If You Could See Our House…

August 15, 2014 The Not-So Newlywed LefebvresLeave a comment

…you would have no trouble understanding the lack of a blog this week.

As if moving all the way up the Eastern Seaboard isn’t enough of a job, we are also having a Garage/Moving Sale and had the “fun task” of moving the antique piano back to my parents’ house this week…all while I’m still working out this last week in Atlanta!

Tired, exhausted…those words don’t begin to describe it! I think the last time I got more than 4 hours of sleep in a row was several weeks ago – maybe God is just preparing us for our future as parents. 😉

Oh I cannot tell you how much we are going to miss Georgia…but He really has some great things in store for us! It’s exciting to know we are on the brink of tackling a challenge solely for the Kingdom of God!

So, while I apologize for this short blog post…and especially the lack of updates this week, I THANK YOU for your patience and your prayers as we make our way to Maine and embark on our latest journey!

Stay Tuned!

Thirsty For Christ Thursday

Taking A Leap of Faith

July 24, 2014July 24, 2014 The Not-So Newlywed Lefebvres2 Comments

What if God asked you to do something you were unsure about?

What if God asked you to go somewhere you didn’t want to venture?

What if God made a demand of you that made you uncomfortable?

It’s quite a challenge for our (very) human selves, but unless your will and the will of the Lord are one, the questions above just may prove to be true for your walk with Christ. Where He wants us and what He wants us to do is not always easy, or fun, or within our comfort zone. Sometimes “letting go and letting God’, means standing at the edge of a proverbial cliff and taking a giant leap of faith.

We see this plainly in Jesus’ plea to God to let Him forgo the suffering of the cross:

Luke 22:42 (NLT)

“Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”

It is not always ‘suffering’ but some of the destinations God has in store for your life are certainly uncomfortable situations. Check out the video below {Click the title of this post if you are reading it within an e-mail to view this in a browser!} from Beth Moore:

If that didn’t bring tears to your eyes… (If you didn’t watch the video clip above, please make sure to do so. It is a POWERFUL story!)

What amazing things can happen if you just allow God to lead you in every single step you make!

So what will you say to Him the next time He compels you to venture into the unknown?

Say Yes!

TTC Tuesday

Endless blessings; Endless Thanks!

July 15, 2014July 16, 2014 The Not-So Newlywed LefebvresLeave a comment

OK so today will not have any fancy editing and pictures all around as I am not nearly as talented as my wife in this area! I am lucky to have figured out the banner at the top and I am definitely thanking Jesus that I got it to work so that the day can be known to all. When Pier asked me to do a blog post for today I was delighted to say yes and help in anyway that I could (it is rare that she ever asks for my help no matter how busy she is!). Then came the thought of what can I write about. Then realizing that it was Thank You Jesus Tuesday I knew that this would be an easy topic because what is there that we can not thank Him for? Every thing, big or small is given to us by Him! The first thought that popped into my head was I need to thank Jesus for my wonderful wife. I feel that I can never thank Him enough for who He has blessed me with.

Thank You Jesus for my wonderful wife Pier!!!!

This is a little more about the amazing girl that selflessly sits down and writes this blog day in and day out. When I read the inspiring posts that she writes it is only a mere fraction of the inspiration she brings to my life! Pier truly has a heart for our Lord and nothing excites her more than to be able to share His love in this world. She is blessed with the gift of being able to help others to understand Christ’s love on a deeper level and when I see the people and hear the stories of people she has touched I can relate to exactly how they feel because I have experienced the very same feeling. Pier’s heart is always open to God. Not only is her heart open but when she feels called by the Holy Spirit to do something she does not let that go idle. She will put in action what ever it is that she was called to do. Some people would get discouraged by the constant calling of doing things that sometimes seem impossible but she is always energized. This is because she has 100% faith in God and she knows that He would never call her to do something that she could not obtain. She knows that with God anything is possible! Not only can Pier inspire us with written word, ability to help others and her determined mindset but also in her God given voice to sing. Her voice is able to touch many in many different ways. I love every moment that I get to hear her sing praises to God. Now I know that Pier’s ultimate desire for this blog is to reach the hearts of people and to draw them closer to God and so I want to close out with a little piece of Scripture. What does the Bible say about giving thanks?

Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 5:18 “In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus”

Pier and I start off every prayer time with a time of giving thanks. We feel that is important to always thank Him for what he has given us. It could be something as small as thanking Him for the peaceful moment in your day or something much larger. No matter how big or small giving thanks to God is what we are called to do.

What is one thing today you can sit down and say thank you to God for? How about two things? There are endless opportunities to thank God for blessings in our lives.

TTC Tuesday

What Is Your Whale?

July 8, 2014July 8, 2014 The Not-So Newlywed Lefebvres2 Comments

Thank you, Jesus, indeed, as always!!

And this time, thanks to all of YOU! Your letters, e-mails, texts and phone calls have been so sweet!! It’s comforting to know that our being M.I.A. from the blogosphere this past week didn’t go unnoticed! 🙂

We are happy to report that nothing is awry, we are just busy and were a little under the weather from the end of last week through the weekend. And when I say busy, I mean BUSY! Busy as in I have been at my desk since 7:45AM and have only gotten up once, to fill my coffee cup. Busy as in as I was making my page-long to-do list, three more e-mails arrived to add to that list.

And it isn’t just work, we are involved in so much, and very thankfully & happily so. There just aren’t enough hours in the DAY, let alone WEEK to accomplish everything needing to be done! And while we are blessed with my ‘job’ and the income it provides for our family, that’s really all it is. A job. Not a career. It’s a means to an end until we meet Jonah Elizabeth face-to-face. Or at least, it was…

Things are beginning to change at the Lefebvre household, folks, and we will have a teeny-tiny snippet of just what that means tomorrow! But for today…

…let’s focus on our infertility journey and remembering to thank Him for His ever fertile faithfulness.

Two Sundays ago, Pastor Alan spoke about Jonah. Now, we at The Newlywed Lefebvres certainly know the story of Jonah and the whale – right? Or do we…actually?

Read Jonah 1 – 4.

The story of Jonah shows a prophet of God running from His Will. Now, certainly, this is something none of us have ever done. Right? 🙂 Nope. Not relatable in the least… Ha.

Jonah ran from what God asked him to do, and then he got caught up in a very horrible storm. Again…not familiar at all, right? 🙂

He was thrown overboard by the sailors on the boat with him, sure he was about to die.

But God sent a big fish – a marlin, a tuna, a WHALE…

…not to EAT Jonah…not to harm Jonah…not to hurt Jonah…

God sent the whale to Jonah to SAVE him and to redirect him on God’s chosen course for his life!

Wow, huh? That’s a different way of looking at things… and it made me and Craig take a step back and think.

Our infertility has been our whale.

God used this season in our lives to bring us back to Him, and to work for His Kingdom. To truly discover Him and who we are in Him, as His children. He is using our story to bring others to Him. It is truly a miracle…and how apropos that our little miracle will be named Jonah. 🙂

What is something that might be (or might have been) the whale God placed or saved you with in your life?

Thinking of our trials in a whole new light may bring God’s Will for your life into the light, as well. 🙂

Until Tomorrow,

Thirsty For Christ Thursday

Pray. Even On A Bad Day. Pray.

June 26, 2014 The Not-So Newlywed Lefebvres2 Comments

Y’all.

It’s one of those days where I am so fired up about something at the office that I don’t even think I can write a blog. Not a soul-searching, Thirsty for Christ Thursday one for sure.

My mind is flooded with which e-mail to send to whom, what day which meeting is on and who to invite…and then there are the catty/chatty goings on about the office; my boss in my ear about my counterpart here at work; rumors that changes are ‘about to take place at the company’…. A lot of noise.

But it dawned on me that really, when you need to pray and worship most, you usually aren’t ‘in the mood’…

When you feel like praying the LEAST, that’s when you should the MOST.

{Watch the video above (in a browser) for a great song about prayer!}

He will get you through. Whatever storm cloud you’re caught up in – stress, sadness, worry, discouragement – Jesus, and Him alone, can pull you through your troubles.

John 8:12

“When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world.Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Colossians 2:7

Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.

Let Him be your light. Even on the worst or most stressful day, He makes all things work together for the good.

TTC Tuesday

Children Of The King

June 24, 2014 The Not-So Newlywed LefebvresLeave a comment

As you all know, or probably know, Craig and I have been ~~patiently~~ waiting on God for a child for exactly:

After what seemed to have been forever, we heard from the Holy Spirit concerning our future child, and we are so very thankful, expectant and thrilled for little Jonah Elizabeth to arrive!! I can’t tell you how many people during the past month have told us she’s going to be here sooner than we felt! It’s been unbelievably amazing to realize that the Lord hasn’t spoken only to Craig and I, but to those around us, as well!! How awesome is our God!?!?!

