The Joy of Being Pregnant

Before any of my friends wonder if this is a covert announcement, it isn't! No baby news here, but I am thrilled to share that my good friend had her new baby girl yesterday. It's her third, a surprise planned by God. I can't wait to go see her!!

Mary, Jesus' mother, was surely excited in anticipation of giving life to a sweet babe, the Son of God. What an amazing reality that "when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His son, born of a woman, born under the Law." We would have no need of celebrating Easter if not for the birth of our Savior. The gratitude we can share during this time of year for God loving us so much He sent a way for us to be forgiven of our sins, is such a pleasure. Let's not belittle the reality of the gift of Christ!

So often people will use the excuse, "No one is perfect", when talking about people who 'believe in Christ' as an excuse of why they aren't really following Him. It's good to be reminded that even Satan 'believes'; it is the one who does the WILL of the Father who is in the fold. That means we need to bend our will to match God's. So if we are a follower of Christ, we can't practice fornication, drunkenness, lying, deception etc. as a way of life. We ought to want to please Him and as we learn what doesn't, we need to change. If this isn't you and you think you are going to Heaven, please read the gospel of John!. We aren't free to do whatever we want if we are a Christian. It isn't the change of action that SAVES us, but the change of action comes as a result of being saved.

I'm blessed to have some near and dear family members pregnant for the first time ever. It is such a time of glorious anticipation. Everyone who wants children longs for the chance to raise them the way they think is best, and many parents, especially those who are older, have a lot of ideas about how it needs to go. I think it is very fun and look forward to seeing how things play out. It is  not an easy task regardless of how you go about it, and you'll not find another family doing anything the way you do it exactly. Having that understanding helps so much when it comes to making decisions that are radically different from family or close friends.

Mary and Joseph were dealing with a very unique situation. If we walk close to what Jesus taught and did, parenting will go much smoother than it would otherwise.

Merry Christmas!