parenting
Merry Christmas!
I think the phrase better late than never is going to become my new mantra for 2013. Since our little man was born this blog has been on the back burner but now that we’re expecting #2 I really want to try to make it a priority again. It’s such a fun way to document our lives and something I can pull from easily to make photo books for the kiddos as they get older. And that is why I need to embrace tardiness and be okay with it, ‘cuz it really is better to post later than never, right?
I didn’t take many photos at all over Christmas. I am a little bummed but there really isn’t much we could do about it. Our sweet little boy was very sick and we had to go to urgent care on Christmas day to get him checked out. Thankfully they were able to discover the issue and prescribe the proper meds. Simultaneously he was getting his first tooth, so you can imagine the hot little mess he was. Needless to say, our Christmas day photos were not happening. It’s crazy how your heart breaks into a million little pieces when your little one is sick and there isn’t much you can do {believe me, we had humidifiers going, sat in the bathroom with the shower steaming it up, and pretty much bought CVS and it still wasn’t enough}. Both my husband and I felt helpless, but shortly after we got home from urgent care we started the antibiotic and cleared his nose and it seemed like our baby boy was on his way back to us.
The next morning we opened his gifts with him and finally took some Christmas photos. Not only were we excited to capture our little guy more like himself on this milestone day, but we were quite excited to finally make our big news public ;-)
So, a belated but with much meaning Merry Christmas to you and yours!! I hope you were able to enjoy quality time with loved ones and were able to appreciate the significance of the day!
Dedication
This past Sunday was a very special day for our little family. We dedicated our sweet boy to the Lord. I have always loved baby dedications as I find it so powerful when the parents publicly give their child back to God and promise to raise him in the ways of God—knowing that ultimately the child, when the time comes, will need to make the decision for himself to follow Jesus.
As we stood on the platform at the front of our church and prayed along with our pastor over our sweet boy I was overcome by the reality that I was in the midst of a promise from God unfolding right in front of me. If you have been following my blog at all or know me, then you are aware that I knew with all my heart that when God brought Peter and I together it wasn’t just for us, but also for the generation to come. Sunday was another milestone in the manifestation of that promise.
We don’t know when Will is going to choose to follow Jesus. And there is a possibility he will not. BUT we are praying parents who will raise him to know the Lord and we certainly believe the Holy Spirit is more powerful than anything else on this earth. We are also believing parents that know NOTHING is impossible for God ().
I went to sleep that night both grateful for the gift of being sweet Will’s mother but also with the burden of the knowledge that this is a great responsibility. “Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.” That is no joke. I know my husband and I will be held accountable when we stand in front of our Lord and boy do I want to hear “Well done good and faithful servant.” But even more so, I want to know that my son will hear the same thing on the day he meets his God.
Read MoreBaby Prayers
Every morning I follow a certain routine. I roll out of bed, stumble up the stairs to the kitchen, try to avoid checking my phone immediately {most days I am unsuccessful, we’re a work in progress}, attempt to make just enough coffee for Mr. Z and I and not too much {this too I am rarely successful at} and so goes the morning routine. At one point I always find myself cuddled on our chaise lounge with my Bible and my coffee.
At this stage of life, with Baby Z growing inside me, my prayers often have to do with learning to savor this time as well as prepare for the gift we will receive in the spring of next year. A few weeks ago I was quite overwhelmed with prayers for Baby Z. There are so many things I would like to pray for this little one and yet as I considered them all I was paralyzed. Where do I start?
- Health
- Safety
- His/her future
- To parent him/her well
- That we would bond immediately
- S/he would like us ;-)
- S/he would love Jesus
And the list could go on. I truly didn’t know where to begin and then wondered if the prayers I thought I should pray were even any good. So my prayer changed to, “Father, show me how to pray for this little one. Show me your heart for the one you are knitting together inside me.”
Our God is so many things, one of which is kind, gentle and right on time. I opened my Bible and as I began reading a verse called out to me and I knew this was to be my prayer for now.
“May the Lord direct your heart into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance.” 2 Thessalonians 3:5
I experienced one of those beautiful moments with my Maker when I knew He was showing me what to pray for Baby Z.
Oh little one, may the Lord direct your heart into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance for all the days of your life. Let it begin now as you grow, created in His image for His purposes.
I wrote this verse on a piece of scratch paper and taped it to the mirror in my bathroom. Every day I see it and pray it. And the more I do the more I see how profound this verse is for a life in Christ. It is through our hearts being directed into God’s love that we are then able to persevere through this life. I know this child will face many joys and many difficulties in his/her life. If his/her heart is sheltered in God’s love then s/he will be able to possess the perseverance of Christ and live a victorious life.
I continue to pray for health and safety and that s/he would like us {among other silly things too}, but I have an overarching focused prayer on what I really believe He wants for this little one.
Did you pray a specific verse over your little one while s/he was in the womb? How about as s/he grew into toddler age and older?
Read More