Monday Post :)

     I've been extremely busy and sick :( these past few weeks! But I promise that a "real" blog post will come soon! But for now here is what I have for today.  
     Last week brought some trials into my life that are ultimately for my good! My Grandmother/Great Grandmother (if you know how my family tree works you will understand, if not you will next week!)  passed away on Thursday 11/10/11. Her name was Jane Austen Gregory.  The irony in her name is found in her love for reading.  She was an avid reader and read about a book a week and kept a journal filled with all the titles she had read in her life.  She also used to fold in half the very middle page of the book for a reason I don't know.  What I didn't know about her was that she read through the bible every year in it's entirety.  If thats not inspiring I don't know what is.  So in honor of her I have decided to continue this tradition in my family myself.  
     I am also going to continue with my character quality study and memorization with the verses and definitions that correlate.  So here is my list for this week/ today!

Character Qualities


1. Truthfulness vs Deception : Earning future trust by accurately reporting future trust by accurately reporting past facts.

"Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another." Ephesians 4:25

2. Alertness vs Unawareness: Being aware of that which is taking place around me so that I can have the right responses.
"Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." Mark 14:38


3. Self Control vs Self Indulgence: Instant obedience to the initial promptings of God's spirit.
"And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.  If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit." Galatians 5:24-25

4. Wisdom vs Natural Inclination: Seeing and responding to life situations from Gods frame of reference.
"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight." Proverbs 9:10


To read today:
Ezekiel 24:1-26:21
Hebrews 11:1-16
Psalm 110:1-7
Proverbs 27:14


And....
One of my favorite hymns :)


Love Divine, All Loves Excelling by Charles Wesley



Love divine, all loves excelling,
Joy of heaven to earth come down;
Fix in us thy humble dwelling;
All thy faithful mercies crown!
Jesus, Thou art all compassion,
Pure unbounded love Thou art;
Visit us with Thy salvation;
Enter every trembling heart.


Breathe, O breathe Thy loving Spirit,
Into every troubled breast!
Let us all in Thee inherit;
Let us find that second rest.
Take away our bent to sinning;
Alpha and Omega be;
End of faith, as its Beginning,
Set our hearts at liberty.


Come, Almighty to deliver,
Let us all Thy life receive;
Suddenly return and never,
Never more Thy temples leave.
Thee we would be always blessing,
Serve Thee as Thy hosts above,
Pray and praise Thee without ceasing,
Glory in Thy perfect love.


Finish, then, Thy new creation;
Pure and spotless let us be.
Let us see Thy great salvation
Perfectly restored in Thee;
Changed from glory into glory,
Till in heaven we take our place,
Till we cast our crowns before Thee,
Lost in wonder, love, and praise.

Have a great week!

Hayden Lorraine~

A Pregnancy Post on Labor Day!

    

      The irony of this controversial subject and the day I've decided to write about it is merely coincidence.  I've been sick in bed in my beautiful townhome here on the lovely DBU campus and what do I do when I'm sick? I research things and read, naturally avoiding homework.  The extent of my research has been in many different fields that I think match up in my own twisted way; that is, the homeschooled way.  I was homeschooled from 4th  grade - 1st semester of my freshman year of high school.  Lucky for me my homeschooling took place at the most impressionable time in ones life, middle school.  Needless to say there is a 'scar' that seems to be imprinted on my forehead that reads, "I was homeschooled", in big bold letter.  (Does anyone else find it ironic that homeschooled isn't an actual word and therefore always misspelled?) I'm not knocking homeschooling or homeschoolers in anyway.  Those were the best years of my life and precisely why I am who I am today, with the help of other influences along the way.  My children will be homeschooled until highschool and then, if they choose to attend a public or private school for the last 4 years, they may.  I would rather them experience the 'real world' while under my 'umbrella' and control (I pepper posts with Bill Gothard phrases occasionally so keep your eyes peeled fellow IBLP-ers ) than once in college and, 'on their own', so to speak.  If my girls don't want to go to college, they don't have to, thats their choice.  Now back to the post. So here I was all labor day weekend reading and researching.  

