Loving Anna

One of my favorite passages in the Bible is found in Titus 2, verses 1-10. These verses are some of my favorites because I love having clarity about what I'm supposed to be doing, and they offer that clarity.

The verse that is burning in my heart and on my mind today is verse 4 where I am reminded to LOVE my husband and child. The book Feminine Appeal by Carolyn Mahaney expounds on the word love in that verse by saying,

"The form of the Greek in which the New Testament was written employs at least five words to distinguish various kinds of love. The word for love used in Titus 2:4 is phileo. The word describes the love between very close friends. It is a tender, affectionate, passionate kind of love. It emphasizes enjoyment and respect in a relationship" (32).

I am not supposed to just love Anna by feeding her, changing her diaper, making sure she is warm, and just in general senses be her mother, I am supposed to ENJOY her! Just being around her should be a sheer delight to me!

I confess there are times when I would love a break to read a book or have a day to sleep in, but God has been exceedingly gracious to provide me with wisdom that I am to enjoy and delight in her and He has fulfilled His promise to give ME joy when I do so. Daryl often comments that he hears Anna and I laughing together downstairs while he is working and that it brings him joy, too!

My prayer is that I will seize every opportunity I have to love Anna well. I won't always have such a sweet little bundle calling for me when she's sick in the night, or needing me to wash beneath her arms, or button up her coat. One day, Lord willing, as we grow older there will be no more diapers to change of hers or sleepers to wash; no more drool spots to mop up or toys to reshelve. So for now I will do my best to rely on the Spirit to fill me with joy in doing those things because the house will soon enough be clean and quiet and she will have her own home.

Bottom line - if you have kids, enjoy them. Delight in them. And in doing so fulfill Titus 2 and adorn the gospel of grace by which you have been saved and showcase the love and joy of our magnificent Father to the rest of the world.

Here's some of Anna's "I-know-I'm-being-enjoyed-and-I-love-it" faces :)

Pictoral Update

Here's an update on Anna :)

She likes to sit up (with help of course)...


Play on her tummy...


And boy, does she LOVE her exercauser. She was afraid at first, but she quickly adjusted as you will see...


"This is amazing!"


"I LOVE this thing! Don't take me out - don't you dare take me out!"


Seriously - she loves how everything makes noises and lights up and she even likes spinning herself around in her little seat. She also is great at entertaining herself on the floor while I'm cooking dinner, etc. As you can see, she isn't so much into playing with her toys as she is into eating them. We have much training to do!!! :)


While Anna was a gem last time I did Once A Month Cooking, this time she wanted to pitch in! Please disregard me - I cook from sun up to sun down so I don't shower til it's all over! By the way, for those of you who are wondering, it was even easier this time and I found some more recipes we like. It was such a blessing to be able to have meals ready to just bake instead of having to cook every night. Whoot, whoot!!!


However, like I said before, I am tired, very tired at the end of the day. Anna was tired, too. Check her out...


She is quickly revived with kisses!


She thankfully loves mommy...


...and Daddy! What a joy she is to us!



She is generally a very happy little girl.



And just in case you're curious on whether or not she knows she's our cutie...


Rest assured...she does.

Mother-Daughter Fun!

I've been keeping a journal for Anna Grace since before she was born. Simple notes and letters from to her filled with thoughts I have towards her, things I would like for her to know, funny things she has done, etc.

Tonight I was perusing a book I actually purchased for some teenage friends of mine to go through with their moms called Girl Talk: Mother-Daughter Conversations on Biblical Womanhood by the Mahaney ladies that discusses what God intends the mother-daughter relationship to be and how we can attempt to make it that way by His grace. There is a chapter on communication that I was reading today that talked about the importance of pursuing relationships with our daughters even when they don't seem that interested because it's our role to be the initiators with them.

Currently Anna's general looks towards me are of complete joy and love - I can't get enough of them! When I come into a room she usually lights up! Sometimes I honestly just get overwhelmed by how much joy her adoration brings me and amazed by her sweetness towards me. I know it's a gift from God that I don't deserve and so I intend to cherish and be grateful for every moment that she enjoys me so well!

I also know that she may not always be so fond of me, but while that could give me grounds to be nervous, as I wrote to Anna Grace tonight in her journal, I concluded with verses 20 and 21 from Ephesians 3...

"Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen."

I know that I don't deserve it - I rolled my eyes at my mom so much it's embarrassing, but it is my prayer that even though we are bound to have conflict and struggle that Anna and I will share many more moments of affection, sincerity, intimacy and joy even as I have found with her now. I intend to ask this often of God and I trust in Him to do better than I ask. I'm so thankful that He doesn't give good gifts based on our goodness!

