Great-Grandbabies

My cousin, Cara and her almost 2 year old daughter, Brooke came to visit a couple evenings ago... We really enjoyed seeing them and squeezed in several quick pics of all the kids together for my grandparents -- this is all their great-grandbabies in one spot! This is my favorite pic -- though it was hard to choose! -- I love all the feets!!

Some thoughts...

Some of you know that I spend an evening each week volunteering at a local pregnancy center that desires to help women who are pregnant and struggling through difficult situations. I also write a monthly article about the center for our church newsletter, as our church supports this pregnancy center. Recently, one story weighed heavily on me and the article I wrote ended up too long to be published in the church newsletter. My sweet husband has encouraged me to post the story here... So, in petition for your prayers, here it is.

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Our God Reigns!

“Do they really have fingers and toes? It says that this one is 9 weeks old… Are there really fingers and toes?” I got up to find a pin for her that shows the exact size and shape of a baby’s two feet at ten weeks of pregnancy, sharing that this symbol is often used by the pro-life community because of that amazing truth. The baby is so tiny, but so amazingly formed.

She sat in the counseling room where the intake questions were being asked before she would take the pregnancy test that she desired. When she walked into the room, she had immediately been drawn to the fetal development replicas sitting in a velvet case on the end table. Later, she watched, transfixed as I flipped through a book that beautifully shows the baby’s development as it progresses through the 40 weeks of pregnancy.

“Do you think they could tell what sex my baby was? When I had my abortion, do you think they could tell? They wouldn’t let me look at the [ultrasound] screen… I asked, but they wouldn’t let me.”

Though I saw this client more than a week ago, she still lingers heavily in my heart and mind. Today, as I sit in the rare quietness of my home, my thoughts return to her and again, I cry out to God for this young lady, so innocent in so many ways, but so burdened already by the weights of this sin-filled world. I cry out to God for her... and for the baby that I hope and pray is still safely in her womb.

And I think about her story. It really infuriates me to think of a doctor and nurse refusing this young girl, 17 when she aborted her first child two years ago, the information she requested. I’ve heard this before many times. Often when a woman goes in for an abortion, an ultrasound machine is used to determine how far a long she is in her pregnancy and to make sure that the abortion is completed “correctly”. (I still shudder at the thought.) But, the monitor is turned away from the woman. Most of the time she doesn’t ask to see… but I’ve never heard of a woman being allowed to see the baby if she asks.

My anger and my heartache mounts as I contemplate this movement that prides itself on the choice given to a woman – the choice to determine for herself what she will do with her pregnancy. This movement so often gives lip service to the need to reduce the number of abortions while defending the need for it; but when it all comes down to it, when the woman is on the abortion table, she is refused the information that the doctors can so readily see before they’re eyes – the jumps, the wiggles, the quick heart-beat of a baby waiting to be born into this world.

I wonder at their motives – Do they really think this is what’s best for this young lady? Have they been completely numbed to this view of life on the ultrasound screen? Do they fear that if she sees the baby, she’ll be moved by sympathy and refuse the abortion? Do they think continuing the pregnancy would be more detrimental than this procedure? Or, are they more motivated by their job security and paycheck than by the interest of the lives they hold in their hands?

In all my emotion at the collective slaughter of these innocents, I step before the throne of God. “God, you made these babies! You alone form them in their mother’s wombs. You gave them as gifts, as blessings to their parents. You made these women!! And yes, You also made these abortion doctors. They, too, were created by You. Oh, the devil must stand in glee as he deceives and destroys Your beloved creation!”

At once, I am humbled by the majesty of God. In my grief and horror, I have forgotten the sovereignty of our Lord. He holds the stars in their place and our feet on the ground. Do I really believe that somehow all this horror and destruction has escaped His notice? Have I forgotten how powerful our God is? Even as I cry out to Him for this young lady and her baby, have I already cast aside any hope?

Our God reigns! He who knowingly sent His perfect Son to become a man and walk on this earth, and then lovingly led Him into the hands of murderous men to be sacrificed on our behalves, He reigns! He is the same God, and one day, one day, the devil will be forever thrown behind the gates of hell and he will no longer wreak destruction. For those who have placed their faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross, there will be no more pain and no more tears and no longer will man sin against a Holy God.

Pray for a blind nation that is blessed by God’s creation all around it but fails to acknowledge the creation of God in a womb. Pray for those who purposely deceive and destroy, numbing their victims with ignorance as they lead them to slaughter. Pray for those who allow themselves to be deceived in order to hide or convenience their sin. And pray that all of them would have their eyes opened to the grace and forgiveness offered through the perfect sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

And please continue to pray for all of those at the Pregnancy Center that wish to share the truth and love of Jesus Christ.

