My heart is eager to know...

...what is feels like to hold that sweet little boy that we've waited so long for!

This week's scripture pretty much sums it all up:

"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived, what GOD has prepared for those who love HIM!"

1 Corinthians 2:9

That's how it feels waiting for our little prince to arrive...there is no way to describe it. I can imagine that until we actually hold him, it's just not going to seem real. We are so excited!

Spiritual gifts...

Last night was one of those nights...I wasn't feeling well, again. Which don't get me wrong, at this point in pregnancy isn't rare and I am used to it somewhat and I certainly am willing to deal with it since I know the prize is soon to be arriving! Have I mentioned I'm thrilled to hold that little prince in my arms?! I'm bursting...anyway, that's besides the point. What I was getting to is that I've come to the realization over the last few years that I'm so not good at some things that other Christians are....as in ministering through words. My honey on the other hand...he can debate up a storm and encourage and when he does he sounds so intelligent, he has this patience that is way beyond what I could have when discussing religion, faith, etc. Me, I sound like a babbling idiot....and then eventually get so frustrated, not only with myself but the other person....that mostly I choose to avoid the situation. I've had to stop trying so hard to minister through words because I think I make things worse when I use words! I have in the past gotten very frustrated with myself over this...HOWEVER... last night reading my bible, it did click that I'm not a completely hopeless case...I just have a different way of ministering.

"Just as each of us has a body with many members and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is SERVING, let him serve, if it is teaching, let him teach, if it is encouraging, let him encourage..." Romans 12:4-8

Notice SERVING is capitalized. I think that is my gift. I love to do things for others. In fact, I wish I had the energy and means to do it more. I love to give gifts, I love to make meals for others and care for them when they are ill....make them feel better through my actions...if that makes sense. Words, they fail me everytime. No matter how well-intentioned they are.

Ah...getting older and slightly wiser....or at least I hope so! ;P
Happy Wednesday!

I have fought the good fight...

I love this verse, I hope to someday be able to say this to my children...

2 Timothy 4:7-8

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the LORD, the righteous judge will award to me on that day-and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing."

After a long week, not a bad week necessarily...just a long one, I'm most definitely in that last-few-weeks-of-pregnancy, unintentionally-cranky-at-times, achy and uncomfortable, anxious-like-you-wouldn't-believe, can't-seem-to-sit-still, kind of mood. Let me also say....being 9+ months pregnant, pretty much full term and going through classes, be it online or otherwise, is not wise...sometimes necessary (as is in my case) but not exactly wise. I've been a mess. Between Finals and getting the regular school work done I've been ready to lose it at times. All I want to focus on is the impending arrival of my son, not Micro-Economics...needless to say, even after studying I did quite poorly on my Final Exam! Argh! The worst grade I've gotten yet, and I'll be lucky to make it out of the class with a B.
Anyway, I was getting to a point. Being stressed out often makes me very impatient and a little hot tempered (I let the German/Italian feisty gal come out a little too much)...and that is something that I don't want to do. I don't want my babies to see me get so upset over silly things that I shouldn't let get to me in that way. I want to be consistently patient and gentle...I want them to see me "fight the good fight", to watch me "keep the faith" and also to "finish the race" with class, dignity and honor, even in times of stress. We learn more by example than words could EVER teach us...and therefore I need to get this down!

The spirit intercedes for the Saints...

"...the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit because the Spirit intercedes for the Saints in accordance with GOD's will." Romans 8:26-27

A little hope...and a lot of love...

With all the heartbreaking stories about friends/fellow bloggers and their babies I've been doing a lot of praying! I can only imagine what these ladies are going through. Losing babies, very premature babies, and babies who will be facing some really tough beginnings with surgeries and recovery time. It breaks my heart, because you never imagine such a happy experience becoming such a stressful and complicated experience! These ladies have held up so well and truth be told I don't think a single one of us would blame them for falling apart now and again. I feel like I would! I trust in GOD's perfect plan, I know he has it all under control, but the flesh does get very weak! Anyway, the point in all this is...we're praying for you girls :) Much Love!

