A LITTLE BRIBING CAN GO A LONG WAY
My middle child has been having one of those wonderful surges in understanding lately. He has been picking up books and reading words we've never gone over. Imagine the big smile on my face! Today my oldest son challenged him to read a book he hadn't read before. He said he would buy him a ring pop if he read it. Candy is a wonderful incentive especially for this little guy who was born on Halloween! He read the book and amazed the oldest son with his ability to remember certain words like 'wonderful'. He will be getting the ring pop tomorrow.
Way to go!! By the way, I did not come up with the idea. But I have been known to start the school day with a snack of chocolate chips! Works for the teacher too.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Monday, January 28, 2008
CONVICTIONS - PT. 4 - BIRTH CONTROL
When my husband and I married almost 12 years ago we knew we were ready to have children right away. We also were pretty sure we wanted God to plan our family size. We weren't adamant or outspoken about this conviction at first. We just agreed that we wanted a big family and were willing to depend on the Lord to plan it. Well, as you might guess, we got pregnant on the honeymoon. I had a painful medication free delivery and couldn't walk "right" for about three weeks. After that I got really scared. I guess a painful delivery will do that to you. So I talked with my husband and we agreed that I would get a prescription for the pill. I don't know if we had given up our former conviction or not. I think the experience of that birth just scared me to death. My husband watched me go through it and wasn't able to do anything to stop the pain. I'm sure that scared him too. I had the pill prescription filled and was planning to start taking them when I started thinking about this decision to go on birth control. Had I asked God about it? Had I prayed about it at all? No. I realized my decision was mostly based on fear and not faith. I started praying and came to Proverbs 3:5-6. God used those verses to convict me that I was not trusting in the Lord with ALL my heart and I wasn't acknowledging Him in ALL my ways. After talking with my husband I decided not to go on the pill. The amazingly ironic part of the story is that when I went to look at the pill prescription I found they had dispensed expired birth control pills to me. Very weird to say the least.
A short time later I came across a piece of literature that forever changed my mind on the pill. It was a booklet written by Randy Alcorn called Does the Birth Control Pill Cause Abortions? I will not go into great length about this booklet but I guarantee you that this booklet is well researched and faithfully presented. Randy Alcorn is a man of integrity.
My conviction was starting to be formed again but it had a lot of rough edges. As I began to interact with others online who had the same conviction I was tempted to look down on families with only one or two children. I would form subconscious judgments about women I knew nothing about. God has shown me since then how prideful and arrogant that is and I continue to fight that temptation of my flesh in this area as well as others.
God has also used my own fertility, and lack thereof, to further refine me. We have three children. We would like more but God has not seen to bless us any further in that way, yet. I have struggled with questions about my health and with the question of why I am not getting pregnant. God has humbled me through this experience and continued to teach me about His loving sovereignty. He has also shown me that while the Bible is clear about the blessing of children (see Psalm 127), it is not my place to tell other women and families how many children they should have. That is something between a husband and wife.
This issue has the potential to be very contentious and personal. The best way I have found to address it is just to be myself. Do not preach. If God gives me an opportunity (which He has) to speak to someone struggling in this area, then I will try to speak with candor and wisdom. I definitely try to speak whenever I hear someone speak of children as a burden, but overall He has not called me to be a spokesperson for this issue. He has called me to love my brothers and sisters in Christ.
Share your thoughts if you want. Thanks for reading.
When my husband and I married almost 12 years ago we knew we were ready to have children right away. We also were pretty sure we wanted God to plan our family size. We weren't adamant or outspoken about this conviction at first. We just agreed that we wanted a big family and were willing to depend on the Lord to plan it. Well, as you might guess, we got pregnant on the honeymoon. I had a painful medication free delivery and couldn't walk "right" for about three weeks. After that I got really scared. I guess a painful delivery will do that to you. So I talked with my husband and we agreed that I would get a prescription for the pill. I don't know if we had given up our former conviction or not. I think the experience of that birth just scared me to death. My husband watched me go through it and wasn't able to do anything to stop the pain. I'm sure that scared him too. I had the pill prescription filled and was planning to start taking them when I started thinking about this decision to go on birth control. Had I asked God about it? Had I prayed about it at all? No. I realized my decision was mostly based on fear and not faith. I started praying and came to Proverbs 3:5-6. God used those verses to convict me that I was not trusting in the Lord with ALL my heart and I wasn't acknowledging Him in ALL my ways. After talking with my husband I decided not to go on the pill. The amazingly ironic part of the story is that when I went to look at the pill prescription I found they had dispensed expired birth control pills to me. Very weird to say the least.
