A Modern Story: Deuteronomy

In my daily Bible reading, I was studying the early books of the Old Testament and, once again, found myself rolling my eyes at the disobedient Israelites. In fact, in Deuteronomy, I found myself getting generally annoyed at the fickle nation. Over many chapters, God tells the Israelites that if they obey the statutes of the LORD and make Him God in their lives, He will bless them abundantly through peace, fertile land, many children, health, etc. On the other hand, He reminds them that if they forsake Him and disobey His commands, He will bring them into slavery, they will be barren, they will lose their homes, and disease will strike them. The two promises are made repeatedly again and again.

We all know how the story ends. Over the years, the Israelites forget the God who has done so much for them, worship idols, and they are taken into captivity and suffer over and over again. In fact, there is a continual pattern of sin, repentance, restoration, sin, repentance, restoration, etc. all throughout the Old Testament, especially in the book of Judges.

I read Deuteronomy, and I couldn't believe the Israelites would even entertain ideas of idolatry and disobedience when God has promised them such extreme results from their actions. However, I started thinking and realized that this is our world story today.

When Christ came to earth as a man, He offered the world two choices. First, He says to repent, have faith in His work for our sins, and submit to Him as LORD. If we do so, we are promised to be His and stand before God blameless and holy one day--all on account of Christ. We will receive an eternity with God in Heaven. On the other hand, if we reject Christ, do not submit to Him as LORD and do not repent, we are promised Hell and an eternity of separation from God. The stakes are high--even higher than the promises God gave the Israelites.

Despite these clear promises of eternal blessing or damnation, people choose, as the Israelites did, to reject God. Does the fact that I am a follower of Christ make me smarter than others? Definitely not. The Bible tells us that we are all SLAVES to sin, and we cannot even make the attempt to choose God and obedience because we are so stuck in our depravity. However, God is merciful and calls some to Him. He softens our hearts and works in us so that we choose to repent and submit to Him.

The Israelites are merely our early history mirror of how we, despite the certainty of God's reaction to our actions and decisions, cannot choose obedience without His intervention. We are utterly wretched without Him. We are all the Israelite nation--conforming to the world, putting idols in our hearts, and forgetting God's faithfulness--until God comes to us and calls us to Him.

I now look at the pages concerning the Israelites with a lot more mercy and humility than before. I also am renewed in my thankfulness to my Heavenly Father for saving me from the promise of Hell and replacing it with an eternity in His presence.

Deuteronomy 30:15-20

"See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.

But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess.

This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life . . ."

Carter is Three!

I can't believe it, but Carter is three. Here are some of the things Carter likes, says, does, etc. at this fun age!

--He likes to rhyme words together. ("Mommy, tall and small rhyme!")

--He likes to read books he has memorized to mommy and daddy. (Go, Dog, Go!)

--He loves parks.

--He still loves to play with friends (anyone who is a kid).

--He loves roller coasters (Matterhorn is his favorite ride at Disneyland).

--He likes bounce houses.

--He still hates to eat anything healthy (and even some unhealthy foods).

--His favorite food is cake.

--He likes to read the Bible stories in his Bible with us at night.

--He thinks Wow! Wow! Wubzy is the best TV show ever.

--He loves to be outside.

--He still can't do "W", "L" or "R" blends well. He calls Swirls Yogurt, "Squirrels."

--He can sing the books of the New Testament.

--He likes the Old Testament books song because it has Micah's name in it. He calls it Micah's song.

--He thinks hotels are fun.

--He still sucks his thumb when he is falling asleep and loves his ga-ga's (blankets).

--He is finally daytime potty trained. (I had 2 weeks of no diapers until the baby was born).

--He says, "Why" or "What" a million times a day.

--He knows all his letters and likes to sight read words like "stop."

--He loves to share.

--He still struggles with self control.

--He is a great big brother.

--He says, "Mommy" or "Daddy, I love you" when he does something naughty--sometimes just because.

--He hates brushing his teeth.

--He loves bathtime (except the washing his hair part).

--He still screams when his hair is being cut.

--He is still my little boy (always!), and I love him so much!

