Bottling Moments

I've had some precious moments this morning already that I wish I could bottle up and keep forever.  Since I can't physically put them in a bottle, I decided to put them on this blog so I could go back to cherish them years from now. 

I am twenty weeks into my pregnancy, and I have still been taking Zofran to help inhibit me from throwing up.  It has now been 2.5 days since I've taken the medication and I managed to keep everything down until just a short while ago.  That's the longest I've gone without medication and not threw up in over 14 weeks, so things are at least looking up.  The nausea is worse without the medication, but I'm trying to work through it with food and prayer. 

The one good thing about the nausea is it had me up before Parker nibbling crackers and drinking Sierra Mist.  While doing so, I figured it was a good opportunity to get in some Bible study.  Right now the mom's group I'm in is going through one of Beth Moore's 9-week studies.  It's really helping me get a clear picture of my faith and encouraging me to ask God for more.  I had a moment of reflection this morning where my mind was flashing through events throughout my life and realizing now how God was working in my life to bring me even to this day.  This was bottle moment number one.  It makes me excited to see what He has in store for me for the future.  I know there will be trials, but I feel good that God will see me through them if I continue to believe Him and exercise faith in what He can and will do. 

Bottle moment number two was when I went upstairs to get Parker out of bed:
Me: "Good morning, Love."
Parker: "I'm not Love.  I'm Parker." 
A little while later...
Me: "I love you, buddy.  Oh wait, you're not buddy, you're Parker.  Right?"
Parker (hugging me): "I'm your buddy, I'm your Parker, AND I'm your love."  Aww...

Bottle moment number three was Parker playing hair dresser on me.  He narrated the whole process beautifully to make sure I was comfortable (and following his directions).  He used his toy drill as a blow dryer.  He curled my hair with a screw driver.  Then he "flattened" it with a nut stuck on the tip of the screw driver, "Now keep your eyes closed.  I'll be very gentle."  I sat there quietly like a good client and thought, "How sweet my little boy is.  Who needs a girl when you have a boy like this, anyway?"  Then, as if he read my mind, he took his saw and cut open my head to see what was inside.  LOL!  Fortunately, he took his hammer and nails and nailed my head back together.  Then he went through the whole process of fixing my hair up again.  I think he did a good job of hiding the scars.  :)

Bottle moment number four is after breakfast when Parker wanted to snuggle with me on the couch.  He pretended I was a bed and my hand was his cup holder.  We were listening to Elton John.  When "Crocodile Rock" came on, I started moving to the beat a little.  When Parker said I couldn't dance because beds don't dance, I said, "But doesn't it make you want to dance?  It's so hard not to dance when music like this comes on."  Parker replied, "That's because this is rock 'n' roll!" 

Since my tummy is starting to gurgle, I think I'll leave bottle moment number five to pictures:

Proud of his tower building skills

 

Then joyfully knocking it down!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"... but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."
Isaiah 40:31

Thankful Thursday

Ah, I can feel it. Today is going to be a MUCH better day! I've been trying to exercise in the morning before the heat hits and it's always a rush to get everything in so I can finally eat and get on with the day and the rest of the chores. Today I decided to let my body rest. I ate breakfast at a reasonable hour, drank my tea, Bible study and prayer, and put on my calming girly music. Some Joni, some Mazzy, some Norah, some Fiona... yes! It's going to be a much better day, and for that, I'm thankful. I think that perhaps exercising in the morning just doesn't suit me. It messes up my whole aura for the day. I need to start with calm and food and time with Jesus and ease into everything at a slower pace. My soul needs its nourishment first, I guess!

--------------------------
"I offer you my heart, Lord God, and I trust you." Psalm 25:1

"Show my your paths and teach me to follow; guide me by your truth and instruct me. You keep me safe, and I always trust you." Psalm 25:4-5

Camera Woes

For anyone who didn't see this post, P's diaper bag was taken from the trunk of our car in May and our camera was inside it. Well, shortly after this incident, Jake's brother Andy offered us an extra camera he had. It is an older Canon, but I thought it took nicer pictures than my newer camera did. Unfortunately, my computer won't recognize his camera so I am unable to load pictures from the camera to the computer. After learning this, Jake's mom decided to get herself a new one and gave us her old one. It is basically the same as our old one, but a step above I think. I spent a lot of time trying to learn how to use it and took quite a few pictures in the process. I think I wore it out! The day I first made the Peanut Butter Banana Muffins, the camera decided to start taking pictures that look like this:


I think God was sending me a message to stop trying to capture every moment on film and instead actually live in the moment; to spend more time worshiping Him and loving and enjoying my family. So for the past month or so I've been taking that lesson to heart and remembering that life is not about capturing every moment and blogging about it!

