On a more serious note...

I have been thinking A LOT about the baby that is on its way. I read every night about how it is developing, how it is changing me, and how I can most help the baby to develop and grow healthily. But, something that Ted and I have been thinking about the most is the baby-to-be’s spiritual life. Will our child grow up to know who Jesus really is and have a true understanding of Him? How can we help our baby to know and love Jesus? How can we help our baby to be confident about his or her faith? And, one of the most important questions is how can we support and help our future child to be comfortable enough in his or her faith to ask questions and seek answers when it comes to faith?

Whew! I feel like we have so much we are going to be responsible for. (Which, of course, we are) But, I am not worried about the diaper changing, the feeding, the bathing, etc. because I can learn all of that with practice and advice and help. But, I am worried (maybe worried isn’t the right word) about our child and his or her faith in Jesus Christ. We want to be able to share that with our child and experience God and Jesus as a family, and know that in hard times (and in times of joy) we can rely on Him, thanking and praising Him, knowing that he will take care of us.

Lately, Ted and I have kind of had a hard time with all of these things, which is partly why I am concerned how we will help our children, if we are not good models. So I pray, that God would renew us and that we would kick our butts into gear and stop whining like we are 5 years old. God is probably growing tired of us being “luke warm.” Sorry Ted, I know you hate Christianese terms.

The verse that the message was based on in church today was really a good reminder and it was uplifting for me to hear.

“You used to be far from God. Your thoughts made you his enemies, and you did evil things. But his Son became a human and died. So God made peace with you, and now he lets you stand in his presence as people who are holy and faultless and innocent. But you must stay deeply rooted and firm in your faith. You must not give up the hope you received when you heard the good news. It was preached to everyone on earth, and I myself have become a servant of this message.” Colossians 1: 21-23 (CEV)

(The person who is talking is Paul.)

The question we need to ask is ‘Are we servants of his message? Or are we observers?’