feb. 23: the determination to serve

"If we are devoted to the cause of humanity, we shall soon be crushed and broken-hearted, for we shall often meet with more ingratitude from men than we would from a dog; but if our motive is love to God, no ingratitude can hinder us from serving our fellow men."
-o. chambers

pictures of yesterday

::lemon poppy seed loaf ::

Baby update

So, today the little pregnancy ticker reads, "40 weeks and 0 days pregnant", which means that today we have officially reached our baby's "due" date. And at this point, since the crib is still empty, it looks as if she just might be "late".

In light of that, we scheduled an induction appointment at the hospital for the 26th, at 7 a. m. (ike! that sounds early!), and are praying that we don't have to keep it. I am a little skittish about the whole idea of inducing labor, even though I know that if that is the way God wants our baby to be born, it will work out fine. I just would greatly prefer to go into labor naturally. Either way, though, His plan is perfect, He is sovereign, and He will take care of us. We are very eager to be able to finally hold her in our arms, and not just feel her through my tummy, but it felt so odd to be choosing her possible birthday!

Little One, we love you, and can hardly wait to see your little face! <3

random thoughts of dryers, dishwashers and kitchen mixers

(random in that these were running through my head between 4:30 & 6 this am)

Oh, the "essentials". Or not. Seriously, or not.
I would have to say that a washing machine is an essential, but a dryer? Hmm, no. Especially when I would only really use it to fluff things, such as towels or sheets. I mean, really, drying racks, clothes lines and hangers work just fine. We could choose a drying rack from Ikea that would cost us $17, with no cost to run it ever, or we could choose a dryer that matches our washer and costs 20x as much as the rack, with the additional running costs.
So, dryer (for us) = non-essential

Dishwashers are a great time saver, and we actually have a one in this apartment, but it is currently non-functional (in fact, it didn't work when we moved in). And we haven't missed it. I enjoy standing at the sink with my hands in the hot soapy water, cleaning the dishes and thinking or praying. It's a nice enforced quite time of sorts. But who knows, when the apartment's handyman finally gets around to our place, we might use it. Or not.

And a kitchen mixer is also a wonderfully handy, time-saving piece of convenience. Some people do consider them to be essential kitchen tools. I have found that even if I could use one, and enjoy using it, I don't need it. Making bread and beating eggs by hand is just fine (not to mention a nice little workout for your arms and torso), and the end result is just as good as if I had used a machine. It has been on my wish list, though.
In fact, for my birthday last year, John asked me to choose between a mixer and a camera, and I was truly torn. The thing that decided it for us was that I already knew Baby was on the way, and with that in mind, the camera seemed to fall more into the "needs" more than the mixer.

But, now we might be getting one. A hand-me-down one. So exciting to be blesseds by something you want but don't need!

Where was I going with post? Um .... at this point I think I finally fell back to sleep.

overflowing with hope

May the God of your hope so fill you with all joy and peace in believing [through the experience of your faith] that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound and be overflowing (bubbling over) with hope.
-Romans 15:13, amplified

emotion

the past few days and weeks have been overflowing with emotions for me. It is completely natural, of course, since we are preparing to welcome our first little baby, but they are exacerbated by raging hormones.

It's a constant reminder of how weak I am, and that there is no strength in me (ever, but especially now) apart from what God gives me.

our baby

I heard your heart beat just yesterday

You stretch and you roll in your own little way

So far that's all I know

But I already know I love you

Baby of mine

Will you be weak?
Will you be strong?
Will your temper be short?
Will your patience be long?
There's so much I don't know
But I already know I love you
Baby of mine


God knows of every breath you will take
Every new step and choice you will make
He already knows

And I know He already loves you
Baby of mine


Now that we've met my heart overflows
You have your daddy's eyes
Is that my daddy's nose?
There's so much I don't know
But I already know that I love you
...
Baby of mine

-Billye Sluyter Johnstone

because I had to show someone

Robin T-Strap

Oooo, baby shoes!!! I was browsing the sale section of the Stride Rite website this morning, and found these ...... I love them! Probably because they kind of match some that I have in my size. (Mommy and Me shoes?:D) These are the "first steps" kind: some stability and support, but still really flexible. I also found some "crawlers":

Lil Gabby

The only thing is, it seems as if all the cutest baby girl shoes are either pink or raspberry! I really like pink and raspberry, but I would also like our Little One to have some baby shoes that are white or brown, or green, or red ... not just PINK.

Lil Katy

Wait, I take that back. They can be found. For full price, though ...

Cruiser

Of course, they still have the classic baby cruisers, ever so slightly updated from when I and my four brothers and sisters wore the same pair (over the course of 13 years!). Now those would be cute, and possibly keep them for all our children to share? Thinking of it that way, they might be worth the price. Maybe.

quote to ponder today

"God began to teach me that there is a huge difference between "entertaining" and offering hospitality. Entertaining puts the emphasis on you and how you can impress others. Offering hospitality puts the emphasis on others and strives to meet their physical and spiritual needs so that they feel refreshed, not impressed, when they leave your home.

"...like so much of life, it all comes down to the motives of your heart. Are you trying to impress others, ... [o]r are you trying to refresh them and point them toward the Lord?"

-Karen Ehman, A Life That Says Welcome

This quote thoroughly resonated with me, and I practically stumbled upon it!

It happened as I was moseying my way through Amazon, clicking on the "if you liked this you might like this" links, found this book (which had a "search this book" option, so I thought I would electronically thumb through it). Wow. It looks really good, well written and scriptural, her writing style is conversational yet concise, and inspiring. But our library doesn't have it, so I'm putting it on my wish list. Of course, I could also pull out a few of the other books discussing hospitality that I have around someplace...

baby's new dress

I used some rasberry colored linen that I had been saving, and the scraps left from the little blanket (with touches of pink!) that I made just after we heard that we are having a girl.
Sewing and knitting for her has been so much fun, and it will only get better when she will actually use the little things! Just picturing a chubby little one -with red curls? - crawling and toddling around in them is wonderful.