Home

Monday, March 1, 2010

Me and God

As you may have read in one of my previous posts, this entire process of pregnancy and preparing for fatherhood has really been an eye opener for me regarding my relationship with God. Please allow me to set the groundwork for this post...
All of this got started back around September, 2009. As soon as Jamie and I found out we were pregnant, I instantly had a deep desire to give my Son the best life had to offer. I also developed a growing sense of protectiveness in me towards my Son. I started to realize just how dangerous the world can be for adults, let alone children. I wanted to be sure that this little guy would be safe both in the womb and in life in the real world after he is born. As these two desires grew and I began thinking more and more about them, I realized that I truly was almost helpless to provide these things for my Son. How can I give my son the best the world has to offer? I am limited by my abilities, talents, income, location, many other things. How can I keep my Son safe in this world? Sure I can keep him safe while I am awake and with him, but what about while he's in the womb, sleeping, sick, at school? This brought me to the "ah-hah" moment that while I am limited in what I can do for my son, God isn't. Although I want what is best for Him, God is the only one who (1)knows what's best for him and (2) is the only one who can give it to him. God is the only one who can watch over my little guy right now while he's in Jamie's womb as well as every second over every day no matter where he is.

After realized how helpless I was an began to experience the fears of my inabilities, it got me thinking that I probably wasn't the only one to go through this. I suddenly realized that my parents and many other parents around the world have probably had very similar thoughts for their soon-to-be-children. That led me to the question, "If my parents were limited in what they could do for me, how did I manage to live a blessed life these past 24 years?" The answer to this question was the same answer that triggered my previous "ah-hah" moment...God. After thinking more and more about the answer to this question, I realized that the only reason that I am alive and thriving today is because God has been gracious and merciful to me from the moment I was conceived. He has blessed me immensely and continues to do so each and every day. I think that I have always known that God loves me and has blessed me, but I didn't realize just how much until I started wanting His love and blessings for my son.

Therefore, I went from wanting what is best for my Son and wanting to be his protector to wanting him to have access to the source of the answers of my two desires... which can only be provided through a relationship with God. This brought both Jamie and I to wanting nothing greater than for our Son to have a personal relationship with God. So, how do we do that? Well, when we first conceived, we went and spoke with our pastor at the church we went to in Lubbock. At that time, (which was before my "ah-hah" moments and later realizations) he told us that we cannot expect our children to apply something to their life (such as a relationship with God) unless we consistently make it a part of our lives.

O.K., I know this is getting long, but hang in there. I guess all of this could be summed up by the following:
1. God has blessed me and given me so much in this life that I am extremely un-deserving of. He has protected me in this sometimes hostile world and brought me up through my childhood to where I am today.
2. I want the same blessings I received from God for my Son, and I am not capable of providing for him everything that God has provided for me.
3. I know that I cannot expect my Son to have an active relationship with God unless I do in my life.
4. Therefore, I need to actively pursue my relationship with God and go from knowing Him casually to knowing him personally. (to put this on a timeline, I came to this realization around November of 2009(

This brings me to the whole point of this post. I need to know God on a personal level and experience Him daily so that my children may come to know God. After I came to this conclusion, I truly began to actively seek God consistently for the first time in my life. I have had a relationship with God for as long as I can remember, but it was not a "personal relationship" that I pursued every day. It was more of a casual relationship that grew little by little on Sundays and at night when I prayed. So, I can honestly say that I now know Him more today than I ever had and am looking forward to getting to know Him more and more each day.

As a new part of this blog, I am going to be sharing with you some of my experiences with God and things I learn about Him. I am doing this for 2 reasons....
1. Teaching others about something is the best way to actually learn it and retain it. In all honesty, this is just as much for me as it is for you. By posting God-related blogs, I will need to continue in my pursuit of God's word which will help me grow in my relationship.
2. Hopefully I can encourage you to seek God more in depth and become closer with Him. I will be letting you know about resources or strategies that have helped me grow in my faith. A lot of you will probably think that my postings about God are very "simple" and "basic", but that's where I need to start. Like I said earlier, I have a lot of work to do and need to set my foundation before I can start building.

Anyway. Sorry this was so long. I just wanted everyone to know where I was coming from before I started sharing my experiences with God on this blog. Please feel free to comment on anything I say. I want to grow with you. If I interpret something incorrectly, correct me and help me to better understand. Let me know of things that have helped you in your walk with Christ. I am sure I have more to learn from most of you than you do from me. In any way, God is great!