Moving Time

We're thankful to God for His provision of a new home for our growing family! For those of you who don't know, we're moving this month to a larger rental house just a few miles away from where we currently live. Althought it will cost a little more each month, the 500 or so additional square feet of space and better state of maintenance should be well worth the additional expense.

If you're in the Sacramento area, please come help us move--contact us for details. For the rest of you, below are some photos of the new place. Come visit soon!

Diapers for Two

Well, I was gonna wait on this post for a few days in hopes that I could report a "first accident free day" in the process, but since a dear reader asked about it in a comment to our previous post, here ya go!

We took diapers away from Mikey last week (4 days ago, to be exact!) and he's doing great! In fact, last night he stayed dry all night! Now to be fair to all of those who argue that a kid is not potty trained until he is accident-free and pull-up free, we're not there yet... Mikey is in big boy underwear most of the time, but we have been using pull-ups when he's sleeping and during times in which we don't want a mess if he does have an accident (like when he goes to church!). And though we've had a couple days in which he only had one accident, he still does have accidents on a daily basis.

But, he's also staying dry longer and initiating trips to the potty on his own. He'll typically stay dry during his nap, too!

Honestly, though, after all the drama we went through trying on and off for over a year to potty train Eliana, and then with how long it took for her to get the hang of it even when we drew the line for her, I am quite pleased with how well potty-training is going this time around. In fact, in some strange way, it's actually been *fun* to watch Mikey basically potty train himself. I am thankful, though, to have had the experience of potty-training Eliana. I'll never lack sympathy for someone struggling to get a 3 1/2 year old out of diapers because of her... though if all my kids were like Mikey in this area, I might wonder what in the world was wrong with that parent.

So, with all that said, and according to our random definitions of such, we now only have two lil' ones in diapers. BUT, WE ARE NOT CHANGING OUR BLOG NAME OR LOCATION! (I made David promise that before I took the diapers away from Mikey!) "Diapers4three" well describes how we spend our mornings and a good chunk of our lives in general... and since I don't think that I'll be able to keep up this pattern of potty-training a child every six months, we do expect to have three in diapers next spring.

Happy Birthday, Danny!

*Okay -- for all you sticklers out there, I realize that I'm a day late. Sorry. I got busy yesterday, and I'm not so organized as to have pre-made this post ages ago! ;)*

Happy Birthday, Danny!

We can't believe that you're TWO YEARS OLD!! Amazing! It doesn't seem like it was that long ago that you were just the tiny babe...

We love you, Kid. We love your twinkly eyes and your creativity. You're definitely the one who gets into the most mischief, just because you think of what we wouldn't want you to do before we think to tell you not to do it! You're constantly thinking and doing something! But you also always have time to give hugs and cuddles... So, so sweet.

And we love, LOVE your goofy smile.

Yeup. That one.

We thank God for you, and we look forward to this next year with you and all that follows! You truly are a gift from God. We pray that God will be working in you and that you'll love Him with all your heart. We love you, Danny! Happy, happy birthday!

Turbulent Times

The speed at which the current financial crisis is unfolding makes it a bit tricky to keep up with. But I find this stuff fascinating, so I've been trying to stay up to speed as much as possible. If you're like me and find these matters of interest, I recommend the Marketplace podcast from American Public Radio.

Of all the programming on NPR, I'd have to say that Marketplace has grown to be my favorite, although I do also enjoy Car Talk from time to time. Marketplace does a great job at making business and economic news accessible, educational and even entertaining. I used to just hope that it would come on during my commute, but now that I have an iPod, I can listen whenever I feel like it.

The Economist is also a great source of information for those of you who have time to read.

On a related note, given the dramatic declines this year in the stock market, it seems to me that this may be a great time to start investing some money into a Roth IRA each month, particularly if you have a long-time horizon ahead of you. Whatever you do, don't panic and cash out your retirement portfolio. These charts should give you a clue why.

Monsters by Eliana

But for the joy...

Girltalk has a great post today about how we deal with interruptions. In it, they quote C.S. Lewis:

“The great thing, if one can, is to stop regarding all the unpleasant things as interruptions of one’s ‘own,’ or ‘real’ life. The truth is of course that what one calls the interruptions are precisely one’s real life—the life God is sending one day by day; what one calls one’s ‘real life’ is a phantom of one’s own imagination. This at least is what I see at moments of insight: but it’s hard to remember it all the time.” The Quotable Lewis, (Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers, 1989), 335.

I've been thinking about some similar issues lately. With a baby not sleeping well the last few nights (read: weeks), I'm tired. Being in my first trimester, my body obviously needs extra rest, and often, I'm not feeling so well throughout the day. It's easy for me to start thinking about things temporally, and in doing so, I get grouchy. And defensive. And irritable. And before anyone says, "Well, maybe you just have too many kids...", let's just say, don't go there. But that's another story for another day.

