the mountain of aloes.

Three words:

1.PREVIA...
My cont Celeste has more reasons now than ever before to believe in Jesus, for God has worked mightily on her behalf just this week! At prenatals this week she brought the long awaited ultrasound for me to peruse... and it screamed of God's faithfulness.

I have blogged about the wonderful gal before... and one of her two son's LG (Lewis Greggor!! ah ha!)... ANYWAYS. She had placental previa (pretty much means she would have to have a cesarean which = bad news when you have NO income). That and she already has two boys... and really wants to be done having kids, as she cannot support them... but REALLY wanted this last baby to be a little girl.

WELL, we have been praying about this every time we get together for a visit... and GOD is FAITHFUL to HEAR!

Ultrasounds results? NO PREVIA. BABY GIRL! wow. SO cool. And maybe my mom will even be here for her birth in mid-December! oh wow. SO perfect!

2. HOMEBIRTH...
I had the privilege to be the "extra set of hands" at my first home birth yesterday! It was really quite the experience! Was a LONG day... about 7am-9pm that I was there... but good none the less!

This also happened to be the first white baby that I have seen delivered right before my eyes... and that made for half of the excitement, and the other half of the strangeness of it all (white woman in labour are SO different than Filipina's)!

3. SELF-CONTROL...
While labour watching yesterday I finished reading "Mountain of Spices" (such a good book!). The book talks heaps about love... and how to love people, and GOD... what it looks like, and loves true source.

The second last chapter is about how love requires self-control... This was an interesting concept for me to read through, because the author came at it from a perspective that I don't normally hear--saying that we need to practice self-control in the sense that we have to but away ourselves, and choose to love people, even when we are not in the mood (at least that is what God spoke to me about while I was reading...). I guess this is just not a thought I have pinned to a matter of self-control before... but in some ways it makes perfect sense. Here are some little quotes of many amazing ones that stood out to me while reading... enjoy them, and all that God had to teach you on the mountain top today.

"A human spirit is indeed a capacity to love and to respond to love and according to what it chooses or wills to love so will its woes or blessings be."

The "Song of Love's Origin"

Love is glory and a pain,
It is a burning fire!
A flame of life which ne'er again
Can cease to know desire.
For Love from the eternal Flame
Came forth and bears His lovely Name.

Love kindled in a human heart
Is but a single spark
Of Love Divine--now set apart
And launched in to the dark;
It no fulfillment knows nor peace,
Till from its own self-love it cease.

As every spark from Love's own fire
The selfsame nature shares,
It yearns back with intense desire
To Him Whose Name it bears.
So leaps it forth in love and greets
All other flaming souls it meets.

Yes, oneness it the heart of love,
To burn alone--despair,
One with its source in God above
And all men everywhere.
It burning heavenwards wears Christ's face,
And is on earth His dwelling place.