I recently saw this Piper video where he answers the question: What is a wife's responsibility in resolving conflict in marriage?
I thought it was a great response. Sometimes when Adam and I have a problem or a fight I will sulk and think in my heart, I'm gonna stay this way until Adam comes over and apologizes and in the mean time I'm gonna make him feel as bad as possible. It doesn't get our marriage very far when I have that attitude and it doesn't preach the gospel inside of our marriage when I behave that way. I know it's a wrong attitude but I will let it happen because it feels good to be mad in the moment. Thankfully, the Holy Spirit goes to work and convicts me and as Adam knows - I can't stay mad. Sometimes I try hard to stay mad, but I can't. I want to do my best to reach out in love even when my feelings are hurt or when I want to pout on the couch. I know the right thing to do, and when I watched this video it compelled me and encouraged me to keep moving forward. Without fail, what I hear in my conscience is: "Do unto Adam what you would want him to do to you." I would want Adam to come apologize and give me a great big comforting hug. So biblically, I know, I need to do that right away.
As a disclaimer, I would like to just say that Adam and I have a great marriage and I love him to pieces.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Monday, January 17, 2011
Poison
We often have friends over. Sometimes, they don't realize the trashcan in the living room next to the changing table is a bad choice when they have a tissue or something to toss.
So, Adam helped them out:
So, Adam helped them out:
Friday, January 14, 2011
A List
1. It feels like fall today. Had to turn the A/C on in the car because it was so warm out.
2. I got have lunch with my great friend Ashley today. It was nice being in her home and watching her parent her 2-1/2 year old. Plus, I love talking to her. We always laugh so much.
3. Adam and I are using one of our Christmas gift cards to go out to dinner tonight.
4. I've been looking forward to it since last night.
5. I caught this special moment between Father and Son while we were in the waiting area for Titus's 4 month appt:
6. Shortly after we were married, Adam bought me a food processor. Recently I've been using it to shred blocks of cheese rather than buying already shredded cheese. It works great and it saves us money. I'm a fan.
7. I love Titus.
8. Last night I fed Titus at 8pm and he slept until 5:15am. That's the longest stretch he's ever done.
9. Adam wants me to get me to get bangs again. Like these:
10. I don't know if I have thick enough hair for bangs like that, but I really love her hair. So I'm gonna talk to Lisa and give it a try. She'll be a good judge of what my hair will do.
11. I've been playing the clean out the freezer and pantry game trying to get rid of all of our food so that we don't have to move it with us to Jackson.
12. Things are looking emptier but I still have a ways to go.
13. Not so much with the freezer but moreso with the pantry. Although, I do have a lot of grains and nuts in the freezer.....
14. I love Adam.
15. I'm gonna miss my family when we move.
16. I love my family.
17. Adam got me the best pair of gray skinny jeans for Christmas. They were one size too big so we took them back and got a smaller size.
18. That pair ended up having a hole in the seam on the leg so we took them back too.
19. Tonight while we are out on our dinner date we are hoping to go back and get the pants again.
20. Hopefully the third time is a charm.
2. I got have lunch with my great friend Ashley today. It was nice being in her home and watching her parent her 2-1/2 year old. Plus, I love talking to her. We always laugh so much.
3. Adam and I are using one of our Christmas gift cards to go out to dinner tonight.
4. I've been looking forward to it since last night.
5. I caught this special moment between Father and Son while we were in the waiting area for Titus's 4 month appt:
6. Shortly after we were married, Adam bought me a food processor. Recently I've been using it to shred blocks of cheese rather than buying already shredded cheese. It works great and it saves us money. I'm a fan.
7. I love Titus.
8. Last night I fed Titus at 8pm and he slept until 5:15am. That's the longest stretch he's ever done.
9. Adam wants me to get me to get bangs again. Like these:
10. I don't know if I have thick enough hair for bangs like that, but I really love her hair. So I'm gonna talk to Lisa and give it a try. She'll be a good judge of what my hair will do.
11. I've been playing the clean out the freezer and pantry game trying to get rid of all of our food so that we don't have to move it with us to Jackson.
12. Things are looking emptier but I still have a ways to go.
13. Not so much with the freezer but moreso with the pantry. Although, I do have a lot of grains and nuts in the freezer.....
14. I love Adam.
15. I'm gonna miss my family when we move.
16. I love my family.
17. Adam got me the best pair of gray skinny jeans for Christmas. They were one size too big so we took them back and got a smaller size.
