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.

I pose a question for you to ponder…….and chuckle at a bit…..

Suppose you were at a party where everyone was drinking.(yes, I know, you would never be there)  They ran out of beer and asked you to go and get some more.  As a Christian (question posed to my hubby “as a pastor”) would you do so?

Before answering, consider John chapter 2 verses 1-12….

Image by hlkljgk via Flickr

Hmmmmm, Jesus’ first miracle, turning water to wine in the middle of a party…..

“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)

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

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?

A quote to ponder today………..

“The design of every false scheme and system of religion is to depict the character of God in such a way that it is agreeable to the tastes of the carnal heart, acceptable to depraved human nature. And that can only be done by a species of misrepresentation: the ignoring of those of His prerogatives and perfections which are objectionable, and the disproportionate emphasizing of those of His attributes which appeal to their selfishness—such as His love, mercy, and long-sufferance. But let the character of God be faithfully presented as it is actually portrayed in the Scriptures—in the Old Testament as well as the New—and nine out of every ten of church-goers will frankly state that they find it impossible to love Him.” The plain fact is, dear reader, that to the present generation the Most High of Holy Writ is “the unknown God.” —A. W. Pink (1886–1952)