Life in Berlin

Hello, all!

Well, here we are in northern Berlin, our home away from home for the next 2.5 months. We have been here for nearly three weeks now. I wanted to write a little update post with a few random thoughts and observations about living in Germany, (albeit short term). These are in no particular order. :)

1. I have actually come to enjoy hanging out the laundry. I thought that would be one of the biggest annoyances about living in Berlin, but really, it hasn't been bad at all! Yes, it takes a lot longer for clothes to dry, especially if it's humid out, but somehow the rhythm of slowing down to hang them out and fold them off of the clothesline is something I've rather enjoyed so far. :) I have a feeling this verdict is heavily affected by the fact that I actually have a covered back porch where I can hang the clothes, haha! If I was continually watching for rain, I would have a hard time getting ANY clothes dried, because it has rained off and on nearly every day since we came!

2. Speaking of weather, God has blessed incredibly in that area. It has gotten up to 80 degrees ONE day since our arrival. Every other day it has been highs of 65-70 degrees. SO nice! This morning it was actually 59, with a stiff breeze and high humidity, so it was actually chilly out...in August!? We have no AC, and were expecting it to be miserably hot in the house nearly the whole time we were here, so every beautiful day is an absolute gift that we are enjoying thoroughly. 

3. There are some really surprising things that you can't find here, or are expensive to the point of being impractical to buy. Brown sugar. Chocolate chips. Molasses. Vanilla. All of these are things that I totally took for granted as nearly universal staple ingredients! How do they do without chocolate chip cookies?? ;) 

4. That being said, the BREAD here is the best I've ever had in my entire life. There is one particular type that is croissant dough, boiled in soda water like you do when you make soft pretzels, then baked. So it tastes like a pretzel on the outside, and the inside is perfectly buttery, flaky croissant. It's every bit as delicious as it sounds, and we are probably eating far too many of them, but they cost around $0.40, so it's easy to justify, lol.

5. We are walking, a LOT. To give an idea, we've been here just under three weeks, and I've tracked nearly 60 miles of walking on my phone. :O We've been averaging 5-6 miles per day all told. Depending on where we are needing to travel, we walk between 1 and 2 miles to get to bus and train stops, transfers, etc. The buses aren't always super reliable, so several times now we have missed one (or it just hasn't showed up), so we ended up walking the route that we would have taken the bus. It's been really good for us though, both Luke and I have lost weight! He actually had to cut a new hole in his belt the other day. Yay for working off all the bread we are enjoying, haha!! :D

6. Berliners LOVE their flowers and gardens, and it is sooo beautiful to see! I love the huge variety of fruit trees, flowering bushes, roses, etc. that we see as we walk. I've been trying to take a few pictures of them, and may make a post with some of those at some point. 

7. It's hard to describe how utterly massive this city is. A few days ago, we were out doing outreach, putting mailers and John/Romans into mailboxes. We walked nearly 5 miles going up and down driveways, stairs, streets, etc., and hit about 500 mailboxes. When we finished we were marking off what we had done, and it was a TINY little triangle of space on a partial map of Pankow. Pankow is one district. Out of 12. :O If you start to think about the vast task of reaching 8 million people in the greater Berlin area, it is overwhelming in the extreme. However, God hasn't asked us to personally reach every person, only to do what we can with the resources we have and the strength He gives us. So that's what we are trying to do! We've been busy preparing for a large outreach effort at the end of August, when a group is coming from the States to help. We have been assembling 15,000 tract packets to hopefully get out during those 10 days, at the end of which there will be a special meeting. We are praying for God to bring visitors and fruit from the labors!