18. That pair ended up having a hole in the seam on the leg so we took them back too.
19. Tonight while we are out on our dinner date we are hoping to go back and get the pants again.
20. Hopefully the third time is a charm.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
On A Lighter Note
Several nights ago some friends and I were discussing Wheel of Fortune and wondering if Pat Sajak had ever landed on bankrupt during the final spin. I knew youtube would have it if it was out there:
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Vaccines/Abortion/Ethics/Us
There are few things in life that I am a hardcore advocate for, but as I become older and more learned, things are ever so slowly changing.
One thing I am hardcore about is not using, and purposing to tell others about, hormonal birth controls (including IUD). I will write a post on this at some later point.
As Adam and I parent Titus we have to make major decisions regarding his life. It's a tough and interesting and amazing road that leads to lots of prayer for wisdom and lots of internet research and lots of trusting in the Lord.
In the hospital, we were asked to give Titus a vaccination for Hep B. We refused it, with plans on administering it at a later time. When Titus had his 2 month appt, we knew vaccinations were heading our way. We didn't really research, but we quickly asked a parent whom we trust what their opinion was. That at least, gave us the guts to move forward with vaccines. A decision we don't regret.
As the 4 month appt neared I thought I ought to do some research on vaccines because I had heard tell that they were made from aborted fetal tissue. If that was the case, I would take issue with that. Well, I was able to get Titus's 4 month appt moved up to today. So last night, Adam and I spent some time online researching the abortion/vaccine issue. It IS the case.
We found this chart.
It lists the vaccines that are derived from aborted fetal tissue. I called ahead to the clinic to find out what brand they used for the vaccines and found out they used the brand that has the tissue. I asked about the alternative and they didn't have it.
I've never had such a severe run in with ethics before.
We, as Titus's parents, desire that he be healthy and disease free. We, as believers, will not support abortion in this way. We were able to find a clinic in San Fernando that had the alternative vaccine so at this point we are up to date.
It was a challenge today, because several nurses tried to tell us the vaccine wasn't from aborted tissue but that it was created off a cell line in the labs but we know it was a cell line that originated from the aborted tissue and none of them denied that, even if it was in the '60's or '70's. We were asked if we were Jehovah's Witnesses. We spent hours at 2 different clinics just for the sake of doing what was ethically right.
It was a long day. We will probably go through this again at 6 months. And we will have to see what to do about MMR vaccines because I'm not sure if there is an alternative out there.
But we will continue to pray for wisdom and continue to do our research and we will continue to trust the Lord with Titus's life.
One thing I am hardcore about is not using, and purposing to tell others about, hormonal birth controls (including IUD). I will write a post on this at some later point.
As Adam and I parent Titus we have to make major decisions regarding his life. It's a tough and interesting and amazing road that leads to lots of prayer for wisdom and lots of internet research and lots of trusting in the Lord.
In the hospital, we were asked to give Titus a vaccination for Hep B. We refused it, with plans on administering it at a later time. When Titus had his 2 month appt, we knew vaccinations were heading our way. We didn't really research, but we quickly asked a parent whom we trust what their opinion was. That at least, gave us the guts to move forward with vaccines. A decision we don't regret.
As the 4 month appt neared I thought I ought to do some research on vaccines because I had heard tell that they were made from aborted fetal tissue. If that was the case, I would take issue with that. Well, I was able to get Titus's 4 month appt moved up to today. So last night, Adam and I spent some time online researching the abortion/vaccine issue. It IS the case.
We found this chart.
It lists the vaccines that are derived from aborted fetal tissue. I called ahead to the clinic to find out what brand they used for the vaccines and found out they used the brand that has the tissue. I asked about the alternative and they didn't have it.
I've never had such a severe run in with ethics before.
We, as Titus's parents, desire that he be healthy and disease free. We, as believers, will not support abortion in this way. We were able to find a clinic in San Fernando that had the alternative vaccine so at this point we are up to date.
It was a challenge today, because several nurses tried to tell us the vaccine wasn't from aborted tissue but that it was created off a cell line in the labs but we know it was a cell line that originated from the aborted tissue and none of them denied that, even if it was in the '60's or '70's. We were asked if we were Jehovah's Witnesses. We spent hours at 2 different clinics just for the sake of doing what was ethically right.
It was a long day. We will probably go through this again at 6 months. And we will have to see what to do about MMR vaccines because I'm not sure if there is an alternative out there.
But we will continue to pray for wisdom and continue to do our research and we will continue to trust the Lord with Titus's life.
Why I Love* Medi-Cal
Reasons why I love Medi-Cal:
1. My baby gets medical coverage.
3. That it makes me trust the Lord.
2. That's it.
Reasons why I hate Medi-Cal:
1. Looooooooooooooooooooooo
oooooooooooooooooooooooooo
oooooooooooooooooooooooooo
nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnng
waits.
