girltalk Blog
2006 at 2:24 pm | by Nicole Whitacre
How can I thank you? This past year you have carried me by your prayers and strengthened me by your encouragement. And now, you are kindly sharing in my joy. I have read every one of your emails and intend to save them and, God-willing, show them to our little one some day.
As Mom told you, I am fighting through all-day “morning” sickness, however common grace in the form of Zofran is keeping me upright. But I have nothing to complain about. When someone asked me recently how I was feeling, I told them the truth: “happy to be pregnant.”
I would appreciate your continued prayers. As many of you know, the complications I experienced with my last pregnancy occurred after I delivered Jack. This morning, I read a journal entry from February 22, 2005. I think it sums up the desire of my heart:
“Yesterday was Jack’s second birthday. A wonderful time to reflect on God’s preserving power. I am so grateful to be here and to be healthy on my son’s second birthday. We are trying to get pregnant and Steve pointed out that I have an opportunity to trust God…regardless of what happens. For if I do not get pregnant I must trust, and in fact, I must rejoice in the goodness of God and His sovereignty. And if I do get pregnant, I must rest in the truth that my health is no less in the all-powerful, all-wise and all-loving hands of Christ. This is exciting to me. I am presently in the midst of an opportunity—not just to not “mess up”—but to actively and vocally rejoicing in the goodness of God regardless of my circumstances.”
Before I conceived I had an opportunity to trust God; now that I’m pregnant I have another opportunity to trust God. But come to think of it—we should always trust God, whether in trial or blessing. We are always under His sovereignty, guided by His wisdom and surrounded by His love. What a wonderful place to be!
Here’s this week’s Friday Funny from Jennifer:
“When my brother Charlie was little, he would sometimes get in the bed with my mom on chilly nights (what child doesn’t!). One night he was in her room and said, ‘Good night, Cover Girl!’ She said, ‘Why Charlie! Do you think I’m pretty?’ He said, ‘Yes, but you’re stealing all the covers, girl.”
I hope you all have a tremendous weekend!
Kristin
for Carolyn, Nicole, and Janelle
Thank you all for your wonderful answers to our first Book Club question. We hope you found it helpful to synthesize your thoughts on the Preface and Introduction. For next week, we will read chapter one of Twelve Extraodinary Women and invite you to answer the following question (by Thursday midnight):
John MacArthur writes in chapter one: “We need to go back to Scripture to see what God’s ideal for a woman really is. And the biblical account of Eve is an excellent reminder of what a woman’s true priorities ought to be.”
How did this chapter influence how you think about your true priorities as a woman?
Friday Funnies will be along shortly.
In the final paragraph of his introduction to Twelve Extraordinary Women, Dr John MacArthur makes this declaration about these notable women of Scripture: “The faithfulness of these women is their true lasting legacy.”
One of our readers, Susan Jansen, captures this very truth in her poignant answer to our first Book Club question:
“Life is made up of ordinary days” is a favorite quote of mine. I can still remember my first moment of “ordinary days”. It was soon after coming home from my honeymoon. The year before had been full of meeting my husband, being wooed, getting engaged, and planning a wedding. And an extraordinary day…all eyes were on us. Then, we were just another couple, learning, growing, going to work, and paying bills. Days, months, and a year went by, and then a new adventure: I was a mother to be. Well, the baby arrived, the grandparents glowed, the gifts arrived, and then Dad and grandma went back to work and I began a new set of “ordinary days”. This extraordinary event happened 3 more times in the next 10 years. Now, with each child came more “ordinary days” and some “extraordinary ones”: first teeth, walking, potty training, school, puberty, driving, graduations, and a wedding. The quote"extraordinary days” are few and far between, but the “ordinary days” are what make up the in-between. Those are the days when seeds are sown, prayers are prayed, and forgiveness is exchanged.
What makes for an extraordinary life? Faithfulness in the ordinary, motivated by His grace.
2006 at 4:03 pm | by Janelle Bradshaw
Hey everyone, Mom and Nicole won’t tell you this themselves, but that’s why I am here. Crosswalk just featured another article from their book, Girl Talk. It’s entitled “Daughters, Honor Your Mothers.” Daughters, this is an excellent resource to serve you as you are seeking to build a God-honoring relationship with your mom. It provides the biblical basis for the command to honor your mom and includes practical ideas for immediate application. So grab your favorite drink, find some air conditioning and check it out here.
Don’t forget that the Girltalk Book Club resumes this week. Your assignment is to read the Preface and the Introduction to Twelve Extraordinary Women and if you like, to submit a 300 word (or less) answer to the following question:
How does your life feel ordinary and how can it be truly extraordinary?
All responses are due by midnight, August 3 and we will post one response as well as our own thoughts on Friday.
2006 at 2:42 pm | by Carolyn Mahaney
Thank you for the outpouring of congratulations to Steve and Nicole regarding the wonderful surprise of our vacation. Nicole is doing well, even though she is in the throes of morning sickness—or more accurately, all-day sickness. Mercifully, the nausea didn’t kick in until the last two days of the vacation.
Speaking of vacation, some of you emailed to ask what we do for meals. A Mahaney family tradition is to go all together to the grocery store on the first day to choose our favorite breakfast, lunch and snack foods. I’m sure the employees at Dandridge, Tennessee Food City are still talking about the clan of 14 who showed up at their store to buy groceries.
For dinners, we draw from the standard fare - hamburgers, hot dogs, tacos, and pizza. Some other easy dinner meals are - Spaghetti with Marinara Sauce (sauce made and frozen beforehand), Stromboli, and White Barbecue Chicken (download recipes here).
Then again, easy recipes are not just for vacation, they are useful year round, right?!
2006 at 1:57 pm | by Nicole Whitacre
Due Date: April 2007
Thank you for your prayers!
Well, the time has finally come to say goodbye to vacation and begin our trek home. These last two weeks have been amazing and all our memories would not have been possible apart from the kindness of Scott and Lesa Baker, Bill and Cheri Kittrell, and Cornerstone Church. We simply can’t thank y’all enough for your generosity!
We’ll leave you with this year’s family picture.
150 trys…
1 keeper.
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