Wednesday, August 1st, 2007

     The past few months have been very pleasant around our house.  After my body gained the upper hand in the battle against the breast infection, my energy returned.  Then we took the computer back up to Exodus for the summer busy season and that caused me to restructure my day.  It's not that I spent so much time reading blogs and browsing the Internet, but those pursuits definitely took some time.  Not having that as an option and having more energy has resulted in more reading and housework getting done. 

     Having more energy has been a huge blessing.  God has given me the ability to wake up with Eli in the morning and both get dressed and have breakfast ready before he leaves (for the most part!).  I've been able to keep the kitchen clean, stay ahead of the laundry, and keep the toys picked up.  I've been making my way through Shaping of a Christian Family, by Elisabeth Elliot, and The Yearling, by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings and I also had time - and imagination - to crochet an adorable bonnet for our new baby.  I know it must be God giving me this strength because I know what a slug I am on my own!

     Joshua has been changing from toddler baby to toddler boy.  The very way he runs around the house is different.  I love the way he asks for things - desperately signing please as though he's worried the opportunity will pass by too quickly.  He'll come up to us and take our hand to lead us to the object of his desires.  He has also become much more vocal.  Half the time we have no idea what he's saying, but he's definitely telling us something!  His vocabulary is increasing from "hot" and "cheese" to include such words as "Mama," "Daddy," "shoes," "banana," and many more.  Plus he has begun imitating more and more.  If you ask him to say something, he'll often try to copy the sounds.  Eighteen months is a fun age - but I guess I could say that about every age!

     But the big news from our family is that we're going to be moving in the next month!  We had been planning on buying a house sometime next year, but Eli's dad called us about a week ago with the news that his rental house will be available in September.  We really like the idea of renting from our parents, not dealing with the mortgage and fees involved in buying a house, and being flexible to leave whenever we're ready.  The rent will still be less than buying would be and it allows us to leave our money invested in Exodus.  It's kind of sudden, but when we find something that will work for us, we don't usually like to wait on it!

     The house is an older house; it's the one that Eli's parents first bought and Eli lived in it from when he was about two until twelve.  I have only lived in new houses since I can remember and I'm looking forward to a new kind of adventure.  But no matter what, it will be nice to be in a house without drinking, swearing neighbors who's cigarette smoke drifts right into our windows.  We'll be just in time to get settled before we welcome the new baby into our lives.

     The next couple of months hold the promise of lots of busyness: packing, cleaning, moving, settling, and getting ready for the baby - all during Eli's busiest time of year at the store!  My prayer is that God will keep on giving me that extra energy.

Tiredness is No Excuse

     When I was in the middle of my month long breast infection in the spring, our pastor preached a sermon about praying for God's will to be done.  Too often, he said, we only ask for things that we want and then just accept whatever happens as God's will instead of actually asking for what He wants.  Nearly every night, I pray for a good night's sleep, but after that sermon, I thought about the fact that maybe a good night's sleep isn't God's will for me every night.  If it isn't, then He must have something better in mind because "we know that all things work together for good to those who love God."  (Romans 8:28)  Though what could be better than a good night's sleep I really don't know!

     Thinking back on my months of morning sickness (mild though it was), weeks of breast infection, and then further back to Joshua's early days when a good night's sleep couldn't be counted on, I realize that I didn't have a very good attitude.  None of those were my will, but God was teaching me things through them.  Well, actually, He's teaching me now through them.  I didn't really learn then.  Most of the time, when I felt like being grumpy, I was.  "I'm just tired," I thought, or "sick," or "hungry," or "fighting off bacteria."  What I didn't think about is that none of those are an excuse to be mean to those around me.  They make meanness easier, but that only means that I should fight harder (or maybe just repent harder after I realize my mistake). 

     God brings troubles and difficulties like queasiness, infections, and unhappy children for the greater good of strengthening our characters.  If I always felt strong and well and never had to deal with grumpiness (mine or Joshua's), I wouldn't grow and mature.  Whatever bits of gold there are in my character would remain surrounded by ugly dross if it weren't for God's refining fires.

     I've been trying to think of each day as an opportunity for growth.  "What is God teaching me through this?" I try to ask myself.  Marriage and parenting are, after all, two of God's most efficient tools for sanctification and I'm in the middle of both.  Rather than being frustrated with mundane things like taking care of my house and serving my husband, I'm trying to think of them as opportunities to respond better than last time.  When Joshua has a discipline issue that I need to resolve, I try to look at it as a training time for me as well as him. 

     I'm also realizing that hindsight is always 20/20 and most of the time it just provides good opportunities for repentance.  Thank God that His mercies endure forever!

Fewer Movies, More Books
   Books to read in 2007

Amanda's Short Stories...
Go Back to Sleep, Baby
Amy's Math
The Importance of Fathers
The Little Yellow Dress with Blue Flowers

...and Book Reviews
The Golden Age,
     Kenneth Grahame
Horatio Hornblower series,
     C. S. Forester
Kim, Rudyard Kipling
Reforming Marriage,
     Doug Wilson
Story of the Trapp Family Singers,
     Maria Trapp
So Much More
     Anna Sofia and Elizabeth Botkin
Stepping Heavenward
     Elizabeth Prentiss

Links
Exodus Provisions
Karen's Cookbook
Choosing Home
Stoos Gallery
Walker Gallery
Jal Duncan Photography

...Etc.
January 24th, 2006
     The Birth Story
     A Letter to Joshua
December, 2005
     Christmas Letter
March 5th, 2005
     Bridal Shower

     If you have any questions, comments, corrections, or communications, I can be reached at "amanda at exodusbooks dot com".