Poor little Tyler is not feeling well this evening. When he got up this morning he was fine. I went to women’s Bible study, and he was in the nursery during that time so maybe he picked up something there…? When we came home he was a little grumpy, but I expected as much since he’s cutting his top teeth. But then he woke up from his nap really early and just wanted to be held and rocked. I took his temperature, but he didn’t have a fever. After he finished his dinner I picked him up and he started crying again and then threw up. This was the first time he’s ever thrown up and it was so sad. I’m not sure exactly what he has, but I’m sad to see my baby sick, this may be a long night…

Becoming a mom has reminded me of some memories of my mom. Tonight I had a memory of having the flu on Christmas day and my mom giving me a straw to drink my juice with–that was all the excitement I could handle that day, but I do remember getting a big stuffed dog that I named “Rover”–how original! I have memories of my mom trying to help pull a tooth that wouldn’t fall out, putting cream on a rash, being up with me at night when I had a bad dream. I didn’t really think about any of these things until more recently, probably since I’ve become a mom. I don’t think that means being a mom gives you special enlightenment but it has given me a new appreciation for my mom and I am glad for that.

I also find that being a mom has helped me to have a better grasp and gratitude for God’s design for women. The value in being a wife and mother is ignored and even mocked by our culture. There is so much pressure for women to “do more” than just being a wife and mother. For years our culture, and even the church, has been trying to redefine what it means to be a woman. The reason people are trying is because they don’t like what and who God says women are, so they are trying to come up with something more palatable to them.

In her book, Lies Women Believe and the Truth That Sets Them Free, Nancy Leigh DeMoss writes about the results of this un-biblical redefinition of womanhood:

-Millions of infants and toddlers being dropped off at daycare centers before daylight and picked up after dark;

-Mothers giving their best energy and time to persons other than their husbands and children, leaving those women perpetually exhausted and edgy;

-Women spending more quality time with men at work than they do with their own husbands;

-Families that seldom sit down and have a meal together;

-Children spending countless hours being entertained by videos, TV, electronic games and computers. (p. 125)

I wish that Christian women would live differently, but often this area in our lives looks no different than the world. It breaks my heart to think how many Christian women will struggle through life trying to get a handle on their role, without wholeheartedly embracing what God says it is in His Word. I wish it weren’t so rare to see spouses who delight in each other and lovingly nurture their children. Women play a huge role in this absence because our ministry is to be centered in our homes.

Nancy Leigh DeMoss writes,

“God’s plan is that a woman’s primary attention and efforts should be devoted to the ministering to the needs of her husband and children.” (p. 130)

We don’t have to be Martha Stewart or anything, but I bet those of us who are wives (and/or mothers) know that we could do more in this area. Even women who aren’t married often have an un-biblical view of womanhood and the value of fulfilling the role God has designed for us. I’ve heard many girls talk about never wanting to get married to “save themselves the headache.” One said to me, “Life will be more fun if I can do what I want without having a husband running my life.” Lots of girls say “I’ll never have kids, there’s no way I could deal with all that crying…I like my sleep too much.”

My husband is a high school youth pastor and I regularly hear stuff like this from girls I come in contact with. My heart is so burdened for this role of being a godly women–first that I would myself joyfully and obediently embrace this role God has made, and second that I would be bold about living out this role and setting an example for the women who are younger than me, not yet married, or who don’t have children yet.

“Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live,
not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good.
Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.” (Titus 2:3-5)

To be continued…

Our youth group just started reading through the Psalms. One Psalm a day for 150 days. It’s almost like a special diet or work-out regimen, but of course we hope it will last longer than just 150 days. Bobby is passionate about the Psalms and always says, “If you want to know God, read the Psalms.”

He made a pamphlet to guide our high school ministry through reading a Psalm each day from January 1st through May 29th. Not only are we reading through it together, but Bobby has a section up at their site, Godsongmusic.com, called “Psalm of the Day” where our students, leaders and anyone actually…can discuss the Psalm for that day. People ask questions, comment on a favorite verse or a specific point that struck them.

Today’s Psalm is chapter 9–David’s thankful prayer for God’s righteous judgments.

