6 months and potty progress.. or lack thereof.....

So, my little man will be six months old Sunday... well, sort of. He was born on the 29th and there isn't a 29th this month! So, we're just going to count it on the 1st! I can't believe that a half of a year has gone by since my little man was born! We will start solids next week. We're going to start with rice cereal but if he doesn't like it I'm not giving it to him by itself! Luke never liked it! So we just went to fruits and then mixed the fruit with the cereal. I started cereal with Luke when he was 4 months old, but he was on formula. It's recommended to breastfeed exclusively for 6 months. I've already had a few people ask me why I haven't started him on solids yet. One of the reasons is that you can help to avoid allergies (or lessen them) by breastfeeding exclusively for 6 months. I could kick myself for giving him those four bottles of formula. I know formula is not poison (Luke was formula fed and is perfectly fine, healthy, and smart.. if I do say so myself!) but for a child who may be allergic breast milk is best and anything extra may hinder that. And you never know whether or not they are going to be allergic until it's too late. Now with Luke I wasn't educated on all of this but now that I have the knowledge I won't make that mistake again (for future children). Number two reason for not starting solids is that Eli is so little. I would have felt completely wrong giving him baby food at 4 months! It would have just been weird! He is so much smaller than Luke was. So, we'll be going super slow with solids. I actually get a little nervous when I think about it. Especially after I read this story. Allergies are serious. I'm sure there are people out there who think that it's ridiculous that I'm avoiding dairy and eggs and that I'm just making up Eli's issues. Well, that's ok. I'm just protecting my baby. I have actually added some hidden dairy back to my diet. I added Cheddar Bunnies. They are kind of like Goldfish. So far, no reaction. I just have to remember that just because he doesn't react to my breast milk doesn't mean that he can tolerate it. It will be a whole new ball game when we begin giving him things. I was talking to my mom tonight and after reading that story I may just go sit in the hospital parking lot the first time we give him anything with dairy/egg in it. Seriously.

In other news Luke is 3 months away from being 3 years old and is still wearing diapers. Now, I'm not terribly concerned about this but I do wish we were making a little more progress than we are. Progress isn't even a correct term... since we are making ZERO progress. I refuse to make my child sit on the potty, though. What good is it going to do to force him to sit (kicking and screaming) on the potty? None. It would just make both of us miserable. So, I'm just praying that one day he will become interested. Preferably soon. Naps these days are hit or miss. He has "Quiet Time" every day from about 3 - 4:30pm. We usually go up to his room and play together for a little bit around 2:30 and then he gets to watch PBS or a DVD. Sometimes he falls asleep, sometimes he doesn't. And I don't mind that he doesn't always take a nap, as long as he is quiet. My rules are that the lights are dim and that he plays quietly on his pallet in the floor (coloring, reading books, etc). Oh, he's growing up so fast...

Well, that's what's new around here. Oh, I have something else to talk about.. but that will come later! It's after 11 now and I need sleep! BTW, that picture is the best one of the two of them I've taken recently. You wouldn't believe how hard it is to get a 2 year old who hates to take pictures and an almost 6 month old who can't sit up alone to look half way decent in a picture together!!! I'm planning professional pics for Easter. Pray for me. ;)

My Chatter Box

My little man (who will be 6 months old soon) has turned into a little chatter box! So, here is a little peek at what I get to hear all day long!

Jabber Jabber on Vimeo.

New Book!

I just started a new study this week. The book is called Tell the Truth: The Whole Gospel to the Whole Person by Whole People, by Will Metzger. I have only read the introduction so far but I am LOVING it. Seriously. I am really excited about the book. We are doing this study with a home study group at our new church. We missed the first week though because I have been sick. We were actually at the after hours clinic during the study, Sunday night. I was trying to avoid the Dr because of many reasons (the biggest being no insurance!!) but I was miserable and couldn't take it any longer! Thankfully, after 3 days on antibiotics I feel much better. So after reading the introduction I wanted to share a few excerpts that got me excited about reading further!

Metzger says:

It boggled my mind that once Christians passed beyond the common notion that everyone needs Christ for salvation, there was confusion and even contradiction on what triggered the new birth- our faith and repentance or God's enabling Spirit? These are haunting, important, fundamental questions. How could the majority of evangelicals be so oblivious to the need to research what is the biblical gospel? ... I have to admit that the resurgent interest in this topic in evangelical circles is healthy. Who can deny that there has been an increased participation in evangelism?... Yet something bothers me- and I believe others also have an uneasy conscience. Could some aspects of contemporary evangelism lack biblical integrity?

He goes on to say:

If it is true that there are serious differences among evangelicals on the message and methods of evangelism, then we must ask, to what extent are these differences justified? If the differences are simply due to the different audience we are reaching or the variety of gifts God has given us, these differences are not bad. But if in evangelism we are just being loyal to our tradition, molding truth to our personality, diluting the gospel or manipulating people, we are wrong. If we are convinced there is a theological foundation for our methodology, we may be justified in evangelizing accordingly. Then our difference is a matter of our conscience bound by what we conceive Scripture teaches. A scriptural doctrine of evangelism should be the controlling element in any practice of evangelism.

Nevertheless, even when we can articulate a theological base for our evangelism, I do not believe our responsibility has ended until we compare our doctrinal interpretation with that of others and in humility be willing to rethink what the Holy Spirit is telling us in Scripture. Not to do so is to say that we cannot learn from each other. It is to deny that new light can break forth on our understanding of the Scripture. It is to limit the Holy Spirit in communicating to us through other Christians. It is to evangelize a certain way out of tradition and not conviction.

Good stuff! I think the main reason why I am so excited about this book is that for some time I have expressed to many that I disagree with some forms of modern evangelism. I know why I disagree but I don't exactly know how to put an explanation into words, as well as Scripture to go along with it. I know what God's Word says about it, but I'm hoping through this book it will help me organize my thoughts better so that I can clearly explain it, if need be. I'm praying
that it will also help me in the area of witnessing. I pray it helps me to understand more clearly my role, my calling to reach others for Christ. Not to just 'get decisions' but to make disciples.

Matthew 28:18-20- And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age."

~ Crystal (I deleted my signature on accident!)

What an exciting day!

Update: Ok, I fixed the link! Sorry it wasn't working!!!

Do you want to see God today? Well, just click here and you can see a beautiful picture of the gospel and of His great, unfailing love. Seriously, you do not want to miss this.

Conversations..

Luke loves to get mail (so any of you out there who'd like to send Luke something, it would make his day!) So, we often give him the junk mail to 'read'. Here is our conversation as he was reading his mail yesterday.


Me: "What's your mail about today?"

Luke: "Jesus."

Me: "Oh, what does it say about Jesus?"

Luke: "Jesus, make me."

Me: "Yes, Jesus did make you!"

Luke: "Mmmhmm, Jesus make me a cupcake!"

Sharing

I think I've mentioned a few times here lately about us attending a new church that we absolutely love. Well, I just wanted to share that our pastor and his wife are on their way to China right now to get their sweet daughter! I am so excited for them!! So, I just wanted to pass along their travel blog, in case some of you who don't know might want to read about their journey. They are planning on updating it often throughout their three week trip. I know they would appreciate your prayers as well!