Revival is Good!

Part of why I haven't had a chance to blog as much is because of all the things we have had on our schedule.  One of which included a 7 day Revival at our church.  I'll make this more brief than it really could be (ie...see last post!) It was a few weeks ago, but nonetheless one of the best weeks of our lives! We made the commitment to attend as many of the services as possible and by the end of the week were all 3 exhausted and sick since Nora was in the nursery (with lots of germ carriers!).  The services were on a variety of topics including, but not all, roles of husband and wife, forgiveness, parenting, trusting in the Lord, etc. 

Besides the great fellowship of many of our friends, new friends, and other church members we learned a lot about each other and what we were and were not doing to fulfill our God given roles.  Fast forward to the end of the Revival when people are sharing their testimonies....the visiting Pastor was inviting people to share, in front of the whole church congregation 700+ people, and mentioned that one way to know if God is working in you to share is that your heart will be beating faster than normal. 

That was it, convicted on the spot & then he throws out that there is no such thing as delayed obedience. You either do it when you are called to or you are being disobedient-double convicted! So I sat and deliberated on whether or not I had the courage to get up in front of the whole church to share-thinking there is no way I'm sharing! Little did I know in 5 minutes I was convicted of 3 huge things: not wanting to share how God has worked in my life in front of the whole church, being obedient & being prideful.  So, I started to take notes on a scrap piece of paper and 5 minutes after (as the Pastor was still calling people to share) I saw Jake starting to take notes...at that moment I knew we could do it together.  I didn't feel comfortable going by myself, but if he was going with me I was OK with it! So, we walked down from our seats in the balcony and waited for our turn. 

Sobbing as the brokenness had gotten to both of us, we shared how the Revival had worked and changed our perspective & lives...in front of the whole church.  Not as bad as I thought it was going to be & we both felt much better after.  We are forever grateful for the Life Action Ministries Revival team that helped us to get on track in all aspects of our lives.  If the chance arises, don't let it pass you up-it just might be one of the best things that could ever happen to you too!

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.  Matthew 5:6

Later after the service it hit me when I was introducing Jake to one of the moms from the moms & tots group at church that I didn't actually have to introduce him-we had already done that earlier. 

We Made It!

We were successful in our 2nd attempt to make it to church yesterday. We weren't on time, but we made it. Nora was ready to eat right as we were walking out the door...so we decided to pull her out of her car seat and let her nurse for a while so I wouldn't have to do it right when we got there. Turns out we were only 10 minutes late and only missed 1 worship song. She was quietly awake during most of the service and then drifted off asleep about 15 minutes before it was over. When we went to LifeGroup after church-she was ready to nurse again, so I missed most of it, but Jake was able to stay and give me the 411 on what was discussed.

We were also able to go to Jake's Aunts' 50th birthday lunch at El Rodeo-where Nora had her 2nd meal out away from home-her first came at Babies R Us last Wednesday. She is such a big girl & I'm getting used to nursing her outside of the house-it's a good thing because cabin fever had set in!

After lunch at El Rodeo we went back to Babies R Us to buy a 3 wheel jogging stroller. We've taken several walks outside with our travel system stroller (with plastic wheels) and have found them already wearing down. With as much as we walk around during the summer it was worth investing in a jogger...& I'll get to jog with her since our gym membership is up on April 17th. Sad...because I was pregnant most of the year we had the membership & didn't use it as much as I would have liked to, but it was nice when I did.

After 3 weeks, I'm finally becoming more confident in venturing out by myself with Nora. Today we went to Lowe's and to the Rec Center to walk around. The stinky part was it was raining. It tested my speed of getting the stroller out of the car and open ready for the car seat, diaper bag, and anything else I had with me. I got wet, but we made it in and out just fine!

Right now she's sleeping sound on her tummy next to me on the couch for the second time today-she likes tummy sleep time, but not tummy play time (don't worry I'm always right beside her when shes on her tummy!)

2nd Attempt

Tomorrow we will be making our second attempt to get to church in 4 weeks. Last week we went to bed early, but had a long night with lots of interrupted sleep and in the morning neither one of us made a move until 8:45 am. Church starts at 9:30 am and it takes 20 minutes to get there....with out a baby we could have made it just in time, but not even a chance with a 2 week old-so we stayed home and took advantage of the extra sleep. It's a good thing we didn't try because at 9:37 am I was nursing her-which would have been right at the start of the service. We are praying things go smoother tomorrow so that we can make it to and on time because we are ready to get back in the Sunday routine. I'll let you know how it goes!

Notes from Church

A successful family life is all about building Biblical relationships. Know that men and women have 5 different basic needs, see below!

Women:

1. Affection

2. Conversation

3. Honesty & openness

4. Financial support

5. Family committment

Men:

1. Sexual fulfillment

2. Recreational companionship

3. Attractive spouse

4. Domestic support

5. Admiration

Words of wisdom:

"A spirit-filled husband will naturally respond to a respectful spirit-filled wife"
(Ephesians 5:21-24)

"A spirit-filled wife will naturally respond to a loving
spirit-filled husband"
(Ephesians 5:25-30)

"Spirit-filled children will naturally respond to nurturing
spirit-filled parents"
(Ephesians 6:1-4)

Great service, the pastor is awesome! This afternoon our new church friends picked us up from our apartment and we headed to Greenwood where the husbands from our newly married Sunday school class play flag football. They invited Jake to play with them, and the wives usually just watch on the sidelines. They did not win their game, but Jake had a great time re-living his football days even though it was flag football! Next week will be their last game unless they win because its tourney time. But, in a couple weeks basketball at the church will start up and I think Jake will enjoy playing in that league with the guys he has met so far. We are so blessed and thankful for the new friends that the Lord has brough into our lives!