Somehow, things changed. The life we had, thought was good and considered satisfying, needed to be re-born. God said, "I've got a few changes I'd like to make and the masterpiece is going to be breathtaking...are you willing?" We're now on a Taylor-Made journey! Most days the path is up-hill but our legs are getting stronger and our spirits more determined. And the view? Spectacular!
I've been reading "Teach them Diligently" by Priolo (incredible parenting book!) and was hit by a MAC truck with a TRUTH the other night. Priolo was talking about "progressive sanctification" (continuously becoming more like Jesus) and he wrote:
"The Holy Spirit is the Principle Agent Who sanctifies, working in the hearts of all true believers to make them more like Christ. But He does so by MEANS of the Word. A person simply cannot change in the ways that are pleasing to God apart from the Word. The Holy Spirit must have His most effective weapon (the Sword of the Spirit) if He is to so change you and your children. Like regeneration (the new life you get when you give your heart to Jesus) sanctification is an act of God. But unlike regeneration, it is an act of God that requires your cooperation. The single most important way you can cooperate with Him is by getting the Bible into your heart."
He goes on to say: "I've met an astounding number of Christians who believe they can grow in grace apart from regular and continuous time in the Word (ie Bible reading, study, memorization, meditation, and active listening to Bible preaching and teaching). At the risk of overstating my argument, let me say it this way: It doesn't much matter how much time you spend in prayer or fasting, in fellowship with other Christians, in ministering or in witnessing to others; if you're not spending time in God's Word (or to be more accurate - -if God's Word does not richly dwell in you), you are, for all intents and purposes, handcuffing the Holy Spirit. Oh, it's not that HE is unable to work if you don't cooperate. It's that He has not promised to work apart from the Bible. ...To the degree that a person allows the Word of God to fill his heart, the Spirit fills his life."Then he gives scriptures references throughout to support his point...
Am I the only one who's been a Christian THIS long and hadn't yet put these two things together?!?! Yes, it's imperative to read your Bible. Yes, doing so changes everything. But THIS...this is new to me. The link between the Holy Spirit and the Word.
I wish I had more time to share on this, but for now, here it is for you to ponder with me...
Accountant Benefits Supervisor Coach Development Director Epidemiologist Financial Advisor Grief Counselor Health-care Practitioner Interior Decorator Judge Kitchen Manager Lender Mediator Nutritionist Outreach Coordinator Pharmacy Supervisor Quartermaster Resident Services Manager Systems Analyst Taxi Driver Underwriter Victim's Rights Advocate Wardrobe Clerk X-ray Vision Expert Yard Maintenance Administrator Zoo keeper ...And she has to be such a diplomat that she could referee a baseball game between the Knights of Columbus and the Ku Klux Klan! ;O)
Found out that "Rice Dream" made by IMAGINE products is owned in part by Wal-Mart and Monsanto (among other huge corporate conglomerates that I have moral issues with) so I've been experimenting with different recipes I found online to save money and make a small "stand". :O)
Did the math too - if you buy it at the store you'll pay around $.40/cup but if you make your own it costs around $.15/cup. The way we go through the stuff at our house that's a nice chunk of change we're now saving each month!
After some "tweaking" here is OUR version of rice milk - we all agree that it's pretty darn close to what we've been buying for so long...
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1 cup uncooked brown rice (long grain or golden rose), 2 cups filtered water, let sit overnight (at least 4+ hours). Blend well in blender on "high" - 1-2 minutes. Strain through a metal fine-mesh strainer 3-5x (scraping the pulp away from the base of strainer so milk can flow through faster). Add more purified water to milk till amount reaches 3 cups. Add 2-4 tsp pure maple syrup, 1/2 tsp vanilla, pinch of "real salt". Chill and serve! The milk will separate after sitting for a while (because it's not full of all the "other" junk that lengthens it's shelf-life) so just shake or stir it well before pouring.
