Stewardship = Worship
There’s not much to update about right now except to say the last couple weeks have been really difficult for Eric, the kids, and me. Lydia has some terrible stomach virus or something directly related to her last two teeth coming through that is making her throw up regularly every morning in the early hours. I won’t go into her symptoms, but it is of course emotionally taxing to experience this suffering with her. I ask readers here who love and revere Jesus Christ to pray hard for a swift recovery for Lydia. In the meantime, I am not going to despair. I am going to praise God for who he is in this. After all, “a merry heart doeth good like a medicine!”
- I Praise God that she is only throwing up at night and able to keep some food down and digest it during the daytime.
- I Praise God that we are not traveling and can be at home where we are most comfortable.
- I Praise God for intelligent doctors and friends who can help.
- I Praise God that Eric is so strong and can get up and take care of Lydia when I can’t “stomach” it.
- I Praise God that this will make our whole family’s faith stronger.
- I Praise God that my nausea is starting to wane!
I know morning-sickness and the stomach flu are not “cancer,” but today I reflected on a recent “freshwords” article that Dr. John Piper wrote and distributed about glorifying God in times of serious illness (you may recall that he is being treated for prostate cancer). His main point is that if we are good stewards of our trials, not wasting them but receiving the most God intends for us through them, then we will glorify God much more. His article is entitled “Don’t Waste Your Cancer.” Read the insight below that he shared. I want to remember these points as we get through this difficult trial and love our Lord more and more:
(All of the formatting was lost when I copied and pasted it, so I will just link to it here for you to read.)
Thank you deeply for praying, and I will, as always, keep you updated!
PS – Yes, a new banner 
– in fact, a whole new look! Hope you like GREEN! haha! I tried, but I am still not sure about all the HTML (that’s the coding that makes your website look the way it does – you have to learn it and then go in and rewrite it to change it, and I started out learning it in college when I had nothing else to do at 1:00 am)! I am not obsessed, though Emily thinks I am . . . haha . . .
It is easy for me with to create these banners with my cheap-o software and pseudo-artsygraphical brain (yes, I made up that word – the beauty of writing) ! I decided after my 2nd or 3rd banner that I would make a new one for each new “season,” and Valentine’s month is over, so here I go changing it again. It’s so fun to pretend like you’re an artist. Maybe one day I’ll get a really nice camera and top-notch photo shop…. but probably not (having babies is kind of expensive)! Anyway, I hope you like it! And if anyone has any tips on making the spaces and dividers disappear between the banner and tables, leave a comment and I’ll appreciate it! Also, does anyone even care that I took the link out of my banner to go back to the home page? If so, speak up, and I’ll put it back. I just like the clean, black borders with the pretty green color, so I took the link out.
In everything satiety closely follows the greatest pleasures. ~Cicero
HAAAALELUJAH!
Something else that works for me:
SMUCKER’S NATURAL PEANUT BUTTER!
Praise God for peanut butter!
And this fabulous stuff is even GOOD for me!
Sing with Eric
This afternoon my husband recorded some “rough tracks” into his computer using Garage Band. For all of you non-Mac users, basically he plugs his guitars and mics into his computer and can record, mix, and edit songs. He sang a few that he arranged this afternoon, and I was really happy to hear how they turned out. He uploaded them free to a myspace site, and if you’d like to hear his sweet voice singing to his Savior, click here.
My favorites are “Come to the Savior” (click here to hear the traditional tune and read lyrics – quite different!) and “Rejoice,” which was recorded for an Upward Basketball cd in 2003. You have to click on the titles of the other songs if you want to listen to them, and you can download them. Here is what Eric says about his rough tracks:
“These songs are my attempts at making music. Come to the Savior, O Praise Him, and How Much I Owe are all old hymn text with some new music and melodies by me. Rejoice was recorded a few years back on a cd for Upward Basketball. It’s based on Philippians 4:4 and was an aid for kids to use as they memorized Scripture. It was lots of fun. All the songs except Rejoice were recorded with Apple’s GarageBand software. I played my Takamine Acoustic Guitar, Fender Strat, Fender Mustang Bass, and sang the vocals. Hope you enjoy it.”
