A Good Friend Shares

A good friend will share almost anything; her clothes, her food, her house, and yes, even her germs. Since Kels is my very best friend, she does not hold back, so needless to say, I am just now recovering from her graciously "shared" stomach virus. (Hope you know I'm just joking around Kels because this made a way better title than "Vomiting for a Day." Although, I did lose a few pounds in only a day so this could be called "The New Diet Plan.") Anyways, it was ROUGH. I guess I haven't had a stomach virus in a while and it's like you forget just how bad they really are. I'll spare you the details, but just take my word, they are the worst!

Positive side, (yes, I am finding a positive side, so please, feel free to pat me on the back) while lying on my death bed (the couch in the playroom), aching so bad I can't find rest, my Knight in Shining Armor (AKA: my hubby) brings me home soup and NyQuil. After a good dose of each, I eventually pass out so this wonderful man makes our bed (yes, he put on the fitted sheet all by himself!), carries me to bed, tucks me in, and brings all my "stuff" (meds, water, Gatorade...) and puts it next to me on my night stand. It's moments like this where I feel like I'm the most blessed women in the world!

On a completely separate note *earmuffs men who don't want TMI*, Aunt Flo made her unusually timely visit yesterday, which is HUGE considering this is the most "normal" my cycle has been in over a year! I assure you, I share this information not to gross you out with the details of my dysfunctional body (even though I would like to point out that most infertility blogs share A LOT more, so you're welcome) but because this is all the more proof that my meds are working and my body is attempting to function properly! So I'm going to praise God for these cramps!

The Glory in Suffering

The six week sermon series at my church has been all about God's will and it has been amazing! Last Sunday's message was specifically about God's Will and Suffering. The point of the message was that God's will for us can include hard times (AKA: suffering) in order to grow our character and our relationship with Him.

As Yancy mentions in the sermon, many people think that if things aren't going "well," they must not be in God's will. (And quite honestly, I know people who think that they are being punished for doing something wrong) But it is just NOT true. "God loves you enough not to give you everything you want." Think about it, if God gave you everything you wanted, when/how would you learn to lean on Him and grow in your faith?

I had my own sort of realization ("Ah ha" moment) about all this a few months ago. Here's the conversation I had with my husband:

Me: Not knowing is the hardest part! If God would just tell me, "Katie, you are not going to get pregnant now like YOU want, but in three years, you will!" I could have complete peace in that!

Jeff: But Katie, that's not faith.

Me: Ah haaa!

Now, it's not that I didn't understand faith, but it was that moment when I realized I wasn't completely trusting my faith.

As difficult as this journey has been, I truly do believe that God is using this hard time in my life to build my character and to grow my relationship with Him. And a bonus, I have been able to use my PCOS and infertility to glorify God! My experiences have actually opened doors for me to share my faith (including this blog ;).

Romans 5:3-5  ³More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, ⁴and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, ⁵and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

I encourage you to listen to this sermon (It is less than 30 minutes long.) Click the podcast below to listen.

Knowing God's Will: God's Will and Suffering

There is to Such Thing as Birthday Month!

I love October! Partly because the weather FINALLY starts cooling off down here in the armpit of Texas and partly because it’s my birthday month! The great thing about having your birthday on the very last day of a month is that you have the entire month to celebrate! Jeff tends to disagree (I think it’s mainly because he feels like he gets gypped, sharing his birthday month with Jesus and all.) But after eight years, he has come to accept it.

Now, some people have birthday week, but I assure you, birthday month is much better! Do I get extra presents? Not so much. Surprisingly, extra presents are not what makes birthday month so great. Really, the best part is being able to say “… but it’s my birthday month!” whenever need be. (I really only use this on Jeff and my close family who are required to love me regardless of how annoying I am) A good example:

Jeff: “Could you let the dogs out?”

Me: “But it’s my birthday month!”

(This is really just for fun because it doesn’t work most of the time but somehow I still find it entertaining.)

Here’s my dilemma, this year I turn… wait for it… 25! (That hurts a little. Where has time gone?!?!) I’m thinking this is the last birthday I can really get excited about. After 25, nothing really exciting happens for your birthday other than you are just another year older. At least this year my car insurance should go down. Next year I'll just start climbing closer to 30! Not sure how to feel about this. So I'm thinking I'm just going to act like my normal obnoxious self for birthday month and worry about handling my birthday like an adult next year.

Disclaimer: To all my friends over 25, do NOT get offended by this post... it's my birthday month! :)