recently read for october 19, 2013

Belly Laughs by Jenny McCarthy

McCarthy is very frank (which I love), but pregnancy is so NOT as bad as she makes it sound. Had I read this book pre-pregnancy I would have been scared, because I would not have known she is just dramatic and pregnancy is a-okay. For example, sure I have to pee a lot, but I don't think I would resort to hopping out of the car at a stop sign and squatting in a yard, like she did. Very funny to read about though, so kudos to McCarthy for a funny book.

The Black Book of Hollywood Pregnancy Secrets

By Kym Douglas and Cindy Pearlman

NOT worth reading. Basically a glorified magazine touting a list of products not worth buying. I'm not sure what I was expecting though.

Great With Child: Letters to a Young Mother

By Beth Ann Fennel

Pure excellence! I have a few friends in mind that I plan to gift this to when they have babies. It is the collection of letters a professor wrote to one of her former students, who found out she was pregnant shortly after her mother died. The language is beautiful. No fear-mongering like in so many pregnancy websites/dialogues/books. Honest thoughts on the desire to be the best mom, and also be successful in another career. Positive reflections on the miracle and beauty of pregnancy and parenthood. 

Seven

By Jen Hatmaker

I went into this book with low expectations, because when a book is really popular at a Christian bookstore the chances of me completely loving it are slim. And yet, I LOVED it. I am also going through a group Bible study (separate workbook) where we are doing a mini version of Seven - instead of committing whole months, we do a week of focusing on cutting back in each area. (A week of eating only seven foods, a week of giving seven things away each day, etc.) Powerful book that left me with fresh conviction and excitement! Hatmaker is a RIOT. 

Loving Our Kids on Purpose

By Danny Silk

Superb book that I know I will be re-reading because it's so rich. I was surprised by how much his parenting wisdom challenged me personally - and already. It brought things to light about myself I never realized. He uses great stories and explains things in such a way that you gain a greater understanding of who God is, who you are, and how kids (people) really tick. Highly recommend.

Bringing Up Bebe

By Pamela Druckerman

An American living in Paris notices that French babies are not only more well behaved, but they sleep through the night early on and their parents seem calm and in control. The comparisons between cultures are oh-so-fascinating, and here's hoping the tips and theories work when applied in real life. So fun to learn about how vastly different parenting is from one culture to another. Reminded me that there is freedom, because no person (or culture) is an expert (or perfect) when it comes to parenting. 

I will say, the Americans she uses as her examples are pretty much ... yuppies. And a lot of the parenting wisdom she draws from the French are tried and true "methods" that would probably be a little thing called common sense to generations of say, Mennonites. ;-) But definitely not all of it! What struck me most about the French is the way they develop their children's palate from a young age (lots of veggies, and no kiddy menus and processed food) as well as the way they focus on their marriage and maintaining themselves, instead of letting the kids become the center of it all.

Thoughts on any of these?

And what are you reading?

Any recommendations to share?

the salute

The following was posted on Facebook by Taylor Hargis, a wife of one of the Rangers who was recently injured, and it went viral online. (And rightfully so.) Joshua Hargis has since been featured on The Today Show and multiple news outlets. Check out his wife's interview on NBC Nightly News - it's a tearjerker.

"I received this pictures today along with a letter from the commander of the team Josh was a part of on the night of his injuries. A letter to explain to me what kind of man I have the privilege of being married to. He explained to me what happened and what was going on in the picture.

"Josh was seriously wounded as you know and survived for almost two hours after his injury before arriving to the hospital. Josh was immediately pushed through a series of surgeries and emerged hours later into an intensive care unit here at our base in Afghanistan. 

Despite being in intense pain and mental duress, Josh remained alert and compassionate to the limited Rangers that were allowed to visit him bedside. Prior to Josh being moved to Germany for his eventual flight to America, we conducted a ceremony to award him with the Purple Heart for wounds received in action. A simple ceremony, you can picture a room full of Rangers, leaders, doctors, and nurses surrounding his bedside while the Ranger Regimental Commander pinned the Purple Heart to his blanket. 

During the presentation the Commander publishes the official orders verbally and leaned over Josh to thank him for his sacrifice. Josh, whom everybody in the room (over 50 people) assumed to be unconscious, began to move his right arm under the blanket in a diligent effort to salute the Commander as is customary during these ceremonies. Despite his wounds, wrappings, tubes, and pain, Josh fought the doctor who was trying to restrain his right arm and rendered the most beautiful salute any person in that room had ever seen. 

