Thoughts at the end of a pregnancy...

These last few months have been quite the whirlwind and I can hardly believe 2013 is upon us already! I have said for months that Baby Mix #2 is due "after Christmas" and here it is post-Christmas and we just wait...
Waiting puts me in quite the reflective mood.  For many months I have had lots to distract me and fill my thoughts - Jeff's last semester of seminary, graduation, family visiting, a "Babymoon," Christmas, more family visiting, etc. etc. But now all of that has passed and I just wait.  I wait for this baby to make it's way into the world.  I can finally think about labor and delivery and life with a newborn - things that I am not all that far removed from but still seem so long ago in so many ways.
I can't help but remember how NOT ready I felt when I was nearing the end of my pregnancy with Malachi.  Maybe it's the way many people feel with their first - where fear and anxiety and uncertainty outweigh (or feel like they outweigh) the excitement.  Maybe I'm alone in these feelings, I don't know.  Don't get me wrong, I was excited but I was also very scared! I had NO idea what to expect and so when it finally came time to deliver I was terrified.  So much so that Jeff had to look me square in the face on the afternoon we went to the hospital to induce and say "Courtney, we are not coming home without a baby." Wow - talk about denial! ha!
But this time around it's different.  Maybe because I feel like I know what to expect, maybe because I am uncomfortable, maybe because I am now further in my pregnancy than I ever got with Malachi.  I don't know what the specific reasons are but I feel ready to have this baby.  And in a lot of ways I am so thankful that I feel so ready.
There is still a lot of uncertainty this time around too. Like what will the buildup of labor feel like this time when I don't have to be induced? What will it be like to have TWO kids? How will we manage with a newborn and a non-stop 19 month old? Will Malachi be sweet and gentle to his little brother or sister? All things I think about and all real concerns.  But overall I feel excitement and joy to be blessed with another child - now I'm just ready to meet him or her!

38 weeks, 6 days

This is the day in my pregnancy with Malachi that he was born - feels weird to be past that now!

the things God teaches you through pregnancy sickness...

i know you're probably wondering what happened to me. i mean the last thing on here was Malachi announcing we were expecting Baby #2 and then nothing for 2 months! well, i sincerely apologize for being so quiet around these parts for so long. but the last few months have been hard ones in the Mixon house with me moving a lot slower that normal due to some first trimester sickness. the Lord has been so gracious and sustained me and the last 6 weeks have been TONS better but those 2 months of feeling icky really helps to put things in perspective for you! the Lord has been teaching me a lot through this season of slowing down and i would love to share with you some of those lessons.

lesson #1 - there are seasons of life where you HAVE to slow down! this was the first lesson God started to teach me early in my pregnancy, i think because He knew it would be the one that would take me the longest to get! ha! i mean, i do not like to slow down. i push myself and think that i "should" be able to do x,y, or z because i "always" do it. well, guess what? you're not "always" laid up feeling nauseous and so when you are you should take that as your body telling you to slow down! there are seasons where you just have to be ok with whatever you can do and thank the Lord you were able to do that. during those 2 months we bought a lot more things at the store that i normally like to make but didn't, my house wasn't as thoroughly cleaned as i normally like, the laundry didn't get done all in one day like i like, etc., etc. But in the end we still ate, we still had clean clothes, we still had each other. and in some seasons, that has to be good enough.

lesson #2 - all babies are different. this is such a helpful lesson for me to learn now and continue to remember forever. i think it's even more important because Malachi and Baby#2 will be so close in age. i think it would be so easy for me and for others to compare the two. "well, malachi did this" or "malachi didn't do that" etc. but the reality is that these are two completely different little people that God created unique and separate from one another and they will each do things the way that God has ordained them to do it. this pregnancy has actually been a really helpful little "sneak peek" into how different i think they could be. i didn't have any sickness or anything with Malachi, my pregnancy was like a model pregnancy (atleast until the end with our little "twist").  but this pregnancy has been so different! it makes me wonder how else they will be different... will he/she sleep great like M always has? will he/she be a better nurser than M was? will he/she have an outgoing personality the way M does or will he/she be more reserved? these are all questions we have to wait to have answered but i am so thankful that God is reminding me even now that comparing them is futile, they are each their own person.

