| Your Hidden Talent |
 Your natural talent is interpersonal relations and dealing with people. You communicate well and are able to bring disparate groups together. Your calming presence helps everything go more smoothly. People crave your praise and complements. |
Monday, November 28, 2005
Found this
I found this at another site and thought I'd post it here.
Thursday, November 24, 2005
Quiz
I was working on putting together the newsletter for our church and I found this quiz.
http://www.pastors.com/article.asp?ArtID=3281
I did okay, but not as good as I thought I would. How will you do in separating tradition from fact?
http://www.pastors.com/article.asp?ArtID=3281
I did okay, but not as good as I thought I would. How will you do in separating tradition from fact?
Thursday, November 17, 2005
Royal Winter Fair
One of the things that Jim and I do on an annual basis is to attend the Royal Winter Fair in Toronto. Jim takes a week off work and we head up to T.O. We use that week to also catch up with some friends that live up there. Lots of fun!
One friend just recently got married. It was odd to stay there with another man in the house. BUT it was also really nice to get to know him a bit. He's a neat-nik! First guy I met who was like that! It was funny how we could just put a dish down and it would immediately be tidied up. :) He treats my friend REALLY nicely which was so cool to see. They did most of their dating on-line. It was nice to have another couple who did that, for that is how Jim and I handled a great deal of our relationship prior to marriage. I really believe that sometimes God intervenes in our lives in ways that we don't expect. Who would have thought that computers could be used to bring people together? :) God uses the intellect of mankind in strange and interesting ways.
We stayed with them from Monday night to Friday morning. And then we moved over to another friends and stayed with them for the weekend. Nice to visit with both.
The fair! Man, almost forgot to write about the fair. :) We spent three actual days at the fair, Tuesday, Friday and Saturday. We had hoped to meet up with my youngest brother on the Friday when they were having the holstein calf shows. But to our dismay it was impossible to find him in all the bustle. On Saturday we went to one of the paid shows. We saw a really cool horse display "Les chevaus 'Alexis" (or something along that line). It started off really slowly with a beautiful white horse doing dressage moves, but then showed horses running free and obeying voice and whip commands only. Way cool! I could easily watch them again. The main event was a Canine-Equine Event though. Both the horses and the dogs did really well.
Okay...most of them did. There was an English bulldog who thought that attacking the barrels was a the thing to do! It was funny. Not good for winning the round BUT a real crowd pleaser.
I remember the first time I saw the Superdogs http://www.superdogs.com/ They had an staffordshire terrier that had been trained in interrupt the show by stealing various items from the ring...and how much fun it was to watch him. My guess is that he can do it anymore due to the Ontario restrictions on staffies and the like.
it was a lot of fun at the fair watching the various shows, going around the different vendors and just relaxing with each other. Justin was funny. He rode around in a backpack and he would get so tired and need to sleep and then he would spot some cute looking lady and get all happy and chatty that he would forget to sleep. Sometimes he got a bit grumpy but overall he was a really good little boy. It seemed a bit odd caring for a baby while trotting around the fair. He got fed (he is nursing) in all kinds of interesting locations... and only once was I stared at for doing so.
Well, that's all I think for the day. Next year another week at the fair...Yahoo!
One friend just recently got married. It was odd to stay there with another man in the house. BUT it was also really nice to get to know him a bit. He's a neat-nik! First guy I met who was like that! It was funny how we could just put a dish down and it would immediately be tidied up. :) He treats my friend REALLY nicely which was so cool to see. They did most of their dating on-line. It was nice to have another couple who did that, for that is how Jim and I handled a great deal of our relationship prior to marriage. I really believe that sometimes God intervenes in our lives in ways that we don't expect. Who would have thought that computers could be used to bring people together? :) God uses the intellect of mankind in strange and interesting ways.
We stayed with them from Monday night to Friday morning. And then we moved over to another friends and stayed with them for the weekend. Nice to visit with both.
The fair! Man, almost forgot to write about the fair. :) We spent three actual days at the fair, Tuesday, Friday and Saturday. We had hoped to meet up with my youngest brother on the Friday when they were having the holstein calf shows. But to our dismay it was impossible to find him in all the bustle. On Saturday we went to one of the paid shows. We saw a really cool horse display "Les chevaus 'Alexis" (or something along that line). It started off really slowly with a beautiful white horse doing dressage moves, but then showed horses running free and obeying voice and whip commands only. Way cool! I could easily watch them again. The main event was a Canine-Equine Event though. Both the horses and the dogs did really well.
Okay...most of them did. There was an English bulldog who thought that attacking the barrels was a the thing to do! It was funny. Not good for winning the round BUT a real crowd pleaser.
I remember the first time I saw the Superdogs http://www.superdogs.com/ They had an staffordshire terrier that had been trained in interrupt the show by stealing various items from the ring...and how much fun it was to watch him. My guess is that he can do it anymore due to the Ontario restrictions on staffies and the like.
it was a lot of fun at the fair watching the various shows, going around the different vendors and just relaxing with each other. Justin was funny. He rode around in a backpack and he would get so tired and need to sleep and then he would spot some cute looking lady and get all happy and chatty that he would forget to sleep. Sometimes he got a bit grumpy but overall he was a really good little boy. It seemed a bit odd caring for a baby while trotting around the fair. He got fed (he is nursing) in all kinds of interesting locations... and only once was I stared at for doing so.
Well, that's all I think for the day. Next year another week at the fair...Yahoo!
Thursday, October 13, 2005
What freaks people out
I find it interesting how different people are freaked out by different things. Freaked out might not be the right term, but, it works for me.
