Pregnancy Woes and to dos

I feel so heavy! I can hardly drag myself around. Especially since it is so hot. I've gained about 27 pounds so far, but it feels like more. I wonder how much this baby weighs!

I haven't been eating well over the last week and I think that may be contributing to my sluggishness. I've got to get back to my healthy diet and take my supplements. I haven't taken any Floradix or red raspberry leaf tea in days. My body is definitely paying for it. My energy is going down the tubes. I can hardly sleep at night. Whine, whine, whine. You get the point.

I have a lot of ambitions in terms of cleaning and organizing today so I'd better get in gear. Today I want to:

mop the kitchen floor
clean the bathrooms
wash the kids bed linens
re-arrange/organize linen closet
arrange kids clothes in drawers and closets

will post an update later...

Blessed Assurance

This hymm has been in my mind for the past couple of days now. Here are the lyrics. If you are here reading my blog, I encourage you to really LOOK at the words and think about what they are saying. I promise you will be blessed. :-)

Blessed Assurance
Text: Fanny J. Crosby, 1820-1915 Music: Phoebe P. Knapp, 1839-1908

Blessèd assurance, Jesus is mine!
O what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God,
Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior, all the day long;
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior, all the day long.

Perfect submission, perfect delight,
Visions of rapture now burst on my sight;
Angels descending bring from above
Echoes of mercy, whispers of love.
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior, all the day long;
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior, all the day long.

Perfect submission, all is at rest
I in my Savior am happy and blest,
Watching and waiting, looking above,
Filled with His goodness, lost in His love.
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior, all the day long;
This is my story, this is my song,
Praising my Savior, all the day long.

I don't know if I'm just hormal due to pregnancy and therefore extremely emotional, or if it is that I'm finally realizing the goodness of the Lord...but I'm here at my computer tearing up. Aaah...I'm filled with His goodness, lost in His love. Amen!

Joy of Salvation

"I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my sould shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he covered me with the robe of righteousness..."
Isaiah 61:10

God's word has been really speaking to me lately. I have been having a grand time in the Bible. The more I read, the more I want to read. He is so faithful to make His word real to me. His word really is life.

I can always tell how much I've been in the Word, by how I'm doing on a day to day basis. If it's been a while since digging in the scriptures, my life shows it. I'm tense, impatient...bearing the fruit of the Spirit are the last things from my mind...

I always, always, always need to make the time for God. It is so worth it!

Missing Posts

There are some posts that are missing and for good reason. For my privacy I had to remove them.

An Invitation to Abundant Life

"Ho! Everyone who thirsts,
Come to the waters;
And you who have no money,
Come, buy and eat.
Yes, come buy wine and milk
Without money and without price."
Isaiah 55:1

Isn't it so good to know that we can have the best the Lord has to offer for free? He is calling us to come! This is the very essence of the term "good news". We can come and eat of the goodness of the Lord, without one single penny to our name.

Praise the Lord!!!

Romans 7:6

But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code. Romans 7:6 NIV

Motherhood and the Blessing of Babies

I can’t believe how quickly this pregnancy is going by. This little one is due in 11 weeks! That is just a smidge over 2.5 months away!!! I don’t feel prepared, practically speaking. I still have get a car seat, cloth diapers, tiny onesies and sleepers…a diaper bag. Oh, thinking about it makes me anxious. I do feel prepared emotionally though. I am ready to see and meet this little character. I know for me in past pregnancies 30 weeks (just a week away!!) is somewhat of a major milestone. Not because I’ve had any problems. All of my pregnancies have been healthy and uneventful. It’s just that at this point I start fantasizing about the baby. What will he be like and look like….Then I start nesting like crazy!

Babies are such a blessing. I love everything about them. Yes, even the dirty, poopy blowout diapers, LOL! I love the way they smell (um, the baby not the diapers!). I love listening to a newborn breathe. I love nursing them. It’s so hard to not want to just hold them and stare at them all the time. Considering that this one will be number 4, I wonder about how I’ll manage. I know I’ll have enough love, I love them all the same right now, as it stands. I’m wondering about the day to day practicalities of fulfilling my role as wife and mother. Can I do this?

