1 Packin' on the LB's

Hey everyone,

This post is going to be a quick one today but I promise that next time I post on the girls there will be lots of fun pictures!!!!  I've got a praise report....the girls gained weight last week!!!!!  We took them to get weighed last Thursday and they were both six pounds, one ounce!!!!  Woo-Hoo!!!!!!  Seeing that weight made me feel so much better about starting them on formula with the breast milk.  Guess it just proves that they needed more milk in their tummy :) 

Another praise is that their eyes are still on track.  We will have to continue to have check-ups over the next month or two but our doctor said that we are in the safe zone for not having to have laser surgery.  That is a huge relief.  Next week we will go see the pediatric optometrist to make sure that they don't become near-sighted and need glasses. 

Today, we are taking Adeline to have her heart looked at by the pediatric cardiologist.  This is just a follow-up to the time that she got fluid around her heart in the NICU.  That was such a scary day but the problem seemed to have resolved itself while she was still in the hospital so I am hoping that we will get a good report when we go this afternoon.

On a total side note, I have to say how much I love our Montgomery friends.  Last week, two of our best couple friends came over and brought dinner for all of us to eat.  They thought of everything from flowers to coordinating paper plates.  The food was delicious but the quality time with friends was the best part of the evening.  Since we have been in isolation for the past five weeks, I didn't recognize how lonely I had been until our friends came over.  We haven't been going places and I realized that the world doesn't stop just because I'm not taking part in activities outside of the home right now.  It was a much needed dose of friend time for us.

Also, on Sunday the twins decided to wish my mom happy birthday!!!!!  They will be seeing their Ganny soon and I know mom is so excited to get some loving from the girls :)

Alright, that is about all I have time for today.  I hope everyone is having a wonderful day and getting ready for some college football this weekend.  War Eagle!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Till next time, let your light shine!

Blessings, christen

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2 Book Review: The Shack

The Shack
William P. Young
272 pages
2007


Description:
Mackenzie Allen Philips' youngest daughter, Missy, has been abducted during a family vacation and evidence that she may have been brutally murdered is found in an abandoned shack deep in the Oregon wilderness. Four years later in the midst of his Great Sadness, Mack receives a suspicious note, apparently from God, inviting him back to that shack for a weekend.  Against his better judgment he arrives as the shack on a wintry afternoon and walk back into his darkest nightmare. What he finds there will change Mack's world forever.
In a world where religion seems to grow increasingly irrelevant The Shack wrestles with the timeless question, Where is God in a world so filled with unspeakable pain? The answers Mack gets will astound you and perhaps transform you as much as it did him. You'll want everyone you know to read this book.

Review:
If you haven't heard of The Shack, then you probably live in....well, a shack. The Shack came out in 2007 and hasn't really lost any of its momentum since.  Because of it not being "new" when I read it, I thought I new everything about this book already.  I had heard what takes place at the shack itself and some of the big ideas it presented.  Let me say to anyone who is in this camp - there is plenty of revelation to go around.  On the same note, I had a lot of expectations for this book as well as preconceived ideas of what this was about.  I will honestly tell you that this book did not disappoint.

The Shack will make you question fundamental principles in your beliefs only to bring you back to the original truth you knew all along - only now your belief is stronger than it was before.  As I said before, the book feels familiar.  Even if you know nothing about the book - one chapter in and you know exactly where its heading.  The strength of The Shack is how it responds to your expectations.  Some might say that it turns them upside down, but I think a more appropriately, it clarifies them.  I am not going to tell you that you should or will agree exactly with how everything plays out in The Shack, but it will make you question them none the less.  Questioning things in life is not evil or a lack of faith, it's actually critical to make sure we haven't stopped moving closer in our relationship to Christ.

The first third of the book plays out much like a crime drama.  They are there to help you understand exactly where the lead character is in life so that you can fully understand the significance of what is about to take place.  The last two thirds of the book is like one giant breath of fresh air.  Literally each page makes you feel as if you are learning what it means to have a relationship with Christ again.  The book feels as if it had a checklist of misunderstand things it needed to properly explain, and each word reveals a new mindset.  The amazing thing is that these revelations are not really new mindsets but new perspectives of established beliefs.