For instance, I am part of a newsgroup for guinea pig owners. I am CONSTANTLY amazed at how people agonize over what to feed their piggies, and oh no...how do I cut their toenails....and my piggie grumbled at me this morning...what ever did I do wrong? Don't get me wrong, I care about my piggies, I want them to healthy and hearty and all that, but I don't agonize over them. I cut their nails, and if I draw a bit of blood... flour stops the bleeding in time. I assume they know what is healthy or not for them to eat. I don't take them to the vet the moment they stop looking quite right. And yet, other people just agonize over these things.
Similarly Jim and I went camping this past week with out boy Justin. He is just 3.5 months old now, and camping we went. The sheer number of people that were simply amazed that we would do that astounded me. It's like how could you do that? What if he gets cold? What... what and so forth. I find it quite fascinating at times, and I will admit, at other times it is quite irritating.
When I gave some thought to that, I realized that I want people to be as relaxed about the same things that I am relaxed about, and tense about the same things that make me tense. :) Like for the life of me I can't understand why people like rollercoasters. It's like "ah, ick!" I don't always show the patience and understanding that I should when people are different than I expect them to be. Something I need to work on.
But then I need to realize that in God we are "fearfully and wonderfully made". God made us who we are, gave each of us different gifts and abilities. Each one of us somehow shows who God is. Does sin get in the way? Indeed it does. It makes us fearful about things we aught not fear, It makes us focus too strongly on other things (i.e. the health of piggies as opposed the need for sinners to be saved) and it creates all kinds of problems.
In Jeremiah 9 this morning I read that what God delights in is the people who understand and know him. This is what he wants people to care about, to boast about. The fact that they know and understand God. This is what our focus is to be on. If we don't, if we as a people turn from God then we deserve the punishment that God metes out to us.
Therefore, even though it still amazes me what stresses people out, I have to always remember thatwhat delights God is my understanding and knowing him.
For instance, I am part of a newsgroup for guinea pig owners. I am CONSTANTLY amazed at how people agonize over what to feed their piggies, and oh no...how do I cut their toenails....and my piggie grumbled at me this morning...what ever did I do wrong? Don't get me wrong, I care about my piggies, I want them to healthy and hearty and all that, but I don't agonize over them. I cut their nails, and if I draw a bit of blood... flour stops the bleeding in time. I assume they know what is healthy or not for them to eat. I don't take them to the vet the moment they stop looking quite right. And yet, other people just agonize over these things.
Similarly Jim and I went camping this past week with out boy Justin. He is just 3.5 months old now, and camping we went. The sheer number of people that were simply amazed that we would do that astounded me. It's like how could you do that? What if he gets cold? What... what and so forth. I find it quite fascinating at times, and I will admit, at other times it is quite irritating.
When I gave some thought to that, I realized that I want people to be as relaxed about the same things that I am relaxed about, and tense about the same things that make me tense. :) Like for the life of me I can't understand why people like rollercoasters. It's like "ah, ick!" I don't always show the patience and understanding that I should when people are different than I expect them to be. Something I need to work on.
But then I need to realize that in God we are "fearfully and wonderfully made". God made us who we are, gave each of us different gifts and abilities. Each one of us somehow shows who God is. Does sin get in the way? Indeed it does. It makes us fearful about things we aught not fear, It makes us focus too strongly on other things (i.e. the health of piggies as opposed the need for sinners to be saved) and it creates all kinds of problems.
In Jeremiah 9 this morning I read that what God delights in is the people who understand and know him. This is what he wants people to care about, to boast about. The fact that they know and understand God. This is what our focus is to be on. If we don't, if we as a people turn from God then we deserve the punishment that God metes out to us.
Therefore, even though it still amazes me what stresses people out, I have to always remember thatwhat delights God is my understanding and knowing him.
Sunday, September 18, 2005
Taking a Break
It has been an interesting couple of weeks.
Katrina blows through and makes a mess of things in the states. On the news we see pictures of the horrible destruction caused by this hurricane. New Orleans is mostly underwater. People are acting like the sinful people that we are...looting, shooting, giving authorities lots of attitude, showing their racial and economic biases, not caring for others properly and so forth. But we are also starting to see more of the better side of mankind...people coming out and providing care for the less fortunate, dogs and cats being rescued, clean-up has started. It is good to see that starting to come out as well. It's hard just seeing all the bad things that people can do being displayed in the media.
The whole family caught a cold! Boy was that a tiring couple of weeks. Justin ended up sleeping with his mamma because he was so raspy sounding for a few days. All seems better now though. :) This was through all the big hoopla about the hurricane which made it all seem worse too. Not always sure why things work out like that, but when you are feeling bad yourself, when bad things happen to other people it likes...man...the whole world is crashing in. :) Good time to remind oneself that God indeed is in control of all that happens.
We finally had a chance to go camping! Justin was a good camper. :) That was so nice to learn and to see. Things went well. We didn't go far from home because it was a first go for us, and since it went so well we are feeling much better about going farther away in a couple of weeks. My hubbie is part of the Magical Flying Camper Club on-line. He has lots of fun chatting with all these camper people and they are having a thanksgiving get-together so he said "won't it be fun to join them?" So that is where we are headed for the thanksgiving weekend. I hope he won't expect me to do lots of socializing....I camp to get away from it all too...but some socializing is fun too! Just not 24/7! I do expect it will be a good amount of fun though.
Friday afternoon Justin got his first set of shots. He was not impressed after it was over. He liked meeting the doctor, and didn't notice the first shot, but the second one just made him hollar! He really needed to be with his mamma that night! Good thing that God made us people that need to be in relationship with each other. He made the lack of sleep that night worthwhile for me in that I was able to comfort and care for my little boy. But all was well in the morning...good enough that we went to our annual church fair. It was a good day. Lots of people that we knew met him for the first time so that was fun.
