Whaddya do

when you've got an extra little boy for the next few hours and all three boys are asleep? You catch up on your bloggin, that's what! I've been preheating a blog post in response to Rhonda's 20 questions about where her readers were a year ago. Last May, I was preggers for the third time. I don't remember when we found out Rhys's sex, but I imagine I knew it by the end of May. I found it (surprisingly) easier to accept that he was a boy than when I found out the same about Gabriel. Perhaps I hadn't really had much hope for a girl the second time around...

Spiritually, I hope I've grown. I've dropped out of a Bible study in the company of people I absolutely enjoy, but the study itself was consistently more of a frustration than a challenge or an exhortation to do and be more in the eyes of the Lord. The other Bible studies I did last Spring - Beth Moore's Esther study and Lisa Whelchel's "Creative Correction" let me know there was more to Bible study: Life, passion, and being truly changed by a perfect God's perfect love. So as I pulled away from one study, I began to think of how to pursue God more in my own daily life. The answer didn't really come until Lent, which by now my regular readers are probably tired of hearing about.

What can I say? It changed me. The last year, and specifically the forty days the church sets aside each year, this year, have taught me a lesson I don't think I'd ever learned before: that God wants me to listen to Him. And not in a, "Okay, but," sort of way. He wants me to really listen. To sit at his feet, right next to Mary, even though my ever-present inner Martha really dislikes the living, breathing, ever-expanding pile of toys in the living room, clothes in the bedrooms, books in the office, etc. And in listening, He's taught me more lessons than I can number, blessed me more than I can fathom, and given me a new appreciation for the life He's given me.

Next year, I hope to be able to say I can't believe how far God's brought me. And how I hope I'll be able to mention how far he's brought my church family. I believe great things are in store. Perhaps if I close my eyes and listen real hard, He'll give me a little hint...