Advice?

what would you advise a new mom as THE essentials for preparing for a new baby?

How Long O Lord?

How long O Lord? Will I treasure the things of earth more than You? You have commanded that we, as Your children, set our hearts on things above. Even when I think I’m doing well, You show me that I still need pruning.

Today I gave away something that was precious to me…Muriel’s Bible. Muriel was my next door neighbor when I was growing up. She was like a grandma to me. We were pretty close. She died my senior year of high school after battling brain cancer. She was really the first person to die that I was close to. I grieved hard, but now it’s been 7 years and the Lord healed me of that grief. Today, I was able to give her Bible to a friend of mine who needed a new Bible. I was honored to share such a precious treasure with her.

But tonight, I lost the only other thing of Muriel’s that I had. As Ryan was doing the dishes, he bumped her teapot off the counter and it broke in pieces. As he told me, I burst into tears. I didn’t know I was that attached to it, but I think it was even harder since I had just TODAY given away her Bible. What timing you have God! You knew this would happen.

I am saddened, maybe even a little angry, at the state of my heart, that I would grieve so much over a teapot. But I think I’m not grieving for the teapot. I’m grieving once again for my good friend Muriel. This just brought back the memory of her.

My heart is sad, but I am glad that my Father cares more about the character in my heart than my feelings. I am glad He pinpointed my misdirected treasure. Jesus said: "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Luke 12.34

Election Day

I'm taking a vote since it's election day here in Michigan :)
Which pregnancy ticker do you like the best?

OR

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from the Tausch's!  We had a wonderful day both worshipping our King and witnessing of His Love come down.  In the morning we were able to take our Christmas walk, spending time singing and pr..ing.  We also spent quite a bit of time doing some of our Advent reading through the book of Matthew.  In the evening, we had our Turkish friend Volkan over who is not a believer and was alone because he personally doesn't celebrate this special day.  Before bed, Ryan and Sarah were able to cherish their Christmas dance together...how romantic!   :)  We pr.y your day was a blessing also.

Family News!

Yes, the News is true!  The Tausch's are going to have a baby!

We praise the Father for this new life and are excited to meet our child end of May/early June :-)

The Blessings of Standing in Line

(excerpt from Sarah's journal 9-24-07)...

As I was ready to check out at Meijer today, the Lord had me stand in line, I think!  Every line was busy and long!  But not to fret!  The Lord gave me much patience and creative ideas...I was able to balance the checkbook, and then read my Bible!  After reading lots of details in Joshua 21, there was a cool summary in ch 22.

Joshua says to the Ruebenites, Gadites, and 1/2 tribe of Manasseh, :

    (v3-4 paraphrased) You have carried out the mission God gave you and now that God has given the land to your brothers, return to your homes. (v5) "But be very careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the LORD gave to you:

            to love the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, to obey His commands, to hold fast to Him and to serve Him with all your heart and all your soul."

I thought this was so cool - Joshua's last words to these three tribes were a reminder to follow/love God in everything, with everything.  This is why Jesus says this is the greatest commandment too!

Lord give us the strength to strive to love you in/with everything too!

Smell is Relative

Ah, the soothing aroma of________. You fill in the blank. I decided yesterday that good smells are relative. Take for example how Ryan and I spent our day yesterday.

I made some bread. I love that smell of fresh baked bread through the house.

Ryan was quite excited because he received a package in the mail of raw coffee beans. He was excited to try roasting them himself! I know he loves the smell of coffee....however, when I went out to take the picture, I did not care for the smell personally.

The third smell was the smell on my hands after picking all these fresh veggies from our garden. Ooh, I like that smell too.

Either way, We are praising the Father for even the ability to smell and distinguish between pleasant and putrid! He is amazing!