I've been trying to tell everyone about the documentary we recently saw that is changing a myriad of things in the way we live and eat... "The Beautiful Truth". You can watch it instantly on Netflix and I've found it on a few different websites to watch for free (google it).
As a "teaser" I'm going to type up the list of the 52 illnesses/diseases that the "Gerson Therapy" has cured - yes CURED - are you ready for this????!!!
I'm still reading veraciously on the topic and finding more - like the fact that some of the advantageous "side effects" of the therapy are: sight restoration in glaucoma, self-correction of herniated disks (which would be incredible for Sean's acute/chronic back pain), pulmonary improvement in asthma...and more.
Lots more to say on this topic and on the topic of health in general...but alas - 4 children are calling! :O) Here are the 2 books I'm reading to learn more and figure out how to implement for my family...
Instead of picking and choosing which pictures to post here...since I'm SO behind on this...I thought I'd just upload them all to one place and give you all access to them. ;o) SEE LINK BELOW...
I didn't edit or remove any (including the ones Ava took one day as she walked around our house) so I'm sure there will be many that you'll just click past quickly...but this way I can be back up to date with you all!
The most recent are from a couple weeks ago and they span all the way back to before Thanksgiving last year...
A friend sent this to us and it really moved Sean and I...thought we'd post it here for you all to enjoy! ;o) Be sure to mute or pause the music that starts playing when our page uploads (scroll down a bit on the right side of the page)...
Hey everyone! I hope all the right people have been notified of Magnus' arrival and all the basic info about him. I literally haven't spoken to ONE person outside of my bedroom since Magnus was born...I have an amazing group of women who are pampering me so I can rest and just focus on Magnus for the first few days. I know that things will change once the dust settles so I'm trying to take advantage of the help I have right now. I promise, I'll get more phone time in as the days pass! :^)
Let's see...things you all might want to know? Home birth was amazing!!! I'll post a more specific "story" in a few days, but here are a few details...
Sean was spectacular - he worked almost as hard as I did doing different things to help with the pain that only he had enough strength to do...I couldn't have done it without him! I LOVE LOVE LOVE you babe! And my Mom was right beside him...pressure here, massage there... Cole was right next to me most of the time rubbing my arms and my back, bringing me cool cloths... Ava was the errand girl - handing me ice chips, sips of water and juice, and quietly bouncing around with excitement. I have my Dad to thank for keeping Selma busy downstairs during the process...and my Grandma Josey quietly sat in the corner of my room on a chair...praying the whole time! What a blessing! I didn't know how many things could be done to help relieve the pain (not that it was painless - ahem) but my amazing Dr. and Midwife, Karen, kept things moving forward like a well oiled machine!
Everything happened very fast once active labor began. Everyone was pretty surprised. Only about 1.5 hours from the time the more concentrated, focused breathing was necessary until Magnus arrived. I remember thinking, "only a few minutes ago I was 6 cm but NOW it's time to push - I can't help it!"...crazy...I think I pushed 3 times and he was out. In typical AMANDA fashion, I was very "vocal" at the end so my throat was pretty sore afterwards...
Magnus is a champion sucker! He started nursing 5-10 minutes after he was born and is already a pro! He's so cute. Very alert. Smallest of the Taylor kids by half a pound - another surprise to us all - but this Mom is thankful considering how fast things progressed. We had the birth tub standing by for a water birth, but literally didn't have time to get in it once things kicked in. But no worries, Cole, Ava and Selma have all taken a dip since the birth - I mean, how many of us have a little swimming pool right in the bedroom! How fun is that!?! We've got some cute pics of it that I'll post as soon as I can access Sean's computer...
I'm doing WAY better than I ever have after a birth. Healing fast! My best friend, Melissa, is in town and she has jumped right in, managing my care, chasing Selma, directing Cole and Ava and staying up late to clean up... Melis', will I ever be able to repay you???
I'm so blessed and thankful right now. SOOOO glad it's over. So glad I don't have the birth "looming" over my head anymore!
