girltalk Blog
2007 at 5:01 pm | by Janelle Bradshaw
You may remember a couple weeks back when we asked you to pray for a very pregnant Karalee Reinke and the safe delivery of her little one. Soon after our post we heard from Karalee’s husband, Tony - baby had arrived but in a rather unexpected fashion! The story was too good to pass up, so we asked Tony and Karalee if we could share it with you here. They kindly agreed. Tony and Karalee, thank you for telling us your story and congratulations on the birth of your sweet son!
Hello GirlTalk readers! By the kindness of God, we were blessed with our third child, Bunyan, born on July 16th. He is a precious little guy. I wanted to take a moment to share the circumstances of his birth and how important your prayers proved to be.
For this third delivery we decided on a home birth. Our first child was the traditional doctor/hospital delivery, our second was a midwife/hospital delivery and so I guess the natural option for the third delivery was a midwife/home delivery. As long as my wife was comfortable with the arrangements, I’d be there to fetch ice chips, encourage, photograph and announce.
Our first two children arrived late and Bunyan was no different. Almost a week after the due date, we were still waiting. On Sunday the 15th, my wife stood up from the dinner table into a puddle – the water broke! Our midwife arrived on Sunday night at about 11:00 PM to set up a few things. She stayed the night but any minor contractions tapered off and ended at 2 AM. The midwife, seeing nothing progressing and with a little one of her own, returned home Monday morning and resumed her office appointments.
At about 1:30 Monday afternoon, contractions began again and the midwife was notified. She would be soon making her way back to our house. About 2:10 the contractions became intense. Stuck in Twin City traffic, the midwife was 30 minutes away. The contractions increased in intensity and by 2:20 my wife was really working through the contractions. I got back on the phone with the midwife and said things were becoming very intense. The midwife calmly suggested we consider calling 911 and that she was on her way. After waiting so long, it is somewhat shocking to discover time has expired.
After walking down the hall from the bathtub, my wife sat down in bed and that’s when I noticed baby was about to arrive. Seeing the top of our son’s head motivated me to call the midwife back ASAP, but she was still 15 minutes out. She calmly asked if I was ready to deliver my own baby? I don’t remember what I said, but my decision was irrelevant. She calmly reassured me that babies birth themselves. So with the phone held to my ear with my shoulder she walked me through what to expect. Step one was to wait until baby’s head was out and make sure the cord was not around the neck. The cord was around baby’s neck and, like removing a thick necklace, I pulled it over his head. Awaiting one final contraction I looked behind me to all the oxygen equipment the midwife arranged the night before. I asked the midwife what complex surgical procedure I should prepare for next. The next and last step was simply to keep baby warm. On the next contraction, our baby was born. We covered him up and kept him warm. There was little crying, but we could tell our newborn was breathing and his color began changing from purple to red. Five minutes later the midwife arrived and took over.
As these events unfolded, our oldest son was at the neighbors and our daughter was in the next room deep in her afternoon nap. Bunyan himself slept right through his own birth. The whole experience was curiously tranquil.
Karalee and Bunyan are progressing well and we praise God for His sustaining power over the situation. And that, as Paul Harvey says, is the rest of the story.
Ironically, two weeks earlier the midwife asked if I wanted to catch the baby. “No way,” I said. “I draw the line at cord-cutting.” Our kind God does not promise life will go as we plan, but He does promise the grace to endure. In this case you played a role in sustaining us in our husband/home delivery. Thank you, GirlTalk readers, for your prayers! They were appreciated and more necessary than we could have predicted.
Abiding in Christ’s love,
Tony
honorary midwife
Each day, the topics we address on this blog may only apply to a slice of our audience. But when it comes to the topic of conflict, everyone can relate. Whether you’re a teenager with siblings or a parent with teenagers, a boss with employees or an employee with co-workers, a wife or one of the many husbands and fathers who read our blog. Whether you are five or fifty-five, you know all about relational conflict.