8. I FINALLY feel like I'm starting to get the hang of grocery shopping in German grocery stores. It's still a bit of an overwhelming experience sometimes, because most things have no English on them, and the store is laid out completely different than stores I'm used to. Plus, like I mentioned earlier, several times I've searched high and low for something, only to be told later that it can't be gotten here, lol! But I do think I'm starting to get better at meal planning and buying within a good budget here. It's very different from home, because I have almost no food storage in our Airbnb, besides the countertop. So I'm doing what many Germans do, and walking to the grocery store every 3-4 days with my reusable grocery bags on my arm, and my water/juice bottles ready to return for my deposit. ;) When shopping, I try to be conscious of the fact that I have to carry the heavy bags back home half a mile, so I am careful how much liquid stuff or flour/sugar I buy in one trip, due to weight. I think I'm getting it, though! :)

9. A full night's sleep is a treasure of great price. ;) Our boys have taken a very long time to adjust fully to the 7 hour time difference. Also, Nathaniel is naturally an insomniac, and we now sleep in pretty close quarters (his bed shares a wall with our bedroom). So far, we have only had one entire night of no boys screaming or bouncing against the wall. That's been a challenge, for sure, and we actually ended up separating the boys so they wouldn't wake each other up so often. That helped a little, but things are still pretty rough at night for Nate (and us by extension ;). So we'd sure appreciate prayers in that regard!

10. I absolutely love the house we are staying in. It is a fully detached house at the back of our host's property, in a lovely and quiet area of Berlin. It has tons of big windows, a fully covered but breezy back porch with a table and chairs where we eat often, a ping pong table, TWO bedrooms and bathrooms, a nice sized kitchen...it's an incredible place, especially considering that we originally were looking at having to stay in a one room studio apartment while we were here. Our host has been beyond kind and welcoming to us, and is actually interested in hearing more about the work we are helping with in Berlin, so I am very excited to be able to talk with her more about spiritual things! Please pray for Viola and Andre, and their three kids. I am so hoping and praying that we will see them saved, baptized, and growing in The Lord! 

11. The coffee here is......sad. :( You'd think European coffee would be great, but it's actually really hard to find a good cup of coffee anywhere! Almost all the coffee shops sell super watery, weak coffee that is from a Keurig type machine. The other day, I took a half hour train trip to go to a shop that actually had an espresso machine like the coffee shops in the states. ;P It still wasn't the greatest, but definitely better than most of what we've been able to get here. I think I miss my coffee machine more than any other home comfort. ;) It's being looked after and enjoyed by my sweet sis-in-law and her husband, so that makes it a little easier, haha!

12. God is growing us in many ways through this trip. The travel itself was truly nightmarish...the boys didn't sleep a wink for almost 18 hours of the 22 hour travel time, and Luke had just come out of a surprise surgery for kidney stones the DAY before we left, so he had a stent placed and was in a ton of pain the entire trip. The adjustment has been challenging. We miss home and family, a lot. BUT, God has also answered so many prayers in so many unexpected ways, and has carried us through every difficulty, and I don't want to lose sight of that! I've been trying hard to be grateful for all the many ways He has provided for us and worked in our lives. I haven't always succeeded in that, and God has really revealed to me lately how selfish I can be as a wife and mother. :( It can be so easy to let my own comfort or convenience become more important to me than training my children well, or cherishing my husband. By God's grace, I'm working on this every day. I know He isn't finished with us here, and I pray we will be open to however He chooses to use us!

That's all for now...I love you all, and am so deeply grateful for each one that has supported and lifted us up in prayer! That means the world to us!

Mykaela

This is Motherhood

 Sometimes I look at the life I am living with wonder and astonishment. I have heard many say that motherhood is hard...and unlike those that told me marriage would be hard, (see this post), I actually kind of agree with the "Motherhood is hard" group. It's hard, and crazy, and very, very chaotic at times. And amazing. I cannot let myself miss that part, too. 

Because sometimes frustration bubbles up inside me at the blotch of snot that stains the front of nearly every dress I wear, from my two toddlers wailing into my lap over their many real and perceived woes. Or how sore and tired my back is, all the time, from hefting 30 pound kiddos many dozens of times per day. Sometimes I just want to kiss my husband and have a two minute conversation with him without hearing angry screams over the refusal to share a cardboard box that is somehow the best toy in all the world. (MUCH better than the approximately 3,768 actual toys that my children own.) Sometimes hearing "MAAAMAAA!!" while I'm taking a 2 minute bathroom break makes me want to run away and hide.

But then...oh, but then...