Today is the 55th anniversary at my parent's church. Since Jim is their moderator he will be preaching there. It means an early start for us. It should be a good time. We are part of the Reformed Church of America denomination. Here is their website: www.rca.org It is interesting to be able to look back to see what God has done over the years with his people. Makes me wonder sometimes where he will take us in the future. We do as a people though, need to stay focused on staying true to his word. There are things in the church that I find really troubling, and it is my constant prayer that we would return to the truth of God's word. That we would return to being a people of prayer, a people who live in the joy of fearing God. If we don't, I really wonder what will happen to this denomination in the future, and what it means to our witness to the world at large. But today is day to celebrate what God has done for us! Let us rejoice in that! And pray for future celebrations!!!!
Katrina blows through and makes a mess of things in the states. On the news we see pictures of the horrible destruction caused by this hurricane. New Orleans is mostly underwater. People are acting like the sinful people that we are...looting, shooting, giving authorities lots of attitude, showing their racial and economic biases, not caring for others properly and so forth. But we are also starting to see more of the better side of mankind...people coming out and providing care for the less fortunate, dogs and cats being rescued, clean-up has started. It is good to see that starting to come out as well. It's hard just seeing all the bad things that people can do being displayed in the media.
The whole family caught a cold! Boy was that a tiring couple of weeks. Justin ended up sleeping with his mamma because he was so raspy sounding for a few days. All seems better now though. :) This was through all the big hoopla about the hurricane which made it all seem worse too. Not always sure why things work out like that, but when you are feeling bad yourself, when bad things happen to other people it likes...man...the whole world is crashing in. :) Good time to remind oneself that God indeed is in control of all that happens.
We finally had a chance to go camping! Justin was a good camper. :) That was so nice to learn and to see. Things went well. We didn't go far from home because it was a first go for us, and since it went so well we are feeling much better about going farther away in a couple of weeks. My hubbie is part of the Magical Flying Camper Club on-line. He has lots of fun chatting with all these camper people and they are having a thanksgiving get-together so he said "won't it be fun to join them?" So that is where we are headed for the thanksgiving weekend. I hope he won't expect me to do lots of socializing....I camp to get away from it all too...but some socializing is fun too! Just not 24/7! I do expect it will be a good amount of fun though.
Friday afternoon Justin got his first set of shots. He was not impressed after it was over. He liked meeting the doctor, and didn't notice the first shot, but the second one just made him hollar! He really needed to be with his mamma that night! Good thing that God made us people that need to be in relationship with each other. He made the lack of sleep that night worthwhile for me in that I was able to comfort and care for my little boy. But all was well in the morning...good enough that we went to our annual church fair. It was a good day. Lots of people that we knew met him for the first time so that was fun.
Today is the 55th anniversary at my parent's church. Since Jim is their moderator he will be preaching there. It means an early start for us. It should be a good time. We are part of the Reformed Church of America denomination. Here is their website: www.rca.org It is interesting to be able to look back to see what God has done over the years with his people. Makes me wonder sometimes where he will take us in the future. We do as a people though, need to stay focused on staying true to his word. There are things in the church that I find really troubling, and it is my constant prayer that we would return to the truth of God's word. That we would return to being a people of prayer, a people who live in the joy of fearing God. If we don't, I really wonder what will happen to this denomination in the future, and what it means to our witness to the world at large. But today is day to celebrate what God has done for us! Let us rejoice in that! And pray for future celebrations!!!!
Monday, August 29, 2005
This Weekend
Ah... I had a lovely weekend. It's been a busy summer with Justin being born. The hubbie and I both have summer birthdays, and we hadn't had a chance to celebrate them with all the busy-ness so... I took it upon myself to have a celebration weekend.
I emailed all our buddies and invited them up for a Satuday night bash. Boy...did we have fun. It was so good to see them. And they just loved our little boy Justin. He got held and passed around and he slept and smiled and was just a good little boy. It had been a long time since some of the friends were up this way so it was so much fun to just relax with them all. What a total blast we had. Way too much food!
Then on Sunday he got baptized. The whole family, well, okay..the whole family that lives close enough to come, came. We had a good dinner. It was weird doing the baptism. Anyone who knows me, knows that I hate sitting near the front in church. I like sitting midway to the back OR up in the balcony. Well...I had to sit third row from the front. The parents insisted. The hubbie insisted. I was unimpressed. I felt like everyone was watching me. And apparently they were because they all commented on how well Justin behaved during the service (he slept it away). Jim (my hubbie) is also our pastor. He got to baptize his own son which was way cool. He had trouble holding him for the baptism part because Justin is so long and not an in-active baby at all when held flat. :) But no-one fell! Even though this momma had to restrain herself from intervening. :) Even some of Jim's family came too which was really nice. It's good to get to know the hubbie's side of the family too. Nice people.
God was very gracious to me this weekend in letting it be such a nice one. All praise be to him!
I emailed all our buddies and invited them up for a Satuday night bash. Boy...did we have fun. It was so good to see them. And they just loved our little boy Justin. He got held and passed around and he slept and smiled and was just a good little boy. It had been a long time since some of the friends were up this way so it was so much fun to just relax with them all. What a total blast we had. Way too much food!
Then on Sunday he got baptized. The whole family, well, okay..the whole family that lives close enough to come, came. We had a good dinner. It was weird doing the baptism. Anyone who knows me, knows that I hate sitting near the front in church. I like sitting midway to the back OR up in the balcony. Well...I had to sit third row from the front. The parents insisted. The hubbie insisted. I was unimpressed. I felt like everyone was watching me. And apparently they were because they all commented on how well Justin behaved during the service (he slept it away). Jim (my hubbie) is also our pastor. He got to baptize his own son which was way cool. He had trouble holding him for the baptism part because Justin is so long and not an in-active baby at all when held flat. :) But no-one fell! Even though this momma had to restrain herself from intervening. :) Even some of Jim's family came too which was really nice. It's good to get to know the hubbie's side of the family too. Nice people.
