Our Weekend with Logan: Part One

James's sister Tina and her family came to visit us in our new house for the first time last night. I cooked dinner for them, and we watched a movie. Well, when I say "watched", I mean James and our brother-in-law Matt watched it. Tina and I played with their sweet little boys, Oliver (2 y.o.) and Logan (1 y.o.).

Matt and Tina didn't come all the way to see us just for a Friday night visit. They came to let Logan stay with us for the weekend. This is Logan's first time to spend the night at someone's house. I, for one, am amazed that Tina was willing to let us keep him all weekend like this. We had no idea what he would be like. I kept imagining him crying the whole time wanting his mom. Much to our surprise, he has been an angel!

Matt, Tina, and Oliver left our house last night around 10pm. Around that same time, James was putting Logan down to sleep. He fussed for a few minutes, but overall he went to sleep rather quickly. Neither James nor I slept very well. We kept wondering if he was breathing. That, to me, is by far the most frightening thought with this experience. We can protect him as much as possible, but what happens if he suddenly stops breathing while he's asleep? As unlikely as that is at his age, James and I still struggled with it. I prayed myself back to sleep several times in the night. I prayed God would keep him safe, and thankfully, He did!

Logan woke around 7:30am. I changed his diaper and we went into the kitchen for some breakfast. He ate a small bowl of Cheerios and yogurt. While he was eating, James went to Wal-mart to get whole milk for Logan. We forgot to get it on Friday. When James returned, Logan was just about finished with breakfast and ready for his milk. Perfect timing!

Next, James and I got Logan ready for a bath. He didn't really like it as much as I would have expected, but it wasn't a terrible experience. I dressed him for the day and then we played for a while. He has been so good! He has baby-talked and sang to himself all morning. It's been very pleasant.

Within an hour or so, I could tell Logan was getting sleepy. We poured him some more milk, and I rocked him while he drank it. Just as I suspected, he fell asleep within minutes. He slept for nearly two hours. While he was sleeping, I showered, got ready for the day, wrote this blog post, ate lunch and watched the season finale of "Flash Forward" with James. Now for some super sweet pictures!

 

In 10 days...

Peru!

James's parents, his cousin Mary Ann, his cousin Josh, he and I will be leaving on a jet plane very soon! James's mom is already packed and ready to go. I, on the other hand, will wait until next week to pack. My suitcase is not even accessible to me right now. It's in storage in James's parents' basement. We're going to keep our nephew Logan this weekend, and when we take him back to his mom, we're going to get my luggage. I don't think it's really hit me that we're leaving the country in only 10 days! It seems like yesterday that we were in Thailand. I love traveling, and I'm so excited that we have this opportunity!

Buying Our First Sofa

James and I have wanted to get a sectional sofa for our new living room ever since we first saw the house. We looked in a few furniture stores, but we had not seen anything that interested us.

Last week while browsing "Swap Shop" emails at work, I noticed a post where someone was selling a "Chocolate Brown Leather Sectional Sofa" that was only two years old. This is the photo that the seller posted with the description:

I immediately forwarded the email to James. He liked it too, but he felt the price was a little high. Then yesterday, the woman posted the email again. That meant the sofa had not been sold yet. I again sent the email to James who this time decided I should go check it out. I drove to a nearby town where a single, non-smoking, non-pet-owner welcomed me into her lovely home. The couch is even more beautiful in person. It is in almost perfect condition. There is a small spot where the movers had nicked the back of the couch on the brick steps, and it's because of that nick that the seller went down in price by $300 right then and there. You seriously can barely even see the nick. When she offered me the lowered price, I jumped at the opportunity and wrote her a check. James will be home from drill at the end of the week, so over the weekend he will pick up our new sectional sofa and move it into our living room!