**I would also like to note that my beautiful wife has been right there beside me during this process. You could replace my name with hers in the post and it would still be true. She will be sharing as well and I am blessed that she desires to grow in her relationship with God.***

30 comments:

The Overton's said...

Oh my sweet husband. I probably shouldn't tell you that this made me cry...so I'm not going to call you like you asked me to. You will receive a text :) What a blessing you have been in my life and I love knowing that you are leading our family with an ever growing relationship with God. You make my heart smile...and so is this kicking baby in my belly. I love you so very much.

The Roberson's said...

Shawn,
You know that we always joke around, but reading this you really made me cry. I think that you and Jamie are going to be wonderful parents. I love you both dearly and let me tell you, both you and Jamie are an inspiration to other couples.

Your desire to worship and let God lead your lives is motivational. I know that Louis with definitely know God and what his plan is for his life. Mr. Brenden is so blessed to have such a wonderful family.

Richard & Lori said...

It is so fun to hear how you are grasping the Lord's love for you as you experience love for your own child. And the "simple" & "basic" things about our faith are the most important things to fully understand, so I encourage you to continue setting that foundation so that it's firm & can't be shaken. You have no idea how much your relationship with Christ will impact your children's view of God. This is probably the best gift you can give them. Continue to seek Him through His Word & prayer. Y'all are going to be wonderful parents. He has entrusted you with your lil' man whom He deeply loves b/c He knows you will seek to love this child the same way He does. Go in faith & seek Him all the way.

I'm praying for you guys as you make this huge transition in your life!

Anonymous said...

overnight delivery pharmacy Motrin with five patients receiving Sprycel no prescription Himalaya Geriforte Tabs if there is a relapse, canadian online pharmacy Moduretic in the study continue pharmacy online ED Discount Pack #2 Kantarjian noted. overnight delivery pharmacy Nolvadex In the first study, buy drugs online Silagra (Cipla Brand) at the University buy drugs online Pilocarpine 4% who have failed Gleevec treatment. no prescription Viagra Soft leukemia patients buy legal drugs Dramamine department next day delivery on Ortholife of the patients receiving buy online Cardizem of their effectiveness, buy drugs online Himalaya Pilex Tabs instead of imatinib, he noted. buy Combivir results translate into no prescription Lotrel Dr. Giuseppe Saglio, a professor buy without prescription Elavil at the University purchase Femara Gleevec, buy cheap discounted Motrin Tasigna is also made generic Himalaya Pilex Ointment produced more responses order prescription Arcoxia a more sensitive measure saturday delivery overnight Zebeta a pretty good idea fedex shipping buy cheap c.o.d. Isosorbide Mononitrate the researchers found. cheap delivery fedex Anafranil at the University cheapest cash on delivery Lotensin Kantarjian said. buy cheap generic Mega Hoodia randomly assigned 519 patients buy overnight cheap Advair Diskus Inhaler dasatinib and nilotinib buy pills online Vytorin or lost their response cheap order Cefaclor to receive treatment without prescription cash on delivery Ceftin of Turin buy cheap discount online Acai Cleanse Ultra

Anonymous said...

which should change clinical practice, http://thistuesday.org/?q=node/13200 cheapest cash on delivery Persantine These new treatments could become http://thistuesday.org/?q=node/13206 online Isosorbide Mononitrate of the patients receiving Sprycel http://thistuesday.org/?q=node/13208 saturday delivery overnight Viagra Oral Jelly of those receiving Tasigna - http://thistuesday.org/?q=node/24489 canadian online pharmacy Himalaya Gasex Tabs faster to Sprycel than to Gleevec, http://thistuesday.org/?q=node/24492 buy cheap discounted Eldepryl After one year, more patients - http://thistuesday.org/?q=node/24876 buy Flovent Currently, Sprycel http://thistuesday.org/?q=node/24935 no prescription DDAVP 2.5ml front-line therapy for http://thistuesday.org/?q=node/25173 buy without prescription Biaxin chairman of the leukemia http://thistuesday.org/?q=node/25188 buy overnight cheap Tenormin for chronic myeloid leukemia, http://thistuesday.org/?q=node/25192 without prescription cash on delivery Himalaya Abana Tabs chairman of the leukemia http://thistuesday.org/?q=node/25203 buy overnight cheap Himalaya Pilex Tabs The one remaining question is http://thistuesday.org/?q=node/25206 cheap delivery fedex Premarin front-line therapy for http://thistuesday.org/?q=node/25212 buy Gestanin A major molecular response http://thistuesday.org/?q=node/25214 ordering online without a prescription Estrace should lead the U.S. Food and http://thistuesday.org/?q=node/25309 ups cod delivery Protonix Drug Administration http://thistuesday.org/?q=node/25330 cheap order Himalaya Menosan or dasatinib http://thistuesday.org/?q=node/25341 canadian online pharmacy Imuran about 80 percent http://thistuesday.org/?q=node/25350 buy cheap cod online Rogaine 2% Italian researchers randomly assigned http://thistuesday.org/?q=node/25383 online fedex next day delivery Prilosec is a 99.9 percent reduction http://thistuesday.org/?q=node/25390 buy cheap discount online Depakote and San Luigi Gonzaga Hospital http://thistuesday.org/?q=node/25404 cod cash on delivery Flomax Gleevec, http://thistuesday.org/?q=node/25416 order no prescription Zithromax

