Grace and Glory

Musings from the Threshold

Further Pregnancy Update

First of all, I want to thank Michelle for not letting me blow off her concerns about the possibility of preeclampsia developing. You are a true friend!

Last night I got a call from a dear friend of mine who knows a TON about pregnancy and birth. She had read my Checking In post on my blogspot blog and called in the midst of an extremely busy and stressful time to check on me because my symptoms raised a lot of red flags for her as well. This was followed a few hours later by a terrific informative email from another dear friend who was alarmed by what was going on with me. They both were concerned about preeclampsia and had some super practical suggestions on how to head it off.

Sometime between yesterday evening and this morning, I realized that when I talked to my midwife about the tingling in my hands/arm, I didn’t mention the swelling. I called her this morning to round out the information I’d given her and she too was very concerned.

So, here are some changes I’m making. Some are specifically to head off the preeclampia possibility, some are things I should have been doing anyway and have been lazy about . . .

~ I am boosting my protein intake Bigtime. I have not been getting nearly enough protein in my diet and this is probably why I’m having such trouble. My goal is to get between 125-150 grams of protein a day for a while and see what this does to my symptoms.

~ I’m serious about charting my food intake now!

~ A cucumber a day.

~ I will be having my BP checked once a week for the rest of this pregnancy. What I learned last night is that often BP doesn’t do a sudden rise with preeclampsia, but it rises in smaller gradual steps. Tracking it weekly should help me keep tabs on where it’s headed. Today it was 112/62, which is right along what it’s been throughout this pregnancy.

~ I’m being faithful in taking my vitamins – duh!! I have been really bad about this this pregnancy.

~ Though I’m usually a strong advocate of moderation, which for me includes allowing myself a cup of coffee per day in pregnancy, I’m dropping the coffee for now. It interfers with calcium absorbption, and hubby’s research last night found a connection between low calcium levels and preeclampsia. I should be drinking my Red Raspberry Leaf tea anyway. 🙂

~ I have also been waaaaaaaaay lax about exercise this pregnancy, and I’m going to keep working on getting back into that habit, though not so aggressively as I was on Monday and Tuesday of this week. I’m going to plan on two 10 minute sessions of non-intense exercise each day. Reasons? 1) The exercise I got Monday and Tuesday does seem to have made a significant difference in the swelling. 2) Hubby found several studies last night that found that exercise did not have a negative effect on moms dealing with preeclampsia. 3) Two brief periods of gentle exercise should not offset the huge boost I’m making in my protein levels.
Note – I’m open to more input and research on this.

There are probably other things I’m working on, but that’s what I can think of at the moment. And I need a nap. 🙂

Checking In

I haven’t been good about posting lately, so I want to give a few short blurbs today. I can’t type much, so I’ll try to be concise.

Pregnancy Stuff
~ Baby seems to be doing great. I can find hearttones pretty easily with our fetascope, and think it is such a thrill to hear our little one’s heartbeart with such a simple, non-invasive little device.
~ Swelling of ankles and lower legs started about a two weeks ago. Seems worse than usual, but maybe I’m just out of practice. 😉 Have started exercising more and I’m hoping that will help.
~ Losing feeling in my hands – mostly my right hand. At night I’ll wake up with both hands sound asleep, my right arm up to my elbow sometimes. I’ve never experienced this before. Am hoping the exercise will help. I’m going to see a friend who does kinesthetic body work on Wednesday, and have my appt. with my chiropractor next week.

Other Stuff
~ Our cat, Polly, is waddling around the house, waiting to have her first batch of kittens. Don’t know how many are in her little body, but she’s got a huge bulge!
~ Papa and Mama Byrd are in town this week (got in last Thursday) – YAY!!! It’s wonderful to have them here.
~ My dear friend Sue is due later this week, and her sweet little one is caught in a diagonal position on a very tight ligament. It’s an improvement over her tranverse position last Thursday, thanks to several visits to the chiropractor, but I’d love it if you would pray for her and her baby Grace. Peace of mind and spirit for Sue, the ability to get into the right position for baby Grace.

