A Verse to Share

I don't have much to say on the verse I want to share. I'm sure I've read this verse before but it really struck a cord in my heart this time as I read it. It spoke straight to my heart because it so clearly states that which I want to do daily.

And actually, though I'm behind, by several verses (I posted 10 out of 12 verses that I've memorized alongside other Siestas [this link explains it in one of the right-side drop downs] who commited to memorizing scripture this year), I want to get back on track of memorizing scripture. I want my life to be permeated by the word from the Word and the Father. So I am commiting to again memorizing scripture.

Will I acheive the 24/24 I had originally intended? Only time will tell, but my main goal is to seek to deepen my relationship with Christ by consistenly hiding His word in my heart, mind, and soul.

Now without further delay...

"You shall follow the Lord your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him."

Deuteronomy 13:4 NASB

Mourn With Those Who Mourn

*I am forgoing my regular Monday post this week. My heart has been heavy with what I'm going to share in this post. As such, I felt led to skip the post for this week and will bring it back next week.*

Well, the title the last half of Romans 12:15 in the NIV translation:

"...mourn with those who mourn."

I personally like the NASB translation:

"...and weep with those who weep."

Though, I will say that for once I like how The Message puts it in plain English:

"...share tears when [your friends] are down."

I share the different translations of this verse because my heart has been heavy. So very heavy that, though my friends who are struggling with the reason I shed tears are at least 5 hours away, I have been sad, shedding tears, and fervently praying that God would hear their cries. And sometimes I wonder if I'm crazy for feeling this way over a situation that I have never been through, but then I'm reminded by scripture that we are supposed to enter into our friends pain just as much, if not more so, their joys.

And so I have allowed myself to mourn for my friends who are battling the tough, no-known-end road of infertility. I have found my heart screaming out to God, begging that He might work a miracle in favor of their deep desires to be a Mommy. I have wished I lived closer to each one so that I could just be there for them, listen to them vent whatever emotions they are feeling, which may very well be anger or jealousy of friends who aren't walking that road, cry with them if they are needing to cry from the sorrow the painful journey brings, because even though I cannot understand, I most certainly am able to let them find a healthy outlet for their emotions in being their friend and listening ear, as well as do my best to empathize with them. 

The word empathy is defined by Merriam-Webster as follows:

1. the imaginative projection of a subjective state into an object so that the object appears to be infused with it
2. the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another of either the past or present without having the feelings, thoughts, and experience fully communicated in an objectively explicit manner; also : the capacity for this

After reading that definition, it clearly describes what Romans 12:15 calls us to do. For anyone, in any situation.

*sigh*

I'm sort of speechless...wordless.

My heart just hurts. I fervently hope for those who are battling the road of infertility to see an end of it with the miracle of a child.

I share this because I think we all need to be sensitive to where those around us are in life.

Are they hurting? Mourn with them. Comfort them if the situation calls for it, but know that sometimes, many times comfort comes most through a hug or shared tears.

Are they joyful? Enter into their joy with them, even if you are battling feelings of jealousy or covetousness because of whatever is bringing them joy.

Are they angry? Allow them to feel that anger, to wade through it so that they can dig into the hurt that is causing the anger

Whatever they are feeling, enter into it with them.

That is being a friend.

Our Weekend [4 Days Late...again - Ha!]

You guys, my brain won't stop spinning. There are some heavy topics on my heart and mind right now. But I'm still wading through them. Trying to decide whether to share or if they are for my heart alone at this time.

Since I'm unsure if I should wade those waters with everyone or just with God, I'm going to give a quick synapses of our Labor Day weekend. It was really nice. so cram packed with activities and people I didn't get a nap and I just realized how large the bags under my eyes were in my bumpdate picture for this week. We enjoyed ourselves, don't get me wrong, but there was a moment I woke up on the way home to Ben batting his eyes, so I slapped him. (Please understand, I don't walk around hitting my husband. This man sleeps like a log thus it was the only way I knew to get him to open and keep open his eyes.) Just sayin' - that sort of gives a picture of how busy and sleepy we were all weekend. (Ummm...Ben wasn't sleepy until he sat down, however, I almost fell asleep standing up a couple of times.)

Anyway...

I don't have a ton of pictures to share, because our camera was forgotten when we went to meet with friends Sunday for lunch and packed Sunday evening, again with friends, and then Monday when we were with Ben's family. However, I did capture Zoë's first time feeding the ducks:

That Goose...oh, that Goose! Thankfully all it did was hiss, but you better believe I would have tried to smack it if it came any closer. 

I love that Zo-bug was able to experience baby ducks in her first feeding experience. So CUTE!

My precious sweet bug! She LOVED it so much!