I'm going to get scolded for posting this instead of sleeping, but I just had to connect a little with you all! I'll get back on-line in a day or so and try to get more pics posted here. I know Sean has e-mailed a few more, but I'd like to show the "story" in pics as well...so I'll do my best!
Well, it's time for Magnus' next feeding so I must run! Thanks for loving us and for all the prayers! Keep 'em coming...this Mom is going to have to learn some new juggling tricks with 4 now! ;o)
Magnus Knud Taylor was born 4/19/09 at 4:55 PM. Mom and Baby are doing Great! Dad is an emotionol wreck! (= Magnus weighed in at 8lbs, 6oz and was 20 1/4 inches long. Officially the smallest but hairest of the Taylor Babies. Active labor lasted for about 1.5 hours.
If you only knew how often I've sat down to update this blog...and sat...and sat...not knowing where to begin. Then my laptop closes and I resolve to try another day. Then another month passes...and another...
So much has changed. So much has happened. So much learned. Many old things have passed away and new things have come. Appropriately - SPRING is here, not only all around me, but I feel in my Spirit as well...
But alas - to try and nutshell everything is impossible. So as a good friend told me - just start where you are. I like that! So here I am.
38 weeks pregnant. That sentence in itself should speak volumes for me - amen?!? Right on schedule with 65 lbs gained (no I'm not shy about it anymore - it's just what my body does so I've resolved to make peace with it this time) - and doing better this pregnancy than I ever have. Is it God's grace? A lack of time to think about myself chasing and schooling 3 kids? A different diet? Finally a consistent schedule and a routine for myself and the kids? A new outlook on life? A new Mentor who challenges me to stop being "a hearer of the Word", but now to be a "doer of the Word"?
Yes.
So, in line with the title of this posting - we're expecting...and we're expecting change...and we're expecting it SOON! Our family will be growing from 5 to 6...well...anytime from this moment on, I suppose. I AM "full term" now so our little bundle could come tonight (unlikely, but possible) or get nice and fat and make us all watch the "due date" come...and then go...while every tightening of my tummy makes my heart skip a bit. Only time will tell.
But it's the change I'm grappling with now. The expected change. The new normal we will all have to mold to. I've recently read this amazing book called "Stepping Heavenward" by Elizabeth Prentiss and in it I've found one of the most amazing quotes for motherhood...
"Here is a sweet, fragrant mouth to kiss; here are two more feet to make music with their pattering about my nursery. Here is a soul to train for God; and the body in which it dwells is worthy all it will cost, since it is the abode of a kingly tenant. I may see less of friends, but I have gained one dearer than them all, to whom, while I minister in Christ's name, I make a willing sacrifice of what leisure for my own recreation my other darlings had left me. Yes, my precious baby, you are welcome to your mother's heart; welcome to her time, her strength, her health, her tenderest cares, to her lifelong prayers! Oh, how rich I am, how truly, how wondrously blest!" - E. Prentiss
The first time I read it I cried. Then Sean came in the room so I tried to read it to him and could barely get 2 words out between sobs. A few days later, my Mom was over so I attempted to read it to her and in like fashion...after the first line, I handed her the book to finish reading it aloud and when she finished, both our eyes were brimming.
I think what touched me the most was the yielded heart this mother has toward her new baby and what it will cost, and how starkly it contrasts with the way the world looks at the changes of motherhood and all of it's "inconveniences". Don't get me wrong. I have no doubt I'll be struggling with my flesh every day as God peels away the layers of sin in my life that are uncovered as I seek to disciple and mentor my children. It's arguably the hardest job on the planet for a reason. But I'm trying to look forward and find hope in who God is molding me into...even now as I wait.
So (Janey) as requested I start here..."where I'm at" and if I keep my eyes on my heavenly Father, the expected change will come with blessings from obedience and not exhaustion with overwhelm. Only time will tell. So I covet your prayers while we wait...