lesson #3 - the way you take care of yourself during pregnancy is the way you take care of that baby inside you. this lesson goes along with number 1 but has had a much greater impact on me than the first one which is why i am listing it separately. i think a lot of times we can forget that pregnancy is about growing a person and not all about me and what makes me feel good. i have realized this even more this time around when i was feeling sick and gross and didn't want to do anything. i still had to remember that the baby needed me to do certain things for it.  i still needed to eat, i still needed to get up and move as much as i could, i still needed to try to eat those foods that are good for me, even if they didn't sound appealing, etc. etc. This is the first of many sacrifices you make as a mother! you have to take care of yourself, not just for yourself, but because that baby is dependent on you for everything! everything you eat or don't eat, the amount of activity you get or don't get, the amount of rest you get or don't get, all of these things affect your baby. and no mother would ever give their baby anything but the best after it is born, but sometimes we don't do the same while pregnant. it's hard things to think about, but it's an issue of selfishness vs. sacrifice.

lesson #4 - going through sickness gives you compassion on those who also suffer through sickness. i am in no way saying that i had it worse than anyone else, i know of many friends who suffer much worse with sickness during pregnancy than i did. but i think now i have a glimpse of what others have gone through and it gives me compassion on them. since i didn't experience anything like this with my first pregnancy i could never really understand what all the fuss was about or how debilitating sickness can make you feel. and i think if i had never experienced it it could have led to pride in my heart toward those people, like i was somehow better because i always had easy pregnancies. but the Lord humbled me, even before it got there, and for that i am so thankful.  He allowed me to go through this so that i could be humble and helpful toward those who also suffer.

these are just some of my thoughts on what God has taught me this far. He could have more in store to show me through this pregnancy and if that is true then i will be thankful for that. but for now i am so thankful he has allowed me to feel more "normal" and to get caught up around here. now i can share some of the things going on around here this summer!

Until then,
Love from the Mixon House!

He is Risen!

in my family growing up we would always wake each other up on Easter morning by entering the person's room and shouting "He is Risen!" to which the person you were talking to was supposed to reply "He is Risen Indeed!" (and this response would come quickly or not so quickly depending on how awake the person was ;) haha)
this back and forth has been a common greeting on Easter Morning throughout church history and i absolutely love it and hope to carry on the tradition in our little family.
Christ has Risen and the grave could not hold him. our hope for salvation is so tied to the Resurrection and the reality that it happened! Praise God that he has accepted the payment for our sins and showed it by raising His son on Easter Morning!
just like the Christmas holiday, Easter is not about bunnys and eggs and new dresses or suits. as fun as those things are. the true reality of Easter is that our Savior who died on the cross for our sins was raised to life to show that his payment was acceptable to the Father. now that is GREAT news! :)
have a blessed Easter Sunday!
love from the Mixon House!

Good Friday?!?!

growing up in a christian context, Good Friday is not a strange term to me. it has been a part of my life every year for as long as i can remember. but you might ask, "then why the question marks?" well, just because something is common and familiar doesn't mean that it shouldn't be evaluated and thought through deeply.
so the last few years i have sought to think through Easter and the events surrounding it through the eyes of the unbeliever. and Good Friday is such a strange term for what actually happened that day 2,000 years ago. what is possibly good about the death of an innocent man? what is good about the beatings and mocking he endured? what is good about his journey to Golgotha carrying his own beam that he would be nailed to once he arrived on that hill? there isn't much good to see when you just look at the events of Good Friday! it all seems dark and grim and hopeless.

Luke 23:44-49

^"44 It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour,⁴⁵ while the sun's light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. ⁴⁶ Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last. ⁴⁷ Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God, saying, “Certainly this man was innocent!” ⁴⁸ And all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, returned home beating their breasts. ⁴⁹ And all his acquaintances and the women who had followed him from Galilee stood at a distance watching these things."

BUT GOD...
i feel like that phrase should come next! whenever i see that phrase in scripture i hang on to my seat to see what God is going to do next! and what God does next here is just incredible!

Luke 24:1-12

"But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. ² And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, ³ but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. ⁴ While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. ⁵ And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? ⁶ He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, ⁷ that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.” ⁸ And they remembered his words, ⁹ and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. ¹⁰ Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles, ¹¹ but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. ¹² But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home marveling at what had happened."

God raised Jesus from the dead! now that just doesn't happen! but He did to show that the payment for the sin of the world was acceptable to God. and Jesus had to die on Good Friday so that he could be raised to life 3 days later! only in the light of Easter are the events of Good Friday truly GOOD! through our reliance and faith in Jesus Christ we can come near to God because Jesus took away our sins on that cross 2,000 years ago. now THAT is good news!
as you celebrate this Easter weekend, find hope in this Good Friday if you are a new creature in Christ Jesus. and if you are not, lay your life and desires down before the cross that you may truly know the hope that Easter morning brings!

Isaiah 53:4-6,11

 ^"4 Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
⁵ But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.
⁶ All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.

