Valorous

“Who can find a ¹virtuous wife?  For her worth is far above rubies.”  Proverbs 31:10

I, the Lord Jesus, am seeking and searching for a woman of ²valor.  I am looking for a woman with an ³excellent spirit who is pure in heart.  I desire a bride who is ⁴spotless, righteous and courageous.  I long for my wife to be my partner in all things, one who will stand and fight by my side.  Who can find such a woman?  Where can I find this bride of infinite ⁵inner beauty?  Surely her worth and value would far surpass ⁶precious stones, exquisite pearls and rare diamonds.  Such a bride would be a ⁷crown upon her husband’s head.  She would adorn me with great honor and splendor!  Who can find her?  Truly, my Father has promised to find and ⁸prepare a bride for me who even exceeds my desires – she will be everything I have longed for and more!  Indeed, I place such a high value on my bride that I would give up my very life for her sake.  My Father also will ⁹give everything for her and to her, that she may be mine for eternity.  I will find her, I will woo her, I will win her, I will betroth her to myself, and then on the day that my Father decides, I will at last marry her! 

1 Literal translation - a wife of valor; in the sense of all forms of excellence (NKJV note)
2 www.dictionary.com definition of valor – boldness or determination in facing great danger, esp. in battle; heroic courage; bravery
3 Daniel 6:3
4 Ephesians 5:25-27
5 1 Peter 3:4
6 Revelation 21:9-11
7 Proverbs 12:4
8 Revelation 21:2
9 Romans 8:32

Happy 6 months Rayah!

Well, I missed my 5 month update on Rayah, so in the last two months there have been a few new things!

 

In March, I transitioned Rayah from a 3-hour feeding schedule to a 4-hour feeding schedule and switched her from 4 naps down to 3 naps.  So, she was nursing around 7am, 11am, 3pm, and 7pm with a nap at 9am, 1pm, and 5pm, going to bed around 8pm.  This has remained relatively the same, but she also has started on solid foods, so now she has her solid food at 7, 11, and 3 and then I top her up with milk after her solids and nurse her before bed at 7pm.  She is really liking her cereal and she has also tried pears so far & she often cries when I don’t feed it to her fast enough or once it’s gone and she realizes she’s not getting any more.   Sometimes she’ll also grab my pinky and try to control the spoon, pulling it towards her mouth.

Some funny faces Rayah likes to make are a furrowed brow, to suck on her top lip or curl it under her gums – she looks so silly when she does this!  She was also making me laugh as she did the splits in the air with her legs in her bouncy chair.

   

She loves to pluck her soother out of her mouth & then try to put it back in.  She is still VERY grabby & is always looking to grab anything and everything within reach!   She has also learned how to grab and pull her feet into her mouth, which she loves to do when I’m changing her diaper.

 

On March 9th, she rolled from her stomach to her back for the first time and on March 18th, she rolled from her back to her stomach for the first time!  She is now a rolling pro and loves to do it all the time.

In March, Justice got bronchitis, which Rayah then also got – so they both had really nasty coughs for a couple weeks, but thankfully they recovered fairly quickly.  It was kind of scary though, because there were times when Rayah was wheezing really bad and would cough up tons of phlegm that was in her lungs.

Rayah is definitely laughing and giggling lots and is very obviously ticklish – she squirms and squeals when I tickle her neck and belly – so cute!

At 5 months old, Rayah weighed in at 17 lb 13 oz and she now weighs 19 lb 10 oz (1 pound heavier than Justice at the same age!).  She is a BIG girl – lol!  She is wearing several 12 month old clothing already!  What can I say?  I make big babies.

After much crankiness and drolling, on March 26th, Rayah got her first tooth!  Her second bottom tooth followed shortly afterwards on March 31st.  It seems like she’s teething again, since she is constantly trying to shove things into her mouth, so maybe her top ones are also on the way?

Thankfully, Rayah has also been sleeping much better during her naps and at night.  She has had several 8-10 hour stretches and only feeds once in the night now.  I find this makes a dramatic difference for me to be getting some better sleep myself!  And to end this update, a few more pictures just to show you how cute she is!

  
 

The Ultimate Blog After-Party!

So, I totally had more fun at the Ultimate Blog Party than I was expecting!  I didn’t really know what to expect, seeing as it was my first time participating, but I really loved getting some new visitors to my site and then visiting all of their sites.  I felt affirmed and loved by all the sweet comments and I look forward to partying again next year!

For the Ultimate Blog After-Party, I’m going to share with you some new blogs I discovered…

Awakening Purpose, Passion and Purity is a blog about rediscovering the joy of marriage in a world where marriages are continually falling apart.  This blog is written by Esther, who has another blog, A Spoonful of Sugar, which is “sweetening your day with laughter, inspiration & hope”.  Coincidentally, Esther is also the winner of the draw for the $15 Starbucks card – congratulations!!

My Freshly Brewed Life is written by Barbie,  Christian mom to four kids, who’s desire is to be “rooted and grounded in the marvelous love of God”.  I loved discovering another singer and intercessor at a house of prayer!

Joyeful is a Christian mom to 4 kids (one is still baking in the oven) and is in love with Jesus, which totally comes through in her writing.  She has two blogs as well, her personal blog, The Joyeful Journey, and a blog with conversations between her and God that we get to eavesdrop in on, called Dropping Eaves.

Lastly, I discovered the blog Impress Your Kids, which has crafts and activities to help us moms teach our kids about God and impress His Word on their hearts.  I’m really excited about this one, as they have lots of creative ideas!

Thanks for partying with me here at Echoing Him!

