Top Ten Best Things About Having a Child with a Stomach Virus

Our Millie Anne has been sick since Friday of last week. It started with diarrhea, then we added vomiting Saturday and Sunday. The diaper disasters keep on comin'! Because the Bible says, "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again, Rejoice!" I've decided to count the blessings of this time.

They are:

10.)Saving money on baby food,

9.) Triple flusher diapers,

8.) Testing the quality of my plastic pants (those Bummi Whisper pants can take a punch!),

7.) Quickening my reflexes (how fast can I dash out of the way of flying vomit!),

6.) More time for household projects (she sleeps a lot),

5.) Learning endurance and patience with an upset baby,

4.) Satisfaction in helping a little one feel better (and having them fall asleep in your arms),

3.) More cuddling with Millie (she's a top-notch hugger!),

2.) Greater reliance on God (please don't let her vomit again, God, Please!),

AND

1.) Realizing you absolutely LOVE being a mother!

Praise be to God for His indescribable gifts (the chief of which is salvation from my sins and grace of eternal life with Him)!

Blessings from God

Today is a beautiful fall day here in Kentucky. The temperature is moderate, the sun is out, and there is a slight breeze wafting through the trees. Our maple trees have changed color, as have the oak trees. The burning bush at the end of our street is beginning to show it's fall glow. We missed church today due to another round of colds for Royce and I, but we have been blessed by a wonderful day nonetheless. We had a good breakfast of eggs and sausage, by God's grace. Millie Anne has been able to eat well due to the providence of God in some baby food given to us by a mom from our church. She was given an overabundance of baby food from someone closing a day care. I am so thankful that God continues to show Himself faithful to us and providentially caring for our needs. Money is tight right now, but we have enough. God is good to us in so many ways. We are learning to let go of material things and make Him our highest priority. We have not been able to contribute monetarily to charities, but God has allowed us to purge our excess material wealth through the Vietnam Veterans of America, Cedar Lake Lodge (a center for children and young adults with disabilities) and Goodwill.
Today we enjoyed watching Millie Anne learn to walk, play with bubbles floating bright in the afternoon sun, and see her figure out how to gnaw on a biter biscuit. She is so joyful when she is learning something new or is getting the opportunity to test her abilities. Thank the Lord for an eager learner. Millie has not sprouted any teeth as of yet, but she is a good eater. We feel blessed that we have been given such a pleasant child, who is a continual reminder of God's grace to us. And that's not just in the good times, His grace is evident when I am struggling not to lose my temper with Millie or when we are trying to figure out how to care for her when she is hurting.
Royce is almost done with seminary and it is exciting to see him completing his course work for the final class of his seminary career. We are praying for God's direction in how to use this education for His glory. The last two years have been difficult in terms of searching for a ministry. It does not seem as though we are getting anywhere with it. Royce has candidated at just three churches, and we have yet to get past the second Sunday at any church. We are not sure if that is because we have not candidated at the church that God wants us to serve or if it is because He doesn't want us in vocational ministry. Yet God is faithful and his purposes for us are good. We continue to explore our options for employment post-graduation. Royce is looking into various archival and government positions. The hope is that we will be able to find secular employment that would allow Royce to take any size church. Student loans and now a car loan loom before us. We must face our responsibilities for those as well as our living expenses. This year has taught us we can live on much less than we had thought. But, we also know that there are certain inescapable financial obligations which necessitate a job change. Patience and persistence seem to be the name of the game!
We are also dealing with the reality of our fertility challenges. The hope that my GP gave me that my body would "reset itself" post-baby has not come about. I am just as irregular as I ever was. We will have to use fertility drugs (or some sort of fertility treatment) to conceive our children. It is a challenge emotionally, physically and spiritually to deal with this issue and pursue ethical options. Hopefully some blood work I had done this past Friday will reveal what is causing my problems. I was encouraged by my OBGYN that conception for us will be easier since we have succeeded once before. The words of the Psalmist remind me that God knows our days before they come to be and He knows when/if other children will come.
Enough ruminations for now, I must enjoy the rest of this beautiful fall day!

Growing in grace

This fall I joined a women's mentoring group at my church and we are going through Bryan Chapell's book Holiness by Grace: delighting in the joy that is our strength. The group is called Continuing in Christ and we meet from 4-6pm on Wednesdays. We spend part of our time in small groups of 4 women, one of which is older and the mentor for the other three women. The other part of our time we spend as a group of twelve. This is sort of a "pilot" group to see if this is something the church wants to do with all of it's women. It is such a blessing to be able to participate in this, especially since Royce and I don't know how much longer we'll be living here. The timing of this study is evidence of God's grace in my life. I have been struggling with legalism and perfectionism for a large portion of my life. I understand justification by grace, but practically living that out and understanding how we are sanctified by grace is something my mind has not wrapped around yet. By God's patient teaching and His work through this study I think that I am finally beginning to understand what it means to live in His grace. I know that it is only by God's grace in the work of Jesus Christ on the cross that I am saved. I know that I cannot earn my salvation, yet once I was saved I didn't know how to live in God's grace. I still felt guilty for and plagued by my sins and a desperate desire to please God...to get Him to like me. Sounds weird. I wanted to obey God, which is good, but I have been motivated by guilt and fear of disapproval rather than love for God. I'm not sure why this is so hard for me to understand. God has given me everything I have, and my salvation is His work alone. My ability to obey Him is from Him. I cannot compell God to love me nor can I pay Him back for what He did for me in Christ. My relationship with God is maintained by Him, not by my works/acts of obedience. I am right with Him because of the finished work of Jesus on my behalf, and Jesus said "If you love me, you will keep my commandments." in John 14:15. It is by grace I have been saved, through faith, and this not of myself (lest I should boast). It is so freeing to know that because of Jesus, I am right with God. And further, that my obedience is something I am to do because I love God (not because it gets me anything). I am to obey God as a loving response to His love for me, not as an attempt to pacify or ingratiate myself with Him. What do I have that I did not receive? (1 Cor. 4:7) What can I give to God, that isn't already His? How can I obligate God to do anything (and thus make Him indebted to me)? (Job 41:11, Romans 11:35). I am hopeful that I will be marked by the joy of the Lord, and not by guilty striving towards perfection. Thank God that He is at work in my to transform me into the likeness of His Son. Praise Him for His unending patience and lovingkindness towards me.