Mama | The words I needed today. Maybe you need them, too?

20 July 2012 | Dependent on God's Presence

Those who wait on the Lord . . . shall walk and not faint —Isaiah 40:31

There is no thrill for us in walking, yet it is the test for all of our steady and enduring qualities. To “walk and not faint” is the highest stretch possible as a measure of strength. The word walk is used in the Bible to express the character of a person— “. . . John . . . looking at Jesus as He walked. . . said, ’Behold the Lamb of God!’ ” (John 1:35-36). There is nothing abstract or obscure in the Bible; everything is vivid and real. God does not say, “Be spiritual,” but He says, “Walk before Me. . .” (Genesis 17:1).

When we are in an unhealthy condition either physically or emotionally, we always look for thrills in life. In our physical life this leads to our efforts to counterfeit the work of the Holy Spirit; in our emotional life it leads to obsessions and to the destruction of our morality; and in our spiritual life, if we insist on pursuing only thrills, on mounting up “with wings like eagles” (Isaiah 40:31), it will result in the destruction of our spirituality.

Having the reality of God’s presence is not dependent on our being in a particular circumstance or place, but is only dependent on our determination to keep the Lord before us continually. Our problems arise when we refuse to place our trust in the reality of His presence. The experience the psalmist speaks of— “We will not fear, even though . . .” (Psalm 46:2)— will be ours once we are grounded on the truth of the reality of God’s presence, not just a simple awareness of it, but an understanding of the reality of it. Then we will exclaim, “He has been here all the time!” At critical moments in our lives it is necessary to ask God for guidance, but it should be unnecessary to be constantly saying, “Oh, Lord, direct me in this, and in that.” Of course He will, and in fact, He is doing it already! If our everyday decisions are not according to His will, He will press through them, bringing restraint to our spirit. Then we must be quiet and wait for the direction of His presence.

Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest

[emphasis added]

Home | Swimming/Bathing on the balcony

Bruno turns 1 month old today! To celebrate, we decided to do a little bathing and swimming on the balcony. Fun was had by all, except mommy, who couldn't very well fit into either tub...

Home | Sweaty heads and expressive toes

Sometimes I am struck by how privileged I am to be a part of the day to day with my boys.  I'm glad I got to be at the table with Sebastian when he spontaneously started conducting an imaginary orchestra with his string cheese wrapper, and that I get to witness Bruno's expressive little toes curling open and close, and that sweet, enormous smile when I coo at him, and that I can teach Seb how to make snakes and balls and little men with guitars out of playdough, and that I get to take him to the park—chasing him down on that bike that he is getting way to good at riding—all the while sweating buckets because I have Bruno asleep in the sling.

These are the things I want to remember, and say I did with my life.

Home | Shifting gears

I think I can say that things are going very well around here. I feel a bit like I have to re-learn everything, though, which isn't a bad thing, but definitely requires patience and lots of deep breathing. I'm realizing that I have to up my game when it comes to organization or I'll drive myself nuts with my inability to keep things tidy and organized the way I like. Yes, tidiness and organization are closely tied with my sanity, I'm convinced. This week, one of my goals is to make snack containers for Sebastian. We still have some issues with a variety of foods, and a disinterest in food in general, so these will help make sure that if my hands are tied up with Bruno, I can still grab something for Seb when he's hungry. I foresee some entire meals coming out of these snack containers when we're having a rough day.

Also, in case you find yourself having a rough day, I am certain that this will make it better. I still get chills when I hear it.

Home | Venturing out

Something big happened today. Well, at least something that I've been dreading since Bruno was born. We ventured out, not in the car, but on our feet and wheels, respectively. The weather cooled down considerably yesterday, so I knew that today might be the day when I had to experiment with taking both boys outside. I even imagined it all out in my head last night, thinking, "It won't be so bad... I'll take Seb to his 2 year well-checkup at 8, and then we'll come home and just do it!" And you know, somehow, it wasn't so bad. Of course, I have Seb to thank for it. He must have sensed that today was the day because he randomly pulled his rain boots on, went to the door, and announced his departure. Of course, he couldn't unlock or open the door, but his determined "bye bye!" got me moving. I ran around like a crazy woman trying to get all the things I needed to load the stroller down with, but it happened, and I didn't mind so much.

Mothers of two or more, I hold you in high esteem.

Of course our walk lasted all of 25 minutes, but Seb was happy, and before we knew it, we were snuggled again on the couch watching Pooh. Ooohhhh our consumption of Pooh is out of control right now.

Next challenge: Grocery shopping. Getting this baby weight off might not be so hard if I keep up my avoidance of the grocery store...

And eventually, start Pooh detox. Eventually.

Husband | Cody and Bruno and the magic heartbeat

Bruno has been going through a growth spurt, wanting to nurse every hour and a half, and has been generally pretty cranky. Tonight there was nothing I could do to get him to be happy or sleep, so Cody took over. Or rather, Cody and his magic heartbeat too over. It always knocked Seb right out when he was a baby, and I guess Bruno succumbs to it's rhythm just as easily. So, of course, I had to capture it from every angle. Those little fists...

P.S. Bruno's 3 week stats: 23 3/4 inches long and 12 lbs. 3.8 oz. As our midwife said, "He's growing through his scalp!" (At birth he was 22 inches and 10 lbs. 1 oz.)

Home | In which Mamaw and Pawpaw meet Bruno...

... and take us out to Bob Evans for some tasty breakfast. These are some cool grandparents, let me tell you. I'm so thankful that Sebastian and Bruno have such wonderful examples to look up to. Remember that feeling you had as a kid when you got to go to your grandparent's house? I get goosebumps just thinking of the years of that kind of excitement that our kids have ahead of them, and am so thankful that Cody's parents and my parents live a mere 50 minutes from each other.