Questions

Well, I seem to have found a little more energy the last few days, so our apartment is looking a bit cleaner and I'm feeling a little more useful... Now if only my moods wouldn't swing back and forth so many times in a day! It's so hard not to just blame any and all moodiness on the fact that I'm pregnant. I mean, that is certainly an aggravating factor, perhaps THE aggravating factor, but I'm not sure that it's a really valid excuse to be grumpy or take things really personally. It just means that I need all the more to be seeking God's grace to be selfless, kind and steadfast, no matter what havoc my hormones are wreaking. Why is it so much easier to justify sin when we can find a culturally-acceptable physical explanation for why we gave in to temptation? Lord, grant me the grace to fight the temptation to be self-seeking, and if I lose the fight, grant me the grace to recognize MY guilt and not to shift the blame to some hormonal reaction!

On a similar note, something I really struggled with in my pregnancy with Susanna, and which will likely continue to be a struggle this time around since I never fully figured it out before: what is the godly balance between taking care of a body that is truthfully in a slightly compromised state and being selfless? What I mean by that is this: a pregnant woman cannot do EVERYTHING that a healthy, non-pregnant woman can do without potentially causing harm to the baby. There is a real sense in which she is more fragile, NEEDS to be a little more careful, get a little more rest, eat a little more, cut back a little on strenuous activity. The problem is with how far she takes that and what her motivation in doing it is. A lot of books and other pregnant women make it sound as if, just because you're pregnant, you can and should suddenly turn into a princess who has everyone waiting on her hand and foot. How do I take proper care of my body and the life God has placed within it, and at the same time, continue to give my all in the roles and responsibilities I have already been given? When is it okay to ask Nathan to do something that is normally my job, and when am I merely using pregancy as an excuse, sub-conscious though it may be, to get out of doing something just because I don't "feel" like it?

Hmmm... this is question day... What's the line between voicing negative-sounding facts and actually complaining? I'm tired. That is a fact and I don't think there's anything wrong with saying it. But it's easy to get a little carried away and start saying or writing about all the "facts" of the little (or big) grievances in my life, not so much for them to be known and recorded, but for the purpose of seeking sympathy. Is that always wrong? I want to work at being a little more positive in the things I write here, so that this doesn't turn into Sarah's Pregnancy (or Motherhood, or Marriage, or Christianity, etc.) Complaint Journal, because that doesn't edify anyone else, and it doesn't keep me thinking about all the amazing grace God has given and continues to give in all these aspects of my life. Lord help me!