2 Blessings This Morning

1. The above mini-sermon (Driscoll) on fear: It's only 7-ish minutes. Worth the listen. My few favorite pieces are:
      - "Fear is an attempt at sovereignty, saying 'I see and know ALL, and I'm freaked out.'"
      - "Our lives are not tribulation-free, but they are tribulation-proof."
      - FEAR NOT! is the #1 command in the Bible, stated about 150 times...and is almost always       followed by, "For I am with you."

Anyway, listen to it if you can...super short and I found it very helpful in my own journey to overcome fear and worry as Jesus commands us.

2. My sister's recent blog post. A beautiful portrait of how much God loves us and how what He states repeatedly through Scripture is TRUE: "Fear not, for I am with you always."

"Never be afraid to trust and unknown future to an all-knowing GOD."     - Corrie ten Boom



"Pure gold put in the fire comes out of it proved pure; genuine faith put through this suffering comes out proved genuine...It's your FAITH, not your gold, that God will have on display as evidence of His victory."                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                          - 1 Peter 7:6-7 (msg)


"God does many things which we do not understand...A true faith must rest solidly on God's character and His Word, not on our particular conceptions of what He ought to do."  
                                                                                                                        - Elizabeth Elliot

My Funny Today

(this will be short)

So night #2 of them sleeping together:

Went to bed perfectly, we never even heard one peep once we closed the door (seriously??!), and I woke up at 8:00 to a quiet house with both of them still sleeping! I was amazed and feeling foolish for not making this transition sooner. :)

About 8:15, Lincoln woke up and came out super quiet telling me that Noah was still sleeping and we needed to be quiet.

I wanted a peek to see him all cute and snuggled in his big boy bed, so I crept in and
HE WAS NOT THERE!!!!!

I semi-freaked out for a second and my mind scattered everywhere as to where he could be/what happened!!!

Then I re-looked at the scene and found one of his 2 sleeping blankets:

And then I moved the blanket back a bit:

Are you serious??!! So I have no idea how long he slept there (and mind you, we have boxes and such stored under there too, and he managed to drag his blanket under there with him!), but they slept great - as great as one can sleep under a bed, I guess!

Silly boy.

The Big Transition

The plan all along has been for Noah and Lincoln to eventually share a room...once baby #3 arrived. 9 months ago when we knew she was growing inside me, I thought for sure our little Noah would be ready by this summer to transition to a big boy bed (the other twin bed in Lincoln's room).
But as the months have progressed, and summer is ever so approaching, I slowly began to realize that Noah LOVES his crib. He has not once tried to climb out (he is 27 months old - Lincoln was doing this at about 18mo.). And even more crazy, the past few mornings/naps I've gone in there to wake him up, he is already wide awake, just lounging with both hands behind his head, and he has told me (in verbatim - yes the complete sentence): "Mommy, I just wanna sleep some more, okay? Okay mommy?"
So this has recently had me a little stressed.
Yes I could just move him and work through the transition, but do I wanna mess up Noah's sleeping patterns which are glorious for having a newborn in the house (3 hour naps/sleeps in until 9:30)?
Sounds like bad timing to me.
Not to mention the few times we've tried to let him sleep in a regular bed in hotels has been an utter disaster! He's an all-time chatter box and squirrel once you unbridled him from a cage crib.

But his room is going to be Adelynn's nursery, and I'm not giving up the toy room, which leaves the only logical option. Transition him.

So last night, it was bedtime, and out of the blue (I had not planned this - maybe the "nesting" realization of a new baby coming is hitting me), I told Noah to go to Lincoln's room and get in the other bed instead of his crib.

Lincoln was confused; Noah was excited - nuclear excited.

We did our routine, said our prayers, I closed the door and hoped for the best.

Silence for ten minutes.

I was in shock...no way was it always going to be that easy.

And it wasn't. After ten minutes I heard chatter box Noah start going strong with his never ending stories. And then heard Lincoln go "Lincoln, it's time to go at sleep!"

Soon after, Lincoln must have fallen asleep, but we heard Noah continue chatting for the next hour...yes.

At one point he was singing "Jesus Paid it All" over and over and over again.

But he never got out of bed, and eventually (around 11:20ish), we heard complete silence.

And so it was all night! Lincoln woke up a little before 8:00, and Noah never budged. He stayed asleep until I went and got him!

So night #1, somewhat successful. We'll see what is in store for tonight. :)

29 (ish) Days Till D-Day!

