How Do You Do

Psalm 27:14

Wait on the Lord;
Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the Lord!

Our pastor preached yesterday on waiting on the Lord. I don’t know if there could be a timelier message for Max and me right now.

Psalm 37:9

For evildoers shall be cut off;
But those who wait on the Lord,
They shall inherit the earth.

Oh! You don’t say. Inherit the earth? That sounds like a good deal to me.
And here’s another one-
(I used the Message Bible to get a fresh perspective on this often-quoted verse)

Isaiah 40:27-31

Why would you ever complain, O Jacob,

Or whine, Israel, saying,
"God has lost track of me.
   He doesn't care what happens to me"?
Don't you know anything? Haven't you been listening?
God doesn't come and go. God lasts.
   He's Creator of all you can see or imagine.
He doesn't get tired out, doesn't pause to catch his breath.
   And he knows everything, inside and out.
He energizes those who get tired,
   gives fresh strength to dropouts.
For even young people tire and drop out,
   young folk in their prime stumble and fall.
But those who wait upon God get fresh strength.
   They spread their wings and soar like eagles,
They run and don't get tired,
   they walk and don't lag behind.

Just reading those verses and knowing how powerful the truth of them is brings tears to my eyes. I hear that first question a lot [both from my own spirit and from Max’s mouth]. Why would I whine or complain? In my life, and in the last 1.5 years of marriage, God has shown His faithfulness over and over; shown that He never forgets or gives up. He knows His promises better than I do. I even believe He is more passionate about His promises than I am [of this I have been convinced over and over].

Now I take a deep breath.

Now I let it out.

[No, I am not in labor. Sometimes I just have to remind 
myself to do normal things like breath and relax].

New house with your new kitchen, bedrooms, bathrooms, living room, and baby room- you are coming. All in good time. I’ve been losing patience and grace with the ones I have now, but they are only for a time and someday I will miss you.

Baby girl- Oh how excited we are to meet you. The labor to bring you into this world terrifies me. Seriously terrifies. I think about it and start crying some days. [Crazy hormones? I think yes.] But I have the best husband in the world to coach me through it. We started talking about the playlist for the labor and I got excited. Not for the labor, but for being able to listen to and make new memories to my favorite, most relaxing music. In my mind, the playlist and the baby that comes after are the only good parts of labor.

Dreams of my heart and my husband's- You are not impossible or too far off. You are made just for us and even now are unfolding in ways we can't see or understand.

--- 

I look forward to the day, 3 or more months from now when I will read this post, baby girl in my arms, sitting in my new house [fingers crossed], and flooded with all the joy of a victorious champion.

Because I have no doubt that I will be facing all new challenges in that moment and could use a reminder of how good and faithful the Lord is to those who wait on Him.

Some Proverbial Goodness For the 24th

As today is the 24^th, I thought I would give Proverbs 24 a little read to see what golden nuggets it had for me. I don’t know why I was surprised when I found quite a few challenging bits. But I’ll start with the more encouraging ones.

Through wisdom a house is built,
And by understanding it is established;
By knowledge the rooms are filled
With all precious and pleasant riches.

I love that we don’t just build and fill as we please, but that God can give us wisdom and understanding in all the details. Throughout the Old Testament He tells His people exact measurements and elements as they build various structures. I can get overwhelmed with details so it does my heart good to know God is more aware [and able to take care] of them than me.

Deliver those who are drawn toward death,
And hold back those stumbling to the slaughter.
If you say, “Surely we did not know this,”
Does not He who weighs the hearts consider it?
He who keeps your soul, does He not know it?
And will He not render to each man according to his deeds?

There are a lot of interpretations we can have for those “drawn toward death.” Like many scriptures, we are able to take them as straight-forward or as deep-down as we choose. I think of people convinced of their self-sufficiency [one of the scariest to me], those with no hope or joy in their life, and I think about the people intentionally walking [or running] toward death. I feel so inept at helping any one of those people. My natural tendency is to turn and walk the other way as if I never saw them. It’s so uncomfortable to extend a hand, and we often get hurt ourselves. But the Lord isn’t alright with feigned ignorance. He keeps my soul, and He keeps theirs. Faith and action must meet, no  matter how uncomfortable. And this is where I need His grace to guide me.

Hmmm… gaining wisdom isn't for the faint of heart. 

Good thing I've got this good lookin' guy to help me out.

Etsy Love

Oh boy. I've been bit. Real bad. By the Etsy bug. For me, Esty obsession goes in waves. My younger sister is getting married in December [!!!] so I've been perusing the treasuries to get ideas for different things. And then I thought I should see what kind of baby vintage items they had. And then I thought I should see what kind of maternity-ish things they have [most of which were REALLY weird and/or poorly made]. I did find a few wonderful shops. Here are a few.

