chin powder

QUICK TIP: If your baby has a double chin (like mine does!), putting powder under there after his bath helps keep him from getting a rash under there. Don't learn the hard way!

be still

"Be still and know that I am God;" Psalm 46:10

Yesterday, I got to talk to my friend Yulia. We hadn’t talked in a long time! It had been so long that we had both gotten married and had babies since we last spoke. She is from Belarus and we were both on the Campus Crusade staff team serving in Minsk a few years back. Her husband is an American and they are staying with his family in Indiana as they prepare to go back to Albania where they are currently assigned. Talking to her made me realize that being a parent of a young child is similar in many ways to living in Belarus. Any of you who have been there know what I mean. Instead of packing a day with appointments and classes, running from one thing to the next, I had to be satisfied with accomplishing one or two tasks each day. Everything takes longer in Minsk due to public transportation, the relational lifestyle, and the random hours that various businesses are open during the week (among other things!).

Being a mom is so much like that. I have an idea each day of what I would like to accomplish. Depending on Lewis’ mood, naps etc., there are few days that turn out how I would expect. Yulia passed on some words a friend of hers had shared recently. I can’t quote her exactly but the sentiment was to relax! We can fight it, but in the end it is much easier to go with the flow. God knew what he was doing when he gave us our children, and if our list goes undone there is probably a reason. Often the Lord, like Lewis much of the time, just wants my attention. I’m sure he appreciates the acts of service I try to do for him, but more than any of that he wants my heart. Why is it so hard to remember it is that simple?

launching pad

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."--Ephesians 3:20-21

When my sister Beth brought me a Boppy pillow early on in my pregnancy with Lewis, I had no idea what it was! Now it has been used for nursing and helping Lewis sit up. Its most recent use is as a launching pad for standing. When he is done eating, I will set it back toward my knees and sit him on it facing me. On his own he started pushing up and standing and now does it with relative ease. It blows my mind how he is never satisfied with where he is. With eagerness he looks to move on to the next level. With a few days left in January, now is a good time to look back to see what God has done in the last year, but also to look ahead to hope for what he might do this year.

A few things I've witnessed him do last year (you may recognize some of these stories): He brought Lewis safely into our lives and got us through our yucky 10-day stay in the NICU; He allowed some friends of ours to naturally conceive and give birth to a baby girl when a run-in with cancer made their chance to do so virtually impossible; He blessed another friend with a baby boy through adoption after losing both parents the year before in a drunk driving accident; and He surrounded us with all kinds of people like you who are having babies and can share life with us. Sometimes it is easy to lose sight of all the good things as time takes us from the initial joy and shock of something big God does. This year my goal is to look for God to move in even bigger ways and to work alongside him, eagerly pushing myself to the next level. I can't do it alone! Below you'll find a place to introduce yourself if you'd like to share anything with the others reading along. I changed the comments capability so that anyone can leave comments and do so anonymously if you want! You can check back in on that post for added comments in the days to come. On this post, please comment on anything awesome you have seen God do this past year and any prayer requests or goals for 2007.

introduce yourself!

It has been fun to see your comments from the first post. It's great to know I'm not alone! As Heather requested, here is an opportunity to introduce yourselves if you want to. On Blogger, comments have no limit. So to anyone who is interested, please post a comment and use these questions as a guide, answering as many as you like (recommend using CTRL + C to copy this list, and then CTRL + V to paste in the comments section!):

FULL NAME:
PERSONAL URL or BLOG:
HOMETOWN:
CURRENT LOCATION:
YEARS MARRIED:
CHILDREN AND THEIR AGES:
VOCATIONAL SITUATION:
WHAT I'M EXCITED ABOUT IN MY LIFE:
STRUGGLE(S) IN MY LIFE:
OTHER INFO YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT ME:

If you would like to send a picture, email me at shelleygwen@gmail.com and I'll post them for you. I cannot claim to be a life expert so I really look forward to learning from you. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

less pictures, more words

"Train a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not turn from it".--Proverbs 22:6

Welcome to The Momspot! As a relatively new mom (almost 7 months now), I have been overwhelmed at the responsibility, joy and change that has entered into my life. It is easy to feel isolated because I am a full time, stay-at-home mom. And yet there is a desire within me to be connected somehow to the outside world, and especially to others like me--moms of young children. My hope for this blog is to be real and honest--posting short words of encouragement, struggle and/or challenge from a Biblical perspective. Justin, my husband, and I are on the long road of learning to be parents who put the Lord at the center of our home. We want to raise our son, Lewis, to be a follower of Jesus Christ. What that means is that we often have to lay aside our own opinions, as well as those of our culture, even friends and family when it does not fit in with what God teaches through the Bible.

It is a struggle that I embrace because deep in my heart I know God's plan is far better than mine ever could be. He loves Lewis way more than I ever could and has his best in mind. God is the DEFINER of good and the CREATOR of truth. That truth is what I hope to explore through this blog. Feel free to post your comments and opinions. My goal is to challenge and encourage myself with truth and in the process encourage anyone who may visit here. There should be a range of humor and seriousness because that is how life is with babies! All that to say that this blog will consist of less pictures and more words than our regular family blog at www.shepherdfam.blogspot.com.