Third Trimester

I am now 27 weeks and 2 days pregnant, heading into my 3rd trimester. I have to eat small portions (if I want to still be able to breathe), I have terrible indigestion, my lap is gone (though that doesn't stop Bub and Seth from trying to sit there!), I wake up about 75 times each night to roll over and get "comfortable", and please...if you drop something at my feet, have mercy and don't look at me to pick it up!


Some women look beautiful during pregnancy. They don't get all puffy and swollen, and you'd hardly know they were pregnant if it weren't for that little bulge in their bellies. Me? I'm pregnant from my hair down to my toenails!

Even so, with all this discomfort, words fail me to describe what pregnancy is like. As I type, this little girl is apparently kickboxing in my belly. At this stage, I find it hard to be productive, because I know if I just sit still long enough, she'll start turning flips and I can sit and watch and feel the movements. What an awesome way our Lord has designed to bring new humans into the world! What a privilege and responsibility for woman!

Here's one of my favorite pictures of Jason and Seth:

I'm getting excited! And, BTW, we are still taking name suggestions!

"Some trust in chariots,

and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the Lord our God." Psalm 20:7

I love America. I truly do. For all her faults and sins, she is still by far the greatest nation on earth, and I feel very blessed to have been born in these United States. My daddy served in the Air Force, my uncle served in the Navy, several of my cousins served as Marines, my father-in-law served in the Army, and both my husband's grandfathers served in combat during World War II. What a heroic and brave heritage!

Having said that, it is very distressing to the Christian if he or she sits and dwells on the state of affairs right now in our nation. According to some, we are about to enter some sort of national bliss or nirvana , depending on who gets elected this presidential term. I never in a million midnights thought I'd be rooting for "Billary", but I find myself almost wishing she'd clinch the Democratic nomination over "Obamanation". I fully realize what a disgrace it would be for America to have a "First Gentleman" instead of a First Lady. What a sad reflection on all the puny men of this nation...but....it would be hard to choke out the words, "President Obama" alongside the great men of days gone by like "President Washington", "President Adams", "President Jefferson", "President Roosevelt (Teddy, that is!)", "President Reagan".......Obama?

Obama, who has for the past 20 years sat under the heretical rantings of the apostate Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Obama, who, since 1988, has been a member of a church that granted a "Lifetime Achievement Award" to Louis Farrakhan, that bills itself as "Unashamedly Black" , and that preaches that Jesus was a "poor black man". Obama, who credits this pastor as the inspiration for his book "The Audacity of Hope", and who (until recently when it didn't serve the campaign well) had this pastor serving as a campaign advisor. This man Obama, who has been a student and promoter of this most despicable, anti-American, racist propaganda, now wants to lead this nation toward racial bliss? Dream on.

And speaking of dreams....I don't believe in holding people accountable for the shortcomings of their parents, but when a person writes a book entitled Dreams From My Father , and credits his father as a major inspiration in his life, I believe we have an obligation to check out this father. Read the gory details for yourself, but to make a long story short: Barack Obama, Sr was an atheist (converted from Islam), drunken, abusive, polygamist who had wives and children scattered literally all around the world. How inspiring.

Now it used to be that Americans at least had a chance to vote for a fiscally conservative, small government minded candidate. Since the early 1900s we called that candidate, the Republican. Unfortunately, this year we are left with a fraud. How can a Christian cast a vote for a man endorsed by Republicans for Choice , who was responsible for squashing free speech with the McCain-Feingold bill, who absolutely loves to spend your tax dollars (and your young men!) on policing the whole entire world, who supports amnesty for illegal immigrants, who doesn't even know what a tax cut is, and who joins hands with the likes of Al Gore on the "issue" (a.k.a. "hoax") of global warming. Aside from a complete departure from traditional Republican principles, this is a man who committed adultery on his first wife, then married his mistress (who just happens to be chairwoman of the 3rd largest wholesale distributor of bottled beer in America). Their daughter boasts that "Mom can tell if a beer is fresh" by its taste. How "first ladyish".

So what's a Christian to do? First of all, I am thankful that there are still men out there who are "un-owned" by the establishment, and who live by principles, not opinion polls. I appreciate the fact that Ron Paul is still in the race , even though his chance for a Republican nomination is gone. His campaign was never about him; it was about America and the U.S. Constitution, and returning America to her roots. Therefore, his supporters are still willing to pour time and effort into his campaign, because his message is timeless, and it is our only hope to preserve and protect these freedoms we hold so dear. The delegates that Ron Paul has and does acquire, will at least go on to have a voice in the Republican platform at the convention. They are passionate about his message, and it is a comfort to know that the "small government" message will be represented.

