The Wednesday Stork: Week 25

If you heard the Hallelujah chorus floating over the ocean from Africa, don't freak out; it was me. And I had reason for such an outburst. Y'all, my maternity clothes finally arrived!

After weeks and weeks of just barely making things fit, it feels so good to have a wardrobe that I can wear AND feel comfortable in. Thanks to my mom *hi mom* and Todd's grandmother for picking a few things up for me in the States!

That's definitely the biggest news of the week. I know, I know...it's kind of sad, getting this excited over fat clothes. But I don't care :) And, on top of feeling amazing, maternity clothes are actually good for making a bump less obvious. I felt like I was really sticking out in my normal clothes, but the bump all but vanishes in some of my maternity outfits. Great perk! Oh, keep in mind that I am pulling the shirt in the picture tight across my belly so you can get a good idea of the size...if I just let it hang, well, there wouldn't be much to see.

Ok, I'll stop talking about clothes. That's not why you're here:

Weeks: 25  

Weight gain so far: Roughly 13 pounds. Perhaps there was a growth spurt going on beneath the surface...   

Wearing maternity clothes? YES! 

Got any prego stretch marks? No, I don't think so. I'll only go so far as to say that I have some on my hips that I think have been there for years. Whether they've gotten any worse during pregnancy I couldn't say. I'll keep my eye on them.  

How am I sleeping? I added another pillow to the mix last night. If we lived at home I'd probably have purchased a body pillow weeks ago, but apparently you don't really find them here. I think the regular one I used last night did help make my side sleeping more comfortable. Back sleeping/lying is getting to be really uncomfortable. Sometimes it makes it hard to breathe.   

Feeling anything in there? Only an aspiring gymnast.  

Aversions or cravings? I've been hungry this week. Or at the very least I've wanted to eat. But I don't think it got out of hand. I try to be aware of what I eat, how much of it, and when.  

What’s the gender? Boy.  

Any labor signs? Nope. 

How pregnant do I feel? Heartburn can strike at any time, regardless of what I eat. I take medicine for it most days now. And I'm almost always hot. It's been hotter this week than last and I feel every single degree. 

Still sporting my wedding rings? Yep!

I'm thinking I might postpone the next Wednesday Stork until after the new year (January 1st) as I can't imagine anyone will be interested in reading prego updates on Christmas :) On that note, enjoy the holidays and those you get to spend them with. May the implications of Christmas affect your mind and life all year; everyday is the day to consider what Christ has done. 

Merry Christmas! 

The Wednesday Stork: Week 24

This past weekend Todd and I celebrated our birthdays and I have just two words for you: birthday cake. If we hadn't had that sitting around (uh, it's gone now) for a few days, I think my total weight gain report for this week would be just a tad nicer.

Other than birthday festivities, it hasn't been very interesting around here. Todd spent the last several days recovering some cushions for the patio furniture our landlord is letting us use (on work days, it was his after hours pastime), and I have been crocheting up a small storm. But more on that later.

For now...

Weeks: 24  

Weight gain so far: Roughly 11.5 pounds. I know, too much birthday cake.   

Wearing maternity clothes? This is perhaps the most exciting bit of news I have: my new wardrobe is on its way! It may even be in the country as we speak! Hopefully I'll be able to give a resounding "yes!" to this question next week :)

Got any prego stretch marks? Thinking no, but I went ahead and purchased some BioOil last week. It wasn't nearly as expensive as I thought it would be and figured that it might just prove to be helpful. I'll let you know after everything's said and done.    

How am I sleeping? It's been nice lately (and by nice I mean cloudy/rainy which equals cool) which I think has played a big part in my sleeping well.   

Feeling anything in there? He had me nervous until yesterday when he finally started being active again. Seriously, there were like three days in a row where he didn't move much at all. Is that normal? No idea. 

Aversions or cravings? Nah, not really.  

What’s the gender? Boy.  

Any labor signs? Nope. 

How pregnant do I feel? Here's something new: towards the end of my walks my back has started to feel like I've been doing back bends, making me want to curl over my stomach. I guess it's just compensating for the front load I'm lugging around. I mean, I don't feel like I'm walking abnormally or leaning back ridiculously far, but whatever. 

Still sporting my wedding rings? Yep! 

We're missing the usual Christmas festivities that we're sure many of you are enjoying back in the States...our little Christmas tree is cute, but the lights are on the fritz. We've got one random strand that blinks arbitrarily and isn't actually a blinking strand. Oh well. Since only the two of us have to look at it, we've decided it's fine :) 

Till next week,

The Wednesday Stork: Week 23

There's no satisfying me. Last week I thought the picture was too understated, this week I think I look too big. I guess I'll never know which it really is...