A program like Garage Band is great for people like my husband who write songs or want inspiration for easily incorporating new music styles into corporate church worship. It has really gotten his juices flowing as he seeks to lead others to God’s throne in worship. Of course I love to hear my husband sing, and I love to sing along with him. Maybe we’ll “record” a few in our garage together and share them with you in the future
It’s not all in my head, folks.
After three weeks in “Morning-sickness-Land,” I am more than ready to pack my bags, say farewell, and move on to trimester two. It’s extremely difficult to refrain from whining about it (as Eric knows) because let’s face it, this throwing-up business is REAL. However I try to remember that things will change, and change for me usually has come around week 12 or 13 of pregnancy. I’m at week 9 right now, so the light is getting brighter at the end of the tunnel. Here are some of the things I have found for comfort:
1. Saltines – I know, they have no nutritional value and are made of totally enriched white flour, but they do the trick of getting my stomach to think there is something in there if I need immediate help before eating something substantial.
2. Lemons – Lemons, Lemon water, lemon popscicles, lemon slushies . . . Thank You, God, for lemons!
3. Stomping my feet while doing a disco-dance move – this is my classic “throwing up” position. I prefer to avoid all semblance of whimpiness and stand up to throw up if I have to…. Funny how I don’t scream during labor, but during morning-sickness trimester I am a loud, cowardly banshee! Lydia has been really disturbed by this. I pray that God erases all of her memories!
4. G
inger – Ginger herb capsules are GREAT! After having a fructose-high / anxiety attack recently, I realized I needed to steer clear of the Ginger Ale laden with sugar and go for the straight stuff. I haven’t had anything except water to drink for almost the last 4 years of my life, and I try not to eat much sugar, so downing several drinks of ginger ale put my body into a close-to-complete shock…. It was so scary, and I know it was from the drink I just had that contained 40 GRAMS OF SUGAR!!! Sorry, Buffalo Rock, I think I’ll stick with water from now on
5. Trail Mix – I have mixed nuts, dried fruit, and pretzels and kept baggies in my diaper bag and fridge for snacking .
6. Driving with the windows down – fresh air works wonders especially with some loud music playing I have lately gone to my favorite “driving spot” along the beach with the kids in the van for some fresh air. Plus, Lydia just thinks we’re going to get sea shells!
7. Kashi Heart-to-Heart cereal – It has a special place on our nightstand!
8. Candles – Lavender, fresh rain, lemon, and raspberry scents are particularly good at getting my mind off of other smells
9. Eric’s iPod – my husband has so many songs on his iPod that I just stick it in my back pocket, plug it into my ears and relax When I was pregnant with Lydia, all I wanted was classical music or Fernando Ortega. With Steven I listened to a lot of Sara Groves and Norah Jones. This time I’m craving Celtic, Phil Keaggy, and Bebo Norman. I realize a large number of women in this world don’t even have a choice when it comes to something like this, so I am thankful for this reason to live in a rich country where technology, art, and Christian music is at my fingertips.
10. Singing with Lydia – somehow my nausea goes away when we start silly songs
11. Eggs – Eric makes me some at night for extra protein and a boost.
12. Having a good, hard cry – again, the iPod helps with that. Any sweet song about lovers or God brings the tears flowin’!
Last but not least – meditating on the Gospel. “His power” is made perfect when we, His children, are weak. Someone who really helps me think through the hope of God’s Word during trials is Charles Spurgeon. Little pleas for help such as “Oh, Lord, please get me through this!” always help, too!
Now that I’ve made this list I feel like there should be no reason for me to still be nauseated! The reality is, though, those hormones are strong, and not keeping my stomach full just exacerbates the woosiness. You know, that reminds me that there are specific things that actually make morning-sickness worse for me. These things I try to avoid if I can: opening the fridge (eeew!), changing a poopy diaper, eating lots of dairy, cooking just about anything (I know, this is a very bad thing!), a hot or stuffy bathroom, hot or stuffy car, hot or stuffy bedroom, being in a crowded place surrounded by people, seeing food commercials or food billboards, getting a big whiff of baby formula, fast food, country music, walking into a public restroom, jumping up and running somewhere fast, sometimes sitting in church too long, and talking about morning-sickness (haha)!