Stop the Clock

The Fashion Loft

Bestbug

 

Blue Bird Lucy's Vintage

 

Mille Bebe

A Name for Baby Girl

Some days my heart feels full enough to burst. Maybe it's the donut my love brought me this morning. Or the delicious coffee roasts my work buys and then makes french press with for us to enjoy. Or the blue skies outside my window. Or just maybe it's the little baby inside that keeps me company wherever I go. And also the fact that she is due 3 months from today. [Mind you, I am fully aware that it could be 3 months and two weeks before she is actually in my arms. I frequently remind myself that the baby comes when they are ready, not when the doctor says it should, or when I think it should.]

To celebrate baby girl's approaching due date I thought I would do her name reveal. Many of our close friends and family already know, we haven't been strictly keeping it a secret. We're not really into that sort of thing. So here it is,

Hanley is Max's middle name, which he was his great-grandmother's maiden name. Depending on the origin it either means "from the high field" [English] or "grace and beauty" [Irish]. Both quite lovely. I don't really know how we thought of using it, but as we looked through books and websites we couldn't find a name more perfect for our first baby girl. I'm not sure how we came up with the middle name either. It just sounded so pretty.

Feelin' Good In the Neighborhood

Yesterday marked week 26 of being preggers.

And oh my it's been a hot one. [the week that is]

The temps are high but I'm feeling great.

I've got a beautiful life growing inside of me.

And that makes everything wonderful.

Baby girl has been making her presence well-known.

Lots of pushing and kicking all over.

I can't complain, there's not much room in there!

My heart is so full of love for her already.

Prints & Posters

When it comes to spending money, the husband and I both have our clear tendencies. If given a little extra cash, at any given moment my husband knows exactly where he'd "invest" it [we prefer to use that word instead of "spend"]. Undoubtedly it's for a new vinyl, a plug-in for his synthesizer, or some other music-related item. I love it. It's so not how I think, but I think it's a worthy investment and I always enjoy and benefit from it.

For me, I love little things. With $20 in my pocket I can make a day of thrifting around to find a few trinkets to spruce up the house with. Or a new top. Or some fabric for a sewing project. I love that we can find ways to spend our money and express our creativity at the same time. I think the Mr. and I are pretty perfect for each other.

Of course a baby on the way introduces a whole new world of [I hate when people use this word because it is most often used incorrectly, but I am going to take the plunge...] LITERALLY little things. It is fun and I love it. But I've realized this has in no way negated my love of a good deal. Seriously. I love looking and looking and finding the perfect item at a great price. It's the thrill of the hunt!

And then there's the whole thing about having a new house on the horizon. There are many wonderful things to buy for that. What I've noticed about the things I am pinning and putting on my wish list is that there's a whole lot of art and posters. When it comes to home decorating, displaying visual images, especially non-photographs, was sort of low on the totem pole for a while. At least that's what I've experienced. But now so many styles of art- typography, collage, and illustration, how can you not want to put some it on your walls!

Here are just a few that I like.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

The last print one of my sisters gave me for the baby's room. I absolutely love it and am using it as inspiration for my other baby items. Isn't it the cutest?

I Have Never Loved Someone

Sigh

Deep sigh

Beauty rare and refined

Of a life that grows inside

Steady breathing

Focused watching

Peace never before known

Calming a weary soul

Angst relieved

Pain forgotten

Such subtle movement

Attracting all attention

Bump

Bounce

Nothing more glorious

Elation incomparable

---

Pregnancy is a beautiful and fascinating thing. There is absolutely nothing like it. I've been feeling [mostly] great these days. The days of nausea and overwhelming tiredness have been forgotten and the random kicks and movement throughout the day are so exciting. Every time.

I will say this, people talk about how much you will change once you have a baby. Your sleep schedule, priorities, socialness [I know that's not a word, but it sounds right to me.] While I don't doubt any of that one bit, carrying that life before it is born changes your lifestyle quite a bit. I sleep different, eat different, sit different, spend money different, and I am definitely looking different these days. Change is already here.

Like I said, pregnancy is amazing, and all the alterations to my lifestyle are so worth it. I'm only surprised at how much has already changed in my heart and in the day-to-day things. Glorious indeed, but at times it can feel a little isolating. My mind and heart are often carried away to the day when I get to meet my baby girl and hold her. There's this connection that I am sharing with her, but it will be another 3 months before the rest of the world gets to really be a part of it. Her life is a different reality for me. It's an overwhelming unable-to-not-think-about reality.

So let me just ask you now to please excuse my obsession with my child and the miracle of life [I'm sure other moms understand this already]. And enjoy this beautiful song Shara Worden wrote for her baby boy. [Don't worry, it in no way resembles Scott Stapp's song when he became a father. May that song be forever purged from all of our troubled minds. Amen.] 

With love and great peace in my heart,

C.
and baby

New Look

I thought that since my last few posts have been about redesigning my house I should unleash some of that creativity on my blog. It's not much, but a little rearranging, recoloring, and redesigning goes a long way for this lady.

Hope you all have a good 4th of July.

We'll be celebrating our nation's independence as well as my Dad's birthday.

Family, bbq ribs, a little outdoor sporting, and of course fireworks!

Today is a bit gloomy, but I've got high hopes for blue skies and warm temps tomorrow.

Ciao!