Joyful Recommendations: Entertainment and Media

So often, for the sake of desiring to be entertained, people (this of course includes myself) watch things that they know aren't right, but make excuses...like, "well, it's just this one scene," or, "I would never do those things," or, "I'm old enough," "everyone else watches it," etc.

Romans 1:32 says, "Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them." For the Christian, we often know (whether through the Word or the conviction of the Holy Spirit) when something isn't quite right with what we are watching, but many times because we either are too proud to think we'll be affected or don't have enough courage or don't believe God, we keep watching.

In the book of Psalms David scribes this prayer,

"I will set before my eyes
no vile thing.
The deeds of faithless men I hate;
they will not cling to me." (Psalm 101:3).

Granted we can't remove ourselves from every wicked thing in this world, and God doesn't even want us to be out of the world, He does want us to avoid putting ourselves in places where we are being tempted to sin - especially when we are paying $7/8 to do so.

I'd like to have the gumption of David and be courageous enough to stop rationalizing and have the faith to be obedient to God's Word and flee the temporary pleasures of sin (in this case, being entertained) to have the eternal pleasure of glorifying Him and growing in holiness.

There are times, however, when we ignorantly step into a movie theatre or put one in our DVD player without expecting it to be bad and then WAM-OOOOO...a totally raunchy, unexpected image pops up onto the screen and now resides in our minds. While our minds can be renewed, these things aren't helpful. I can STILL recall images from a movie I watched in sixth grade that I would rather not.

So onto joyful recommendation #2 which is a FREE recommendation that can help you avoid situations like mentioned above....

http://www.screenit.com

or

http://www.pluggedinonline.com

Both of these websites allow you to see a general synopsis of movies and then break the movies into categories like language, violence, sexual content, etc and list the instances of those things in the movie. While pluggedinonline.org is run by Focus on the Family, is easier to navigate, doesn't have advertisements, and gives a concluding remark regarding whether or not the movie (in the author's opinion) is worth seeing, I tend to prefer Screenit's site for the sole reason that instead of having to read the instances of language, violence, sexual content, etc contained in the movie, you can just view their table at the top which says whether the language content is "none", "mild", "moderate", "heavy," or "extreme." That way you can often make a decision without even having to read what the exact scenes are which can also sometimes effect our minds and therefore our hearts. PS - you don't have to "join now", you can scroll all the way to the bottom of the page and hit, "No thanks" and see movie reviews for free.

I'll leave you with a closing encouragement to "watch" what you watch :)

"Above all else, guard your heart for it is the wellspring of life." Proverbs 4:23

Joyful Recommendations

As I have been seeking to fulfill my role as a wife, mother, daughter, and friend with joy, I have come across some things that have really proved helpful in my humble opinion! So, for the next few weeks or so, I will be passing those things on to you - simply as recommendations, and of course, it's just my opinion!

Today's recommendation to increase your joy as a parent is...


This is a CD with Bible verses set to music. The one that is currently sticking my head is "Trust in the Lord....with all your heart....lean not on your...own understaaaaaaaanding..."

I purchased this CD for Anna and I to listen to as background music when we're playing or house cleaning or preparing dinner. It became an instant favorite in our household and I can't wait to buy the other volumes!

Daryl found the CD in the car the other day after I had been out without Anna and I caught him singing one of the songs the other day in his office without the CD which should clue you in that we love it as adults, too! It is fun and catchy, and very beneficial to our souls! It really helps us to meditate on God's Word and is so encouraging! I have been reminded of God's attributes, encouraged in His promises, and convicted in regards to priorities and obedience.

The cheapest new ones I found were at Christian Book Distributors (http://www.christianbook.com/).

Hopefully someday soon someone will package all the volumes in one at one great price! Until then, we'll buy her one at a time. We think it's worth the investment to get God's Word into her heart (and ours) in as many ways as possible - and this way is so fun!

Psalm 19:7-14

7 The law of the LORD is perfect,
reviving the soul.
The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy,
making wise the simple.

8 The precepts of the LORD are right,
giving joy to the heart.
The commands of the LORD are radiant,
giving light to the eyes.

9 The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever.
The ordinances of the LORD are sure
and altogether righteous.

10 They are more precious than gold,
than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey,
than honey from the comb.

11 By them is your servant warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.

12 Who can discern his errors?
Forgive my hidden faults.

13 Keep your servant also from willful sins;
may they not rule over me.
Then will I be blameless,
innocent of great transgression.

14 May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing in your sight,
O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Here are the verses/songs...