Well, I know you must be extremely enlightened after reading that. Since I’m guessing mostly women read my blog, and some of you are cultured in this area . . . So ladies, any more tips that work for you? In the meantime, I’m trying to keep on truckin’ and planning on putting in my two-week notice in to the Nausea Dept. as soon as possible.
Something one of my friends said to me today in an email encouraged me:
“Being in Atlanta this weekend [for a bachelorette party ] made me appreciate my life as a wife and mother. I know we get tired of the demands of motherhood, but it truly is a blessing. I sat in a bar on Saturday night being shocked by the world around me and realized that my family is such a gift from God. It’s truly depressing to see the loneliness … Just so you know, we did not miss out on a thing by getting married and having babies in our youth. God was protecting us from a very dark and lonely world. The freedom we give up to have children is outweighed by all the love we receive in return…”
I thought that was a neat perspective, and I think she is right. Sometimes we get locked into our little “worlds” and forget how fortunate we are that God chose to bless little ‘ole us in such incredible ways. I know at least I do. These blessings shut our mouths and cause us never to boast in anything but Christ!!!
Nanny’s Child
After several weeks of delay, I am attempting to put together my thoughts for myself and for you concerning our Nanny who went to be with the Lord in December. I hope you got acquainted a bit with Papa, and now I trust you will enjoy personal memories or delight in an another’s recollection of this person we call “Nanny.”
The following passage from the Bible is worth reading before I share anything else with you:
Let love of the brethren continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it. Remember the prisoners, as though in prison with them, and those who are ill-treated, since you yourselves also are in the body. Marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled; for fornicators and adulterers God will judge. Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU,” so that we confidently say, “THE LORD IS MY HELPER, I WILL NOT BE AFRAID. WHAT WILL MAN DO TO ME?” (Hebrews 13)
I almost wept the first time I read this after Nanny’s death. You should know that she religiously embodied these instructions, perhaps without even realizing it at times. The reason wasn’t for self-actualization or vain glory; she simply wanted to follow her Lord. Life was pretty simple for Nanny.
She married very young, which wasn’t rare for women in her generation. Anyone who knows their history knows that she was reared through a youth of hard times, and change was definite. From everything she ever told me I gather that her life was a simplistic devotion to loving those she loved and working for what was right despite whatever came her way. Much wisdom was bound up behind her beautifully large eyes and much love within her big heart.
When Eric and I got married, I took an interest in quilting. The honest truth is I had no idea whatsoever that Nanny wa
s a “quilter extraordinaire.” After my parents bought me my first sewing machine and I spent a few months of digging my nose in fabrics and books, I came to Nanny and she deliberately took time to show me the basics. I don’t know what to say about Nanny and her crafts. S
he basically lived through the thousands of creations she made to give away to other people. She made things for so many years for people who would appreciate a kind, southern charm of hospitality. She made us a wedding quilt, made Lydia a baby quilt, and had just finished a quilt for Steven when she died. She was always working on a new project. The very last thing she did with her hands before she died was tuck her needle into a quilt. I suspect she’s working on something right now (oh, to behold such glorified art)! I wish she could have seen the first quilts I made here in Florida because there is part of her in them, too. I believe true heirlooms have their lasting value when the loved one’s heart is wrapped up in them, and I know anyone who ever received any gift from Nanny cherishes the love that helped her make it.
