New Years Resolution

"She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness." Proverbs 31:27


Oh, idleness. I must confess something to you - I am definitely prone to be lazy. It's probably my biggest weakness. 


Sure, I wake up with all of these ideas of how to be productive...but then somehow time just slips through my fingers. I go to check my email "real quick" and next thing I know, hours later, I've ended up watching random Super Bowl commercials on YouTube ( a bit of an exaggeration, but you know what I mean). 


I then am in a rush to cook supper, get the house straightened up for my husband...and when he gets home and asks what I've been up to all day I feel so ashamed. I also again feel ashamed laying down at night feeling so unproductive. 


You see, my husband is very self disciplined and plans out practically every minute of his day. He LIVES for his to-do lists and he always has a plan! Me???? Not so much, but I know that I MUST start making plans and to-do lists to get things done. I'm the person who waits until the last minute to do pretty much everything, thus, it's an adequate job, but not my best. Not only will be being productive please my husband (drives him NUTS when time is wasted - can't tell you how often he has reminded me of Ephesians 5:16), but because it pleases the Lord for me to be productive and to not be given to idleness. 


Every time I read Proverbs 31 - which I try to do every day, and I recommend every woman to do the same - I not only feel convicted but soooooooo inadequate. I keep thinking "I don't even have children yet, how in the world am I going to manage once there are all these little people running around???" 


One thing about the virtuous woman is she was BUSY! The woman was always cooking things, making things, selling things, buying things, planting things, etc. Lately I've reflected on why the Lord wants us women to be busy and not idle, and I've come to a few conclusions:


1) Idleness can lead to sin. I know this for a fact! When I'm busy being lazy and not attending to my home I am more likely to fall in to sin which includes not spending time with the Lord, therefore, leading to bitterness against my husband, etc. etc. Not to mention, as women, how much more likely are we to gossip or put our noses in other people's business when we're not busy!


2) Idleness makes me neglect my home. This is kind of a "duh." If I'm being idle, then obviously I'm not attending to my home. Now, it's not a sin to relax every now and then. For me, since I do not have any children (at least not for a few more weeks), I do have more free time on my hand - but even during those moments I need to guard myself in what I do to make sure that it's still glorifying the Lord. For example, during free time this is a great time to read a book about homemaking or something to encourage me in my walk with the Lord, in my marriage, and as a mother. 


3) We, as Christians, need to "redeem the time because the days are evil." (Ephesians 5:16). This verse isn't just geared towards women but to ALL Christians! We are in the last days, and we need to make sure that in EVERYTHING we do we are glorifying the Lord. Again, I'm not saying that it's a sin to relax, we certainly need it at times and God even set aside an entire day of the week to rest. But, we need to always be conscientious of what we're doing to further the Kingdom of God. Our reason for being on this earth is to glorify the Lord in everything we do!! Always keep that in mind!


So...I say all this to say that this is my New Years Resolution. I usually don't do these, but, since the Lord has recently laid this on my heart and it's a new year, I think it's appropriate. 


If it didn't look so tacky, I would have post-it notes of Proverbs 31 all over my house as a reminder lol but for now, I think I'll just stick it in certain places - like my computer, over my oven, etc. Also, I'm going to be making up a schedule so I'll always know what I'm doing and when! 


I hope this encourages you all! I'm sure that those of you who are mothers of children laugh at this post because relaxation is probably the thing of the past for you - but for us who aren't as busy, it's a good reminder :-)


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A Mother's Sacrifice

Today I received a copy of the January 2012 American Baby magazine. Not really sure why I'm receiving them - I think it was from signing up with Publix's Baby Club, but either way, it has some good info in it.

At the beginning of the magazine, they had these quotes that were posted on Facebook about moms and one of them especially caught my attention:

"A mother is a person who, seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie." 


This immediately made me think of my mother. She passed away November 21, 2010 from cancer, and I miss her so very much. I think I miss her more throughout this pregnancy - I can't go to my mom to ask what it was like for her, compared to what it's like being pregnant for me, etc.

Since she passed away I've had so much time to reflect on who she really was as a mother, a wife, as a person. My mom was such a hard worker. No, she wasn't a stay at home mother - she worked full time as a teacher, played the piano at church (about 7 times a week between rehearsals and services), not to mention being a mom and a wife. To be honest, I have NO idea how she did it. I think the only times I saw my mom sit down was when she was at the piano lol She was up later than everyone and woke up earlier than everyone else. She always looked amazing - she was the most beautiful woman I've known.

One word, among many, that can summarize my mother is sacrificial. Looking back she did SO many things for her family despite how tired she might be or how much she might have desperately wanted to sit down. She always stayed up late to make sure my dad's shirts were ironed for Sunday morning, always made sure she was attractive for my dad, she was our biggest cheerleader, always gave hugs freely. She was fiercely protective of her family and loved the Lord and serve him with all her heart.

