Lessons on Receiving...

In my life I have heard endless lessons on giving, but very rarely have I heard anything about receiving. Maybe it's because my parents were more than generous with their time and resources during my childhood, or maybe it's because it's easier to talk about giving than receiving. 

I can't remember a time where I really understood that I was on the receiving end until I reached adulthood. As I talk about receiving I'm not talking about birthday gifts or baked good, I'm talking about receiving from a real place of need. Maybe as child I did not understand my needs nor could I articulate them. This left me unsure how to receive gracefully to the point of shutting down even when someone offered a helping hand. In my mind, receiving tangibly or intangibly meant I was weak, or that I was not in control of the situation. I did't need help because I could 'do it myself'. It's even affected parts of my marriage, not being able to ask my husband for the help I clearly need.  It’s not until now that I realize how important it can be to “receive” well. 

As I reflected on my new understanding I was presented with more opportunities to receive. Being pregnant with Cal I was offered generous baby showers from friends and family, also there were times we would come home to boxes of diapers and wipes on our porch and even meals in our kitchen. We needed these things and having Cal would have been extremely straining without the help. I felt undeserving.

I was trying so hard to practice receiving well. Then my thoughts lead me to my spiritual life. 

If I can't receive from people without guilt or shame, how in the world can I gracefully receive the ultimate gift from God? 

My friends and family were being the face of The Lord, and I was being stubborn me. I have to learn to receive with love and gratitude because the ultimate gift is much greater than diapers and wipes. In my time of reflection the Lord spoke:

"You need to receive ALL that I have paid for" 

HE paid by dying on the cross so we could live freely and have eternal life. The "gift" is HIM suffering and dying, I need to "receive" it by living freely without guilt or shame. In dying, Christ asks us to enter into life with Him. He turned God’s wrath for us into favor. We are no longer slaves to sin, we are precious, we are bought for a price paid for with the blood of Jesus. 

He is giving us the ultimate gift, if we choose to, we receive it; every little piece of it. 

I'm convicted.

Yes, I have received the ultimate gift of eternal life, but there is so much I am not openly receiving. I need to receive ALL that HE paid for with an excruciating death. By not receiving ALL that He paid for I am saying I can do it myself, I don't need any help. What does the "ALL" that he paid for even mean? For me it is living without fear, being joyful, loving people, being humbled, having compassion, living free from the guilt of sin, breaking free from strongholds, and spending time hearing from HIM. He already paid for me to live like this, and there is a deep need in my life to live fully. 

For now, here are some pictures of our sweet 6 month old! 

Surviving Flying with Baby {Under One}

By no means am I an expert on flying with babies. In Cal's short 6 months of life I have flown across the country twice by myself.  Also, we have two more trips planned in the next 2 months! Here are some things I've learned along the way that have really helped make the whole experience bearable.

1. Baby Wearing! (we have an ergo carrier, I can't live without it!)

Ditch the stroller! I checked mine with my carseat so I didn't have to deal with it until I got to my final destination. I've made the mistake of bringing my stroller and trying to juggle baby, diaper bag and collapse the stroller. Let me tell you, its not a pretty sight. Sometimes people offer to help, but other times I think people watch in amusement! Also, you can take the escalator and not have to hunt down an elevator in the airport!

2. Stoller Bags

My sister told me about these, every major airline sells them, as well as amazon. We bought ours the first time I flew with Cal at the southwest ticket counter. They are re-usable so you only have to buy them once. My carseat/base and umbrella stroller fit in one bag, but some people prefer to bag their carseat and stroller sepratly. They protect your stroller from wear and tear, loosing pieces and they will keep everything dry if its raining!

3. Standard Size Pillow

This was a life saver for me. A five and a half hour flight with a lap baby is not for the faint of heart. There is only so much room on your lap! Bringing a pillow allows for baby to lay flat and play with toys or sleep, also it great for nursing! This depends on the size of your baby, when they get to big the pillow is useless.

4. Disposable changing pads

I'm a little bit of a germ freak and flying is a germ breading ground! Munchkin Brand sells disposable changing pads that are awesome. Here is the link for amazon, you can also buy them at target! If you, God forbid, have to change your baby on the airplane these are great germ barriers :-).  Also I carry mini lysol spray in my diaper bag to disinfect everything, yes I know I'm a freak.

5. Hands free Diaper bag

A back pack diaper bag is best, but a cross body strap works too. It really makes a difference!

6. Paci Clip (even if your baby doesn't take a paci)

I am envious of babies that take a paci, are little boy has refused one pretty much since birth. The reason a paci clip is awesome, is you can connect any toy to it to keep it from falling on ground! What ever toy Cal was play with I would clip to him, so when he let go of it, we didn't loose it in the great abyss of the germ invested airplane floor.

7. Feed the babe during take of and landing, and any time in between!!!

Feeding on take off and landing helps their ears get adjusted, its similar to us chewing gum! Also, Cal is on a pretty stricked eating schedule, but when we are flying everything goes out the window! I feed on demand to soothe him when needed!



WHAT NOT TO DO:

Don't over fill your diaper bag! It's hard enough to reach down and get into it with a baby on your lap anyway. Pack three toys maximum! When you overstuff your diaper bag it become useless!