AN EASTER CHARGE

As we reflect this Easter, I encourage us all to remember how blessed a people we are. 

Our Lord Jesus Christ pushed through his humanness and went all the way to Calvary for my sins and yours.

Have you ever paused to wonder what would have happened if in Luke 22 verse 42 (NIV), Jesus had not prayed to his father, “………yet not my will but yours be done?” We would have no hope and would be a people most miserable.

Why then should we not show our Lord how much we adore and appreciate him for this selfless act of love by taking full advantage of this.

Let him carry your burdens, trust me, it is the best way to go.

A HAPPY, HOLY AND BURDEN-FREE EASTER TO YOU ALL!!!! 

image by: http://lezlisblog.blogspot.com/2010_04_01_archive.html

GRATEFUL WEDNESDAYS : The Entitlement Sydrome…….

Today, I am grateful for Growth.

Yes, I had that syndrome, the entitlement syndrome, where I felt entitled to certain things in life and if I did not get them, no one around me could be happy.

I am sure many of us can recount a time in our lives when we had this syndrome too. We felt entitled to so much; everybody should know the difficulties we are experiencing even though it might not be as evident, but they should still walk on eggshells around us, so as not to hurt our feelings, and God help them if they happen to do so. We felt that  we are entitled to what belonged to our siblings and this included their successes as well and be taken care of by them, when that really is the job of our parents, up to the age of 18, and lastly, we felt entitled to be lauded over and be put on a pedestal.

 As for me, I felt entitled to be a mom, and was quite angry with God for the better part of my Infertility Struggles, Why not me? I often cried out to God, when everyone else around me was having this dream realized. I also felt that I was carrying a sign around that read - 'Caution - Infertility Struggles,' because I would get so worked up when persons said or did anything that hurt my feelings, even though some might not have known the degree of struggles that I undergoing.

Thank goodness then for growth, because it is with growth that we can look back at our past behavior and feel our stomach cringing. We feel embarrass for being so naïve and selfish. Guess what though, because we feel embarrass does not mean that our behavior was by any means off course. Turns out, this is the path that growth takes. How else would we be able to recognize and measure growth, if we are not able to look back and see where we are coming from.

It is quite normal to feel entitled, but among the things we should feel entitled to are, the need to feel loved, the need for food and fresh air. On another level, the need to be respected and the need to live quality lives, I could go on, and there would not be anything that says, the need to employ selfish and manipulative strategies to get what we want.

I am grateful then for growth

MONDAY RAMBLINGS - My name is ‘Mary-Beth’ and I am a stay-at-home parent

I remember watching the game show Family Feud, and when the contestants were introducing themselves, one lady seemed a bit timid or maybe embarrassed even to say that she was a stay at home mom. Steve Harvey the host admonished her to not be so timid to say that she was a stay-at-home mom, because her job is just as important and involved (even more involved), than the parents who work outside of the home.

So then. are stay-at-home parents getting the respect that they deserve. When I thought of this post, I was planning to write it around the heading, stay-at-home moms, but then I remember that more and more men are staying at home these days and taking care of the children and running the home just as women are long known to do.

The common saying goes, a woman’s work is never done, and this is because with children, you are always playing the game of catch up. Depending on their age, you have to watch them closely so that they do not get into things or hurt themselves, as they are naturally curious and do not know their own danger. This does not mean that the other domestic chores get pushed in the corner, you have to balance all these chores to get through the day. 

I heard it said recently that as soon as your kids wake up, you spend the rest of the day trying to get them tired so that they can go to sleep again. I found this quite funny, but had to sober up quickly because once they go to sleep, this does not mean that you get to rest, you find yourself doing the things that you could not do, when they are awake.

Many stay-at-home parents have to deal with the reality that their family has to make do on one income, and many carry around the guilt of not being able to contribute to the family’s finances. Well, do not beat yourself up too much about this, just do the maths:- of course you are contributing to your family’s finances, the nursery care for the babies, the aftercare fees for the older ones, doctor fees for the babies who will get sick from time to time, from all the germs that go around,  in a nursery environment and many and varied other miscellaneous costs. One cost that is hard to compute, is the quality care that only you can give to your children. How about that, this seems like a whole salary you are saving your family to me.