As Baby J's due date comes closer and closer, I've been thinking about the type of mother that I want/hope to be. To be honest, I hope I can be half of who she was. I hope I can serve my family and be as much of a hard worker as she was. I hope that I can love my family as much as she did. I hope I can be as self-sacrificing as her.

Mothers are very special people. They have the ability to love like no other. They can go from dealing with a dirty diaper to making a meal for her husband. A mother's kiss can magically heal wounds and a mother's hug can suddenly make the world a better place.

Momma would have said she never liked pie so her family would be able to have some. I do hope I can be the same as her.

I love you, Momma, and I look forward in seeing you in Heaven one day. We all miss you like crazy, but thank you for teaching me what it means to be a sacrificial mother.

Why I'm Choosing a Home Birth...sorta

Hello everyone :-)

I do hope everyone is having a fantastic week. I figured I would do a post on why I'm choosing to have a home birth just in case there are any woman out there who are wanting to get feedback about this.

To clarify, the reason I say I'm sorta having a home birth is because it won't be at my actual home. Thanks to the strict laws of Florida and neighboring Alabama, I will be traveling to Mississippi to give birth at a little cottage there. Yep....2 1/2 hour drive - oh boy lol

I've had mixed responses from people about having a home birth in the first place, but when I state that I'm driving to Mississippi I REALLY get some looks. So...here are my reasons on why this is so important to me to drive 2 1/2 hours away!

*Note - when I use the phrase "natural birth" I am meaning not only non-medicated, but no IVs, no inducing, no c-sections, no fetal monitoring, nothing.

1) The majority of pregnancies are perfectly normal and are fine with having truly natural births. When giving birth in the hospital, from the moment you step in to the ward they are prepping you for surgery. Hence the IV, why you can't eat anything (can't have a full stomach for surgery), the epidural, all the monitoring so you can't move around, etc. The hospitals due A LOT of unnecessary medical intervention which, a lot of times, result in something going wrong and needing medical intervention like a c-section. For example, women who are induced are at a huge increased risk for a c-section because you're forcing the baby to come, against nature. Don't get me wrong, this sometimes works just fine, but the majority of the time I see that it results in a c-section. I have several friends where this has happened.

2) I HATE hospitals. I do not trust the medical establishment when it comes to dealing with pregnant women. Don't get me wrong, they certainly have their place, but when it comes to labor I find more ignorance in doctors than midwives. Doctors are taught to see pregnancy as a medical issue, not a natural process. Doctors are SURGEONS, and most of them have never seen a true, natural birth (yeah think about that). Pregnancy to them is just something they need to cure women of hence why they don't know how to handle bigger babies, what to do when babies are late, when they're breached, delivering twins, etc.

3) I want complete control of my birth experience. I want to be able to walk around, eat when I'm hungry, and let God be my physician - not humans.

4) I choose a midwife because she sees pregnancy as a beautiful and natural element of life. She also knows how to handle breached babies, large babies, etc without just resorting to cutting me open. My midwife has delivered many breach babies with no complications and even has delivered twins naturally.

5) My midwife is with me the whole way during labor (except when I'm driving, of course). It's crazy to me how people spend all this money on doctors or even the nurse midwives with OBGYNs, but when you're in labor it's the nurses that you've never seen before in your life that tend to you and your doctor is just there to check on you every now and then and catch the baby. I like to have a relationship with my midwife and not be reduced to a 15 minute appointment. I have the ability to email her and even text her when I have a question.

6) When a woman gives birth, her body immediately releases a huge amount of oxytocin (sp??) This is also known as the "love hormone" that both her and her baby feels. This helps with bonding. When ANY kind of medical intervention is used, whether it's pitocin, c-section, etc this disrupts the release of this hormone which cause issues with mother/baby bonding.

Now...please do not get me wrong. I am VERY grateful for hospitals and the technology because it can save lives. There are women who, I know, need to be in hospitals due to being a high risk pregnancy and for their health and/or their babies they needs those doctors and that is a good thing! I will be giving birth only 6 miles away from a hospital so, if something does go wrong, I can immediately be transferred.

I also know that not every woman is comfortable with a home birth. Ultimately you need to give birth where you feel the most comfortable - HOWEVER, I highly encourage all women to do their research about labor/delivery. One place to start is watching the documentary The Business of Being Born *note this does have nudity because it shows women in labor, so I wouldn't watch it with children and just decide for yourself if you're comfortable with your husband watching it.* This is a WONDERFUL documentary that is a great starter!!!

Again, to clarify I am not judging ANY woman for choosing a hospital birth. It is YOUR decision, and not mine. I'm not saying it's a sin to give birth in a hospital or  anything like that. All that I encourage you is to RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH. Do not take your doctor's word as absolute truth. They are human, and they can make mistakes. Ask questions....understand what you're doing and then stand by your decision.

Hope this might help some ladies out there, or at the very least, you know where I stand!! Have a wonderful day!

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Parental Rights

Just got this video off of A Bowl of Moss and Pebbles blog. I do believe EVERY parent should watch this and wake up to the fact that America is going down the toilet. We the People need to stand up and speak out for our rights.