A short time later I came across a piece of literature that forever changed my mind on the pill. It was a booklet written by Randy Alcorn called Does the Birth Control Pill Cause Abortions? I will not go into great length about this booklet but I guarantee you that this booklet is well researched and faithfully presented. Randy Alcorn is a man of integrity.
My conviction was starting to be formed again but it had a lot of rough edges. As I began to interact with others online who had the same conviction I was tempted to look down on families with only one or two children. I would form subconscious judgments about women I knew nothing about. God has shown me since then how prideful and arrogant that is and I continue to fight that temptation of my flesh in this area as well as others.
God has also used my own fertility, and lack thereof, to further refine me. We have three children. We would like more but God has not seen to bless us any further in that way, yet. I have struggled with questions about my health and with the question of why I am not getting pregnant. God has humbled me through this experience and continued to teach me about His loving sovereignty. He has also shown me that while the Bible is clear about the blessing of children (see Psalm 127), it is not my place to tell other women and families how many children they should have. That is something between a husband and wife.
This issue has the potential to be very contentious and personal. The best way I have found to address it is just to be myself. Do not preach. If God gives me an opportunity (which He has) to speak to someone struggling in this area, then I will try to speak with candor and wisdom. I definitely try to speak whenever I hear someone speak of children as a burden, but overall He has not called me to be a spokesperson for this issue. He has called me to love my brothers and sisters in Christ.
Share your thoughts if you want. Thanks for reading.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
AND THE WINNER IS...
Not me, obviously! But I had a blast this morning running the race. Thanks to all of you who posted encouragements. It was cold but it didn't snow or sleet. I ran the whole race and didn't walk one time which was one of my goals. I wasn't expecting to be that fast but I ran the whole thing in under 40 minutes which is amazing for me. There were probably 2000 people in the race and it was great fun. My husband has now said he will join me next year.
Not me, obviously! But I had a blast this morning running the race. Thanks to all of you who posted encouragements. It was cold but it didn't snow or sleet. I ran the whole race and didn't walk one time which was one of my goals. I wasn't expecting to be that fast but I ran the whole thing in under 40 minutes which is amazing for me. There were probably 2000 people in the race and it was great fun. My husband has now said he will join me next year.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
2009 MINI TRIATHLON TRAINING PART 1
Well, I've been inspired by my readers to blog about this adventure I'll be taking. Yes, I am going to, Lord willing, participate in a mini triathlon in the summer of 2009. My first step will be running a road race, the Polar Bear 5K. The Polar Bear 5K is sponsored by my church and benefits the senior high choir mission trip to Poland. The race is this Saturday. I've been running on the treadmill at the Y and today I got up to running a full 5K. My pace was really slow (it took me 50 minutes) and I walked for 5 minutes of the time but I made it. I've done this race twice before, the last time in 2000. I just hope it won't be that cold at the start. I'll post something that day about how I did and if I remember my camera I'll even get someone to take a picture! (maybe one I'll regret).
Pray for me!
Monday, January 14, 2008
AM I CRAZY???
I've been stepping up my workouts the last several weeks and I've had a crazy thought pass through my mind - maybe I could do a mini triathlon? As soon as I start to think about it I think to myself, "What? Are you crazy? When could you find the time for that? And what about swimming in a lake? Gross!" Well, today I took the next step and started looking around for actual races. I didn't even know how long these legs would be. I found one at Callaway Gardens to be held in June. The swim is 1/4 mile, the bike is 10 miles and the run is 2 miles. The website says it's a great race for beginners.
So...what do you think? Am I crazy?
I've been stepping up my workouts the last several weeks and I've had a crazy thought pass through my mind - maybe I could do a mini triathlon? As soon as I start to think about it I think to myself, "What? Are you crazy? When could you find the time for that? And what about swimming in a lake? Gross!" Well, today I took the next step and started looking around for actual races. I didn't even know how long these legs would be. I found one at Callaway Gardens to be held in June. The swim is 1/4 mile, the bike is 10 miles and the run is 2 miles. The website says it's a great race for beginners.
So...what do you think? Am I crazy?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)