A couple days ago, I was talking to a lady, a grandmother, who seemed like she was a stay-at-home mom for all her children. She expressed how hard it was for her to take care of all these children, and when her husband gets home, as if she did not have a crazy, tiring day as it is, would say, “but you have been at home all day.” She said , he just did not understand how being a stay-at-home parent had you consumed with work all the time. He does understand now though, she says, when he sees how much work his grandchildren are. He was within earshot of the conversation, so he smiled in agreement.

I know our economy does not allow more parents to stay at home, but those who can, feel blessed and be grateful you are part of this fortunate small percentage, which is growing more and more obsolete, and just to encourage you some more, it is never too late to get that dream career or build on the one you already have.

 image by: http://blogs.babycenter.com/mom_stories/being-a-stay-at-home-mom-in-pictures/

INFERTILITY NEWS, FACTS AND VEIWS : Stress and Infertility

I have always thought and said many times that stress is the cause of most of the physical ailments mankind faces and it seem I could be right on the mark.

Stress is now suspected to be a cause of Infertility, according to a new research led by Dr. Courtney Denning-Johnson Lynch, director of reproductive epidemiology at Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus.

This new study builds on the team’s previous work which linked high levels of stress to a woman’s inability to become pregnant, thus making the connection of stress being tied to increased risk of infertility.

For the new findings, the team examined data on 501 couples trying to conceive between 2005 and 2009 at two research centers in the United States, one in Michigan and the other in Texas, who were followed for up to 12 months as they tried to get pregnant.

As part of the data sample, the female participants, aged between 18 and 40, with no known fertility problems, produced saliva samples the morning after they were enrolled and also the morning after their first period following enrollment. From these samples, the researchers could measure levels of cortisol and alpha-amylase, known causes of stress.

Over the 12 months period of study, of the 401 women who completed it, 347 (87%) became pregnant and 54 (13%) did not.

When the data was analyzed, it was found that the women with the highest levels of alpha-amylase had a 29% lower chance of conceiving each month, compared to those with the lowest levels Also, the women with the highest indicated stress levels were more than twice as likely to meet the clinical definition of infertility, which is being unable to conceive over a 12 month period of unprotected sex.

These links remained despite adjustments for possible factors like age, race, use of alcohol, caffeine and tobacco while trying to conceive.

I probably would have became pregnant earlier, because I had so much stress in my life at the time I was battling infertility.

My advice then, for women who are trying to conceive, is to watch your stress levels and make the necessary lifestyle changes to minimize stress in this regard. 

The more you know!!!!

image by: http://www.artfertilityblog.com/2012/11/06/stress-and-infertility/

GRATEFUL WEDNESDAYS : Be Careful what you wish for…….

Today I am grateful for the health of   my children.

Our 2 year old daughter is so active  and we are hardly able to keep up with her. She seldom gets sick (one of the benefits of being on breast  milk for so long), and recently, I found myself wishing that she could pick up a bug, not anything too serious, just a little something to slow her down a bit.

Well, she got sick, and ha s been sick for the past week. Did we get any break? From having to keep vigil over a bad fever that at times did not seem to be responding to the conventional fever reducers and waking up odd hours at nights to administer her prescription drugs, we did not get a break. She was not eating and so she took this out on me ,as breastfeeding became her only source of food and probably what kept her alive, because she was not drinking either and would have been extremely dehydrated.

We also found that what she was diagnosed with initially, tonsillitis, was really not what the problem was, and so we found ourselves treating another problem. It broke my heart to see her so sick and had to rebuke myself for wishing illness on her. She is much better now, thank God, almost back to her normal self and as for me, so tired from this intense week but happy to see her smile and play again and vow to be careful what I wish for, next time I become tempted.

Even as I cuddle my daughter’s fever ridden body in my arms, I am comforted   knowing that she will get better. Some parents find themselves not being so fortunate at all, as they are told that their sick child will never get better and have just a matter of time to be with them. The parents of my son’s classmate who passed recently, I am sure got to the point where they knew their son would not be around for much longer. I just cannot even imagine that grief.

I am indeed grateful for the health of my children.