Unplanned pregnancies can be very inconvenient and stressful.
There are different reasons why a baby may be unwanted: - a premarital pregnancy
- an extra-marital pregnancy
- a crisis pregnancy - financial stress, health problems for the mother or baby, rape and incest
- an inconvenient pregnancy - due to the woman's age, college plans, career, marriage, family size
However, babies can be a wonderful blessing. We have no idea what God has in mind for every human being, even unplanned babies. God has plans for each human that He has formed in the womb.
Maybe you know a woman who had an unplanned pregnancy.
I've known of a few women in this situation: - A young woman who was raped during her college years. She kept the baby and that baby was a special blessing and helped her to heal.
- A woman who was told that she had to have an operation and the baby wouldn't survive. If she didn't have the operation, she would die. Well, she kept her baby and had the operation after she gave birth. Both the mother and child are just fine today.
- A woman who had no health insurance or way of taking care of a baby financially. But, she found community and government resources that were available and God provided for her and the baby.
- An unmarried Christian woman became pregnant and was worried about what her family would think. Her parents ended up inviting her to live with them and they helped her take care of the baby.
Some women believe the lie that a human fetus isn't a baby until it is born. But, once she has an Ultra Sound, she will see that the baby is fully alive. Very early in the pregnancy, she can hear the baby's heart beating. Here are some places that can help you, or a woman you know, that is pregnant with an unplanned baby. John 16:21 It will be like a woman suffering the pains of labor. When her child is born, her anguish gives way to joy because she has brought a new baby into the world.
As I went to write my post for Monday Memories, I drew a blank. I couldn't think up anything to write about that sounded entertaining. So, I Googled "memories" which led me to a post about childhood memories. That's when I started thinking about what kind of memories do I want for my children. Parents can help provide good memories for their kids. So, after thinking, these are some of the good memories my kids will have and some of the memories I want them to have.
- listening to Dad's stories about when he was a naughty boy
- watching Little House on the Prairie DVDs over and over
- playing lots of card games
- family road trips
- having "snack food" dinners
- doing our family Christmas traditions
- trying to raise chickens
- going to the County Fair during the summer
- doing evangelism and ministry projects as a family
- watching their parents get more involved in church
- trying to live a more simplified life - in the country, on a lake, chopping wood, playing in the trees
- Mom reading chapter books aloud to the kids
- going on a summer mission trip as a teen (this one is still to come)
Do you have any neat "building memories" ideas that you want to share?
Sunday Seven Meme
Dad's been out of town working for a few weeks and we were missing him. So, we did 7 Fun Activities to lift our spirits.
- Watched some of our Little House on the Prairie and The Walton's DVDs
- Played our favorite card games: Dutch Blitz and 9 Square
- Looked at old photos from when the kids were little
- Made Monkey Bread with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Played Chicken Foot (with dominoes)
- Had a slumber party in the living room
- Called Grandma and Grandpa on the phone
I'm the kind of woman that loves getting involved in ministry and volunteer projects. But, I have to remind myself that my kids are my first ministry. It is my responsibility to help them grow as Christians, to help them through their childhood, and to show them my love.
This year, I've really tried to make the Christmas season fun for the family, and get the focus off of the commercialism. We've kept our family traditions and added some new ones.
- Made Happy Birthday Jesus Cakes (our favorite tradition)
- Shared Our Christian Faith (passed out stocking ornaments with a Santa Gospel tract inside.)
- Participated in the church's canned food collection
- Watched most of the Christmas TV specials
- Made Christmas Crafts
- Had a family snack food party and played cards
- Made gingerbread men and hung one on the tree
- Hung Christmas lights in the bedrooms
- Had a slumber party next to the lighted Christmas tree
- Added links, nightly, to the Thankful Paper Chain
- Participated in our church's Nursing Home Gift Ministry
On Christmas Eve, we plan to:
This is the time of year for Christmas Traditions. My family had them when I was growing up. These are the traditions that I can remember:
- We each had a date night with Dad - to eat dinner and get a Christmas gift for Mom.
- The kids got our own Christmas tree in the family room to decorate with our handmade ornaments.
- We got to stick gumdrops on a plastic Christmas tree.
- We stayed up later to watch the Christmas specials on TV.
- As we decorated the tree, we talked about the ornaments and the memories.
- We sang and danced to the Elvis Christmas Album.
- Each family member was a secret Kris Kringle and did nice things for one person during December.
- The relatives would come over for a Christmas party.
- Aunt Betty always brought a cake and we sang Happy Birthday to Jesus.
- We went to see Santa at the mall and have a yearly photo taken.
- On Christmas Eve, the kids got to open one present each.
- We frosted cookies and decorated them with sprinkles and red hots.
- We had advent calendars.
- The kids received a letter from Santa thanking us for the milk and cookies.
My kids are keeping busy this season with out family traditions. I've kept some of the ones that I grew up with and added some new ones.
If you would like to add some new traditions to your Christmas season, you may want to see my other site with 100 Christmas Tradition Ideas.
