Pregnancy update

I hit the 24 week mark! The baby is moving plenty, and for the first time I felt the movement on the outside. I probably could have felt it before, but hadn't tried it. Saturday evening I was in bed writing in my journal, and I had my arm across my tummy. While I was writing I keep thinking I was seeing my pj's move out of the corner of my eye. I shifted my arm a bit to the suspected spot and sure enough I felt a series of strong little kicks against it. Dale was in the shower or I would have called him to come in and enjoy it too.

I have yet to get out my maternity clothes. That isn't as impressive as it sounds. Fact is I lost a lot of weight after Aaron, so most of my clothes have plenty of room. I will be getting out a few things that I have this week, simultaneously sorting through my regular clothes. Time for a declutter!

Anyway, Dale took this belly shot for me last night after church while I was still all gussied up:



As this baby grows it is harder to remain in a nuetral zone emotionally. I go from thinking "I can't go through this again" to feeling so much joy. I am continually on edge, but strangely, I am getting used to that feeling. I have resigned myself to feeling that way until the baby is born, and from what I have learned, that is normal for someone in our situation.

I have done nothing to prepare for this baby. Usually I make some new nursing wear, or baby stuff, but honestly, I just can't do that right now. Thankfully, we have plenty so if I never get around to it during pregnancy, the baby will be well provided for anyway. I can get by on what I have for nursing, as well. I have a new pattern I DO want to sew up though, "Catherine's Choice". It is a maternity/ nursing pattern. I have the fabric too, for it already. Like I said, I have been hesitant to do much so far. I think in my mind I remember all the getting ready for Aaron, and I just don't want to go through that and get my hopes up too high, if that makes any sense. I'm not trying to sound morbid, really.. just honest. I had given almost all the things I prepared for Aaron (nursing nightgowns, boppy, some baby outfits, etc) to a friend of mine who had a baby boy in January. She told me after she found out I was pregnant again to let her know when we would be in the neighborhood and she'd be happy to return all of it to me. I'm not sure how I feel about that. Everything I gave her was because it reminded me of Aaron.. all specifically for him. The only thing I kept that was specifically for him was a baby quilt a friend of mine made. At this point, we have no immediate plans to go up that way, but will be when we get apples in a month or two. So, I can think about it. The practical side of me says "take it back, it will save some money, and besides, it isn't like you ever used the stuff for Aaron, in fact it will be more like a hand-me-down since she used the stuff for her baby." It doesn't seem so bad in that light, but knowing that I had originally made and obtained those things specifically for Aaron is like opening a wound.

Meanwhile, there is much to do here at home, and the busier I keep, the better I do, unless I get overtired. I still have not found a way to reconcile grieving with rejoicing in this matter. I enjoy the times of great joy, and get through the edgy times as best as I can with the Lord's help.

These Things

As part of my personal quiet time, along with my Bible reading, I read a little publication put out by the Institute of Creation Research called Days of Praise. They are nice little snippets of devotionals. I don't recommend that being the ONLY reading you do, but it is interesting many times. Anyway, wanted to share this passage by Henry M. Morris, Ph.D:

"For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ." (2 Peter 1:8)

In this first chapter of Peter's last epistle, he refers to "these thing"(one word in the Greek) no less than six times. That they are extremely important things is evident from our test, but if these things are lacking, one is spiritually blind and has forgotten what Christ did for him in salvation (v.9). However, if he does "these things," he will never fall (v.10).

What then are the things which Peter stresses so urgently? Verse 8 makes it obvious that they constitute dimply the hierarchical catalog of Christian attributes listed in verse 6 and 7 - that is, faith, virtue (strength of character), knowledge, temperance (self control), patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and charity (unselfish love).

The same word is used in verse 4, where it explains how we are enabled to acquire these traits of Christian character. "Whereby we are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ['by these things'] ye might be partakers of the divine nature."

When these things characterize our lives, we become nothing less than Christlike. He, in His humanity, was all these things as he shared our nature, and we have become partakers of His divine nature when we manifest them.

