Friday, November 13, 2009
self-check
The other day I found myself ranting about a certain political view that I disagree with. I was griping about the ignorance of those whom I disagreed with and getting myself worked up. Now, I'm not well versed in the political jargon and I often am in the dark about what is happening with the big wigs in Washington, but I try to stay somewhat informed in an effort to be an educated, well-informed citizen. In the midst of complaining, I came to a realization....have I once in the recent past stopped to pray for those who are in leadership and make these decisions? Hmm, can't say that I have. This got me thinking. Christians often complain that God has been taken out of our country's political front and that Christian morals don't have a place anymore. Haven't we as Christians only aided in this? I mean if we don't pray for our country and it's leaders, aren't we taking God out of it as well. This may seem like a stretch, but we shouldn't be so quick to get disgruntled with politicians if we're not doing our part to uplift them to God and ask for God's wisdom to be granted to them. Sure, we're not going to agree with everyone, and I'm not saying that we should pray for people in hopes that their opinion will match our opinion. I do think though we should take the time to pray for God's will to be done. I don't want to be a Christian who complains and acts angry at the way our country is run, but does nothing. There are enough people like that. I may not agree with everything, but I can pray for the wisdom of those who do have to make decisions. I find in myself that I need to be quick to pray and less quick to judge.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
I've done it again...
Once again I have failed to keep my blog updated. It's amazing to me how quickly time seems to be moving. I blink and 3 months have passed! In a few days Nathan will be six months old. I don't know how this has happened. I'm pretty sure he was just born yesterday. With age he is becoming more and more fun. I love watching his expressions as he discovers new things, and his smiles are enough to melt all your worries away. After Nathan was first born, I was worried about trying to make sure I did things the "right" way and was concerning myself over reading books and blogs. In the past 3 months though, I've thrown most of it out the window and have just relished in the enjoyment of raising a baby. If I want to rock him to sleep I do it and don't even think about whether I'm spoiling him. I realize that those will be the moments I miss in the coming years, and it will make no difference anymore if he can soothe himself to sleep or not. I do have to say though, he is such a good baby, and I am thankful for his content and happy personality. Let's just hope he doesn't take after his momma and have the "terrible two's."
I started Christmas shopping tonight! I ordered the first gift for someone. So excited. I love giving people presents.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Unexpected Blessings
Today I'm thankful for an unexpected blessing. I love the surprise blessings that God gives you when you least expect it. We received one of those such blessings from someone yesterday. The kind gift of this person brought tears to my eyes. I'm so thankful that this person allowed herself to be used by God to bless us in this way. On the reverse side of that, I realized that I need to give of myself more to bless others with those unexpected acts of kindness. Pay it forward!
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Garden Goodness!
Summer is here! I love this time of year. I think this is mostly because as a teacher I have summers off, so to me summer means 2 months of freedom to do as I please each day. I love the long days, the warm weather, going to the beach, cookouts with friends, and the abundance of fresh veggies. With that said, Luke and I decided to plant our own garden this year. We're garden virgins, but we planted with hopes to harvest something in the end. Much to our delight the plants are not only surviving, they're thriving. We've got a collection of squash, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and watermelon. Hopefully in the next few weeks, we should be enjoying the fruits of our labor.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Nathan is now a month old! It's amazing how different life has become in a month. We're now late for many things, there's no quick run into the grocery store, life is organized around feedings and naps, and getting 4hrs. of uninterrupted sleep is a blessing. My priorities have drastically shifted. I love spending my days holding him and caring for him. He's now smiling a lot more. It's the greatest feeling when you're able to do something that causes his little lips to curl up and begin to smile. That's one of the greatest blessings of motherhood so far.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Forever Changed
Nearly 3 weeks ago our lives were forever changed. Nathan Luke Stevenson was born on May 1 at 11:50pm. Since the first time that we saw him, our capacity to love was enlarged beyond our own understanding.