My research was inspired by a late night chat with three of my roommates. Two of who were homeschooled and one outcast. Just kidding.  We were discussing the touchy subject of birth control.   A typical conversation I thought, but not so much to the outcasted public schooler.  Out of the four of us two don't believe in the use of birth control based on personal convictions, one wants to use it during the first 2 or 3 years to establish a marital relationship with her husband and the other believes in it.  We talked about multiple things after that; homeschool curriculum, the homeschool book fair (our favorite time of the year of course.), natural births vs. drugged births, bradley vs. lamaze,  home birth vs. hospital birth, herbal remedies vs man made drugs, which brought us to vaccinations.  Something I've never given much thought too.  I've had every vaccine that the FDA suggests, and in time with their chart without as much as a single complication.  The one shot I don't like and didn't agree with prior to my research was the flu shot.  Every time I get the shot I get the flu, which doesn't make much sense.  But where I stand now, in accordance with the rest of the vaccinations 'required', is a post for a later date.  This post has nothing to do with vaccines really, so I digress to our subject. 

      There are many things a woman must consider once she finds out she is pregnant.  It's much like getting engaged.  Once you are engaged you have a certain amount of time to prepare for the main event, the wedding.  Once you find out you are pregnant you have a certain amount of time to prepare yourself, your home, and your husband for the main event; the birth of your new baby.  You have only 9 months to decide some very important matters:  Home birth or hospital, drugs or natural, lamaze or some other method of birth.  You get the idea.  I believe husbands should help in the decision, after all it is his child also.  He can often be the words of logic when we women are choosing between natural or drugged births.  Which one sounds safer to you?  

     It seems that more westernized women have lost the ability to go through labor and delivery without medical intervention, but why is it that women in less advanced countries go through the process naturally without a hitch?  Are women so consumed with themselves that they seek out their own comfort rather than the health of their soon to be newborn baby.  One fellow blogger posts "Could it be that with the humanistic thrust that has dominated the West, with science determining there is no longer any need for God and His Word, that women have become convinced that their bodies are incapable of doing precisely that task God has designed them to do? " - LAF/Beautiful Womanhood  When we begin to trust in worldly philosophies alone and put them up against God and the supremacy of scripture, the results are devastating.  Scripture clearly states that we will bear children in pain.  There is nothing that says, "oh, but one day doctors will come up with a drug to numb your labor pains. Take that, and you're in the clear!"  Women can gain something from experiencing the 'pain' of labor and make the pain useful.  The pains of labor should be a reminder to women of what happens when we live life on our own terms.  It should make us more determined to raise our children 'in the nurture and admonition of the Lord' so that our children live life on God's terms.  

     So why not let nature take it's course, if you are able to.  We should be thankful that we do have advanced medicine to use as a resource in dire situations.  However it's not necessary for a healthy woman, who most likely won't have complications, to use medical intervention.  There are so many things that doctors do in routine hospital births for their own convenience and scheduling.  Think about it, doctors deliver multiple babies in a day and have many women in labor and in their care at one time.  They don't physically have the time to give the 'natural' attention necessary to each woman that she deserves.  There are many procedures that are a result of this.  

     

    Epidurals - spinal medication used to numb the woman from the waist down (convenience for the mother)

    

     Pitocin - A synthetic hormone that doctors use to speed up one of the first stages of labor.  In natural   birth, after the water breaks and contractions start there is a natural resting period that the body takes so the mother can regain some energy before she beings the delivery process.  In hospitals, doctors would then inject you, via IV, with pitocin to basically eliminate this process thus forcing your body to deliver.  This often puts much distress on mom and baby. Unfortunately, it's now just accepted as the norm.  

     

     Rupturing of the membranes - in cases where the body has not done so naturally; in order to speed up the birth process.

     

     Episiotomies - A surgical cut to expand the opening where the baby passes.  It is very common now for hospitals and doctors to cut without patient consent. This often can be avoided if you know how to prepare you body before the actual delivery date.  You've most likely heard about the Lamaze method.  It's the most well known method of giving birth.  Basically, breath control to help reduce some of the pain when giving birth.  There are other methods of birthing.  One being the Bradley method.  There are many books on this method and classes just like Lamaze. A couple titles are "Husband coached child birth" and "Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way." Bradley helps to prepare your body for a natural delivery.  