The wonderful thing is that they are all mediated to us through the gracious promises of the Word of God. God promises, we believe, and then receive! There is an effectual promise for the achievement of each stage in the growth of a Christlike character. Indeed, as Peter had already said by way of introduction, "his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue" (2 Peter 1:3).

I hope the above is a blessing to you today!

Pre-Publication Promotional by Urban Homemaker

The Riches and Treasure of Home

OH Droooling over this here! If you like Victorian type of decor and ambiance, this book is for you, from what I can tell.

Sunflowers and Van Gogh Unit Study

This is just a little taste of what we get into sometimes in our unit studies. I love sunflowers! They are so cheerful and elegant and stately. Here are some pics of us measuring and investigating one of our talest sunflowers from the garden.
Here the children are measuring the height of the sunflower, the width of the stem, the width of the flower, and the width of the leaves.



They each had a turn carrying the sunflower and were suprised at how heavy it was. Caleb is shown here pickign it up:



This is a picture from part of the garden. At least the sunflowers flourished, even if almost everything else failed! LOL. Doesn't the site of them just lift your heart and spirits?



Our next Home Ec. project is making a sunflower wall hanging, which I am in the midst of designing. It will be appliqued and a verse will be embroidered on it. Also, here are some link we found useful in our studies so far:

http://www.vangoghgallery.com/painting/sunflowerindex.html

http://www.vangoghgallery.com/catalog/Painting/586/Still-Life:-Vase-with-Fifteen-Sunflowers.html

http://www.first-school.ws/activities/occasions/vangogh.htm

Who says learning can't be fun? :)

Quiet Time Part 1- answers to a couple questions

Before I start with the second myth, I just want to answer a couple of questions one commenter had. I'm not going to make a habit of this, as my time at the puter is limited. I encourage each and every one to study for themselves like the Bereans. Pray. Listen to what God has to say to you.

Kris, I hope you are reading this, because this is for you. :) She asked what Bible verses can I give that talk specifically about quiet time? Well, like other modern christian vernacular, you won't find the actual words "quiet time" in the Bible. We also don't find "rapture" or "trinity", by the way. How do we base our knowledge on these things? Context, and reading and studying the Bible, basing what learn. The Bible has many principles that we get from reading it cover to cover. I already listed a few verses that talk about spending time in the Word (according to John 1:1 the Word is God and was present in the beginning of creation, now that is something to meditate on!) When we are in the Word, we are indeed spending time with our Lord, sitting at His feet, if you will. To me, this seems a simple context. But just as an experiment, I asked my children (the ones who can read) why we do Bible reading each day, privately? What they didn't say was "because you and Daddy tell us to." What they did contribute was the following:

Matthew 6:6 "But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly." Well, if being in your closet with the door shut isn't private, I don't know what is.

Romans 12:1 "I bessech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service."
1 Corinthians 6:19 "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?" My oldest son expounded on those two verses a bit. What he was getting at is that reading your Bible, praying is a good way to examine yourself and to keep your temple clean. It is also how we communicate with God. We talk to Him in prayer, and He talks to us through His Word.

Psalm 18:1 "I will love thee, O Lord, my strength." One of my dd's pointed this verse out saying that if we love God, we will want to spend time with Him.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:" I think this is obvious. Another dd pointed out that there is a time for everything, including time for private devotions.

Some of the discussion I had with them wandered a bit, even mentioning how the Anabaptists HAD to memorize lots of scripture because of the persecution and tribulations they were under. My 7 yo son mentioned that the reading of the Bible and praying strengthens our hearts in the Lord, prepares us for whatever comes our way in life. My dd then pointed out that we need refilling everyday to keep ourselves built up.

Some other verses that talk about God's Holy Word.. well, all of Psalm 19, Psalm 37:31, Psalm 19:7-10, 1 Timothy 4:15-16, John 15:4-5 for example.