I cannot impart on you the level of emotion that poured through the intensive care unit that day. Grown men began to weep and we were speechless at a gesture that speak volumes about Josh's courage and character. The picture, which we believe belongs on every news channel and every news paper is attached. I have it hanging above my desk now and will remember it as the single greatest event I have witnessed in my ten years in the Army."

Motherhood {By Christianna Maas}

"My willingness to carry life is the revenge, the antidote, the great rebuttal of every murder, every abortion, and every genocide. I sustain humanity. Deep inside of me, life grows. I am death’s opposition.

I have pushed back the hand of darkness today. I have caused there to be a weakening tremor among the ranks of those set on earth’s destruction. Today a vibration that calls angels to attention echoed throughout time. Our laughter threatened hell today.

I dined with the greats of God’s army. I made their meals, and tied their shoes. Today, I walked with greatness, and when they were tired I carried them. I have poured myself out for the cause today. 

It is finally quiet, but life stirs inside of me. Gaining strength, the pulse of life sends a constant reminder to both good and evil that I have yielded myself to Heaven and now carry its dream. No angel has ever had such a privilege, nor any man. I am humbled by the honor. I am great with destiny.

I birth the freedom fighters. In the great war, I am a leader of the underground resistance. I smile at the disguise of my troops, surrounded by a host of warriors, destiny swirling, invisible yet tangible, and the anointing to alter history. Our footsteps marking land for conquest, we move undetected through the common places.

Today I was the barrier between evil and innocence. I was the gatekeeper, watching over the hope of mankind, and no intruder trespassed. There is not an hour of day or night when I turn from my post. The fierceness of my love is unmatched on earth.

And because I smiled instead of frowned the world will know the power of grace. Hope has feet, and it will run to the corners of the earth, because I stood up against destruction.

I am a woman. 
I am a mother. 
I am the keeper and sustainer of life here on earth. 
Heaven stands in honor of my mission. 
No one else can carry my call. 
I am the daughter of Eve. Eve has been redeemed. I am the opposition of death. I am a woman." 

wisdom from edith schaeffer

"We are an environment, 

each one of us. 

We are an environment for the other people with whom we 

live, the people with whom we work, the people with whom 

we communicate ... 

our conversations, 

attitudes, 

behavior, 

response or lack of response, 

hardness or compassion, 

our love or selfishness, 

joy or dullness, 

concern for others or self-pity - 

all these things make a difference to the people who 

have to live in our environment. 

Enthusiasm and excitement infect other people; 

expectancy that God can intervene and do something 

in this moment of  history and doing something 

practical to show that expectancy in prayer, affects 

the attitudes of other people." 

“It is true that all men are created in the image of God, but 

Christians are supposed to be conscious of that fact, and 

being conscious of it should recognize the importance of 

living artistically, aesthetically, and creatively, as 

creative creatures of the Creator. 

If we have been created in the image of an Artist, 

then we should look for expressions of artistry, and 

be sensitive to beauty, responsive to what has been 

created for us." 

“We foolish mortals sometimes live through years not 

realizing how short life is, and that TODAY is your life.” 

[all quotes from Edith Schaeffer]

[photos via Pinterest]

untitled

it was a rough weekend. not saying it to complain - just being real. and actually now i'm feeling extremely thankful, and full of fresh perspective.

i called my mom on saturday night and we talked and i felt better. i was lonely and missing lance, and had not heard from him. i wasn't worried about not hearing from him, because there were rumors that their phones/internet would be turned off due to the government shutdown. just missing him big time.

but on sunday night i got a call from our phone chain with awful news. several people were killed and injured - the worst loss the 75th ranger regiment had seen in several years. you can read more about it here if you're interested. four people were killed and many more injured during a night combat operation that stopped a high-profile suicide bombing in kandahar city.

whenever something like this happens, the phones/internet are turned off until families can be notified - so it actually had nothing to do with the government shutdown. which is really funny now, because different people kept worriedly asking me if i'd heard from my husband since they hadn't heard from theirs, and i lightheartedly told them not to worry, "it's just part of the government shutdown." ha, classic chelsea! i'm glad i was clueless and not worried though.

even though i was told on the phone on sunday that it was not anyone from his company, i was sitting on my couch speechless with my mind running wild. i thought about calling my mom again, but didn't want to be too needy. (at that point we were also instructed not to share the information with anyone, so there was that.)