¹¹ Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;
by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,
make many to be accounted righteous,
and he shall bear their iniquities."

heritage...

as i sit musing over my pastor's sermon this morning i am so encouraged by the charge he gave to the older generation to spur on the generations coming after them in the gospel - in the truth of God's word. the text was Genesis 50, the death of Joseph. Joseph's last words and last instructions to his family were to cling to the covenant promise that God would deliver the people of Israel up out of Egypt and into the promised land. Joseph's final words were about God and reminding his people of God's covenant promises. it wasn't about Joseph or about his life or about his experiences. Joseph's last words were all about his God and what He is doing.
i have been thinking a lot about heritage lately. a senior saint in our church body went to be with the Lord this week and while she will be greatly missed, her family is so thankful that she gets to be with Jesus now. her legacy and her life speak volumes to those around her about what it means to leave a heritage. she communicated the truth of God's word through her life's work. she encouraged the younger generations with the gospel. what a blessing to know someone who, while not perfectly, lived in such a way that was a testimony to all those around her.
i am challenged myself to see where i might be able to encourage the generations after me with the truth of God, it's not simply a task for the senior saints. and while there are many opportunities i can think of to do this work, i am reminded of something the Lord has been hammering into me the last few months over and over again - my children ARE my mission field. my son (and his future brothers and sisters) is who God has given me to preach the gospel to day in and day out. they are the souls that i have been given to impact and to remind everyday of God's redeeming work. and like Joseph, who on his deathbed was speaking of God's covenant with his people and His coming salvation from slavery, my task is not to talk about myself or my experiences. but i am to preach God to my children and all that He has done and will do.
what a sweet reminder to me yet again that this life is NOT about me! God is so much bigger and His work is so much grander than i could ever imagine. but i am called to be faithful to point those who come after me back to God and what He has promised. and i pray that on my deathbed it would be all about God and not about me. what a high task we have!

And Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die, but God will visit you and bring you up out of this land to the land that he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.” Gen. 50:24 

working at home....

these last two days have been one of those times where i have been going going going and haven't even left my house! so i thought i would give you a little peak into our house this season and see how busy it can be to stay at home! ha! :)

lots of pumpkin bread making (i think total i am making about 30 mini loafs - its been busy!) 

lots of pumpkin bread wrapping....

present wrapping....

laundry that has been folded and still needs to be put away....

diapers washed, stuffed and put away - ready to be dirtied again by a sweet little boy....

and this project i have been working on for hubby... i can't wait to share more about it later this week, but it is quickly becoming a favorite tradition!

i know there are days when my hubby comes home and asked me how my day went and what i have been up to and i have a hard time thinking of what i did all day. you know those days, when you never expected whatever you did to take the entire day but yet it does and you feel like you have nothing to show for it.  thats another post all in itself.  i've been there... but the last few days have NOT been one of those days. and the rest of the week will not be one of those days either, it's a busy season friends.

BUT, let's not get so wrapped up in all of our doing that we forget the purpose for this advent season - we await with eager expectation the baby born on Christmas, who was born to die. to die for the sins of all who put their trust and hope in him. that we may live for him all the days of our life and one day live with him in perfect peace.

i have a notecard hanging above malachi's changing table with Isaiah 26:3-4 written on it and i have been meditating on it the last several weeks.  "You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.  Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock."  may we have peace this christmas season because of the work done for us on the cross. and may that peace permeate our homes in a very real way this december.

how is YOUR mind stayed on Christ this december?

love from the Mixon house! 

staying home...

i was so encouraged by one of my favorite bloggers this afternoon! i can completely resonate with her thoughts on staying home and delighting in that time.
i get asked time and time again by people who know we live in a small town and know i stay home with malachi - "what do you DO all day?" and my usual answer is - "i find it so much easier to be at home here than i would have in louisville." and i think this is why - my heart is so easily distracted and restless. i would have found too many "things" to take me out of the house and not have valued the time that i have to be at home. i would not have recognized the GIFT it is to be home with my baby and taking care of our home.
now granted, she and i are in different places. i do not have 3 children. she does not have the same demands of ministry and the activities at church that take me away from home. i have a husband who requires my help outside of the home some days. she has a choice to sit certain activities out, etc. etc.
but the heart is the same - finding joy and delight in the opportunity to be home, not the drudgery of being home. be encouraged dear sisters! our job is not a burden! it is a joy and a treasure!
do YOU need to enjoy staying at home sometimes?

read and be encouraged! Enjoying the Simplicity of Staying Home

in Christian faith...