I will praise You, O Lord, with my whole heart;
I will tell of all Your marvelous works.
I will be glad and rejoice in You;
I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High. (v. 1-2)

David says “I will” four times and this portrays his dedication and excitement to worship God. I definitely want to have more exuberance as I respond to who God is and what He has done. So often we can just be passive responders to God, reading about Him, hearing about Him in praise songs. But none of this is worth anything unless we declare in our hearts to exalt Him. It doesn’t seem like many people are into making New Year’s resolutions anymore…but we can probably all think of something that we need to say “I will” to the Lord.

The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed,
A refuge in times of trouble.
And those who know Your name
will put their trust in You;
For You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You. (v. 9-10)

Most of this Psalm is about destruction and judgment and David praising God for rebuking his enemies. And it is true. God executes judgment on the wicked. In these two verses David shows us how God responds to His children. He is our refuge or NIV says “stronghold.” I looked up the words “refuge” and “stronghold” in the dictionary.

“Refuge” — “shelter or protection from danger or distress”

“Stronghold” — “a place of security or survival”

What a great picture of our God being all-powerful and protecting all who belong to Him! When we put our trust in Him He never forsakes us. That is so encouraging and a good challenge to never trust in myself or try to work things out on my own. God is worthy of all my dependence and full trust.

The Lord is known by the judgment He executes;
The wicked is ensnared in the work of his own hands.

Arise, O Lord,
Do not let man prevail;
Let the nations be judged in Your sight.
Put them in fear, O Lord,
That the nations may know themselves to be but men. (v. 16, 19-20)

This part of the Psalm is so interesting to me because most people when asked about God I would think would describe Him as “love” not as Judge. Reflecting on this is a big reminder that God is so completely holy. There is no flaw or faintest taint in Him. That is why He has to judge man. Being known by His judgment might make us think, “Oh, that’s a tough one” as if God’s judgment is one of His lesser qualities. As if God’s power, mercy or love were better attributes somehow. He must judge because He is perfectly holy and we are sinful.

Reading through Psalms really helps me know God better. It gives me a fuller more complete picture of His character. Maybe you would even consider reading through the Psalms with us! You can contribute to the discussion and read the Psalm-of-the-Day with us by simply clicking on the link or visiting Godsongmusic.

My mom let me borrow their old VHS version of The Ten Commandments and the other night we finally finished watching it. It’s pretty long so we would watch parts of it here and there. There’s bits and pieces of creative elaboration to the Biblical story. But its a great movie. After we watched it I really wanted to read about Moses life. It is so interesting to start in Exodus 1:1 and just read through about Moses being born and put in a basket and onto the river. People always act like the story of Moses is just a nice little children’s Sunday school lesson, but it is an amazing story of God using one man to accomplish huge things.

At the end of the the movie Moses is looking out at the people before he walks up the mountain and makes a grandiose pose with his arms stretched wide. He makes a brief mention about not being able to continue with the people because “The Lord was angry with me because I disobeyed him by the waters of strife…”

So I looked it up in Numbers 20 to read the whole story. God did not let Moses enter the promised land because when the Israelites were in Kadesh there was no water and God told Moses to speak to the rock and water would come out of it for the people. But Moses was angry with the people for complaining and instead he struck the rock with his staff. For this sin of disbelief and disobedience, God did not allow Moses to go to the very land he had led the people to.

The end of Deuteronomy, chapter 34, tells of Moses’ death. It says,

“So Moses the servant of the Lord died in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord. And He buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth Peor; but no one knows his grave to this day. Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died. His eyes were not dim nor his natural vigor diminished…But since then there has not arisen in Israel a prophet like Moses, whom the Lord new face to face, in all the signs and wonders which the Lord sent him to do in the land of Egypt, before Pharaoh before all his servants, and in all his land, and by all that mighty power and all the great terror which Moses performed in the sight of all Israel.”

The story of Moses is so amazing to me. He was the greatest prophet and the Lord had an intimate relationship with him and used Moses as a instrument of His power. The above passage tells us that God buried Moses body. God wanted Moses to be buried in a secret place that no man would know. Jude 9 says the most interesting thing about this–”But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not dare to bring a slanderous accusation against him, but said, ‘The Lord rebuke you!’” Maybe Satan wanted to use Moses’ body in some way to distract the Israelites from following God.