The truth is, Republican...Democrat....no matter how passionate you or I feel about any individual candidate...those labels mean nothing. The real questions to be asked are...

Do your children belong to you or to the state?
Should your church be required to register with the government as a corporation?
Do you have sense enough to spend and save your own money?
Should you have to fund abortions?
Do you have a right to conduct a business without ridiculously oppressive government regulation?
Are the spotted owl and the baby seal more precious than the baby humans?
Must there really be a law for every single tiny human decision, from buckling your seat belt to installing fire alarms in your home to drinking fresh wholesome milk from a healthy cow?

You see, when it all comes down to the wire, you could have a President that you totally disagreed with on a lot of issues....but...if everyone believed by consensus (as they used to) that the people run the government, then there is breathing room for all. But, when the people give up their own freedoms and fall prey to the idea that the government runs the people, our ordinary, daily liberties are in constant jeopardy. God help us.

Secondly, as a Christian, I must remember that as much as I love the USA, my true citizenship is in the Kingdom of God. If I seem "gloom and doom", that's not what I intend. I'm a realistic, humble student of history and the Bible, and I'll gratefully exercise my right to speak as long as I have that right. Holy Scripture said times would get this bad, and I find comfort in the fact that the Lord still holds the world in His hands. One day, all wrongs will be made right, and we won't be having to campaign for King Jesus.

Christians, horses and chariots - and nations and governments and presidents and rulers - come and go, but we must remember the name of the Lord our God!

Need a grin?

I can't look at this picture without smiling. This is my precious niece Maggie.

More Independence......

Bub really has an eye for fashion.

His specialty is that casual, "don't care" kind of look.

"How me wooks?"

Meet Puddin'

The newest addition to our family.......

Important Info for Parents

GA Girl Helps Link Autism to Childhood Vaccines Atlanta Journal-Constitution (also, read the comments posted by readers at the end of this article!)

Unbelievably, the U.S. government has finally been backed into a corner and forced to admit a link between mercury in the vaccine preservative thimerosal, and autism. As noted in this article, thimerosal is still used in flu shots, now being shoved down the throat of every parent of any child age 2-18 by most pediatricians.

It's worth noting here, also, that there's just something even more alarming about vaccinations, particularly the MMR, that goes beyond just the thimerosal. For tons of information and helpful links about vaccines, I have learned a lot from Dr. Mercola's website.

Bitter Fruit vs. Delicious Fruit

In my chronological Bible reading , I am now in the book of Deuteronomy. In chapter 21, it gives laws for burying criminals, as follows in vv. 22 and 23:

"And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, an he be to be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree: His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for he that is hanged is accursed of God); that thy land be not defiled, which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance."

As Christians everywhere are preparing to celebrate the Resurrection of Christ this Sunday, I could not help but think of how our perfect, sinless Saviour became a curse Himself, and was hanged on a tree. (see Galatians 3:13; I Peter 2:24)

The curse of sin came because Adam ate the delicious fruit of the tree of temptation; therefore, the Second Adam (Christ) became the bitter fruit on the tree of salvation to redeem the curse, and pay our death penalty

"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 6:23

"Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned..........For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous." Romans 5:12; 18

As I look back over my own life, I am humbled as I think of how often I, just as my sister Eve, took of the delicious fruit of temptation, with no hope of redeeming myself from the inevitable curse of sin and death.

Jesus Christ, the Obedient Son, not only gave His life on the tree of salvation, but He went on to defeat death as well, giving us hope of eternal life, through His Resurrection.

"And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.....If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.....But now is Christ risen from the dead.....For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead......For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." I Corinthians 15:17-22

Hallelujah to the Lamb!

Tramp for the Lord

I've been browsing through my quote collection again, and came upon my Corrie ten Boom section. I saw the movie, "The Hiding Place" as a child, then as a teenager I read the book and another of her books, "Tramp for the Lord". They both touched me deeply. Here are some quotes from my collection:

"Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow. It empties today of its strength."

"Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God."

"Let God's promises shine on your problems."



"The measure of a life, after all, is not its duration, but its donation."

"Any concern too small to be turned into a prayer is too small to be made into a burden."

"If you look at the world, you'll be distressed. If you look within, you'll be depressed. But if you look at Christ, you'll be at rest."

It was very timely that Miss ten Boom was brought to my mind, as I've been gradually introducing the study of the Holocaust to my children. We've thoroughly studied the American Revolution and the War Between the States, and that just naturally brings us next to the World Wars. In the same way that I've had great difficulty describing sins like abortion and homosexuality to my sheltered children, I'm finding it very challenging to explain the horrors of the Holocaust to them. I want to be both truthful and sensitive, exposing them to as much reality as they can handle at their tender ages, yet without compromising their purity (as so many modern accounts would certainly do!). How thankful I am to have this account told from the perspective of a born again Christian who miraculously lived to tell about it. (FYI: the movie is now available on DVD, and is also available at Netflix)

Independence

Bubbie is growing up. Now, he chooses his own clothes, dresses himself, brushes his own teeth, and washes his own face after each meal. Can you tell?