My youngest turns around in a patch of sunlight on my kitchen floor, and looks at me with huge, sparkling blue eyes, chubby pink cheeks, and a tiny cowlick curling up over one ear, and my heart melts. My two year old says, "I wuv you!" in that utterly endearing way of his, and I could weep for love of him. They give each other a squishy brother to brother hug when one of them gets up from a nap, and I want to gather them up in my arms, snot and all, and never let them go. 

I never expected the suddenness of the mindset shift some days. Don't misunderstand me: I am not excusing my own sin when I shout, "Don't shout at your brother!!" instead of going into the other room and speaking quietly. But sometimes I can swing so quickly from utter irritation over training and disciplining for what seems like the ten thousandth time that day, to feeling utterly knocked over by the weight of the blessings God has poured out on me. 

This is the life. This is the life I dreamed of as a little girl, the life I prayed for as an awkward and frizzy haired teenager with braces, the life I cried with longing for as I neared the age when it would be a possibility.

I prayed so long and so hard for the things I now hold in my hands. 

Please, God...help me not to forget this. Help me to see Your fingerprints in my life. Help me to remember Your mercies to me. Don't let me miss these precious moments, right here and now, because I'm too busy having a pity party for the hour of sleep I lost last night.

I want to remember everything. Looking over as my fingers type these words, and seeing the man of my dreams sitting cross legged on the floor, building the most awesome Lego marble coaster ever, as Eben avidly tests it out over and over again. The way the sun warms my arms through the window and the shadows of the trees outside dapple the floor. Hearing Nathaniel hum a little song to himself as he plays. I want to view this journey of motherhood as a tool God is using to sanctify me, a good and precious gift from the Father of lights, not just something I have to struggle through. I want to choose joy, even when a nap sounds better. I want to say yes to my family over myself. I want to seek after God's face, and fill my cup from His Word, so that I can pour out to my loved ones with sweet abandon. I want others to look at my life and say,

"There is a woman who loves her God. There is a woman who loves her family. There is a mother."

Mykaela

The Hands of My Love

Those Dear Hands...

I remember the very day we first met, we were sitting at the kitchen table playing a game with my parents. I asked you how you got the scar next to your thumb, though I wasn't sure if that was something I should ask about, having just met you. Even then, I remember thinking that your hands looked so strong and kind. 

Those Dear Hands...

I'll never forget when you slid that gorgeous, intricate diamond ring onto my finger after asking me to be your wife. You took my left hand in yours for just a moment, and I knew that I would say yes a million times over to being yours for the rest of my life.

Those Dear Hands...

I remember the morning of our wedding, a couple hours before the ceremony, when I reached around the corner of the wall (so you couldn't see me! :) to take your hand as we prayed together. It was the first time we'd held hands, and mine fit so perfectly into yours.

Those Dear Hands...

They gripped mine with seemingly inexhaustible strength and comfort as I agonized to bring our sweet babies into the world.

Those Dear Hands...

They held me close and so gently wiped my tears as I wept over the way I didn't recognize myself in the mirror anymore. And even many more times since, when I have wept over much sillier things than that.

Those Dear Hands...

They work so hard every day to provide for us. And yet they are always ready to help me with the dishes or a diaper change when I'm weary.

Those Dear Hands...

I watch them as you play with our boys, tumbling their little bodies around in pillow fights and tickle fights. As you teach their much smaller, chubbier, and less coordinated hands how to catch a ball out of the air. 

Those Dear Hands...

They are always ready to do a kindness for others. Always ready to reach across in the car to take my own. Always loving and gentle.

My dear husband, your hands are a sweet reminder to me of the hands of my Saviour. They are Christlike hands, for with them you do so many Christlike things. And I am deeply, richly blessed to hold your hand in mine, till death do us part.

All my love,

Your MK

My Second Natural Home Birth Story

 

Hello, friends!

I wanted to (finally! ;) get on here and post our sweet Nathaniel's birth story for those who are interested in that type of thing. :) This was our second home birth, and I am so grateful for how well everything went throughout the process! I wrote quite a bit down, so forgive me if it's a little long...I wanted to try to remember as many of the details as I could. Here we go! :)

Nathaniel's birth story

My pregnancy with Nate was so incredibly hard, it's difficult to describe—especially the last 6 weeks or so. From 26-35 weeks, I was on pretty much complete bed rest, due to uterine hyperactivity. Basically if I was upright, my uterus was contracted hard, and didn't stop till I sat or laid down. Thankfully I did not go into preterm labor with him, but the contractions would wear me out so quickly it was almost impossible to do anything other than get up to use the restroom, shower, or other extremely short term activities.