but a few minutes later my phone rang and it was my mom. calling to check on me. happy sigh. why would i hesitate to be "needy" with my mom, the person who has known (and patiently handled) my neediness for 25+ years now? i hope that mom intuition she has gets passed on to me somehow, because she has it pretty much perfected.

i am so excited to have a son, and hearing everyone's positive comments about boys is great. most say that the first 5-10 years with boys are exhausting, but in the long run boys are easier than girls. i know it boils down to personality and a lot of other factors, but thinking about my brother and me ... um yeah, girls are a lot more difficult in the long run!

i cannot count the number of nights my mom stayed up with me, calming me down, listening to me, coaching me, hugging me, crying with me, praying with me.

i went through a phase around fifth and sixth grade where i could not sleep at night. i laugh about it now, but it was very real, and i still remember the anxiety and what a horrible feeling it was to not be able to sleep. my mom would try all sorts of things to help, but mostly it came down to a lot of selflessness on her part - going through a ridiculously long routine with me, being patient because if she wasn't i would freak out and be even more of a mess.

those are just the nights i remember her physical presence, but then there are the nights i'm sure she was wide awake praying for me - maybe while she was working nights, or my first sleepovers, or my unforgettable week at summer camp.

to say i hated camp would be an understatement. i sent my mom tear-stained letters BEGGING her to pick me up early. other dramatics included (but i'm sure were not limited to) complaining about not being fed enough, and detailing every single injury everyone in my cabin sustained (even though i had none) so that she would please just pick me up early. there was vivid relief on her face when she picked me up on the last day of camp, probably because my letters had her questioning whether her decision to let me stick it out would mean i was dead by then.

it was probably somewhat of a shock for my mom when i decided to do YWAM after i graduated. an entire year away from family and everything familiar. i vaguely remember her saying, "remember camp, chelsea?" it must have been so traumatic that i blocked it out, because i shrugged and went to hawaii and asia - without any sleepless nights or homesickness.

but that's not to say there weren't plenty of "adventures" that year to keep my mom busy praying -  when i forgot to call her after my flights were delayed overnight and i finally arrived in maui, when i got a bad case of staph infection, food poisoning, and other random sicknesses in third world countries, and when i decided to extend my time in nepal after my team left. to name a few.

then i finally started dating and i'm sure the ante was upped in the prayer department. (being a late bloomer was a very good thing - dating in high school would have been too much for me to handle, ha.)

and now i'm married and pregnant and on my own in another state, and i'm as thankful as ever to have a prayer warrior mama. i can see now that the prayers never stop when you're a mom. kinda like the way you start crying a lot when you're pregnant probably won't stop either.

my mom's birthday is on october 19, and i'm not sure how old she is turning because she doesn't look her age. and sometimes she has so much energy it baffles me. (however, in all of the commotion of insisting we not mention her age in recent years, she now officially forgets her real age, so at least there is that little bit of proof that she really is her age.)

dear mom,
thank you for bringing me into this world. thank you for being patient with me, especially all of the times i said i wished i was never born. thanks for not giving up on me during those years when i would have given up on myself without you. your prayers and your presence in my life have helped to make me who i am, and i can't thank you enough for all that you have done for me through the years. 

thank you for realizing that time is the best gift, and always being willing to spend time with me. 

thank you for being an example of a strong and fearless woman. the other week in yoga we were supposed to envision a superhero, and think about channeling those qualities during birth (weird i know) but i just pictured you. giving birth to two babies over ten pounds, all-natural - and i've never heard you complain or say a negative thing about it! you are fierce. we are blessed to be your children.

now that i'm becoming a mom, i am even more aware that dads usually get to be the fun one and moms get stuck with the dirty work. thanks for doing the dirty work. thanks for loving us, even when we acted like dad hung the moon and pushed you to the back because you were always there. thank you for going above and beyond what most single moms (or any moms!) do for their kids. 

my prayer for your new year is that you will get to share your amazing testimony with more women, because you have so much wisdom and experience to share with the world. you are a beautiful and wonderful woman of God, an amazing nurse, and i love that i get to be your daughter!

happy (early) birthday susan!

love,
your more difficult child ;)


... and even though boys might be less difficult, my friend ashley pointed out that girls will stick with you more than boys in the long run. every sunday her husband sighs, "oh it's sunday, i guess i'll call my mom." they have two little boys and she tells her husband that he better never leave her, because she knows when her sons grow up they will leave her and be groaning, "well it's sunday, i guess i'll call my mom." ha.

so really, boys or girls aren't necessarily easier, and it all evens out - right?

what do you think?