I’ve really wanted to address the issue of God speaking today, what John Piper described as the “supremely-glorious communication of the living God which personally and powerfully and transformingly explodes in the receptive heart through the Bible.” (See this post) This is my kind of thing; it is a passion of mine.  I should probably write this stuff over at my defunct blog lest my wife feel well enough to turn on her computer some day soon, but I posted the link to the Piper article here.  I can’t say everything I want to say, maybe someday when things are less hectic, but I can say this:

Within the past month we’ve had two very sudden deaths in our church family.  Our church family is small—only about 160 or so.  One death was an older gentleman who was given two years to live just a month ago.  The other was a young husband and father who was a couple of years younger than me.  As someone who has been going through some very difficult times recently reminded me, when God’s providence is frowning it can be hard to see His smiling face.  Where do you turn for hope in times like these?

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.

For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Someone asked for an update earlier.  There’s not a whole lot new to say.  The kids are alive.  The house still stands.  The laundry is (mostly) up to speed.  We’re on a first-name basis with every employee at the local fast food establishments.  But, more importantly, Amy is doing about the same as she has been since the inception.  She is in bed about 23 1/2 hours a day and she hasn’t had any “good” days lately.  In one of the rare lucid moments this past week the discussion was whether she gets credit for throwing up if there is nothing left in your stomach.  I said, “No” but I suspect I’ll take some heat for my hard-line position.

I’m very grateful for the help we have received.  Our friends from across the river lent us their daughter for a couple of days earlier this week so that I could go in to work and get some things done.  That was a huge help and she did a fantastic job with the kids.  They also sent with her two lasagnas, fresh, warm, home made bread, salad, and brownies for dessert.

No relief in sight yet,  Amy is tired of my rather limited culinary repertoire, and it will probably get worse before it gets better.  Nevertheless, we appreciate the prayers and concern.

Well, this week has been one of those.  The best of times, the worst of times.  Two steps forward, two steps back.  Sunshine and cloudy days.

Accentuate the positive:

1. Amy kept down two meals that I cooked.  This is an accomplishment when she is NOT pregnant.
2. The Reds exacted revenge on the Tigers, Little League that is.  We were undefeated this season until, well, they defeated us.  We got them back on Wednesday.  Now we’re 10-1.
3. Some friends brought us more meals.  This is a nice blessing and one which ensures that my record of 2-0 (see #1) stands.  Special thanks to Suzi who not only brought us two meals, but also volunteered to take my concession stand duty today.  Wow!
4. Amy felt well enough (that’s well enough, not well) to drive herself to get her blood test done yesterday.  That is the first time she has driven a car, let alone been out of the house, in almost a month.
5. There was only one night this week with a child sick and throwing up all night.  (You can read between the lines on that one to extrapolate the negative).

Anyway, if you are missing your fix of Amy, head over to Cumberland Books and pick up her Plain Talk recording.  She’ll not be happy with me for posting this, but I think she did just fine with it.  It’s not earth-shaking and it won’t bring world peace or anything like that, but what do you want for $5?  Besides, when this post gets deleted, you will know that Amy is feeling well enough to turn on her computer.

I see that it’s been over a month since I’ve written anything here. There were several questions I left unanswered in the comment section of some old posts, and I’m going back to answer them today.

I see that Greg has been keeping you up-to-date on our progress/lack of progress over here. It’s been a solid month of exhaustion, weight loss, and nausea and vomiting due to pregnancy—or hyperemesis. For weeks now, I’ve stayed motionless in bed with a Glad 6-quart plastic container as my companion. Two people reminded me about blood clots, and I’m grateful for the advice. This week I’ve upgraded to a sort of morning sickness—which just means that I feel nauseous and useless 24/7. This is very good progress.

Greg looks on the bright side of everything, which is why one of us in this marriage has to be the realist. The truth is, I don’t have that pregnancy glow. My skin is not radiating, and my hair is not shiny. Instead, my hair is a matted, greased down ponytail and my lips are cracked. I could play a junkie on TV and not need makeup or a change of clothes. I am prone to count my daily vomiting sessions, not my blessings.

