Father, thank you for all the blessings you have bestowed on us.  
Children are such a blessing and a joy, and they can bring us such
wisdom.  Help us to prepare for them and enjoy all that it means to be a
parent during the discomforts and the rewards.  We lift them up to you
now, Lord.  Protect them and nourish them with Your Spirit.  In Jesus'
name, Amen!


Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many
kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops
perserverance.  Perserverance must finish its work so that you may be
mature and complete, not lacking anything.  If any of you lacks wisdom,
he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and
it will be given to him.  But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt,
because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by
the wind.  That man should not think that hw will receive anything from
the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.  James
1:2-8
Chapter 3 is about the joys of the minor discomforts of pregnancy (and
early postpartum for that matter).  I have heard many barren women say
that it breaks their heart to hear a pregnant woman complain about
morning sickness or a sore back.  Their hearts are crushed to hear of
fathers who are weary due to lack of sleep and carry on forever about
the inconvenience of a new baby.  "Oh, what I would give to experience
that inconvenience," they might say.

The good news is that it is God's design to place these minor discomforts
in our path now, as the baby grows.  Because late-night trips to the
bathroom prepare us for middle-of-the-night feedings.  
Middle-of-the-night feedings work a patience in us that prepares us for
our two year old.  Two year olds strengthen us for the path we must
continue on all the way through the teens and on into young twenties.  A
young couple is gently guided down the road of parenthood starting with
the joys and discomforts of pregnancy.  Just as the child is an infant, the
young couple are also in the infancy of their parenthood.  They too must
grow step-by-step and gain the skills needed to raise up their child in the
ways of the Lord.  God's design is perfect and we can rejoice, just as
James instructed us to, when we face the trials of pregnancy, labor and
delivery, and newborn parenting.  


I would like to challenge you to boast in your weaknesses, to sing praises
about the discomforts, to share the joys of pregnancy with thanksgiving
to those who are around you.  As Christians, we are different from this
world, and we can shine a light of love, joy, and peace in any situation,
including pregnancy!


Chapter 3 Questions:


1.  What discomforts are you experiencing right now?


2.  What are you doing to alliviate them?


3.  How are you keeping a positive outlook?


4.  How can you represent Christ when you talk about your discomforts to
others?


5.  What part of this chapter stands out to you?


To encourage you to respond, we have approximately 50 women reading
this study at this time.  Don't be shy to post, as your words may
encourage others here in this study.


Lord, thank You for Your words, and we definitely want to praise you
today.  May we keep your Sabbath if we are able, and rest in the
knowledge of Your Son.  May we grow in patience, that patience we can
only obtain through the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Lord we are often feeble,
and unable to be patient.  But one of those fruits is patience, and it
comes not from ourselves or our own strength, but by You, by Your Holy
Spirit within us.  Fill us Lord today, we stretch our hands out towards
Heaven and ask for a fresh portion of your Love that is always there if we
just ask.  Lord, open our hearts to receive You now, in Jesus' name,
Amen.
Cascade Christian Childbirth Association
Chapter Three
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