Trusting In God’s Perfect Plan

Shall I bring to the time of birth, and not cause delivery?” says the LORD.
“Shall I who cause delivery shut up the womb?” says your God.

Isaiah 66:9

As you do not know what is the way of the wind,
Or how the bones grow in the womb of her who is with child,
So you do not know the works of God who makes everything.

Ecclesiastes 11:5

O LORD, [Your daughter] rejoices in your strength.
How great is [her] joy in the victories you give!
You have granted [her] the desire of [her] heart
and have not withheld the request of [her] lips.
Selah

You welcomed [her] with rich blessings
and placed a crown of pure gold on [her] head.
[She] asked you for life, and you gave it to [her]—
length of days, for ever and ever.

Through the victories you gave, [her] glory is great;
you have bestowed on [her] splendor and majesty.
Surely you have granted [her] eternal blessings
and made [her] glad with the joy of your presence.

For [Your daughter] trusts in the LORD;
through the unfailing love of the Most High
[she] will not be shaken.

Psalm 21:1-7

About Patience…

I recently asked some friends for some help in reference to my patience during pregnancy due to a couple of days where I felt very uncomfortable and wanted to take my stomach off! haha

Thankfully, I received some wonderful practical tips and a scripture to meditate on!

“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.” James 1:2-3

She said to repeat the scripture to myself and referred to Deuteronomy 6:9 and 11:20, saying to write in on my doorposts and remember it as I learn to deal with this “trial” and Philippians 1:6, that God is doing a work in me! Very wonderful indeed! Thank you Lori! It’s helped so much.

Speaking of doing a good work in me; my baby, according to the average occurrences at this stage of pregnancy at 26+ weeks, is measuring approximately 14 inches in length and is a little over a pound. His/her little feet are formed beautifully and measure about 2 inches long while their hands are very active.

S/he can put their thumb in their mouth now, and this thumb sucking is strengthening his/her cheek and jaw muscles! S/he is responsive to touch; so we are able to play with the baby now and they are quite active at this particular stage of pregnancy.

My uterus is preparing for birth as I experience braxton hicks contractions. My drinking of RRL tea helps aid this as well. S/he is also on somewhat of a sleep schedule now. I’ll have to keep track to see if I can determine it! My back experiences aches and pains due to my growing belly, but staying off my feet for several minutes between activities seems to help.

This is the last week before I enter the third trimester! Woohoo!

I received the average weekly information from this site. I’m not sure what else it contains so I hold no particular support for the site but want to give credit where it’s due.

Halfway There…

22½ weeks along:

Either at 21 weeks, or 24 weeks; I am enjoying the most wonderful pregnancy I’ve ever had. After a bit of a hiatus, my husband is again encouraged by the idea of an Unassisted Childbirth. He, of course, may change his mind again but I am so excited for this baby that I’m open to whatever as long as the Lord is present (and I know He will be!).

Joking among friends and family about this pregnancy has made it so much fun. Aside from my large size, I forget that I’m pregnant quite often. I know I’m having a baby, but I tend to forget that there is a baby in there right now. haha I could blame it on my pregnant brain but really I’m just so relaxed and at ease that I’m not totally obsessed with it all.

These last few months I haven’t been taking as good of care of the baby and as I should have been; lots of eating out, no exercise, little sleep, and unneeded stress that I could have easily avoided. I’m glad to have gotten a wake up call and I plan to start changing all of those things.

God continues to amaze me and I’m so blessed with my daughters enjoying the idea of their new little brother or sister (Daddy refers to the baby as their baby brother, lol but they know that we don’t know). So the research and preparation begins again for an unassisted homebirth. How exciting!!

Please keep us all in your prayers, as this time is not a time to get complacent. I can’t believe I have just 4 months left! It’s right around the corner! YAY!

Lord bless us and keep us; continue to be with us as we strive to bless you in all we do! In Jesus’ name. Amen.

To Do’s

12 weeks along:

Organizing, organizing and MORE organizing! haha

I’ve been catching up on my disorganized self for the past several years… and either I’m nesting or the Lord has finally taken every interest outside of family and family life from me and caused me to have a passion for order. Because of one or the other, my house if finally starting to feel like home… my home finally starting to feel like a sanctuary!

Of course the journey started long ago, but the major turn of events for my home-life has been since I found www.raisinggodlytomatoes.com. It turned my focus from ministry outside my home and all around to my own family. I had been neglecting many of my jobs and much of the value of the mother and wife was being missed out on and lost because of it.

Fortunately, after several years of investing in my marriage and my parenting, God helped build the foundation and since has started to build on that. I love seeing the wonderful progress of this beautiful masterpiece being developed and improved.

Just recently I’ve made an amazing transformation of this house… perhaps when it’s all finished I’ll post the before and after pictures! haha It’s too embarrassing to do until then.

Lord, continue to bless this journey! I’m so excited to see where You’re bringing us! Thank You for Your perfect way! In Jesus’ name! Amen.

Coming in Waves

11 weeks along:

So many things to prepare… energy comes and goes… motivation varies day to day. Am I nesting? Is it possible to be nesting at 13 weeks? I’ve heard it to be more around 20+ weeks.

I still haven’t felt any baby movements… atleast not “for sure”. I think I feel him or her but then I have gas for a bit… haha.

The girls are excited… they see my growing belly and laugh. My youngest likes to kiss and hug my belly, while my oldest asks plenty of questions and determines that she would like a brother… then she changes her mind and wants another little sister. I take that to mean she just wants the baby here now! haha

It’s a really weird feeling… having only a few people to talk to (including my husband). I turn to this journal to get out my weird emotions that I don’t feel comfortable burdening anyone with. My friends are wonderful when I need an ear, but this jumbled up stuff is just quite hard. I used to experience this a lot during my depression several years ago, but the Lord has really helped me to grow and sort through all that… and now I feel like I’ve lost my self-control due to these hormones.

It’s hard.

Prayer and trusting helps… I remind myself it’s only temporary and that it’s all worth it. I am stronger with Christ than any emotions. I know I can remain in control as long as I strive to.

I didn’t do my devotions the last couple days and I’m feeling it. I really need to get caught up. Maybe I should be doing that instead of typing here… maybe then things might make more sense! haha

I might come back to write some more… it helps sort out things in my mind.

Lord, be with me, I know I can’t do this without You so I continue to lean on You and trust in Your strength… You are my refuge and hope. Bless me and my family. In Jesus’ precious name. Amen.

The Emotional Rollercoaster

11 weeks along:

It’s been rough. I’m angry, I’m sad, I’m laughing uncontrollably. I keep reminding myself that crazy hormones are a good sign and that everything is happening to get baby ready.

Nausea, the need to pee, fatigue… I strive to Praise God, knowing these are good things.

Noise seems so much louder, space feels so much smaller… In His arms I find a peace and a calm.

I hold my stomach, longing to feel the baby move. I envision holding a baby boy… then a girl… wondering at how beautiful it will be to find out during the intimate and passionate experience of delivery. Lord, You surely do know how to bless!

A moment of impatience… why can’t I have them now. And then the soft reminder of His voice… His perfect timing. Lord keep me on Your path… lead me down the way You’d have me go!

Stress… so much to do… where do I start, how do I keep going? There is nothing greater worth striving for than the life my Creator has planned for me. He has GREAT things planned for me…

Joy.