Well, we have been in SC for about a month now and there are many new things to report. First, Lydia has been totally weaned! WOOHOO! About three weeks ago she was nursing to go to sleep and I just burst out, “I can’t do this anymore.” I gave her to Frankie and he and my mom got her to sleep. It was a rough night. I had to go to the bedroom and cover my head with a pillow. It took her less than an hour to fall asleep though, and she only woke up about three times during the night (those times I rocked her and she fell back asleep). The next night she only woke up twice and going to sleep wasn’t much of a problem (my mom rocked her…no tears at all). The third night mom rocked her and she again woke up maybe twice. The fourth night I rocked her and she slept all night. Since about the 8th day she hasn’t cried or asked for the breast at all. It is soooo awesome! I have noticed that at night she’s more clingy to me and has to have me touching her or has to be touching me to fall asleep (especially if she wakes up during the night). I thought I was prepared to tandem nurse, but I am so thankful Lydia is weaned (well before the other baby arrives).
The other big change is that Frank resigned from LCBC (he will preach there through the end of this month). Our options are varied and we have not decided on anything. We are in a bit of a pickle to be honest. Our motto these days is Proverbs 3:5-6: Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
He has talked to four churches so far (two in KY and two in SC).
We should be out of this apartment by September (a thought that thrills me…even if we do end up in a parsonage). The potential for change is exciting. The baby is due in October, so there will be a lot of change for us…probably all at once.
August
Real Life Fest
ok, here are my pics from the Real Life Fest (FarmFreshIowa.blogspot.com). They aren’t in order, but oh well.
Pic of my best feature….my pregnant belly!
Pic of my fav piece of jewlery…my wedding band. Easily my favorite because I don’t wear much (any) other jewelry.
Where I blog… a desk in a tiny room in our apartment. I do love my Dell though.
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The front of our home… 621…our apartment number
JUNK drawer. what is all that stuff?! Two jumbo highlighters, some blank cards, unopened pack of Kleenex, a blood pressure cuff, a camera…actually three cameras, a camera case, a timer, some cassettee tapes, some chargers and wires to who knows what, a candle, a couple of pens, etc.
Trust
Typically my Bible study/devotion consists of reading consistently through a particular book of the Bible. Today, however, I did something a bit different. I needed some verses on trusting God to memorize for my personal encouragement.
Frank & I (as I posted on one of my last blogger entries) are planning to leave our current church this summer. We have discussed and prayed about many options. There are many issues to consider and several options we have talked about, one of which I think makes the most sense. Maybe it’s just what I want. Frank has reminded me that we must wait on God and seek to do His will (and not mine!). I know this, but I guess I’m just impatient and anxious/worried. This morning I read several great verses, all of which are very well known, but still very powerful:
Jeremiah 17:7-8
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”
I pray that the Lord will help me trust Him more.
Luke 12:27-31
“Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown
into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead,seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.”
I pray for forgiveness for worrying and being of so little faith. I thank God that He knows what we need, and will give us what we need when we faithfully seek Him.
Romans 8:28
“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
I thank God that He works all things together for my good because I do love Him and am called according to His purpose. Help me, God, to love you even more and to trust in your promises.
June
Lydia is 19.5 months and altho she is active, smart and gorgeous, she is dropping on the growth chart in weight. At her 12 month check up she had dropped from 50% to 25% and at her 18 month check up she had dropped even more…to 10%! We try feeding her every 1-1.5 hours, but she just isn’t very interested in food. Further, she won’t go near meat! No hotdogs or even chicken nuggets.
Lydia also went to the SBC this year (again) and attended one night of VBS, in which she sat with all the kids and did crafts and participated in her lesson (sort of). 
She was the youngest in her class (by a year and a half).
Frankie successfully completed his comprehensive exams and is now grading for a prof and working on his dissertation. We are still at the same church, but hoping to leave soon.
I’m about 5 1/2 months pregnant and we know now we’re having another little girl. We’re thinking of names, but have not decided on anything yet.
Spring
I haven’t written lately, as we have been so busy. Frankie is studying full force for his comprehensive tests (in three weeks), I am taking two Seminary classes and an SWI class. Lydia is 17 months now, and into everything!
I will post some Easter pics of her, if I can figure it out on here.
The Bible tells us that sin hardens the heart (Eph. 4:17-19).
“this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. “
Frank & I were recently talking about church growth and implementing programs to try to attract groups that aren’t regular attenders. I brought up the question that if you can attract people to church because of a new program how big of a part does their interest in spiritual things play when it comes to them staying in the church. In other words, will they stay if they have no interest in God. I quickly answered my own question… the church is already full of people who are not interested in God. They like socializing and saying they are members here or there, or they do enjoy the programs and the fellowship. There are many members that are just as ungodly as the world, and likely as lost. So we all would recognize this….people would agree wholeheartedly. So why don’t we see more members saved?
I guess maybe they’ve been this way so long, they don’t realize they need Christ. Maybe they think they are saved. In essence, sin has hardened their hearts.
I pray that I will not be hardened by my own sin, and will daily run to the cross for God’s cleansing forgiveness.
I was recently lamenting that I am not consistently doing my devotion and Bible study each morning as I’d like. I also have gotten slack in other areas of my spiritual life. The remedy is mostly a matter of disciplining myself! I pray that God will continue to convict for not keeping fellowship with Him a priority and that the Holy Spirit will help me in the task of being consistent and not succumbing to the weak flesh.
My responsibility though, is to take steps to actively make this happen. Get up earlier. Read the Bible before I do anything else. Read, pray and journal after Lydia goes to sleep. Make a check list. Ask Frank to help hold me accountable in these things.
Self-examination…a lost discipline
I am currently reading The Enemy Within, a great book that discusses our sin nature. I think frequently we do tend to blame Satan or the world for sin that is rooted in ourselves. I think overlooking our own sin nature is a possible reason for lack of self-examination in our lives.
II Corinthians 13:5 : Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you– unless indeed you fail the test?
Paul tells us in this text to examine our lives… to give ourselves a thorough checkup. Why? To make sure we are “in the faith,” to make sure we are Christians. If we are not growing in Christlikeness, than we are drawing further from Him. Beyond that, if there is no awareness of Christ’s power and presence, or no desire to grow in Him and have victory over our sin, we need to seriously question if we are Christians.
Examining our lives means to search for hidden sin or pet sins (II Cor 11). Once these sins are discovered, they much be repented of (seek and destroy!).
Frequent examinations will result in: discovering the sins that lurk deep within, so we can repent and take steps to remove whatever the sin is from our lives, and growing in Christlikeness (as we shed sin, we don holiness).
Practical application for my life!
I have two big areas to work on. 1) My tongue. 2) Pride.
The first area has seen vast improvement over the last couple of years. Unfortunately, I still have not mastered this area.
The second area is interesting. I know I have a pride issue…fear of man…worrying and focusing on what people think. God has definitely been dealing with me in this area….
