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Advice to First-Time Moms-to-Be from a Learning Mother
Warning: I am not a professional. Before I lose another brain cell, however, I wish to impart this advice – hard-earned, or regrettably ignored. I hope you learn from my mistakes and find more joy in the last months of pregnancy and first months of motherhood. Here’s what I’ve learned so far:
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Losing the Weight
There’s nothing like post-holiday food remorse. Gone too soon are the days of holiday cookies, egg nog, mulled wine and cider, turkey and stuffing, and even fruitcake; instead, I’m staring down the cold reality of January… and my scale. Brrr.
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New Year’s Revolution
Funny how a one-letter change in a familiar phrase can completely redefine it. As I pray about the New Year, I’m also contemplating possible New Year’s revolutions – yup, that’s not a typo – with a sweaty brow, a grin, and my seat-belt buckled. Here are some ways the Lord brings about revolution in our lives:
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Advent? *Yawn*
From the Oxford Dictionary for Advanced Learners: ADVENT Pronunciation:/ˈadv(ə)nt, -vɛnt/ noun [in singular] 1 the coming of an important event, person, invention, etc Okay, be honest: have you ever bickered with your parents, sparred with your siblings, or gave your spouse the silent treatment–on the way to worship? Do you recall more than one gripe-before-church match? I do (in very recent history, unfortunately). I wonder if Sunday morning, pre-church is one of the most beleaguered times for families who name the name of Jesus Christ. What’s worse? I have seen this cycle enough times to know the conflict comes before worship, to distract, or afterwards, to cast doubt. I…
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Bathing-Suit Shopping and Other Acts of Worship
Christmas is coming, which has me thinking about the Incarnation and what it means for me today. The Incarnation is wondrous; that God so loved us, that He would demonstrate it by sending Jesus to be right here with us. Jesus didn’t float in on a cloud; His vulnerable, gritty communion with humanity began in his teenage mother’s womb (Matthew 1:23). Our Lord was nourished by what Mary ate, comforted by her voice, lulled to sleep by her movements.
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Hold On
I cry every time I watch the video "Everybody Hurts," by REM. Please click the link and watch the video. It's beautiful and sincere. With this song, REM zeroes in on the ugly, unavoidable truth that I experience at times: The days are long. I do feel alone. I sometimes think that life holds too much suffering.
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I Love My Hair!
As a kid, other children poked fun at me for many things; my exotic name, my full lips, my grades. It's funny, though; the attributes that people despised about me when I was younger, became assets as I grew older. My name went from bizarre to unique, my lips were admired for their plumpness, and my academic record opened doors for me. But one thing consistently sets me apart for either rabid, irresistible praise or almost irrationally angry ridicule: my hair.
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Why God Hates Women (Like Me)
I’m tired. My back is chronically aching from shushing, cuddling, and hauling my 3-month-old bundle of joy or cleaning the urine off the toilet rim and the ring around the tub for the umpteenth time or folding laundry. My eyes are puffy and rimmed red from the Promethean hamster wheel of life lately. I’m also regularly chiding myself for not doing enough, because I am watching mothers of multiple children holding down full-time jobs, producing regularly in ministry, and who are probably having the best sex of their lives with their adoring husbands after working out their amazing post-baby bodies and whipping up organic feasts. They probably have “Proverbs 31:10-31”…
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Burn, Baby, Burn – Qur’an Controversy
Sometimes I ponder how God might respond during times where His name is being challenged or dragged through the mud.
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Mourning: A Short Story
There has been loss and grieving in my circle recently. Friends, grandparents, children, dearly loved and ripped from earth due to disease or self-infliction. The Bible says in Romans 12:15 that we have the privilege of mourning with those who mourn. This short story is my own grief at the loss of my grandmother, pressed into words…when there weren't really any words to be said.