In the meantime

Every afternoon, as I work to get Talitha settled down for a nap, there is inevitably at least one (maybe two or even three) trips to the bathroom because she supposedly "has to go to the bathroom." More often than not, this seems to be an excuse to get out of bed and delay going to sleep rather than an urgent need to answer nature's call...The more of a routine that it becomes, the more wearisome it feels. I often find myself on the verge of frustration. Who would have thought that something as natural as potty-training could produce so many frustrating parenting moments?  And yet, as we went through the routine yet again today and I could feel the frustration building, I was reminded of the reality that I cannot do this parenting thing by myself; I am  needy.  Oh, so needy for His sustaining strength in so many areas of my life. Parenting is merely one area.   In contrast to my extreme neediness, God is not needy. In fact, He is self-sufficie...

Whether they're big or small, we all have expectations:     We expect the mail to come every day of the work-week.      We expect our children to obey us.     We expect our fridges to be filled with food and our houses to be warm during the cold winter months.     We expect others to treat us with respect.      We expect exercise and healthy eating habits to help us keep our weight down.      We expect those around us to be there for us when we need them.      We expect life to be filled with joy and happiness.  And when our expectations aren't met, then what?   Sometimes the sting, disappointment, and pain of unmet expectations go deep, way deeper than we ever thought they would. We realize how much importance we were putting on the fulfillment of those particular expectations to bring us joy in life.  We also discover (whether we want to or not) t...

God is trustworthy.  This begs us to ask questions such as "Why do we trust God?" "Why should we trust God?" "Is He really altogether worthy of our complete trust?" "Is trusting Him a crutch for our weaknesses?" "When we trust God, are we simply falling back on Him as our last resort?"  In light of these questions, here are a few thoughts about trusting God and His trustworthiness:   Consideration #1: If we are going to "trust God" we must understand the God in whom we're trusting.   In other words, if we're trusting God without knowing what He is like, we are blindly trusting Him, and I would suggest that such trust is not trust at all.  Take, for example, a chair.  If I trust in a chair, what does that mean?   It means that I know what a chair is.  I understand the purpose of the chair.  I understand the character of the chair to be such that it will hold me up. And because I trust the...

My last post Miscarriage, part 1: When Your Friend Has One gave a few ideas on how to minister to your friend who has gone through a miscarriage.  However, because of the statistics, it is likely you yourself may have also had a miscarriage.  In this post, I’d like to share a couple things that were extremely helpful to me as I've worked through losing our twins 1.  Music  I don’t know about you, but music is a incredible balm for my soul. Shortly after our miscarriage, several songs became very special to me, for they reminded me of Who my God is.  Those songs, along with some select albums, are now part of a playlist labeled “Angie’s List.”  {haha, yes, I know…so original!}  I like to think of those songs as my go-to songs to help “lift my eyes to my Savior” when the emotions flood my soul or when I am tempted to wallow in a private pity party.  That list has ...

No matter how many times we read God’s Word, there will always be something new for us to learn.  We will never understand all of it, perhaps not even when we stand face-to-face with its Author in our glorified bodies.   For, while we will understand more perfectly those glorious things spoken of in Scripture, we will still spend all of eternity learning about our awesome God.  While I many times do fail to spend time in the Word every day, I am learning to cherish this precious Book, written so that I might know Him better.  Isn’t that a humbling thought: The Most High God has revealed Himself so that I might know Him?  “What is man?!?!?” Anyway, big news: I am *almost* done with my chronological reading plan { that I think I started over 3 years ago.}   I am finally in Revelation! woot woot!  Anyway, while my reading plan is nothing more than a list with what chapters/books to ...

While this word is often associated with romance, the dictionary defines passionate as an “intense desire for something” or “tending to have strong feelings.”  When it comes to how God feels about His glory and name among the nations, I believe passionate is a very accurate adjective. We see this idea come out in the first two commandments that God gave to the Israelites: Exodus 20:1 A nd God spake all these words, saying,  2 I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.  3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:   5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God… He is the One and the Only, and there is to be no other who takes His place in our...

The three-year mark since our miscarriage has come and gone.  It kind of surprised me that I didn’t notice the date until after it was past.  I guess that must be an indication that the pain is easing and thoughts of the twins isn’t at the forefront of my mind every. single. day. like it used to be.  I know having Talitha around has helped with that...  And yet thoughts about it still often swirl around in my mind.  We recently read Revelation 4. Verse 11 stood out to me in a unique way:  “ Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. ” As I thought about this verse again today, it brings a measure of encouragement to the miscarriage conversation:  Even when in pro-life circles, there is an {unintentional and subconscious}  tendency to send the message that an under-developed baby that is ...

Ok, time to try to finish up this series that I only began years ago.  To read up on it, you can start with the post on  Advocate  or the pull up the whole  A-N Describe Him Archive . ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Describe Him, the Omni. Ok, I confess: Isaac has sold me on superhero action movies.  I love superhero movies: Thor, Captain America, The Avengers, Spider Man, Ant Man.  They each have unique powers that overcome common human limitations and consequently, allow them to perform incredible feats and rescue the good guys from the bad guys… Or maybe get the bad guys and be the good guys. Whatever the case, they usually become the heroes. Sometimes, however, things turn sour.   (Like what happened in New York* or Sokovia*: Instead of rescuing according to plan, lives are lost and more destruction happens.)                          ...