Once I hit 35 weeks, I was cleared for having him at home, which I wanted desperately after such a wonderful home birth experience with Eben. However, as soon as I finally reached that much longed-for 35 week mark, I came down with PUPPPS. Basically a full body poison ivy type rash that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. I have had allergic reactions, chiggers, severe reactions to mosquito bites, etc., and have NEVER experienced itching this intense. From my neck to my feet, I was covered with swollen, dark red bumps that worsened to the point that I was only sleeping a couple of hours at night, if that. The only actual cure was to have the baby, but I went to a specialist to try to get SOME form of relief—he said I had the worst case he had ever seen. Thankfully, I was able to get a steroid that did take the edge off the itching and pain enough that I could at least function. I was able to go to church regularly and see other people for the first time in almost three months! I was so swollen from the rash that I actually lost 9 pounds after getting on the steroid. So insane. By the time I was 37 weeks along however, even the steroid was beginning to stop helping, and the rash was flaring back up worse every day. I was absolutely desperate to have the baby before it reached the point that it had before I went to the specialist. I was walking, doing all sorts of exercises, squats, eating the dates, taking the Evening Primrose Oil, doing ALL the things to help things get going. While I love Sabrina and she is an amazing help during my whole pregnancies and births, she is not a fan of trying to hasten labor's arrival for any reason. As I neared 38 weeks, I was becoming so discouraged and frustrated with the complications that just seemed to be piling up day after day, that I decided to go visit my family a couple hours away, just to have a little break from the routine, have some fun shopping, and a couple days of “distraction” so to speak. So I headed up there on Tuesday, September 28, and planned to come back on Friday, October 1. My due date was not until October 12.


On Wednesday morning, I went to an amazing chiropractor that lives near my parents, and got adjusted from head to toe, as well as some acupuncture done that supposedly can help get things going. I didn't have much hope of that by now, but figured why not? That evening, I lost my mucus plug, which was the first sign I'd had of anything even beginning to happen. However, sometimes that happens a couple of weeks before labor actually begins, so I didn't get too excited over it. On Thursday the 30th, Luke had a really stressful day at work, and I decided to surprise him by coming home a day early. As I was getting ready to leave, my mom hugged me, and said “Hopefully VERY soon, I'll be coming to meet your new baby!” and I replied, “How about tomorrow?! That would be just great.” (With some sarcasm thrown in because at this point I was pretty sure I'd be pregnant forever, haha!) Well, I did surprise Luke, and we played some online games together that night with some friends before heading to bed around 10:30.


At 2:30 A.M., I had the sudden urge to use the bathroom, and clambered out of bed with my massively pregnant self, still half asleep, but with a very strong urge to go. ;) Before I even made it to the bathroom door, I felt a distinct “shift” inside and my water broke all over the floor! I gasped loudly, nearly giving Luke a heart attack since that gasp is what he woke up to, and told him my water had broken. I was in absolute shock and rather insanely thrilled and excited, because I'd had weeks of prodromal labor with hard, strong contractions that went nowhere, just like with Eben, and this time I KNEW it was actually going to continue and turn into real labor, one way or another! After getting cleaned up, we went back to bed, Luke to sleep and me to try to sleep. ;) I was having strong contractions off and on, but not too painful yet. I think I was just too excited to fall back asleep. But I did lie still and rest till about 6, when I got up and started packing a bag for Eben and puttering around getting things ready. I texted my mom and said, “You know how we talked about you coming to meet baby today?? Well, come ahead!!” ;) She and Mercy got here around 3:00 pm, and were mostly in the bedroom until the end of my labor.


Luke's parents came and got Eben at 7:30 or so, and for the next couple of hours things progressed fairly slowly as we got everything set up for the birth, played a couple games of Bananagrams, and just relaxed around the house between contractions that were only gradually becoming more difficult, and were around 4-5 minutes apart. I really enjoyed this time with just Luke and I, it was just a sweet time of excitement waiting for things to progress. Sabrina came by around 11:30, and checked baby's heart rate, etc. I didn't want her to check my dilation at that point, because I was pretty sure I was only about 4 or 5 cm at most, and didn't want to be discouraged in case it was even less than that. ;) So she headed back out to some other appointments, and told us to call her as soon as things intensified more.