     

     Cesarean Sections or C-sections - Once you have a C-section you have to have all babies by c-section,  right? Wrong.  Another convenience for doctors.  There is such a thing as a VBAC.  You can have other children the 'natural way' after having one from a c-section.  There are plenty of doctors that are willing to oversee a VBAC and it is possible to have natural home births as well as after a cesarean.  

                      "One of the most important factors in the production of complicated labour and therefore of maternal and infantile morbidity, is the inability of obstetricians and midwives to stand by and allow the natural and uninterrupted course of labour. It may be an excess of zeal, or anxiety born of ignorance, but it is an unquestionable fact that interference is still one of the greatest dangers with which both mother and child have to contend."  - OB/GYN Grantly Dick-Read

     Ironically, theses 'options' that are now accepted in labor and delivery, are on the 'pain reduction' menu, when the very thing that causes women most of the pain the experience in hospital births is the position they put you in.  One of the most unnatural birth positions they could come up with.  It is strenuous on the back and tears more than any other.  The use of pitocin, that I mentioned above, does something I personally think is more harmful than anything they could inflict on a delivering woman.  Pitocin in an artificial chemical form of the hormone oxytocin, which is the hormone of love. "Oxytocin is the hormone of love, and to give birth without releasing this complex cocktail of love chemicals disturbs the first contact between the mother and the baby. The hormone is produced during sex and breastfeeding, as well as birth, but in the moments after birth, a woman’s oxytocin level is the highest it will ever be in her life, and this peak is vital. It is this hormone flood that enables a woman to fall in love with her newborn and forget the pain of birth." - Dick-Read  When given pitocin in the 1st stage of labor it cancels out the real hormone once the baby and mother make first skin to skin contact after birth.  Why would you want to take that away from any woman? "What we can say for sure is that when a woman gives birth with a pre-labour Caesarean section she does not release this flow of love hormones, so she is a different woman than if she had given birth naturally and the first contact between mother and baby is different." - Dick-Read

An observation made by OB/GYN Dick-Read

     "It is my custom to lift up the crying child even before the cord is cut so that the mother may see … the reality of her dreams … the first to grasp the small fingers and touch gingerly the soft skin of the infant’s cheek … Its first cry remains an indelible memory on the mind of a mother … No mother and no child should be denied that great mystical association … it lays a foundation of unity of both body and spirit upon which the whole edifice of mother love stands. Many times I have called attention to the wonderful picture of pure ecstasy that we see at a natural birth … Is it just an accident that the brilliant sunlight of motherhood breaks through and dispels for all time the clouds of her labour? No change in human emotions is more dramatic … Such an aura of beauty has filled the whole atmosphere of the room and such superhuman loveliness has swept over the features of the girl whose baby is crying in her hands … I have experienced a sense of happiness myself much more akin to reverence and awe than to the simple satisfaction of just another natural birth."

   

     I wrote in the beginning of this post how there is biblical application to the natural process of birth.  It seems that in order for mother and baby to achieve the God intended bond there is a prerequisite for the mother to be spiritually 'prepared' for what lies ahead.  There are many scriptures that speak directly about bringing a baby into the world (Is. 13:8, 21:3, 37:3, Rev. 12:2, Gen. 3:16)  and there are other scriptures that you can memorize to help you in the childbirth process to give you strength. (Matt 11:28-30, Ps. 55:22)

     Now, where does the husband fit in to all of this?  He is your calm and support.  However this reaction is unnatural for men.  Seeing the one they love in distress causes them distress and then only adds the to adrenaline in the room, which is the last thing a woman in labor needs.  A husbands adrenaline rush can cause the delivery time to lengthen considerably.  The adrenaline produced by a husband acts as a combatant to the oxytocin that is produced from the woman in labor (which we talked about earlier).  The oxytocin brings about some narcotic relief to the mother while experiencing contractions.  When the baby is born and the mother and baby share skin to skin contact the oxytocin levels reach their peak in the delivery process.  If the husband can keep his cool and coach his wife through the birthing process great, if not have an older wise woman take the job of coaching.  Personally I think the husband is more than capable of keeping his cool and coaching his wife.  

