Evolution of a House

 When I first moved in to our house, it was a typical bachelor pad. Every wall was either white or some off version of white. I of course being young and naive decided to paint everything in the most dramatic crazy color scheme that is beyond comprehension. Here are some before photographs from 2007.

 Yes you are looking at these colors correctly. Dark blue and red. 

Lime green in the kitchen... why not?! 

Here is our house as it stands today, except for the couch area. Same house? Yes. It looks so much bigger, and it feels a lot cozier. I am beyond happy with the path that our house is going down. 

Living Room

    Ryan and I worked hard this weekend and made some well needed changes to our living room. As much as I wanted to hold onto 'my' living room, I decided it also needed to be a 'family room' space for Jack. He has been very mobile and needed a place of his own. The room needed to be safe for him to travel about. We still have some updating to do, like getting rid of the treacherous TV stand, removing old outlets, and possibly adding a tent for him. We have decided to tackle the most prominent need first, which is a baby gate. I lovingly refer to it as a 'baby activity center'. I wanted to create a space where, not only did it benefit us, but it benefited Jack. Ryan created a 3 panel activity center that separates the living room from the family room. The baby center is made of 2x2's and 1/8" particle board. The panel on the far left has been finished with magnetic paint, the middle panel houses a small chalk board ( I plan to write each day's date or a small note to Jack), and the third board is a peg board with yarn woven through it. The yarn of course is ombre style. In the future we will be able to add pegs to the board, this will allow Jack to interact with it on a 'fine motor' level. My goal with the magnetic board is to place photographs of family members.

                                   
                                     

                                      

The other 'renovation' that we did this weekend was adding an intentional space for Jack and us to relax together. I saw an idea on pinterest that consisted of plastic gutters to make floating bookshelves. I took the idea and ran with it. We transformed an unused space into a small reading nook for Jack, and us too! 

           Here is my plan for our living room. I would like to add some "playroom" elements to it since Jack is now in a new phase of exploration. 

Christmas!- Little Drummer Boy

Christmas is finally almost here!

For the first few years that Britt and I were married my Christmas spirit was partly ruined by working retail.  Not to mention, I was typically deep into final exams this time of year.  Now, neither of us work retail or go to school and our Christmas spirit is back!  We also have a cute little guy that we get to share Christmas with!

Little Drummer Boy
My favorite Christmas song is "The Little Drummer Boy."  I think the love for this song started when I saw a middle school age boy sing it while playing his drum at a Christmas-eve service.  The words of the song always meant something to me.

I love how the Little drummer boy starts.  He comes to Jesus so he can give Him his "finest gifts."  His mood changes once he actually gets to Jesus.  I imagine him getting to Jesus and putting his gifts behind his back after he realizes that the finest gifts he has to offer are not good enough for the King of kings and Lord of lords.

I believe, we all come to this same point in our Christian walk.  When we come to Jesus and accept Him in our hearts we are so excited about telling the world.  We want to do something!  After seeing Jesus, we quickly realize we don't have anything worthy of Him.

The Drummer boy would have felt like we feel when we are driving to a Christmas party with what we think is a great $20 gift but that gift is overshadowed when someone gets a brand new car!  The Little drummer boy realized that the finest gifts were nothing compared to Jesus.  He responded the only way we knew how.  "Can I play for you?"

The gifts we have to offer our family, friends, career, and faith are nothing compared to the gifts of life, Grace, Joy, Peace, Health, etc. that we receive freely from Jesus.  When we finally reach the point that we are able to set our eyes on Jesus, we will finally know that what we have to offer is simply an overflow of our gratitude for what Jesus did for us.  In the end, all we can do is sit in front of Jesus and play Him a song.

It won't seem like much but I have learned from being a father that it doesn't take much to impress.  You can ask any Grandma.  Ask her if she would rather receive gifts from her grandchildren or have them put on a show for her to watch and giggle at.  The joy of life (which is a gift from God) is still our greatest gift we can give back to Him!