Thinking about our future little angel made me examine more closely who she will be and who I am in Christ.

Gill’s Exposition Of The Entire Bible (a comprehensive Bible commentary) says this: “…akin to God, he being their Father, and they his children by adopting grace, and which was made manifest by their new birth; and also akin to Christ, he being their head, husband, Father, and brother, and they his members, spouse, children, and brethren…”

“His children by adopting grace” – how BEAUTIFUL is that?!? The One who breathed the world – and the stars! – into existence adopted us as His Children, even though we aren’t good enough, or thankful enough, or faithful enough. He chose us.

Baby Jonah isn’t even here yet, and Craig mentioned the other day that he just loves her so much – he can’t even imagine the love he will feel for her once she makes her grand arrival! That love? The love a parent has for his child…The amount of that love is outrageous. Most parents will tell you they had no clue until they held their child in their arms how much they were capable of loving.

But take that amount and multiply it by infinity.

That’s just beginning to skim the surface of how much God loves His children.

Ephesians 2:4-7

4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

Our Father in Heaven love US so very much that He allowed His Son to die in our place. Really. Think about that for a second. As a parent. As a future parent. As someone who knows love. He allowed His very own Son to die a criminal’s death, not just a peaceful death in his sleep…but a tortuous, death-row slaughtering. Can you even imagine? That’s how much He loves us. He allowed that for His own Son. To save US.

That’s the LOVE of our Heavenly Father.

Embrace that amazing love, and consider what a special gift He gives when He blesses us with children.

Thirsty For Christ Thursday

Relief

June 19, 2014 The Not-So Newlywed Lefebvres8 Comments

Aaaah…I can honestly say that one of my favorite parts of the week is going to the chiropractor. Each week I go, during lunch, and have an adjustment and then an hour-long massage. All the tense muscles from the stresses of daily life become relaxed, and I feel like a brand new girl.

Seriously. Hands-down. Best. Lunch. Ever. 🙂

But as I was lying there today, my muscles relaxing, my tension releasing, I heard the familiar PING of a text message come from my phone.

When my massage was complete, I checked my messages and saw the one that had arrived during my moment of relaxation. It was from my dad:

Ma is doing much better now. They moved her to a regular room; sodium levels are up and white count is down…Prayer does work. I’ll keep y’all updated.

Love, Dad

Wow.

The relief of that message took more tension out of my neck than the massage I just had had. And then, it hit me – The relaxation. The release. The awesome feeling of having a massage. That’s what God wants us to get from prayer.

Being in His Presence should be a wave of warmth and comfort and peace over us. Our faith in Him should lead us to healing. Out reliance on Him should cause tension to leave us because we don’t have any reason to worry when we are following the Lord with all that we are.

Matthew 11:28 (AMP)

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. [I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.]

Do you truly realize that we serve the God of the Universe who wants to hold us tight and make us feel like a million bucks?!

Just as I laid on the massage table this afternoon and my tired muscles found relief, so is the feeling for your whole body, soul, mind and spirit when you lift your heart up to God in prayer and worship. He wants to have a “Daddy” relationship with you!

Let him be your relief from this world.

P.S. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, to all of you who lifted up my grandmother in prayer! He listens. He answers. He is The Healer. He is The Sustainer. We are blessed with your prayers, your love and your friendship!

My Choice Monday

He Calls Us Out Upon The Waters, The Great Unknown…

June 16, 2014 The Not-So Newlywed Lefebvres3 Comments

So “My Choice Monday” means we can post about whatever we want to today, right? 🙂 It doesn’t have to be a product recommendation or a recipe, does it? Because I don’t have that for you today…

I do, however, have a recommendation in the way of life, though…

Have you ever sung or listened to a song a million times…and then FINALLY been struck – off guard – by the lyrics, and what the song actually means?

About 5 (+ or -) months ago, I was listening to the radio (Victory 91.5 – for all you Atlantans!) and one of the morning dj’s from Rise & Stein – my favorite show – mentioned this song that she just LOVED and was SO MOVED by: “Oceans” by Hillsong.