Because this baby is so active I am constantly aware of him. I feel everything he does. I feel we are so connected. I thank God everyday for this child. Samuel…God has indeed heard my prayers.

A year from now, Lord willing Sam will be nearly a year old. I know that time flies and I plan to enjoy every moment. One thing I regret doing with my other children is wishing, too much for the time pass and that they’d just hurry up and get big so that I would have less stress in my life. This time, I don’t want to do that. I want to savor and enjoy every phase.

Well, as the time draws near my prayer is that God will continue to bless the fruit of the love between my husband and I, that is Samuel. I pray continually for a healthy, child. I am also praying for a safe home waterbirth (so excited!!!). I am praying for a smooth, loving transition from family of 5 to family of 6!!! Please pray for me too!

Praise the Lord!!!

Third Trimester Tiredness

It has kicked in already!

I can't believe it. It is only 1:30 and I could really go for a nap right now.

Thank goodness the girls are being good and have been entertaining themselves all day so far. If I was smart I would be using the time to go and rest, but nooooo...the computer was calling my name! After I finish up this post, I'll go check some others' blogs and *then* go and lay down for a bit.

So, campmeeting was great! We had a good time picnicing with our friends. The children played and had a blast! My friend brought their digital camera and hopefully once they email them to me, then I can post them on here.

It was really hot that day and unfortunately by the end of the day my eldest, Ashleigh was really sick. It started with a headache (I suspect a migraine) and then was feeling nauseas. Hubby went to the nurse's station and got Ashleigh some liquid Advil. We encouraged her to drink water, however, at that point it was too late she was really sick. I thought she was going to either throw up or pass out. We had to go home. Too bad to because we were just about to go to the main service (we missed the morning service) but, alas it wasn't to be. All in all though we had a good day!

Yesterday, I did a good thorough cleaning of the house, hubby did the groceries and then we just relaxed for the rest of the day. The heat is quite deadly so I haven't been outside since Sabbath. In fact, yesterday was the hottest day on record. I'm taking it easy today since there isn't any housework to be done. I'm really enjoying having central air. It truly is a pregnant woman's blessing, lol.

We will most likely have chicken for dinner...hopefully I can convice Rohan to BBQ it.

This week I'm looking forward to my midwife appointment (tomorrow, I think), bible study and a few packages that I'm expecting in the mail. Yippee!!!

Well, I guess I'll sign off now.

Persevere in Your Faith

For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. (2 Timothy 4:3-4)

I will come back and explain later...

Campmeeting 2006!

Since becoming a Seventh-day Adventist, I have yet to attend one of our Campmeetings. What is Campmeeting you ask? Well, good question, LOL! I'm not entirely too sure either, but it is basically a large annual gathering of the local conference for outdoor meetings, teachings, and celebrations. Since this weekend is going to be hot, hot, hot, having the meeting out of doors shouldn't be too much of a problem. I'll just have to make sure to bring plenty of water so that we can keep cool.

Our family will be picnicing at lunch with some friends and their children. We still have to co-ordinate who is brining what...then I've gotta go and shop for the stuff!

I'm not too sure what this year's Campmeeting theme will be but, I'm sure the teaching, meetings and fellowship will be awesome! I can't wait!!!

The Importance of Doing Good

The Bible is clear on the fact that we are not saved by our works. This is a truth that is drummed into my head quite regularly. However, during personal Bible study I have realized that God wants us to do good. Good works is somewhat of a manifestation of our faith. We are to delight in doing the will of God. Psalm 119 says over and over how he delights in God's law and His statutes.

Verses that spring to mind:

"Come, you children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
Who is the man who desires life,
and loves many days that he may see good?
Keep your tongue from evil,
And your lips from speaking deceit.
depart from evil and do good
Seek peace and pursue it." Psalm 34:11-14

"Depart from evil, and do good:
And dwell forevermore." Psalm 37:27

"And let us not grow weary while doing good,
for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.
Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all,
especially to those who are the household of faith." Gal. 6:9,10

It just causes me to remember that though I am a sinner, God has forgiven and covered me with His grace and mercy. It is my joy and privilege to do good to others, that God's glory might be revealed. A pleasant benefit of doing good, beside the fact that it pleases the Lord, is that when we do good, God blesses us!

