"All the good things we can do here on earth are trumped by the one thing that is truly good-to worship Jesus now and for all eternity!"
-Carolyn McCulley
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Babies
Tonight I've spent a lot of time thinking about babies and the challenges, blessings and changes in life that come with them. Earlier, I was watching the finale of 16 & Pregnant, a show on MTV that chronicled 6 teen mothers throughout their pregnancy and afterwords. Out of the 6 moms, 5 of them kept their children. I was especially moved by the teen mom who gave up her daughter for adoption. I cannot imagine the strength that it took to do that.
I was disappointed that none of the girls came out and said that teenagers should not be having sex at all. There was a lot of talk about using condoms, but no mention whatsoever of abstinence.
But out of their poor choices, a beautiful miracle and blessing from God came. Children are not an inconvenience and I pray that if I become pregnant at a time when it is not "convenient" for me, I will have an attitude of thankfulness.
I also was exposed to the blog by John Piper's daughter-in-law, Molly Piper, by my Dad. Her second child, Felicity, was stillborn and I spent a lot of time reading her blogs about her grief and loss. I can't even fathom what she is going through, and I pray that I never will. But I believe that God is Sovereign and His will is perfect. I found her posts encouraging, even though I have never gone through anything like she has gone through.
So tomorrow I go to babysit for a mom who has a 3 1/2 yr old, a 2 yr old and a 4 week old with a more joyful attitude and thankfulness for them, even if they do scream and whine and make messes :)
I was disappointed that none of the girls came out and said that teenagers should not be having sex at all. There was a lot of talk about using condoms, but no mention whatsoever of abstinence.
But out of their poor choices, a beautiful miracle and blessing from God came. Children are not an inconvenience and I pray that if I become pregnant at a time when it is not "convenient" for me, I will have an attitude of thankfulness.
I also was exposed to the blog by John Piper's daughter-in-law, Molly Piper, by my Dad. Her second child, Felicity, was stillborn and I spent a lot of time reading her blogs about her grief and loss. I can't even fathom what she is going through, and I pray that I never will. But I believe that God is Sovereign and His will is perfect. I found her posts encouraging, even though I have never gone through anything like she has gone through.
So tomorrow I go to babysit for a mom who has a 3 1/2 yr old, a 2 yr old and a 4 week old with a more joyful attitude and thankfulness for them, even if they do scream and whine and make messes :)
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Janzens coming soon!
The Janzens are getting here tomorrow :) I am so excited. Grace and I have seen each other every summer since I was like 10 or 11. We thought maybe we weren't going to be able to see each other this year because of backpacking not happening, but Grammie and Bapa were so generous and paid for them to come out here! :) They are only staying until Sunday, though, so it is a very short visit. I canceled all but one of my babysitting jobs and the one I didn't cancel is a night one and Grace is coming with me.
I've been babysitting a lot. I knew July was going to be my busiest month. So far, I'm down two of the really busy days and they didn't go quite as I had expected. Monday, I went over to the family's house and their grandparents were there...who took the two older children canoeing and the baby slept for about an hour and a half. He finally is getting used to me, which is quite a relief. He wouldn't let me do ANYTHING for him and he would just scream and scream and scream. The two older children are a handful and are very disobedient, so it was nice to not have them for six hours. When they arrived home, they stayed outside and played with their play pool, the slide and the hose.
Today, I went over to the same house for 3 1/2 hours. I took the girl to the farmer's market, which was totally awesome. Who knew smelling and squeezing veggies and fruits would be so much fun. I have always wanted to go to see if they had good stuff, but I am always working on Tuesday mornings. One time, Daryl and I were waiting for someone and were near a farmer's market and had a sample of the tomatoes and OMGoodness I have never forgotten that tomato.
From that house, I had to go to another family for 4 hours. I only had 1/2 an hour between them, so I had to really rush to get lunch and then get to their house. When I got there, no one was there!!! So I called and was told to come back at 2 because they had gotten hung up at the doctor's (they have a brand new baby :) ) So as I am getting into my car from home at 1:50, I get a call saying wait for them to call me. So I wait at home...until they finally call me at 3:40 and I go over there (I was only supposed to stay until 5 originally). So needless to say, that mom had had a VERY stressful day. So I stayed a little bit over 5.
whew! Tomorrow is another of the same schedule as yesterday and then when I get to Grammie's, the Janzens will be there!
