Called Out of the Shrub

We celebrated a nap time breakthrough a few weeks ago. All on her own, Karen stuck her thumb in her mouth, rolled over, and conked out for a two-hour siesta.

If that doesn't seem like a big deal to you, you've probably never rocked a sleeping baby until your appendages went numb.

Over the next several days, Karen really got the hang of soothing herself to sleep. It wasn't until her doctor's appointment this past Friday that we encountered a hiccup in her new routine.

Karen received 5 different vaccines, which not only made her cry in the moment, but also left her with side-effects that made her extra cranky all weekend. Consequently, she was too restless to nap all on her own. She needed the extra reassurance of my arms in order to feel secure enough to rest.

As I rocked my little girl to sleep and did my best to comfort her, I began to think about how our loving Father comforts His children in the midst of trials.

At one time or another, we each find ourselves in circumstances that shake us to our core. Like the prophet Elijah in 1 Kings 19, we might long to run away and take cover under a shrub.

I know I've been there. The next time you find yourself in a dire situation, it may be helpful to reflect on how God lovingly met Elijah in the midst of his despair, and raised him up to fulfill his calling:

My Cat is a Parasite: Considering Give-and-Take

Don't get me wrong, our cat is cute and all. But if a parasite is an organism that harmfully feeds off another without giving anything in return, Miss Willow fits the bill. Well, almost. In exchange for all the time and money we spend on her upkeep, she's benevolent enough to offer a never ending supply of fur, dander, and feces.

This revelation regarding our freeloading fur-ball caused me to think back to a high school biology lesson on symbiosis. It occurred to me that it may be possible to categorize the important relationships in my life using the terms that scientists have coined for interspecies interactions.

Allow me to demonstrate:

3 Major Types of Symbiosis More Info »
MUTUALISM	Mutually beneficial relationship
Example: Karen and I. Caring for my daughter gives me joy. As she's cared-for, she continues to grow and defy the laws of cuteness.
COMMENSALISM	One organism benefits and the other is hardly affected
Example: My Neighbor and I. My next-door neighbor volunteers her time to manage the gardening in our development. I do nothing for her in return. Shucks, that makes me sound horrible... I did give her a tin of cookies at Christmas.
PARASITISM	One organism benefits and the other is harmed
Example: My Cat and I. She eats, poops, and vomits. I buy her food and clean up her mess. If leeches had fur and whiskers I guess we'd keep them as pets too.

Evaluating the give-and-take in our relationships can be a healthy exercise. As we consider our needs and the needs we help fulfill in others, we can weigh-out the areas where we may be off-balance. In the case of my neighbor, I'd like to get to know her better and figure out how I can be a blessing in her life. The store-bought cookies don't seem to cut it.

Here are a few types of relational unbalance that come to mind:

Worthy of Love

Apparently children can't wrap their minds around the idea of their personal reflection until somewhere around 15 or 18 months of age. That means my 3-month-old daughter can't comprehend that she's looking at herself when she tracks her own baby blues in the mirror.

With this in mind, I can't help but wonder what she's thinking when she sees her reflection.

If we could translate her baby thoughts, would she say to herself, "Hello, little friend! You're cute. I like you!"

Or rather, "Ugh, those thighs. Girl, you oughta be drinking skim!"

When I think back to my own childhood, I'm not sure how old I was when I began to feel shame about my appearance. At some point in time, my focus in the mirror drifted away from the spinning ruffles of my dresses and settled on the bump on the bridge of my nose, the moles on my skin, and the way my calves seemed so stubby compared to everyone else's.

I'd like to say that I left those insecurities behind in my gel-penned journal pages from junior high, but if I'm honest, I still struggle. In moments of weakness, I still wonder if my shortcomings render me unworthy of love.

As a reminder for myself and a prayer for my daughter, I studied Psalm 23 this morning in light of God's all-sufficient love:

Why I Don't Drink - FAQ

I get a lot of questions about why I choose not to drink alcohol, so I thought it was about time I wrote a blog post on the subject.

Contrary to what some might assume, my reasoning behind abstaining has little to do with my Christian faith and much more to do with past experiences.

Before we dive in, I'd like to make things clear from the get-go that my motivation behind writing this post is not to stir up arguments. I'm just sharing my personal convictions, not passing judgment on anyone else's. Those who know me will attest to the fact that I'm a peacemaker to a fault, and definitely not a fan of controversy.

So, let's begin. I thought I'd tackle the subject in the form of questions I've received in everyday conversation:

Karen Gets in Touch with Her Latina Roots

One of the awesome things I've discovered about parenting is that it's socially acceptable to behave like a complete goofball, as long as your undignified behavior is an apparent attempt to keep your child entertained. For example, now that Karen is more alert and holding her head up a bit, we spend lots of time bopping around to my favorite old songs.

Here's a little glimpse of our fun this morning as Karen got her groove on—Latina style:

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"…I will celebrate before the Lord. I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes…" - 2 Samuel 6:21-22 (NIV)

How to Reach the Moon

I'm only seven weeks into this mommy gig, but one duty of parenthood that I'm really enjoying so far is the business of lulling our little girl to sleep. I love to watch her eyelashes flutter as the pacifier drops from her mouth. Before long, her breaths are accompanied by tiny sighs, and I can see her pupils darting around under her eyelids.

It's fascinating to watch her expressions as she dreams. I can't help but wonder what's going on in that newborn subconscious of hers. I also wonder if she'll experience a vivid and memorable dreamworld, as I have through the years.

One of the earliest dreams that I can remember goes all the way back to when I was three-years-old.

Free & Brave

"And that, my dear, is why our country is the land of the free and home of the brave." I concluded Karen's mini-history lesson with these words this morning as I buttoned-up her 4th-of-July-onesie. She displayed her appreciation for my rant on patriotism by sneezing so that milk came out of her nose.

As I dabbed at my sweet little mess with a burp cloth, I began to wonder if the words I'd just shared with her were true. Sure, back in 1776, our forefathers fought against one of the greatest world powers of the day to defend their inalienable rights. But are 21st century Americans as brave as our Revolutionary forerunners? Are we as free as they hoped we'd be?