That’s all for now, because my hand is numb.

Jesus, Lover of My Soul

We sang this wonderful hymn yesterday, and I wanted to share it. Such poignant words!

Jesus, Lover of My SoulJesus, lover of my soul, let me to Thy bosom fly,
While the nearer waters roll, while the tempest still is high.
Hide me, O my Savior, hide, till the storm of life is past;
Safe into the haven guide; O receive my soul at last.

Other refuge have I none, hangs my helpless soul on Thee;
Leave, ah! leave me not alone, still support and comfort me.
All my trust on Thee is stayed, all my help from Thee I bring;
Cover my defenseless head with the shadow of Thy wing.

Wilt Thou not regard my call? Wilt Thou not accept my prayer?
Lo! I sink, I faint, I fall—Lo! on Thee I cast my care;
Reach me out Thy gracious hand! While I of Thy strength receive,
Hoping against hope I stand, dying, and behold, I live.

Thou, O Christ, art all I want, more than all in Thee I find;
Raise the fallen, cheer the faint, heal the sick, and lead the blind.
Just and holy is Thy Name, I am all unrighteousness;
False and full of sin I am; Thou art full of truth and grace.

Plenteous grace with Thee is found, grace to cover all my sin;
Let the healing streams abound; make and keep me pure within.
Thou of life the fountain art, freely let me take of Thee;
Spring Thou up within my heart; rise to all eternity.

Down Memory Lane

I’m once again working on scanning old pictures from my photo albums so that I have them in digital format and and can burn them to discs for safer keeping. It’s a huge project, but fun in many ways.

I’m currently in the Summer of 1992. What a mix of emotions those pictures bring back!

And here, just to see if Shawna is reading my blog…


What an artist!

The Best Bread I’ve Made …

… in a long time!

I’ve been trying for the last few years to “cheat” and use my Cuisinart to make bread. It just doesn’t work for me, and I’ve had dissapointment after dissapointment.

So on Tuesday, I decided to “really” make bread. I was sooo delighted with the results!

Are You Weary of Being the Giver?

I do not know of any helpmeet/mother who does not occasionally weary of being the giver. It is easy to be overwhelmed by all that is required of us. The demands of being a wife, a homemaker, a mama, etc can be draining, and I have seen in myself and the women I love the tendency to get drained dry, to come to the point where we have nothing left to give. The modern human response to this weariness is often something along the lines of, “I’ve just got to get away!” I have bought into this thinking more often than I’d like to admit. I’m not saying there is anything inherently wrong with “getaways,” but they are not God’s ideal answer to the dilemma.

Recently some thoughts in Elizabeth George’s book A Woman After God’s Own Heart really struck me. She says, “What happens when you and I do slip away to be with God in study and prayer? We receive. We take in. We are nurtured and fed. We insure our spiritual health and growth. When we spend time with Christ, He supplies us with strength and encourages us in the pursuit of His ways.” (Emphasis mine)

There we stand, drained and weary, longing for someone to “give to us for a change.” There He stands, ready, waiting, and eager to GIVE to us. And we don’t have the time/energy/desire to take a few minutes a day to spend in fellowship with Him. We will not make the effort to develop the habit of “walking” with Him, of practicing His presence no matter our location or activity. We give and give until we are dry, while the greatest Giver of all waits for us to accept His filling, His giving. Getaways are all well and good, but the true answer is in abiding in Him, not in escaping His call on our lives.

I was both broken and blessed by this realization, and began to look at some of the ways in which the Lord wants to give to us. Would you like a peak?

Psalm 29:11 ~ The LORD will give strength to His people; The LORD will bless His people with peace.

Psalm 84:11 ~ For the LORD God is a sun and shield; The LORD gives grace and glory; No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.

Psalm 119:130 ~ The unfolding of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple.

Proverbs 3:34 ~ He gives grace to the afflicted.

Matthew 7:9-11 ~ Or what man is there among you who, when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!