Yet God’s glory is sometimes seen best in our weakness, ironically. God’s nod on my life happens not when I achieve personal peace and affluence, but when I am faithful and obedient to the task He’s set before me—however hard it is. God calls us to do hard things. James 1:12 says, “Blessed is the man who perseveres…”

The nuts and bolts of our faith is lived out in the dailyness of life. Sometimes we’re prone to believe that Sundays (except for that last one in January) are for Jesus; the rest of the week is for—you know—other stuff. But in reality, we need, live, and ask for faith everyday.

We are to live for His glory—to make Him look good—every single day of the week. Christian marriage, living, and faith stands or falls during these in-between times, often when nobody is watching on except the children. And boy, they are watching.

We shouldn’t be surprised by trials. If we are sick, we should drink Gatorade and pray for healing (James 5). Sometimes God’s answer for deliverance is yes, and sometimes the answer is no. But in praying for relief, we should also pray for faith. The faith to believe that God cares for His people and their lowly state, just as He does the sparrow. The faith to agree all the time (not just when death is preferable to our suffering) that to live is Christ and to die is gain. The faith to “consider it pure joy” (James 1:2) when our faith is matured.

If you would’ve asked me two months ago if we could “handle” a circumstance like this—even as small, really, as this one– I would’ve said “no.” What would we do with the one-year-old who is walking and loves to climb stairs? He is busy, busy, busy. How could we manage his safety when Greg has to work and I am not there? But as it happened, God would send tangible help and encouragement when it was needed and not a second before that.

This week I hit the 12 week mark and awoke, paused, and stared at the ceiling. I waited. For several weeks, I kept telling myself, “If you just can make it to 12 weeks…” Well, nothing magical happened. There was no mood music in the background, and I had to reach for the bucket and lie still all the same. Rats.

Morning sickness often completely subsides by 14 weeks, according to the people who study these things. But 14 weeks is too far from 6 weeks, so I went with 12 weeks. Since we know this is “all in my head”, I had to believe 12 was the better number.

We can’t please God without faith, but our belief has to be in the goodness and sovereignty of the God who controls all things rather than a magic number. While it can’t hurt to look forward with hope, we must remember that there is a day coming that is far better than the one at 14 weeks—the day when we see Him.

Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

~I Peter 1:8-9

Holly asked about a theory I alluded to about why some women are more nauseous than others during pregnancy. She asked about it in the comment section below, but I moved it up here in case anyone could add anything.

In half the women who are hospitalized for hyperemesis, liver enzymes are elevated. I can’t tell via the online research if the poor liver function is a result of the hyperemesis or if the liver abnormalities were preexisting, which contributed to the vomiting. My theory is this: hyperemesis can be better controlled with better liver support. Shonda Parker, author of Naturally Healthy Pregnancy, recommends Milk Thistle to support the liver, and the more I think about it, the more it makes sense.

Doctors recommend the new birth control patch because it doesn’t cause nausea. (I’m not recommending it—just explaining.) Why? Because the hormones bypass the liver; they’re not metabolized. Many recommend the patch especially for women who can’t stomach low-dose birth control pills. This seems to indicate that liver function can either help/hurt with the influx of progesterone and estrogen during the first trimester, depending on how well it is working. The liver plays a valuable role on how hormones are handled.

My theory is to try a liver cleanse, following-up with Milk Thistle and high protein diet before a pregnancy. Of course, I didn’t get to try this time since I was nursing Charles at the time. But if anyone finds this via Google, struggles with nausea and vomiting during pregnancy, and tries out my theory, feel free to comment.

There are many causes of morning sickness, but I don’t see too much research on this angle. Probably because I’m way off. As an aside, I wonder how many male readers are left here.

Since it’s time to get real, I figured I’d mention that the thought has crossed my mind, “Now why am I torturing myself again?” [If you’re new here, I’ve been vomiting for a long time now.] I had a phone call this weekend from a blog commenter—who can identify herself if she wants—who lamented that her wonderful, godly children misbehave while her pregnant-self moans on the couch.

Kids take advantage of the situation. And it makes one despair. At least, that’s what she said. I had no idea what she was talking about.

Now, if you don’t know, I have a one-year-old and a two-year-old, in addition to an odd assortment of others– none of which can babysit, operate heavy machinery, or iron clothes yet. Now, my two-year-old is a gem, God bless her. However, my one-year-old is—ahem—less sanctified, shall we say.

It makes me think we should spend more time talking with the old folks. See what I mean here:

One of the reasons I lean toward the old paths is because the people were less distracted than we are. Their lives were simpler; they knew what was important and what wasn’t.