The Blood

I received this in an email this morning and thought I would share. I am not sure how much truth is to the characters of the story, but it definitely serves as a reminder to be careful how we speak of others.

One night in a church service a young woman felt the tug of God at her heart. She responded to God's call and accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior.

The young woman had a very rough past, involving alcohol, drugs, and prostitution. But, the change in her was evident. As time went on she became a faithful member of the church. She eventually became involved in the ministry, teaching young children.

It was not very long until this faithful young woman had caught the eye and heart of the pastor's son. The relationship grew and they began to make wedding plans. This is when the problems began. You see, about one half of the church did not think that a woman with a past such as hers was suitable for a pastor's son. The church began to argue and fight about the matter. So they decided to have a meeting.
As the people made their arguments and tensions increased, the meeting was getting completely out of hand. The young woman became very upset about all the things being brought up about her past. As she began to cry the pastor's son stood to speak. He could not bear the pain it was causing his wife to be.
He began to speak and his statement was this: "My fiancee's past is not what is on trial here. What you are questioning is the ability of the blood of Jesus to wash away sin. Today you have put the blood of Jesus on trial. So, does it wash away sin or not?" The whole church began to weep as they realized that they had been slandering the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Too often, even as Christians, we bring up the past and use it as a weapon against our brothers and sisters. Forgiveness is a very foundational part of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. If the blood of Jesus does not cleanse the other person completely then it cannot cleanse us completely. We have to remember that it does cleanse us. All of us, who accept. Completely.

Mommy Really Does Know Best

Don't you just hate it when you find out you were wrong? Especially when you pour your whole heart and soul into something and then just to be torn down like a useless piece of paper? Okay, so maybe that is just a bit extreme. However, it is still hard to take in the fact that you are just wrong, sometimes.

Yesterday, we pulled in to the driveway after church and were all in a line going into the house. Jackson was first of course and we were all rambling on about something. It was warmer outside and Wayne had mentioned that he wanted to wash his car and Jackson decided he wanted to ride his tractor. I told him that he couldn't ride until he had a nap. He told me he didn't need a nap and I proceeded to tell him that yes, he did and he was going to take a nap. And then, the argument (yes, I know, arguing with a 4 year old is just plain wrong) begun. As Wayne was getting the door unlocked, Jackson and I were going back and forth about if he was going to have a nap or not. Wayne finally stopped us and told Jackson that he did have to have a nap.

A few minutes went by, we let Bo out and changed clothes. Jackson was doing something in his room. Wayne and I both hit the bathrooms as we normally do after church. By the way, why is that? I can go a whole 8 hours at work without having to go to the bathroom, but for some reason I can't do it on Sundays. I have to go right as we get into the house. Weird. Even weirder conversation for a blog, right? Sorry.

Anyway, I came out of the bathroom to a really quiet house. I am not even sure where Bo was. I thought it was a bit odd as I didn't even hear Jackson playing. I went into his room and found this...

The little guy was just wrong and I for, once was right! He DID need a nap! And his Rescue Bots did too.

His Mysterious Ways

"The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble;

and He knoweth them that trust in Him." Nahum 1:7

Last month, I was preparing for a Sunday school lesson on Nahum and as I was reading through the scriptures, this verse popped off the pages of my bible. I wrote it down and wanted to commit it to memory. It seemed to be one that would be easy to remember and would help me in those harder days of life.

Not more than a week later, my pastor did a Wednesday night bible study on this very verse. This seems to happen often. God really wants me to hear something out of the scripture, I think. At the end of last year, the same thing happened with the story of Abraham and Sarah. Which in this very moment, is a very interesting thought, knowing what this posting is really all about.

Can I just tell you that I serve, love, adore, and honor a wonderful God and Savior? He is awesome and loves me with every single inch of his great big heart.

Moving back to the point at hand, during our pastor's Wednesday night message, he noted that the scripture does say "a stronghold in the day of trouble". He put some emphasis on the "day" of trouble. Not days, but day. Meaning, we will have troubles but they will be short lived and even though they are shortlived, God is with us every step of the way. Wayne and I have had to live in a stuggle this past week.

Last Monday, I had some serious lower abdomen pain and excess spotting that didn't seem to be normal. I called my doctor and he wanted to see me as soon as possible. We would later find that there were some problems with our baby. The major problem? The baby was not in my uterus. Over the next day or so after blood work and an additional ultrasound, it was confirmed that I was pregnant, but the baby was in my fallopian tube. The doctor went over the scenarios and the next steps. I went into surgery on Wednesday to have the baby removed and later to find that he did have to remove my tube as well. We knew that may have to happen and honestly I wanted him to remove it. The chances of having another tubal pregancy were greater, once I had one. I knew that I didn't want to go through this again, if I didn't have to.

We can still try to have another child with just one tube. The fertility rate only decreases by 15% when one tube has to be removed. I do have a follow up appointment at the end of the month and I will make sure all of the questions are answered and what happened during the surgery is discussed.

Through many days of tears, wondering why, and a few bouts of anger, Wayne and I both rest knowing that our situation is in our Heavenly Father's hands. He knows His plan for our lives. Wayne reassured me of this the moment I told him I felt like something was wrong. Although I don't think it is fair, I know our baby is in the awesome hands of our Lord and Mema is probably holding it tight and giving it many kisses.

As I relive this week while I type this posting, this verse in Nahum rings in the forefront of my mind. God was with us all week, and continues to be with us. This trouble will pass, and I believe we will both be stronger for it. We will be able to help another family that may undergo the same situation. God's light will shine through - which is His greatest desire.