Well...it's been a while! The move really threw me off and in order to prioritize life the right way I had to let the Blog thing go to the BACK BURNER for a while. To be honest - I'm letting quite a few things in my life "go" right now...e-mail being one BIG one.
I just signed out of my e-mail for an undefined amount of time in order to re-capture some time and get ready for baby boy on the way. I'll be back, don't worry - just need to prioritize life better and this is just one of a few things I must put aside for a while in order to focus on what's most important.
I doubt there is anyone on their death bed saying they wish they would have spent more time on e-mail...I don't think I'll look back and regret this. To be honest, it's a pretty big weight lifted! It's amazing how this "little" activity and that "little" commitment can take up so much of our lives!
I guess there are times in life when one has to take inventory, take some things out and put things BACK in the right order...that would be me right now! ;o) Tired of running into the same life obstacles - tripping up on the same issues. It's time to stop being just a 'hearer' of the WORD and really purpose to be a 'Doer'!
The theme in my life lately has been "grow up" which to me means being mature enough to give up some of the things I "enjoy" in the present to find the freedom I long for in so many areas. It's time to do hard things...so I took the proverbial "chain saw" to e-mail for a while. Ahhhhhhhh - it's almost like spring cleaning! ;o)
Well, when I get some time, I'll upload a BUNCH of pics that we've taken since my last post. Our fun family has had a lot going on! See you soon!
The movers come tomorrow - or I should better say, "God's people" come and help us move in the morning.
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Life is funny. The way God ebbs and flows the things of life through one's fingers.
We've moved a lot. Not a surprising statement from us. But I think moving is cleansing.
It's hard, don't get me wrong. And good friends become better friends as their sacrifice pours into your life.
But there is something about taking inventory of your life in cardboard boxes that somehow makes things more clear.
Stuff becomes real instead of camouflaged into the backdrop.
How life is $pent is obvious as people lug each load onto the truck.
There is a death - of sorts. Some sadness. Some regret.
A lot of things flood the mind as each room is cleared.
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Then new life comes. New insight. A new palette.
A cleansing has occurred - through sweat and tears - and its refreshing.
Almost like the smell of the earth after a hard rain.
So to this house we say, "Thank you for the memories. Thank you for the lessons learned inside these walls...The family we've become under this roof."
And to the new?
"Hello, it's nice to meet you"...and we look around at the new scenery...
Wondering...
Will this be the place where God finds us more moldable than before?
Will we learn from history and surrender the calloused areas...finally?
Jesus, go before us and meet us anew. Help us come empty so you can fill us here. And thank you IN ADVANCE for the goodness and mercy you will bring. We accept.
So, yeah...that was short lived. Our precious little Mercy went to another loving home yesterday and we've got a large carpet cleaning bill awaiting. Thankfully the "re-homing/adoption fee" we charged made us $100 over what we paid for her, so we'll be able to afford the cleaning!
She was adorable and fun a lot of time, don't get me wrong...but you can only step in so many "wet spots" before the frustration outweighs the fun - ya know?!? With me feeling "yuck" most of the time and Selma being the little "active toddler" she is...a puppy...well, it was just too much for us to manage during the day, and Mercy needed a dogie-door and a fenced yard.
Even Cole and Ava were fine with it (makes you wonder who got sent on the clean-up errands...hmmmm). No one shed any tears and the gal that adopted her simply adored her and has another small dog that Mercy can play with during the day. So that should be nice for Mercy.
Now...if Sean or I even think about getting another pet in the next 3 years...just shoot us, okay?!? ;^D
The kids and I got silly with the camera the other day...thought some of the pics came out pretty cute. Since I'll be getting LAARRRGGEERR as each day passes (Baby #4 is 10 weeks along now), I thought it would be good to document some of the thinner times - you know - for inspiration in about 9 months! ;o) I especially like the lightening bolt coming out of my head on the last one...
TAYLOR-MADE LIFE
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