Book Review: Sacred Parenting by Gary Thomas

A friend of mine lent me their copy of Gary Thomas’s book Sacred Parenting several months ago and I finally finished it!  It didn’t take me this long to read because it was unenjoyable - on the contrary, it was so full of depth and rich words that I needed the extra time to chew on what he wrote.  In fact, now that I’m done, I think I’m going to read it again and perhaps write some further posts on how this book spoke to me personally on the subject of “How Raising Children Shapes Our Souls”.  Seriously, if you have ever thought that you might want to have children, if you are married and considering having kids, if you are currently pregnant, or if you already have children, I would absolutely and totally recommend this book!  In fact, go out and buy it right now – for real!  This book has really encouraged and challenged me as a mother and many of the author’s points struck home for me.  I’m now asking myself a lot of questions…

How is God making me holy through parenting?

Am I allowing my kids to experience challenges and pain for their own spiritual good?

How do I deal with mommy guilt and my failures as a parent?

Am I listening to the Holy Spirit for His guidance as I mother my kids?  How can I take advantage of the benefits of prayer as well as enter into my responsibility and calling to pray for my kids? 

Do I find great joy in parenting my kids?  How can I enter into greater levels of joy as a mom?

God, how do I deal with anger when my kids are driving me to the point of boiling, burning rage?

How can I look past the mundane, the puke and poop, the temper tantrums, and see the eternal glory and rewards on the other side?

How can I learn to embrace the challenges and trials of parenting, knowing that it is producing in me great perseverance? 

What truly matters in the things I give myself to daily?  What kind of spiritual inheritance am I leaving for my kids?

What characteristics, good and bad, am I reproducing in my kids?  What areas do I want to change so that my kids don’t have to suffer from the same character flaws that I do?

What am I willing to sacrifice for my children’s benefit?  And can I sacrifice these things joyfully, without holding it against them? 

Can I trust God with my children’s lives?  Can I trust God with their next breath, with their future, their destiny, and even the possibilty of my own death?

Wow.  I know that’s a lot.  There’s a lot to think about and pray about.  I can get a little overwhelmed at times, feeling like I am so inadequate as a mom and like there are SO many areas that God needs to work on in me, but in the end, I am left feeling encouraged that God knows exactly what He is doing and that He has designed my parenting journey perfectly, just for me!  My kids have been handpicked by God and lovingly placed into our family so that we can be made holy.  As the author says to close his book, “Being a parent is a sacred calling”.

The Ultimate Blog Party 2010

I’m sort of late joining in, but I figured I would try to participate in this year’s Ultimate Blog Party, hosted by 5MinutesForMom.com!  Essentially, it’s just an opportunity for bloggers to promote their blogs, visit other people’s blogs, get to know new people, get new visitors to their sites, win prizes, and just have fun! 

So allow me to introduce myself…

1. My name is Jacquie and I have been married to my wonderful husband Joe 5 years this past January.
2. I have two of the cutest kids ever – my son Justice, who is 2 years old and my daughter Rayah, who will soon be 6 months.  While mothering is one of the hardest things I have ever done, it is also the most rewarding and it is making me a better person.
3. I live in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada and I truly love it here, even though I could definitely do without the -40C winters!
4. I am a computer programmer by trade, but am currently on my 1-year long maternity leave (a sweet benefit of living in Canada!).
5. I have been blogging on and off for about 5 years at several different locations before finally ending up here at www.echoinghim.com. 
6. I love Jesus and am eagerly awaiting His second coming to the earth!  Woohoo!  I think the Bible is an amazing book, as the very words of God to mankind and the story it tells is so dramatic and exciting, so I am looking forward to the fulfillment of this grand story and hope I am on the earth when it all happens.
7. I think prayer is the greatest way we can impact our world, so I love being part of Sanctuary House of Prayer, where we get to intercede to God for Him to come and transform our hearts & our city with His love and power.  I also created a prayer blog called Prayer Fuel where I write prayers for needs around the earth.
8. I love Starbucks Cinnamon Dolcé lattes, McDonald’s fries, cottage cheese rolls, sweet potato fries, hot spinach & artichokes with cheese dip, Barq’s rootbeer, and milk!
9. I love writing, reading, singing, playing piano, cooking, and social networking.
10. I am passionate about seeing God bring justice to the earth – life for unborn babies, adoption for the orphan, freedom for those caught in human trafficking, provision to the poor, protection to the persecuted, healing for the sick, peace for the war-torn, etc. etc.

So, now that you know a little bit about me, feel free to browse around, leave a comment and introduce yourself!

I will also be giving away a prize – a $15 CDN Starbucks card (I would expect it would still work in the USA, but I don’t actually know for sure).  To participate, you can leave a comment to be entered in the draw.  You can leave an additional comment if you follow me on twitter (@echoinghim) and/or if you post a link to this post on twitter or on facebook.  I will announce the winner on April 17th on this blog and the winner will have 48 hours to contact me so I can get your mailing info.

As for the prizes that I would love to win from the US/Canadian list, here are my top three picks:

1.  USC 11 – Win a $50 gift certificate good towards any purchase in my Etsy shop or my website. Provided by: Priddy Creations Custom Designs Follow here: Priddy Creationsor Visit Our Fan Page: Priddy Creations Custom Designs
2.  USC 43 – Prize value: $100. One winner gets to choose 3 meal time plate sets – which includes a personalized plate with coordinated personalized placemat. Provided by: Olive Kids Direct, LLC Follow here: olivekids or Visit Our Fan Page: Olive Kids
3.  USC 57 – One winner will choose a pair of children’s shoes from Eleven Collection! Provided by: Jamaise @ Wishing Penny Follow here: Jamaise or Visit Our Fan Page: Jamaise Wilson

If these prizes are all taken, I would also go for any of the Amazon gift cards (8, 36, 37, 40, 44), cash prizes (35, 39), or the Bath & Body Works gift card (63).

Thanks for visiting!