Prego Pics

Well, earlier this summer you saw some pictures of me at about 5 months of being pregnant. Here are some pictures taken of me by 2 great photographers that are getting their talent out there. Check out their other pictures and websites!

About 8 months pregnant

Photos by Monterey photographer Monika Greenaway

About 7 1/2 months pregnant

Photos by San Diego photographer Karina Maccharles

Psalm 139 & Abortion

Psalm 139: 13-16 has plenty to say about life- the life of the unborn baby. For christians, these verses should help us to understand Gods thoughts on life in the womb. For the Christian, abortion is not just a political issue. It's not something just to think about when you are faced with an unplanned pregnancy (although that's a great time to figure it out). It's something that we should have a biblically grounded stand on (with a heart of grace & love as well) Read the following verses asking, "What does God have to say about life in the womb?"

For you formed my inward parts;

you knitted me together in my mother's womb.

I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully 

made.

Wonderful are your works

my soul knows it very well.

My frame was not hidden from you

when I was being made in secret, 

intricately woven in the depths of the earth.

Your eyes saw my unformed substance;

in your book were written, every one of them,

the days that were formed for me,

when as yet there were none of them.

For women who are pregnant, God is forming and knitting those children together in the womb. God even sees the days of their lives and had them planned out even before they came to be. God sees their unformed substance even if we claim, they are not souls. I like a definition of a soul/ person that one man gave. He said it was "someone known by God." And doesn't God know all of his creation- even the "hidden frames" and "unformed substance"? Something to think about.

2 women & 1 Man who loved their children more than life

I recently came across two stories of women who denied cancer treatment when they found out they were pregnant. Their stories do not end ideally. Both women died but both of their babies survived. I admire these two women greatly for the courage they displayed in denying their own lives for the life of their children. Also, their selflessness blows my mind! In a culture who would NOT have condemned them had they chosen an abortion or even chemotherapy, the ease of those options did not hinder them from choosing the life of their babies first.


Why do these stories move me so much? Initially, it's their selflessness & courage. But more than that, I believe they point us to a greater story. Christ, being God, took on the heaviness of all his people's sin. He denied his comfort, his rights, his perfect record and his life that His people might gain life. Jessica & Stacie are two stories that point us to Jesus who did the same thing but at a greater cost. That's why their stories are so beautiful. May their stories help you to see Jesus better.


Jessica Council-" In August of last year Jessica Council – a beautiful, 30-year-old mother of one – noticed that she had a sore throat. At around the same time, she also began to suspect that she was pregnant....Jessica went to sleep with a headache and nausea. 'She did not wake up.'... The following day Jessica was near death, and Clint [her husband] gave the doctors the go-ahead to deliver by C-section. On February 6, little 'Jessi' was born, weighing only 1 lb 3 oz."

Stacie Crimm:"An Oklahoma woman died of cancer last month after refusing chemotherapy that would have threatened the life of her unborn child...Her daughter, Dottie Mae, was born August 16th by emergency C-section after Crimm collapsed in her home"

Childbirth & The Gospel Part 2

In last Monday's post "Childbirth & The Gospel", I asked for your thoughts on what childbirth has to do with the Gospel. My husband and I have been preparing for Rosie's arrival, and though I thank God often for and pray for her salvation, I couldn't help but think about how Childbirth (labor & delivery) relate to the gospel. Here are some of the answers I received back:


James, my husband:
"Maybe that the pain we experience in bearing children helps to worship Jesus who experienced more pain when He bore our sins. We experience that pain with God because Jesus went through that pain without God."


Abbey, a friend:
"Off the top of my head something Daniela and I would mention with her labor was that Jesus perfectly endured great suffering for the joy set before Him. In labor, you will endure in His strength for the joy of having Rosie with you..."


Wes, a friend:
"Heather, That is really sweet. I'm thinking that Gen. 3:15 is the key. The proclamation to the serpent that a Savior would come is a promise to reverse the curse that Adam and Eve brought about. Adam believed this promise and named Eve, meaning 'life,' knowing that the Savior would come through the line of Eve. A natural birth is a way of believing that, even though the pain of the curse is present, you are believing that Christ is the promised seed who reversed the curse. You are proclaiming to God, Rosie and others that you believe Jesus reversed the curse and that the pain is only temporary when comparing it w/ the eternal glory of one day being w/ Christ (Rom. 8:18)."


I'd love to hear anymore feedback, verses or articles you think may relate!

RP: Using a pumpkin to share the Gospel

It's that almost Halloween and time for pumpkin carving. Here's a post that I did last year:


I am aware that in Christian circles Halloween can be a hot topic. From what I know the celebration does indeed have it’s roots in pagan celebrations. Knowing that I understand that families would not like to be involved in typical activities on the 31^st. Having stated that, I also know that there are many who dress up but with certain restrictions, and instead of going door-to-door they choose to go to a church carnival or something. Still others, see this as an opportunity to be involved in the community and reach out. I’m not sure where you stand, but I have nothing against any of them.

