Now that the baby is out of the bag we finally get to include everyone in all of this craziness that is pregnancy!  No, ladies, I am not claiming that I have a clue what being pregnant is like, but I can tell that it is definitely crazy.

On July 6 at 6:49 AM I was informed that we had a little one growing and that I should plan on cleaning the house for the visit that the stork would be paying us in early spring of ’10.  (Is that just 10?  010 just doesn’t seem to work.  Is it then 2010?  That will get pretty wordy for the next decade.)  As you all know, we are very excited, but that’s enough of the pregnancy test story.  I wanna skip ahead to that night.  For some reason I (or God) decided it was time to open up my paper Bible (which has been sidelined for quite some time with the entrance of YouVersion on the computer and iPhone) and read where I had left off last time.  I really think this was all God because I hadn’t done that in a really long time and just felt like it was a good night to read from the paper Bible instead of the iPhone.  Well, God gave me this Scripture to read.

Don’t you see that children are God’s best gift? The fruit of the womb his generous legacy? Like a warrior’s fistful of arrows are the children of a vigorous youth. Oh, how blessed are you parents, with your quivers full of children! Your enemies don’t stand a chance against you; you’ll sweep them right off your doorstep.

~ Psalm 127:3-5

I love it.  To me it is God’s confirmation.  This is a gift.  This child growing (that at the moment is a little bigger than a lime) is a little birthday present from heaven.  It’s pretty easy to get caught up in the midst of pregnancy and completely forget or ignore the fact that He alone gives breath.  We didn’t create this baby (well, in that way…yes we did).  We are not the ones forming it.  God is doing all that.  He is building this gift.  I’m not questioning timing.  I’m not questioning if I’m ready.  I’m not saying I know what I’m doing, but I do know that this little citrus sized being is a gift.  Now we just have to raise it well and pray that it really does become a weapon for God.

(I think I like that.  Maybe the kid needs a weapon for a name.  Shotgun.  Dagger.  Nun-chuck.  Missle.  Silencer.  Yeah.  That would be a manly gift from God!  Of course if it is a girl, it would be like Butterfly Knife or Throwing Stars.  Oh!  And if there were twins they could be Bo and Arrow!  Wow that would be awesome.)

So I was reading the Bible last night using my handy YouVersion app on my iPhone.  It’s good stuff.  If you have an iPhone and you don’t have this app, you should definitely get it!  Amazing.  Anyway, I was reading the daily segment that they have for the yearly Bible in the Message and saw something that I have seen before, but continues to hit me every time I see it.  Throughout the Old Testament, the Message translates God of hosts as God-of-the-angel-armies.  Wow.  That’s pretty powerful.  I mean really huge!

How often do we forget that?  How often do we treat our relationship with God as just god, the man upstairs, etc.  Now don’t get me wrong.  He absolutely is a close and personal God, too, but it seems like we forget sometimes that awesomeness that is God.  He spoke everything into existence.  Spoke it!  Not only can He just speak things into being, He is in charge of all of it!  That is pretty all-encompassing.  Kinda hard to get out of that.

He is in control.  No matter what is going on in your life, He is in control.  If you just won the lottery, met the woman of your dreams or just saw your perfect, healthy, new baby be born, He is in control.  If you just lost a family member, lost your job or you world is just in general falling apart, He is in control.  Rest in that.  There is absolutely NOTHING that escapes Him.  Nothing.  Trust in Him.  He will take care of you.  Remember that He is not only the personal and intimate God, but He is the God-of-the-angel-armies!

Hard times are bound to happen.  That’s life.  Unfortunately life isn’t perfect all the time.  Difficult seasons will come.  It doesn’t matter what that season is.  He is and always will be there for you.  Deaths, layoffs, wrecks, bankruptcies, questions, sicknesses, all of it.  The season won’t last forever.  When it does change, don’t forget that He is what got you through it all.  After all, He is God-of-the-angel-armies.  That’s pretty powerful!