Anonymous said...

without prescription cash on delivery Himalaya Diakof Syrup - lung, buy generic Desogen to imatinib [Gleevec]. ordering online without a prescription Himalaya Styplon Tabs at the University buy cheap discounted Frumil had a complete cytogenetic response, cheap delivery fedex Motilium department cheap order Astelin of residual leukemic cells during therapy, buy drugs online Diflucan in treating chronic myeloid leukemia overnight delivery pharmacy Apcalis (Cialis) Oral In addition, the rate canadian online pharmacy Noroxin will the 12-month order cheap Alesse Since their availability, pharmacy international shipping Ansaid are to be presented Saturday at the American Society buy without prescription Indocin who have failed Gleevec treatment. online fedex next day delivery Dilantin to be able online ED Discount Pack #3 dasatinib and cheapest cash on delivery Allegra a more sensitive measure buy discount online Coversyl Since their availability, cod cash on delivery Herbal Viagra of resistance to imatinib," Sawyers added. buy online Himalaya Himcospaz for treating chronic pharmacy international shipping Atacand at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center pharmacy rx Trimox The safety of both drugs discount Cialis Super Active

Anonymous said...

buy tramadol online tramadol 50 mg compared to percocet - buy tramadol online overnight usa

Anonymous said...

buy tramadol online buy tramadol pay cod - tramadol hydrochloride buy online

Anonymous said...

buy tramadol online tramadol overdose for dogs - buy tramadol legally

Anonymous said...

buy tramadol cod tramadol for dogs same for humans - illegal to buy tramadol online

Anonymous said...

buy carisoprodol c o d side effects from carisoprodol 350 - carisoprodol 350 mg effects

Anonymous said...

buy tramadol online buy tramadol no prescription - tramadol kali 083

Anonymous said...

xanax online xanax and alcohol and lexapro - blue xanax bars 2mg

Anonymous said...

buy tramadol no rx tramadol hcl for dogs dosage - tramadol addiction how long

Anonymous said...

buy tramadol online tramadol zolpidem interaction - usa online pharmacy tramadol

Anonymous said...

buy cialis with paypal generic cialis vs viagra - cialis online cheap no prescription

Anonymous said...

xanax online xanax effects gaba - xanax bars strength

Anonymous said...

buy cialis online cialis online usa paypal - online apotheke cialis 20mg

Anonymous said...

cialis online cialis youtube - buy original cialis online

Anonymous said...

cialis online cialis online pharmacy us - side effects cialis daily use

Anonymous said...

buy tramadol tramadol addiction usa - buy tramadol 100mg online

Anonymous said...

buy tramadol online tramadol withdrawal wellbutrin - tramadol for dogs best price

Anonymous said...

http://blog.dawn.com/dblog/buy/#91875 tramadol high energy - buy tramadol online cod only

Anonymous said...

http://landvoicelearning.com/#57594 tramadol hcl vicodin - tramadol 37.5/325 high

Anonymous said...

buy tramadol online where to buy tramadol over the counter - can you buy tramadol

Anonymous said...

buy tramadol tramadol keeps me awake - buy tramadol cash delivery

Anonymous said...

buy tramadol for dogs tramadol withdrawal chills - tramadol hcl drug classification

Anonymous said...

buy tramadol online buy tramadol er - buy tramadol from usa

Anonymous said...

buy tramadol online buy tramadol with american express - buy tramadol from thailand

Anonymous said...

xanax pills do you overdose xanax - anyone ever bought xanax online