Friday, March 30, 2007

     It's been quite a while since I wrote and I hope I have at least a few readers who will faithfully continue to check back.  The Evans Family Chronicles are getting increasingly interesting.  I think so anyway!

     God has been good to us so far this year, to all four of us.  That's right, our newest member is safely curled up inside me growing daily and consuming lots of nutrition.  This new blessing is expected to make its appearance early in October and we are very excited to see how God's plan unfolds in its little life.  We found out shortly after Joshua's first birthday and it wasn't long afterwards that the presence of new life was unmistakable.  I have felt much more tired and queasy this time around.  Food has lost its appeal and yet if I don't eat I only feel worse.  It's amazing how little one can get done when three hours of the day are taken up by scrounging for food and choking it down and two more are spent sleeping on the couch.  Joshua has been a very good boy through it all remaining easy to care for and such a joy to watch.  Eli has been the real hero of the family.  While I lounge about wishing for energy and grumpy about the state of my stomach, he keeps the monster in the kitchen at bay and never once complains.  He has been amazingly patient with me and helps me through my weird mood swings with always a hug and a comforting word.  Now, at the beginning of the second trimester, and end (or at least a lessening) of the sickies seems to be in sight.  There are days when I have more energy and feel hungry instead of just queasy.  Sometimes I actually get a project done!

     Joshua has continued to grow and increase in accomplishments (walking not yet included).  He still loves food but has learned to sign "please" and "more" instead of just bellowing.  We're still working on being thankful instead of whining and crying when we say dessert is all gone.  He still hasn't learned how to walk, although the big chicken could if he wasn't afraid of falling on his bottom.  He has perfect balance and can stand for nearly a minute all by himself.  But he can get anywhere he wants by crawling and he just doesn't see a need to risk a humiliating fall.  We love him lots and if toothful kisses and snuggly hugs mean anything, I think he loves us back.

     Eli, when not at home being a model husband, works hard at Exodus.  Business is very good, leaving little time for long term website projects but much hope for a profitable summer.  Busy, busy, busy!  That's my man!

     In a couple weeks he's going to be forced to take a break though.  We're taking a family vacation to tour Florida from the Keys to the Panhandle and then see cousins in Alabama and then we'll finish in New Orleans.  It's a two week trip that will include warm sunshine, playing on the beach, seeing exotic swamps and things, touring historical sights, and fellowshipping with cousins that we haven't seen in too long.  Also a fair amount of driving.  It promises to be lots of fun and you'll have to come back sometime in May to see if I've recuperated enough to post some beautiful pictures!

Severe Mercies

     The world has become very small because of the Internet, and through blogging we hear about people of whom we would otherwise have never know. Word travels fast in the blogging world and when a tragedy takes place in a family, hundreds of people will offer prayers and condolences and many link to the page making it very easy to find.

     I have read of little children battling dreadful illnesses, of mothers fighting cancer, and even women dying in childbirth. It’s so easy to get caught up in the lives of these families, worrying about them and feeling sorry for them instead of focusing on what God has in store for me today. But I just read a very encouraging post addressing that very temptation. The author reminded me that, though I feel concerned for the family that I read about, I am not going through their trials. I am not living in the grace of their situation. God is with them, giving them grace to get through it, not me. Filling my mind with useless worries and thoughts is really just self-centeredness. I should be praying that God would give them strength and be near them rather than imagining what it would be like if something like that happened to me.

     The other temptation is to worry that troubles such as theirs will befall me. It’s true, they might, but if such a “severe mercy” is God’s will for my life, then He will provide me with the grace to make it through. It’s futile to waste precious time now worrying about potential troubles. Yes, there is sickness and death in this world, and there are many bloggers going through trials. God may require suffering like that of me someday, but He hasn’t yet. For that I should be thankful and in the meantime, I need to focus on learning the lessons He’s giving me now and enjoy even more fully the bountiful blessings with which He’s filled my life. If such a time of trial comes for me, these are the days that I will have to look back on and I want them to be sweet memories.

     It all comes down to that “joy in the journey” stuff: Live life to the fullest now because the past is gone forever and who knows what the future might hold.

     You can read the full post that I found so encouraging here. It’s quite a story!

Fewer Movies, More Books
   Books to read in 2007

Amanda's Short Stories...
NEW! 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".