Today is the fourth day that Bobby has been sick and in bed. He has the flu and it has gotten much worse as the days go by, but hopefully he will get some relief and start feeling better over the weekend. We’ve been talking a lot about God’s grace to us. We aren’t always faithful to praise God for what He gives us until we are missing it…like our health. I don’t always notice how sweet and generous our friends are until we need them and they are there for us. I am glad that God allows us to have good times and bad times. Change for us always magnifies His glorious greatness.

Earlier today I was reading some thoughts by John MacArthur on 2 Peter 3:18. “Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever.”

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Spiritual growth is not mystical, sentimental, devotional or
psychological. It’s not the result of some clever secret formula.
It is simply matching your practice with your position.

As believers, our position in Christ is perfect: we are complete in
Him (Col.2:10); we have all things that pertain to life and godliness
(2 Pet. 1:3); and we have received all spiritual blessings (Eph. 1:3).
But now we need to progress in our daily lives in a way that is
commensurate with our exalted position. Giving glory to God is
directly related to spiritual growth.
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I want to bring God glory in my life. But I, like many others, have fallen into a trap of seeking the “secret” to success in this area. Maybe it’s praying more, keeping a journal, reading a Psalm every day… I want to try anything that will help me glorify the Lord in all I say and do. But I have not thought of it as simple as MacArthur’s one statement: matching your practice with your position. This is what brings God glory. In the Christian life we cannot suffice for good intentions. It isn’t enough that we each have a Bible. We must read it, understand it and live it.

This is both challenging and refreshing. It is a challenge because it can seem a lot more difficult to put our two-faced ways behind us and live united in what we say and do because our selfishness so easily gets in the way or when people will persecute us for living our faith. It is encouraging in that we don’t have to be on a search for some secret or 10-step method for spiritual growth. It is as MacArthur states–matching practice with position. I hope that you, too, will set your heart to this end with the grace and strength God provides.

It’s been a long few days. Bobby has come down with some horrible flu-like sickness. He rarely gets sick, and this is for sure the worst he’s gotten anything since we’ve been married. The last two days I have been taking care of him, reading and hoping two things–one, that I don’t get sick too and two, that the baby doesn’t come while he’s sick!

My due date is less than two weeks away and it feels good to have finished the classes, preparations, and baby’s room. We’ve been gradually spending time in our second bedroom painting, setting up furniture, and organizing all the clothes we’ve received as gifts. From the pictures you can see that we made the room up with soft colors–light yellow and green, pale blue, cream and white. My mom gave us a special gift by making all the crib bedding and window valance. We really liked a bedding set by Nautica, but knew we couldn’t fork out the money for it. Being the seamstress my mom is, she has made a near exact duplicate, but in the end I actually like hers better. It has all turned out so beautifully! Getting the room together has been fun and thought-provoking. Bobby put together all these neat gadgets we received like the aquarium that hangs on the crib bars and plays music and bubbles. We also received a baby monitor set that projects a ocean scene on the wall and plays sound effects like ocean waves.

I’ve been overwhelmed seeing all that we’ve been given by friends and family. People really have come around us and helped us prepare, not just with the gifts but with advice and guidance as well. We could not do any of this all on our own. The Lord has surrounded us with godly people to learn from and His own sweet mercies for us to depend on. It is good to reflect on Him and recognize that He is the Giver of all good things.

“Every good and perfect gift is from above…”
James 1:17