2 or 3 kids ago, I would have insisted he match his socks, wet down his hair, and scrubbed his face. Now, I'm just glad to mark those things off my long list. Children have a way of helping perfectionists like me mellow out.

God's Provision through Nature

CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT JASON SAID MY BLOG WAS BORING?

Okay, so maybe he's right this week. But could I have a little mercy, being that we've been battling a cold, sinus infections, and pink eye (yes, pink eye) since last Wednesday? If you know me at all, you know that the only way you are going to get me to the doctor's office for these types of illnesses, is tied up kicking and screaming or by ambulance. Thankfully, that hasn't happened, so I want to share a little of the natural remedies that we've used this week.

So as to not repeat myself, I'll refer you to my previous post on garlic for the healing properties of this natural wonder. Today, I'll focus on 2 other options: grapefruit seed extract and colloidal silver.

Grapefruit seed extract (GSE) is used daily at our house, if for nothing else than to spray our chicken eggs as we bring them in from the hen house (5 drops/ounce of water, kept in a large spray bottle). We use this bottle to clean wounds, disinfect cutting boards, sterilize medicine dispensers, general cleaning...the possibilities are endless. I use Nutribiotic brand drops, which is very economical as one small bottle (around $12) will last even a large family for about a year.

As for illnesses, I normally don't use GSE for viral infections, although it can be effective. For these, I use garlic. But if I suspect that an infection has developed (mine and Jason's colds both developed into sinus infections), then I continue with the garlic and add the GSE. Jason and I take the tablets, and the children take 3 drops GSE diluted in about 1 Tbsp. filtered water or juice (given in a medicine cup) at all 3 meals plus bedtime. Along with each dose, a chewable Vit. C tablet is given as well. When 1 child is sick, the whole crew gets the same treatment. I have found this amazingly effective for prevention. For example, Jason got sick, then Sis, then me. As soon as Sis began feeling bad, I started everyone on these immune boosters, and so far the boys have been spared. (If you live at home all day with a house full of loving, wrestling, kissing, sharing kids, you know that this is quite an accomplishment!)

Colloidal silver is another great remedy to have on hand. For good reasons, I only buy name brand CS (Sovereign Silver), which is very expensive, so it is not very practical for a large family as a treatment for daily illnesses, although it is very effective. But for specific infections, such as pink eye or a throat infection, CS is wonderful. Now, I, nor any of my children, have never had pink eye, so this was new to me. I did some research, and discovered that the name "pink eye" covers a wide variety of eye infections, or conjunctivitis. It is possible to catch it from your own cold, which is what I suspect happened with Sis. (For example, rubbing your nose then rubbing your eyes.) After battling a cold for 2 days, her eye suddenly got really bad, really fast. I immediately started warm compresses and CS drops in her eye, and HAND WASHING! I wiped down the light switches, mouse & keyboard, doorknobs, toilet flusher handle, remote control, faucet handles..everything with rubbing alcohol, and I sprayed toothbrushes with the GSE mixture. I gave Sis (and the boys) GSE and Vit C by mouth, and did the eye drops about 4 times/day. She got sick Friday evening, and was well enough to go to church by Sunday. (Dr. Mom, however, woke up at 5:00 Sunday morning with one eye glued shut!) And as a precaution as well as a courtesy to our church, everyone washed their hands on the way out the door to church (I, of course, could not go.) I also washed everyone's pillowcases in hot water with detergent and GSE each day there was pink eye in the house.

In addition to these natural remedies, we also used eucalyptus oil, and salt water gargle and salt water nose spray/wash. Obviously, life has not been as boring as my blog around here. It takes more work to use God's natural resources than to go the doctor and get a quick prescription which works more quickly, but is worse for you in the long run. This post is meant to focus on the "how", and someday I'm going to post more on the "why" of natural remedies. I'm sure you've all heard about the scary MRSA superbug in the news, and I'll share a little about our family's 3 year struggle with this plague. As horrible as it was, it was the Lord's way of putting our family on the road to better health. Someday, your life may depend on the strength of a pharmaceutical antibiotic, so it is wise to NOT build up your body's resistance to antibiotics for treatable illnesses like strep throat and the ones described in this post, and instead to build up your immune system with natural immune boosters like garlic, GSE, and Vitamin C.

And remember 2 things: The reason that natural remedies don't work for most people is that they aren't used consistently enough, in high enough doses, and for a long enough period of time.