God was very gracious to me this weekend in letting it be such a nice one. All praise be to him!
Saturday, August 13, 2005
Twisting Things
One of my favourite things to do is to read. I love reading...I must read something everyday or the day doesn't seem finished. I tend to read either good christian books - right now I'm reading through two - the Joy of Fearing God and Total Truth. Both are fascinating. I am also reading a fiction work by Mercedes Lackey. It is a fantasy book.
For my devotions I am going through the book of Jeremiah. Interesting book. I"m learning things I didn't expect to. Anyways, what struck me the other day was In jeremiah 8:8-9
8"How can you say, 'We are wise,
and the law of the LORD is with us'?
But behold, the lying pen of the scribes
has made it into a lie.
9The wise men shall be put to shame;
they shall be dismayed and taken;
behold, they have rejected the word of the LORD,
so what wisdom is in them?
People hear the word of God, they read it, and then they twist to their own satisfaction. The nation of Israel liked to say thet they knew God but they did their own thing. They had God, and then they had all these other gods/idols/images that they worshipped.
I remember reading that, and then in this book that I'm reading I read something similar. "It says, have no other God before me, but....it doesn't say anything about having other gods in reserve." This was a quote from one of the characters in the book. It really showed me what people do when they twist the words of our living Lord and Saviour.
Our God is a holy God. He is the only God out there. We, as people, as a sinful fallen people, can make up as many gods as we like, it doesn't change the fact that God is God is God. And we can't change that or make it any different. God says worship me alone. Doing anything else is simply just wrong...it goes against what God tells HIS people to do.
We must be careful to follow his word and to not make it say what we want it to. No twisting of scripture is okay. We must learn from the past. God punished the Israelites for twisting his word and for turning away from him. He will not hesitate to do so again. Be aware that our God is a holy and righteous and the ONLY true God.
For my devotions I am going through the book of Jeremiah. Interesting book. I"m learning things I didn't expect to. Anyways, what struck me the other day was In jeremiah 8:8-9
8"How can you say, 'We are wise,
and the law of the LORD is with us'?
But behold, the lying pen of the scribes
has made it into a lie.
9The wise men shall be put to shame;
they shall be dismayed and taken;
behold, they have rejected the word of the LORD,
so what wisdom is in them?
People hear the word of God, they read it, and then they twist to their own satisfaction. The nation of Israel liked to say thet they knew God but they did their own thing. They had God, and then they had all these other gods/idols/images that they worshipped.
I remember reading that, and then in this book that I'm reading I read something similar. "It says, have no other God before me, but....it doesn't say anything about having other gods in reserve." This was a quote from one of the characters in the book. It really showed me what people do when they twist the words of our living Lord and Saviour.
Our God is a holy God. He is the only God out there. We, as people, as a sinful fallen people, can make up as many gods as we like, it doesn't change the fact that God is God is God. And we can't change that or make it any different. God says worship me alone. Doing anything else is simply just wrong...it goes against what God tells HIS people to do.
We must be careful to follow his word and to not make it say what we want it to. No twisting of scripture is okay. We must learn from the past. God punished the Israelites for twisting his word and for turning away from him. He will not hesitate to do so again. Be aware that our God is a holy and righteous and the ONLY true God.
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
Dependancy
One of the hardest things that people have to learn is how to properly depend on others.
I've been reading Jeremiah lately for my devotions and it keeps popping up over and over again, about how Israel and Judah decided to turn from God and to turn back to the ways of Egypt and the worship of false gods. They did not choose to depend on God for everything, they chose to depend on themselves and idols of their own making. This of course, caused God to turn from them in anger, he indeed poured out his wrath upon them. BUT>>>> he only did so after he called and called for the people to return to him.
I see this tendency in my own life as well. Having a baby by c-section really made me aware of it. I so much like doing things for my ownself, in my own way and time, and having a wee one dependant upon you for everything, and being unable to do my own thing in my own time, and having to ask my parents for assistance in just getting meals and laundry done.... it's been a struggle. And then when I struggled with baby blues....having to say God help me with this, I can't get through these thoughts on my own.... IT"S HARD. BUT I must also say, it is worth it. Worth it from my parents joy in being able to spend LOTS of time with their new grandson. Worth it from knowing that by turning to God in my need brings him joy as well. So despite the challenges of needing to be humble enough to ask for help, comes good things.
I look at the larger world today, the Canadian government legalizing same-sex marriage because it's a "human rights issue", people fighting for jobs, people hurting each other, people saying the God isn't real,..... these are all symptons of individuals saying....let me do it my way. Let me make the choices. Let me stand on my own. Where is the dependancy? It seems like no one wants to be dependant on others in proper ways....
Where is this people's need for God? Have we all gone off to do our own thing? My prayer is that we learn how to depend on God as a people, as a nation. That we will indeed turn from our wickedness and heed the word of our Lord.
I've been reading Jeremiah lately for my devotions and it keeps popping up over and over again, about how Israel and Judah decided to turn from God and to turn back to the ways of Egypt and the worship of false gods. They did not choose to depend on God for everything, they chose to depend on themselves and idols of their own making. This of course, caused God to turn from them in anger, he indeed poured out his wrath upon them. BUT>>>> he only did so after he called and called for the people to return to him.
I see this tendency in my own life as well. Having a baby by c-section really made me aware of it. I so much like doing things for my ownself, in my own way and time, and having a wee one dependant upon you for everything, and being unable to do my own thing in my own time, and having to ask my parents for assistance in just getting meals and laundry done.... it's been a struggle. And then when I struggled with baby blues....having to say God help me with this, I can't get through these thoughts on my own.... IT"S HARD. BUT I must also say, it is worth it. Worth it from my parents joy in being able to spend LOTS of time with their new grandson. Worth it from knowing that by turning to God in my need brings him joy as well. So despite the challenges of needing to be humble enough to ask for help, comes good things.