What song can you play?  Tell someone you appreciate them.  Tell someone you love them.  Listen to God and wait for opportunities to bless people.  Forgive someone when they don't expect you to forgive them.  Play the song that is on your heart because this season is not about giving a gift worthy of praise, but rather responding to the greatest gift of all with the greatest gift you have, you.

Beauty

     

         This morning, as I was standing in front of the mirror in my essentials everything hit me. My son was laying on the bed in front of me just smiling at me. He was happy and giggling, there wasn't an ounce of judgement pouring from his body. You see, I was standing there with my mommy tummy, my lines that now encroach the beautiful skin that used to be there, the extra pounds that replaced the perfect number that I once was on the scale, and my son was staring at me in awe. He doesn't need me to show him how beautiful I am, he already believes it. Jack taught me this morning that I need to believe I am beautiful just as he believes it without question. Beauty isn't my definition, it isn't my worth, it is the beliefs and the spirit inside of me pouring out of my skin. It is my heart showing its true character through the shell that holds it, it is the love and joy that I have radiating from my inner being. My beauty is not based upon my outward appearance but who I am within my soul.

       As you start each day remember that you are your own definition and your beauty is not a measure of what you see in the mirror.

Is Redistribution of Wealth Biblical?

Is Redistribution of Wealth Biblical?

Redistribution of Wealth is a hot topic in today's political world.  Both parties have positive intentions but neither understand how redistribution of wealth can be used in a Biblical Sense.

I am not naive enough to believe that everything that our country was built on was God inspired.  However, the general idea of freedom and liberty is the only place where God can operate at his maximum ability.  You see, "the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom" (2 Cor. 3:17).  However, we must remember that a governments policy and a book of rules and regulations can not effect the freedom that we feel and experience through Christ.

Now, back to redistribution.  The main complaint against redistribution is that we will eventually become a pure socialist economy.  The most extreme explanation of this policy is that everyone has the same amount of everything.  We know from history that most of these systems did not work.  Why doesn't it work?  Government takes Biblical principles and ideas and attempts to turn them into a government run program.  The governments goal is to make everything fair.  However, they don't understand that Biblical redistribution of wealth has nothing to do with what is fair.  Biblical redistribution of wealth is God inspired overflows of our heart.  It is when us Christians listen to the holy spirit and we find ways to bless those around us.  

God can not force us to give anything to anyone.  However, the more you understand the goodness and love of God the less and less importance you will put on the worldly stuff around you.  Jesus said it like this:

Mat. 6:28-30 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹ Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ³⁰ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?"

God does not need a government program to provide for his Children.  He needs his Children to listen to his voice and receive from Him!  Here is how this happens:  God wants to bless every Child of God.  However, most of us don't receive the amazing life that God has provided for us through Jesus.  So, God is so big that he will use us Christians to lift up, and sometimes support, the Children of God when they are not able to receive it for themselves.  This is where we come in.  

Redistribution of Wealth has nothing to do with giving 10% of your income or some number a government comes up with based on a 100 different variables.  Biblical redistribution of wealth has to do with us trusting God and giving with cheerful hearts because God has first given to us.

1 John 4:19 is very simple.  It says, "We love because he first loved us."  Everything that we have to give to those around us is because God first gave to us.  We are able to love because we first loved us.  We are able to forgive because he first forgave us.  We are able to give because he first gave to us!

How do you know when to give?  

Try to listen to what the holy spirit is telling you.  Giving because you feel directed to give is the best feeling in the world!  When you understand how messed up you are (without Jesus) and how much God has blessed you (through Jesus), you will care less about what the money is going to be used for because God told you to give it.  You don't have to second guess it because there is plenty more where that came from!  Don't limit God, and raise the bar of how good you believe He is!  

Give without strings attached.  Know that God has directed you to give and that is all you need to know.  Don't hold it over someones head.  Never make them feel like less of a person.  Let them know that you are supposed to give it to them and God loves them.  Make sure they know that you don't care what they do with the money but also be sensitive to if the Holy spirit wants you to direct them.  Be extra sensitive to the Holy Spirit if you are like me and you think you know the way everyone around you should live their life.  Since I know I am like that, I choose to simply give without even thinking about the need.  I simply trust that God knows their need and I am open to listen if they want to tell me about how this will help them with their need.  If I try to tell the best way to use the money I am now playing God and man.