Isn't God good?

Baby Names (again)

So it came to pass in the process of time that Hannah conceived and bore a son, and called his name Samuel, saying "Becuase I have asked for him from the Lord." 1 Samuel 1:20

SAMUEL: meaning either "name of God" or "God has heard"

I've been thinking again about the name Samuel. I have been thinking about the fact that it is such a strong yet, gentle sounding name. It evokes an image of a cute little boy with curly hair and big eyes. Samuel can be for any race. Samuel can be shortend to Sam or Sammy for a cute pet name (by mommy only!). It's not trendy. At least it's not trendy yet...

Aaah...but, not many people are feelin' me on this name. I don't know why it is so important to me for other folks to love my kids name...well actually I'll still name him what I want, regardless of what people say. I asked God for this child. And after the Lord blessed me with this pregnancy, two days after I found out, I began spotting...It was my birthday. Rohan and I were just about to head out to dinner. I begged God. I pleaded with Him in the bathroom. I said something to the effect of if God allowed this pregnancy to continue I PROMISE to follow Him. I believe I also vowed to raise this child for Him. I haven't spotted a drop since. So that, as you can see, is the significance of the name Samuel. When I dreamed up this name, and then found it in the Bible and saw that Hannah, who had pleaded with the Lord for a child, named her son Samuel it was like Bingo! It seemed as though the Lord was showing me an example.

Yes, I know I have 3 other children, however, I had recently lost a pregnancy in October...it was devestating and nearly drove me litteraly insane. So for November, December and then finally January when I finally found out that I was pregnant again I was begging the Lord to bless my womb just once more...and He did!!! Praise God!

Wow...this was waaaay longer than I meant it to be, LOL!

Walking the Narrow Path

Psalm 119:9 says:
“How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word.”

Walking the narrow path is a difficult path to follow but it is a path we are called to walk as believers in Jesus Christ. Why though is it so difficult? I feel that through God’s gracious forgiveness we are to be compelled to walk in the Saviour’s steps.

Sometimes when life gets hard and things don’t go my way, it is so easy to get sidetracked. It is so easy for me to slip and feel tempted to go off the path and do my own thing. This culture in which we live promotes doing our own thing - whatever that entails. If it feels good, then do it! If my “gut” is telling me to do a particular thing, then is must be right…right?

Personal experience and some extremely hard lessons have taught me that this is not always the case. I have learned that there is only One in whom I can put my trust. There in only One who has my best interest at heart. Only God who created me knows my struggles and knows how difficult it is to stay on that narrow, good path. Praise be to God, that Christ came and walked to the walk and took on my sins. He was tempted in every way. He overcame. Hallelujah!!! He allowed himself to be bruised for my iniquities. He condemned sin in the flesh. I have no excuse.

When I constantly keep God as the focus, His love, His forgiveness, His grace and mercy it is easy to keep on the path. The bible says that “the Lord is righteous in all His ways, gracious in all His works” (Psalm 145:17). Isn’t that so comforting? However, the moment I take my eyes off Him is the moment I start to veer off the path and things get out of control. I have a found a gem of a verse in the bible that reminds me that when “the walk” starts getting difficult that it really needn’t be. In Micah 6:8 it is written: “He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” For me, this verse is somewhat of a self-check. Am I doing these things? Am I walking humbly with God? Or am I rushing ahead, trying to find my own solutions to my problems, instead of waiting upon the Lord?

For me I have found that I must possess an acute distrust of self. I must be in prayer about everything. Maybe one day I’ll be strong enough in my faith and simple day to day temptations won’t seem like insurmountable trials. Dying to self may become easier. Maybe not. However, for now, I must make the conscious decision everyday to live for God and to keep my eyes on Him. I know that He loves me and He will not fail me.

Hebrews 12:2 says:
“looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Be encouraged! God has overcome the evil one. He is coming back soon, to claim his sheep. His lovingkindness, His sovereignty and His enduring righteousness will be proven at the last day!!! Cling to Jesus, do good, and wait patiently for His return.