I look at the larger world today, the Canadian government legalizing same-sex marriage because it's a "human rights issue", people fighting for jobs, people hurting each other, people saying the God isn't real,..... these are all symptons of individuals saying....let me do it my way. Let me make the choices. Let me stand on my own. Where is the dependancy? It seems like no one wants to be dependant on others in proper ways....
Where is this people's need for God? Have we all gone off to do our own thing? My prayer is that we learn how to depend on God as a people, as a nation. That we will indeed turn from our wickedness and heed the word of our Lord.
Friday, July 22, 2005
A Learning Process
Boy oh boy is being a new mom ever a huge learning curve. Makes me wonder how people do it! :) But, they do. And I too will survive this learning curve.
Veronica the lactation consultant has called a couple of times just to see how I am doing, and to offer encouragement and advice. Nice of her to do that...and yes, I know it's her job, but it is still nice to hear words of encouragement over the phone.
Susan, our mid-wife, was planning on coming over tonight to check up on us, but.....there was an accident within the family so she won't be able to come today. She'll come tomorrow instead. She thinks that yesterday when Justin was crying all day that it was a growth spurt that he was going through. All I know is I kept feeding him, he couldn't settle and I'd feed him some more...and it was a never ending merry-go-round. Sleep didn't come easily last night. Today, on the other hand, our little boy is sleeping all day long. :) Such a change.
My hubbie Jim is trying hard to be a good dad and supportive husband as we go through learning process. Makes me love him even more. Go figure that eh.... one wouldn't think that such a change in life could cause a person to love another person, more....but somehow it does. Not that I'm complaining. It's good to have a firm love for one's life partner.
Anyways, time to go to bed so....i'll write more another time.
Annette
Veronica the lactation consultant has called a couple of times just to see how I am doing, and to offer encouragement and advice. Nice of her to do that...and yes, I know it's her job, but it is still nice to hear words of encouragement over the phone.
Susan, our mid-wife, was planning on coming over tonight to check up on us, but.....there was an accident within the family so she won't be able to come today. She'll come tomorrow instead. She thinks that yesterday when Justin was crying all day that it was a growth spurt that he was going through. All I know is I kept feeding him, he couldn't settle and I'd feed him some more...and it was a never ending merry-go-round. Sleep didn't come easily last night. Today, on the other hand, our little boy is sleeping all day long. :) Such a change.
My hubbie Jim is trying hard to be a good dad and supportive husband as we go through learning process. Makes me love him even more. Go figure that eh.... one wouldn't think that such a change in life could cause a person to love another person, more....but somehow it does. Not that I'm complaining. It's good to have a firm love for one's life partner.
Anyways, time to go to bed so....i'll write more another time.
Annette
Monday, July 11, 2005
New Life
Well, what can I say? Our baby has been born!
Labour was nasty, it, if our baby had been a bit smaller, would have been doable, but he was just a tad bit too big, and took just a tad bit too long in coming into the world. Having a C-section was doable, just not the option we wanted.
Interesting though, I did a search on-line last night for information on recovering from having a c-section and there is surprisingly not a lot of information out there! Most people experience what Jim and I did. Go home and take it easy. I find that horribly shocking! It took some searching to find out how I should care for myself over these next few weeks.
From what I could tell from people out in computer land, what I should do is the following
1. I should have help in the house for at least 2 weeks following release from the hospital.
2. I should go up and down the stairs as infrequently as possible.
3. I should rest. Sleep whenever I can, use pillows, chairs whatever to get myself comfortable.
4. I should not bend over and pick things up.
5. I should not carry anything heavier than our baby.
6. I should avoid anything that could add to abdominal stress - avoid constipation, gas, etc. It means eating healthy,taking stool softeners, and so forth.
7. It means walking in order to keep the body's systems active.
So why don't doctors tell their patients these things? Like seriously, I am sure that I could have avoided adding to my pain levels IF I had been told these things. So why wasn't I? Why do most women not know these things and have to rely on other women to fill them in? That makes for a lot of misinformation being passed around and greater chances for women to actually find themselves damaging themselves and needing more recuperating time.
It just seems like doctors don't really care about their patients if they don't give them good post-operative care and kinda just willy-nilly send them home when perhaps they shouldn't because the patient might have a better recoup time if they stayed in hospital even one more day, or it gave them more time to learn about what they should do when they are at home and so forth.
I have found that it has just been rather interesting learning about people's experiences in this. I was blown away too by the numbers of women who choose to have a c-section because they don't want to go through the bother of labour. The prevailing attitude among such choice makers is that they want to avoid the bother of labour, and they like the idea of having to do nothing for at least 6 weeks after the baby is born. One lady was even rather bummed that (after choosing to do c-section for four children) that her doctor said....Okay, no more children are you allowed to have.! And she was SO mad at her doctor. Why didn't he tell me this might limit the amount of children I could have? What's his problem, I should be able to have more children, all they need to do is c-section it, even if it's a bit a early! I just find that type of attitude so ... not sure of the word to use....shocking, frustrating, mind-boggling. Definitely NOT one that I would agree with.
Labour was nasty, it, if our baby had been a bit smaller, would have been doable, but he was just a tad bit too big, and took just a tad bit too long in coming into the world. Having a C-section was doable, just not the option we wanted.
Interesting though, I did a search on-line last night for information on recovering from having a c-section and there is surprisingly not a lot of information out there! Most people experience what Jim and I did. Go home and take it easy. I find that horribly shocking! It took some searching to find out how I should care for myself over these next few weeks.
