Upgrade

Last night our son said something both humorous and poignant. He said that when he upgrades he'll be a man. Oh if it were only that seemingly simple.

How many of you moms wish that you could upgrade the version of you that looks and feels younger? A version that had the unending energy of your children to keep up with them, clean the entire house, run errands for your hubby, bring your kids to therapies, cook dinner, and still have the energy to spend intimate, quality time with your husband before peacefully falling asleep without crashing into bed. Sounds wonderful,doesn't it?

Well, let's not forget that we're princesses of our Most High, Lord, God, and Savior, Jesus Christ! Ephesians 4:22-24 NIV says "You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness." John 3:5 NIV says "Jesus answered, 'I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.' " By our choice, governed by our God, we have been upgraded to be more like Him.

God's Amazing Love

Well, things have certainly changed a whole lot since my last post. God has certainly been working in my life. I've learned that prayer and trust in the Lord can lead to true healing. And I've learned that God is willing to give us the desires of our hearts when they align with his will for our lives. Psalm 34:18" The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." So four months later I find myself pregnant!!! Psalm 34:3-4 "Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together. I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears."

God's Magnificence

Last month I experienced something devestating I miscarried my second child. I was only around 5 weeks along and endured a week long bleeding and cramping session. It was far from fun and one of my greatest fears. I recently picked up where I left off in my study of Esther presented by the most fun and relatable Beth Moore. While listening to a segment on CD, I had some teachable thoughts. First was that I need to trust fully in God. Second was what Mary must've felt when Jesus was crusified on the cross. I felt pain both physically and emotionally during the miscarriage. (and still emotionally from time to time.) Yet Mary had to endure, after many years of seeing Jesus grow, seeing her son tortured beyond recognition. I'm sure she felt his pain as only a mother could. Some articles suggest that a mother starts bonding with her child as soon as she realizes that she is pregnant. I find that to be true. Although, Jesus' crusifixion and burial are very dark days, the thing we need to remember is that Jesus is alive! Can you imagine the joy that Mary felt when she realized he was alive? Those of us that have lost someone that we love (that knew God), can lean on the knowledge that they are in heaven with Jesus. Isn't God magnificent?!

Growth

This morning I was reminded, once again, that we can't do anything without God. I can guide my son and try to teach him what I think he should know, but without God it's just not going to happen. God entrusted me with him, but only He can truely teach him. My son is making such progress that after much prayer, fear, and hesitation, we've allowed him to be mainstreamed in sunday school with "a shadow" (an aide) to guide him when necessary. I followed up today's lesson at home. I could have taught it and he wouldn't have been receptive or understood anything I was saying, but I sought God first-asking Him to help our son understand the lesson. What was really awesome in all of this was that the lesson was something that my husband and I were struggling to make him understand-that lying is wrong. I've even read that what he's been doing is developmentally appropriate for someone around his age. That alone was an eye-opener. Wow, he's doing so well with his language that his lying is developmentally appropriate. Do I punish him or praise him? Of course we punish him at an age-approriate level, but we have to make sure he truely understands right from wrong -while we're secretly proud of him that he's at age level in this particular instance. So I praise God that he understood the lesson and I have knowledge in how to teach him to tell the truth. What an awesome God we serve!