Why Do We Fight Diaper Changes?

(For obvious reasons, this is not a picture of a diaper change :-))

Eli, like many babies/toddlers his age, has decided that diaper changes are no longer his thing. Every now and again, he doesn't mind, but most of the time changing his diaper means a wrestling match and desitin in more places than it needs to be.

I thought about it and how often to we do this too? Heavenly Father can see that we are "stinky" and we could use cleaned up. There are things in our life that need to change or that we need to do that we are putting off. Maybe we are putting off learning something. Whatever it is, Heavenly Father is often trying to find ways to help us change and learn so that we can become better, but often times we fight him tooth and nail over it. We think that we are comfortable enough how we are. We are used to our current diaper and don't feel that there is a great need for a change. After all, we will have to break in the new diaper. We don't have the for sight to see that the longer we wait to change the more likely we will "get sore," and the harder it will be to clean up the mess that we are in. We would be better off to cheerfully accept the fact that we need to stop what we are doing for a minute so that we can become better and cleaner and move forward. In the end life is cleaner, more comfortable, and overall better that way. Besides, you'll have more friends with a clean diaper on :-).

(P.S. - I appologize if there were too many references that make those of you who do not change so many diapers uncomfortable)

Heavenly Father Doesn't Expect Us to Be Perfect Right Now

The other day I was watching Eli try to stand. He's just barely learning how to do it. Anyway, as all children do at his age, eventually Elijah feel down. This has happened many times, but this time Eli gave me the impression that he just wanted to cry out "Why can't I do this? I try and try and feel like I'm doing everything the same way as you are, but why doesn't it work out when I do it?" I didn't know how to explain to him that he is a child. That no one expects him to be able to walk right not, we just want him to keep trying and growing stronger. Every time he falls down, he learns a little more about how walking works, and every time he pulls himself back up again he learns even more. Like most parents, I helped him up again, and told him that it's alright, he'll get it.

Heavenly Father must see us much in the same way. We get so frustrated (I know I do) that we can't just seem to make things work out or do things as well as we would like to sometimes, but we aren't supposed to become perfect in a day. He just wants us to keep going and keep trying, and He'll guide us as we try to move forward. We need to keep trying things so that we can learn, but He will always be there to help us back to our feet and hold our fingers so that we can stand and try to learn how to walk.

God Cares Honestly, Whole-Heartedly, and Absolutely About Everything In Your Life

(Eli's first time climbing up the stairs)

Sometimes I think that I have a lot of worries. We all do. But I tell you this much, nothing going on with me is more important that what's going on with Elijah. I can be working on finances and stressing out about what does and doesn't add up and Josh and call me from the other room saying "Jenna, look what Eli's doing!" And, I'm telling you now, everything is gone, and all that I can see and care about is Eli learning to put the toy basketball in his hoop. Or Eli is laughing because Daddy is using his shoe to kill a spider. I don't even care that there was a spider on the wall anymore. Even if I feel really busy at home trying to keep up with the tasks that never quit, namely dishes and laundry, it's all over and doesn't matter anymore if I hear a little voice say "Mama."

Our Heavenly Father is perfect and capable of perfect love. He knows what's going on in our lives, and nothing can be more important than when His children need Him. It just makes a lot more sense to me now that even with wars and terrible things going on in the world, that Heavenly Father still cares that I need help. It still matters to Him that I can't quite organize my life yet, and that Josh has tests and we need help. It doesn't matter how great or small, if it matters to us, then it matters to Him, and He wants us to let Him be a part of it.

Heavenly Father Knows Why We Are Where We Are

Elijah I'm sure wonders a lot about where we are and what we are doing there. I mean I know that we are at the grocery store because we need to buy food, or we went to campus to pick up Daddy. I'm sure to Eli it's another trip in the car to a strange place where we will do something or another.

I guess I was thinking a lot about that lately because we have recently moved clear across the country. It is comforting though to know that no matter where I am that The Lord knows where I am and what I am doing there.

I also thought about how when we go places, it is very helpful for Eli to be happy and cooperative about everything. When he is upset and not up to being wherever we need to be, then we barely get done with the essentials (where possible). We are able to accomplish more when he is cheery and positive about life. The same goes for me. I get more accomplished, learn more, and am happier when I have a good attitude. I keep myself from experiencing many important, wonderful, and fun things when I don't cheerfully move forward, just doing what I can.

You can't always absorb everything at once

Sometimes I get frustrated because I can't know and can't understand everything at once. But then one day I was thinking about Eli eating. Right now all he can eat is mushy baby food. He's been working on teeth, but he still has nothing to really chew with. His food has no seasoning, because these plain flavors are still all new to him, and the seasons would probably just bother his tummy. Though this is true, it doesn't mean that Eli doesn't think he wants everything on all of our plates at dinner. Sometimes he gets mad because there really aren't a lot of things that he can feed himself right now.

Anyway, my point is, we are the same way. Heavenly Father wants to feed us the best things for us. Even though I want everything on the table right now, I'm not ready for it. On some topics I'm still barely able to handle drinking information like milk from a bottle without spitting it up. The more I learn about somethings the more I can understand, kind of like how Eli can move on to thicker more flavorful foods.

And just like I have a hard time telling Eli that he can't eat steak yet, Heavenly Father sometimes has a hard time explaining to me why I can't know somethings sometimes. It's just because He loves me enough to give me what I need and not what I think I want.

We have to struggle to learn

(Picture coming soon)

Right now Eli can roll over from his tummy to his back, mostly over his right side. When we play on the floor, I put some of his toys out of his easy reach. This way he has to twist and turn and use his muscles to get to the toys. It's hard to watch him struggle. It would be easy for me to just hand him everything that he wants, and sometimes thinks he needs, but then he'd never grow stronger. He needs to work at reaching and moving and trying new things, or he won't gain the muscles he needs to be able to roll from his back to his tummy and crawl.

The same goes for us. God could give us anything at anytime (he is all-powerful after all). However, if he did, then we would lose out on important lessons. We would never learn and grow in very important ways. Just like with Eli and I, sometimes we struggle and struggle only to have what we wanted in essence handed to us in the end because we just couldn't quite reach it on our own. Either way, I guess my point is, I am grateful that we are not just given everything that we want, and that we have to struggle for it. I just hope that I can remember that next time I'm getting frustrated :-)

Sometimes you just need to take a nap!

Anyone who has been around a tired baby knows that sometimes they are fighting the best thing for them! They're tired, disoriented, and don't understand why it is that they don't feel good. All they need to stop for a moment and relax. I think a lot of the time we are the same way. We get all worried and worked up and forget to trust our Heavenly Father. God knows what's going on in our lives, and most of the time we just need to stop and relax for a minute. If we take time to pray and ponder, then He will tell us what we need to do.

What you should know about me first

Before this blog will make sense, you have to understand something of my views on God. He is our Heavenly Father, the literal father of our spirits. I decided to start this blog, because as a new parent, I started to learn more things about my relationship with my Heavenly Father. He's a perfect parent, but even in my imperfection, I believe I am coming to understand more about God's love for me.