     We as christians have a responsibility to research things that are seen as 'the norm' and hold them up against our biblical standard.  Most things will need tweaking, if the idea isn't thrown out completely.  Childbirth is one of them.  We have a responsibility for the health and safety of our children or soon to be children, so be informed and make decisions for their betterment.  Research, Research, Research. 

"Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward." - Psalm 127:3

Have a great week,

Hayden Lorraine~ 

     

Quote of the week 

"Honesty is very rare, and an honest girl is a girl you can build a family with, regardless of her past." 

Book of the Week 

Video of the week

This was the first thing I could think of.  I think it's a sign that I'm ready to go back to school!

Song of the week

This is inspired by The Hills marathon I have had this week so far.  

Have a great rest of the week! I'm going to continue to pack up for school and anticipate my move!

Love you all!

Hayden <3

I know this sounds bad but I'm way to busy to write out an entire post for the next two weeks.  I did however read this earlier and thought I would share it.


" Why not give yourself to the one who didn’t care whether you got fat than give yourself to the one who makes you feel like you’ve got to throw up after eating a lolly-pop? That kind of love story sucks so stop living it!" - Donald Miller


Very blunt, but very true.




I'll post again tomorrow!




Hayden~

Wordfilled Wednesdays

"Quote of the week"

"Book of the Week"

I'm reading this for the second time around while I'm waiting for my latest amazon purchase to arrive this week :)  

"Video of the week"

I would't recommend her other videos if extremely strong choice language offends you :)

I couldn't pick one song for this week, maybe next week!

Have a great thursday!

Hayden ~

Preparing for the Battle

When you first enlist in the U.S. Army you are immediately shipped off to Basic Training where you gain the knowledge necessary to be successful in battle.  Scripture memorization, although with little emphasis in the church anymore, is spiritual Basic Training. "This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success." Joshua 1:8  More often than not we throw ourselves into the dark and wicked battle of the world unprepared and helpless.  Memorizing the Word is what helps us in times of attack. It is what slays the devil and draws us back. It helps erase the bad programming in our heads. It washes and cleans out rubbish and filth and makes room for the beauty of the character of Christ. Memorizing God's word can purify your heart and will make a profound impact on your life. What are you putting into your mind and heart?

So what does the Bible say concerning scripture memorization? Quite a bit! 

• We are told to be prepared to answer questions concerning our faith in Christ. (1 Peter 3:15)
• Paul was able to reason with non-Christians because of his knowledge of the word. (Acts 17:1-4)
• Having the Word in our hearts allows us to encourage and teach others. (Colossians 3:16)
• Knowing and using the Word teaches us right from wrong.(Hebrews 5:13-14)
• It can increase our ability to distinguish truth from error in doctrine
• It will help our prayer life (John 15:7)
• Knowing God's word allows us to study the Bible more effectively
• If we know the scriptures we can meditate on it anytime wherever we are. (Psalm 16:7)
• It helps us to stand firm against Satan's attacks.

"How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.Psalm 119:9-11

"The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks justice. The law of his God is in his heart; his steps do not slip."Psalm 37:30-31

  There is no verse not worth memorizing.  Memorize what the Lord has specifically laid on your heart, verses of certain interest to you, verses that help counter temptations you struggle with and verses that you can use to encourage others. Don't overdo it, memorize one to four verses at a time.  At the same time don't under do it either, you know what you can handle, challenge yourself.  
Current favorites of mine that I've been working on pertain to the actions of the wise and foolish.  Most of them lie in the chapter of proverbs and they are wonderful little pieces of wisdom to have stored in your heart.  


     
     How do you respond when corrected? Do you begin to take it seriously only after it is repeated to you multiple times? Or are you thankful for the slightest hint at reproof and take it seriously then and there?


"A rebuke goes deeper into a man of understanding than a hundred blows into a fool." Proverbs 17:10
"Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, for he will despise the good sense of your words." Proverbs 23:9




     Do you talk more than you listen or are you discreet in what you think and know?



