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 - Endorsed - Indifferent - Contested
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| The Nashville Statement
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Name:Daniel
Home: Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
About Me: I used to believe that evolution was reasonable, that homosexuality was genetic, and that people became Christians because they couldn't deal with the 'reality' that this life was all there was. I used to believe, that if there was a heaven - I could get there by being good - and I used to think I was more or less a good person. I was wrong on all counts. One day I finally had my eyes opened and I saw that I was not going to go to heaven, but that I was certainly going to suffer the wrath of God for all my sin. I saw myself as a treasonous rebel at heart - I hated God for creating me just to send me to Hell - and I was wretched beyond my own comprehension. Into this spiritual vacuum Jesus Christ came and he opened my understanding - delivering me from God's wrath into God's grace. I was "saved" as an adult, and now my life is hid in Christ. I am by no means sinless, but by God's grace I am a repenting believer - a born again Christian.
My complete profile...
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Daniel's posts are almost always pastoral and God centered. I appreciate and am challenged by them frequently. He has a great sense of humor as well.
- Marc Heinrich
His posts are either funny or challenging. He is very friendly and nice.
- Rose Cole
[He has] good posts, both the serious like this one, and the humorous like yesterday. [He is] the reason that I have restrained myself from making Canadian jokes in my posts.
- C-Train
This post contains nothing that is of any use to me. What were you thinking? Anyway, it's probably the best I've read all day.
- David Kjos
Daniel, nicely done and much more original than Frank the Turk.
- Jonathan Moorhead
There are some people who are smart, deep, or funny. There are not very many people that are all 3. Daniel is one of those people. His opinion, insight and humor have kept me coming back to his blog since I first visited earlier this year.
- Carla Rolfe
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| Six Weeks Old Yesterday! |
 Our youngest turned six weeks old yesterday. She is, by all accounts, a wonderful little child; full of life, charm, and strength (look at her holding up her head like a pro!) My wife and I have been richly blessed; all colic aside.
Yes, it is true. Our little sweetheart has begun to suffer through colic (and we with her) each night for around three hours or so, usually beginning around ten thirty or eleven o'clock.
Our eldest, who is now about to turn thirteen, was the only other child with colic that we had, and I should say this - you seldom get the opportunity to do a rubber-meets-the-road sort of comparison between who you are today, and who you were thirteen years ago, than to compare the way you handle identical situations then and now.
Thirteen years ago I was not walking with the Lord, and though my wife and I had been married for five years our marriage was not a good one. We were selfish, and worldly, and those unwelcome traits only grew when our first child developed colic. In my selfishness I quickly began to resent the way my wife wanted to share the duty of comforting my screaming and inconsolable son at two a.m. in the morning. I had a job, so naturally I used that to justify my selfishness, and the resentment that permeated every moment I gave to trying to soothe my tiny, red-faced and teary eyed son.
I cringe in shame within my soul when I think back on that.
So also I marvel then at what a difference the Lord has made in my life thus far. Sure, I am an "experienced" father now, in that I understand colic much better than I had, and I realize that infants are not necessarily inconsolable, you just have to know how to console a colicky child† Yet such experience does not, nor can it, touch the work of love in my heart that the Lord has done.
Not that I love my newest daughter more than I loved my eldest son, but rather I love my God and His blessing to me. I love my wife, and strongly desire to provide whatever comfort and security I can to her. So it is that I have found great joy and comfort in soothing this little one in the wee hours of the night. I count it a privilege and an honor to give my wife rest, even at my own expense, while I eagerly take my turn at soothing our newest child.
I tell you, it is things like this that make the words of Christ so real - He gives to His children life, here and now, more abundantly (c.f. John 10:10). What has changed in me that what before was a source of contention, tension, and resentment, is now a well of joy and opportunity, so that I am thankful above all else? What has changed is that I trust the Lord, and live to serve Him in the strength that He provides.
Praise be to God who does more than save us from hell, but gives us joy in all things here and now.
† To soothe colic, swaddle your infant firmly, so that his or her arms are pinned at the side (careful not to over do this, or restrict the neck - use your common sense), then holding the child on his or her side (facing you, and against you), gently rock and (very lightly) jiggle the child as you shush him or her. This shushing is supposed to imitate the sounds of the womb, not provide you with an avenue to vent any frustration you may be feeling (not "shush! shush! You noisy child!", but "ShhhhSHHHshhhSHHhh").
Note: The baby may, at first, fuss a bit, as if this is not only not working, but even aggravating the situation, but you should see a marked improvement, and calmness soon enough.
Note also: Marry yourself beforehand to the sure knowledge that this is going to take a while - an hour maybe - and that in that hour the babe may have, in spite of your efforts, a moment or two here and there, where they fuss again, but continue the course, and the babe will find rest far sooner, and far more quietly, and far less stressfully, than he or she would have otherwise.Labels: blessing; praise, colic, parenting |
posted by Daniel @
7:28 AM
 
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| 3 Comments: |
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Quite remarkably beautiful duaghter you have Daniel.
Some excellent thoughts as well. I pray the Lord will throuw down His greatest blessings upon you and your wife, and your daughter at this time.
I know our Savior is pleased with your testimony. And Jesus does want us to have joy, peace, and fun in this life, along with the trials and struggles, and pain. He's a wonderful Lord and God.
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Aw, colic is so hard! I hope she doesn't have it too long.
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Well, as a fellow homeschooler, you know how especially frustrating colic can be at the start of a new school year, with four others in school.
Thankfully the older ones are old enough to help teach the younger ones, and to make lunch by themselves.
God however has given us so much grace that I am actually thankful for the colic, in that it forces me to deal with some areas in my walk with the Lord that I might otherwise look over (the various shades of selfishness).
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Quite remarkably beautiful duaghter you have Daniel.
Some excellent thoughts as well. I pray the Lord will throuw down His greatest blessings upon you and your wife, and your daughter at this time.
I know our Savior is pleased with your testimony. And Jesus does want us to have joy, peace, and fun in this life, along with the trials and struggles, and pain. He's a wonderful Lord and God.