But just as we have all experienced conflict, so God’s Word offers hope to all of us in conflict. There is no marital strife, parent-child hostility, or relational discord that is too complicated for God’s wisdom, too persistent for God’s mercy or too difficult for God’s grace.
In an article entitled “Cravings and Conflicts” my dad unpacks the timeless and universal wisdom of James 4 to give us hope for resolving quarrels and fights. Even if you aren’t in a conflict right now, you still need this truth. Because, as Dad observes, there’s most certainly a conflict headed your way soon.
So, if you’re unprepared for the inevitable conflict or hopeless in the midst of conflict, be sure to read this article and receive fresh guidance and hope for resolving conflict.
2007 at 6:03 pm | by Carolyn Mahaney
Yesterday the Mahaney clan caravanned home from Dandridge, Tennessee where we had two delightful weeks together adding many fun and special memories to our family storybook which we will peruse and savor for years to come. Thank you, Scott and Lesa Baker, Bill and Cheri Kittrell and Cornerstone Church of Knoxville for your unbelievable kindness to us, once again!
As a way to prepare us not only to enjoy and be grateful for our vacation, but to also perceive the character of God revealed through this gift of pleasure, my husband read the following C. S. Lewis quote to our family at dinnertime on the very first day:
“Pleasures are shafts of glory as it strikes our sensibility….I have tried…to make every pleasure into a channel of adoration. I don’t mean simply by giving thanks for it. One must of course give thanks, but I meant something different…Gratitude exclaims, very properly, ‘How good of God to give me this.’ Adoration says, ‘What must be the quality of that Being whose far-off and momentary coruscations are like this!’ One’s mind runs back up the sunbeam to the sun….If this is Hedonism, it is also a somewhat arduous discipline. But it is worth some labour.” (as quoted in, When I Don’t Desire God, by John Piper)
These insightful words by Mr. Lewis helped us to understand the distinction between gratefulness and adoration and inspired each of us to try to make our summer vacation into “a channel of adoration.”
Now today – the day after vacation – as I unpack suitcases, do loads of laundry, and head off to the grocery store to restock the refrigerator, I am attempting to make my work into “a channel of adoration”…although I must admit the discipline is a little more difficult, but nonetheless, right and fitting. Thus my prayer today: Heavenly Father, help me to adore you not only for the gift of pleasure but also for the gift of work.
2007 at 11:44 pm | by Janelle Bradshaw
2007 at 1:46 am | by Janelle Bradshaw
2007 at 12:26 am | by Janelle Bradshaw
2007 at 12:09 am | by Janelle Bradshaw
2007 at 12:50 am | by Janelle Bradshaw
This morning, we learned that three-year-old Micah Davis went home to be with the Lord. You may remember Micah’s mom, Kriscinda, who boldly expressed her faith in God as her son battled cancer.
Our hearts grieve with Luke and Kriscinda and their entire family. In our grief, we also rejoice that your “little man” is now free from pain and suffering and stands in the presence of our Lord.
Throughout this lengthy trial, we have been provoked by the Davis’ active trust in God. Luke and Kriscinda have opened up their lives and pursued the grace and comfort that comes from the community of believers in the local church. As a result, they have encouraged all of us at Covenant Life Church to put our faith in our loving Savior as we face trials in our own lives.
To the Davis and Miller families—our love and prayers are with you.
Kristin
for the girltalkers and our husbands
“‘Death is swallowed up in victory.’ ‘O death, where is your victory?’ ‘O death, where is your sting?’ Thanks be to God, who give us the victory through Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 15:54-57
P.S. Dad shared about the Davis’ faith, and its effect on all of us, in a recent message.
2007 at 12:10 am | by Janelle Bradshaw
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Karalee and Bunyan are progressing well and we praise God for His sustaining power over the situation. And that, as Paul Harvey says, is the rest of the story.
