Psalm 25:4 ~ "Show me Your ways, O LORD; Teach me Your paths."Learning to rest in Him is not that easy. It sounds easy at the start, because one thinks, "well, what else is there to do??" Resting in Christ is like learning to be a mom. You have to learn to let go - to not freak out about stuff. You have to lay down your own expectations and be flexible ... to see what happens and go with the flow. People have prayed for me and the baby. I know God hears their prayers. However, I do not know how all this will turn out. There are a myriad of possibilities, the majority of which aren't great. What I do know is that He has called me to rest. Not just physically, but to rest my spirit in Him. To that end, I am trying to lay aside all my worries and fears and just trust. Jesus knows what's best ... He will work all this out for His glory. That too is a lesson to be learned - His glory means I'm not in the limelight. :) but that is a thought for another day. Today is rest. Rest in Him. Cast your cares on Him, for He cares for you. "Show me your ways, O Lord; teach me Your paths." ~ Psalm 25:4
Day 3
So today is day three of my bed rest. The kids are gone, Michelle took them to sleep over last night after VBS ... Jeff is out checking the garden then he's going to do dishes. I'm just laying here. It's what I do. :)Yesterday Tina brought back laundry. The boys put away some of their laundry, I think. We also had a couple visitors - the neighbor across the alley brought over some lettuce. I had to talk to her from the bedroom - the boys didn't explain that I was stuck in bed! I'm hoping Jeff sees her when he's out gardening so he can explain. We also had a friend from church stop by. She brought groceries -- TUNA & TOMATOES!! I'd been hoping for those, but Jeff didn't pick any up when he went shopping (we're trying to save money since I'm out of work now). So that was a neat surprise. She even brought low-sodium V-8, Jeff's favorite drink!! :) We had a nice visit and she prayed with me before she left. Today started off cloudy, but it is getting sunnier. It's cold, though! I hope the boys have fun. Michelle is taking them berry-picking! :) So I can't really complain, it seems like we got to the dr. just in time. I was a coach for the VBS soccer - walking all oer the field ... I have no idea what would have happened if my appointment hadn't occurred when it did. it seems we got in at just the right time. we go back for another check up on Aug. 5 - our anniversary of all days!!
news
well, i might as well tell our news.
We're pregnant - rather unexpectedly, but for a while now, as I am 16 weeks along. We have been cautious, and I've had a cerclage done. that's a procedure where the dr. sews your cervix closed.
we went to the dr. on Tuesday and discovered my cervix is open, and short (it should be long and closed). the cerclage is holding, but it's still risky. so, I am on severe (that's what they call it) bed rest until the baby comes or my cervix starts behaving again.
that's our news. thanks for reading.
oh, we're having a boy!
a rose
I have a fascination with roses. Sometimes they seem plain and other times they seem exquisite. On Sunday, we walked around the Rose Garden at Point Defiance. This was one of the roses there. I thought it was the prettiest one. You would think that the darker parts on the petals are shadows, but they aren't. That is the rose's color! Isn't it gorgeous?! God is so cool.
by the way ... this is now day 8 ... and no one seems to be reading this. hmm ...
Our Family
Here we are - July 20, 2008
(back) Jeff, Sonja, Daniel,
(front) Jonathan & Nicholas
See the great t-shirts the kids have? We were at our church picnic at Pt. Defiance. We all got a t-shirt with our church logo on it.
Monday Musings
Today was the first day of our soccer VBS camp. It went really well! The kids all seemed to have fun & they all played hard.
This morning, while I was washing dishes, I watched the third "Christy" movie. It has different actors in it than the TV show - only the Dr. is the same. The TV show often went Hollywood in its interpretation of spiritual things. The writers often wanted to tone down the need for man to be saved from sin, and the need of God in our lives. They always make it more "God is in everything" rather than God is God, and we have a need for Him and He is the only One who can save us - He is the only One who can fill that need.
In this movie, Mrs. Henderson tells Ruby Mae that she should do an "act of faith". She should do something nice for Miss Christy to show God she believes He'll bring her back safe. Rather than bolstering her up with Scripture, which tells us to call on & lean on God in times of trouble or stress, Mrs. Henderson takes the attention off God and turns Ruby Mae's focus onto herself, and what *she* can do. That bothered me. Aren't we supposed to point people to God? Shouldn't we as Christians always be redirecting our thoughts to align with His rather than trying to make Him fit our will?
Then, Mrs. Henderson had an opportunity to talk to Mr. Taylor. Mr. Taylor was a grumpy, mean person whose son, Lundy, had died. When asked by Mr. Taylor if she thought Lundy was in heaven, Mrs. Henderson replied that God cares for all of us, especially the children. She was certain Lundy was in Heaven. This whole conversation seemed preposterous to me. Why give false hope to someone? I know when the baby died, I wanted to know that she was in heaven - with God and my mom & my Grandma & Grandma Bell, and Grandma Betty & Grandma Pier. But I don't know that. And I wouldn't presume to tell anyone that their child was in heaven if I didn't know. God knows , and we have to trust Him - not what we know, or think we know. Somehow or other He has a plan in all of this, you know?
The whole conversation about Lundy showed me just how much the movie people had missed the point. Christy did go to the mountains to change people and make things better. In the process of that, though, she learned a lot about God and how He works. She learned to trust Him more & align herself with His will.
Anyways ... just a ramble. Thanks for listening.
Good advice
One of my favorite movies is "French Kiss". It stars Meg Ryan & Kevin Kline. In this movie, Kate (Ryan) & Luke (Kline) discuss French women. French women, Kate has noticed, have this pout that helps them get their way. Finally Kate comes to the point where she says she's not like that -
Kate: "Happy-smile. Sad-frown. Use the corresponding face for the corresponding emotions." You can hear the clip here -
clickThis morning my verse for the day is as follows:
"Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise." James 5:13
Simple, but very good, advice.
day 5!