There's one catch. The video camera function on the camera still works. Weird, huh? So, you'll probably be seeing more videos on the blog to make up for the lack of pictures. I guess God is allowing me to slowly wean off my blogging addiction this way. :)
-----------------
"Nothing is as wonderful as knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have given up everything else and count it all as garbage. All I want is Christ and to know that I belong to him." Philippians 3:8-9

Sorry, Lord, I Blew It Again

About a month ago, Parker and I were on our way out somewhere and before we left we walked to the community mailboxes in our complex to drop off some outgoing mail and pick up the mail from the day before. Along the way, I noticed a woman on a crutch, carrying some binders with her one free hand. Alongside her walked a little girl around Parker's age. I was carrying a few bags myself and trying to keep Parker from running away from me, but even now, I feel bad about not putting down my things and asking her if I could help. My burden could have been put down, but hers couldn't.

Nearly every day I think of her and how I failed to do the right thing.

This morning, I prayed specifically and asked God to give me the opportunity to help someone today and honor Him.

Later this morning, Parker and I were sitting and eating a snack outside our local library when a man in a wheelchair stopped nearby the library doors. I moved to get up and offer to help him with the very heavy (and non ADA compliant) doors, but hesitated. There was a rack of 10 cent books right where he stopped and it appeared as though he might be looking at them. I was afraid of looking like an idiot if he didn't even need help. I decided to wait and see if he would roll towards the doors and then I would get up and offer to help. He didn't move. About a minute later, a man walked up and started entering the doors and the man in the wheelchair asked if he would hold the door for him. He hadn't been looking at the books. He had been waiting patiently for someone to come by and help him. I had been less than 20 feet from him. I could have helped him. But I let fear of embarrassment take over. What's the worst that could have happened? He would have said, "no thanks?"

Lord, please forgive me. You answered my prayer, and I failed to fulfill it.
---------------------------
"Then the ones who pleased the Lord will ask, 'When did we give you something to eat or drink? When did we welcome you as a stranger or give you clothes to wear or visit you while you were sick or in jail?' The king will answer, 'Whenever you did it for any of my people, no matter how unimportant they seemed, you did it for me.'" - Matthew 25:37-40

"My friends, what good is it to say you have faith, when you don't do anything to show that you really do have faith? Can that kind of faith save you? If you know someone who doesn't have any clothes or food, you shouldn't just say, 'I hope all goes well for you. I hope you will be warm and have plenty to eat.' What good is it to say this, unless you do something to help? Faith that doesn't lead us to do good deeds is all alone and dead!" - James 2:14-17

Parker and I tried a new church today that a friend (and fellow blogger) told me about. It's called The Shoreline and it is held at a local school in San Clemente.

'the shoreline' theme verse:
Then Jesus said to Simon, "Don't be afraid; from now on you will catch men." So they pulled their boats up on the shoreline, left everything and followed him. (Luke 5:10-11)

This church is casual and fun. I was mostly thrilled to discover that they are going through whole books of the Bible, instead of topical preaching. Not that there's anything wrong with topical preaching, but at the moment I am trying to read through the Bible and one of their goals as a church is to read the whole Bible in a year. Our goals match up! There are also lots of opportunities for service and volunteering and getting to know other people. Parker also did really well in the toddler room, even though the service was over an hour and a half long. He seemed to enjoy it as much as I did! I'm excited to go back next week.

Today we read through 1 Samuel 21... and we got homework for the week! Pretty cool. Psalms 34, 52, 54, 56, 57, 59 and 142 were supposedly written during the time frame of 1 Samuel 21. So we are encouraged to read one Psalm each day this next week. It will be neat to line up what David was going through when he was writing different Psalms. Reading through this chapter in 1 Samuel was exciting for me because I recently read through Matthew and the story of the disciples eating grain on the Sabbath was still fresh in my head. That is where Jesus references David eating the holy bread on the Sabbath. I didn't know where in the Bible Jesus was referencing... turns out it's 1 Samuel 21. Hey, whaddya know?