Don't turn into an accountant or a financial planner.  This may be the only time of this person life that they are experiencing the unconditional love of God in the physical realm.  Leave and thank God for His goodness, blessings, provision, and wonderful Grace.

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Jack's Birth Story

      On Tuesday, June 26th (4 days after my due date), I went to the hospital to be "induced" (cervidil). The doctor thought that Jack was anywhere from 8lbs-10lbs and he was ready to come into the world to join us. At this point I had been in labor on and off since Sunday, but nothing that was steady enough to be admitted into the hospital. We arrived at the hospital around 7:00pm and the medication was placed, I was unable to walk for 12 hours due to the placement. My body responded to the cervidil, which doesn't always happen for some, and I started regular contracts that were anywhere from 2-3 minutes apart. Around 4pm on Wednesday, my water broke and it had meconium (Jack had a bowel movement in utero) in it. Because of this, the NICU team would be in the room when he was delivered so they could clean out his lungs and make sure he didn't swallow the meconium. I believe my water breaking was premature because Jack was still "floating" and not quite engaged, which allowed for his umbilical cord to become wrapped around his neck. Due to the fact that my water broke this gave baby Jack anywhere from 12-24 hours to make his appearance into the world on his own. The doctor's were more fond of 12 hours than the 24 due to the bowel movement.
   
     The  contractions went on for approximately 10 hours (2-3 min) and then my body started to slow down and they became 3-5 minutes apart at approximately 8 pm on Wednesday night. At this point I was beyond the point of exhaustion and just wanted to go home, but unfortunately you can't throw in the towel in the middle of labor. This led to the painful decision of starting pitocin, which I worked so hard to avoid. The pitocin pushed my contractions back to 2-3 minutes apart, and then anywhere from 1-2 minutes apart. At this point I was still only dilated to a 4, and knew that I had a long way to go. After many rounds of tears and struggle I gave into the pain medication that I vigorously denied for the last 29 hours of my labor. The anesthesiologist came in a placed the epidural around 12:00am on Thursday morning. At 1:00am the whole team of nurses were in my room telling me to turn off my right side, Jack's heart rate had dipped to 40, because his cord was pulled tightly around his neck. For the remainder of labor, I layed on the left side of my body, this was where Jack's heart rate was steady, which cause my epidural to pool in the left side.

     At approximately 7:00 am, 35 hours into labor, I started pushing. This took about 1 hour and 45 minutes, and at 8:15 on Thursday morning I got to meet my little boy. He came out with the cord tightly around his neck, the doctor had to cut it off of his neck, because it was too tight for her to unwrap. Because his umbilical cord was wrapped so tightly he wasn't able to breathe full breaths and had to be pumped with oxygen by the NICU team that was present in the room. The good news was that he didn't swallow any of the bowel movement, but the bad news was that he wasn't quite breathing on his own. The team rushed my little boy to the NICU and gave me just a glance of his handsome face before they swept him away. This was extremely gut wrenching and confusing for me, all I wanted to do was hold my little baby, touch him, kiss him, and love him, and his was gone in a flash.

    During the next 2 hours, I couldn't walk because of the epidural, I was flooded with emotions, and wanted to know what was going on with my baby, but no one knew yet. Then the NICU doctor finally came back and said that Jack was doing great, but he had a pneumothorax, which is a pocket of air in the chest that prevents the lung from being able to rise. Jack was in the NICU for the entire 3 days that we were in the hospital. On the last day of our stay a nurse came into our room at about 4:30am and told me the Jack's XRAY did not look good and she didn't think that he would be able to come home with us that day. This was devastating, I did not want to leave the hospital without my boy, this was an awful feeling. I went to the NICU as soon as the doctor was in that morning so I could get the final word on if my baby would be coming home with us, in a moment of joy we found out that our beautiful baby was strong enough to join us! This was one of the best feelings in the world!

my first time holding jack.