Another question was asked about what Scripture I can use to back up the claim that if we don't have quiet time then we are letting the ball drop. I already answered that in quoting James 4:17. That is clear enough.

Another question was made asking what Scripture I can use to back up my claim that my model of quiet time is the right one? Well, I never made that claim, in fact I never said what model of quiet time we were espousing. I purposely left that area blank because of exactly that accusation. That is another part of the devotional that I will address very soon.

I pray that you will find this devotional on quiet time a blessing. Personally, I love getting into the Word, though my time is limited. It is exciting to me how something I've read many times before can suddenly jump out at me! God knows what we need to know and when we need to know it. Isn't He wonderful?

Quiet Time - Part 1

This is a topic that has been on my heart for a long time, and at the risk of sounding preachy or self-righteous, I am going to address it. I have seen this subject become much abused over the last 18 years plus, since I was saved, and like all things that are pure, good, lovely, etc., the devil seems to have yet another stronghold in the circles of Christianity.

I am talking about personal time with the Lord. Private devotions. Whatever you call it, it is that time when you spend your own time reading the Bible and praying. Daily. That is a fundamental block in a Christian's walk with God. You cannot be godly without spending time with God. You cannot grow if you don't eat. But I am getting ahead of myself here.

Myth #1:"You don't have to feel guilty about not having a regular time to read your Bible and pray."

This is very popular trend right now. I have been amazed, astonished, and greatly disappointed at the number of "experts" that say this. Especially those addressing mothers. Mothers, if anyone, need that time desperately! I know, because I am one. :) The going philosophy is (and yes, it is a philosophy, because it certainly isn't biblical) that if you have children, then its okay if you don't have a regular time with the Lord. Show me the verse that exempts mothers from their responsibility in any area of the christian walk. Did anyone say it was going to be easy? Of course not.

James 4:17 "Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin."

That is a verse parents love to quote to their children, but it applies to adults as well. Perhaps the reason you feel guilty for not having your time with the Lord is because you are sinning? It is a good thing to be able to feel guilt, as that is one way the Lord uses the Holy Spirit to bring us to Him. Guilt lets us know when we have crossed the line, so to speak. Now, you can follow the line of thinking that you "don't have to feel guilty" because in this country, we don't like discomfort of any kind. You can ignore the guilt, or reason it away with worldly philosophy, until your heart is hardened on that point. Satan will love that. He will have one area of your life, and then go for another, so on and so on.

I know there are times when life has an emergency, or some crisis that alters our general routines, but that is covered in a different part of this little devotional. My point is that you absolutely should have a regular habit of having time with the Lord. If we miss and we feel that sweet tug from the Lord, don't ignore it, or reason it away, or try to justify it. That is the Lord talking to you! How precious! If you don't have a regular time with the Lord, then I pray you do feel guilty and that is nags you until you yield to Him in this matter.

That last myth runs somewhat into Myth #2:"It's quality, not quantity." I will be addressing that next.

1 Thessalonians 4:3-4 " For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour;"

Well, how do you learn about God? How do you learn how to conduct yourself as a Christian? Look at verse 11: "And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you;"

2 Timothy 2:15 "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the world of truth." Study takes time. It takes diligence. It takes a regularity of habit. You can't learn to rightly divide the word of truth if you aren't reading it on a regular basis.

1 Kings 19:12 "And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice." I am sure most of us are familiar with this part of Elijah's life. I'm also sure you have heard the application of God's still, small voice. Was it because God couldn't be heard in the earthquake or in the fire? No. He wanted Elijah to quiet himself before his Lord.

That is what having personal time with the Lord can do. In the midst of chaos in our life, it can calm us, focus our thought on Him, the One who we should be turning to at every crossroads. The One we should be praising at all time. If we don't make the effort to meet with Him everyday, then there is no spiritual centering of ourselves to focus on the Lord, His Word, to equip us with whatever the day brings forth.