From what I could tell from people out in computer land, what I should do is the following
1. I should have help in the house for at least 2 weeks following release from the hospital.
2. I should go up and down the stairs as infrequently as possible.
3. I should rest. Sleep whenever I can, use pillows, chairs whatever to get myself comfortable.
4. I should not bend over and pick things up.
5. I should not carry anything heavier than our baby.
6. I should avoid anything that could add to abdominal stress - avoid constipation, gas, etc. It means eating healthy,taking stool softeners, and so forth.
7. It means walking in order to keep the body's systems active.
So why don't doctors tell their patients these things? Like seriously, I am sure that I could have avoided adding to my pain levels IF I had been told these things. So why wasn't I? Why do most women not know these things and have to rely on other women to fill them in? That makes for a lot of misinformation being passed around and greater chances for women to actually find themselves damaging themselves and needing more recuperating time.
It just seems like doctors don't really care about their patients if they don't give them good post-operative care and kinda just willy-nilly send them home when perhaps they shouldn't because the patient might have a better recoup time if they stayed in hospital even one more day, or it gave them more time to learn about what they should do when they are at home and so forth.
I have found that it has just been rather interesting learning about people's experiences in this. I was blown away too by the numbers of women who choose to have a c-section because they don't want to go through the bother of labour. The prevailing attitude among such choice makers is that they want to avoid the bother of labour, and they like the idea of having to do nothing for at least 6 weeks after the baby is born. One lady was even rather bummed that (after choosing to do c-section for four children) that her doctor said....Okay, no more children are you allowed to have.! And she was SO mad at her doctor. Why didn't he tell me this might limit the amount of children I could have? What's his problem, I should be able to have more children, all they need to do is c-section it, even if it's a bit a early! I just find that type of attitude so ... not sure of the word to use....shocking, frustrating, mind-boggling. Definitely NOT one that I would agree with.
Saturday, June 25, 2005
Still waiting
Hello, it's been a hot Saturday. Jim and I had a nice day. We went garage-saling this morning (what can I say, I've gotten Jim a little bit hooked on going to garage sales too!) :) It's kinda fun to share this with Jim. Anyways, afterwards we ran up to London. We checked out the London Market (it's not as far to drive as the Kitchener one). We bought a zucchini, but we mostly went there just to take it easy and get our minds off of things.
So ... what has been on our minds lately you might wonder?
Stuff going on with the larger church that we belong to. Our church is part of the Reformed Church of America. A while back one of our professor's of theology decided that it would be a good idea for him to officiate at his daughter's wedding to her lesbian daughter. This is not acceptable, neither to the official position of the RCA denomination NOR according to the standards of God as written in the Bible. We just had our general synod meeting. At that meeting there was a trial of Rev. Kansfield were he was found guilty. At that same synod a lot of overtures were turned down... most of those overtures had to do with defining what marriage was and other issues. This has caused quite the uproar in the larger denomination.
What was approved was a three year study on the whole issue of homosexuality. Which really means putting a lot of things on hold in the church for the 4.5 years, because this is supposed to be a denomination wide discussion that involved EVERY level in the church. Takes the focus off what the church is supposed be involved with....mission, evangelism, acts of service and so forth. Some churches have already decided that they don't need to part of our denomination already. It is causing more polarization and anger and disappointment and so forth. NOT what the church really needs.
It is frustrating to see the work of God being sidelined by issues such as this. And how is conversation really supposed to be facilitated when the real issues at hand are being ignored. Issues such as discipline, interpretation of scripture, holding to the standards of the church, and so forth? I honestly think that nothing will really be accomplished in the next few years because the real issues aren't be addressed. All that will happen is that people will leave our denomination. I do hold out a bit of hope that God will use this time to start a revival in our denomination that will spread. That HIS glory and honour and power will be upheld in the highest way possible. Ah....to see a revival occur....wouldn't that be an awesome thing? To see people learn and grow and LOVE God deeply! To give up their own agendas and to focus on what we are supposed to. Would be good of course if I learned to do that better too! :)
Until another day (it's getting late).
So ... what has been on our minds lately you might wonder?
Stuff going on with the larger church that we belong to. Our church is part of the Reformed Church of America. A while back one of our professor's of theology decided that it would be a good idea for him to officiate at his daughter's wedding to her lesbian daughter. This is not acceptable, neither to the official position of the RCA denomination NOR according to the standards of God as written in the Bible. We just had our general synod meeting. At that meeting there was a trial of Rev. Kansfield were he was found guilty. At that same synod a lot of overtures were turned down... most of those overtures had to do with defining what marriage was and other issues. This has caused quite the uproar in the larger denomination.
What was approved was a three year study on the whole issue of homosexuality. Which really means putting a lot of things on hold in the church for the 4.5 years, because this is supposed to be a denomination wide discussion that involved EVERY level in the church. Takes the focus off what the church is supposed be involved with....mission, evangelism, acts of service and so forth. Some churches have already decided that they don't need to part of our denomination already. It is causing more polarization and anger and disappointment and so forth. NOT what the church really needs.
It is frustrating to see the work of God being sidelined by issues such as this. And how is conversation really supposed to be facilitated when the real issues at hand are being ignored. Issues such as discipline, interpretation of scripture, holding to the standards of the church, and so forth? I honestly think that nothing will really be accomplished in the next few years because the real issues aren't be addressed. All that will happen is that people will leave our denomination. I do hold out a bit of hope that God will use this time to start a revival in our denomination that will spread. That HIS glory and honour and power will be upheld in the highest way possible. Ah....to see a revival occur....wouldn't that be an awesome thing? To see people learn and grow and LOVE God deeply! To give up their own agendas and to focus on what we are supposed to. Would be good of course if I learned to do that better too! :)
Until another day (it's getting late).
Sunday, June 19, 2005
We have babies
My husband and I enjoy aquariums. We both have different tastes in the types of fish we enjoy. he enjoys cichlids and I enjoy quieter community fish - like rainbows, barbs, etc.
