Devotion for Lauren's Baby Shower

Phil and I have known Lauren and John for about 4 years now since they moved in across the street. When they moved in, they didn’t even have a dog let alone three children. So when we saw they got a dog, and we said to ourselves “ahhh, they want children!” Then we saw the minivan appear in the drive way and we knew that children must be on the way! Now, when I see her refuse a glass of wine when offered, I know that another baby is on the way! Praise the Lord!

We have so enjoyed having them across the street, and I have loved watching her as a mom. She is purposeful, organized, and not easily excitable or flustered. She is attentive to her kids and creates a loving, supportive environment for her man. She seems to handle things in stride. The only time see her “amped up” so to speak is when she is getting everyone ready to go out of town… at these times, watch out bc Lauren is on a war path! John and everyone else knows to just step aside and leave her alone.

I have actually written a few devotions for this afternoon, but I had to realize that this was not my opportunity to give parenting advise or rant about how much I don’t like the distraction that mobile devices present to parents. If you want to talk about either of those things, just let me know—- I have several pages written on both!

I want to look at the book of Revelation-I know a weird book to be looking at at a baby shower-but bear with me.

In Revelation 21:1-5 John says:

Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!”

That sounds wonderful doesn’t it?? 

I know many of you and the things that you have on your plates and the struggles that you face. I hope these verses can offer you hope for a better day. Believe it or not, there is something that we look forward to that is even better than a whole bar of chocolate or even a day of obedient children or a good long nap.

Scripture tells us that one day, all will be made well, and we will experience the full reality of the unsearchable riches of Christ. 

Revelation 22:3-5 goes on to say there will be no more sin, and we will see our Savior face to face.

But until then, there is some suffering involved. 

There are dirty diapers, there are mounds of laundry, there are decisions about whether or not a child can go to a dance, there are eating disorders, ugly breakups, car accidents, even death of loved ones.

There will be great successes as well— potty training, the first day of kindergarten, academic achievements, new jobs, college, weddings.

There will be life lived with others… sharing bread together, celebrating, crying, mourning. 

In these days, as we wait for the glorious condition of being united to Christ forever in Heaven, we are left to cling to Christ, to abide with Him as he says in John 15, to live actively and vigorously for him in all we do. 

What does that mean for us as women?

First, we can put Christ at the center of our lives… I know that at this stage for Lauren’s life and mine as well even tho I don’t have little, little ones the temptation is to let the demands of children and home life and work crowd God out of our every day lives. Yes, I know dirty diapers and crying children and meals are a reality, dead lines at work, demanding bosses are a reality, but they must not be our idols. They must not be what define and control our days. 

We are also to study His Word- mining it for wisdom, encouragement, and strength. Let the Word of God dwell in you deeply and richly. The Word of God is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. (2 Tim 3:6-7)

Next, out of our growing relationship with Christ, we get to disciple our children and relate to our husbands with the fuel of God’s Word on our tongues, and especially with it in our hearts, guiding our actions. 

And finally, we are to love our neighbor as ourselves and share with them in word and in deed the amazing love of our Father. To not neglect the lost and broken, the needy, but to notice them, serve them, and learn from them.

In 2 Timothy 4:7-8 Paul is looking toward the end of his life and says “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.”

As we seek to “fight the good fight” as Paul says, we are not alone, we have not been abandoned to fend for ourselves. God promises to help. Christ is there to comfort us… 

In Matthew 11, Jesus says “come unto me all you who are weak and heavy laden and I will give you rest.

 Isaiah 40: 11 says “Like a shepherd He will tend HIs flock, In his arms he will gather the lambs, and carry them in His bosom. He will gently lead the nursing ewes. 

And at the end of the chapter, we read:

The Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth

Does not become weary or tired.

His understanding is inscrutable.

He gives strength to the weary,

And to him who lacks might He increases power.

Though youths grow weary and tired,

And vigorous young men stumble badly,

 Yet those who wait for the Lord

Will gain new strength;

They will mount up with wings like eagles,

They will run and not get tired,

They will walk and not become weary.

We have an amazing hope before us… hope for the glorious return of our Savior, hope for a day when all things will be made right. In the mean time, we have the power of God and the comfort of the Holy Spirit  to live for Him, to go about our work, to raise our children, to love our husbands, and to tend to the needy around us. 

Lauren, that is your hope in these last couple of weeks before Paige makes her entrance. That is your hope as you introduce her to Liam and Maddie, and as you and John continue to raise these precious ones in the fear and admonition of the Lord.

A Story about my Aunt Linda's Secret Thanksgiving Recipe

Dear Aunt Linda,

Thanks for sharing the secret recipe for our thanksgiving dinner. I thought you'd enjoy hearing about how it went over in our family. So here is what happened:

First, I was leaving to go do my Thanksgiving shopping, thinking I could slip out of the house unnoticed, but my loves-to-be-domestic college student insists that she comes with me. When I said no, I got the full pout and argument that she would be such a help to me, and "it will be so much more fun to do it together, Mom" line.

Of course, I am thinking about [the secret recipe ingredients] that were on my list, but I have a hard time saying NO to a pouting Lydia.

At the store, I send her every which way trying to get her to a different part of the store while I hunt for the [secret recipe ingredients]. Having never bought them, I was clueless. I hid them in the cart and then met Lydia at the check out lane. Of course, it was there that she noticed the foreign object as it passed thru the hands of the cashier.

Next, I got home (we ran a few other errands) and Phil greets me at the door. I am pretty exhausted at this point. He joyfully tells me to go take a nap, he would have the kids unpack the groceries. Too tired to remember the contraband in my sacks, I went upstairs.

