Baby shower shopping

Whoops! It's been a couple of weeks since I last blogged. Time flew by and I didn't even realize it.

It's been interesting in that I have a couple of baby showers coming up. One is tomorrow, and I didn't know about it early enough to order something from my friend's registry, so I went to Wal-Mart --- the only place we have to shop for baby gifts --- and looked around for something to get.

Diapers, I figured, everyone needs. However, on her registry, she asked for diaper inserts for cloth diapers. Cloth diapers? I don't even know how those work. But I looked around for diaper inserts.

No such luck. Wal-Mart here only has disposable diapers.

Maybe baby medicine? Is that something that new moms would want?

I called my sister-in-law, who has two little girls, and asked. She didn't seem impressed with the idea, so Nate and I put that back on the shelf. My sister-in-law gave me some great ideas, but Wal-Mart didn't seem to carry any of the items that she mentioned except for a baby sling. I saw some on the shelf, but what would my friend want? That's a decision that she should probably make for herself, so I again put the item back.

Nate and I walked around and around and around the baby section, staring at items and having no idea what a new parent would want.

Apparently, we have no idea about children.

I've also seen plenty of people on Facebook talk about being  pregnant and what you can't eat and what you should eat for good development, and I had no idea. I think I would have just kept going like normal and not realized that you're supposed to change your diet.

I guess every new parent feels that way, unless you have been a nanny or a delivery room nurse for years and year, maybe. I'll have to keep watch and see what my friends do with kids. Then by the time Nate and I are considering a family, maybe we'll know more of what to do!

Choosing a life of content

My mom and I were chatting about a relative who has wished for years to just be alone. That person now lives alone and hasn't been happy about it. It's hard when the house is so quiet. It's boring. There's no one to talk to.

Many people think like that --- I'll be happy when I am married. I'll be happy when I'm divorced. I'll be happy when I have a baby. I'll be happy when my kids are out of the house. I'll be happy when...

That's the thing about contentedness, if you're not content now you won't be content later. When you get what you want, something else will knock and your desire will be aroused for that next item. Then you'll be happy when... again.

Most Americans, perhaps people around the world as well, think of contentedness as a feeling that you don't have any control over. It's a lot like the way people think about love. If you get what you want or if you just meet that perfect person, you will be content or your will just fall in love. If you get what you want, you will then stay content. If you meet that perfect person, you will stay in love.

That's irrational though. Like love, contentedness is a choice. I've written before that we all have to wake up and choose to continue to love our spouses. No one is perfect, and if you go off of feeling, you will fall out of love eventually. If you decide to love someone, no matter what they do or how you feel that day, you will have a long life together and a successful marriage.

Contentedness is the same way. You have to choose to wake up and be content with who you are, where you are in life, where you live and what you have. You may dream, but you don't covet what others have and you don't live for the moment when you are where you want to be and you have what you want. You are where you are today, and you will have a much better life if you accept that and be content with it.

It doesn't sound as good, but we could put it to the words of a popular children's song that started to go through my head the other day --- "I'm content, content, content, content, down in my heart, down in my heart, down in my heart. I'm content, content, content, content, down in my heart. Down in my heart today."

Sometimes work is just work

It frustrated me a little bit at Sunday school last week, because we were talking about vocational calling. The book had talked about finding a job where you can use your gifts, and my fellow Sunday school students mentioned you know you're in the right job when you are doing what your passion is and time flies.

I am blessed to be in a job that I love. Time often does fly for me, and I get to do a lot of different things which fits my personality. It is wonderful, and I feel like I fit right with what they were saying.

What frustrated me was many people do not have that luxury. My dad, for one, has spent 30 years in a job that he doesn't particularly enjoy. It is not what he set out to do, and I know that he would have rather been farming or doing something that aligned more with his interests for that much time.

However, he had a family to support, and he had a job that paid the bills. That was what was important. I will always appreciate that he did what he had to to support his family.

Nate's dad was the same way. Thirty years at UPS was not necessarily his "dream" where time flew by every day. Instead, he invested in a career and stuck to it in order to support his family.

Think of how many grandparents and great-grandparents never even thought about finding their "vocational calling." They got out of bed and trudged off to work, sometimes horrible work, and they did it to support their families.

I think this is a wonderful sacrifice and a sacrifice that the majority of people are called to. We shouldn't waste our lives looking for a job that leaves us fulfilled and makes time fly by. We should prioritize our lives, and if supporting your family is at the top, as it should be, then you make it work. You get up and you go to a job, even if you don't like it, and you make the most of that experience.

I think a lot of what is wrong in our culture is that people want to have the perfect job. There are lots of menial tasks that people won't do because they think they are above them and instead live off of what they get from the government or mooch off of family. They won't "demean" themselves to these jobs that they won't enjoy.

It's not always about enjoying what you do. Again, you should feel blessed if you are in a place that you truly feel called and doing what you truly have a passion for, but not everyone can do that and I don't think we should put pressure on people to find work like that.

Sometimes work is just work. If that is your kind of work, good for you for sticking to. Your family will appreciate the sacrifices that you are making for them.

Children in the land of Babylon

I've written before how Nate and I aren't sure about having children. There's always the possibility that the world will end, that one or both of us will not live, that we won't be able to have children or that it's just not God's will for us.