At one point in the book, Jesus describes "the church" to Mack.  He states, "It's simple, Mack.  It's all about relationships and simply sharing life.  What we are doing right now- just doing this - and being open and available to others around us.  My church is all about people and life is all about relationships.  You can't build it.  It's my job and I'm actually pretty good at it."  Those three sentences alone have blown away mine and Christen's prayers for what this blog could be!  And that's just the blog, now apply that to your whole life - you see what i mean.  Later, Jesus speaks of his presence and says, "You might see me in a piece of art, or music, or silence, or through people, or in Creation, or in your joy and sorrow.  My ability to communicate is limitless, living and transforming, and it will always be tuned to Papa's goodness and love.  And you will hear and see me in the Bible in fresh ways.  Just don't look for rules and principles; look for relationship - a way of coming to be with us."  Again, it's not that he is trying to drastically change what you have been taught, but to change the way you think about it.

Recommendation:
If you haven't noticed, I really loved this book.  If you haven't read this book, READ IT.  If you have read it, read it again - it won't hurt you - or pass along the book to someone else.  If this were a classroom, this would fall under the required reading list.  Even if none of this sounds appealing to you, read it because it's an extremely well told story.  Honestly, you could buy this book for a non believer and they wouldn't know till a third of they way through that it is not just a very well written mystery novel.  I actually dare someone to try that and just see what happens when they actually reach "The Shack".  In all seriousness, this book is excellent.  You will truly miss out on an opportunity to connect with Christ like you never have before.  Please, do it for yourself, read this book.

Post some feedback below or over in the community forums and let me know what you think about the book.  If you read it when it was fresh, let some of the newcomers now how amazing of and experience this book is.

-Raleigh

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0 Christen's Crafts: How To Make A Picture Memory Board

Happy Friday everyone!

After the nursery post, I have had several friends ask me how to make a picture board.  It is a very easy project that can be done in one afternoon.  Below are the steps and the items you need to make your very own memory board!  Enjoy!

What you need:
1 foam board (cut in half)
Quilters Fusible Batting
Fabric to cover board (1/2 yard should be plenty)
5 buttons
1 spool of ribbon
Scissors
Staple Gun
Needle & Thread
Hot Glue Gun
Iron and Ironing Board
Razor Blade Knife
Pencil

To begin this project,  lay your foam board on your work space and cut it in half with your razor blade knife.

Next, you will need to cover your board with your Quilter's Fusible Batting.

 As you can see below, I had enough batting material to cover the back of the board on all sides.  If you cut about two feet of batting that should give you enough to cover the back of the board.  Depending on the thickness of your batting, you might need to do a double layer to make the board thicker.  If you need to do this, just fold the batting over and then cut two feet so it will be thicker.

 Once your board is covered with batting, you staple the batting to the back of the board.  I started with my sides and then stapled the top and bottom.  Put one staple in each corner and then a couple in the middle to secure it to the board.  Make sure your staples are long enough to stay in the board. In order for your corners not to become too thick, cut out a square on your left and right side corners before you staple the top and bottom pieces  to your board (see picture below, bottom right corner).

After the batting is secured, now is the time to place the fabric on the board.  Make sure your fabric has been ironed so there are no creases on it before it is secured to the board.  Just like the batting, make sure you have enough fabric to secure it to the back.  My fabric length is longer than my batting to make it easier to staple it to the board.

After all sides of the fabric are stapled to the board, now is the time to secure the edges.  To do this, simply fold your edge over to make a triangle.  Using your hot glue gun, glue the triangle portion of your fabric to the straight edge of your fabric.  When you do this, you create a clean line that won't be seen from the front of your board.

The next step is to attach your ribbon to your board.  You will have six pieces of ribbon that will overlap to create a diamond look on the front of your board.  To begin, we will attach the corner pieces to the board.  Using your hot glue gun, glue an inch of the ribbon to the top left corner.  Once the glue has dried, pull that ribbon on the diagonal of the front of the board to the bottom right corner.  Pull the ribbon tight and make sure you have about an inch to secure to the back of the board before you cut.  After cutting this ribbon, secure the bottom right corner to the back of the board with your hot glue gun.  Repeat this process for the other diagonal piece.

After you have your corner pieces secured, now is the time to do the middle pieces.  It is important that everything is centered correctly so your ribbons are spaces evenly when finished.  Lay your ribbon horizontally so it is aligned with the center diagonal and make a mark with a pencil on your center sides.  Then, lay your ribbon vertically on the center and make a mark with a pencil on your top and bottom center.  After doing this, start with the left center and secure the ribbon to the back of your board with your hot glue gun.  Then, run the ribbon so it meets your top center and secure that to the board.  Do the same thing on the right side.  After your top ribbons are secured, repeat the process starting with the left middle meeting the bottom center.

