Diary of a Stay At Home Mom: My Morning Thought...

I just put Maggie down for her morning nap.  And as I held her for just a minute before sitting in her bed, I was praying for her future and for her salvation.  Suddenly it occurred to me that I sort of presume on the Lord's grace.  I think that many times when I pray for her salvation, when I pray that she will hate her sin, see her need for the Savior, submit to the Lord, love His church, and live her life as a worshipper of Christ...I just assume that that will definitely happen.  On one hand, I feel like that is due to great faith and confidence in the Lord's kindness, compassion, and love!  On the other hand I feel like it's because I have become complacent at the thought of the greatness of salvation.  Yet again I feel so humbled by the blessed life of mommying!

What do you think?  Do you ever feel like that?  Praise the Lord that He is sovereign and that the gracious Holy Spirit intercedes on my behalf.  Salvation truly is a miraculous and amazing gift!  God is so gracious to save sinners, like me.  And I trust and pray for the future salvation of my baby Maggie.

Hope you have a great day!  God is so good!

Congratulations, Husband!!

Last Sunday, May 13, my amazing husband, Robert Wauhop, graduated from the Master's Seminary with his MDiv (Masters of Divinity)!  This was a day that we had been excitedly anticipating since, well, since we've been married... maybe even before that!  That's when our seminary journey started - less than a month after our wedding we headed out in the good old Lexus, made the drive across the country, and arrived here, at the Master's Seminary!  Three years later I hear these glorious words: "Robert Wauhop, Summa Cum Laude!"  That's right, Summa Cum Laude - "with highest honor!" That title is rewarded to those with a GPA of 3.9-4.0...basically he's a genius graduating with a 3.96 (while doing ministry, hanging out with his wife and daughter, and working)!  I can't tell you how excited I was to hear Dr. Mayhue call his name and to see him walk across that stage - and when it happened I was NOT disappointed!  It was such a proud moment and I am so filled with gratitude.

The Lord has provided for Robert and I so faithfully, perfectly, and abundantly throughout our three years in seminary!  We've lived in three totally different, fun places: Castaic, North Hollywood, and now Montrose!  We've been so blessed to serve on the Grace Community Church high school staff for most of our time here, and we LOVE it - our kids and the staff, who are our best friends!  And the best most significant "accomplishment" during our time here is the blessing of our beautiful baby girl!  We're parents!  I still can't believe it sometimes.  Maggie is an amazing addition to our family; we are so crazy about her beautiful face and super fun little personality!  I am extremely thankful and blessed beyond measure!  Above and beyond what we have asked and far far more than we deserve, thank You, Lord!

So, what's next for the Wauhops?  It is official - we are staying here in California while Robert gets his ThM.  And honestly, I'm excited about that!  And honestly, again, I was not so much at first...but it has become really obvious that this is what the Lord has for us.  And bonus, we have a wonderful church, great friends and neighbors - and each other, which is all I need to be happy!  So basically, the ThM is a Masters in theology, which will enable him to teach at a collegiate level and maybe even in a seminary.  He should be done with this degree by January.  After that, we will go to a church...somewhere...hopefully...!  We had some other plans that didn't end up working out, and that is ok, because the Lord is in control.  He didn't call us to this task of seminary and sacrifice to leave us stranded.  So, we are super excited about our future, and fully enjoying each day along the way!  

I am so thankful for you, Robert; for the countless hours of hard work, for the thousands of pages written, the scores of thousands, maybe even millions, of pages read, the late nights, the prayer, the dedication, the sacrifice, the leadership...well done, good and faithful husband!  Enjoy the fruit of your labor.  I love you!!

"I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction." 2 Tim. 4:1-2 

 

"The Future"

So, Robert is about to graduate from The Master's Seminary this May! In 58 days to be exact! That fact literally blows my mind! For our entire marriage (almost 3 years) we have lived out here in LA while Robert was pursuing - and dominating, I might add - his MDiv. Now that this chapter is coming to a close, what's next for us??

Answer: We have NO idea! Well, we have a few ideas...

