Inspired by the life of others

I just finished reading "Faithful Women and Their Extraordinary God" by Noel Piper. It was an amazing book that I recommend you read. Reading about other women (in this case missionaries) and their walks with the Lord always stirs my soul. As I read the stories of 5 women I was challenged in so many ways. The last one I read was about Helen Roseveare, a missionary to Congo in the 1950s and 60s. I'm not so good at paraphrasing, so I will just quote some of her words that have pierced my soul and humbled my heart.

"Since 1973, I have been living in the United Kingdom, and seeking to present the desperate need of three thousand million people, alive today, who have never heard of our Lord Jesus Christ and of the redemption He wrought for them at Calvary. These are the "hidden peoples" in more than ten thousand ethnic groups around our world. As I try to present their needs, I pray earnestly that the Holy Spirit will stir hearts to make a response. It seems so obvious to me that Christian young people.....should rise up and go......
Why is the response so poor?
Is it that we Christians today have an inadequate understanding of God's holiness and therefore of His wrath against sin and of the awfulness of a Christless eternity? If we were gripped by the two facts - of the necessity for judgment of sin because God is holy; and of the necessity of holiness in the Christian that he may represent such a God to others - would we not "hunger and thirst after righteousness" whatever the cost, and would not others then see Christ in us, and be drawn to Him? In other words, if we (understood) the Scriptural teaching on the need of Holiness in the life of every believer, we should not need to plead for missionaries."

I cannot help but feel conviction as I read her words. It has caused me to evaluate so many areas of my life and how I view the Lord's holiness. I want to dive deeper and I need to. I long to be a woman that hungers and thirsts after the righteousness of God and to be able to model that for our children and if I'm honest with myself, right now I'm just not there. But there is hope and by God's grace, I can get there. I pray that I will continue to press on to be a woman that hungers and thirsts of the righteousness of God and that others will see that in me and be drawn to Him.

Pictures by Allison

A few weeks ago, my friend Allison took some pictures of the family and of Parker. She did a fantastic job, we absolutely love the pictures. Here are a few of them.

What a silly boy

Hudson and I have been going to a gymnastics place for open gym the last month or so and he absolutely loves it. Tonight as we were putting him to bed we were praying and when we finished Hudson wanted to pray for the gym......his words, "thank you God, gym. Amen" Christian and I were trying so hard not to laugh. Oh the beautiful things that children say!

Parker's Birth Announcement....a little late:)

My 2 favorite kids!

Sweet smiles

Crazy Hair

This is what happens when you brush curly hair!

Pictures, pictures, pictures

I know our blog has recently been picture overload, but hey for now I know that's what most people want to see. So sorry to those who are looking for something else right now:)

Parker's 1 Month Stats and other updates

Weight - 9lbs 14 oz (55%)
Length - 21in (50%)
Head circum. - 14" (10%) yep, as of now she has a little head:)

In the last 2 weeks we have also seen her smile (not the gassy ones, real ones) and she has rolled over from her tummy to her back. It looks like she is going to be pretty similar to Hudson on the physical things (as much as you can tell at one month). She is a great eater and sleeper.

We love getting to hang out as a family of 4. It is a joy for me to watch Hudson interact with her. He loves her so much and is always so concerned about her. The other day she was sleeping in the other room and started fussing a little and then I heard Hudson scream, "Parker, I'm coming, I'm coming" and he ran down the hall to her. So sweet!

It's your 2nd kid when......

you take her to the dr and

1. she spits up everywhere and you have no burp cloth with you

2. you are changing her diaper and she pees all over her clothes and you don't have any other clothes......so you take her home with only a diaper on and covered in a blanket.

Oh well, better luck the next time:) It's a good thing that our pediatrician is so laid back and down to earth, he just laughed at me. Maybe the next time we go out I will be bettered prepared and that's a big MAYBE (I just don't think of those things and to be honest, I really don't like to carry anything "extra")