The final step to finish your board is to add your buttons.  You will have five buttons to secure to each point where your ribbons cross over one another.  Thread your needle and loop it through the back of your button.  Then, over the center of your ribbon, stick your needle through your fabric so it comes out of the back of the board.  Once your needle has pierced the back of the board, stick it through again to the front and loop it through your button.  Do this about three times until it is tight and then tie your thread in a knot to keep it in place.  For added security, you can hot glue the back of your board where the thread is to make sure it stays in place. After you have completed this step, just add some fishing line or one of those grooved edge picture holders to the back of your board to hang it to the wall.

Voila!  You have just made your very own picture board!  What an easy way to showcase your favorite pictures!  If you make a board, send it to christen@theuncontainabletruth.com so we can add it to our site :)

Till next time, let your light shine!

Blessings, christen

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0 Sewing Wars

The other day, I was reading my friend Stephanie's blog and her post was about how much she loves to sew.  She is an excellent seamstress and I am very impressed with her work.  Recently, I was given a lovely sewing machine from my gracious in-laws and have been trying to learn how it works.  It is a Baby Lock Ellure and it has the capabilities to embroider, as well as, sewing. 

I got it right before the girls were born so I haven't had much time to really learn how the machine works.  Sewing is a hobby that I have wanted to pick up for years but I had no idea where to begin.  None of my immediate family members sew, which made me completely clueless on how the process works. So, the other night, I decided to be brave and try to monogram a onesie all on my own.  This is how it turned out.

Y'all, I tried for THREE hours to monogram these onesies and just failed miserably!  I couldn't get the material to stay inside of the hoop, then couldn't get the hoop to snap to my machine, and finally I jammed up the thread into a big ball.  I was ready to throw my machine out of the window by the time I was finished.  I just couldn't believe something that looked so simple could be so difficult!  It was so frustrating to me because usually I can pick up on crafty stuff.  Oh, no, not this time!  After throwing a temper tantrum, Raleigh looked at me point blank and said, "You need help."

So, I got help. While my parents were watching the girls last week, I went to a sewing class and an embroidery class.  Y'all, I feel like a new person!  Having a teacher explain how my machine works and the steps that it takes to make a garment made all the difference.  I think the biggest challenge for me with sewing is that I am not familiar with all of the steps.  It is a very methodical process yet there are so many variations of tools to choose from.  Take monogramming for example.  You know the rough stuff that is on the inside of your t-shirt that is attached to the monogram?  That is called a stabilizer and there are like a million different options.  Also, the vast amount of monograms to choose from can be rather overwhelming.  Do you buy a computer software program or just download them from the Internet?  Once they are downloaded, how do you get them to your machine?  Then, how do you center it on your machine?  Did you know that there is a completely different foot that is attached to your machine to monogram rather than sewing?  Who wudda thunk?  Not me, that's for sure.

So, after my lessons I worked hard this weekend and actually knew what to do.  I ENJOYED the process!  Never did I think that was going to happen!!!!!  The first thing I worked on were these monogrammed onesies.

I did Maralee's first and spaced the letters a little too far out.  Then, I did Adeline's and got them a hair too close.  But, for them being my first official project they turned out pretty well I thought.  The other project that I am working on are their christening gowns.  We are hoping to have them christened in October or November so I have about two months to work on them.  At first, this task seemed rather daunting, but I figured the best way to learn was to dive head first!  I think doing a difficult project will really teach me the proper steps on how to make a dress.  Also, I have an amazing teacher that tells me every stitch and cut to make before I actually do it.  You see, that has been my problem.  I have been scared to start any sewing project for fear of messing up the fabric.  Last year for Christmas, Raleigh let me pick out fabric to make custom valences in our living/dining room.  The fabric is STILL rolled up in the corner of my office waiting to get cut.  Maybe when I finish these dresses I will finally be brave enough to start that project!  In the meantime, the dress that I am making them is called a Babbett day gown.  So far, I have stitched together the sleeves and sides of the dresses. 

