"My beloved is unto me as a bundle of myrrh." Song of Solomon 1:13
July 10th, 2014 by Aubri
Mercy turned 8 months old on Saturday.
Month #7 was a big one for her. A tooth broke through, she started saying MaMa Dada and she can roll all over the room now…and down the hall.
And since she’s sleeping so well at night, she was promoted to the nursery. She doesn’t have to sleep in the horrible living room anymore! Look, she can hardly believe it!
July 8th, 2014 by Aubri
I asked if anyone would be willing to discuss a topic that isn’t easy and share the story of their fertility journey. I have had a very good response from many of you and I’m honored to present the stories that have graciously been provided by some wonderful women.
In this series women with different experiences will share the pain and blessings that the gift of fertility carries with it, in the hope of bringing out God’s grace and promise to those couples struggling to welcome this gift when it is not known how it will turn out in a sinful world.
Whether the result be a healthy child, a child who goes almost immediately to be with Christ, or there is no gift of life, all women of child-bearing age wrestle with this cross and the unforeseen works of God that are to come.
While we might envy God’s work in another woman or couple, Christ alone designs the cross appropriately for each. To desire to please God in this sinful world will entail suffering. But there is comfort in knowing we are not alone. There is value in hearing each other stories, that while our paths are different, it is still a struggle of faith, which all God’s children share.
And it is a great comfort to know that God’s love is not found in how many children we are given or have taken from us, but in the saving sacrifice of Christ on the cross and in His glorious resurrection.
This is Ewe’s story.
Looking back a few generations, my grandma came from a family with 3 sisters and a boy that came to live with them before the days of official adoptions. After 10 years of marriage God opened my grandma’s womb and she had 4 children in 4 years and then her womb was closed. I thought her family was perfect because she had 2 boys and then 2 girls so everyone had someone their age to play with. I can’t imagine how busy she was with 4 young children before the days of washers and dishwashers. Two of my grandma’s sisters had children when they were in their mid 40s, but my grandma had her last at age 36.
My parents waited 4 years of marriage before they had me. Then they waited 7 more years before being blessed with my sister when my mom was 38. My parents had some friends that were Roman Catholic and had several children. Once when we visited them I said, “They ought not have so many children.” My mom stopped me then and told me children were a blessing. My parents would have loved to have more children if God would have granted them. I knew my mom was against the pill for health reasons and I grew up knowing I would never use it.
July 7th, 2014 by Aubri
If you grew up in Austin you would most likely have spent some time at Zilker Park. I remember coming here in elementary school for picnics during school field trips. I came here in college to play ultimate football, lay in the grass to try to read T.S. Elliot and swim in the cold natural spring pool. Now I came with my own babies.
And surreal was the word that came to mind.
July 7th, 2014 by Phil
I’m turning this post over to Phil.
I caught a large shark, which was my goal. It could be a Sandbar, which is a protected species, but I’m not sure. It is really hard to tell the different types of sharks apart. It was close to 40 pounds, about the weight of our oldest children. It is a lot shorter and fatter than the previous bull sharks I have caught. I really did see the top fin first. It was great to hear the gasps of people watching me fight this fish when they realized it was a shark. It was around noon and the Surfside Jetty gets a fair amount of tourist traffic walking on it. So after 25 minutes of fighting it, there was a crowd, including some kind fisherman who helped me land it.