At 3am on May 1st my water broke. The doctor advised me to wait it out to see how things progress in the next 6 hours. I was having very mild contractions, so Luke and I went walking around 8am in an effort to speed things along. We then packed things up and went to Kohls and Chick-fil-a before heading to the doctor's office. After seeing the doctor, she sent us on over to the hospital. This was it, we walked into the hospital that day still a little naive about how life was going to change for us in the next 24 hrs. After getting settled into the hospital, the doctor wanted to start me on pitocin to jump start the labor a little since I wasn't progressing as quickly as they would have liked. I really didn't want the pitocin yet because I didn't want to be hooked up the monitors and an IV, so we asked if it could wait. Over the next couple of hours, I progressed some, but seemed to be stuck at being dialated 6cm. They wanted to start the pitocin, but once again we asked for more time. Luke and I became power walkers around the hospital halls. I have no idea how many times we walked the loop around the maternity ward, but it had to be over 100. The contractions started coming closer together, and I could feel them more, but I still wasn't experiencing any pain. After not seeing much progress, we started the pitocin. About an hour after getting the pitocin, the contractions started to become stronger. Luckily, they were able to give me battery operated monitor so that I could still be up out of bed and walk around if I wanted to. That was so helpful. I hated the uncomfortable beds! Around 7 the contractions started becoming painful. Over the time that I went from 8-10 cm Luke was such a great help in making me comfortable through the contractions. I eventually got back into the bed and the next thing I knew, the nurse told me we would begin pushing. So, at 11:00 I began pushing and at 11:50, I was holding Nathan in my arms. The feelings I had when holding him for the first time can't be put into words. It was surreal and wonderful. While the day was long, it all seemed to happen so fast. I'm so thankful for the way God watched over us to help us have a great delivery and a healthy baby.
Now that we're home, it is so nice to feel a bit more settled into life with our son. Nothing can fully prepare you for the joy of being a parent for the first time. While it is great, and you learn to love in a new way, it is hard. I can't even imagine having twins! One of the greatest joys has been seeing Luke take on his role as a father. He is amazing. I love seeing him interact and hold Nathan. I'm so excited to be in this new phase of our life together and praising God for my family.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Winding down
Tomorrow is my official last day at work. It's hard to believe that I'm now done for the school year. Don't get me wrong, I'm excited, but it just doesn't seem real. I'm going to miss my third graders. I feel prepared though to leave them in the hands of the substitute. God has definitely given me a great sense of calmness with this and becoming a mom soon. I'll probably start freaking out soon after I post this.
Lindsay
Lindsay
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Revolution in World Missions
This is a book I'm currently reading and currently battling with in my thoughts. The book points out the struggle we face as American followers of Christ. We say we desire to see the lost come to know a loving relationship with Christ, yet how we spend and our time and money don't reflect this. The author, K.P. Yohannan is not blaming American Christians but is simply sharing an observation he had when he first came to the U.S. from India. As I look inwardly and think about this, I am convicted, but at the same time feel helpless in knowing how to change this mindset. As I become more keenly aware of this in myself, it's also hard not to look at our churches and others and judge. This is by no means right for me to do, and I'm sorting through all of these thoughts and praying for peace on how to handle the blessings God gives us in the American culture while being the good stewards that he desires of us. A few excerts from the book are below:
" 80% of the world's people have never owned a Bible while Americans have an average of 4 in every household."
"God's plan A for the redemption of the world is the Church."
"Why is it necessary for us to save our money in bank accounts when Jesus commanded us not to lay up treasures on this earth." - Where do we draw the line on this?
Lindsay
Friday, April 24, 2009
Oh Baby!
It's hard to believe that the time has gone by so fast. I'm in my ninth month of pregnancy, and our little boy could come any day now. I know we have no idea how drastically a baby will change our life, but we're ready to find out. We're already filled with so much love for this person we haven't even met yet, and I know that love will become even stronger when we see him. Please keep us in your prayers as we enter the foreign world of parenthood.
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