Micah is one month old

Precious Micah

Well, Micah's here! I thought I'd update everyone on the birth and following week of Micah James.

On the morning of March 8th, Ryan and I got to the hospital and were quickly induced to have our baby that day. When I walked in the doors, the nurses were all taking bets to see if the baby would hit the 10 pound mark--they were amazed at my tummy. Everything went SO smoothly. By 1:00, I was dilated 9 and 1/2 and almost fully effaced. I couldn't believe how quickly everything was going, and, since I took my epidural early, I was really not having very much pain.

However, by 4:00, nurses and my doctor started saying little comments about "ifs" and "we'll sees". You see, the baby's head wasn't coming down at all, and I had been nearly or completely dilated for hours now. Finally, my doctor came in to tell me that the baby's head was trying to drop but just couldn't. The attempts were actually causing trauma and swelling my cervix back shut again. She would give me one more hour to see what happened, but she was putting me on the wait for the surgery room. Well, an hour later, I was tired, the baby was starting to show irregular heartbeats from stress, and my cervix was even more swollen. It was clear I had to have a C-section. Since we thought Micah was huge, I had kept this option in the back of my mind as a real possibility, so I wasn't tremendously discouraged.

The C-section was at 6:30 that evening. Unfortunately, the actual surgery was rough on me. I got extremely nauseated and ended up vomiting multiple times all over myself and the table. Afterward, I was uncontrollably shaking from the medicine and still had potosin contractions happening. It was painful! Once the morphine kicked in, I was much happier, and, due to the grogginess caused by the medicine, the bad parts are all a bit of a blur.

Micah arrived and surprised everyone--doctors and nurses included--by only weighing 8 pounds, 6 ounces. They also realized he wasn't coming down in labor because he was "sunny side up"--facing the wrong way--and sitting in a very difficult position.

Micah is such a blessing! He is a mellow guy, rarely crying or fussing, and, from the beginning, he has been very alert. The nurses all said he was their favorite baby while we were staying in the hospital.

We were at the hospital Sunday through Thursday morning, and we were all happy to be able to be home as a family. Carter has been such a loving big brother to Micah. The night Micah was born, Carter tried to offer Micah a french fry--a true present of love in Carter's eyes. There have been small glimpses of jealousy, and we have had a surge of fits and misbehavior this week, but, overall, Carter has been a trooper.

Enjoy the pictures we have taken this week. If you are on Facebook, you have seen all or most of these, but I certainly don't feel like I can look at them too much. I'm one blessed momma! I am beyond thankful to my Heavenly Father for the boys in my life! Thankful for all your prayers for our family--they were felt and appreciated!

A New Induction Date--Sunday, the 8th

A couple of days ago, I was doing my read through the Bible study and came across this Proverbs: "The mind of man plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps." (16:9) I certainly felt this Proverb in action this last weekend. I had BIG plans for the week ahead, and God was going to change them.

Friday night, Carter started coughing--A LOT--and by Saturday, he had a bad cough. Monday morning, he added a fever and goopy nose into the mix. Monday, I also came down with a sore throat, stuffy nose and small fever. On a normal day, this wouldn't be the end of the world. However, I was planning to be induced and have a baby on Tuesday.

I had a bad attitude over the weekend. I saw the handwriting on the wall and knew that Tuesday would either not work or would be far from ideal. By, Monday, though, I just wanted to rest in God's plan. I was tired of being grumpy about it and just let go. The doctor rescheduled my induction for Sunday, the 8th; Carter is on antibiotics; and I'm resting and praying for a recovery from this cold by Sunday. I felt, and still feel, tremendous peace in the decision and in resting in God's plan.

I don't know why God changed our plans--perhaps Micah needed more time in me, perhaps the nurses on duty wouldn't be ideal, and perhaps He just wanted to prune me a bit with a growth in trust and patience. Whatever it is, I know He is faithful and I am wise to submit to His plans. If you would like to pray for us, pray we are healthy for an induction on Sunday morning. I know whatever happens, God has a plan that is bigger and better than mine, and He will use it for His glory. Plus, I know that baby Micah is worth the wait!