After my last post regarding my spiritual quest, I had several people contact me with advice and encouragement. One thing my Aunt Barbi said to me really hit home. She reminded me that sometimes God uses tools to bring us back to Him, but that the tool isn't necessarily the answer; in other words, God knew I needed a jump start (and kick in the bum) and he may have used Liz and Arlene to bring me back to Him, but that doesn't mean that their religion is His path for me. God works in mysterious ways, right?

Speaking of which, my hubby did some research on the Jehovah's Witnesses and shared some interesting information with me. Some of it doesn't ring true with what Liz and Arlene have already shared with me, and I am very curious to see what they have to say on these different matters, but so far if even half of these things are true, I could never join the Jehovah's Witnesses.

This list lines up closely with what I've already learned about the JW group.
http://www.religioustolerance.org/witness3.htm

This one lists some strange stuff, but not sure how accurate it is.
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/2919/reasons.html

Therapist (and former JW) describes mind control (cult-like tendencies) of JW group.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vISWAgy_emg&feature=related

I know my blogs lately have been kind of serious, but don't worry, I plan to post some more fun P-man stuff soon!

My Spiritual Quest

I am taking advantage of the little guy being with his Gma and Gpa Munns today and have spent most of the morning reading the Bible and journaling. I had this strong urge to share some things that have been weighing on me lately.

First of all, I have continued my weekly Bible study with Liz and Arlene, two members of the Jehovah's Witness group. I have done so because 1) it is so much easier to understand the Bible and keep reading it when you have people guiding you and encouraging you, 2) these women are warm and friendly and 3) I feel like God led them to me for a reason.

Which leads me to the next issue. My family and friends (this means you) think I'm nuts. That I'm going to get swept up in their way of life. And now I'm beginning to wonder, what's really wrong with that if I do? I understand that they are ridiculed because they go door to door preaching about God (Jehovah) and Jesus and that makes people UNCOMFORTABLE. We want to live our lives the way we choose. What's easy for us. As long as it doesn't hurt anyone else, yadda yadda yadda.

Here's what I know. I was unhappy and lost for a long time. During this time, I often thought about the happiest point in my life and honestly it was during my first years in college when I was active with the Otter Christian Fellowship and studying the Bible. I kept wondering why I was so happy then and not now. I have everything I always wanted. A loving, devoted husband and a beautiful son to share my life with. But something didn't feel right. Something was missing. It was my faith in God. And when these women persisted at knocking on my door, I truly believe something outside of myself let them come inside. And when they started getting me to read the Bible again, it was as though I stumbled across an old friend that I hadn't seen in years and we picked up right where we left off. But now that we realize how much we missed each other and what a great thing our friendship is, we have more reason to keep it strong and not lose each other again.

So I wonder, must not there be more people out there like me? Who might welcome someone, even a stranger, to warmly and humbly guide them to having a personal relationship with God? Isn't that what Jesus preached that we should do? Today I was reading a lot in Acts and so much of what the disciples and Jesus follower's experienced reminds me of the Jehovah's Witnesses. No matter where the disciples went, there were always people who turned to Jesus because of their teachings, and there were always religious leaders that ridiculed Jesus and the disciples. Hmm... interesting. Why is it that the Jehovah's Witnesses are ridiculed, especially by other Christian churches? Well, I'm trying really hard to find out. So far, I have not stumbled across anything that has stood out as unbiblical in their beliefs. Until I do, I see no harm in continuing to read the Bible with them and gaining a stronger relationship with God. In fact, I am strongly considering attending one of their weekly gatherings where I think it would be more clear to me or not whether something doesn't feel spiritually sound.

Depending on what more I find, I just might have to "eat my words" on a previous post. I know my husband is probably upset reading this now and may even be embarrassed by it. But know I still love you hunny and I hope you can accept that I'm trying to change myself not just for me, but so that I can be a better and happier wife and mommy. I'm not saying yet that I will join their group, but I am saying that I have not completely shut that door. All I am asking for is an open heart, love, and compassion while I take this spiritual journey and try to find the right path, God's path, for my life.