ladies! We didn't take many pictures at this event because others were taking them and we'll get the pics from them later.Friends and Family who came to the Shower.We got to spend an afternoon/evening visiting Laura, Kent, and the kids. Always a fun time.Me with our 6 billion bags attempting to leave the country. Amazingly enough, ALL our luggage made it AND we didn't have to pay anything extra to take the stroller and car seat with us! Praise God!

Well, thus concludes our Holiday trip to the States. Stay tuned in the coming months for much more baby news. But for now I'll leave you with one last picture. We also had to buy a new computer over Christmas and decided to go with a MacBook this time. There are some cool features on here. One night we laughed SO hard playing with the photobooth taking wacky pictures of ourselves. Here is my favorite of Eric. Enjoy!

Christmas

Oh dear! It's been SO LONG! And I feel that I have about 50 pictures to show you all from our wonderful Christmas trip to the States. This is going to be hard to choose, so I'll just try to put as many on as I can.

Christmas was great and now we are back in Korea in the swing of things again with school and all. We've almost been here a week but jet lag still has it's holds on us a bit. Things are going well, though. We are still loving our jobs at school, are preparing our house for Baby Zanger, and in general, enjoying our lives here. For those who hadn't heard, we WILL be here next school year too. Eric teaching and me at home with the baby. Things are about to change a LOT in our lives but we are looking forward to it. Only 2 months left!

Ok, here are the promised pictures from the last month. Enjoy!

Eric got to give a short devotion for our family Christmas Eve service in Kansas. He did a GREAT job!

Of course my brother played the music for the evening and it was fantabulous as well!Rarely sighted, but no less loved cousins.At the Lambert family Christmas, Baby Z got called to sit on Santa's lap! :)The Big Lambert Family (minus a few people in Africa)Our Little Lambert FamilyThe ZANGERS!Undercover Secret Santa's - filling Mom's stockingChristmas morning - headed to Western Plains on our "secret" goodie bag giving quest.Eric's favorite gift this Christmas - an iPod Touch!Can't keep a pregnant woman away from her Cherry Mash on Christmas! Thanks for making it, Jada.The car battery died on our 2nd Sunday in Kansas... so Eric and I had to walk to church. It was a BEAUTIFUL frosty morning!Leaving Kansas, Come Again!

Ok, so there were LOTS more people that we visited in KS but I'm running out of room and we didn't so much take as many pictures at those particular events. Sorry! But we enjoyed our time thoroughly. I think I'm going to have to break and start a "Christmas Part 2" post because this has gotten SO LONG! Hope you enjoyed it! Next up: Christmas in Chicago.