A Girl & A Book.
Here’s the girl: Happy Four Month-o-versary yesterday! As a present to her mom and dad, Gracie performed her very first (and second) roll over on the living room floor. Every baby does this….it’s nothing special….unless you’re her mother and father. And then the world stops spinning for one breathless moment of celebration and elation.
She had her check up today with Dr. Welsh (our favorite physician!) and he says all looks well! She’s 14 lb 4 oz and a whopping 25.25 inches long.
Now to the book…
What He Must Be…if he wants to marry my daughter, by Voddie Baucham, came out at the end of this month and I am ecstatic. Amazon got the advantage of permission to sell the book two weeks in advance of its formal release date, to the chagrin of all smaller booksellers. In an effort to support my local shopkeeper, Lindon Bookstore, I restrained myself from purchasing online and ordered a copy through Lindon’s today. I don’t know what I was thinking…I should have put in my order a week ago! Due to my own procrastination, I’ll have to wait until the end of next week to get my grubby little hands on it. And then, leave me alone because I’ll be busy devouring every word!
2043 Love.
I love my house. Not like I love my husband, but in a house-love sort of way.
Over the last two weeks we’ve been thinking about the possibility of selling our house and in doing so, I’ve been evaluating what it is that makes me not want to leave our wonderful home.
I’ve described it as a, “warm, lovely, cozy, comfortable, dependable, peaceful, joy-filled house” in a previous blog post, but since then I’ve realized that I really wasn’t describing the structure or amenities of the building at 2043 Montgomery Avenue. Granted, it’s a great house, but I was really talking about my marriage.
My husband is amazing. The Lord has gifted him in a multitude of ways, and one of them is in how he loves and leads and protects and provides for me. God has given us a marriage that is warm, lovely, cozy, comfortable, dependable, peaceful, and joy-filled. And we all know this is not the result of me being easy to live with. I can safely say, that the full credit goes to the Lord who has given us astounding amounts of grace over the last three years and to my husband who strives to love me as Christ loved the Church.
Specific things Paul does (or doesn’t do) that make our marriage warm, lovely, cozy, comfortable, dependable, peaceful, and joy-filled:
1. Paul does not flirt with, spend time with, or have intimate conversation with other women. Ever.
2. Paul faithfully goes to work every day to a job that probably bores his brain out so that I can stay home with our baby and we can still afford to eat.
2B. Paul wants me to be home with Gracie. (Yay!)
3. When trouble (or fun stuff) comes, Paul is the first to lead our family in prayer of petition or thanksgiving.
4. Paul put peepholes in both our front doors so that I don’t have to open them to see who’s knocking.
5. Paul has said “No” to his strong-willed wife multiple times, even on topics that have the potential to be very volatile. Absolute “nos” are rare, and always in protection of me specifically or the health and unity of our marriage. But I wouldn’t respect him if he couldn’t do it.
6. Paul is responsive to feedback I give him and accepts conversation about concerns or problems with exceptional grace, humility and patience.
7. When I’m in a mood, Paul listens, comforts/consoles, and then suggests a nice nap. Confrontations about sin come after the nap.
8. Paul loves Jesus, then Paul loves me, then Paul loves Gracie.
Our house is great. But the very best part about it won’t be included in the sales agreement.
He’s coming with me.
New Parlor Trick.
Ladies and gentlemen, we have a new trick! Last night while playing with Daddy, Grace lifted her head high and proud to take a good long peek at some surrounding toys. It was strange how suddenly it happened. Before this, she would only lift her head to about 45*, and only for short times and with great frustration. Pictured here, you can see her practicing her new trick today with mom.
Tomorrow she’ll be four months old.
What We Pray.
Every night Grace has a bedtime routine. She eats a good dinner, then Paul or I change her and put her in her pajamas. Then she gets a story from one of our favorite books: The Jesus Storybook Bible. Then it’s into the crib for kisses and “I love you!” and prayer before sweet slumber.
Our prayer is almost always the same:
“Thank you, Jesus, for our baby. Please help her to sleep through the night. Continue to help her grow healthy and strong. Keep her from all sickness and disease. We ask that You would save her at a young age and cause her to love and obey and walk with You all the days of her life. Bring to her a Godly husband who will love her like You love us, and give her lots of children who also love You. Help us to know how to be her parents. Thank you for our baby, you have given us a good gift. Amen.”
It is one of my favorite parts of the day.
What do you pray over your children?
Getting Bigger: An Update on Our Babe.
Gracie is coming up on four months in a couple days. I just went through her clothes (again) and put some aside for storage that she’s outgrown. They look so little now compared to her ever lengthening little body!
Even though there’s a tiny pang of loss when I look at her now outgrown clothes, I’m really happy that she’s growing. She’s healthy, she’s strong, she’s growing!
She’s turning into quite the chatty-cathy. Especially when she’s laying down, she really begins to explore her voice. In the mornings now, she spends up to half an hour in her crib just chatting with herself and playing with her new found voice. She’s a wonderful conversationalist.
Though she often seems very serious in public, always observing and scrutinizing activity, she can be a really funny character with Mom and Dad. She’s far less fussy at four months than she was the first two, and we’re beginning to see bits of personality come to the surface.