You live your life day-to-day thinking that something like this could happen to you but pray that it doesn't. It is something that is hard to take in and put your hands and heart around. We have lost our 2nd child. We never got a chance to hold it, kiss it, know for sure if it was a little boy or girl. But, I tell you this for sure, it was loved. Will always be loved and will never be forgotten. Until we meet again in paradise... 

Pinterest

Are you addicted? I'm addicted. My husband is a closet addict. And there are not many people I know that are not addicted. What could be better than having ALL THOSE IDEAS at your fingertips? Not just ideas but recipes, funnies, outfits, how-to's, and did I say recipes?

We have actually tried a couple of the recipies that we've pinned. Yes, Wayne does "pin" things to my account so he doesn't look like the weird guy with a pinterest account. One of the DIY recipes that he found were these really cool chocolate bowls. For some reason, I can't find the original pin link to post here so... here are the pictures from Wayne's attempt at these. I think they turned out pretty good!

First, blow up some small dollar store balloons. Heat some chocolate (either in the microwave or in a double broiler). Then dip the balloons in the chocolate. Wayne dipped his 3 times. Sit them on wax  paper so that you can pull them off easily when the chocolate hardens.

Then, pop the balloons (after letting the chocolate set and get hard). You can slowly pull the balloons out of the chocolate bowls. They should pull out pretty easily. Wayne put ours in the frige for about an hour before trying to pull the balloons out.



Last, fill with icecream and enjoy!

 

And... turn into The Joker while you are eating! :)



Even In The Valley...

God is Good.

Even in the valley, God is good;
Even in the valley, He is faithful and true;
He carries His children through, like he said He would;
Even in the valley, God is good.

This rang in my mind last night as I drifted off to sleep and I can't get it out of my head today. He will take care of me and will help me through anything life presents me.

Haircuts, The ZZZs, and a Thought...

I don't have one specific thing to write about but a few things have been going on so I thought I would encompass them all.

Yesterday, Jackson and I went to get haircuts. I was going to take a picture this morning to post but 6:15am is just a wee bit early to whip out the camera and flash! So, maybe another day. Anyway, the last several times we have been to get Jackson's hair cut, he has screamed bloody murder. The girl that cuts our hair is 7 months pregnant, so I told Jackson that he didn't need to get upset when we went to see Mrs Dana because she doesn't like it when he cries and it is not good for her baby when she is upset. He said okay, but I am sure he had no clue of what I was talking about.

He started out okay and sat really still for her to use the scissors on top but we like for her to cut the sides really short with the clippers. Once she turned that on, he started screaming. I am not sure what the deal is with that. I think the lady that used to do it hurt him (by accident) one time and he hasn't gotten over it yet. Wayne finally put the death grip on him for a second and he was okay after he released. I think he was more willing to sit still and cry a little bit that scream and wiggle and have to be held by Wayne. We tried to make him understand that it doesn't hurt when he is still. He still said that it did. I just think he doesn't like it. After about 7 minutes of tourture, he was done. I will say, he did better that the last time we went, so maybe we are on an upswing and his appointment in March will be even better? We'll see.

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Well, the sleepy-ness of the first trimester has kicked in. It hits me at about 9 in the morning and I can hardly keep my head up. The past couple of mornings, I have had 2 or 3 small peices of chocolate to help wake me up a bit. I'd rather do that than get a whole 20 oz caffinated drink. I am trying so hard to drink all the water I can (that is one thing I didn't do well while I was pregnant with Jackson) and the drink will just counter-act all the water I am drinking. I also get up and go to the bathroom and fill my water bottle again. So the walking gets me stirred. I guess I will just have to take my mom's advise and go take a nap on my lunch break. I might just have to move my lunch break to 9am...

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And... just a thought... after I uploaded my post from yesterday, I realized something. I announced my pregnancy on the blog here for this baby on the same day Jackson was due 4 years ago.

Here we go again...

"For this child I prayed; and the Lord hath given me my petition which I asked of him: Therefore also I have lent him to the Lord; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the Lord. And he worshipped the Lord there."  1 Samuel 1:27-28

A new chapter in our lives has begun. We found out this past week that we are expecting a new little baby. It was definitely hard to keep this secret in. So, out with the announcement at just under 5 weeks. So many emotions have encircled us - shock, a little bit of fear, joy, excitement, and most of all love. 

At first, we were going to wait to tell Jackson. I wasn't sure that he would understand and I didn't want the never ending question of "Is the baby coming yet?". Wayne wanted to go ahead and tell him though. At first, he told us he didn't want a brother or sister, but after a little more talking about it and letting him know that he was going to be a special big brother that could share his toys with the baby, he got more excited. Now, he tells us we are having a boy AND a girl. They say the sibling's instinct is correct, but I am praying we just have one! :) Only God knows His plan though. He knows what we can handle.

Our due date is October 7th. Before we found out our due date, I knew of two people that had October birthdays... now? They come out of the woodwork. All you have to do is tell some one when a baby is due and all of a sudden, the due date is close to or on their birthday and the baby has to come on that day! Whew. Maybe someone will be special enough to share a birthday with our new little one.

Just continue to keep us in your prayers as the next few weeks are the most important in the life of "Butterbean". Pray that he/she will grow and develop strong and healthy and that all of his/her very important organs (i.e. the brain and the heart) will grow as they should. This week, the chambers of the heart are forming and Butterbean is only the size of a sesame seed. Oh, such a miracle!