Many think it is just an old wives tale but I am convinced.  The speed of a baby’s heartbeat can tell you the sex of your baby.  It has worked for me every single time.  In fact, one time we were told by our doctor that we were having a boy via ultrasound.  In my 8th month he told me the heart rate and I said, “I can’t be having a boy!”  We discussed this and I swore to him it was not a boy and I would bet money on it.  He even took me into the ultrasound room to prove me wrong.  Then to his surprise said, “Yep, that is definitely a girl!”

The heart rate has never been wrong for us.  The faster the rate a girl, the slower, a boy.  Now of course you have to check each month and find the most consistent rate.  The heart rate also tends to slow down a bit the further along you are.

I am not completely sure as of yet but I thought I would put the info out there and get your thoughts on it.   I have a suspicion though. I just am not convinced enough to say it out loud.  I have an ultrasound scheduled in four weeks.  We shall see if my suspicion is confirmed or not.

Ok, on to the stats…..

My girls have always been 145-160.   My boys 120-130.  Last month I was at about 150-155 (do not remember exactly).

I am at 16 1/2 weeks currently.  Heart rate today was 140.

So, here are my questions to you…

1. Do YOU trust the whole heart rate thing or still think it is just an old wives tale?

2. Do you think it is too early to make an assumption based on heart rate?

3. Boy or girl?  What do you think?

Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another. Proverbs 27:17

Like most I follow a lot of people on twitter. Some of those people challenge me every single day! I am thankful for those people whose words give me need to pause and evaluate my life. There are days when I am encouraged and days I am led to repent but almost everyday there are tweets to ponder and reflect upon. I thought I would share some of those today. Please leave me a note letting me know if any in particular touch your heart.

@PuritanReformer “We must remember that Satan has his miracles, too.” ~ John Calvin

@PastorTullian A genuinely humble man is not someone who always talks about how small he is; a genuinely humble man doesn’t talk about himself at all.

@PastorTullian Legalism puffs us up by tempting us to believe that we can do it. It provides us w/ a way 2 avoid acknowledging r deficiencies & inabilities

@PastorTullian The greatest threat to the gospel doesn’t come from outside the church; it comes from inside the church. The greatest threat is moralism!

@PastorTullian Isn’t it ironic that while God’s treatment of us depends on Christ’s performance, our treatment of others depends on their performance?

@ReformedGlory If a commission by an earthly king is considered honour, how can a commission by a Heavenly King be considered sacrifice? David Livingstone

@ReformedGlory: “You can only learn what obedience is by obeying ” Dietrich Bonhoeffer

@PastorTullian: The answer 2legalism isn’t lawlessnss but the answer 2lawlessness isn’t legalism either.The Gospel is the corrective 2both!

@PastorTullian: The difference between complaining and lamenting is this: complaining is a cry against God; lamenting is a cry for God.

SSmith:The gospel is a great song. It has a lyric 2 be known (theology), a music 2 be loved (doxology) & a dance to be learned (mission)

@douglaswils: The devil loves to marinate his lies in the truth for a while, to give them the right flavor.

Hubby and I are again faced with some major life decisions.  It is not the first time we have had to consider this particular decision and it is something we most likely will have to face again in the not so distant future.  One thing that we struggle with is the advice and viewpoint of others (either spoken or generally implied).  Have you ever noticed that when facing big decisions Christians tend to push you toward taking the most difficult path before you?

Sometimes we are called out of our comfort zone and to trust the Lord blindly.  He does do that.  Sometimes we are called to leave all security and comfort and to go to a place that is not clear to us. I do struggle with the idea though that taking the hidden or not so clear path seems to be a measure of one’s faith.  The idea that the bigger the leap the bigger the faith one possesses is not necessarily accurate.  I sometimes think that this dismisses the easier road.

Yes, one should never take the easier road just because it is easier.  But taking the easier road does not necessarily mean that one has less faith, which is often implied.  Sometimes taking the bigger leap just to prove one has a strong faith is not the right thing to do.  Take time to consider one’s motivation.

Sometimes taking the easier road is the right decision.  We should never dismiss the provision of God along the easier path.  It is not always about greed or comfort, sometimes it is about resting in what the Lord has already provided.  I think too that sometimes it takes more faith to take the easier road knowing that other Christians will consider you to be one of little faith.

Have you ever come across this way of thinking?  Do you believe that the bigger the leap proves a bigger faith?  Do you think that taking the easier path can still display great faith?  What are your thoughts?  As one considers this, how do you think advising others might change?  Please, share your thoughts.