Like this little piece of personality shown here. She’s taken to doing this maneuver when “the well runs dry.” No, she’s not sleeping, she’s just staring at the ceiling. Sometimes she pulls her head back and tries to find Dad…or the lamp. She must feel very relaxed after meals.
Hopes for My Response to Tragedy.
This video clip has audio from John Piper (one of my heroes) on the topic of the heretical prosperity gospel, but the part that impacts me is about how we respond in the face of tragedy and grief.
This clip has always been hard to hear, but now that I have a child, I listen to it with a new sense of fear and reverent hope. I don’t want to lose my little girl. The idea sends fire and pain and adrenaline into my chest. But others have had to endure the real thing, and someday I might too.
If I do, will I respond with dependence on Christ? With humility and trust that my God is indeed good? Will I grieve the kind of grief that knows my Father in Heaven works all things for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His name?
Or will I rage against my loving Maker and presume to judge His action or inaction as unholy? Unjust? Evil?
Oh God, may I never be tested! I don’t know if I could bear it. But, please, mold my heart and mind so that regardless of the trial, I will cling to You. Help me to hold onto the good gifts You’ve given me with a loose grasp, so that if they are taken from me I might say, “They are Yours! You are good! It is well with my soul.”
Awake: An Addendum
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests bemade known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:4-7 (ESV)
Zzzzzzzzzz…
What Keeps You Awake?
I’m supposed to be taking a nap.
I really want to take a nap. I’m sleepy.
I know I should take a nap. The baby is going to wake up in awhile and want to eat…and then I’m going to feel cranky.
I’m having a hard time falling asleep.
Seven things that have the mild super power of keeping me awake when I want/need to be sleeping:
1. Church “stuff”…and I don’t mean my excitement over the Christmas Eve service.
2. Grace crying, whimpering, or otherwise making unlovely noise.
3. The idea of selling my warm, lovely, cozy, comfortable, dependable, peaceful, joy-filled house.
4. The idea of buying someone else’s house.
5. Accidently drinking a caffenated beverage at 9:00 PM while watching Lie To Me. What was I thinking???
6. Money.
7. Remodeling projects. (My head starts swimming with ideas and plans.)
Sure, there are more. Sometimes nothing can keep me from a good nap; other times it seems everything wants to creep in and throw a party in my brain.
What are some of the things that keep you from blissful sleep???
Introducing a Wise Young Woman.
There’s an incredibly intelligent and articulate young woman in Texas whose blog is well worth keeping up on. Her name is Jasmine Baucham and as far as her blog can indicate, she is doing an excellent job of living out Paul’s commission to Timothy when he said, “Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.” (1 Timothy 4:12, ESV) You can connect to her blog here.
Here’s a blurp from her post today that really caught my attention:
“In our house, we like to say that reading any book or going to a ministry on any subject under the sun is like going to the grocery store. When you walk into Kroger, unless you know exactly what you’re there for, you’ll be tempted to stick everything you see in the basket; when you read a book, if you come to it full of insecurities, and without the strong foundation of God’s Word, you will not be thinking critically, and, most likely, you will take the author’s word, rather than God’s, as law.”
This pertains to all types of literature. Whether you’re reading Sex and the Supremacy of Christ by John Piper, or The Shack by William Young, or Somathose Majacks by Catrina, the reader ought to be reading with a discerning eye and a worldview firmly rooted in and submitted to Scripture. Too often, we (Christians) are lead by our emotions in the evaluation of truth and deception in literature. I do it too, because lovely words that tickle my ears are enticing and comforting.
We ought not be too quick to declare things “good.” As Proverbs 20:25 says, “It is a snare to say rashly, “It is holy.” and to reflect only after making vows.” (ESV)
May I read wisely, may I write wisely.
Subtle & Blunt.
I’m reading Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis, which will not get a review. I’m not brave enough to critique classic literature or authors as amazing at the written word as Lewis. Doing so would only broadcast my own ignorance.
But I will say this about his work: he has this amazing way of mixing subtlety and bluntness. Again and again throughout his fictitious works I see quiet phrases that seem unassuming and innocent, yet scream permeating questions into the heart of the reader.
Let me give you an example from Out of the Silent Planet. The context is this: the main character, Ransom, while on planet Malacandra, is being questioned by the inquisitive Sorns, the inhabitants of that planet, regarding all matters of earth and human nature. On Malacandra, the highest power is called “Oyarsa.”
“They were astonished at what he had to tell them of human history – of war, slavery, and prostitution.
‘It is because they have no Oyarsa,’ said one of the pupils.
‘It is because every one of them wants to be a little Oyarsa himself,’ said Augray.”
How subtle this piece of dialogue is! How blunt! Accuse me of reading too much into it, but dare I suggest that this is a healthy observation about the condition of man’s heart? It is not that there is no God, but that we each wish to be our own little god, serving our own rebellious desires and prideful yearnings rather than surrendering to our Maker and His instruction to us. This is the source of war, slavery, prostitution….among other things.
Again and again, Lewis woos the reader into deep questions of theology and faith. So subtle, so blunt. Amazing!