so the last few days i have been at home with a sick little boy.  nothing major, just a cold, but still he's been pretty miserable and so that makes for no fun for mommy... :(
i missed church sunday (which i HATE) and then had to miss a church thing on tuesday too. all that to say this can be a recipe for a little self-pity.  but i tell you what, God is so good and gracious and has allowed me to be encouraged and uplifted by some sweet sisters in Christ even from home.
i got a message on facebook from a dear friend on monday that really challenged and convicted me.  she said that whenever her kids were sick she would praise God for the arms to hold them and cuddle them, praise God for her legs to rock the rocking chair for hours on end, etc. how convicting!  how dare i feel sorry for myself when this is where God has put me and this is the little one He has given me to serve and love?  this should be my JOY because this is exactly what God has called me to for this time.  there is no denying what the "will of God" for you is when you have a sick child.  the will of God for me at this time is to take care of my sick child.
i listened to our church's sermon that i missed from sunday and toward the end while talking about men serving their family, Pastor Josh referenced a quote by Martin Luther that i knew.  so i went and looked it up and was encouraged all the more.  it is written for fathers, but how much more does it speak to mothers?  here is where i found it.


Now observe that when that clever harlot, our natural reason . . . , takes a look at married life, she turns up her nose and says, “Alas, must I rock the baby, wash its diapers, make its bed, smell its stench, stay up nights with it, take care of it when it cries, heal its rashes and sores. . . ?” [LW 45:39]


What then does Christian faith say to this? It opens its eyes, looks upon all these insignificant, distasteful, and despised duties in the Spirit, and is aware that they are all adorned with divine approval as with the costliest gold and jewels. It says, O God, because I am certain that thou hast created me as a man and hast from my body begotten this child, I also know for a certainty that it meets with thy perfect pleasure. I confess to thee that I am not worthy to rock the little babe or wash its diapers, or to be entrusted with the care of the child and its mother. How is it that I, without any merit, have come to this distinction of being certain that I am serving thy creature and thy most precious will? O how gladly will I do so, though the duties should be even more insignificant and despised. Neither frost nor heat, neither drudgery nor labor, will distress or dissuade me, for I am certain that it is thus pleasing in thy sight. . . . God, with all his angels and creatures is smiling—not because the father is washing diapers, but because he is doing so in Christian faith.[LW 45:39-40]


the Lord is so gracious to bring us the encouragement that we need right when we need it.  now did i particularly like missing church and having a sick baby? no, but i am called to give thanks in all circumstances.  so, like my friend, i will give thanks that i have arms to hold my baby and legs to rock the rocking chair and a voice to sing him to sleep.  and i will give thanks that i am able to be at home with him and serve him in this very tangible way. in Christian faith i will serve my family, and i will give thanks for the blessing to do so.


"rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." ~ 1 thessalonians 5:16-18

What is Delight?

i have been thinking a lot about my first post on here the last few days, my desire to delight in the little things of life.  but then i started thinking about what it means to delight - what is delight? so i started doing some digging....

webster's dictionary defines delight as "a high degree of gratification, joy, something that give great pleasure." ok... gratification, joy, pleasure.  what do those words mean? webster's says that gratification is "a source of satisfaction or pleasure," there's pleasure again.  joy is defined as "to experience great pleasure or delight, rejoice" - now there is pleasure and delight! and pleasure is defined as "a source of delight or joy."  ok,, so now i have three words with very similar meanings.  but i keep digging because webster's dictionary is not my authority for life.  i went to the word of God and looked up delight. 

in my translation (ESV) delight is used 77 times.  places we're all probably familiar with -

psalm 1:1-2 - "blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night." 

and psalm 37:4 - "delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart." 

in these contexts the psalmist is calling the reader to find joy and delight in the Lord.  Strongs concordance defines delight as "rejoice, glad, joyful, joy."  JOY! we are to have joy when we delight.  joy means "rejoice, be exeeding glad, be glad, greatly rejoice." i am to be glad when i delight.  i am to be glad in all the small details of life.  and not because all of the small details of life make me glad but because as a believer i am told to! 

philippians 4:4 says, "rejoice in the Lord always, again i will say rejoice!" 

and 1 thessalonians 5:16-18 says, "rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." 

this is why i am told to rejoice always and to give thanks in all circumstances - because it is the will of God in Christ Jesus for ME!  this is amazing friends, my mind has been reeling for days over this... the will of God for me is to be thankful in all circumstances and to rejoice in everything!

i delight when i have joy, but i can only have joy when i am truly thankful...  i think this is one of the roots of what the Lord is teaching me about delight - i need to be more thankful! wow... what a sobering thought to realize i am not as thankful as i should be... not as thankful as God is calling me to be - in ALL things!  ok, but that's for another post. for now, though, i know what i need - i need thankfulness.  Lord, help me to be a thankful woman....

"and be thankful. let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. and whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." - colossians 3:15-17