Around 1:00pm, things picked up quite a bit, around 3 minutes apart and very painful, so we called Sabrina back. She came and got the tub ready to go, and checked me at 3pm. (Around the same time Mama and Mercy got here.) I was between 5 and 6 cm dilated, and she said it would be fine for me to get in the tub if I wanted to. I did, very much, because the water helps SO much with the pain of the contractions! However, the water makes my labors stall out. Like a LOT. Which I knew from Eben's birth, but had hoped would be different this time since my water had broken beforehand and kicked things off. Not so, unfortunately. My contractions went from three minutes apart to around 10 or even 15 minutes apart if I didn't do squats or lunges to force them to come. So after only a little while in the tub, I realized I had to get out in order to keep labor progressing. For the next few hours, I mostly labored in the kitchen, leaning over the countertop (even if I sat down on my exercise ball my contractions would space back out again, so I pretty much had to stand the whole time!)


Around 6:30, I was sitting on the ball to rest with Luke's arms around me from behind. We were swaying and watching the sunset, and he was joking with me in between contractions and making me laugh a ton. That was a really sweet and special time looking back...he is so wonderful!!


During those few hours from about 4pm to 7pm, (as I moved from 6-8.5 cm or thereabouts) I was going to the bathroom every ten to fifteen minutes...my body was cleaning itself out COMPLETELY. :/ Not. Fun. I drank over a gallon of electrolyte drinks and water over the course of my labor just to keep hydrated and replace all the fluids I was losing. I tried to labor on the toilet as much as I could, because I knew that usually would help dilation along. Luke was so sweet to support me through this entire time...labor sure will show a partner the most vulnerable things you can imagine! ;P


One thing that was different with this labor was that I began to get “double contractions” where one would start to die down and the next one would begin almost immediately, before the previous one had ended. In this way, I had several contractions that were nearly 100 seconds long. This may not sound like a lot, but when you're hanging out in the transition stage of labor for over an hour, 100 seconds feels like an absolute eternity. By 7:15pm, I started to feel a bit like I needed to push, so I got back into the tub. What a huge relief!! My surges spaced back out again, so at 7:45 I got out of the tub and transferred to the shower for a few minutes. I started pushing in earnest while I was in the shower, and didn't like it at all—I wasn't comfortable in there because there was no good place for me to lean on or be supported against. So I went back to the tub again. This whole time, I was in a strange pattern—some contractions I would have a strong urge to push, so I would, but then the next one I would have no urge at all, just intense pain and pressure. Sometimes I would have the urge toward the beginning of the contraction, but it would go away towards the end. I was confused by this, because it seemed like if it was time to push, I should be pushing every time, right??

Sabrina checked me at 8:15, and said that I was fully dilated except for a tiny piece of cervix (almost like a thread) that was just not quite getting out of the way (hence the odd pushing pattern). I think just from her checking me, it finally moved aside, because from that point till he was born at 10:08pm, I was pushing hard with every contraction. I pushed for those two hours in several different positions, but Nathaniel's head was cocked slightly to one side, so it was HARD hard work and very slow progress to move him down the birth canal. My sweet husband was absolutely the best birth partner I could ever ask for during the entire experience...he tirelessly held me up in the birth pool as I pushed, put cool cloths on my forehead, gave me drinks (a lot) and was constantly supporting and encouraging me with soft words, touch, etc. My mom, my midwife Sabrina, and her daughter Helena were also hard at work helping me. I threw up once and got close to it a couple more times, which wasn't fun, but I didn't do that nearly as much as I did during Eben's birth, which was such a relief! 

