PREGNANANCY AND JESUS: They are more alike than we realize!

Pregnancy has a way of taking the focus off of me and putting it onto someone else, the miraculous person that God is allowing me to create with Him.  Why do we allow our lives to get so focused on ourselves that we forget the big picture?  In short, it is because of our selfish, sin filled nature. 

In Ephesians we read that we do not battle against things of this world but against the powers and principalities of darkness.  If this is the case, why do we not think that there is a battle for our thoughts and our desires?  Should we not realize that the Evil One is after all of us?  If he can cripple us to the point of not being able to function, of being so trapped in ourselves that we cannot survive without the approval of others, than he has succeed and we are nothing.

Okay, I know what you are thinking, what on earth does this have to do with being pregnant?   Here’s the thing, when a woman is pregnant she is overtaken by someone else.  My actions are not based on what is good for me and me alone, but now I worry about what is beneficial to the baby as well.  I desire and want to do different things.  For example, I LOVE garlic in any food.  BUT, being pregnant right now, my body rejects anything that has to do with garlic.  I also LOVE sweet tea.  Being Southern this is my nectar from heaven.  Guess what I have not been able to drink!?  As a matter of fact, I can only have one glass of decaffeinated tea a day!  The rest of my day is spent drinking at least 1 ½ gallons of water!   This is not who I usually am.  I am changed because of the overflowing life that is within me.

The same is true when I am filled with the overflowing power of Jesus Christ.  I am taken over by someone else.  It is not what I want that matters any more.  Just like while I am pregnant my tastes change, having Christ in my life changes me.  I see things differently.  No longer do I want to do everything that the world thinks that I should do.  I want to live more for what Christ desires. 

Are there days when I want what I want?  Of course, BUT on these days I need to spend time on my knees focusing on Christ instead of me.  Not always easy when the world around me bombards me with images of what I am supposed to be.  If my house is not spotless, if I am not driving a brand new car, if I am not raising 2.5 children, than I am a failure.  BUT, this is not what Christ says.  Christ says that I am to take up my cross and follow Him.  I am to not worry about how my home looks but open it up to showcase the love of Christ to others.  I am to not worry about what kind of car I drive, but how am I using the car is what matters.  I am not to limit myself to what is “normal” when it comes to my family; I am to allow Christ to choose how many miracles He wants me to have.  I am to die to myself and my wants and desires (like how I desire a great big glass of sweet tea), and live daily for Christ.  He is to overflow my life.  He is to be the only one that I worry about.

This is how pregnancy and Christ are similar.  They change a person, from the inside out.  Just as my belly grows with the image of a new life; my heart, mind, and actions need to grow showcasing the love and actions of Christ.  It is within the confines of this outgrowth of Christ that I can grow lovelier.  I am a Daughter of the King.  It is time I reflect that daily.  It is time that I showcase my pregnancy belly proudly.  It is time I showcase my Christ even more proudly!

The Road to Healing

          Within all of us is the nature to hold onto our anger, our bitterness, and our hatred.  It is in grained in all of us, to do what is right in our own eyes.  The Bible makes it very clear that we will always be willing to what is right in our own strength.  We often try to rely on our own wisdom instead of seeking help from others.  Our days become battle plagued as our minds battle with the wisdom that God wants to impart on our lives.  Proverbs 14:12 states: “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.” (NIV)  Our own strength, our own choices, our own wisdom will lead us to sin; sin leads us to death.

          What can we do?  Recently we have been battling this very issue in our home.  There have been days that anger has been at the forefront of our minds.  We have been dealing with hurt feelings which in turn lead to anger and then bitterness.  We have wrestled with admitting that we are sin filled.  We have wrestled with the fact that we need to admit that we too have played a part in the issue.  There are days when we need to admit that there are times that we need to be changed more than the person that we are mad at.

          The good news is that the cross is big enough to bear all our sin!  The good news is that: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9 NIV)  All we need to do is be willing to run to God, confess that we have done some wrong things, cling to Him and His promise of forgiveness; then we will be okay.  Yet, we don’t want to have to do the confessing.  We want to cling to our anger.  Why?  Simply because it feels good.  Sin leaves us with the desire to turn into ourselves and shy away from God.  This is why we don’t want to confess anything; we want to hide our faces and our shame.  Yet it is in this hiding that we do the most damage.  We carry our pain and hide from the God that wants to set us free.

          We are on the verge of some amazing things in our house.  We are on the verge of purging our home from past bitterness, old hurts, and old regrets.  We need to learn to be more committed to flowing Christ.  In Him and Him alone will the healing that we need take place.  After all, “Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God."  (Mark 10:27 NIV)

CATCHING UP ON LIFE

It has been a while since I have shared my thoughts about life with everyone.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I haven’t had a lot of thoughts or a lot happening in our lives, BUT, I have been so down and even busy that I just have not felt much like sharing.  Not a very good blogger am I?  Okay, here goes the rundown of the past few months.

In March after Grandpa’s death I had the privilege to celebrate my birthday.  I am not going to share exactly how old I am, but those of you who know me already know!  It was a little rough being so close to the time that Grandpa passed away, but it was a wonderful time anyway.  To make up for the lack of “fun” at this time of year, my amazing husband got me my new ruby bracelet.  It was something that I have been wanting for a very long time and I was most excited to get such an amazing gift!

In April we celebrated the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior.  This was a lovely day, quiet and low key.  Something’s were going on with Mommy and life was not as it should have been.  SURPRISE!!!  At the end of the month we found out that we were expecting baby #4!  What an amazing gift to be given.  All three children were very excited, and have even named the baby “Little Bit”.  Robert was also very excited.  All in all it was a great, albeit busy month!

In May we had the unique privilege of celebrating E-Man’s 4^th birthday!  Oh my how time does fly.  Of course we had a wonderful party complete with pizza and Transformers.  We also had our first ultrasound and determined that Little Bit is due in December, the 8^th to be exact.  December is a busy month for us.  Robert’s Granddaddy’s birthday is Dec. 3^rd, our 14^th anniversary is Dec. 5^th, Robert’s Granny’s birthday is Dec. 8^th, and his Aunt and Uncles anniversary is Dec. 9^th.  Needless to say we are hoping that Little Bit makes his or her arrival around the 10^th or so.  I have been diagnosed with anemia and dehydration so I have been feeling really, really bad.

Now we are in the swing of summer, dealing with Florida’s incredible heat and humidity.   We are looking at starting our new homeschool year the first week in July since Little Bit is due in December.  We are using the Sonlight curriculum and have had the fun and privilege of opening two boxes from Fed Ex that had over 100 pounds of books.  Needless to say, we had to purchase two new book shelves for around the dining room table!  The children have been looking through their books for days, I have to shoo them out of them constantly!  We are looking forward to taking a mini family vacation in July, possibly going to the beach again.  Robert and I are going to be taking a Baby-moon to St. Augustine as well.  Since we can’t get away for our anniversary, we are going to get away after Robert’s birthday.

All in all, it has been a very busy few months!  I promise that I will purpose to not be gone so long, or at least try to not be gone so long!  If we have learned nothing else in these past few months it is that God is faithful, He is in control, and His timing and blessings are always on time and perfect!!!  All in all we have been abundantly blessed!  Talk to you all soon!