More Love ot Thee, O Christ

More Love to Thee, O Christ
by Elizabeth Prentiss

More love to Thee, O Christ, more love to Thee!
Hear Thou the prayer I make on bended knee.
This is my earnest plea: More love, O Christ, to Thee;
More love to Thee, more love to Thee!

Once earthly joy I craved, sought peace and rest;
Now Thee alone I seek, give what is best.
This all my prayer shall be: More love, O Christ to Thee;
More love to Thee, more love to Thee!

Let sorrow do its work, come grief or pain;
Sweet are Thy messengers, sweet their refrain,
When they can sing with me: More love, O Christ, to Thee;
More love to Thee, more love to Thee!

Then shall my latest breath whisper Thy praise;
This be the parting cry my heart shall raise;
This still its prayer shall be: More love, O Christ to Thee;
More love to Thee, more love to Thee!

Joyfully Naked

I have a question that I need some other mama opinions on. I only have the experience of my 3 little men, and I need the input of some of you girl mamas. Do girls like being naked too? My boys LOVE being naked and something about nakedness calls for wild romps around the house and running and giggling as fast as you can. There is a giddiness and joy that they get from being naked that is so uninhibited.

I was thinking about this before baths the other night and wondered if it was a guy thing. I am not excessively shy. Though I must admit to being a bit taken aback by those that parade around gym locker rooms naked for lengthy periods of time, I don't mind the normal changing-clothes-nakedness in locker rooms.

And I don't ever remember feeling joyously naked. Perhaps I did as a young child and have just forgotten that phase of life. But I definitely had some male friends in college that did feel joyously naked. There was one house of otherwise normal guys who were known for lounging around or even running around Grounds naked. Other friends streaked the Lawn (a university tradition and right of passage), but the odds of doing so were definitely higher for guys.

So, thus my query, is it a guy thing?

Where is it going to go?

I have reached a notable phase in this pregnancy--one that I remember from my first three pregnancies too. I am to the point where I feel sufficiently big enough and can't imagine where the next 4 months of growth is going to go. I am 25 weeks pregnant and am measuring 2 weeks ahead right now, which is normal for me due to fact that I carry my babies all in front.
I know that I have 15 weeks ahead of me to grow, grow, grow. I just can't figure out how I could possibly get any bigger!

All is well

I had a check-up yesterday with my midwife and everything is moving along nicely with the pregnancy. She is always so reassuring and encouraging, very personable and I'm glad that I get to have her for this pregnancy. I took Joseph with me on the long trip and he did very well in the car. He colored, ate, and played with balloons.

After the appointment, we stopped by a farm in Bay Springs and bought some real milk--straight from the cow that morning! The taste was too strong for me, but Will and David both like it. Joseph will drink it mixed with a little store bought milk. It is so good for them--no hormones, lots of natural enzymes--I wish that there was a way that I could give them raw milk all of the time. I have joked about wanting a cow, but are not ready for one right now....maybe in a few years.

Date night

After a long blog hiatus, I am back. We've had some pastoral issues in the church that have kept our family very busy recently and I feel like I haven't had time to even process my life, much less reflect on it enough to write about it. The issue is not resolved yet, but is at a pause for now and so I have had a moment to breath.
Tonight, I was in the mood for a nice spicy steak from Outback and went online to see where the closest one was. I was hoping that Starkville would have one since Mississippi State is there--surely a college town would have an Outback, right? Unfortunately, no. We would've had to drive the hour and a half to Jackson to get to Outback, and though I must admit that I considered it, we decided it just wasn't a 3 hour in the car craving.
So instead we went to a little family owned steak house about 20 minutes from here. We got great steaks and they even had a blooming onion! The boys were entranced by the Nascar race that was showing on the two TVs and watched TV while they consumed a huge amount of food. David was great and happy. We even saw a young family from our church. It was a great night and we got candy bars from CVS for dessert on the way home.
I was thinking as we drove home how I will feel so free where ever we move next, because it pretty much will have to be bigger than Kosciusko. Having more restaurant options will be nice and so will having a few more shopping options. But for now, this place fits us and I am so thankful to be here. Even if you have to drive 20 minutes to get to the closest non-fast food restaurant.

Sunday hymn

Words: At­trib­ut­ed to John Cal­vin, 1545 (Je Te Sa­lue Mon Cer­tain Re­demp­teur); trans­lat­ed from French to Eng­lish by Eliz­a­beth L. Smith in Schaff’s Christ in Song, 1869.

I greet Thee, who my sure Redeemer art,
My only trust and Savior of my heart,
Who pain didst undergo for my poor sake;
I pray Thee from our hearts all cares to take.

Thou art the King of mercy and of grace,
Reigning omnipotent in every place;
So come, O King, and our whole being sway;
Shine on us with the light of Thy pure day.

Thou art the life, by which alone we live,
And all our substance and our strength receive;
Sustain us by Thy faith and by Thy power,
And give us strength in every trying hour.

Thou hast the true and perfect gentleness,
No harshness hast Thou and no bitterness;
O grant to us the grace we find in Thee,
That we may dwell in perfect unity.

Our hope is in no other save in Thee;
Our faith is built upon Thy promise free;
Lord, give us peace, and make us calm and sure,
That in Thy strength we evermore endure.