"A fool's voice is known by multitude of words." - Ecclesiastes 5:3b
"A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back." Proverbs 29:11

"Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent." Provers 17:28


     What come out of your mouth? Is it encouraging words that edify or do you often get in trouble for your mouth?



"A fool’s mouth is his ruin, and his lips are a snare to his soul." Proverbs 18:7
"In everything the prudent acts with knowledge, but a fool flaunts his folly." Proverbs 13:16
"Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks. - Eph 5:4"




     In the heat of the moment do you: argue for the fun of it and lose your temper or are you often the peacemaker and diplomatic one?


"The vexation of a fool is known at once, but the prudent ignores an insult." Proverbs 12:16
"A fool’s lips walk into a fight, and his mouth invites a beating." Proverbs 18:6

"If a wise man has an argument with a fool,the fool only rages and laughs, and there is no quiet." Proverbs 29:9

Ecclesiastes 7:9

Proverbs 18:3

Proverbs 14:16

     What kind of people to you tend to gravitate towards? Apethetic, snarky or goofy in character or people that are edifying and knowledgable?


It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools. - Ecclesiastes 7:5



Forsake the foolish, and live; and go in the way of understanding. – Proverbs 9:6

He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed. – Proverbs 13:20

     What do people come to you for? To have a fun time or a good laugh? For companionship in their silliness and immaturity or for wise counsel, sympathy and words of life?

The heart of him that hath understanding seeketh knowledge: but the mouth of fools feedeth on foolishness. Pro 15:14

Folly is joy to him that is destitute of wisdom: but a man of understanding walketh uprightly. Pro 15:21




     Do people know you as a prudent one? Or are you known as Rash, frivolous or implosive? 



The wise man's eyes are in his head; but the fool walketh in darkness: and I myself perceived also that one event happeneth to them all. - Ecclesiastes 2:14

The simple believeth every word: but the prudent man looketh well to his going. – Proverbs 14:15

…he that is hasty of spirit exalteth folly. - Proverbs 14:29

     Is ignorance bliss; something that you will get around to fixing or is it something you strive to overcome on a daily basis?

Therefore I said, Surely these are poor; they are foolish: for they know not the way of the LORD, nor the judgment of their God. - Jeremiah 5:4

A  brutish man knoweth not; neither doth a fool understand this. - Psalms 92:6

The lips of the wise disperse knowledge: but the heart of the foolish doeth not so. - Proverbs 15:7

     Do you see your parents as too strict and over critical, not accepting the way you are? Or are they your dearest friends and a constant source of wisdom, encouragement and guidance? 


A fool despiseth his father's instruction: but he that regardeth reproof is prudent. - Proverbs 15:5


Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him. - Proverbs 22:15



A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother. - Proverbs 10:1

      Do you strive everyday to overcome foolishness or are you accepting your sin nature as 'who you are?'

The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise. – Proverbs 12:15

The heart of the prudent getteth knowledge; and the ear of the wise seeketh knowledge. – Proverbs 18:15

Though thou shouldest bray a fool in a mortar among wheat with a pestle, yet will not his foolishness depart from him. - Proverbs 27:22

A fool hath no delight in understanding, but that his heart may discover itself. - Pro 18:2






     
               Is foolishness a sin?


The thought of foolishness is sin: and the scorner is an abomination to men. – Proverbs 24:9


Fools make a mock at sin: but among the righteous there is favour. – Proverbs 14:9

I applied mine heart to know, and to search, and to seek out wisdom, and the reason of things, and to know the wickedness of folly, even of foolishness and madness: - Ecclesiastes 7:25






I love all of those verses.  Super convicting and thought provoking and they are wonderful things to have memorized for daily use in the world! 

For the LORD loves the just and will not forsake his faithful ones. They will be protected for ever, but the offspring of the wicked will be cut off; the righteous will inherit the land and dwell in it for ever. The mouth of the righteous man utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks what is just. The law of his God is in his heart; his feet do not slip.Psalm 37:28-31

Have a great rest of the week :)


Hayden ~