Friends, I really hope to master the art of sewing.  Having twin girls means twice the amount of dresses so if I learn how to do this I can save us some major bucks.  Plus, it is something special that I can do for them and one day they can give to their children if they want to.  One of my best friends growing up always had on smocked dresses and I was always so envious of her outfits.  Now, don't get me wrong, my momma always had me in cute clothes, but I wasn't in smocked dresses :) 

Do any of y'all sew or embroider?  What programs do you use?  Do you have any favorite websites to get appliques or fonts?  Do you have any easy pattern suggestions for making girls' clothes?  I am all ears!

Till next time, let your light shine!

Blessings, christen

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0 Movie Review: Eat, Pray, Love

Eat, Pray, Love the movie was a great adaptation of the book written by Elizabeth Gilbert.  It tells a story about a woman that leaves her New York City lifestyle to  travel around the globe to Italy, India, and Bali in search of everything.  Julia Roberts brings the character of Liz to life as we watch her transform from sad to happy by the end of the movie.  It is an intimate story of one woman's quest to find pleasure, peace, and love on a year of self discovery.

While the theater seats were occupied by majority females; I wouldn't necessarily describe this movie as a typical Julia Roberts film.  The beginning of the movie starts with Liz being very sad and confused about her life.  When she first arrives in Italy, she is majorly coping with a horrible breakup and her character is battling depression.  We see a lonely woman that finds comfort in food.  Soon, she meets new Italian friends and enjoys the essence of the city.  By the end of her stay in Italy, she starts to find healing and is ready for the next segment of her adventure.  Her stay in the Indian ashram is probably the most difficult portion of her journey for self-discovery because she has to spend a lot of time dealing with her mind.  The film did not go too deep into spirituality or her views on God but it did show the difficulty of clearing out space in one's mind to find peace.  The last leg of her journey was in Bali, and here Liz finds the balance between pleasure and peace.  By chance, she also discovers what it means to love again. 

I enjoyed this film but I didn't walk away in love with it.  I think the reason I wasn't in love with the movie is it was a rather sad film.  That doesn't make it bad, but right now I don't want to watch anything sad.  I want to be swept into a fantasy land of happiness when I go to the movies. It was a beautiful movie that was a cross between a Food Network and Travel Channel film.  I, like many others who saw it, want to travel more after seeing this movie.  Julia Roberts did a great job portraying her character and it was a great version of the book.  They used some of the exact lines from the book, which I thought was great.  All in all, it was a good movie that made the viewer ponder their own lives and that continual search for peace and happiness.

Till next time, let your light shine!

Blessings, christen

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3 Doing What's Best

Hebrews 10:23 says, "Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promises is faithful."  Last week, I had to be reminded of the truth in that statement.  On Friday, we took the girls for what we thought to be a quick weight check at the pediatrician's office but it turned into a two and half hour full check-up.  At our appointment, the twins received their four month old shots and we also had another lengthy discussion about their feeding schedule.  The discussion was needed because when the girls were weighed they had not gained as much weight as we had hoped for these past two weeks.  Both girls weigh 5.11 pounds and are around 19 inches long.  While this weight gain shows that they have been growing, it also shows that they aren't consuming enough calories.  We were hoping to be closer to the six pound marker so this news was a little disappointing.  After talking, we realized that our trial run of weening off the follow-up bottle was not working.  So, now our plan of action is to follow up three times a day with 1.5 ounces of formula to make sure that the girls are taking in enough calories to gain weight.

Miss Maralee was a sweet girl this week :)

Friends, I always get upset when we have to go back to formula.  It makes me feel like I'm not providing what they need when I am feeding them.  I know this is silly, but I always feel defensive and defeated when we have to supplement.  After our appointment, I was tired.  Tired of feeling like the girls are always three steps behind well-babies.  The reality is that the girls are still premature babies...they are healthy, but they are premature.  Part of me was kidding myself into thinking that they were just like any other baby when we brought them home but when I saw their weight on that scale, my heart sunk.  Our girls are four months old and new born babies still weigh more than them.  I know that their adjusted age is four weeks but that still means that the majority of newborns weigh more than they do right now! The truth in that statement is really tough for me.

Also, we were told that we should keep them away from the public for another month at least.  Since our six week marker is just around the corner, I was secretly hoping that we could finally start taking them around town.  I'll be honest, we haven't been to church since they have been home.  We were hoping we could return to church after Labor Day and sit in the back row with them but it looks like we are either going to have to alternate going or wait another month to go as a family.  Since we haven't been getting out much, I terribly miss hanging out with our friends.  We have a great little small group here in town and it has been so hard not being around them.  My number one priority is the girls right now so I just have to remind myself that this is a short season of their lives.  Soon, we will be able to go outside and be around people (as long as they don't have a cold!) but I am so ready for that day to come.

