God is in the Midst of Her...

--Jeremiah continues to be the Lord's instrument in making me a kinder, sweeter, more beautiful, and more Godly woman. I feel like he's always bringing me back to my purest self, making me remember who I am, and helping me achieve my highest good. Finding my prince and falling in love with him has been messier and harder than I expected...and yet, much richer than I dared to hope. It's challenged my faith, and in turn, bolstered it immensely.

--I am moving home to beautiful Webster Groves, Missouri! I am packing my bags in Columbia and moving back into my parents' house on November 22nd. I don't think words can adequately express how delighted I am to be returning to St. Louis. When I graduated college, I wasn't yet done with Columbia; I needed more time here. However, now the time has come for a new season.

--I am starting what promises to be an amazing new job on November 30th! I will be an OB Case Manager for the Family Care Health Center in St. Louis (http://fchcstl.org). I will be developing relationships with women throughout their pregnancies and counseling them regarding motherbaby care. I can't wait! :)

--I've generally always accepted the "a husband should love his wife like Christ loved the Church and a wife should therefore submit to her husband" thing. I know it's good and right and true. However, when played out in a real-life relationship, it's much harder to deal with. It means that when I am married, if a compromise can't be reached, I don't get my way. It means I have to be a bigger person that I am right now. Dang...it must be hard to get used to being married. But I guess getting naked helps.

--Sometimes I wonder why people ask me for advice. In asking me for wisdom, people assume I possess it. This is very flattering and all, but it's also a lot of pressure. I am not a life coach. I can only see the world through my own eyes and my own experience...what works for me won't necessarily work for anyone else, cause they don't have Halley eyes. I only know what I would do...isn't it curious that it's easy to know what you'd do if you were plunked into someone else's life, and yet it's so confusing trying to figure out what to do with your own?

--My Halley eyes get me in trouble sometimes, regarding the things I am passionate about. I get tunnel vision and when I get really hyped up about something, I forget that not everyone holds the same views that I do. As a good friend once told me, "The hardest part of having a passion is giving grace to those who don't share your passion." Many of my passions I hold so tightly that I think it's ludicrous if people don't agree with me (probably all of them, actually, if I'm honest). I need help in giving more grace.

--I really hate that we live in a fallen world. I wish we could all go back to Eden. I wish everyone could be naked and not be ashamed and not wrapped in the emotional and physical trappings of the world. I wish we could all be real with each other. I wish the sight of a women breastfeeding was so totally normal and accepted that it was a completely mundane conversation topic. I wish all kids grew up watching their mom nurse their siblings. I'd love to see more kids pretending to nurse their dolls instead of pretending to feed them bottles of formula (aka, poison). (Sorry, the Halley eyes again...but it's true :)

--I read some commentary recently about how a Christian husband and wife should approach their wedding night (things to talk about beforehand, realistic and unrealistic expectations, what to do about awkwardness, etc). Most of it seemed to be sound advice and made good sense, however I was offended by the author's assumption that the woman will feel extremely self-conscious about exposing her body to her new husband. Excuse me? What a perverted assumption. Our culture and media is constantly making women feel badly about their bodies, and therefore I can see that it may indeed be tragically common for virgin brides to feel self-conscious on their wedding nights. For that reason, I suppose I can see how the author's words could be helpful. However, I think it was wrong of him not to lament this awful reality! My body isn't perfect, but it is beautiful and God-created and GOOD. When I think about my own wedding night, I do not feel self-conscious at all! I am so excited to reveal myself! And I am so sad for anyone who isn't! Maybe I'll walk around naked my whole honeymoon...maybe it would somehow even the score for those poor women who feel insecure about sharing their bodies with the men who love them.

--Hydrogen peroxide will get out pomegranate stains...FYI :)

On Thursday morning I had the great pleasure of shadowing the breastfeeding peer counselor at the Cole County WIC office (Jefferson City, MO). The Cole County WIC office discovered some time ago that if their dietitians counseled breastfeeding to their pregnant clients, the women were no more likely to attempt nursing than if they had received no counseling, but that if a PEER encouraged breastfeeding, women were more likely to give it a try. Renee, once a WIC client herself, is now the Cole County breastfeeding peer counselor, and thanks to her hard work, the breastfeeding initiation rate has jumped from 20% to 60%!!!! Incredible!

Check out the awesome banner that is hanging in the Jefferson City WIC office:


I sat in with Renee -- affectionately called "the boob lady" by some -- as she met with a variety of pregnant moms. Some were primips (first baby), some were multips (2nd+ baby), some had nursed before, others had not, but all were of low socioeconomic status, quite young (the oldest mom we saw was 20!), and most thought breastfeeding was weird or gross. Some of the WIC clients feel they cannot breastfeed because their breasts "belong" to their boyfriends/husbands. Others were squimmish and embarrassed to touch their own chests, to which Renee would reply, "Their YOUR breasts, you can touch them!" Another woman was telling us with her body language that she had likely been abused...she kept her amrs crossed over her breasts the whole time we talked. It was definitely a different culture. Renee was so fabulous with every woman who came through her door. She talked about the nearly limitless benefits of breastfeeding, the ingenious advertising of formula companies, and the myths surrounding breastfeeding and nursing difficulties. She demonstrated various positions and had the women try for themselves. We watched video clips of breast compression and contrasting good and poor latches. But the coolest thing she did was give her phone number to every single woman so that they could call her with questions and postpartum breastfeeding assistance.

By the end of my shadowing experience, Renee and I had become fast friends. We soon discovered that the other was also an earthy mama, and we had a great time discussing breastfeeding and a variety of other topics! "The Boob Lady" is a kindred spirit and doing a great work in Jefferson City!