Following God's Will

This past weekend Jackie and I met with our Pastor because we felt it would be good to meet with her as we prepare to start a family of our own. Little did we know that the Lord would speak so clearly through her and our immediate plans would be changing.

In our meeting with Pastor, she shared how it is God's will that we be "financially" prepared to bring children into the world and that it is a Biblical requirement for couples to be financially prepared for children even before they get married. When we are financially unprepared we are essentially going against the will of the Lord and His blessings cannot be fully bestowed upon us. And in being financially unprepared we are allowing Satan to get a foothold in our lives as we raise children.

With Jackie and I both coming from families where money was minimal neither of us really thought about the need to be more financially prepared for our children than our parents were. We both felt our children would grow up just like us and learn the value of a dollar at a young age. We always thought we would be able to provide our children with more than our parents were financially able to provide for us, but we didn't see a need to have money put away and our finances in order before we had children. I know that may seem a little scary and naive, but we really just felt we would be able to do what we needed to, when we needed to, and that it would all work out just fine.

After meeting with Pastor we realized that not only is it wise to have your finances in order and money saved when starting a family, it is a Biblical commandment of our Lord and we always want to be following the Lord's will in all that we do. With that being said, we will be taking a break from trying to start our family until we feel that we have made the progress with our finances that the Lord would be happy with. We don't know exactly how long it will be, but we will be taking it one month at a time. Until that day, we pray that the Lord will help us be dedicated to following His commandments in all that we do so that He can bless us!

Life

Since it's been a little while since my last posts and one of my goals this year was to keep my blog updated, I figured it was time to share some things going on in our lives right now! :)

Last Friday we found out that our last insemination was not successful. So right now we prepare for another one in a few weeks. It has been hard for us accept the disappointment of no baby each month, but we completely trust that the Lord has His hands in this process and will allow it to happen when He feels the timing is right and all the details are in order. Until that time we will continue to put our trust in Him.

Yesterday I started another semester of school. I am taking a parenting in the 21st century class as well as a Calculus class. This is the first time in my college career that I am taking classes solely to take classes. Neither of the classes are required to earn my teaching credential, but I need to stay in school right now to keep my school loans in deferment. It really makes me look at school differently when I know I don't have to take these classes, it makes it hard to be excited even though I know they will both be beneficial to me and my future. I guess I am just really looking forward to a break, even though I graduated last May I haven't really taken a break from school so it doesn't feel like I am done. I know I will be done one day, just not seeing that day coming anytime soon.

It was also Jackie's birthday yesterday and because of how busy our day was we really didn't get to celebrate yesterday which was okay because we celebrated over the weekend. This past Saturday we drove out to Palm Springs and stayed at a Bed and Breakfast for the night to celebrate her birthday. We were also able to go to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse for dinner to celebrate and it was absolutely fabulous! On the way back home we stopped at the Cabazon Outlets to do a little clothes shopping and found a few good buys! All in all I think it was a pretty successful birthday celebration and a relaxing weekend.

That is about all that is going on in our lives right now, but will update again soon!

A New Beginning

Today I decided it was time to get back on the weight loss wagon. I went through a long period of just maintaining the 16 pounds I lost on weight watchers and then over the past few months have now gained 8 of those 16 back, so I felt the need to start holding myself accountable again.

A friend of mine at work is using a calorie counter online that is completely free and it has you track what you are eating everyday as well as the physical activity, if any, you are doing everyday as well. It helps you create a realistic goal for the weight you want to lose and suggests the amount of calories you should eat. It also has a section on exercise that gives you ready made exercise programs or helps you to create one specifically for you and what you like to do. It also takes into consideration any health issues you have or if you are pregnant so that you are making sure you are not hurting yourself. If anyone wants to check it out, the website is: http://caloriecount.about.com

I am very excited about the new goal and the idea of having to hold myself accountable for the food decisions I make. Yet, I can also allow myself some things by just making up for it with exercise. This is a concept I am very much familiar with, but I think I just needed to forgive myself for the past mistakes and start new!

Hopefully I will have some good reports on the progress. :)

A New Year

I was just thinking about New Year's resolutions and what my resolutions would be, if I will be able to stick to them or if I am going to make crazy ones that I know I can't stick too and I decided that instead of trying to make a bunch of resolutions for the new year, I needed to try and make some personal goals to work towards.

1) Build a stronger and more personal relationship with the Lord!

2) Show Jackie just how much I love her and how lucky I feel to have her as my life long companion!

3) Update the blog more often so that we have a record of our lives together and the joys and sorrows we experience.

4) make better decisions in my food choices.

5) Create a more physically active life for our family by setting an example and encouraging us to get up and get active.

They may seem a bit redundant, but they are the most important things in my life and they should be at the top of my list each and everyday of my life!

The Reason for the Season

Life can get so hectic and it is so easy to get wrapped up in all that happens during the Christmas season. Trying to get the perfect present for everyone and making sure that you get your Christmas cards out on time. Decorating the house and throwing the parties.

This year we are tyring to stay focused on the reason that this season is here in the first place. Jesus is the reason and without Him, we would have nothing to celebrate! The Lord is our provider and He sacrificed His son, Jesus, so that we might have the opportunity to live with Him one day. Jesus the way, the truth, and the light. No one can enter the kingdom except through Him.

As many of you know, Jackie and I began the journey to start a family earlier this year. We recently found out that this last try was unsuccessful again and it broke both of our hearts. I have struggled with feelings that maybe I am not doing what I am supposed to or that I am not worthy to have children, but the Lord makes promises and He will not break His promises no matter what! A friend of mine shared a scripture with me yesterday that gives me hope and reminds me of the promises God makes to His children.

Psalm 113:9 (NIV)
"He settles the barren woman in her home as a happy mother of children."

Both Jackie and I will keep this promise close to our hearts as we continue to try to start our family. This journey has really made me look closely at my personal relationship with the Lord and to see that He loves me no matter what and He wants to give me the desires of my heart, it will just be in His time.