But, as Hebrews 10:23 says, I have to remember that God is faithful.  I have to continue to have hope that they are going to gain weight and be healthy babies.  I can't dwell in the negative or feel sorry for them or myself.  All I can do is feed them - breast milk and formula - to help them along the way.  I have to realize that there is no reason to feel defensive and I just have to do what is best for them.  Isn't that all we can do for our children?  This past Wednesday, my friend Katie came over with Ben and it was so good to talk to her since he was a NICU baby.  Since Ben is also a preemie, she automatically washes her hands and squirts antibacterial gel before she even touches the girls.  It makes me grin every time because she knows exactly what to do.  Ben was born in March and now weighs 12 pounds.  That gives me such hope for Adeline and Maralee!

Adeline with her buddy Ben

Thanks y'all for letting me get that out.  Writing is such a source of healing for me.   Both sets of grandparents were in town this weekend (my parents on Friday, Raleigh's on Saturday) so it was good to have them here to help us with the new feeding schedule.  When they spend the night, they take the 2 a.m. and 5 a.m. shifts for us.  Ironically, I am more tired after getting a full night sleep rather than a disrupted sleep.  I think my body realizes what it has been missing!  So, this morning, Adeline and I took a really long nap on the couch.  I love cuddling with my baby!  I am so thankful for our little girls and just have to remember that He ALWAYS provides!

 Adeline and Maralee are little  A-O - cutie Pi's!!!!

15 weeks 

Till next time, let your light shine!

Blessings, christen

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0 Romans Road

Good Morning Friends,

I hope everyone is having a nice morning so far.  Does anybody have some fun plans for this weekend?  We have grandparents coming into town to get some lovin' from the girls.  Just wanted to let y'all know that this post is a new type of post for me, and I am excited to share it.  I am participating in a Group Writing Project hosted by Faithful Bloggers and the topic is called Romans Road. Once everyone submits their post, the host is going to compile them all into an online book that we can share with all of you.  We were able to pick from a variety of versus in Romans and I chose Romans 8:38-39.  Enjoy!

In this life, we will all face different forces to be reckoned with.  Those forces take shape in a variety of forms such as daily trials, disease, and death.  When we are in these circumstances we ask why God is allowing these things to happen to us.  We can't wrap our heads around why bad things happen to good people.  Often, instead of drawing closer to God we drift farther away because we are angry, sad, and confused about our present suffering. In Romans 8:38-39 the apostle Paul states, "For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."  Paul is telling us that suffering does not separate believers from Christ but it actually is meant for us to draw closer to His love.

Recently, I experienced first hand the power of God's love. My husband and I were expecting identical twin girls and were absolutely thrilled.  As we happily attended baby showers, bought new clothes, and decorated the nursery we were filled each day with bliss.  Every doctor appointment showed that the girls were growing and were developing on schedule.  Around 27 weeks, I woke up with a sharp pain in my stomach.  As the morning continued, the pain became more persistent so my husband rushed me to the hospital.  Within minutes we discovered that I was fully dilated and I would have to undergo an emergency C-section.  Throughout the surgery I was so scared and fearful for my babies.  The girls were born weighing two pounds and were rushed to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).  Later that day, we learned that both girls had to rely on a ventilator for their breathing and they were in a very critical state.  Our physician told us that we faced a long road ahead of us that would be filled with many ups and downs. As time continued, the girls battled several infections that made me fear for their lives. Watching my little girls fight death, I felt hopeless and became very fearful for their lives. Over the course of our 81 days in the NICU, Satan used my fear of them dying to manipulate my mind.

In Romans 8:38, one of the first items that Paul states is that death shall not be able to separate us from the love of God.  Instead of distancing ourselves from God's love when we are suffering, we should desperately cling to Him.  When He is holding us in His arms, the power of the Holy Spirit gives us strength to fight death or any other trial that we are presently facing.  This verse states that 'nor height, nor depth' shall separate us from the love of God.  This shows that it is impossible for us to get beyond God's loving reach.  His arms will always hold us tightly if we choose Him instead of asking why we are suffering.  Bad things happen to good people so those believers in Christ can use their experience to glorify the name of God.  When we turn to Christ in our darkest hours, the veil is removed from our eyes and we witness his uncontainable love for us. Psalm 18:22 beautifully says, "But the LORD watches over those who fear him, those who rely on his unfailing love.  He rescues them from death and keeps them alive in times of famine.  We put our hope in the LORD.  He is our help and our shield.  In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name.  Let your unfailing love surround us, LORD, for our hope is in you alone."