ANYWAYS, here I was quietly taking a nap and he bursts in...HUN! Come see! We have babies!
I slowly (well actually with his help) got up (what can I say....i'm overdue to have our child), and trekked over to the aquarium and low and behold I find we have a whole slew of baby salvini cichlid. Clustered all over one of our rocks. With momma and poppa guarding them.
They are pretty good at keeping the other cichlids away from them ... one is better than the other. But then the one sometimes chases it's partner away too! So hey....it's like a bit of a war zone in the aquarium right now.
Unfortunately it means that we need to figure out a different set up for our aquariums...because right now it's a bit of a guessing game as to whether any of them will actually survive or not. Most of them will end up getting eaten by the other fish, and we'd rather have a bunch of babies so we might need to purchase another aquarium to keep our salvini cichlid's in. They'd be a nice little money maker for us in the long run. :) Nice to have baby fish! :)
Anyways, there you have it! One of these days you might actually learn what our child is .... but we are still playing the waiting game with that one!
ANYWAYS, here I was quietly taking a nap and he bursts in...HUN! Come see! We have babies!
I slowly (well actually with his help) got up (what can I say....i'm overdue to have our child), and trekked over to the aquarium and low and behold I find we have a whole slew of baby salvini cichlid. Clustered all over one of our rocks. With momma and poppa guarding them.
They are pretty good at keeping the other cichlids away from them ... one is better than the other. But then the one sometimes chases it's partner away too! So hey....it's like a bit of a war zone in the aquarium right now.
Unfortunately it means that we need to figure out a different set up for our aquariums...because right now it's a bit of a guessing game as to whether any of them will actually survive or not. Most of them will end up getting eaten by the other fish, and we'd rather have a bunch of babies so we might need to purchase another aquarium to keep our salvini cichlid's in. They'd be a nice little money maker for us in the long run. :) Nice to have baby fish! :)
Anyways, there you have it! One of these days you might actually learn what our child is .... but we are still playing the waiting game with that one!
Wednesday, May 04, 2005
False teachers and standing for truth
I've been Studying from 2 Corinthians, this morning I was in chapter 11. Paul was talking about how the Corinthians were so easily led astray by false prophets and it seemed like he was defending his actions against them.
It must have been hard for Paul to deal with. He has spent so much time and energy on the Corinthians only to find that they are so easily turned aside by false teachers, finding himself wanting to defend himself, and yet knowing that his best defence is to continue doing things as he has been doing them. That only by doing so will he show these other people up for what they are ... false prophets/teachers.
Makes me think that it must be hard for Jim as well. To work so hard with these people here in Exeter, and within the Reformed Church, bringing the truth of you and then finding that people turn aside for other reasons. And then I look at some of the denominational issues that are facing us, and it makes me wonder, how do men (and women) of God who strive so hard for the truth of scripture deal with it all.
I find it rather frustrating myself. But I do like Paul's response where he says:
12And what I do I will continue to do, in order to undermine the claim of those who would like to claim that in their boasted mission they work on the same terms as we do. 13For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. 14And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 15So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.
He is not going to change his stance for the truth. God will show these false people for what they are. "The Truth will out" so to speak. Helps me to understand Jim better too when he says that he will continue to focus on the preaching of God's word, regardless of what the Church growth movement says about it or not.
Through the direct preaching of the word, the truth will be heard .... sometimes I find... regardless of whether or not people really want to hear it.
Friday, April 22, 2005
Babies
Funny how it is. Here we are expecting our baby in the 8 weeks and everywhere we go, we are seeing babies and/or pregnant women. I find it interesting. Generally speaking I really don't pay alot of attention to that, but now it's like I can't avoid it. We met a wee 6 week old just the other day, and his mom kept saying...it's not a bad as you think it will be... really. :) It's like she was trying to convince herself the way she kept emphasizing it.
Do I get concerned a bit when I think of the actual labour part of having a baby? Yep! From what I read, some women get overwhelmed that they just kinda shut down and their partners and/or care practitioners have to get mad at them in order to get them to continue doing their job (having the baby). If that would happen I wouldn't be particularly thrilled with the whole process. So that's a concern. Hopefully though, with having the baby at home, there is less of a concern for that because I'll be at home where I feel safe and comfortable and to a certain extent in control of what happens in life. And all that helps with not feeling overwhelmed by the whole labour process. And having a mid-wife that I can trust is really good too!
People keep asking if we are really excited about having a baby. It's hard to know how to answer them sometimes. Do I look forward to having a baby? Yes. I do. But at the same time, I'm not wild with excitement ... I feel more calm about it than excited generally speaking. Am I aware that I am pregnant? Very much so... it's like I can't escape it now! I have a bigger belly, the baby kicks alot, it's getting harder to get comfortable, and some things are much harder to do now. :) But that's all to be expected. Can't say that I'm always thrilled about the changes in my body, and sometimes I just don't like it at all, it's like my body is not my own anymore. But generally speaking I really don't mind as it prepares me for all the changes in my life that will happen after the baby is born too!
Anyways, enough for today...
Do I get concerned a bit when I think of the actual labour part of having a baby? Yep! From what I read, some women get overwhelmed that they just kinda shut down and their partners and/or care practitioners have to get mad at them in order to get them to continue doing their job (having the baby). If that would happen I wouldn't be particularly thrilled with the whole process. So that's a concern. Hopefully though, with having the baby at home, there is less of a concern for that because I'll be at home where I feel safe and comfortable and to a certain extent in control of what happens in life. And all that helps with not feeling overwhelmed by the whole labour process. And having a mid-wife that I can trust is really good too!
