This Sunday morning our church did not meet so Anne and I decided to have our own service. We headed to Lake Radnor, one of our favorite places in Nashville, and found a bench overlooking the lake. We decided to have a prayer time focused on the child growing inside of Anne.

We started by reading Psalm 139 in which David writes, “For you created my inmost being, you knit me together in my mother’s womb…My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body.”

We then both prayed for this child that is being “woven together. We thanked God that he is a personal and intimate God and even though we can’t see this child, he or she is not hidden from Him.

We then read in Jeremiah 1:5-22 where the Lord said to Jeremiah, “before you were born I set you apart.”

Anne and I prayed that God would set apart our child for His purposes. We prayed that the words of God would be on their heart and in their mouth.

We then read Proverbs 3 in which Solomon writes, “Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.”

We prayed that our child would trust in the Lord with all of their heart and that they would not lean on their own understandings.

We finished by reading in Ephesians 5 where Paul writes to Husband and Wives. Anne and i prayed for our own relationship with each other and that we would model a godly marriage before our children.

We spent about an hour this morning reading and praying. I have always loved praying with Anne. And now I love praying for my child.

As a couple who is going through the early weeks of pregnancy for the first time we are learning about what to do and not to do. Anne has been faithfully reading the book, “What to expect when you’re expecting.” It has everything on anything you would every want to know about being pregnant. The problem is it can sometimes seem overwhelming like in the area of a mother’s diet.

I assumed Anne’s diet would change — she would crave some things and suddenly not want other things. I knew I might have to buy the cliches of pickles and ice cream. And that she would need to stay away from things like coffee and alcohol. Those just seem like common sense. But this book has her on a diet like she’s training for the Olympics.

Here’s a sample of the Protein she should be eating. The book recommends she eat 3 of the following daily:

24 ounces of milk or buttermilk; 1 cup of cottage cheese; 2 cups yogurt; 3 ounces of cup grated cheese; 4 large whole eggs; 7 large egg whites; 3 1/2 ounces canned tuna or sardines; 4 ounces canned salmon; 4 ounces cooked shellfish; 4 ounces (before cooking) fresh fish; 4 ounces (before cooking) skinless chicken; 4 ounces (before cooking) lean beef.

And that is just the Protein list. There is also a list on calcium, Vitamin C, green Leafy and yellow vegetables and fruits, whole grains and legumes and iron rich foods.

I am starting to wondering if Genesis’ curse of pain in child birth isn’t actually the diet. And the worse part of it all – no hot dogs.

Now that is just not right.

When I found out my wife was pregnant — pregnant with our very first child — my first reaction was to tell everyone: The telemarketer on the phone, the guy jogging past my house, the girl on skates delivering my sonic burger

But even though this type of news creates a public desire to shout, it is also a very private moment that doesn’t yet seem completely real. We haven’t even been to the doctor yet. What if its not true? What if we aren’t pregnant?

But we knew we couldn’t completely keep it to ourselves. News like this can’t be contained to just two people. So we decided to tell just our parents right now. One, we wanted and needed to share this news with them. We needed to hear their excitement. And two, we needed their prayers. We know the early weeks of pregnancy are critical and we wanted to know others were joining us in prayer.

And so we are praying. Praying for protection and health for this little one growing inside Anne.

One of the most common questions we get from friends and family is, “How is everything going?” or maybe “What’s new?”

My typically answer is normally “everything is fine” or I might ramble about my job or what I did this weekend. I always feel like I let down the person asking as if I should reveal some exciting adventure that Anne and I just experienced. But the reality is most of life is lived in the ordinary.

But about 10 days ago I received big news. The kind of life changing news that redefines you. The kind of news that you can’t wait for someone to say casually, “What’s new?” so I can give them the news of all news.

But the problem is I can’t tell anyone. I can’t shout it or email it or even text it. At least not just yet. Not for another 14 days when my wife goes to the doctor and she has her first exam as a new mom.

That of course makes me a new dad. And that is my big news. But shhh. It’s a secret!