Happy joyful noise making!!!!!!! :)

Great Expectations

Growing up my greatest dream was to be someones wife (or better put - to be the love of some fantastic man's life; be preferred above others to one man; be romanced, pursued, you get the point) and then to be a mother. I can remember as a little girl wanting triplets - all girls with shiny, wavy hair that bounced and swayed as they happily skipped behind me. I of course had no idea what parenting entailed, and now if you told me I was having triplets I am sure I would immediately fall on my knees and tell God that He of course would have to give me the grace to survive that - I mean how do you nurse three babies in the same day????

Anyways, motherhood has been very awesome in many ways. I love talking and laughing with Anna in the mornings when we are all alone. I love reading books to her and watching her startled face when I move her too suddenly or make a loud noise. I love her confused face when she sits in her bouncer seat on the counter and "helps" me make dinner. I love dancing and singing worship songs to her and I love kissing her. However, to my shame I must confess that sometimes I get discontent with my life at current.

When I think of summer I think of hiking, camping, eating fabulous meals on the deck, walking around the lake with Daryl, being able to up and go whenever, vacations, parties, putt putt golf, scrapbooking, etc. This summer is different. Camping wouldn't be up Anna's ally, hiking is often difficult to squeeze in between feedings, and scrapbooking - yeah, right! Whenever we go out I have to think about when I'll need to be home to feed Anna, if I have enough diapers, and what the plan will be if she freaks out in public.

I knew motherhood would be semi-difficult, but I didn't ever think somedays I would miss days pre-children. I would never trade being a mother, but somedays I confess that I look at Daryl playing video games and in my head I want to throw books at him and say "YOU TAKE CARE OF HER!" I go upstairs and vent that I spend all day serving him and Anna and it's just not fair - why didn't God give him the milk or make him responsible for managing the interior of our home? Other times I'll be talking to a friend about how she and her husband just "duh duh duh duh duh all weekend" and I wish I could have a weekend like that.

Titus 2:3-5 says, "Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, busy at home, kind and submissive to their own husbands, so that the word of God may not be maligned." My role is to love my husband and my daughter and to serve them - dirty dishes and all.

While I was reading in Philippians the other day this verse struck me anew...

"Do all things without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world." (vs. 14-15)

The word grumbling there means "thought, doubt, argument or dispute." The word questioning: "complaint, grumbling, whisper, private talk." WOW.

The Holy Spirit was so gracious to convict me! I had slipped into grumbling and questioning, doubting and disputing, and privately talking against the awesome role that God has in His goodness and sovereingty given to ME.

I have the privilege of being Anna's mother. I have the joy of being Daryl's wife. I am to delight in them, to be busy making my home wonderful and comfortable and appealing to them, and to be kind to them always - even in the midst of vacationless summers, spit up and mounds of laundry.

May God always be so generous to convict me when I forget the goodness of the role that He has chosen to bless me with and may I continue to abide in Him and in His strength to fulfill my calling with joy and vigor.

"I can do all things through Him who gives me strenght." Philippians 4:13.

Putting it back in perspective...

There seems to be a context influx of noise in my life and sometimes, if I'm not careful, I start believing thoughts that aren't true.

Some of the non-truths I have unfortunately believed at some point or another in my lifetime are:

- Credit card information gets stored on hotel key cards
- Toe jam is really tiny little invisible worms that you can't see so wear socks to keep them from crawling up your legs
- You urine will be clear if you are getting enough water (uh - that means you're getting TOO much water)

One of the more recent non-truths I have bought into in my subconscious is that children are really just a lot of work and deciding to have them means deciding to end your so-called life :)

Now married, the idea of children isn't just something that "may occur in the very far away future," but something that could occur at any time if God should so choose. To be honest, that scared me to death.

While some fear is healthy, God is teaching me that my fear is not from Him at all and that I need to be careful not to take others opinions as more than what they are - opinions.

Psalm 127 says: "Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them!" (vv. 3-5).

Twice now God has brought that passage to me, and I believe to fulfill a specific purpose. My outlook on bearing and raising children had become dreadful, and honestly, sinful, and therefore, He wants to dispel it.

Carolyn Maheney conveyed truth to me this way in her book "Feminine Appeal":

"What words or images come to your mind when you think about your children?" (or for me, the possibility of them) "Are you inclined like I was to think: work,, responsibility, sacrifice, burden, more work?

Look at the words the psalmist used to describe children: heritage, fruit, reward, arrows. Then he followed with this exclamation: 'Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them!'"

What a timely message for me. How faithful God is to renew our minds with truth, removing our doubts and replacing lies with truth.

Children do require work and sacrifice and responsibility but God says to gain life, we lay ours down. How I hope that in His perfect time He will give me this blessing, and that in the deepest core of me I will hold on to the truth that they surely are a reward that I do not deserve.

If you have children, may I encourage you to remember today that they indeed, though time, emotion and energy consuming, are primarily a reward and a blessing? Remember and tell them.