Now, I know that in some ways, this is just a season. First trimesters are usually hard on me. My house is usually a wreck during this time. During this time, food is a whimsical obsession that both tempts me regularly and also leaves me completely disgusted at the concept of preparation and thus calling my husband pleading for take-out. Tired, I can get easily frustrated with the noise levels that often seem to erupt from my four "four and under".

More importantly, though, my bad attitude signals the smallness of my brain. Instead of seeing the magnitude of God's love, grace, and provision in all these events, I focus on my selfish destructive desires that are being thwarted.

My house is a wreck, but God's grace is sufficient. He has already covered all my sins by surrendering His perfect Son to the hands of sinful men to be sacrificed on the cross. Though I desire to be perfected, I don't have to be perfect. And I certainly don't have to live up to random societal expectations when God has already fulfilled within me, through faith in Jesus, all that is needed for me to be able to spend eternity with Him in heaven.

God gave me the best husband in the whole world as the (well, almost) perfect companion to navigate this season in our lives. He's sweet, he's faithful, he desires more than anything to be the man that God created him to be, all the while trusting in the finished work of Christ on the cross, and he lovingly cares for me and our children in my weakness. He even graciously picks up In-n-Out for us to get me out of preparing that dinner that I was just obsessing about.

God has created four beautiful children, and is currently forming another in my womb, that are regularly sweet, hilarious, adorable, cuddly reminders of how worth it any physical discomforts might be as we wait for this next child to be introduced to our family. Each one adds a dynamic to our family that we could not have imagined, yet God did. Truly, we have so much for which to be thankful. I LOVE my kids. I thank God that He knows, so much better than my small little selfish brain, what is best! And I thank Him for giving David and I the grace and ability to welcome these little ones into this world. This alone is nothing short of a miracle. The fact that God so chose to create these precious eternal souls through us is nothing short of mind-boggling.

And on top of all that, He gave me four sleeping children that have allowed for the time for me to sit in front of this computer and type up all these ramblings AND eat lunch! How amazing is that?

Even with seeing all this, I know that my vision is so limited in what God is doing. And it leaves me begging, "God, let me see more of You. Regularly remind me that You are so much bigger than my small focus. Change me into the image of your Son, that I might love my husband, my children, my family, and this world through Your eyes and with the desire to see Your kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven!"

P.S.

Selah plans to surrender her roll as baby of the family in about 33 weeks or so. Once again, we are humbled and thankful for God's sweet provisions and blessings!

Happy *slightly belated* Birthday, Mikey!

*The Minnesota Auntie did a good job pointing out the fact that I didn't do a post for Mikey's birthday yesterday. My apologies! We're doing the whole "cake, etc." thing tomorrow, so I hadn't really thought too much about it... But without further ado!*

Happy Third Birthday, Mikey!

We love you so much. You really are a delight to us all... We love your passion and enthusiasm, all rolled into a laid back, usually go-with-the-flow personality. We love the way you play hard and sleep hard (and I love the fact that I have a hard time remembering the last time that it was you that woke me up in the middle of the night!)

We love the excitement that you express every time you see a basketball hoop in someone's driveway or a soccer ball on the front of a tshirt. We love your dimples and the way you crack your baby sister up, just by "talking" to her.

We thank God for you, Michael Joseph, and though we can't believe three years have already passed, we look forward to seeing more and more of the person that God created you to be! We hope and pray that someday soon, your greatest excitement and joy will be found in the finished work of Christ on the cross.

We love you, Mikey! Happy, happy birthday!

Capitol Ministries takes the politics out of ministry to politicians

UPDATE (10/09): We are no longer endorsing Capitol Ministries. Please see this post for details.

From Good News Daily:

Evangelical pastor Rick Warren moderated a debate – they prefer to call it a dialogue – between John McCain and Barack Obama. A coalition of groups including Focus on the Family, the Family Research Council, and the American Family Association will hold its annual Values Voters Summit just weeks before the November election. And every year or so another magazine lists the most influential evangelical groups or leaders.

But could it be that the Christian group having the most lasting impact on the political life in this country – and its leaders – is one most evangelicals have never heard of? California-based Capitol Ministries began when Ralph Drollinger began leading a Bible study for state legislators in Sacramento. [read full story]

Happy Birthday, Eliana!

Happy, happy 4th birthday, sweet Elly. You truly are a gift -- an answer to prayers. We thank God for you! We love your sweet heart to your brothers and sister, your joyful personality and love for life (and accessories!), your creative nature and the delight you find in figuring things out... we love how you so quickly say sorry and offer exuberant hugs when you realize you've been wrong. We love how you love people and we love the stories you tell. We love you. Happy Birthday!