Hubby and I had a good conversation on Skype the other day.  He was reading to me a quote out of a book he is reading by John Flavel.  I cannot remember exactly what it was on at the moment.  Our discussion centered around how true the statement was.  Then he reminded me of a quote I shared with him a few days prior.  We discussed things further.  Many of the the quotes we come across and discussions we have with other Christians have often baffled us.  We will discuss certain topics, scriptures, and things written by some of the great theologians.  One individual would say that they agree with what we have said then go on and say something that totally contradicts the entire point of what they just agreed to. They do not even seem to realize that they have done so.

We have been told by others before that they believe the same as we do but that we are just more extreme.

Hmmmmm…..

I have often pondered this.  My response is that we are not more extreme but that the individual really does not believe the same as we do.  They just do not realize it.

They are actually putting belief systems on a sliding scale.  They are saying we believe the same but to a differing degree.  I see it more as you either believe it or you don’t.  You cannot have it both ways.

Has that ever happened to you?  How do you handle it? I guess you must simply pray that the Lord would open their eyes. I do not need people to agree with me.  You can disagree.  I am okay with that.  I just think that one should say they disagree rather than to say they agree and by their comments and actions prove otherwise.

It just baffles me……what about you?

Here is a great quote hubby shared with me the other day from a book he is currently reading. I wanted to share it with you.

“Whereas the expression (“keep thy heart”) seems to put it upon us as our work, yet it does not imply a sufficiency or ability in us to do it. We are as able to stop the sun in its course or make the rivers run backward as by our own skill and power to rule and order our hearts. We may as well be our own saviors as our own keepers. Yet Solomon speaks properly enough when he says, “keep thy heart,” because the duty is ours though the power is God’s. A natural man has no power. A gracious man has some, though not sufficient, and that power he has depends upon the exciting and assisting strength of Christ.” John Flavel, Keeping the Heart, 1667.

“It is now almost universally supposed that saving faith is nothing more than an act of the human will, which any man is capable of performing: all that is needed is to bring before a sinner a few verses of Scripture which describe his lost condition, one or two which contain the word “believe,” and then a little persuasion, for him to “accept Christ,” and the thing is done. And the awful thing is that so very, very few see anything wrong with this—blind to the fact that such a process is only the Devil’s drug to lull thousands into a false peace.” —A. W. Pink (1886–1952)

I thought I would try something new today. Since I cannot think of anything to really blog about. Well, I do have a few ideas but not enough time today to put them together. I thought I would share with you some of my favorite Twitter quotes today. Twitter is a bit crazy with so much to keep up with but at least it is only snippets of information. I follow a lot of great people that challenge me to continue to strive to bring God glory. I thought I would share some of their quotes with you today. If you follow me on Twitter you probably have seen these RTs but they are good ones to ponder on again. Please leave me a comment and let me know what you think of them, which is your favorite, or if you find one particularly challenging.

Enjoy…..

• RT @ReformedGlory: Christ did not die for any upon condition, if they do believe; but He died for all God’s elect that they should believe.  JOHN OWENRT
• @burk_parsons:Toward a genuine life-Let’s be more concerned to preach what we practice than always attempting to practice what we preach.
• RT @DonWhitney: Things I wish I’d said: “With many things in life, we will suffer the pain of self-discipline or the pain of regret.”
• RT @Quiet_Daisy Thy mercies have brought me to the dawn of another day. Vain will be its gift unless I grow in grace increase in knowledge(VofV)
• RT @voiceofthesheep Why is that those who go early & rush for best seats at a show, or buy best seats for a game, pick worst seats at church?
• RT @Tabletalk_Mag: After you tried the higher life, deeper life, and your best life now, go to the all-encompassing Gospel for all of life.
• RT @MonergismBooks: “To will is of nature, but to will aright is of grace.” – AugustineRT
• @Burk_Parsons Christianity isn’t just a relationship, it’s a religion that encompasses all of life existing in God’s relationship with us
• RT @MonergismBooks: “Morality may hide corruption, but faith only purifies the heart from it.”- John Flavel

A people who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted because their countercultural lifestyles stick out like a sore thumb. When family patterns are reformed, it is so public that everyone notices. Family, friend, co-worker and church member are easily offended by family reforms. – Scott Brown

I have read a few blogs lately that have been discussing legalism.  They were actually good posts  for a change!  Legalism is one of those topics that I hate to even mention because it tends to bring out the nastiness in people.

I have found that it is often a word used to try and discredit another and their views or actions if one does not agree with them.

One may see the actions of another and deem them as being legalistic without taking the time to understand why one is doing what they are doing or truly knowing the individual’s heart in the matter.  That is the difference between us earthly, sinful creatures and the Holy Lord.

1 Samuel 16:7b “For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”

It is so easy for us to look at others and think that if so and so does this or that they are sinning based on our own sinful past and struggles. Here is an excerpt from Your Sacred Calling on the subject.