When I got up, I had a near riot situation. Maggie (the fiery child in the bunch) had seen the [secret recipe ingredients]. No way was she having THAT for Thanksgiving.

"But Maggie, Aunt Linda insists that they are the best!"
"Too bad, Mom, they will ruin Thanksgiving!"
 "Mags, trust me on this. They will be great!"
"Not a chance, Mom. It's [the usual] or nothing."

So, I said fine. And I made a 1/2 batch that night for dinner to go with a pork recipe (I will share it with you--I have never tasted shredded pork so good). And guess what??!!! Everyone was floored. They had seconds even.

I had to confess that your secret is out in NJ. I did my best to protect you, but at least they don't know the full recipe. My children are very protective of family recipes, so I think you are safe. They are foodies thru and thru, and spoiled with my homemade food. (I told them you wouldn't give the recipe to Dana until she got married. They said that might just be a good enough reason to get married.)

I am making the [usual food] this year, but NEXT YEAR I will be making your secret recipe!

Much love and thanks,

Polly

Some thought re: staying at home to be a mom

Dear Lori,

Thanks for sharing your convictions in your essay on Facebook a couple of weeks ago. Phil saw it and shared the link with me and I’ve been thinking about how I want to reply.

As I read about your struggles, I am reminded how super thankful I am that, in my life, I never felt bored or ever felt like staying home was repetitive and depressing. I just think that is a huge gift from God that I never had to jump over that hurdle. I know lots of women do face this hurdle, and find it very challenging. For me, while I have had other hurdles (which I should write about sometime) this was not one of them. 

In light of your struggle, I'd like to offer what I hope will be some constructive feedback. 

I think you make a mistake in that your argument, right from the start, focuses on what "studies say is good for kids” rather than looking at it from the perspective of obedience. 

I have found that there is no joy in doing something because of statistical evidence. None. But I have found great joy in doing something because God says so. Again and again, I’ve seen Him totally meet me and provide for me when I try to be obedient, even when it is against my “grain.” The most important question for a woman is this: will we trust Him enough to do what He says?

But if we’re talking about studies and statistics, studies show that it is best for moms to stay home with their kids. Having said that, however, what we’ve seen in South Jersey is that staying home and “being a mom” can be a form of idolatry also.

Perfectionistic, smothering, hovering, stressed out moms that have their kid in every sport possible, obsessively check PowerSchool, argue with teachers over test grades, and worry/gossip/slander other moms isn’t exactly what God has in mind.

But for all that, studies and statistics are a dime a dozen; and they are not the Bible, they are not God's Word. What matters is what God says in His Word about how women should their lives response to the Gospel. That must be the first factor in any decision making process. 

I’m not great with remembering Scriptures, but off the top of my head, w/o looking things up, I know God says women are to be (1) busy at home, (2) to be disciplining other/younger women, (3) to be loving/respecting their husbands. 

Then, Proverbs 31 certainly paints a picture of an industrious and gifted woman who works hard to provide for her children, and to ensure that her husband is honored at the city gates. 

Also a woman is called by God to train up her children; to exercise hospitality (lots of examples of this... not sure if there is a direct command... but it is implied in the description of elders & their wives) and last but not least, to care for the poor.

I am sure there are more, but w/o doing an actual Bible study, those are the first to come to my mind. My point is that there is no shortage here of creative opportunities for a brilliant woman to use her gifts for the glory of God in the world.

You describe struggling with your temperament your whole life, but the work of God is to transform our temperaments by the Holy Spirit. Transformation takes a woman’s whole life, but its worth it. I’ve struggled with things my whole life as well—different things than you have, but they are still struggles. Some things I’m only now seeing the first signs of growth and progress, and I’ve been following the Lord for almost 25 years!

In your case, with this struggle, Bobby is called by God to creatively work with you so that you can find God’s commands joyful. You and Bobby are to work together so that being home with your children (which is your primary calling) is a joy and not a burden, or boring, or drudgery.

That doesn’t mean you can’t, or don’t, do anything else. But there are hundreds of ways you can make your home, and your children, your primary area of ministry and service to Christ and still use your amazing brain. Keep in mind, we can be great examples to our children without necessarily “going to work” every day.

Also, I would caution you about talking as you do of other women being judgmental. I know that can be a problem among women, especially in this area. But the way you express it might leave the reader the impression that you don’t want others to stay anything contrary to what you think or say. 

I know ladies can be judgmental; I’ve been guilty of that myself at times. But think about this: why is it that our men can "hold each other accountable," (an acceptable thing, and something we encourage them to do) but if women do any sort of rebuke, holding out of truth, or offer input and even correction to another woman, it is somehow seen to be “judgmental" and the relationship is forever severed. Not fair, not right.

We can do better than that as women.

I hope this is helpful to you and the others who have read and responded to your note. Thanks again for sharing honestly.

Pictures of the Kids this Summer

Here are some pictures of the trip we took with the family to the Poconos. It was a lot of fun; we got to include Lydia's friend Mark, Fitch's friend Nathan, our dog Rocket, and other extended family on the Giancola side.

Efforts to Make Lunch Packing Easier

1. Set out a sandwich making station each morning
2. Keep muffins, cookie dough, brownie bites in freezer
3. Put lots of snacks in baggies in the pantry ready to grab (rather than having to bag it in the morning)
4. Pre-bag baby carrots and sliced cucumbers
5. Fill 4 oz storage containers containers with items that I would normally buy pre-packaged
1. pudding
2. jello (mixed with crushed pineapple or cool whip)
3. apple sauce
4. yogurt (from the big containers which is cheaper than the little ones)
5. pineapple chunks
6. Keep hard boiled eggs on hand
7. And I finally broke down and started buying Capri-Suns!!!