I've been babysitting a lot. I knew July was going to be my busiest month. So far, I'm down two of the really busy days and they didn't go quite as I had expected. Monday, I went over to the family's house and their grandparents were there...who took the two older children canoeing and the baby slept for about an hour and a half. He finally is getting used to me, which is quite a relief. He wouldn't let me do ANYTHING for him and he would just scream and scream and scream. The two older children are a handful and are very disobedient, so it was nice to not have them for six hours. When they arrived home, they stayed outside and played with their play pool, the slide and the hose.
Today, I went over to the same house for 3 1/2 hours. I took the girl to the farmer's market, which was totally awesome. Who knew smelling and squeezing veggies and fruits would be so much fun. I have always wanted to go to see if they had good stuff, but I am always working on Tuesday mornings. One time, Daryl and I were waiting for someone and were near a farmer's market and had a sample of the tomatoes and OMGoodness I have never forgotten that tomato.
From that house, I had to go to another family for 4 hours. I only had 1/2 an hour between them, so I had to really rush to get lunch and then get to their house. When I got there, no one was there!!! So I called and was told to come back at 2 because they had gotten hung up at the doctor's (they have a brand new baby :) ) So as I am getting into my car from home at 1:50, I get a call saying wait for them to call me. So I wait at home...until they finally call me at 3:40 and I go over there (I was only supposed to stay until 5 originally). So needless to say, that mom had had a VERY stressful day. So I stayed a little bit over 5.
whew! Tomorrow is another of the same schedule as yesterday and then when I get to Grammie's, the Janzens will be there!
Monday, July 6, 2009
Adventures with GNBC Youth Group
So I went to camp with five teens the week of June 22-26. Two were from the church, two were old friends and one was a new friend :). We met up with the youth group from Woodlawn because they didn't have a female chaperon and I didn't have a male chaperon!
We had a wonderful time where God did amazing things.
Here are some pictures to help with the story.
Constance, Mary and Shannon had a great time together, doing everything from chatting, looking for boys, worshiping and just plain being silly.
I showed the girls what would happen if I brushed out all of my hair.
Two of the girls from Woodlawn locked themselves out of their room at 1 in the morning. I called LU Security and they came and unlocked the door. Got four hours of sleep that night :)
We went ice skating! And by we I mean they went and I took pictures.
We had to shove children wherever we could put them!
I tried Goat Milk...
And it was NASTY!
Charlotte lost a tooth!
And Mary asked Jesus to be her Savior :) :) :)
J really enjoyed being with the Woodlawn guys
We had a wonderful time together. Keep us all in prayer now that we are out of the camp bubble and are easily distracted from God. Pray for me that I will not slack off in continuing to minister to the kids.
Tonight was the beginning of VBS and it was a great success! I think this is the most work we've ever put into decorating and I think it really has paid off.
We had a wonderful time where God did amazing things.
Here are some pictures to help with the story.
Constance, Mary and Shannon had a great time together, doing everything from chatting, looking for boys, worshiping and just plain being silly.
I showed the girls what would happen if I brushed out all of my hair.
Two of the girls from Woodlawn locked themselves out of their room at 1 in the morning. I called LU Security and they came and unlocked the door. Got four hours of sleep that night :)
We went ice skating! And by we I mean they went and I took pictures.
We had to shove children wherever we could put them!
I tried Goat Milk...
And it was NASTY!
Charlotte lost a tooth!
And Mary asked Jesus to be her Savior :) :) :)
J really enjoyed being with the Woodlawn guys
We had a wonderful time together. Keep us all in prayer now that we are out of the camp bubble and are easily distracted from God. Pray for me that I will not slack off in continuing to minister to the kids.
Tonight was the beginning of VBS and it was a great success! I think this is the most work we've ever put into decorating and I think it really has paid off.
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