At about 10pm, Sabrina suggested that I should lift one leg and put it on the ground flat footed as I knelt at the edge of the birth pool. Because Nate was turned just a bit and progressing so slowly, she thought this would help him finally come. And as hard as it was to change positions, this was finally what made it happen. I blew hard and fast to avoid pushing during the ring of fire...SUCH an intense few minutes!! Finally, his head and elbow came out at the same time—he had his little arm up across his face. Yet another reason it had been so difficult to move him! ;) At 10:08pm on October 1, 2021, our little Nathaniel was fully born. It took him a few minutes to give a good enough cry to get the junk out of his system, so Sabrina gave him just a bit of suction, but overall he did great! I had the placenta about 10 minutes later, which was much sooner than Eben's, and also much more painful than I remember his being. After about 15 minutes in the tub, we cut his cord and handed him to his Daddy so I could go shower and get in bed. I had only very minimal tearing, which healed completely within just a day or two. Very thankful for that!

Sabrina weighed baby, and he turned out to be 8lbs, 8oz—nearly a full pound heavier than Eben had been, despite being born two weeks earlier!! I was SO thankful that Nathaniel had come at 38 and 2 rather than at term or late...I think he would have been at least a 10lb baby had that been the case. He was 21.5 inches long. He grew by leaps and bounds from the very beginning...on October 11, he weighed 9lbs, 2oz—a 15 oz. gain in 6 days!! (Typical weight gain at this age is about one oz. per day. Our midwife was a bit shocked. ;P) At one month, he weighed 11lbs, 13oz, and at 4 months, he was over 17lbs! The first three days or so after the birth, I had extremely intense cramping, it got pretty brutal during feeds especially, but other than that, I felt like my recovery process was so smooth! Evening Primrose Oil helped immensely with the hormonal adjustment afterwards.

And there you have it! :) God is so good to have allowed us to have another wonderful home birth and a speedy recovery. If there is anyone reading this who is considering home birth but not sure about it yet, I honestly cannot recommend it enough! I just love having complete freedom to have my favorite candles burning, music playing, freedom of movement, etc. So special!! 

I hope you all are having a great week so far!

Love,

Mykaela

Life Update! :)

 

Hello, friends!

So much has happened in the last few months, it truly feels like it's been years since I last posted anything on this platform. Sometimes it seems like when life changes occur, it both speeds time up and slows it down, all at once. ;)

First of all, I will share that I write this from my recliner--where I have been almost exclusively for the last three weeks. And likely will be for 6 or 7 more. Shortly after July 4 weekend, I very suddenly started having nonstop uterine contractions with any activity whatsoever, including just standing up or walking to the bathroom. I had a Dr. appointment yesterday, and the good news is that baby is growing and developing perfectly, and is healthy and active! The doctor did not think that the type of contractions I'm having are in imminent danger of throwing me into preterm labor, which is also a blessing. Basically they are just very uncomfortable, and wear me out within minutes of trying to do anything other than things I can do from a reclined or lying down position. ;) Thankfully, my husband has been able to work from home during this time, and has done an INCREDIBLE job of taking care of me and Eben, as well as keeping up with his own work. He is amazing! I thing the most difficult thing has been to adjust to basically no movement, as I'm used to being very active and exercising often during my pregnancies. Praying that I will be able to keep up enough of my strength that I can deliver the baby when the time comes!

Our other news, and much bigger news than a couple months of bed rest...

Luke and I believe that God is leading us to go to Germany as missionaries! This was not something we expected, exactly, and it took us a while to wrap our minds around the idea. We spent much time in prayer and fasting, and are excited to see how God will provide for us to be able to do His will. We are not taking any direct steps until several months after the baby comes, as I wouldn't be able to do much traveling right now anyway, so at the moment we are just waiting on The Lord's leadership with timing. The thought of moving overseas is definitely big, and a little bittersweet, but I know we will have grace for everything when we need it!

Life has been a little crazy lately as we have adjusted to so much current and coming change, but we are trying to take one day at a time, and be faithful in the circumstances and place that God has us right now. 

Our little Eben is growing up so fast! He is just over 15 months old now, has a whole mouthful of teeth, and is pitter-pattering around the house as fast as his little feet will take him! He is learning new words every day, it seems. He sure keeps us laughing with all his antics and VERY expressive faces! :) I'm really looking forward to seeing him interact with his baby brother. 