Friends, seek refuge in Christ during your times of suffering.  His love for us is greater than anything else in this world because He gave us the ultimate sacrifice of Christ Jesus dying on the cross for our sins.  God is love and we were created by Him to love Him.  When we give ourselves to Christ, we know that His love will get us through anything that we face in this life.

Prayer: God, please take away my fear of death.  Please hold me in your arms so I can feel your love.  I pray for the Holy Spirit to come inside of me and give me strength to fight this battle.  Thank you for sacrificing your son for my sins.  Thank you for being my help and my shield.  I am putting my hope in you alone.  In Jesus' name, Amen.

Till next time, let your light shine!

Blessings, christen

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0 Do Good: Take Them A Meal

For this month's Do-Gooder, we wanted to focus on a business that has recently helped us out tremendously.  Since the birth of our premature twin girls, our friends have been bringing us home-cooked meals so we wouldn't have to fool with making dinner in between visiting them at the hospital and caring for them since they have come home.  These meals have been a tremendous gift to us because we have been able to spend more time with our girls.  Our friends used a website called, TakeThemAMeal.com, to coordinate the meal schedule.  TakeThemAMeal is a free on-line tool designed to coordinate the delivery of meals to someone who is in need.  Setting up this schedule is fast and very user friendly.  The Meal Coordinator just goes on the website and creates a schedule for the meal recipient.  The schedule is visible for anybody to sign up for a day and the recipient receives an e-mail stating who is bringing the meal that day and what they are bringing.  The website offers scheduling tips, recipes, delivering advice, and much more!  We contacted TakeThemAMeal founders, Scott Rogers and Adina Bailey, and asked them some questions about how this online tool has impacted their lives and many, many others.  Because of their simple need for a tool like this, they have changed the world of delivering meals to people in need.


After you first designed your site, how quickly did the word spread about this new tool?

Our intention was to help one friend during a difficult time and we really didn't think about word spreading.  When word spread within our church about the site, someone from church asked if they could use it for another friend at our church who was diagnosed with breast cancer and would need meals for a while.  From there, we discovered that a few meals schedules were set up in Florida, and then the southeast, and now the entire United States and a few other countries like Australia and Japan.


Tell us about the success of Take Them A Meal.

We define success for TakeThemAMeal.com in how many times people have helped one another through meals.  The site has existed for 2 1/2 years and more than 150,000 meals have been prepared to help friends or family members in need. 


How has working at Take Them A Meal impacted your spirit of giving to others?

One of the reasons I called Scott Rogers initially to see if he would help me put meal scheduling online is I knew he and his wife are very caring and they would understand my friend's need for meals.  Not only is Scott a great programmer, but he serves our community in many volunteer capacities.  As we have spent more time interacting with people who are using the site, we continue to be inspired by the way people care for one another.  In joy and sadness, friends and families are quick to come together to meet a need.  It is beautiful to get to see that happen each day.  Recently, a father of a school age child was killed in a tragic accident.  Within several hours, the whole school community came together to see that the affected family had meals for several months.  It's inspiring to see that people choose to care instead of running away from a difficult situation.  It challenges us to do the same.


 Has a particular story of a family who benefited from Take Them A Meal touched your life? 

 There are so many stories, but here's one.  About a year ago, a young boy in our local community was involved in a terrible incident outside his home where his body was crushed under a heavy object that accidentally fell on him.  Word spread throughout our community and his school community and many people were grieving for this family.  It was uncertain as to whether to boy would live and if he did, would he walk again?  A meal schedule was set up to help his aunt while she was caring for his siblings at home.  His parents spent several weeks with him at the hospital.  So many people were praying for this precious boy and months of meals filled up over night.  Over time, the young boy began to improve and was even able to come home.  In time, he began walking and was able to return to school.  I knew of the wonderful outcome, but my heart swelled last week when I saw this young boy for the first time.  He walking through the store with his mom and they were headed to get school supplies.