If you haven’t seen the Ten Commandments, it is definitely worth watching. But even if you don’t watch it, read through Exodus, it’s so encouraging to see God’s work and realize the same God is working in our own lives today. That is exciting!

It’s New Year’s Day and like many others I’m looking back at last year as I look forward to the new one. I had a great time this week reading through some of my blog archives. It is so enjoyable to look back on God’s goodness in our lives this year. I think the theme that stood out most was His provision. God has truly blessed us with many gifts of His grace.

-February 20th–In this entry I announced that we had welcomed little Tyler into our family. Up till then, my blog was called “A Tale of Two Blakey’s” that was when it was changed to “Blakeyblog.” We were so excited about Tyler! In one entry when Tyler was just a week old I wrote something so hilarious–”His sleeping is on and off during the day–I’ve been taking the advice of many moms to nap when he naps. Bobby or I are only up with him about three to four times a night so sleep has not been a problem for us, in fact it seems that’s all we are doing these days!”

-April 14th–This was a review of the book Captivating by John and Stasi Eldredge. This is the most frequently visited archive because each week new visitors come as a result of searching for a Christian review of this book at Google.

-May 1st–“Orange County Bound…“–This post was written three weeks before our move from Sunnyvale to Aliso Viejo. Bobby and I were sad to leave our youth group there, but excited about what the Lord had in mind for us here. I learned a big lesson in being submissive to the Lord in all circumstances. When we had interviewed at Compass Bible Church our pastor’s wife told us they had always prayed to God “Anything, anytime, anywhere.” I wanted this to be true of me too.

-June 21st–By this post we had moved into our new condo and Bobby celebrated his first Father’s Day. I like this entry because I write about reading the Bible every day. After moving here to Compass Bible Church I started reading through the Bible with the church’s daily reading plan. I haven’t read every day’s passages, but after seven months that is more than I have usually read! So I am excited about starting at the beginning this year and, Lord willing, reading all the way to the end!

-July 19th–This is one of my favorite entries from 2006. Bobby, Ty and Brad are such an inspiration and encouragement to me and this entry was about their friendship and ministry together.

-“What Do Girls Need?” and “…A Transformed Heart” After reading several books for young girls I was sad to find that most lacked any spiritual value. Today’s young Christian girl doesn’t need to esteem herself more, be convinced of her inner mystery, claim her beauty or demand respect. What do Christian girls need? Christian girls need to be transformed into the likeness of their Savior.

-“Christian Psychology?” and “The Call to Counsel” I had the opportunity to go to a counseling conference which had me considering different dangers of psychology and how it has infiltrated the church. Many Christians don’t have confidence that God’s Word can speak directly to their family troubles, emotional pain or tough questions. But God is clear that He gives us everything we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). In the end I decided to skip the conference and instead to do a better job “Considering Tyler.”

-October 30th–In this entry I wrote about disciplining babies…a topic still much on my mind! The “experts” seemed to think that we should wait till Tyler is old enough to talk with us before we started any real discipline. Since writing that entry I’ve learned some good things about disciplining Tyler. Punishment is only a small part of discipline but some people mistake punishment for discipline. Discipline is so much more than a spanking or time-out. It is training, nurturing, guiding, encouraging, warning and instituting consequences for disobedience. Understanding this point has been a huge help as Bobby and I discipline Tyler.

-November 13th– Are we too busy?

Another thing I really liked about reading my blogs from last year was getting to look through some of the books I had read–

Twelve Extraordinary Women by John MacArthur

Feminine Appeal by Carolyn Mahaney

The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence

Helper By Design by Elyse Fitzpatrick

Christian Living Beyond Belief by Cliff McManis

Captivating by John and Stasi Eldredge

The Quest for Character by John MacArthur

Anxious for Nothing by John MacArthur

Humility True Greatness by C.J. Mahaney

Damsels in Distress by Martha Peace

Reflecting on 2006 on my blog has really helped renew my confidence and hope in the Lord. He has provided for me and guided me last year and I know that He does not change, but will continue to be good in 2007. Bobby taught from Psalm 27 yesterday and I liked how he said, “For every New Year’s wish or resolution we could probably list a fear we have in the coming year…” Tomorrow is full of unknowns but that isn’t for me to worry about or fear. We can’t see or determine the future, but we can know God who holds it in His hands…Happy New Year!