Monday, July 13, 2009

Lynnette's book-Chapter 1



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This book reading is for In Faithfulness, He Afflicted Me by Lynnette Kraft. (To visit Lynnette's blog click here.)

When Lynnette and Kyle were married in 1988 I was 5 years old. A long way from ever thinking about marriage but I can certainly relate to how their marriage started out. They were in love but lived mostly for themselves. When Anthony and I got married we both attended church together but we really didn't have a close relationship with God. A good way to put it is that we were going through the motions. We were more worried about paying off our bills and having nice things. If you are married, what was your marriage like in the beginning?

We knew we'd have children but we waited to have some time to enjoy our marriage and for Anthony to get closer to finishing school. I decided over Christmas 2006 that I no longer wanted to be on birth control pills so I quit taking them. I remember telling Anthony that his Christmas present to me would be a baby. He wasn't all that pleased that I had decided this when he wasn't quite done with school but he went along with it. We started trying right away and I finally got pregnant in April 2007. When did you first decide you wanted to have children? Was it planned or unplanned?

Like Lynnette, I never expected to feel what I felt toward my unborn child. Pure love. I worried for months praying my baby would stay safe inside of me. The feelings of first kicks is so incredible. What feelings did you have for your child when you first found out you were pregnant? I think it is so awesome that Lynnette and Kyle made the sacrifice so that Lynnette could stay home. I think being a stay-at-home mom is a wonderful thing. In all honesty, it's not something I think I could do because I love my job. My ideal would be just to work part-time but I don't mind working full-time.

At some point in all our lives we search for something more. Most of us know about God but how many of us have a real relationship with Him? It took conceiving a child for Lynnette and Kyle to start to search for that something more. At what point in your life did you start searching for God? I grew up in the church and was actually saved when I was 12 years old at church camp. I was baptized when I was in college. But I never really had that close and personal relationship. Sure, I prayed and I occasionally read my bible. I went to church. I did just enough to call myself a Christian. I sinned many times and I came crawling back to God only to go about my life just lukewarm. It wasn't until after Kyndra was born in January 2008 that I really started to seek Him. My journey with Carleigh has brought me even closer to God. I do not know how I could function in this life now without Him. And I've also seen God working in Anthony's life too over the years. I remember when we were first married he mostly went to church out of obligation. Even though I myself needed a lot of work, I prayed for God to work in his life. It didn't happen over night, but slowly I saw the changes. For example, every time we got in the car he would listen to this one secular station with some not so nice music and I would change the channel to KLOVE. I didn't always win the radio battle but over time the music spoke to him and now the only station we listen to is KLOVE. And he practically knows all the songs! Praise God!

I am so amazed at how God quickly provided a place to live for Lynnette and Kyle. God knows our needs and will certainly not let us go without. Has there been a time in your life that God provided? I can think of one specific time not long after we were married and we had so many bills. At one point it looked like we wouldn't be able to pay them all and so I asked God to provide. Provide He did! Not long after that we got a $500 check in the mail for a scholarship reimbursement for my schooling. God's timing is perfect.

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5 comments:

Debbie said...

I loved hearing how Anthony is warming up/coming around! The past year or so I've noticed my husband's not so cynical or disrespectful as he used to be. It's neat that they can see "something" in you without you having to be all preachy, huh! And that's so cool how God provided you with that check at just the right time. When stuff like that happens to me, I just want to tell it to everyone I know! LOL ~Debbie

April said...

Holly - wonderful reflection on the first chapter.

I think I identified most with you about our husbands being alittle more reluctant than us to accept a new way of life. My husband has a very private relationship with God - private enough that he doesn't share much with me. I am much more verbal and expressive about what I am feeling and he keeps all that in (like most men). But it can be difficult in a marriage when we're trying to live for God, to have one spouse a bit more reserved. He has begun to "tolerate" KLOVE :) Loved that story! I do pray that God will do good things for my husband and to use me in any way to help reveal His grace for my husband.

Being pregnant is wonderful and I hope that you will soon have good news for us all :) We will be trying again in about 3 months, waiting for Jax to turn one!

Caroline said...

It's so great how good the Lord works. Always there just when we need him. Great post Holly & I'm so glad you both have a great relationship with the Lord. Anthony & you are a amazing couple & always remember w/ the Lord you can tackle anything. He loves all of us so much. Have a great day.
Caroline :)

Kelly @ Sufficient Grace Ministries said...

I finally did my Read With Us post. Guess I'm too late to link up. Here's my link.

http://sufficientgrace-kelly.blogspot.com/2009/07/read-with-us-and-my-blogiversary-winner.html

I loved the story of how your husband learned to love the radio station. Very cute!

Andi said...

Mark and I both had solid relationships with God when we met each other and started dating. I'm very thankful for that! I was working at that time and money wasn't so much of an issue. We decided around our first anniversary to start trying for a baby. It didn't take long and we were expecting Amelia. I had just started teaching kindergarten-my first year. I was sooo sick. I ended up resigning and after the first trimester I felt better and subbed until Amelia was born.
I was nervous about the health of my baby...pretty much a hypochondriac! But there are no words to describe the first time you feel that baby move.
God has provided for us soo much. There is no way I could've been home these last 9 years without God providing for us greatly!

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