One thing we've talked about is that we're not sure we want to bring children into this messed up world. At church the other week, it was mentioned how Jeremiah and the Israelites at that time were called to procreate and bring children into the messed up world they lived in. Those children were supposed to make a difference in that terrible place.

I guess that's the way you have to look at having children at any time. The world always seems to be going down the tubes. In bad times and good, people continue having families, and you have to trust God and bring up your kids in a way that will teaches them to make a positive difference in a dark world.

One of my friends said that you never know if your kids will make a positive impact. You might have a child that rebels against everything you have taught them, and they might be a horrible impact.

But the Bible says to teach children the way they should go and when they are older they will not depart from it. It's up to parents to be a good influence and to teach their children what is right. Then you simply have to trust God to work in their lives and help them be that positive influence in a dingy culture.

We don't know what the future will hold, and we're content to live one day at a time. However, if we do end up with an extended family, we'll have to remember that even if the world looks bleak our kids can make a difference. We don't have to follow the depressing pattern that is around us, but we can have that positive impact, if only from the help of God.

Stand firm in the end

The end of the different New Testament letters are usually overlooked. "By Silvanus, a faithful brother as I regard him, I have written briefly to you..." 1 Peter ends.

We don't pay attention to that usually. We don't realize that Silvanus was a courier chosen by Peter to take his letter to different churches and to read this letter in the way Peter wanted it read.

The ending goes on to say "exhorting and declaring that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it."

Our pastor talked about ways that we can stand firm amidst life and whatever it throws at us. Stand firm in the knowledge that God cares for us. Stand firm by knowing who the enemy is and how to fight him. We resist Satan by believing the truth of God's Word and knowing that Jesus died on the cross for our sins.

Stand firm in it.

That just sounds like a normal encouragement. But that was Peter telling these people to stand firm in the grace of God. When someone who has suffered for God says it is worth it and tells you to also stand firm, it means more. It's not a worthless statement. It is strong.

He could see the future. It is worth to stand firm because of where we will end up. Heaven is worth this bit of suffering in this life.

It's a little statement at the end of a chapter and a book, but "stand firm in it" is more important than you might think. Don't overlook those little parts of the Bible---everything is in there for a reason.

Untimed suffering

Everywhere I have looked lately has had sickness and death. From relatives of my volunteers at work dying to my dad's uncle passing away to my grandma being diagnosed with cancer to prominent members of the community dying.

Then of course there are the terrible stories of death and destruction in the news, especially the heart-wrenching stories of the 21 Christians being beheaded overseas by ISIS. It made me sick just reading about it.

That's what a sinful world brings about --- death and illness and destruction. What do we do in times like this?

We pray, we draw close to God and we ask for strength to deal with the circumstances around us in a way that we couldn't without our savior.

This winter, to stay in shape, we've been doing Insanity and just started T25. These workout programs are intense, but what is nice is there is a timer scrolling across the screen. With each exercise, I can see how much time I have to endure the struggle. When you know it's only 10 more seconds, it helps you deal with the pain and keep going.

Life isn't like Insanity and T25. You don't always know how long you will need to endure hardship and struggling. There isn't a timer under us showing us how much longer we have to keep going. However, we do know that suffering is only temporary.

Like at the end of a workout, when you see the results in your body and you feel good about what you did, Christians know that suffering will end with awesome results. We will be stronger mentally and spiritually, and we will have the greatest rewards of all in heaven.

Spiritual leadership in the church

So, a whole week has passed since I blogged. Sometimes life goes by and you don't even see the time passing.

I had a good excuse for not blogging though --- Nate was off work for three days and we spent some good quality time together. It was nice.

Today he's back at work, so I'm back to blogging. I bet this looks bad me on my phone during the church service, but technology is increasing and let's me take sermon notes right as I hear them. Plus, it saves the middle man of paper notes, so it's good for the environment. Win win.

We're still in 1 Peter and now talking about sheep and shepherds.

A church is led by its shepherd --- the pastor --- and the elders, who are men helping to lead. These don't have to be old men but men of any age who are spiritually wise and are called to help shepherd the flock.

Sheep are dumb animals. If they get lost, they can't find their own way. They will walk in circles until they die unless a shepherd finds them. They are also easily led astray. There is a Judas sheep that is trained to lead others to slaughter. He is put in a group of sheep and walks into the slaughterhouse and all the other sheep follow him.

We need shepherds to find us, protect us, feed us.

I have met people who don't think they need church. They read the Bible and watch TV sermons and pray in their own. That's great, but what if something goes wrong? There is no one to find you, to protect you, to feed you and help you grow spiritually. You need church and a good pastor and elders.

That is one thing I've loved about my current church. The pastor delves so deeply into Scripture and goes back to the original language and brings out points I never would have known on my own. I have grown in my knowledge of the Bible through his shepherding, and otherwise I would have been walking in more circles and not growing as well as I could have been.

God has put people in charge of the church, and we are to submit to that leadership. Like any leader God puts over us --- government and police, husbands, parents,  pastors --- we are to submit to that authority because they are submitting to God's leadership. They are there to teach us and lead us. That is God's plan.

Use the biblical model to find a church that follows the map of spiritual leadership so you can trust that leadership in your life.