So far, it's seeming like this new little boy is going to be just as active as Eben...he sure loves to wiggle! At my ultrasound yesterday, he was in no less than three entirely different orientations within a 20 minute period. He was flip-flopping from place to place so much, the tech had a hard time seeing some of the things she needed to see! ;) We can't wait to meet this precious new baby, and I am looking forward to another home birth, Lord willing. Once I reach 35 weeks (by September 7), I will be able to be a little less careful about my activity levels, because at that point I'm cleared to give birth at home. I sure wouldn't complain if he were to come a week or two early! ;) We'll see how things work out, though. I'll post my birth story and baby pics here when the time comes!

Well, I think that's about all my news for now...I hope you all are doing well and having a wonderful summer!

Love,

Mykaela

To My Child and Future Children...

 

To my precious son...

May God grow in you the deep spiritual walk of Enoch, keeping close by the side of The Lord.

May you have the perseverance of Noah, working for long years on a God-appointed task.

May you have the faith of Abraham, waiting on God through seemingly hopeless circumstances.

May you have the integrity of Joseph, choosing holiness no matter the temptation.

May you have the meekness of Moses, humbling yourself to be used of God greatly.

May you have the valour of Joshua, leading courageously when the time is right.

May you have the heart of David, singing praises to God all the days of your life.

May you have the wisdom of Solomon, discerning right from wrong.

May you have the prayer life of Nehemiah, turning to the God of heaven in all circumstances, good or bad.

May you have the patience of Job, trusting God's hand even in the darkest of adversities.

May you have the steadfastness of Isaiah, preaching the Word to a hard hearted people.

May you have the faithfulness of Daniel, not wavering though all about you may change.

May you have the gentleness of John, mingling humility and compassion with strength.

May you have the boldness of Peter, holding fast the Word of God despite past mistakes.

May you have the zeal of John the Baptist, working to prepare others for Christ's message.

May you have the passion of Paul, reaching as many with the Gospel as you possibly can.

May you have the teachable spirit of Timothy, learning from others more grounded in the Word than yourself.

May you have the mind of Christ in all things, looking for the day when you'll see Him face to face.

To my dear daughter (if ever God blesses me with one! :)

May you have the strength of Sarah, bearing your children as gifts from the hand of God.

May you have the trust of Rachel, accepting God's leading in the area of the man you will marry.

May you have the faith of Rahab, believing God's promises even when you don't fully understand.

May you have the patience of Hannah, waiting on God to fulfill the desires of your heart.

May you have the hospitality of the woman of Shunem, providing for the needs of the people of God.

May you have the peacemaking heart of Abigail, using your influence to encourage good relationships in those around you.

May you have the inner beauty of Esther, shining your light to everyone who spends time with you.

May you grow towards the ideal of the Proverbs 31 woman, nourishing your heart, your husband, and your home with joyful skill.

May you have the quietness of Mary, choosing to be still and linger at the Saviour's feet.

May you have the servant's heart of Martha, working hard when the time for hard work is right.

May you have the loyalty of Mary Magdalene, following after your Lord at all times.

May you have the faith of the woman healed of the issue of blood, trusting that God is able to do the greatest of miracles through the smallest acts of trust.

May you have the boldness of the woman at the well, telling others of the One who gave you salvation.

May you have the encouraging heart of Priscilla, serving God alongside your husband, even in hard times.

May you have the mind of Christ in all things, looking for the day when you'll see Him face to face.

For those of you who have not yet heard, Luke and I are expecting our second baby this October! He or she is due on our third anniversary (Oct. 12), and we are so excited to be welcoming a new baby into our family. As I carry this little one, I have been thinking more and more about my responsibility to my children as they grow into more knowledge. How I earnestly pray that they will be stronger in The Lord than I am, and that they will continue to grow even if a time comes that I can't teach them the way I would want to!

Mykaela

Kept and Pondered

"But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart."

Luke 2:19

Today I'm talking about part of the Christmas story. It's February, I know. It'll be ok. ;)

I've been considering these verses about Mary lately, and marvelling at the sweet spirit of this young lady whom God called "blessed among women". Side note: Among women, not above! Mary was a sinner in need of a Saviour, just like the rest of us--however, God chose to use her in a mighty way, and there are so many lessons we can learn just from the small amount we do know of her life! 

