What should I do?

For those of us who believe in God but do not have Him completely figured out (that should be everyone!), it is often difficult to know what God wants us to do. Does He want me to take this job, or that one? Does He want me to live here, or there? Does He want me to do this, or that? Does He even care?

I don't mean that last question in the sense of whether God cares about us or not, but rather in the sense of whether God cares about the specific decisions we make in our lives. Decisions such as where we work, where we call home, what church we go to, or any of the multitude of decisions we make on a daily basis. If God has determined a plan for each life, how do we know whether our life is going according to plan? Do we just assume that whatever we are doing has been willed by God? I don't think so, because how then do you explain sinful or immoral behavior?

While I do not consider myself a theologian, at least in the sense of the word commonly attributed to studied professors, authors, etc., I can only conclude that God has a plan for our lives and it is up to us to find out what that plan is. I think that is why God gave us the Holy Spirit, other people to speak into our lives, and the ability to learn from the Bible. Does that mean we'll have every answer to life's questions? If so, I am doing something wrong. If we had the answer to every one of life's questions, there would be no need for a God at all.

Understanding Babies

I have become convinced over the last few weeks, or the last 7.5 weeks to be exact, that it is nearly impossible for any adult to truly understand babies. Is he crying because he's hungry? Is he crying because he's tired? Is he crying because he has a dirty diaper? Who knows! The truth is, once you think you have your baby figured out - he changes.

My son, Micah, went 3 or 4 nights in a row only waking up once in the middle of the night. How nice it was to get 3-4 hours of constant sleep twice in the same night! Exactly when I thought he had developed a habit of waking up only once per night, he changed (surprise!). The last two nights have been exhausting (more for my wife than for me). He wakes up wanting to nurse every 2-3 hours, and then sleeps like a cat during the day.

Oh, there he is now...fussing in his crib. Is he hungry? Does he have a dirty diaper? Only he knows...maybe I should go ask. The joys of parenthood.