One thing I do love is family traditions. Just recently someone showed me the “pumpkin Gospel” (I would prefer to give it a more God-centered title J .i.e. “Using pumpkins to share the Gospel” but it is sorta long ) and I thought it’d be a great tradition go to the pumpkin patch each year in the excitement of going home to hear “daddy” tell the gospel story with a pumpkin.

Here is a video I found that goes through the “Pumpkin Gospel”

These are the steps he goes through:

The Seed

Hold it- Romans 3:23 “All fall short”

Cut it- Romans 6: 23 “ Payment for sin is death”

Dig it- John 3:16 “ Jesus died for our sins”

Carve it- 2 Corinthians 5:17 “New creation”

Light it- Mathew 5: 16 “letting your light shine”

(I found this website where more in-depth questions are asked at each step)

This tradition doesn’t have to stay within the family either! Make it a community time. Share the gospel with families at a “Pumpkin carving Party” and then have a “Story” of the GOSPEL. 

Rich Children's Music

Not monetarily rich- but rich in the sense of deep meaning. I came across Songs for Saplings via Tim Challies blog. He's giving away some of their music, and I entered to win. Whether or not I win though I did happen to get some of their free songs for children. They have two CD's of scripture songs, and three CD's of teaching songs.  The teaching songs are my favorite. Here are some of the questions the songs address:

Who is God?
Who made God?
Has God ever had a beginning?
What is a covenant?
What was Adam's part in the covenant?
Did Adam obey God?
Can you repent and believe in God?
What is meant by the atonement?
How were people saved before the coming of Christ?

Kids learn so much through music. You want kids to learn a verse, make a tune to it! Want them to learn rich truths? Have some quality music to have catch on to in the car-it's like unofficial catechism.  The songs listed above are free. Just go to www.music.songsforsaplings.com

All things children: Abortion, Stories, Instruction & Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs, Abortion & Adoption- "Out of the 52 million abortions in the US in the past 38 years, how many other Jobs’s have we extinguished?"


Hitler killed disabled children, and so do we-"...people with disabilities are frequently the first to be targeted for destruction."


Stories are Soul Food: Don't Let Your Children Hunger - A great post by N.D. Wilson on why Christians don't have to have a mistrust of telling/reading/creating stories that are fictional/magical.


Parents, Give Children Clear Instructions - Joel Beeke, is coming out with a new book on parenting on how to raise children in the covenant of grace. In the sampled passage, he talks about how parents may give a simple command but that when the child receives it, he/she may get something completely different. Check it out. 


Steve Jobs- I wanted my kids to know me - Shepherd Press is great blog that deals with family, children, adoption, & culture. The big talk right now is Steve Jobs, see what we can learn from the regrets of a man who changed technology. 

Sexual Abuse & The Gospel

Just watched a video of Janette....ikz on the subject of her own sexual abuse and the glory of God. She uses spoken word to tell her story. Love the part where she brings in the innocence of Jesus...


13th Floor: Sexual Abuse - Janette...ikz from Pure Path on Vimeo.



Originally posted by The Resurgence

Childbirth & The Gospel

My husband and I are hoping to have a natural birth-not just a "vaginal" birth but I mean a-no-drugs-at-all-birth. I'm hoping and praying we can do this, and trying to remember that Rosie will come into the world just as the Lord has sovereignly planned from the beginning of time.

To accomplish this goal of natural birth James and I have chosen the Bradley Method. Though I am super thankful for the explanations of pain and relaxation techniques, I feel I  am struggling to see how exactly the Gospel fits into it. I don't want labor to be a time I don't think about God.

I know that it's a beautiful process-how everything works. Babies being made in the womb? It points to a Creator. The natural benefits of breastfeeding? It points to a Creator. But what does Jesus, the cross, and His resurrection have to do with it? I'll be thinking about this...Let me know what you come up with as well.

Breastfeeding + pumping + vaccinations = Overwhelmed

While being pregnant there sure are a "roller coaster" of feelings. Happy one day because you get to see old friends and be excited by a shower of gifts for the little one, then overwhelmed the next thinking about breast feeding, having to pump, and which vaccinations to get or not get.

In the overwhelming moments it's easy to be anxious and feel like you don't have a clue. It's easy to feel nervous about making the wrong decision. But its so scary to feel weak. Then, by grace, I remember what God's word has to say about being weak. As uncomfortable as it is to not know the future and outcome of the decisions my husband and I make, I do know that His grace is sufficient and His power is made perfect in weakness. May I know Christ more through my weaknesses...

2 Corinthians 12:9

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.