Now that we have passed the “most risky” part of our pregnancy and are now over halfway there and without any signs of trouble, I often catch myself thinking, or even saying, that “God has been good.” Instantly, though, the thought comes to mind: Would He not be good if we had miscarried (or still do miscarry)? Would that change the fact that God is good?   Would I still be so quick to say that He has been good?”   Of course, we all agree that our circumstances don’t change the fact that God is good , and that He always will be good.  But our flesh is so much more hesitant to proclaim that He has been good when we go through pain-filled, life-changing circumstances. We tend to be so short-sighted and earthly-minded that even though we love God and have testified in the past that He is good , we usually gravitate towards declaring God to be good only when our  circumstances line up with what we would define as “good.”  And...

The Psalms continue to produce timeless encouragement.  Over and over, they remind the reader to lift up his eyes to the Savior, back to the One who made us and loves us, and Whose everlasting character is the very reason we cry out to Him. Reading Psalm 25 this morning was a good reminder of this.  This particular Psalm is pretty easily broken down into " God, this is Who You are.  Because of Your character, hear this pitiful cry of mine.  It is about You, not me."   Verse 2-3 -- Let me not be put to shame...                     ...because I trust in You and wait for You. Verse 5 -- Lead me in Your truth...                 Teach me...                     ...because You are the God of my salvation. Verse 6 --    ... Remember Your mercy                    ...

Isaac and I recently had  a conversation about having to trust God, even when we don’t fully understand everything about His Word or His ways. Sometimes there are gaps in our understanding of how God works and carries out His plan; often these gaps leave us baffled.  How can “A+B” equal “C” in God’s mind, when, in our minds, there is no way that “A+B=C”?  “C”, in our mind, equals something that we parallel with unfairness and unjustness on God’s part.   How can that be what the Bible teaches?  Surely there’s another answer that makes more sense. And so we often do come up with another answer—one that fits the “A+B=C” equation in our mind.  Yet, this answer is often based not so much on God’s Word as it is on what we want God’s Word to say. Struggling with these doctrinal gaps in our understanding of how an infinitely good God could act in a way that seems infinitely wrong is hard, sometimes even gut-wrenching...

The chronological through-the-Bible reading scheduling I’m going through has me in the Major and Minor Prophet books right now.  I just finished up  Ezekiel and Joel, and am in the middle of the book of Daniel.  Throughout Ezekiel and Joel, one particular theme kept jumping out at me: over and over again, God declares that “ you will know that I am the LORD .”  In its most basic form, this statement reminds us that, whatever He does, God is going to act in such a way that all who see it—whether the children of Israel, the pagan nations around them, or even those of us who now hold the book in our hands and read about it—will know who the Lord is!  Now that I’m in the book of Daniel, the theme seems to continue.  The book of Daniel is filled with stories that were some of my favorites in Sunday school: the golden image and Daniel’s three friends thrown into the smokin’ hot furnace, Daniel interpreting the king’s dreams about the t...

Some of you may be wondering why I can’t seem to get off this subject.  Let me tell you why miscarriage comes up every so often: The dynamics of a miscarriage and every other kind of infant loss mark you in a way like very few things in life do.  It was a real baby, made in God's image, no matter how small, no matter how undeveloped.  There is an unexplainable emotional connection, particularly for the mom.  Many times the grieving is a private affair, with few people even aware of what has happened. And those are just a few of the most obvious dynamics that make infant loss so hard.... For me, this has been a season of silent sorrow unlike anything else I’ve experienced. It has only been very recently that I’m finally beginning to feel like I’m no longer incredibly vulnerable and a bundle of emotions.  I think I am slowly starting to move on. It has also been a season of growth that wouldn’t have happened except...

Who am I to question God’s ways?  Yes, God is good.  Yes, He is sovereign.  Yes, I can trust Him.   I don’t say  all that lightly.  When the circumstances of life *seem* to contradict some of these most foundational aspects of God’s character, that is when we struggle to turn those Sunday school answers into real heart-knowledge and a deep-seated conviction and experience of their REALITY and IMPACT on our lives! The struggle  between head knowledge and feelings is real, oh so real…   These foundational truths of God’s goodness, sovereignty, and trustworthiness give strength in time of greatest need…when our faith is so weak and feeble…when we, like Peter, can only see the waves crashing in around us in the middle of the storm.  When we can do nothing but cry out “Lord, help me in my unbelief of Your goodness towards Your children, because right now, I can’t seem to see past the here and now, even though I know You’ve prom...

Have I mentioned how encouraging the book of Psalms has been to me lately? “Blessed be the LORD, because He has heard the voice of my supplication.  The LORD is my strength and my shield , my heart trusts in Him and I am helped;  Therefore my heart exults , and with my song I shall thank Him. / The LORD is their strength, and He is a saving defense to His anointed. / Save Thy people, and bless Thine inheritance; Be their shepherd also, and carry them forever.  (Psalm 28:6-9) “I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. / Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the LORD.  (Psalm 27:13-14 ) “His work is honourable and glorious: and His righteousness endureth forever. / He hath made His wonderful works to be remembered: the LORD is gracious and full of compassion.  ( Psalm 111:3-4) “Make me to know Thy ways...

Jessalyn Hutto has been through two miscarriages.  She understands the pain.  She has also learned where to find true comfort. Her article on knowing God  outlines some docrintal truths about God that give comfort and strength when life hits you hard and you don't know where to turn.  Be encouraged and delight in His goodness!