Conviction, Confession, Freedom

A guest speaker delivered the message in Sunday school this morning. He covered a lot of material, but the message that stood out to me was this: Prepare yourself in private time with God so that when you're in public, you'll be ready for the opportunities God presents to you. Preparing myself for opportunities. This is something I have neglected recently. I have been reading God's Word, but I have neglected to open my heart to learn what He has for me and to know Him more. Because of this, I have missed opportunities. I felt convicted and ashamed this morning. The Sunday school lesson reminded me that reading the Bible is not enough. Spending quality time with God is absolutely necessary. It is during that time that we grow closer to God and that we become more like Him. I have not been acting like Him lately, and I sure do regret it.

God also spoke to my heart during our new pastor's message. Kylan preached on 1 John 1:8-2:2 and the message was entitled "When Christian's Sin". It was like God prepared Kylan to speak to me directly. 

"If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world." -1 John 1:8-2:2

Kylan covered the following questions:

1. Do Christians sin?

The answer: In 1 John 1:8, John states, "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." In short, yes. Christians sin.

2. Should Christians sin?

The answer: In Romans 6:1-2, Paul states, "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?" In short, no. Christians should not continue to live in a sinful lifestyle.

3. What happens when Christians sins?

The answer: In 1 John 2:1b, John states, "And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." Inevitably, we will sin, but we are not hopeless. Jesus defends us and pleads on our behalf. He took the sin on Himself when He died on the cross so that we may have a right relationship with God.

4. What should Christians do when they sin?

The answer: In John 1: 9, John states, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." We are not automatically able to enter into a right relationship with God just because we are Christians. We must confess our sins before our advocate, Jesus. Then He will make us clean.

Something else Kylan said this morning was that we should not condone sin. The word "condone" means to disregard,  overlook or excuse. Lately, I have been somewhat desensitized to sin and am guilty of condoning it as well as taking part in it. Thankfully though, by confessing my sin before my advocate, Jesus, I no longer have to carry the guilt and shame. I am made clean before God so that I may be at peace and experience joy in His presence. 

Thank you, Jesus, for saving me from myself and my sin. Please help me to become more like you so that when others see me, they see you...not the sinful, selfish person that I am. You have put me on this earth for your glory. Help me to glorify you in all my thoughts, words and actions. Amen.

New Home Photo Update

In 25 days...

We're going to Peru!

Our First Half Marathon

We did it! We actually ran 13.1 miles last Saturday. My best friend Becca, her Aunt Kim, Kim's friend Sky, and I had one of the best weekends ever.

I had posted a blog where I had thanked everyone who helped me achieve this amazing experience, but then Blogger went down for a few days and the post was deleted. Instead of trying to remember everything I wrote, I'll just re-post the pics instead.

In 5 days...

We Are Homeowners!

James and I "signed our lives away" yesterday, and in the process we gained a new house! It wasn't nearly as scary as I thought it would be. For some reason, I have always had this fear of committing to buying a house, but when we began discussing this one, that fear was non-existent. God gave me a complete peace about buying this house. James worked very hard for us to make this happen. He studied, asked questions and arranged all the meetings. I am so thankful that God gave me such a responsible, proactive and God-following husband.

Last night James went to a ministry event a couple hours away to play drums. I was eager to get the ball rolling on moving in, so I spent about three hours cleaning and taking mini-loads to the house. I didn't get very much accomplished, but it is a start. This afternoon James and his cousin Caleb will move a few of the bigger items (couch, mattresses, etc). We're having to do all this in between work, class, and study groups. We have about two weeks before the electricity in the apartment gets shut off, so we do have a deadline. I don't think it'll take us any longer than that though. I am hosting a Mary Kay party next Saturday, so I'm hoping to get most of the moving done this weekend to prepare for having people over for the party. Busy busy!

Confession

I regret to confess that I have not fully lived up to my commitment to Lent. I have been in prayer for my family, but I have not abstained from eating sugary and fried foods. I should never have committed unless I was truly serious about it because clearly I wasn't. Maybe I'm not quite ready to sacrifice sweets and fries. Owning up this seems harmless in one regard, but in another I feel it reveals my lack of faith and self-control. I have kept my New Year's resolutions; at least I have that going for me.

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13