Mama with her babies :)

Zoë with her Gigi and Daddy feeding the ducks.

Uncle Jacob is the best :) (I didn't get any with Aunt Laura. BOO!! :( ) They pointed to ducks. Zoë wanted to get in the water too! Ha!

Attempting to wriggle out of his arms for a dip. See those rosy cheeks? It was H-O-T!!

We laughed when we first got to the lake because before we could get out, the ducks were waddling to our car. Our car, you guys! They know what people mean. HAHA!

The rest of Saturday was spent with some of my side of the family. I was so glad to be able to see my Great Uncle and Aunt as well as my Grandmother. I unfortunately forgot the camera while they were there so I didn't get any pics of Zoë with her Great-Great Uncle & Aunt or her Great-Grandmother. :/

Zoë did have plenty of time to experiment with climbing stairs. By the time nap time was coming around on Saturday (so all of a half-day, mind you), she had figured out how to get up to the 3rd step.

She decided one of her shoes needed to be up a step :)

However, by the time she reached that step, she'd also realized just how sleepy she was and figured she might rest her head a little:

My cutie patootie

The rest of our afternoon was spent taking Zoë outside, hanging out, eating Cane's (YAY! The closest one here is about 30 minutes away, BOO!), and playing Settlers of Catan. (If you've never played, it seriously is one of the best games ever!) I did happen to catch a quick snapshot of my brother with his niece :)

Ride a horsy, ride a horsy, ride to town....

We also saw a frog while we were playing settlers. I'm not sure why, but I think frogs (not toads, please do not get those confused. Toads are gross.) are so stinkin' cool!

I have to say the weird capture of my reflection added a unique touch to this photo. Ha!

Laura, my sister, tried to catch it, but it was a fast frog :( No froggy capture for us.

Sunday we spent time with some of Ben's best friends, people he's remained friends with from High School. We enjoyed our time, headed back to my parent's for a quick nap, and the packed up to go hang out with more friends.

I have to say as great as Sunday evening was with our friends, it made me really sad that we had to leave our small group. I loved the small group we had back in Baton Rouge. Such a great group of genuine, Christ-seeking people. I have hope to find such here, we're already making connections, but I just was reminded of what we already had and were building that we have to rebuild here.

You guys, I had been in Baton Rouge a little over 4 years to get to that point. Relationships, especially Christ-centered and edifying ones, don't just happen over night. They take time. Lots and lots and lots of TIME. *sigh* I digress.

After group we headed to Ben's parents house where we spent some time with his parents and older sister before bed. (Ben's brother-in-law wasn't able to be there due to being on call for his job that weekend.) By 9 we hit the sack. Ben and I were both suffering from horrible allergies and had taken Benadryl. I don't think you could have woke Ben if the house was burning down. And it took me hearing a baby crying for a while before I bolted, with heart racing, wondering if I had missed my child crying for a while. (Zo-bug was has been teething for a while now and that night was no different. Poor baby :( )

Monday was spent getting ready, letting the kids play, and then we headed out to meet Ben's Aunts for lunch at Cracker Barrel. I'm not a huge fan, but I figured since that's where they picked and they had a wide variety of food, it would allow everyone to order something they liked. Though our time with them was short, we really enjoyed the time we were able to spend with them.

Sort of off topic, I wish I would have remembered to snap a picture of the adorable bag one of Ben's Aunts embroidered for Zoë. I would totally have her embroider stuff for the next baby if we didn't live so far away. I may still considering I know I will get great work from her. If you live in the Baton Rouge area, I would totally recommend her. Feel free to contact me and I can give you her e-mail she uses to be in touch with clients.

All in all, it was a weekend full of memories even though I am still catching up on sleep. Ha! Our time was definitely worth it.

Praying for Him: His Priorities

Ah priorities!

I'm pretty sure I personally have a love-hate relationship with them. Like so much of this journey in praying for my husband, I have found and am constantly reminded I must begin with...you guessed it: ME! What I didn't need her to remind me of is how my priorities should fall.

I am a firm believer, when it comes to priorities, my priorities should look like this:

1. God
2. Hubby
3. Kids

Omartian said essentially the same.

The two quotes that hit me the most were these:

"If God and spouse aren't clearly top priorities in your life, your husband will have less incentive to make them so in his." (p. 127)

"Priorities have to do with the position of the heart." (p. 128)

The first quote, well, it pierces me to the heart. Not because I don't want my priorities to fall in that order, but because sometimes I selfishly think to myself, "He isn't worried about making sure God is first and I'm next. Why should I care about him?" (Well, that was a bit revealing.) Yet, that is the me that I wish to leave at the foot of the cross. The me that I know is nothing like Christ. The me I so desperately ask God to change.