It's a little bit awesome and a whole lot of scary to have no idea what 3 months from now might look like for us?! Especially as parents, now, we can't just "fly by the seat of our pants" as easily as we could before. Robert has already started taking classes for another degree, the ThM. With this degree it would open up doors for teaching at a college level, both now and for the future. If he decides to stay and do the ThM, we would probably be ready to leave TMS this coming December or January. At the same time, however, "we" are actively interested and looking for churches that we could go to and begin implementing all of this training he's received! And while this option, and a more permanent zip code is higher on my list of preferences I am praying for and growing in contentment for what the Lord has for us - whatever that might be!

Honestly, it seems like every other week we could go one way or the other. After a fabulous class or chat with an esteemed professor Robert is excited and driven to stay for the ThM. Then, he talks to an already graduated friend in ministry or someone further along in the candidating process and he can't wait to get his own ministry and just preach! All the while, I'm thinking about the timing of our next baby, when we will live somewhere that has a real oven (and maybe even a dishwasher?!), where will that be, will it be close to our families, I wonder if there's really good food there, there's really good food here, maybe it would be nice to stay in CA with Dr. Frields for a while, warm weather year round...you know, real spiritual stuff, haha. But, my main ministry stays the same, here or there - Robert and Maggie! So, who knows what 3 months from now will hold. Who really even knows what 3 minutes from now will hold - I mean, I have a sleeping 4 month old in the other room! BUT, what I'm saying is that God is good and He knows exactly what each moment for the rest of eternity holds, and even better, He has planned it for my good (becoming more like Christ and then that we would be presented to Him) and ultimately His glory!!

And this is not where I was planning at all on going with this post. I mostly wanted to share Jesse Johnson's blog about candidating...candiDATING. So, check out his interesting and true perspective on candidating at the Cripplegate!

Valley of Vision

God the Source of All Good

The heavens declare thy glory,
The earth thy riches,
The universe is thy temple;
Thy presence fills immensity,
Yet thou hast of thy pleasure created life,
and communicated happiness;
Thou hast made me what I am, and given me
what I have;
In thee I live and move and have my being;
Thy providence has set the bounds of my habitation,
and wisely administers all my affairs.
I thank thee for thy riches to me in Jesus,
for the unclouded revelation of him in thy Word,
where I behold his Person, character, grace, glory,
humiliation, sufferings, death, and resurrection;
Give me to feel a need of his continual saviourhood,
and cry with Job, ‘I am vile’,
with Peter, ‘I perish’,
with the publican, ‘Be merciful to me, a sinner’.
Subdue in me the love of sin,
Let me know the need of renovation as well as
of forgiveness,
in order to serve and enjoy thee for ever.
I come to thee in the all-prevailing name of Jesus,
with nothing of my own to plead,
no works, no worthiness, no promises.
I am often straying,
often knowingly opposing thy authority,
often abusing thy goodness;
Much of my guilt arises from my religious privileges,
my low estimation of them,
my failure to use them to my advantage,
But I am not careless of thy favour or regardless of
thy glory;
Impress me deeply with a sense of thine
omnipresence, that thou art about my path,
my ways, my lying down, my end.

Update

He said no... But, we know that God is so good and He loves us! And we are so hopeful for our future home; both in this life and the one to come! Yes, I cried. But I am so blessed, and good news - the gospel is still true! So, today I am praying for a little extra grace, and rejoicing in the sovereignty of God.

Thank you for those of you who prayed with us!

Apt. #1

It's so appropriately named, because it truly is the best apartment in our complex! Apartment #1 has just become vacant in the building we manage. Currently we are in apt #9, which is a "cozy" one bedroom. Apt. #1 is a spacious 2 BEDROOM...with a REAL KITCHEN (it's like it's own separate room with more than 1 counter!!), and 2 storage spaces/closets!! Wow! Sounds to good to be true, haha!

But, I'm writing all of this to ask you (Kristen and Marie and whoever else might read this) to please pray with us, that the Lord, who is rich in mercy, would allow us to move in and manage from apt #1! It would be a HUGE blessing with the baby coming in November, and being something we can actually afford! Really, we couldn't imagine a more ideal situation. We've been waiting a little over a month to hear the ruling of the property bosses as to whether or not it's an option. It's been discouraging to say the least. But, also it's been awesome, because the Lord has exposed my faithlessness. O me of little faith. The Lord can so provide this for us, and totally glorify Himself in the process. Or, He can say no - and totally glorify Himself in that process! But while we wait, I'd love for you to pray as well; that way you can rejoice in the outcome as well, knowing that the Lord hears our prayers and He loves us!