The Bible teaches us to do unto others what you would have them do to you.  This website is a great example of how we can serve others through our actions.  What comments do you have about how this site can help others in their time of need?  
The web site is a great way to organize people who want to all care for or celebrate with a person or family.  So often, we are faced with situations we have been through ourselves and we know the relevant needs.  Having a newborn in the house or coming home after a surgery is difficult.  We know that a friend providing a meal at that time really helped us.  When we hear of a similar circumstance, we want to help out with a few meals.  The website is a great way to let others know of the need.  Unfortunately, we also hear of situations we have not been through, but we can only imagine how difficult they must be.  We want to help in some way and while we can't take away the pain, we can show love in a tangible way and that's through food.  Well planned out meals that are spaced out over time can really be a huge encouragement to a friend or family that is facing a difficult circumstance.


What suggestions do you have for people that want to start their own online business to serve others?  

We never started out thinking "How can we make a web site that lots of other people will use to help their friends?"  We had a specific need and we created a solution to our need.  Telephone calls and using e-mail replies were going to take too much time when coordinating a meal schedule for many months.  We really wanted to help our friend, so we came up with a way people could sign-up online.  It's been incredible to see that many others were facing our same challenge and now our site offered an easy solution.    Our recommendation for starting an online business to serve others is to think about something that you love or already do to serve others.  Is there a way to make that service of others take place more easily or conveniently online?


What is your favorite thing about working for Take Them A Meal?
  
We love getting to see first hand how people care for one another in good times and bad.

 
Till next time, let your light shine!

Blessings, christen

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0 Who are the Do-Gooders?

Hello friends,

I am so excited to introduce a new monthly article that we will post entitled, "The Do-Gooder."  Who are the Do-Gooders you might ask?  These are individuals or businesses that are serving our world by doing good.  They are people that shine their light and listen to God's calling to do good in this world.  In the book of Matthew; Jesus teaches us why it is important for us to do good. He says, "The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him" (Matthew 12:35). This world is full of good people that are trying their best to serve others through the good they have inside of them.  I think it is so important for us to support each other in our efforts to do good because we are creating a community of Do-Gooders. We hope you enjoy these monthly articles and in the meantime try to "do to others what you would have them do to you" (Matthew 7:12).

If you know someone that is doing good, please share their story by e-mailing christen@theuncontainabletruth.com. 

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0 Music Review: Tenth Avenue North - The Light Meets The Dark

Description:

The Light Meets the Dark is the second major label studio album from Christian pop rock Tenth Avenue North. It was released on May 11, 2010 by Reunion Records. Vocalist Mike Donehey said, "On this record I really tried to be honest about how messed up I am. We wanted it to be a collision between our hearts and God's truth. His grace collides with the dark inside of us. His blood can cover us and I'm trying to call people out and say 'Look, please do not hide your darkness. Expose that to the light.' I know that's the scariest thought, but its where freedom and healing starts to take place. It's where it all starts to happen." 

Review:

After their first album Over and Under was quite a success, there was a good bit of hype for Tenth Avenue North's second album.  The Light Meets the Dark is an amazing album that speaks of the imperfections in each of us.  The lyrics are extremely well written and the whole album seems to be be a journey of missteps that are covered by God's grace.

1. Healing Begins is the feature track on this album.  It's the one that you have most likely heard on the radio.  Healing Begins kicks off the set with a sweet melody that quickly sets the tone for the rest of the album.

"This is where the healing begins, where the light meets the dark"

4 Stars

Listen

2. Strong Enough To Save plays directly off the opening track but steps up the tempo to create an anthem for God's amazing power.

4 Stars

Listen

3. You Are More is a very catchy melody that speaks about forgiveness/God's grace and sacrifice for us

“This is not about what you’ve done but whats been done for you” 

4 Stars

Listen

4. The Truth Is Who You Are is full of energy as the album builds to a climax

“You came to break the chains apart, to wake the dead and sleeping of our hearts”

4.5 Stars

Listen

5. All The Pretty Things is the peak of the album.  This track has more pep and spirit than all the others

“Lord I love so many things that keep me from your face, come and save me”

4 Stars

Listen

6. Any Other Way 

“Its not enough just to say that your okay, I need your hurt, I need your pain, its not love any other way”

3.5 Stars 

7. On And On

3 Stars 

8. Hearts Safe

2.5 Stars

9. House Of Mirrors

“but a house of mirrors never helps you see any clearer, its yourself you cant see past” 

3 Stars

10. Empty My Hands 

“empty my hands, fill up my heart, capture my mind with you”

2.5 Stars 

11. Oh My Dear

“until the tears have left your eyes, until our fears can sleep at night”

3 Stars

Recommendation:

Tenth Avenue North is what I would consider pretty mainstream.  They are very accessible and are extremely popular with those of you who aren't only looking for "christian music."  The Light Meets The Dark is an album wonderfully woven with moving melodies and lyrics that will speak to the heart of all who have fallen short at some point in their life.  The entire album is a nice purchase, but it does hit a peak at Track 5, so if you can't afford the whole thing you should definitely pick up Tracks 1-5 because they won't disappoint at all.