Disclosure: I am obviously not a doctor, and don't claim to have medical expertise. This is meant only to be taken as shared experiences from an informed mother who is very thankful for doctors and medical technology, but who is not afraid to trust her God-given instincts in caring for her own family.

This could be the day!

"For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord." I Thessalonians 4:16, 17

Sgt. Carter

Can you guess what we've been renting from Netflix lately? (Shazam!)
Also, I accidently caught Seth at the end playing a trick on Bubbie. The boys are constantly teasing each other about being a "sissy", trying to slip the other a pink cup or spoon, or promising to buy the other lipstick for Christmas. As I was videoing, Seth found a girly "oonicorn" book, which he hands to Bub, then turns around and motions to KK & Sis in the background, "Shh! Look, Bub's a girl!"

Love Grows Best in Little Houses

As I was showing the kids our wedding album and remembrance book that I put together during our engagement, wedding, and honeymoon, something struck me as funny. In my memory book, there was a section for current events, etc., and one section asked for "popular songs". To my surprise (it's amazing how much you forget!), I had listed "Love Grows Best in Little Houses" by Doug Stone.

I barely even remembered that song, so I just googled the lyrics. Here's a link:
Love Grows Best in Little Houses

I never would have dreamed then that we would be busting at the seams of our house one day, trying to figure out who could spare a bureau drawer for this 5th baby to sleep in (Chill out...I'm just kidding!). When we built this house, it seemed like all we would ever need. And by the time we are able to afford to build on, it'll probably be just Jason and me remaining and we won't need it!

Still, I am so thankful for our growing family. Next to the Lord and Jason, the children have brought me the greatest satisfaction of anything in life. I would like to have a bigger house, but I wonder if the kids would be as close if they each had their own rooms. We visited with a family a while back, and Madelyn was invited to the girl's room. I stood outside the door to keep an eye on my little Sis (call me a bear when it comes to my cubs). The bedroom had a TV, DVD/VCR player, stereo system, game console, cheerleading pompoms, her name spelled huge across the wall....things foreign to my kids and their simple bedrooms. I watched Madelyn, so shy, as she looked around. What she said next caught me by surprise..."So, where's your chore chart?" she asked the girl. This girl snorted and snapped back, "I don't do chores!" As we drove home that evening, Madelyn was quiet. Then she said, "Mama, I feel sorry for [this girl]. She isn't useful to her family." I guess I half expected that she might ask why she can't have any of those things in her room (that she shares with her little brother), but she didn't. Instead, she pitied the little girl with all the material things, but who didn't have a useful position in a busy, functioning family that works together.

I think it just might be true that love (and manners, courtesy, selflessness, sharing, kindness, work ethic, etc.) does grow better in little houses and large families. You don't hear me complaining.

Do you recognize these 2 kids?

Yes, that's Jason and me 13 years ago............or should I say, 5 pregnancies, 4 children (+1 on the way!), 4 churches, dozens of mortgage payments, some lost hair and some "found" pounds, and a whirlwind 13 years ago, today.

Looking back, I can see how far the Lord has brought us together. Jason and I met in June 1994 (I was 19; he was 22), got engaged in August, and married the next March. And the only reason we waited that long, was to satisfy everyone around us who, no doubt, thought we were "rushing it". I forfeited 3 remaining years on my college scholarship (known to others as "throwing away a golden opportunity") and followed the Lord to be with Jason. It was the easiest and most right decision, other than my salvation, that I have ever made. I've never questioned my choice, and I'll always remember that Jason never pressured me to do this. He was fully prepared to wait on me to graduate college before we married, but it just wasn't in God's plan. By the time I would have graduated, we already were married, had built a house, pastoring a church, and expecting our first child. I'm so glad I didn't delay Jason's ministry or our family, just to pursue the world's accolades.

When we met, we knew almost instantly that we would marry. Jason is the only man I have ever loved. I had faithfully prayed to the Lord since a young teenager, that I would never get sidetracked from following Him, by loving the wrong person. I gave the Lord the keys to my heart, and I felt Him unlock that door when Jason looked into my eyes. That was enough for me, but the Lord graciously sent so many confirmations to Jason and myself along the way. Most memorably, the night we went looking at engagement rings, we sat in his truck and prayed for the Lord's will to be done. We lifted our heads, sitting in the parking lot, and there in the sky, was the biggest, most beautiful rainbow I'd ever seen.

We were forced to grow up and mature almost instantly, and sometimes it's hard to even remember that first, carefree, absolutely fun year we had before Jason became a pastor and we became parents. As other wives can testify, it is very stressful being married to a real, God-called preacher, but I wouldn't trade our life for anything!