Entire blogs are set up “warning” other Christians how they may spot legalistic churches or groups, or even how to judge whether or not a friend is a legalist. Most of their warnings aren’t based on Scripture or reason; most of their complaints are based upon their personal testimonies or experiences from when they, themselves, were legalists.

To me, that’s the most disturbing part. Since when are we called to superimpose our own past sins or judgmental attitudes on others? If you were a legalist at some point in your life, and thought that anyone who (insert extra-biblical teaching here) was sinning, then own your own sin; but, don’t get it in your head that all your brothers and sisters in Christ who seem to “look like you did” on the outside have the same sinful mindset on the inside!

Here are just a few examples I have personally experienced.

• One should never use a prayer book because it is rote and not personal communication.
• One should not read, quote, or adhere to confessions because they are works of men.

It can seem as if those who are continually calling for the life of grace in opposition to the life of what they perceive to be legalism is a bit like the pot calling the kettle black.  For one to automatically reject anything that they think might even hint at looking legalistic as being without any merit or good without consideration, is a legalism of its own.

Zealously holding to and sharing one’s convictions also can lead to opposition.  Here are comments I have heard when asked to share a conviction in which someone else may disagree.

• One can only be zealous about their convictions if they do not offend me or they will at least acknowledge that my point of view is just as true.
• If one is too zealous about something I do not agree with then they are just pushing their views upon me.

My response is:

I am called to be zealous for the Lord and the things he has taught me through his Word and Spirit.  I am not called to validate what another believes on the matter.  Just because I do not validate and deem as just as true as my beliefs does not mean that I am pushing my beliefs upon another.  I can validate that one does believe differently and I can come to understand their beliefs and still see them as inconsistent with scripture.

I am willing to listen to differing opinions on things, to hear one out, and to seek the Lord on a matter. But if I do not come to the same conviction as you does not mean that I am hard-headed, legalistic, self-righteous, or prideful.  It simply means that your words have not come in agreement with what the Spirit and the Word have taught me thus far in my journey with the Lord.

Here is an excerpt from Like a Warm Cup of Coffee:

You are *not* a legalist if by faith and love for the Lord you obey His law – people will tell you you are, but you are not.
You are a legalist if you keep God’s law in order to gain or keep your salvation.

You are *not* a legalist if you believe professing Christians should obey the Lord, with love & humilty.
You are a legalist if you believe that your obedience makes you more acceptable to God than others who are not on your level.

You are *not* a legalist if you have high standards, or if you are more precise in your understanding of obedience.
You are a legalist if you think your higher standards make you more righteous.

You are *not* a legalist ifyou exhort others to obey God’s word.
You are a legalist if you bind men’s consciences to man’s tradition.

Another problem in this area is where people draw the line on what is called “personal conviction”.  Today in the church is the thinking that what is right for one may not be right for another and we should just let each live as God calls accordingly.  I agree to a point.  However, there are some things that scripture does clearly teach.  Many disagree on to what degree or how explicit things need to be taught before they are deemed important enough to really take a stand on.  What one person sees as a non-essential another may see as being something that is very clearly taught in scripture.

We must always keep in mind that spiritual maturity or lack there of plays a large role in these matters.   Not to hold ourselves up or to diminish another but we need to be cognizant of that fact.  If we are aware and considerate of this truth then we can be evaluating our own hearts and move forward in an understanding and gracious manner(not necessitating an all encompassing acceptance).  As Christians we are all traveling that narrow road which leads to Christlikeness.  There is freedom along this path but the path is still the narrow way.  We are all in different places and at different maturity levels along this journey.  This is something to keep in mind.

Most often in discussions of legalism there are two sides.  Those sides are the one who is perceived to be bound by legalism and the grace talker.  The sad thing is that the grace talker is usually so busy trying to point out the other’s legalistic bondage that they do not realize they are bound as well and they forget to exercise the grace that they are proclaiming.  They want grace extended to them in the manner of validating their beliefs (which are possibly less restrictive) and coming to agreement with them without extending that same grace to that one who does not, cannot and/or will not validate.

Those of us who are true believers in Christ who pursue holiness and godliness we will at one time or another suffer persecution for our faith.   The ways of God are not the ways of this world and because of that conflict will arise.  Unfortunately, sometimes the persecution even comes from others within the church.  There are even those who see the amount of persecution they endure to be a mark or measuring stick of their holiness.  This lends itself to an attitude that focuses on self rather than the Lord.  Those people not only welcome persecution but sometimes even are the instigators.  Have you ever heard of being your own worse enemy??

Here is my pondering thought for you today.

There is true persecution and suffering but………

Consider this, sometimes it isn’t persecution you are suffering but the result of strife you may be sowing. It takes a very humble heart to be open to the Spirit, to recognize this, repent, and realign our focus on the Lord.  He is our standard and not our perceived level of persecution.

Your thoughts?