The first verse I have listed above takes place right after Mary brings baby Jesus into the world, and heard the story of the shepherds' glorious visitation from the angels. 

Let's look at this a little more closely. In our day, with the completed Word of God in our hands, sometimes we gloss over the familiar stories because we know how things turn out in the end. After all, it's the Christmas story! Most of us could probably quote the majority of it. They go to Bethlehem, Jesus is born in the stable, the shepherds come to worship, and everything is beautiful, right? I think sometimes (at least in my case) we don't think to put ourselves into the Bible characters' shoes and consider how things actually must have looked for them in the moment. 

Imagine being 9 months pregnant. Feeling exhausted, huge, sore, and just ready to hold baby on the outside instead of the inside! ;) Then one day, a mandatory taxation decree comes out from a corrupt leader that no one wants in power in the first place. Oh, and by the way, extra bonus, you and your husband have to drop everything and travel 90 miles away (several days in travel alone) to pay these taxes! I'm sure this was absolutely crushing news to hear at such an already challenging time! But they had no choice, so go they did. I can just imagine Mary's mind running over the days, calculating the journey and how soon they could be back, hoping against hope that the baby wouldn't come while they were in a far away city, many miles from neighbors, sisters, or friends to help with the delivery of her first child. 

I'm sure Joseph did his best to help Mary be comfortable on the journey, but long days of travel in the last stage of pregnancy is pretty miserable even in today's world of soft, cushioned car seats, climate control, and the ability to recline in the car. Mary had none of those options. The journey would have been grueling for her, whether they walked or perhaps had a donkey to ride on.

Then, to top it all off, they got to Bethlehem only to find that every last inn was full! No bed or cot to relax on after the long journey, no welcoming hostess offering a drink and a meal to the weary travelers, only a stable filled with straw and the smell of livestock. 

And then, she went into labor.

Talk about one thing after another! Most likely this felt to Mary and Joseph like the biggest collection of hard and discouraging circumstances they had ever faced. We don't know too much about the details surrounding Christ's birth, so I don't want to take too many liberties with the story...but giving birth is no joke, no matter your circumstances or surroundings. I don't know if she only had Joseph with her, or if he was able to find a midwife or another kindly woman to help deliver the baby, but can you imagine how different this whole situation was than how Mary had envisioned and hoped it would be? It must have been hard at the time to see the purpose behind all of these hardships. And yet, prophecy after prophecy of the coming Messiah was being fulfilled.

We don't know how long Mary was in labor, but eventually, Jesus was safely born. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in the trough used for feeding animals. What a bed for the King of kings on His first night in this world in human flesh!

At this point of the night, I'm sure all Mary wanted to do was to rest, recover, and enjoy her tiny new baby, but suddenly on the door step was a group of shepherds wanting to see the newborn Jesus. They told an incredible story of angels announcing the birth of this child, in this town, on this night. They worshipped at the feet of the infant, and left rejoicing and spreading the news of all they had seen.

And now we come to this verse..."But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart." How much did Joseph and Mary comprehend about the vast significance of this child's birth? We don't know that answer, but we do know that Mary kept all these things that had happened, and meditated on them. She treasured these events, and brought them back to her heart and mind long into the future. What a precious attitude to have! If anyone would have a "right" to complain, to mourn ruined plans, to be angry over all that had gone "totally wrong", it would be Mary! Very little about this situation was under her control. It may have felt so overwhelming in the moment. And yet, she chose instead to focus her heart with quiet wonder on the workings of God that night. She didn't become bitter or frustrated, she didn't fret about the future, she didn't insist on her "rights"...she kept and pondered.

What a precious lesson for us to learn! In a world that feels upside down, out of control, and chaotic, a world where everything seems to be going wrong and falling apart, God is at work. He has not lost track of His perfect plan along the way. His hands are here, right now, moving hearts and controlling events. 2,000 years ago, He used a corrupt leader and an overbearing edict to bring Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem so the prophecies of Christ's birth would be fulfilled. Today, He can use any person, any circumstance, to further His will. And when this life seems most discouraging, may we choose, as Mary did, to be still and ponder the works of our God.

Love,

Mykaela