Nanny was always doing something for someone. Idle would never be a word to describe any part of her being. She has probably befriended Martha in heaven, and I bet they are already the best of friends. From the moment she arose each day until she went to sleep, she was doing, and usually it was fulfilling some challenge to help another person. She had her prior
ities, and they were apparent to everyone close to her. First was her husband, then her children and extended family, and next was her church. That was a funny word for 
Nanny: church. You see, the church was anyone near her with the potential for being loved, for being helped. (I guess it should be that for us all.) Her love took different forms according to other people’s needs, but she would not turn anyone away. Everyone was welcomed into her home. Unlike some of us, Nanny was never scared to help someone. Personally Nanny’s help to me often looked like a diaper change for one of our babies and a plate of food with a particularly heavy portion of fried okra. Oh, how I loved her okra (and no, it wasn’t because it was healthy)! I cry because I’ll miss it and also because I’ll never find anyone who even comes close to duplicating her way of preparing it. When I walked through her kitchen, she always smiled
and hugged me, usually wiping her eyes because her heart ached that we recently moved away from our town and didn’t see her as much. The greetings, however, usually didn’t last but a second. There was too much work to do. “Gimme that baby,” she’d say to us, in her sweet but bossy kind of way. If you didn’t hand over the baby right away, you’d get a look from her like, “What are you doing? Don’t you know help when you see it?!” (Everyone knows she was pretending like she wanted to help us with the babies, and honestly she just wanted to steal them away to attack them with hugs and kisses!) Sometimes she would just pat me on the back and say, “Go eat.” What could I do except do what she asked?! She was this way up until the hours of her departure from this earth. My pregnant sister-in-law Amanda went by the house to check on Papa and Nanny the day they died because the power was out in the region due to an ice storm and because everyone knew they had not been feeling well lately. Nanny assured her that they were doing just fine and cooked up some pork chops and beans on her heater and served them right there in the dark. Amazing.
Eric and I were serving in a college ministry after we were married, but we couldn’t move into our apartment until two months after the wedding. We got back from our honeymoon and moved into the “Little House,” the place behind Papa and Nanny’s house on their property. I think we were the third or fourth newlywed couple in the family to stay in that little one bedroom, one bath house with a kitchen. It used to be Nanny’s beauty shop, and Eric and I had our share of fun and funny memories living in there. We even invited all of our friends over a few times, and Papa and Nanny never complained about all of 
the cars. One of our first arguments consisted of me whining about how I was offended that Nanny came in and tidied up, folded and ironed our clothes, and put ketchup and mustard in the fridge for us while we were gone. I complained, “But honey, I’m your wife! Doesn’t she comprehend that I am capable, and I’m the one who needs to fold your underwear?” Eric gently hugged me, smiled, and said, “Yes. Honey, she’s Nanny. Just let her be Nanny.” And so I did, and from that point on I just chuckled every time his boxer shorts wound up on the foot of our bed, neatly pressed and stacked. I was just another child for her to love by serving, and truly any person we brought into her home was another child to her. I’m running my point in the ground, but our family knows I’m not exaggerating. She was a servant. You came first, and she came last. Always. There was nothing unfamiliar about sacrifice to her.
Everyone loved to hear Nanny’s laugh. It was like a waterfall with big, hearty bubbles springing at the bottom. She literally sprayed her glasses with her gushing tears when she laughed, and my husband loves to talk of Nanny “wiping her eyes” with a Kleenex every time someone said something funny. She kept a Kleenex in her pocket always, and I bet Papa made her laugh so many times that we never saw when they were alone. If Papa picked on her or made her laugh, she would walk past him and say, “GeORGE!” and we would all burst out laughing. They were adorable to watch and to love.
I have many more memories of Nanny that I can’t begin to record. I know I’m not alone. The most significant attributes of her character, however, will remain ingrained in my mind. You were loved by Nanny simply because you were a person made in the image of God. You were a child to her because you had a soul and the need to be loved. On the day Nanny was killed, the devotion book Journey for Women set clearly opened on the kitchen table. It was by no coincidence turned to these words following a missionary’s story of being held a
t gun point and having her faith tested: Jesus, I am going to die now. Am I ready to go and be with you? The next paragraph began, “Are you ready? If you found yourself in a potentially deadly situation, would you feel prepared to die?” I believe Nanny answered that question in her heart that morning with affirmation. I have pondered her disturbing and horrible death many times, and the way I have decided to remember Nanny’s death is only fitting for her. She died serving her firstborn child, protecting her, and sacrificing for her the most valuable possession she had to give: her very life. Nothing and no one was going to stop her from fulfilling her act of duty. There are crowns in heaven for these types of servants, and I know Jesus was ready to bring her in to receive his glory. “For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:17,18). I am convinced that finally now Nanny is resting in the arms of her Father, and for a change, she has been served by the sweet orders of the King of Kings at the ultimate Feast. She is being told to sit down, to “go eat,” and boy, I bet the okra is good.
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