Thankfully, by His grace, a little bit of that dies every time I hand it up to Him. Do I think my struggle to keep my priorities right will ever completely go away? I honestly don't know, but I have the hope of knowing that He who began a good work in me will bring it about to completion and whether or not that is here on earth or once I am given a new body I trust Him to do what will bring Him the most glory (reference to Philippians 1:6).

The second quote is a great reminder for anyone and everyone in every walk of life. Why? Because there are times that you can't devote as much time to a priority as you think it should have, but if the priority holds the right position in your heart, it's going to show even if all you're able to give is minimal. (Well...that is honestly all I have to say about that.)

I have to say I was thankful for the reminder this chapter gave me this week. It gave me an opportunity to stop and look at whether my priorities are where they need to be or not. It is a place that I always hope I reevaluate, never growing complacent when I am doing well or giving in to self-defeat when I find myself needing to rearrange how my priorities look. 

___________________________________________________________

Week 1: Intro     Week 2: Starting with Me     Week 3: His Identity     Week 4: His Treasure

Week 5: His Sexuality   Week 6: His Hugs, Kisses, and "I love you"s  Week 7: His Achilles Heel

Week 8: His Battlefield  Week 9: What Cripples Everyone  Week 10: The Passion Inside

Week 11: A Confession  Week 12: His Choices  Week 13: His Health  Week 14: His Protection

Week 15: His Trials  Week 16: His Integrity  Week 17: His Reputation

16 Weeks [A Bumpdate]

Update: You might have noticed this post went live late on Monday night. However, that was because originally, I was planning on having everything typed up, loading the pic on Sunday, and then letting it post on Monday while we were driving home from our quick Labor Day trip. Well, let's just say that I didn't type up the post and I couldn't upload my picture because I only took our iPad with us. Wah wah wah. Soooo, I'm posting this Tuesday morning and hopefully will catch up with the rest of the week. Then again, So You Think You Can Dance's finale is tonight so that might not happen either. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, yet I'm hoping next week will see us back into a normal routine...Oh wait! Fall activities start this week. HA! Umm....maybe I am better off saying, I hope we adjust to what will become our routine for the Fall semester. Yep. That sounds more like it! Hope everyone enjoyed their Labor Day Weekend.

How Far Along: I am 16 weeks and 5 days. 163 days until I'm 40 weeks.

Baby's Size: Roughly 4.6 inches (roughly the length of an avacado). Baby gained another ounce this week and is now weighing approximately 3.5 oz. Grow, baby! Grow!

Baby's Development: Baby's limbs are much more developed - the arms and legs have grown and are becoming more controlled in movement. (Though, we all know that a new born still makes those jerky movements that look funny...so I'm wondering how loosely they use the word controlled.) Also, the skeletal system is developing more as more calcium is being deposited into his/her bones. YAY!

Total Weight Gain/Loss: So I saw my OB last week. I gained 5 pounds in a month. *gasp* However, he was very pleased as my total weight gain now has me at 6 pounds total, which is normal for the first trimester and I'm already a couple weeks into my second.

Food Aversions (and "no nos"): same old, same old. Though I am trying to see if I can work some of them back into my diet. (ie the fruits that I miss and more variation with veggies.)

Gimme' some of that!: I had my first craving but was unable to satisty it when there were no strawberries for the very simple recipe: Strawberry Shortcake. Thankfully, it didn't last long, so I was able to make due without it.

How I Feel: Much better in comparison to other weeks. I still have bouts of nausea, sometimes with acid and other fun stuff making it's way up but not completely out. (Sorry if that's TMI...kind of trying to remember this for next pregnancy; that is, if there is a next. Just sayin' we have no idea what the future holds for us.)

Maternity Clothes: All the time. Nothing but unless it's really comfy athletic clothing that stretches. 

Movement: Still about the same. Just small bits here and there.

Sleep: Better. I'm grateful for getting several straight hours of sleep and being able to go back to sleep as soon as I crawl in bed for my MOTN bathroom run.

What I Miss: Actually sleeping all the way through the night. And I'm ready for my sinuses to go back to normal. This whole swollen, sometimes bleeding (though not terribly), feels-like-I-shoved-cotton-balls-up-my-nose aspect is driving me crazy! Oh, and I'm not a fan of my blood hound smelling senses. Ewww!

What I'm Looking Forward To: Really feeling baby move on a regular basis.

Favorite Moment of the Week: Umm...probably that I've made it several days without feeling like I'm gonna puke right where I am. It's nice to eat my food and not really have to worry about whether I'm gonna dry heave for 30 minutes after or possibly be hugging the toilet. Yep, that would have to be the highlight of my week.