I am now 29 days away from meeting sweet baby Adelynn! Crazy we're that close...and yes, I know my tentative due date because we plan it (that is unless I go into labor earlier than that). I'll do a post on the "planning" part later.
I had an appointment this morning and everything looks great! Her heartbeat was loud and strong in the 150's, my blood pressure was still in the normal range, and weight gain was on track. I was actually concerned about the weight gain because I've gained a significant amount in the past 2 weeks (about 8 pounds and you're suppose to be 1-2 per week??), but he said since I went through a phase where I lost/wasn't gaining over past few months, that I'm "catching up" now to some degree and that I'm right where I should be...let's just hope this doesn't trend the remaining 4 weeks.

My main issue right now is my sciatic nerve is irritated big time - especially when I work out, and when I'm done, it feels as if the entire right side of my body is being electrocuted from the hip down to my toes - not fun. Anyone have experience with this??? I've googled it and some say to keep working out/stretch to keep muscles loose, and others say absolutely stop working out or it will just get worse. Opinions???

Bethany has been trying to get me to do maternity pics for months now (seriously) and I keep putting her off because I'm not a fan of having my picture taken. I finally gave in last night. We found this super great spot within walking distance of my house that I'm excited to use for the kids when Adelynn gets here.
Here's a few...the rest are on my FB page.
HAve a great week!!! I'm excited for my shower this weekend my sweet friends put together!!! :)

How Cool is This?!

My sister has talked to me recently about how she feels God has been speaking to her through the sun in various ways. I think this is no exception.

I found this picture super inspirational they got last night while watching the sunset on Mt. Sequoya. I hope you do, too! 

Sisters

God draws us close through tragedy.
He reveals Himself to us in ways we've never experienced when a loss is involved. A wise man once told my husband that he believes God can't really use a person until he's experienced some sort of loss...until he realizes that everything fails, except for God, and there becomes a total surrender.

How has God been teaching me?
Through my sister...my best friend.

It's funny because she's my baby sister (okay, only by 16 months!), and sure God has used us in each other's lives at various points to draw us closer to him through the unique bond we share, but He has never shined through her so brightly as I've seen in the past few months.

If any of you who know her have actually taken the time to just sit and listen to her, you know the wisdom I'm talking about...the truths about God you walk away with...how alive the Holy Spirit is within her through this time, granting her peace, comfort, guidance...things ONLY of God at a time like this. If you get the opportunity to be around her - listen - don't miss it, because you'll miss Jesus speaking to your heart.

What the Lord has been teaching me through my best friend:
- That older doesn't mean wiser...how God uses anyone - regardless of age/gender/etc. who is willing and receptive - to speak His truths;
- about His quickness and readiness to bind up broken hearts...even if we need them binded 1000 times each day.
- that Jesus draws near (as He promises) when we seek Him; Amy starts her day every morning doing this, drawing on His strength.
- She's showing me how to love deeper; she is such a patient and gracious person to people, even in this time, and it's been a massive testimony to me about God's love for us
- How sometimes when you speak less, God shines even brighter. I admire my sister's quiet spirit.
- In the midst of (in my opinion) the worst thing that can happen in your life, Amy chooses to be fueled by her passion for Christ and her fervor for others to know Him - this is incredibly humbling and equally inspiring.
- She reminded me - through example - that it's ALL ABOUT JESUS. Period.

Thank you sweet sister...my best friend for teaching more about Christ! You cried when I went to college and I get misty-eyed on my drives home away from your house in Fayetteville these days because I cherish our time so much. I can't wait for the day we get to see Tucker run full speed into your arms again!!!!

You can follow her journey here at her blog...I'd encourage you too!



This Day

Good Friday...last year on this day, Bethany & Brandon watched our kids (during a tornado, mind you) while Jason and I went to watch The Passion with Amy and Nate at Fellowship. For some reason, last Easter weekend was the realest experience I have ever had of what Christ did for me. I remember thinking to myself, "Why have I never truly gotten the gravity and breadth of what Jesus did for me? For us?" And I felt a little guilty. But that was quickly followed by God's grace reminding me that my journey with Him is just that...a journey. And that the closer I draw to Him, the more He reveals about Himself and His love for me.

And then there is today...Good Friday...one year later. Some things are the same: My parents are coming to watch the kids tonight so we can go spend time with Amy & Nate. But for obvious reasons, this year is different. And my experience of Easter and what Christ did is, yet again, different. It's not that He changes, or what He did for us changes, but it's that He has continued to change me...to mold my heart....to again, make His death and resurrection even more real, even more amazing.

Today, many years ago, was the worst day in human history. Satan thought the battle was his. But then God took this day - the worst in human history - and made it the BEST day in human history three days later.

Thank you Lord we can call you REDEEMER! Thank you that, in light of our family's recent worst day in our personal human experience, you bridged the gap between our sinfulness and Your glory...creating a place where we can worship and dwell with you FOREVER! Thus though we experience immense pain, we can - with confidence - take heart because you have overcome this world.

"Oh praise the One who paid my debt,

and raised this life up from the dead!"