Supreme Example

Definition of daddy (n)

dad-dy [ daddee ]

   1. father: a person's father, especially a young  child's      
   2. supreme example: the earliest or finest example of something
       Synonyms father, pop, papa, dad

   My son, Joah, already has such a sweet spirit about himself. It doesn't matter where we go or who we see, he puts a smile on the faces around him. Although he is "Mr. Social" (and has been since the day he came home), he has yet to say his first word. This had begun to make me very nervous. It's been a struggle of mine to see other kids develop at a more rapid pace. BUT today he said ,"DaDa!" This reminded me of two very important things:

   

1. No matter how much I want my child to do something or develop a certain way, it's ultimately not up to ME. 

   This is something that I am going to have to remind myself over and over as each year passes. It seems that everything I had discovered when researching child development put emphasis on the individuality of each child. The difficult part in this, though, is that I am a "won't believe it until I see it" type person. Consequently I did not heed to the research I had done. However, I know it to be true now. I have seen it -- now I can believe it.

2. God has created us in such a way that even the seemingly meaningless details bring Him glory.

   I was talking with one of my friends today about how Joah finally said "DaDa" and she brought up a pretty amazing point. The first word for most kids is "DaDa." As we began to discuss this, it hit me. God is the One who created this. He is our "DaDa." He is Joah's true daddy. He is MY true daddy. God desires for us to have an intimate relationship with Him. Jesus always talked about us having CHILDlike faith. Joah saying DaDa is a perfect example of this. We might not have the understanding of anything else in this world, but if we know who our DaDa is, we have everything. What I found when looking up the definition of Daddy was interesting. One of the definitions was Supreme Example: the earliest or finest example of something. HOW AMAZING IS THAT! I got chills down my spine when I came across this! Our God is so good!

   Being a parent is important. And as a mother, I know that God has called me to be nurturing, caring, and loving like Jesus. By no means am I saying that my role isn't as important as the father's, but I know how much value the father's example is to a child.

   I am so proud of my amazing husband. Ryan has exceeded my expectations of the father I thought he would be. Not because he is great, but because God is great IN him. He doesn't think he is the supreme example, but he knows that God ultimately is. So, Ryan, I just wanted to thank you for the father you are by not looking at yourself as the best dad, but knowing that God wants to use you as a father to Joah. To be an example and to show His supreme example.

   

My Greater Calling

   If I'm being honest I never quite understood what it meant to have a "calling" in life. I thought the worth of my calling was measured by the amount of money I made. But after many close friends speaking life into me and much time spent with God, I am now beginning to have a greater idea of what my calling is.

   A close friend of mine describes a calling as "a distinct leading from the Holy Spirit to serve the Lord in a specific area that brings Him glory." The eloquence in those words really resonate with me. God certainly has a distinct voice and a way of distinctly leading in my life. I long to bring Him glory in everything that I do.

   To say I have always known what my calling is would be false. However, I have felt a strong sense of what the principle of my calling was. It's to share the Gospel with those who have not heard. But the question is how? and in which way?

   As you might know, I will be a stay-at-home mommy soon. :) This has made me very excited, but there are lots of questions with this excitement. One of the main questions is, "How do I continue the relationships I've made at work?" Over the last year and a half my mission field has been my workplace. Monday through Friday I "do life" with my coworkers and try my best to show them that I care for them and love them. I know that God is ultimately the One who loves them and so I'm trusting that He will use my life to impact them even though I will be home with Joah. I'm really excited to see how much greater God will use me in this next season in my life.

   So, when I am a stay-at-home mommy, I will simply love the people He puts in my life the way that Jesus loves them. Pastor Steven Furtick (lead pastor at Elevation Church in Charlotte, NC) says, "You can not change the world, if you are not in the world." My calling is not to be cooped up in my little apartment and only focused on raising Joah. It is GREATER than that. It is to see this city flipped through the love of Christ I share with those around me, whoever they might be.

"God our shield, God our shelter, God our rock

 Yours forever is the glory, the honor

 The victory and power"
-Greater by Elevation Worship

Staying With J

   Ryan (my husband) and I did long distance for a year while we were dating. Once he proposed he asked me to move to Knoxville. I knew God had called me somewhere other than Mobile, AL. (where my parents live) So a month later I packed up my stuff and moved to Knoxville.

   As we were preparing for our marriage we talked early on about children and the span of when we would start trying to have a child. We both had discussed 5-8 years before we had a child. Simply because after being long distance we wanted to have some time to be just us.

   In January we were married! We were excited for this new adventure we were about to embark on together! One Day Ryan came home and said he really felt strongly about something and needed me to pray with him about our prior decision to wait to have children.

   Me, being the one who had to carry this child was quickly to think you've got to be kidding me. But I trusted my husband and began praying. We then came to the conclusion that we were going to have a son. (I wasn't even pregnant yet) But God was speaking to us very specifically and clearly. Ryan's last name had been well known in South Knox and not that they were known for bad things but he wanted to be sure to bring God honor to his last name. We believed and knew that having a boy to carry our last name and raising him "to reach people far from God to be filled with life In Christ" would Honor The Lord.

   When I found out I was pregnant, in March, Ryan and I didn't need an ultrasound to tell us it was a boy, we knew. God was faithful and on November 26, 2012 our son Joah Lawson Read was born. 

   I was currently a teller at a community bank in Knoxville and Ryan was a custodian at a church. We both loved our jobs but I knew from the time he was born I was supposed to be a stay at home mom. We lived in a studio garage apartment above his parents garage. Although it was very nice we knew for our marriage to flourish to full capacity we needed to be on our own. So there was a big decision to make. Stay at home with my 2 month old son or move to an apartment and have our own family. We tried to make it work living there with Ryan having 2 jobs but he was being worked to death and it just wasn't working so we moved.

   In February, 2013 we moved to our apartment and have loved it but we still felt this urge for me to stay home. We tried to come up with solutions on how to get me home but none worked out. Mainly cause we weren't relying on God to provide. Ryan knew he needed another job in order for me to stay home and an opportunity opened up for him to be a Marketing Team Leader at Exodus Chiropractic and he took it.

   He's been there for a month or so now and we have been really praying about the timing of me staying home. With much prayer and great influences in our life we made the decision that as of August 30 I will be a....drum roll please ....stay at home mom!!!