Ephesians 6:13-17 "Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: "

I don't care how many times those verses are used.. they are true and right. God's Word doesn't change, and neither should we. You can't quench the fiery darts of the wicked without faith. You can't grow in faith if you aren't being fed spiritually through His Word. Interestingly enough, the Bible is the only offensive weapon listed in our spiritual ware fare attire. Do you want to wield the sword with skill, or like a clumsy oaf, who is more likely to harm himself instead of putting up a strong offense?

Mothers, this is especially important for us. We are raising little warriors for the Lord. If we are to protect them from the world, we have to have this armor on, and have it on correctly. We have to know how to refute the devil with the Word of God. Our children need us to be able to quench any fiery darts aimed their way, until they can handle the wolves themselves. We need the armor on to protect ourselves too from worldly lusts, covetousness, and longings.

So, should we feel guilty if we aren't having regular time with the Lord? I not only say we should, but if you don't feel guilty, then I would be nervous about the absence of guilt. Don't harden your heart in this area, and God will surely bless you for it.

Interesting note as I close here: One of my dd's mentioned to me just the other day while we were out for a walk that she has noticed how much better the day seems to go when she is sure to start out the day with prayer and Bible reading. She is 10.

Good Fellowship

This past weekend we were blessed to have stay at our house a missionary family getting ready to go to England. They have 8 lovely children, ages 17 down to 4 1/2 months.

They were just passing through our area on their way home from several weeks of meetings. We were very glad to put them up for a couple nights, and frankly wish it was more! This is the same family we had for our missionary conference back in March. Now, it isn't easy travelling with a large family, homeschooling, and keeping up with ministry schedules, facing opposition (you wouldn't believe the nonsense some churches put them through!), so if you think of it, pray for the Rooney's. They still need support to get to the field to which God has called them.

Monday night was... busy...packed... fun... not sure how do describe it! A pastor friend and his family stopped by "for just a few minutes" to test drive our SUV. His little Escort gave up the ghost last week, and between their school schedules and his work schedules, they really do need two vehicles. Now this pastor is a big guy... and picturing him getting out of a little Escort tickled our fancy. Getting in and out with ease from our SUV tickled his fancy. So, the Lord laid an amount on our hearts to ask them, which *just happened* to be the same exact amount they were afraid to ask us, so after they both test drove it, they agreed to purchase it from us. That is an answer to prayer as we are putting the money toward a bigger van. We are just plain outgrowing our vehicles! It will also give the the money to get my dh's VW back on the road, and that will save a lot in gas going back and forth to work.

Anyway, this stopping by for "just a few minutes" turned into several hours, and they ended up staying for supper. I was glad for all the good fellowship going on! We had 18 children tearing around the yard (well, not the baby, the adults were passing her around), and 6 measly adults. We were clearly outnumbered! LOL. At supper I asked the pastor and his family to stay, cautiously eyeballing my one crock pot full of king ranch chicken (recipe doubled, but still!). I couldn't ignore the tug of hospitality, but I was praying "Lord.. make this food go around!". We had peas and lots of banana bread, and ice cream for dessert. We had just enough for everyone to have a nice plate full of food. No, we didn't have 12 baskets left over, but that is fine. I just wanted enough to go around!

I wish now I had gotten a picture of our very cram-jammed kitchen while we were all eating. Yes, we all actually had a place to sit! Talk about close fellowship! Even if I thought of it, I don't think I could have gotten through the kitchen from my perch to where the camera was in the living room.

Now some ladies may say "Oh you poor thing! all those people!" Nonononono... I loved it. It was a blessing to be an oasis for the missionaries and extend the hand of fellowship to another pastor and his family. Was it a lot of work? Yes, of course, but I did have help. Was I tired at night? Of course! I'm not superbaptisthomeschoolingwoman for crying out loud. I slept like a rock. The Rooney's had to leave today, and we spent the morning doing some tidying up, washing bedding and towels, and some schoolwork. Strange to say.. the house seems too quiet, even with our children tearing around.