Faith Lesson

Hey guys! If you haven't noticed...we changed our site layout. I figured that I (Amber) was the one getting on here the most AND in honor of our little girl, I changed it to pink. I also changed our title. As of late Ben and I have had several lessons of faith that have really challenged us. First off, there is the obvious. It is growing in my tummy. It is the most bizarre feeling in the world to be SO incredibly excited and elated about something while at the same time being so incredibly terrified. Not terrified of the baby itself (I mean hello...she is tiny!), but more of what it means. Our lives will be changed forever. As trivial as it sounds, little things will change. We can't just drop everything and go to a movie for the night or even leave town for the weekend NEARLY as easy as we do now. As we begin to prepare for the nursery and daycare arrangements, we also realize the huge financial change we will have to make. The "extra" that we have (never really EXTRA) will soon be dedicated to diapers, daycare and other miscellaneous baby things. Our home will change. Our little three bedroom ranch (that is already pretty little for 2 adults, 2 dogs and a cat) will now have baby things jammed and stuffed into every corner. And then...don't even get me started on school and work!

But then I think...how amazing it is that this little life has been given to us. I already sit and feel her moving about inside of me (and trust me she is going to be quite the little acrobat!) and I seriously could make a full time job of feeling her movements...and waiting for the next movement! I think of all the things I want to tell her already, about love and life and God! I get so excited to see Ben be a father toward her and the other children we may have, and I know that he will do a phenomenal job! I know that I already would do ANYTHING for her. My life and needs is now second place...she already is that important. And THAT is what my HUGE faith lesson is. Every day when I start to get anxious or worked up about ALL that stuff up above, I realize how Jesus' mother, Mary must have felt. Her life was completely turned UPSIDE DOWN from the get-go. She was talked about, turned out by everyone but Joseph, she gave birth in a BARN, and then had to flee her home all because of this one little baby. I can't find a single time in the Bible where is talks about her doing this begrudgingly. Up until now, I NEVER could have understood that kind of love. I know that because God had already given us a love for our new daughter, everything else can fall away and we will be OK. Don't get me wrong, this is a DAILY choice that I have to make to give this up...but it is teaching me to really put my faith in God.

As for other faith lessons, lately we have had a huge financial upheaval. In previous posts I have talked about my accident, my ticket, Moose's trips to the vet AND our sink. (BTW, our sink was finally revived...for a pretty penny, but you gotta have a kitchen sink!) We have just been really relying on God and our communication with each other...and it looks like we might just pull through! It's amazing how through times of adversity and trials you can really learn things and even like it! Because of this we have been really careful to cut back on eating out and spending unnecessary money. One, this is really preparing us for when the baby comes and (as mentioned above) we have less "extra". Two, it has really brought us together in the evenings as we plan meals at home and cook together (well I cook...Ben grills when the weather is nice). And finally, it is healthier. We are taking our lunches to work and eating at home more so the type of food we are eating is better and more rounded AND it is smaller portions! I think that this time could really be a new habit forming that will help us financially and physically.

Well, I know that this post was the conventional "what's new in our lives", but this is what has really been weighing on my mind. Thanks for letting me tell you about it!