"For where two or three come together in my name, there I am with them"
Matthew 18:20

Sunday Scriptures...

Dear Baby boy...

Our prayer for your life:

Matthew 5:14-16

"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and hide it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men that they may see your good deeds and praise your father in heaven!"

Love,
Mommy and Daddy

Sunday Scriptures...

Today in Church we started a new topic called "Heading Home", by Pastor Todd. It's a study about Phlilipians. I love our Church! Our Pastors are amazing godly men that somehow manage to deliver a powerful message that feels very personal week after week! When we switched churches at the very beginning of this year I was very nervous about the whole idea...for many reasons. Mostly I just tend to feel uncomfortable meeting new people. I tend to be very shy at first...anyway, it's a larger church than I am used to, and we've had kind of a crazy schedule and many days of morning sickness over the last 7 months so actually meeting and getting to know people has been a rather slow process, but we've both felt more at peace at this church than any of the others before. We actually feel spiritually fed which is something we hadn't really felt in a while.

Anyway, what I was getting at was that as always, Pastor Todd's message was very on topic with where Josh and I are in our lives right now.
One of the verses he brought up was Philipians 1:27 "Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven"....in other words, we need to stand out from the crowd. We should behave in a way that shines a bright light in a dark world. (Not exactly always an easy task when you feel Satan trying to beat you down with one challenge after the next, but never the less it is our calling). This world is not our home and we should always stay focused on eternity and behave accordingly.

Some of the other points he made:

Philipians 1:6
" GOD, who began a good work in you will continue HIS work until it is completed"
***However spiritual growth doesn't just happen, you have to be intentional about it. You have to put forth a good effort in growing spiritually...know what truly matters in life and focus on those things***

You were made for eternity!
"So we fix our eyes not on what is seen but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal" 2 Cor 4:18


He closed with this quote:
"It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this one" CS Lewis


I hope that everyone had a blessed weekend! Ours was rather busy and in some ways frustrating, (poor Josh is going through a lot at work and feels pretty discouraged and stressed out. His truck unfortunately needed a lot of work when we took it in for routine things...costing us way more than we were ready to spend, I have a big test tomorrow that I feel nowhere near ready to take....the kitties are headed to the Vet next Saturday for their annual appts which usually ends up costing a fortune....and the following week we need to try and take the car in for new tires and breaks as well....among other things! My prayer is that we both make it through the next couple of weeks and not get discouraged. Staying focused on the important things! :)

If you have a chance this week, stop by this blog www.our-journey-to-parenthood.blogspot.com/ and pray for this couple. They had to deliver their little baby boy at 27 weeks due to some complications. You may have noticed the little button on my blog...I'm sure they'd appreciate all the support and prayers they can get!
Have a wonderful week and if my comments and blog entries are still a bit sporatic or non-existent I'm sorry...we've got a lot going on right now. I'll do my best to keep in touch! :) Much love!

Sunday Scriptures....

Wisdom:

I have been spending a lot of time in proverbs, particularly searching for advice on wisdom. I am by nature a very emotional person and in the past have often made rash decisions based on emotions rather than patience and wisdom. Often it's those decisions we look back on and think "Why did I do that? If only I had...." Thank GOD he's never let any true harm come our way, but I definitely want to educate myself better in this area so that when baby Jaden gets here I can set a good example for him. Hopefully he'll avoid making his parents mistakes.

So here's what I found yesterday....I found many more in the last several days/weeks, but I figured I go ahead and just share a few.

"...wisdom is more precious than rubies" Proverbs 8:11

"the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom" Proverbs 9:10

"a fool finds pleasure in evil conduct, but a man of understanding delights in wisdom" Proverbs 10:23

"wisdom calls aloud in the street, she raises her voice in the public squares; at the head of the noisy streets she cries out in the gateways of the city she makes her speech" Proverbs 1:20-21

(this one is my favorite because it says to me that wisdom already is a part of us....we just have to quiet all of the noise of the world to discern what she is trying to tell us!)