2. Distant travels
3. Never seeing the same Dr.
4. Dirty and crowded facilities.
5. That our appt today was at 1pm and we finished up at 5:24pm.
*not!
1. My baby gets medical coverage.
3. That it makes me trust the Lord.
2. That's it.
Reasons why I hate Medi-Cal:
1. Looooooooooooooooooooooo
oooooooooooooooooooooooooo
oooooooooooooooooooooooooo
nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnng
waits.
2. Distant travels
3. Never seeing the same Dr.
4. Dirty and crowded facilities.
5. That our appt today was at 1pm and we finished up at 5:24pm.
*not!
Friday, January 7, 2011
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
These Strange Ashes
I just finished book number two given to me by Patty Ardavanis. These Strange Ashes by Elisabeth Elliot. I read a lot of it out loud to Titus while nursing him. It seems that the parts I read out loud impacted me more. Perhaps because the words were more purposeful as I read them to my son.
It took me longer to get through the book because of the holidays and then I almost got out of the habit of reading it out loud to Titus because instead of reading while nursing I would play Mario Brothers on the Wii. =) But this past week I picked the book back up and finished it. That said, the stuff I planned to write about in the earlier parts of the book are lost because I found new things to write about.
I'm definitely reading the books within the context of my Christian life, but I will mention again, that the specific reason I asked Mrs. A. for book recommendations was in light of me being the wife of a man in ministry as we head out to Wyoming.
Here is paragraph number one that stuck out in my reading:
It is hard for a young person with high ideals to learn that people cannot be hustled. They cannot be hustled into the kingdom of God, and it is well to remember Christ's own descriptions of that kingdom: leaven and seed, things that work slowly and out of sight. We long for visible evidence of our effectiveness, and when it is not forthcoming, we are tempted to conclude that our efforts never had anything to do with the kingdom. I was inclined to think such thoughts.
Pretty self-explanatory.
Paragraph number two:
To be a follower of the Crucified means, sooner or later, a personal encounter with the cross. And the cross always entails loss. The great symbol of Christianity means sacrifice and no one who calls himself a Christian can evade this stary fact. It is not by any means an easy thing to recognize, within a given instance of personal loss, the opportunity it affords for participation in Christ's own loss. What, we ask ourselves, can this possibly have to do with that? We are not by nature inclined to think spiritually...
And paragraph number three:
And so it often is. Faith, prayer, and obedience are our requirements. We are not offered in exchange immunity and exemption from the world's woes. What we are offered has to do with another world altogether.
That last paragraph really struck my heart, because I think today, inside of Christianity there is a big pull to be saved and to then be comfortable. I think a lot of shallow gospel is preached so that people will think they will get saved and then have an amazing life. Not always true, most often not true. Christian life is hard.
It took me longer to get through the book because of the holidays and then I almost got out of the habit of reading it out loud to Titus because instead of reading while nursing I would play Mario Brothers on the Wii. =) But this past week I picked the book back up and finished it. That said, the stuff I planned to write about in the earlier parts of the book are lost because I found new things to write about.
I'm definitely reading the books within the context of my Christian life, but I will mention again, that the specific reason I asked Mrs. A. for book recommendations was in light of me being the wife of a man in ministry as we head out to Wyoming.
Here is paragraph number one that stuck out in my reading:
It is hard for a young person with high ideals to learn that people cannot be hustled. They cannot be hustled into the kingdom of God, and it is well to remember Christ's own descriptions of that kingdom: leaven and seed, things that work slowly and out of sight. We long for visible evidence of our effectiveness, and when it is not forthcoming, we are tempted to conclude that our efforts never had anything to do with the kingdom. I was inclined to think such thoughts.
Pretty self-explanatory.
Paragraph number two:
To be a follower of the Crucified means, sooner or later, a personal encounter with the cross. And the cross always entails loss. The great symbol of Christianity means sacrifice and no one who calls himself a Christian can evade this stary fact. It is not by any means an easy thing to recognize, within a given instance of personal loss, the opportunity it affords for participation in Christ's own loss. What, we ask ourselves, can this possibly have to do with that? We are not by nature inclined to think spiritually...
And paragraph number three:
And so it often is. Faith, prayer, and obedience are our requirements. We are not offered in exchange immunity and exemption from the world's woes. What we are offered has to do with another world altogether.
That last paragraph really struck my heart, because I think today, inside of Christianity there is a big pull to be saved and to then be comfortable. I think a lot of shallow gospel is preached so that people will think they will get saved and then have an amazing life. Not always true, most often not true. Christian life is hard.
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