Lastly, please read this if you've ever struggled with faithless prayers. It was SO convicting and encouraging! The Lord really used it to rejuvenate me!

And double last, my baby is the size of a lemon! Wow, huge!!

Having a Baby!!!

Yes, it is true, Robert and I are having a baby this November - and we literally could not be more excited! What a little miracle! It is so insane to know that a real little person is growing inside of me! God is so amazing! I get these e-mails every week that tell me what's going on in the womb each week, and it is unbelievable!

Right now I'm 8 weeks and a few days! Baby is around the size of a raspberry! And, he has a brain and his kidneys, and is growing webbed fingers and toes! His heartbeat is strong and I am just amazed at the whole process!


Is the pic TMI?

We won't know until late May or early June if it's a boy or a girl. We are hoping boy (because who doesn't want a big brother), but would be so excited for a girl, too! We have both names picked out!!

I don't want this post to be forever long, but, it's so crazy...Last summer I was throwing up a lot (gross, I know), and I never throw up. So, obviously, I thought I was pregnant; but I wasn't! Instead, it planted the baby bug in me! So, we decided to wait until this spring semester to start "trying!" So, March 4 I took a test early in the morning. Robert was at his Friday morning Bible study and Roxy was sleeping in the living room, haha! Don't worry, I told Robert first! Of course on the first test the second line was kind of faded, so I went out later to get a digital and double check!! I highly recommend the digital! It's so awesome reading the word, PREGNANT! Anyway...

Please pray for us and this little one! We are so excited and SO THANKFUL!

Timing...

You know when you pray for the Lord's timing, His will...for His glory, but secretly you assume He will still graciously give you what you want when you want it. I did that/I've been doing that and have just been realizing it through the last few weeks. Isn't God so good to be so patient with us?

I just wanted to give that little update. I also hope to be posting some Christmas pictures soon...if I can get internet somewhere long enough. Ok. peace out :)

Truth Bomb

So, I've been awful at sticking to my previous post. But, I just wanted to send a quick shout-out to the blogging world...

Today I texted Robert - the most wonderful man alive - and said: "Honey, I am having a rough day! Can you just pray for me and my attitude? I love you."

He answers: "I will honey. If the love of God for you was written in ink on the sky it could not contain it. I love you and Jesus loves you infinitely more than I do or could..."

In a text! I cried (...and I was on the phone with someone at work when I looked at the text, so it was a little difficult to finish the call.) How humbling and awesome to consider that truth bomb at 8:30 on a Wednesday morning! That's what marriage is about. That's why marriage is the grace of life! That's why marriage is awesome. God is so good to allow us to glorify Him better together than we can apart! My God is so kind! What a great day!

Pray Without Ceasing

Charles Spurgeon on Prayer:
"There are two prayers always worth praying, 'Lord, show me myself,' and 'Lord,
show me thyself.' May both be heard, and you will be well taught of God!"

"We may be certain that whatever God has made prominent in His Word, He
intended to be conspicuous in our lives. If He has said much about prayer, it is
because He knows we have much need of it."

"Did not our Saviour say that “men ought always to pray, and not to faint;” and did he not imply, by that form of expression, that, if they did not pray, they would be sure to faint?"

"A sigh, a sob, is the most you can get out. But a mother would sooner hear her own
child sob than another child sing. There is a music about that dear child’s voice
that moves her heart and touches her spirit. And so the inward moanings of a
broken heart are music in the ears of the Infinite Jehovah, and he accepteth the
sincere prayers of his people, let them be as broken as they may."

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Our God is so faithful to hear our prayers, Christ is so gracioust to intercede on our behalf, and the Spirit is so persistent in making our need for it known.

James 5:16b, "The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much."
Thankfully, as I am His, Christ's righteousness is mine; and the God of all creation, King of Kings, Lord of Lords knows my heart and hears my prayers!