Happy Sunday and happy 4th of July! I pray it's a great day for you and your families.

Love,

Nadine

Sunday Scriptures....

"...those who seek the LORD lack no good thing." Ps 34:10

"GOD always gives HIS very best to those who leave the choice with HIM."

James Hudson Taylor

I hope you all had a beautiful day with your families! :0)

Much love!

Sunday Scriptures...

Psalm 147:1

"Praise the LORD. How good is it to sing praises to our GOD, how pleasant and fitting to praise HIM!"

I've been reading through pslams lately and I've enjoyed it so much! It leaves me inspired and refreshed and that's often what we need so much on a daily basis when life gets crazy! Hope you all have a blessed week!

Sunday Scriptures...a little late.

Psalm 103:1-5

"Praise the LORD all my soul; all my inmost being, praise HIS holy name. Praise the LORD o my soul, and forget not all his benefits-who forgives all sins and heals diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things."

This one is dedicated to little Ewan and Cohen who are going and will be going through some tough health issues. I'm praying for you sweet babies and for the parents who are having to be so strong through this process!

GOD is good and through HIM alone miracles can and do happen!

Sunday Scriptures...

"Fear GOD and keep HIS commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For GOD will bring every deed into judgement, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil."

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14

Sunday Scripture...

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." Matthew 6:34

Scriptures....

Here are some of the scriptures of my week that spoke to my heart....

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness" 2 Cor 12:9

"But when He, the holy spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth. He will tell you what is to come" John 16:13

"Now the LORD is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the LORD is, there is freedom" 2 Cor 3:17


Just a little bit of inspiration for the week...Hope you all had a wonderful Monday!!!

Hope...

"Hope does not disappoint because the love of GOD has been poured out in our hearts by the holy spirit who was given to us!"

Romans 5:5

Scriptures...

Luke 16:10

"Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much."


This is one of those verses that makes me try harder to be a good steward with what GOD has entrusted to me. It's not always an easy task...but I am determined to get better at it with each passing year. I'm definitely still figuring out what works for us and what doesn't but even any mistakes we make along the way are an opportunity to learn and do better the next time.

Happy Sunday!

Sunday Scriptures....

Happy Easter to all my blogging friends!!! I hope this day was filled with joy and loved ones!

"This is what is written: The CHRIST will suffer and RISE FROM THE DEAD on the third day and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in HIS name to all nations!"
Luke 24:45-47

Thank GOD for all he's done for us, for sending HIS precious son to us! Thank CHRIST for paying our debts so that we could be in good standing with the FATHER of all men!

While the cute little bunnies, and chicks, and eggs and all that goes along with Easter and spring is so much fun, may the true meaning of this day never be forgotten!

No clever title for this one...

This post will be a mish mash of everything I suppose since it's been a little while since I've gotten on here.

I wanted to start with my "Sunday Scriptures" which somehow I always remember to think of and always forget to post until Monday....perhaps I should think about changing the title to "Monday Scriptures" ;0)

Luke 1:25
"The LORD has done this for me", she said, "In these days HE has shown HIS favor and taken away my disgrace among the people".

Most of you are probably very familiar with this part of Luke...for those who may not be....Elizabeth who was barren and getting up there in age, finally found out that she was with child (this child was John the Baptist...a great man in the bible who later lost his life because he stood up for what he believed in).

