The Conviction of God

So, I have been reading the book 7 by Jen Hatmaker and WOW, is it not so true that you should be careful what you pray for!! In church this last Sunday our Pastor was talking about how he improved his marriage over the 20-something years he's been married and that was by figuring out what he needed to change about HIMSELF not his wife.

This is so true because I feel like so often in relationships we are quick to find what the other person needs to change to improve that relationship be it a marriage, friendship, coworker relationship etc.  This really hit me because I do it, I wish my husband would do this or that when really he is a fantastic husband and father but I have stuff about myself that I need to change.  So on sunday I prayed that God would make clear to me what I need to change about MYSELF, what are my faults that need improved upon.

Well, in reading this book it really convicted me and struck a cord.  I am not done yet with the book but each page I read I just cant help but feel that it was written just for me!

I see it a lot lately the pursuit of "stuff" and "things" what cute outfit can you find for your child, what cute clothes can you get for this season.  While yeah I love shopping for L and it helps that he grows so quick I have an excuse to keep buying his stuff but me? not so much.  I don't need 10 pairs of dark jeans or 10 turquoise shaded tank tops.  I have started to pare down what I do own and think twice before I go to Target or anywhere else to buy STUFF.  I love shopping I really do but I think lately it has just gotten a little out of control.

I'm learning to be content with just what I have.  Not just in regards to stuff but in life in general.  I am learning to be content with just my one baby.  L is so sweet and fun and while I want more than anything to have more apparently thats not Gods plan.  I need to just be content with NOW and cherish NOW.  Everyday I go to work I'm reminded that tomorrow is not a promise but a gift.   Things can change in an instant and I want to cherish every second I have with my sweet boy because time just blows by!!

The chapter about waste is a good one too because we are so wasteful and I often balk at the word "green" and think about hippies but really this is God's earth we need to take care of it and not be so wasteful. I don't have a green thumb but I have started to buy more local fruits and veggies.  I guess my cloth diapering is helping in this aspect too.  It really changed my perspective on the whole "green" thing!

The other chapter that really hit me was the media chapter.  Whoa do I spend a lot of time on the tv, cell phone, computer, twitter, Facebook, blogs etc the list goes on.  I have been trying to be more present for L not always with a cell phone in hand or the TV in the background.  I think I waste a LOT of time on electronic stuff and like I said before, time is precious and I can imagine how much more time I will have if I turn off the TV and put away the cell phone a little more and read a book, play with L, and even more time to spend in the word which I have been struggling with.

This  book is so fantastic I highly recommend it.  It really makes you think and realize how wasteful and overindulgent we are in this country.  It was exactly what I needed and quite a wake-up call.  Its not something I can change in a day, its certainly a process, but with lots of prayer and a few trip ups along the way I really hope to be more content with the here and now and cut down on the pursuit of more!

BELIZE

Ok so WOW where have I been!! I have so many posts I need to post... I was in Belize for 10 days over Easter and came home and life has been a bit of a whirlwind since on top of the fact that our Internet was down until about a week ago.

so here I am lets begin

BELIZE ... wow what an amazing trip

I went with an awesome group based out of Slidell, La called Dos Amigos we flew into Belize City, Belize and then took this microscopic plane to Punta Gorda which is in the Toledo District in Southern Belize. I got to ride in the copilot seat!!! SO exciting although I kinda got freaked out when i look over and the pilot is laughing his head off and talking to someone on his headphone and writing notes on paper etc all the while we are in the air now I know they have autopilot but still kinda crazy.



Once we got to our camp, which by the way was AMAZING, (I got way blessed this year as our living quarters are way nicer than they had been in past trips we had bunk beds and an indoor shower and even a freezer for our water) we had dinner unpacked and prepared for he next day.

Throughout the first 8 days we were there we traveled by yellow school bus to different villages in the area to provide medical/dental/optical/social care to the people. these people don't have much access to dental care and not to mention it can be expensive, so the people would wait outside in 100+ boiling sun with crying babies to get teeth pulled!!

I ended up working in the dental area which is not by any means what I went on the trip planning to do, they needed help and said they needed a nurse, someone who was not squeamish to blood, to help them so I said ok well see how this goes..ends up I LOVED IT!!! I got to pull teeth, give the oral anesthesia injections, and hold many a hand and whisper many a word of encouragement, now of course I was working with a REAL dentist and he would tell me exactly what to do and such but it was so much fun!!!

I cannot begin to explain how we got through those days, only one word will suffice and that is GOD I don't know how I would have ever made it through the working conditions we had such as temps over 100 degrees in little buildings with minimal air circulation, you could just feel the sweat pouring out of every orifice, but it was awesome, God delivered us through it and we got up and did it day after day with smiles on our faces!!! I think something that really made it worth our time was seeing how eager people were to get teeth pulled and they would thank us with bloody gauze filled smiles and some people would ride bikes or walk several miles to come see us at the next camp the next day to have MORE teeth pulled

The trip was truly amazing, and the area was just beautiful as were the people.




That's me giving an injection!!!

Finally the last few days we got to go to Ambergris Caye for a little R&R which was an awesome end to such an awesome trip, we went snorkeling and I got chased by an eagle ray and saw nurse sharks and a baby sea turtle SO COOL!!!



The most special thing about the trip though was that I got to experience something my dear grandmother has loved for the last 12 years and this was her last year to go and my mom went too so we had three generations of women and it was truly special.