Convincing the inconvincible...

As of late, I have felt a great peace about being a stay at home mom and wife.  With many of the changes we've made, I've felt like God is going to bless us with more children.  My husband however has never been real sure.  He was happy to have more than one, but more than two he feared, would be too many to give his full attention.  I've been talking with him lately about my peace from God, and asked him to pray about it.  Unbeknownst to me, he has been doing this and speaking with friends of ours that currently have 3 children, much closer in age than our two.  The husband of the couple reassured him that 3 is really not a big deal, and that seems to have put Erik at ease, so he gave the go ahead last night to have more children.  I feel so blessed that I have a Godly husband, willing to prayerfully consider and discuss the topics for which I feel burdened!  I could not help smiling last night when we were talking, discussing baby names, and basking in one another's presence.  We have recently begun the devotion, "Night Light," by James and Shirley Dobson, and though very short lessons, they have really helped us break down the communication barrier, and provide an appropriate time to discuss relationship-relevant questions without the innuendo that we are asking out of criticism.  I highly recommend this devotional for any couples who don't have much time to fit one in, or who are just starting out with a couples study.  Each day is intended to take 10 minutes or less, and there are 6 months worth of lessons for every day of the week.  I eagerly anticipate the direction our family is headed.  We are growing closer and closer with each week and month!

devotion to my Devotions

I've found myself floundering over the years to find an intentional and meaningful time to have regular devotions to which I will stay committed.  I started yesterday midstream on a reading plan found at http://www.christadelphia.org/readplan.htm .  I've of course started in the middle of the books, but I hope to establish this habit, so that by the first of the year, I can start at the planned beginning of the readings and yearly keep on this regimen.  Having studied Bible/Missions in college, I did so much reading for class that I got burnt out on the idea, so it's been a struggle for me to establish this daily time as a desirable habit.  

This morning I read in Chronicles, Ezekiel, and John of God's provision for us.  In Chronicles, his provision for King Asa leading battle in His name.  In Ezekiel, aliens (Gentiles) included in the land dispersement.  In John, Jesus spoke of sending the Holy Spirit, and directed the disciples how to pray in His name.  

I have experienced many, many times, God's provision and amazing timing when he sets something in motion.  For instance, I mentioned last time of our first daughter, Anna, being a surprise.  She was unplanned, but God provided in such amazing ways for her birth.  My husband, 2 1/2 months after we found out we were pregnant, 2 days after Christmas, was laid off from his job.  Within twelve hours, he was hired at a new job, with over a $1.00/hr raise, and insurance that left us owing only $200 for my entire pregnancy and delivery.  We also, during this time, were able to purchase our first home.  Shortly after Anna's birth, my husband found his first teaching job, and God continued the stream of blessings coming our way.  Some of these were blessings disguised as hardship, sacrifice, endurance, but we see now God was preparing us for greater and greater blessings.  More on that later!

A new blog for a new start...

As you can probably tell by the title of my blog, I am a Christian homemaker.  My husband, Erik, and I have been married for a little over 4 years, and we have two beautiful daughters, Anna and Lydia.  I will upload more photos as I have time.  Erik and I were married before my last year of college (majoring in Missions/Outreach), and we got pregnant a few months after our wedding.  Anna was a surprise, but such a blessing.  Lydia is 27 months younger than Anna, and was born September '07.  For the first time since college, I held a part-time job at our local state park over this past summer, and the change it caused in my household and family life was the final kick in the tail to get me to listen to God calling me to the honor of being my husband's helpmeet, raising our wonderful children, and keeping our home.  

In the realm of keeping the home, the two most important things I've been working on lately have been improving the quality of the foods we are eating, and the condition of our home.  As far as foods, I have recently gone from using sweetners to avoid refined sugars to using all natural sugars, honey or stevia.  I have also started using alot of whole wheat flour rather than avoiding alot of grain based foods (which was my previous false notion of the way to avoid white flour, etc).  Raised by a diabetic, I had alot of concepts of healthy eating that were partially accurate but not thorough enough for me to apply in my life.  For instance, I grew up avoiding sugary foods, but ate chemically sweetened substitutes.    After a discovery a few months ago that I believe I'm allergic to some preservatives found in common store bought bread, or really any processed food, I started making our own bread.  Along with a few other changes, like having fresh organic produce from our local farmer's market, I lost about 10 pounds without realizing it.  Now, I have plenty more weight to lose, but as I have made even more changes, I have lost a total of 30 pounds over the last few months.  I'm hoping for about 100 more by this time next year, but mostly I want to strive to become more and more healthy, and raise my girls having healthy eating as the norm, not something they have to discover on their own later in life.

  In regard to the condition of our home, this is something I've been constantly struggling with and striving to improve.  Since we married, my husband and I have lived in 5 different places.  With each move, we have purged unnecessary belongings including clothes, furniture, knick-knacks, childhood belongings that no longer hold any meaning, and much more. We've even given away a truck to a church friend in need of a vehicle.  All this to say I have a long way to go, but I am constantly trying to get down to the bare necessities, and create systems to keep the remaining material possessions in order and efficient.  

  For anyone stumbling across this post, or reading back from a future post of interest, I apologize for the rambling, but I feel like it is necessary to introduce myself and give a platform from which to discuss certain topics in the future.

God's blessings to everyone!