But I'm not the only one who must think things are starting to become obvious. This Sunday at church someone jokingly told me that I needed to eat less, so if people are comfortable enough to insult me openly, I must be getting big ;)

Largeness aside, the week has been *largely* uneventful. I got back in the walking groove (heat and vacation mentality got in the way a while back) and hope I can keep that up more faithfully from here on out. But if it gets too hot...I'm not making any promises.

That said, here're the stats:

Weeks: NOW it's 23 :)  

Weight gain so far: No weight gain from last week (score!), which means I'm still hovering at just over 10 pounds. Can I maintain for one more week before lurching ahead again? Only time (and the scale) will tell...   

Wearing maternity clothes? This is becoming a sore subject because I'm not wearing maternity clothes and I certainly should be. My jeans which, until now, I was keeping on using the the hair tie trick, are no longer viable options (not that I want to wear them in this heat anyway). I wear elastic shorts most days and elastic skirts if I need to look "nice." The tops I have that are long enough to still be in the "it works" wardrobe are few...very few. 

Got any prego stretch marks? Still don't think so. Someone asked me this week what I was using for them and I confessed that I don't use a thing. I was under the impression that nothing can prevent them in they're going to happen so it seemed silly to buy anything special. Anyone else have thoughts on this?    

How am I sleeping? Pretty great! Though, I've found myself wanting to be on my back again lately. It's not terribly comfortable, but somehow still feels more sleepable than my side at times. 

What do I miss? Nothing too desperately.    

Feeling anything in there? Oh yeah. And the movements aren't just flickers anymore, though he's still fond of those. Now I get a lot of all-out movements, as in I think I'm feeling his body move as opposed to just a kick here and a jab there. It's cool but weird. And he's a bit more predictable than he used to be. Often after my early morning bathroom break, I can come back to bed and lay on my back and he'll be busy doing...whatever they're busy doing in there. 

Aversions or cravings? Nothing too overpowering.  

What’s the gender? Boy.  

Any labor signs? Nope. 

How pregnant do I feel? It's been a nice week. And by "nice week" I mean I haven't felt overly pregnant :) I was low energy last week but haven't had a single nap all this week so far! That's a big deal. 

Belly button status: Still in but I have a feeling that I'll have to revisit this in the next few weeks... 

Still sporting my wedding rings? Yep! 

That's it! See you at 24 :) 

Understanding Evangelism: Step 2

Apologies: I was supposed to have this up three weeks ago, and utterly failed. Forgive me?

If you need to recap the first part of this series on evangelism, or if you're just joining us, check out Step 1 here.  This is where we discussed the importance of understanding God's holiness; it's foundational in understanding why we need salvation in the first place.

Ok, so you've thought through God's holiness, and now it's time to consider what that means for us. The second step in our line up is:

The Sinfulness of Man

Here's something that was mentioned during our Sunday school lesson on this topic: as humans, we don't just do sinful things, we are sinful! It's part of our makeup as people, not something we avoid until we physically "do" our first sin. Psalm 51:5 says this:

"Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me." Psalm 51:5 (NIV 2011, Zondervan).

Romans 5 does a great job of explaining the inherited nature of sin. Look at verse 12:

"Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned"— Romans 5:12 (NIV 2011, Zondervan).

And if you need something a bit more personal, try Romans 3:23:

"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," Romans 3:23 (NIV 2011, Zondervan)

Or 1 John 1:18:

"If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us." 1 John 1:8 (NIV 2011, Zondervan).

No matter who you are, you're a sinner. It doesn't matter how or where you grew up, what kind of advantages you had or didn't have, or what you were taught. All are sinners. All have sinned.

And that's not even the worst part. We learned last week that God is holy and doesn't look on sin favorably. In fact, he punishes sin.

"For the wages of sin is death..." Romans 6:23a (NIV 2011, Zondervan).

Well...what can we do? We're sinners, no doubt about that, but how do we fix it? How do we appease a holy God?

Turns out, we can't.

"All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away." Isaiah 64:6 (NIV 2011, Zondervan).

This might sound poetic, but in reality it's our death sentence. Our best efforts at righteousness are as good as filthy rags before God. It would seem that as sinners, every action we do is sinful at its core. What hope do we have?

In the Old Testament, animal sacrifices were made to atone for sin, but at their best they only offered temporary satisfaction before a holy God. Sacrifices were repeated as necessary.

"It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins." Hebrews 10:4 (NIV 2011, Zondervan).

This eliminates the possibility of laying a dead cow before God today and hoping it will do the trick. His word has already told us it won't. So will anything? Is there anything righteous enough to get us out of this predicament?

Now it's time for some good news: yes!