Anyway, the reason this one spoke to me so loudly this week is because (even though I'm not exactly getting up there in age) I wasn't sure if I would ever be able to have children of my own, at least not biologically. I had been praying about it for a very long time. Even when Josh and I first were married (and even prior to marriage) we had always talked about having children. We tried off and on for seven years and nothing ever happened. Part of me looking back is thankful for the time we had as just the two of us and realizes that there was definitely growth still required (spiritually) before taking on parenting....the biggest, most important job you'll ever have. As a Christian it becomes an even more challenging job because it's you against the world trying to teach that child what is right and what is wrong. To show that child Jesus in a world that would rather party hard now than to be bothered with religion. The reality of it has always weighed heavy on my heart but now that I'm pregnant it is so much more real and scary.


On to the next topic....I couldn't get an appointment to get an "official" pregnancy test until April 14th! Ah! Really?! I believe I'll be 10 weeks by then, lol! At least by the time they do the first Doctors visit they might as well do an ultrasound too, right?! I assume that'll be another two weeks later....
I am trying to be patient, it's just nerve wrecking....part of me wants to go run out and buy a test every day to make sure all is well, lol. I hope that crazy nervouseness subsides with subsequent pregnancies.


Some of you may have noticed the little pregnancy ticker at the top of the page....it says 8 weeks, not 6. For the life of me I couldn't figure out why it kept adding extra time to my pregnancy when I entered the info.... I guess I was calculating it up incorrectly. According to the book "What to expect when you're expecting" you add two weeks onto the time (counting from conception to now plus two weeks). Why they do it that way I don't know....but hey that gets me 2 weeks closer to being out of that first trimester! ;0)

Oh yeah...I almost forgot....lol. Remember when I was so sick that weekend? Thought I had the stomach bug? Yeah....that wasn't a stomach bug...it was a baby bug! Apparently I was already 4 weeks pregnant. It explains a lot. I couldn't figure out why I got sick so and Josh didn't and why the sight and smell and thought of a vanilla cake with home made buttercream frosting made me lose my dinner!!! Hahaha...jokes on me ;0)

My sister in law stopped by Friday and gave us some gifts! Very thoughtful and helpful. She gave us "What to expect when you're expecting", A Pregnancy journal, and a teddy bear and a couple of little clothing pieces! The book and journal are so helpful! It has explained a lot of things that were stressing me out a little. This little one is already very loved! My mom and sister are beyond excited too! ;0)

Other than that, I've pretty much been parked on the couch, napping and resting. In between I'll do chores....very slowly....and once I do one thing I feel like I need a nap all over again. I've been trying to get on here now and then to at least see what you guys are up too, I haven't been that great at commenting but I'll get back to it soon. Once things settle down again. The last few days I've been pretty nauseous so I have been even less eager to go and blog...

I hope that you are all doing well!

Scripture...

"This is the confidence we have in approaching GOD: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us-whatever we ask-we know that we have what we asked of him"

1 John 5:14 and 15


I love this verse. It actually goes well with one of Beth Moore's teachings I watched recently. It was about how we do not have because we do not ask with the faith in GOD that he will provide. Obviously GOD isn't going to give us certain things because they may not be what is best for our life at that point in time...but he would never purposely deprive us of anything. Let's face it, most of the time we think we know what we want and we want it soooo badly and truly believe it's what's best for us but when we get it (if we do...) it ends up being anything but all the greatness we thought it would be. Just like any parent would deny their child of something that would harm them or hinder their progress in establishing good character....GOD does the same for us. This is something that I have to remind myself of on a daily basis...."I see the now and the past....GOD sees the now, the past and the future...only he truly knows what I want and need".

So great to know that even though I may have no idea....GOD does. Takes a lot of pressure off of myself (pressure that I myself have placed on myself).

:0)

Sunday scriptures....very late....

"Who of you by worrying can add a single our to his life?"

Luke 12:25

"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also"

Luke 12:34

"A wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands but the foolish one tears hers down"

Proverbs 14:1

"Better a poor man whose walk is blameless than a fool whose lips are perverse"

Proverbs 19:1

These are some of the scriptures that I've been focusing on lately...I hope they speak to you all as much as they have to me.

Sorry they're so late....