Freedom

1 Corithians 10: 23 says, "All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable.  All things are lawful, but not all things edify.

But often times verse 24 is left out.  "Let no one seek his own good, but that of his neighbor."

I'm not sure how many times I have used verse 23 to excuse some sort of behavior or action.  If other people have a concern/problem with something then maybe it shouldn't be excused so easily.  Especially if that person is also a believer.  Christians are supposed to be different, there is something magnetic about a new life in Christ, and they need to see that.  

So the question may be if verse 23 is still true.  Yes it is, but take into account how things are veiwed by others. 

Trying to establish a routine

The good news is that time isn't flying by real quick and I get to enjoy the kids while they are young.  The bad news is that time isn't flying by real quick and the nights aren't a restful as the once were.  

Over the past couple weeks I've learned just how much my hobbies cut into the limited time I have.  I like to play video games, and played a lot that first week Katie was around.  We had plenty of help people brought us food (and still do), and I only worked half days.  But the next week I worked a full week and what a difference that makes.  So I think I need to reexamine how I spend my time.  That week I really didn't play much at all with my video games.  Which is ok.  I enjoy my games, but they aren't fullfilling.  This week I'm trying to increase how much reading I do.  There are so many good books I already have and want to read.  Last Friday we finished reading through the ESV Bible, so now we are reading through a narrated chronological bible.  I can't remember what version, but I think NIV.  

But is reading books all that important?  I say no.  I try to spend more time with my son during the day and he goes to bed around 8, so that is when I take time to read.  Last night was great, Julie had the TV off so I read some with her and I enjoyed it.  The house just feels so much more peaceful without the TV.

Surprisingly Easy

I'm finally taking the time to post on this blog again.  Not sure why, I don't have a lot to say.  My daughter was born and is really cute, and amazingly easy.  

People kept saying how easy we had it with David, well Katie is much better.  Since we have been home I have been sleeping really well and not disturbed by the baby in our room.  She is so quiet and sleeps great.  Our biggest struggle is trying to keep her awake during the day to get some stimulation.  

I've been working half days this past week to help out at home, but I'm thinking it wasn't really needed.  We were able to get things done around the house, but it was more of the major cleaning and not really working to keep up with two children.  

Still not sure how Julie is going to do being a mother of two, but for now she has help when I'm away.  That should change in about a week, so hopefully she will make some progress on how to handle a toddler while she is feeding the baby.

I should also mention how appreciative we are to have visitors.  For some reason we really didn't need a lot of rest at the hospital, so it was nice to see people.  

Improving my quiet time by remembering

I read through Pslam 101 this morning for my quiet time and wasn't really getting much out of it.  Then I realized it has been this way for a few weeks now.  So I thought about it a bit and realized it isn't really about getting "something" out of it.  It is a relationship.  I remember in revelation it speaking of the church of Ephesus losing its first love, and the solution to that is to remember.  

So I thought briefly about it and was like "oh-yea" this is a relationship, not a bible study I'm working on.  My quiet time is not a bible study.  My quiet time is about being with the One I love, my creator redeemer and friend.  I need to work on that relationship.  I want to be close to God.  So I took a short break to remember some key points in my life where I had a very close relationship with Him, and I also remember other key points where He proved Himself.  

I just felt that this info is useful for everyone to remember, so I decided to share.  

Real Cleaning

Well, I'm running out of time before the next baby arrives. So Julie is wanting to get some serious cleaning done. Like the bathrooms, dusting and other not fun cleaning. Organizing is pretty fun, but getting out the chemicals to clean isn't fun in my book.

Fortunately there isn't a whole lot to do, so if I just do a bit each day it will be done soon. But I still have some projects I need to get done before the baby arrives, mainly to get all the wood out of the garage so there is more room to get a car seat in and out. Hopefully this weekend will be a good time.

Man, it is so nice to be in town for the weekends. Earlier it just felt like we were always traveling and do something out of town, but now that Julie is so far along in her pregnancy we can't travel out of town.

Obviously I didn't have a whole lot to say, but felt I should try to be somewhat consistent in posting.