Matthew 11:28 ~ Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.

John 14:27 ~ Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.

Romans 5:5 . . . and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

Romans 8:32 ~ He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?

2 Thessalonians 2:16 . . . our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace . . .

James 1:5 ~ But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

1 John 5:20 ~ And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.

So, my fellow weary woman, I want to encourage you – Go to the Giver!! He’s ready and waiting to fill your weary soul with blessings beyond what you can ask or think!

A Prayer

Lord, I give up all my own plans and purposes, all my own desires and hopes, and accept Thy will for my life. I give myself, my time, my all, utterly to Thee to be Thine forever. Fill me and seal me with Thy Holy Spirit. Use me as Thou wilt, send me where Thou wilt, work out Thy whole will in my life at any cost, now and forever.

~The daily prayer of Betty Scott Stam, a worker with China Inland Mission. She and her husband were led to execution by decapitation while their baby lay behind in the crib. Quoted by Elizabeth George in her wonderful book, A Woman After God’s Own Heart.

Maternity Clothes

I have more eternally significant things to blog about today, but I feel compelled to share with you that I am so glad it is starting to feel like spring! Besides all the usual reasons, there’s my maternity wardrobe. And my size. Or maybe it’s the way my maternity wardrobe and my size are fitting together. For a little while longer….

You see, the cute summer clothes that I had looked forward to wearing closer to “term” fit me now. Not fit as in, “I’m pregnant-enough-looking to avoid looking ridiculous wearing this outfit” but fit as in, “Hmmm… won’t be able to wear this much longer.” The large end of my maternity wardrobe is all summer stuff, hence the rejoicing over springlike weather.

About the size issue… I started this pregnancy about 25 pounds heavier than I would have liked to have been. I’m 25 weeks along and I’ve gained 30 pounds. The midwife is not concerned about the weight, but she has cleared me to start watching my carbs if it will make me feel better. I’m not too worried about the weight myself, because I think a big part of why I just couldn’t lose it before I got pregnant was because of the estrogen dominance issue. I feel very confident about getting it off after the baby arrives.

In the meantime, it won’t be long before I’m going to run out of clothes that fit! For now, though, I’m just going to enjoy wearing my summer clothes. I shall consider myself the beacon of coming warm weather!

Refiner’s Fire

You’ve likely heard this one before. It’s such a wonderful picture.

Malachi 3:3 says: “He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.”

This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God.

One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study.

That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn’t mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver.

As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities.

The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says: “He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver.”

She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined.

The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.

The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, “How do you know when the silver is fully refined?”

He smiled at her and answered, “Oh, that’s easy — when I see my image in it”

If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has his eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you.

This put me in mind of a section of Hind’s Feet on High Places that has always been precious to me…

Last of all he took her up the stairway to the highest floor. There they found a room with a furnace in which gold was being smelted and refined of all its dross. Also in the furnace were rough pieces of stone and rock containing crystals. There were put in the great heat of the oven and left for a time. On being taken out, behold, they were glorious jewels, flashing as though they had reeived the fire into their very hearts. As Much-Afraid stood beside the Shepard, loving shrinkingly into the fire, he said the loveliest thing of all.

“O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colors, and lay they foundations with sapphires. And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones” (Isa. 54:11). Then he added, “My rarest and choicest jewls and my finest gold are those who have been refined in the furnace of Egypt,” and he sang one verse of a little song:

I’ll turn my hand upon thy heart,
And purge away thy dross,
I will refine thee in my fir
Remake thee at my cross.

There’s a song that Mr. Glock taught us at Emmaus that has been the prayer of my heart many times through the years since:

Living God, consuming fire,
Burn the sin from my life.
Make Your will my desire;
Take my life in Your hands.
Purify me with Your blood
Till I shine far brighter than purest gold
In Your eyes.

Some of you have guessed that I’m “in the fire” right now. I treasure your prayers, and I appreciate being able to share some of what the Lord is teaching me (for the how-many-eth time?). May I become a shining specimen of HIS work!