People keep asking if we are really excited about having a baby. It's hard to know how to answer them sometimes. Do I look forward to having a baby? Yes. I do. But at the same time, I'm not wild with excitement ... I feel more calm about it than excited generally speaking. Am I aware that I am pregnant? Very much so... it's like I can't escape it now! I have a bigger belly, the baby kicks alot, it's getting harder to get comfortable, and some things are much harder to do now. :) But that's all to be expected. Can't say that I'm always thrilled about the changes in my body, and sometimes I just don't like it at all, it's like my body is not my own anymore. But generally speaking I really don't mind as it prepares me for all the changes in my life that will happen after the baby is born too!
Anyways, enough for today...
Tuesday, March 29, 2005
Shopping
So, today Jim and I went shopping for cars!
We drove to T.O. because we thought we could find a better deal there... we did!
We found a 97 Safari! WooHoo!!!! AND we bargained for it and managed to get it for a decent price! I was thrilled with ourselves for that! We aren't the worlds best bargainers and what we did worked for us! God is indeed gracious to us! :)
Our baby is more and more making his/her presence known. Kicks up a storm most of the time now. Sometimes s/he even makes my whole tummy move! It is so wierd! :) But cool at the same time! :)
Sassy, man, can I ever tell she hasn't been kept busy enough! She has been BUGGING the snot out of the cat all evening! Poor cat! Can't do a thing without the dog getting on his case! Ah well.... he'll survive until tomorrow! Tomorrow I plan to work Sassy hard on agility and freestyle lessons. make that little girl think!
We drove to T.O. because we thought we could find a better deal there... we did!
We found a 97 Safari! WooHoo!!!! AND we bargained for it and managed to get it for a decent price! I was thrilled with ourselves for that! We aren't the worlds best bargainers and what we did worked for us! God is indeed gracious to us! :)
Our baby is more and more making his/her presence known. Kicks up a storm most of the time now. Sometimes s/he even makes my whole tummy move! It is so wierd! :) But cool at the same time! :)
Sassy, man, can I ever tell she hasn't been kept busy enough! She has been BUGGING the snot out of the cat all evening! Poor cat! Can't do a thing without the dog getting on his case! Ah well.... he'll survive until tomorrow! Tomorrow I plan to work Sassy hard on agility and freestyle lessons. make that little girl think!
Tuesday, March 15, 2005
it's another day
So yesterday was a fun day. Jim and I went up to see the folks, ended up going bowling with them and their church. Mom won the first go-round, Jim won the second! We didn't get the world's highest scores...but we sure had alot of fun. It was nice too, to be able to reconnect with some of the church people that I grew up with. We chatted at home with Mom and Dad in the afternoon. Mom felt the baby kick! That was fun. She says that i'm completely different in going through this pregnancy than my sister's were. That made me smile. But then again, we are very different people too!
Later on we went up to Elora Country Kitchens for a birthday supper for my brother Bill. We had a great time. I had a pork chop dinner that tasted great, Jim got the cheese steak and wasn't too impressed, it was very fatty he said, and cut too thick! :( but ah well, that's the way it goes eh! :) Today he is not feeling too well so that is not so nice for him. It is encouraging him to clean his office though as he has no energy really for doing anything else.
Anyways, I think that is it for the day! Not a whole lot going on in the way of news either so I've naught to comment on that I would even bother with. So....here's to yet, another day. :)
Later on we went up to Elora Country Kitchens for a birthday supper for my brother Bill. We had a great time. I had a pork chop dinner that tasted great, Jim got the cheese steak and wasn't too impressed, it was very fatty he said, and cut too thick! :( but ah well, that's the way it goes eh! :) Today he is not feeling too well so that is not so nice for him. It is encouraging him to clean his office though as he has no energy really for doing anything else.
Anyways, I think that is it for the day! Not a whole lot going on in the way of news either so I've naught to comment on that I would even bother with. So....here's to yet, another day. :)
Saturday, March 12, 2005
hmm....
Brand new to this. Just going to try it out and see what I think.
So what is on my brain these days? Continued anger with the Ontario government over the Pit Bull Legislation. Of all the ill-conceived pieces of legislation! Banning three legal breeds and banning one that isn't even an official breed. And saying that all they are good for is animal research! ICK! Staffy's....dogs that in Ontario haven't even been known to bite people. Pit bulls... which admittedly...can be nasty dogs in the wrong hands...but then what do you do with all those that are nice dogs and have never caused a problem for anyone. Now these dogs are at the mercy of anyone walking by them that MIGHT have an issue with dogs. That's what this legislation really breaks down too!
Pitting neighbours against neighbours! Your dog barks... I'm angry at you for dumping garbage on my front lawn so let me call it a pit bull and let me see you just try to prove that it isn't! And if it isn't registered, and has remote similarities to a pit bull type...well guess what... you get fined, your dog gets destroyed or sent off for research purchases, and your dog hasn't actually bitten anyone...
What can I say...I hate the legislation and the fear that it generates and would love to see it defeated legally or not given royal assent.
So what is on my brain these days? Continued anger with the Ontario government over the Pit Bull Legislation. Of all the ill-conceived pieces of legislation! Banning three legal breeds and banning one that isn't even an official breed. And saying that all they are good for is animal research! ICK! Staffy's....dogs that in Ontario haven't even been known to bite people. Pit bulls... which admittedly...can be nasty dogs in the wrong hands...but then what do you do with all those that are nice dogs and have never caused a problem for anyone. Now these dogs are at the mercy of anyone walking by them that MIGHT have an issue with dogs. That's what this legislation really breaks down too!
Pitting neighbours against neighbours! Your dog barks... I'm angry at you for dumping garbage on my front lawn so let me call it a pit bull and let me see you just try to prove that it isn't! And if it isn't registered, and has remote similarities to a pit bull type...well guess what... you get fined, your dog gets destroyed or sent off for research purchases, and your dog hasn't actually bitten anyone...
What can I say...I hate the legislation and the fear that it generates and would love to see it defeated legally or not given royal assent.
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