Take time to watch it - it's only 36 minutes.

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Back Again...

Hello Everyone! I know it's been forever since I last blogged - bad blogger!!!

 A LOT has happened since my last post. I'm now 27 weeks along- almost 28 weeks on Monday - pregnant. Monday marks the beginning of the third trimester! WOO HOO!! It seems to be going by so fast, yet so slow. I'm getting so anxious to see Baby J, but I know it's best that he/she stay in there longer. Doesn't help that I have had SIX friends since Thanksgiving have their babies and the 7th is about to pop out at any minute!!! 

Now as you can probably tell by me saying "he/she" we do not know the sex of the baby. My husband and I don't like bombarding our baby with ultrasounds, so we will only be having one in January just to make sure everything is going well with Baby J and there are no surprises at birth. At that time my curiosity will probably overrun everything else, and we'll find out what we're having!!! (Although I REALLY think it's a boy!!)

So in saying that, what's the plan?? Well I would love to have a home birth, although thanks to the strict laws of Florida that is not possible at this time. So we will be traveling to - wait for - Mississippi to give birth in a little birthing cottage. Yeah...crazy, I know, but I like to avoid the hospital like the plague. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad we do have the doctors and technology that we do have WHEN WE NEED IT, but for a normal and healthy pregnancy, they tend to do A LOT of unnecessary medical intervention, which actually leads to things like c-sections, etc.

I'm really hoping to have a water birth, but we might be getting there in the nick of time to push baby out lol The cottage is about 2 1/2 hours away from us, but my husband is an amazing driver and believes he can make it there in 1 1/2 hours haha.

But ultimately - the theme this entire pregnancy is "trust in the Lord." People keep telling me there's a huge risk with a home birth, but ultimately, there's a risk with pregnancy PERIOD. Just like there's a risk in driving a car, living in Florida where there are hurricanes, etc. Like with anything in life, I need to just place my trust in the Lord no matter what.

On that note, now that I'm at home, I'm hoping to get this blog back up and running again! Hope everyone has a great day!

Fear

My husband, his best friend, and I were up talking late last night about how messed up this world is and how, unfortunately, it's not going to get any better until the Lord comes back.The economy is tanking, the cost of living is going up, people are losing their jobs, food prices are soaring along with gas pricing.....

I'm sure you're all very aware of all of this.

As a wife and a mommy to a little apple seed, Satan really uses these times to constantly make me fearful. Questions race through my head such as:

The government is so anti-God, what if they come in to my house one day and take my children away because someone anonymously accused us of child abuse?

What's going to happen if the economy tanks and we no longer have money for food? What if my husband loses his job and that's the only income we have?

What if something goes wrong with this pregnancy?

How are we going to afford a baby? How are we going to afford a bigger place to live??? There's no room in our teeny tiny apartment for a family.

What if I'm not a good mother? What if I ruin my kids????

I'm sure you get the picture. As women it's very easy for Satan to manipulate and deceive us (do I need to remind you about Eve??) I also believe it's very easy for women to worry. After all, as homemakers we're the ones buying the groceries and seeing the rising prices, seeing the need for a bigger place to live, and are worried about the welfare of our kids.

However, praise the Lord for His blessed promises in His Word!!! During these moments of fear and worry, and Satan screaming in my ear that we're all doomed, the Lord just gently whispers in my spirit that it's going to be ok. Some of the verses that remind me to trust in the Lord are:

"And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me." 2 Corinthians 12:9

"Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." Matthew 6: 25-24

And of course

"For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." 2 Timothy 1:7

So, my dear fellow sisters in Christ, I greatly encourage you to cling to God's Word in those moments where Satan tries to make you worry and afraid. Remember that the Lord has you in the palm of his hands and nothing can ever pluck you out of his hands (John 10:28-29)! Just keep your eyes on him, and know that he has not given you that spirit of fear, and his grace is ALWAYS sufficient!!

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Legitimate Marriage

In lieu of the recent "gay marriage" legalization in New York, I feel I must comment about it.

Marriage licenses don't make a sodomite couple married anymore than they do a straight couple.

The Lord ordained the sacred union of marriage, and only when a couple has come before God and made those sacred vows does God acknowledge the marriage. We do not need "permission" from the State to be married, nor do we need to be acknowledged before the State. And on this note, just because the State gives you a piece of paper saying you're divorced doesn't mean you're divorced in God's eyes either. Marriage is a CHRISTIAN (i.e. religious) institution that has no business coming before the State.

My husband and I did not get a marriage license when we were married. We made a lifelong covenant before God and a lot of friends and family on May 31, 2010, and no matter what we do we will always be married before God. Doing it God's way doesn't even give you the option of divorce. We have no lawyer we can go to, the most we can do is stop living together - but we'd still be married before God.

So what's my point you may ask? As Christians, we need to stop being so wrapped up in this gay marriage issue and ask ourselves on why the State has anything to do with a religious institution (marriage) anyway! What happened to separation of church and state?

Just something to think about :-)