“Then some Jews arrived from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowds to their side. They stoned Paul and dragged him out of town, thinking he was dead. But as the believers gathered around him, he got up and went back into the town. The next day he left with Barnabas for Derbe.” — Acts 14:19-20

Last week at our Monday night Sr. High small group the girls challenged each other to read our Bibles as much as we do whatever takes up our most time in our days. For all but one of us it was Facebook. When we got back from Haiti I started studying scripture in depth, but since Zeke has been born and it’s hard for me to spend some quality time with my study Bible I have neglected to read scripture as much as I would like. I confessed to the girls that I had been spending more time of Facebook than anything else. With having the Facebook app on my iPod touch it is really easy to spend hours a day on it because for hours a day I am sitting and feeding Zeke, and Facebook is right there in my hand.

Then one girl asked, “Don’t you have a Bible app on your iPod?” Ouch! Yes, I do.

So for the last week I have been reading through the book of Acts. And verses 19 and 20 in chapter 14 really stood out to me. I had been reading about all the persecution the disciples were going through for standing up for Christ and not letting anyone hold them back from preaching the Good News. And then these two verses struck me. Paul was stoned to the point of the people thinking that he was dead. I can’t imagine the pain he went through and how much pain he was in after they stopped. How bad did he look for them to quit stoning him and drag him out of town still thinking he was dead. How exhausted did he feel? And I wouldn’t be surprised if the thought of giving up and giving in came across his mind for even a split second. And that didn’t stop him!

“…he got up and went back into the town.” First of all, he got up. Being left so beat up, he got up! He mustered the strength and didn’t give himself a pity party, he got up. And second, he went back into the town! Seriously? These people just stoned you and dragged you out thinking you were dead, and you go back? Who does that? The person who does that is sold out for Christ and follows the Spirit and does not let anything stand in their way of doing God’s will. Not to say we are all to go back into a bad situation, but we go where God is leading us, no matter what.

Paul didn’t do this in his own strength. He had God and other believers to lean on. “But as the believers gathered around him, he got up and went back into the town.” “But as the believers gathered around him…” It is so important to surround yourself with other believers. People who are sold out for Christ and support you in living a life that does not waiver because of what others say or do.

I made a mistake of this in college, cutting off my ties to my strong Christian friends who were trying to look after me, but I selfishly and ignorantly thought I was strong enough to stand on my own. I have learned from this mistake and know how important it is to keep a crowd of believers around me. Not only for support, but for accountability. It is so easy to let things of this world come in the way of our faith…even small things like Facebook that don’t seem evil, but can be if that is what we are giving all of our time to.

*The picture used today is of the ground in the compound where we stayed in Haiti. While praying in Haiti I kept my eyes open, wanting to take in as much as I could while God was moving in incredible ways. I spent a lot of time looking at these rocks, never wanting to forget.

I was expecting to have a harder time adjusting to two kids in the house instead of one, but I honestly feel like adjusting to one child from none was a lot harder. This time around I have been a lot more relaxed and care free with things. I feel like I know a little more about what I’m doing this time around. I don’t have as much time as I did with one child, which is apparent by how I have neglected my blog, but I feel a lot more sane this go around. I have lots of videos to put together, one is almost done of the kiddos from last week, then I have bigger videos such as Zeke’s birth and dedication to do. Eventually I’ll get those up. Then I would love to vlog more often. I’ve done one, and videoed another that I didn’t get around to putting together.

I am impressed with how great Hannah has been with Zeke. I haven’t seen any signs of jealousy, even when she comes to me wanting to be held when I’m holding Zeke. And I am so blessed to have a son that loves to smile. It makes middle of the night and morning feedings go way better.

I’ve tested Hannah a couple times to see how she handles Zeke. The first time was the first week home from the hospital with Zeke. When getting Hannah up from a nap I brought Zeke in and laid him down next to Hannah. Then gave him Hannah’s blankie to see what she would do. She ended up giving him her favorite teddy bear too! Then today I brought Hannah with me to watch me lay Zeke down in her crib for his nap. She wanted to get in a lay next to him for a little bit before we went and ate lunch. I was a little nervous about transferring Hannah to a toddler bed sometime in the future and let Zeke get the crib, but I think if I nap him in the crib with Hannah knowing, it should go better. I’ve also made the decision that if I have to let Hannah cry for a little bit in her crib after a nap because I’m feeding Zeke, that I do not show up holding him. I make sure to put Zeke down in another room before getting Hannah. I just don’t want her to have ill feelings towards her brother for mommy holding him when Hannah has been wanting someone to come get her.

Tim and I are still learning with Hannah. I feel like we have the baby part down, but Hannah brings new surprises every day. Learning how to discipline Hannah is probably our biggest feat right now. A couple months ago she learned how to arch her back when she throws a tantrum, and when she knows she isn’t supposed to do something she’ll act like she is about to do it and stare us down. What fun!

I think the most exciting thing happening in our house is Hannah starting to use her potty more regularly. I started a few months ago with sitting her on the potty before taking a bath after she showed interest in the potty and loved to play with it when she was in the bathroom. She didn’t actually use the potty until recently, and now this week I started putting her on the potty after breakfast also, and there is rarely a time she doesn’t use the potty when she sits. Even this morning she let me know she needed to use it in the middle of breakfast, so we quickly went and sat her on the potty and it was a success! What a big 15 month old!