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3 Feeding Time

I'm going to have to type fast today because the girls just can't get settled.  We are on a slightly new feeding schedule and it has been tough on us getting used to it.  Until recently, the girls have been receiving a follow-up bottle after I have finished nursing to make sure that they were getting enough milk.  Doing this extra bottle adds an additional 15 minutes to our total feeding time so it took us around an hour  to do one feed.  In order for us to wean this extra bottle, our pediatrician recommended us slowly going down on the amount and then stop it altogether.  He said that when we did this the girls would probably be a little fussy and would have to feed every 2-2 1/2 hours and boy, has he been right!  The girls were fussy this whole weekend and they just don't seem full.  I know they are getting plenty of milk but I feel like I am constantly feeding them and they still don't seem satisfied.  Also, they seem to not want to take naps in between feeds as often as they did before.   I'm not sure if this is just a growth spurt or if I am doing something wrong.  If y'all have any suggestions, I am all ears!

Not a happy Maralee!

Since we had fussy babies this weekend, Raleigh and I tried to give them some activity on Saturday.  One of the hardest things for me right now is not being able to take the girls outside during the day because it has been so hot.  Of course, we still aren't going in public, but I would really love to be able to sit with them outside in the sunshine every now and then.  Well, Saturday turned out to be overcast and windy so we took the pups and the girls to a park near our house.  The dogs had a field day and the girls were so peaceful.  We had the best time doing this little family outing.  One of the things that we love about our neighborhood is the variety of parks that we can visit.  The one we went to on Saturday is just a big open field so we let the dogs run loose.  Obi runs like a thoroughbred and Lu Lu loves to trot along sniffing at the trees and bushes.  We took a tennis ball but Obi could have cared less.  After the dogs got their energy out, we went for a quick walk around the neighborhood.  It was the perfect amount of time for us to get out in the fresh air without getting too hot or sweaty.

 Adeline, Maralee, & Mommy

Maralee enjoying our stroller ride

On Sunday, my brother and his girlfriend came to town to visit the girls.

We had a great time catching up with them.  My brother loves being an uncle.  It is sweet to watch him hold the girls.  It is also funny when he hands them back to me when they get fussy!  I think another reason both girls were fussy this weekend is that they had not gone to the bathroom in a couple of days.  Well, Adeline decided to give my brother's girlfriend a warm welcome....

It was too funny.  I hated that she went on my brother's girlfriend but I was also relieved that she finally did her business!  She was great the rest of the day and has also been pretty quite today as well.

Friends, I'm not complaining in the slightest, it is just hard work some days taking care of two babies!  The hardest thing is trying to please them yet not going completely off schedule.  I do better with schedules and it keeps things consistent.  I talked to my mom and she said that they are probably hungrier because they are growing.  On a side note, we went to the eye doctor again last week.  He said that their eyes were still on track but we aren't completely in the clear yet.  We will visit him again in two weeks and after that we will see a pediatric optometrist.  He said that they could become near-sighted and need glasses so that is why we have to visit another eye doctor.  Since I have been in high school, I have had to wear glasses when I don't have my contacts in.  Contacts and glasses are such a pain so I am really hoping that they won't have to wear them.  I guess we will see....

Also, a final bit of randomness.  I broke down and cut the girls fingernails this past week.  Their nails are so fragile and I haven't had to cut them but they were getting long and yucky.  Of course, the girls cried the whole time making me feel like a bad guy and I accidentally clipped one of Maralee's fingers making her bleed.  Poor thing puckered up her bottom lip and gave the biggest yell making me feel so sorry for her!  Besides clipping nails, we also had to get out some toe jam.  Yum-o.  Those girls had their toes together as tight as Fort Knox making it nearly impossible to clean them.  We ended up taking a baby wipe and putting it in between their toes like floss to clean them.  Oh, the things we do to keep our babies clean and shiny!!!!

A peaceful Adeline after bath time with Daddy

Till next time, let your light shine!

Blessings, christen

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