Although I love and adore Hillsong, I had never heard “Oceans”, nor had I even heard of it…So I set myself to looking it up as soon as I arrived at the office. I listened. And then I listened again. I liked the song…but it wasn’t my favorite. I’m certainly somewhat OCD when it comes to music – I like symmetry: A verse, a chorus, a verse, a bridge, a chorus. End of song.

But this song is not written that way. So I was a little distracted from the words.

At the same time, I felt like I needed to sing something on my own. And the Holy Spirit told me it was this song.

I wasn’t thrilled. It’s a little bit of an odd range for my voice. It isn’t the symmetrical type of song I jive with most of the time. And I hadn’t sung something so ‘full-of-spirit’ since my high school youth choir touring the U.S. days.

But, we got the backing track and Craig and I set to work on practicing and recording and perfecting this song over the months. And somewhere along the way, the Lord led us to FullTurn Church – where, as I was leaving my first Wednesday night, they played “Oceans” as the recessional-esque song. And then He led us to the knowledge of our future baby “Jonah Elizabeth” and we began ‘building our ark’, so to speak, in faith. He asked us to take a giant leap (of faith) and plug into a new church…and as we have moved at His Word…the lyrics of this song began to really sink in. It was like an ocean wave slapped me in the face with all of the truth standing right in front of me.

Read those lyrics. Whoa.

So, the recommendation for this My Choice Monday? Listen for the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit. Let your soul rest in His embrace, and allow Him to lead you – where your trust is without borders.

And while you’re at it, listen to this song {open in a browser}, and we will share the recording of my singing it on Sunday very soon!

TTC Tuesday · What's Up Wednesday

Worry

June 11, 2014 The Not-So Newlywed Lefebvres5 Comments

It feels like I haven’t posted in forever – even though you guys got an update on Monday. I wrote that post last week because I KNEW this week was going to be just craziness!

The past two days WORRY has been on my mind – and not so much in the way of things I am worrying about, but more so about what I am not worried about. Last Tuesday, we posted about Future Baby Jonah and got something very rare for this blog. A true first, actually. A nastygram, in the form of a blog comment. It was supposed to be anonymous. The person used a fake, and very rude, e-mail address, and said something very hurtful, but thanks to technology, know that whatever you post or write on the internet, your identity can be found out. That said, we know who this comment came from.

Rather than WORRYING about what that person said, and if it might be true, I was first angry with her and then later – after much prayer and cooling off time 🙂 – sad for her. Her comment made me remember what my life was like without Christ at the center. It makes me look back on how unbearably bleak an existence without hope is.

I love the way The Message translation of the Bible reads. Try this one on for size:

James 1:2-4

The Message (MSG)

Faith Under Pressure

2-4 Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.

My faith in Christ means that I don’t have to worry. His Promises are real. His Word is true. His Spirit is our comfort.

The Holy Spirit has revealed and continues to reveal to me and to those around Craig and I truths and promises about our Baby Jonah. He asks that we continue to follow Him – no matter what, and the more closely we follow, the more He shows us we are on the right path. It is an uphill journey. It has not been easy.

He doesn’t promise easy. As a matter of fact, He warns the road is a hard one.

Matthew 10:16

The Message (MSG)

16 “Stay alert. This is hazardous work I’m assigning you. You’re going to be like sheep running through a wolf pack, so don’t call attention to yourselves. Be as cunning as a snake, inoffensive as a dove.

So don’t worry. Be diligent in your prayer life and follow Him – no matter what.

1 Peter 5:7

The Message (MSG)

6-7 So be content with who you are, and don’t put on airs. God’s strong hand is on you; he’ll promote you at the right time. Live carefree before God; he is most careful with you.

If God is for you, after all, who can POSSIBLY be against you – and stand a chance?

TTC Tuesday

Joy

June 3, 2014 The Not-So Newlywed Lefebvres6 Comments

You may or may not have seen this verse posted on our Facebook page this morning. The Holy Spirit has been guiding us to read a selection of devotions from the devotional by John MacArthur called “Drawing Near”, and the devotion for yesterday – which didn’t get read until today… 🙂 led me to the verse above.

It’s amazing how the Lord will direct you if you allow Him.

We have been through ups and downs and trials and tribulations over our lack of a child. This time last year, I didn’t go more than a day or two without crying and sobbing and feeling depressed about not being able to give my sweet husband a baby…This year we are rejoicing in the joy of the Lord.

Baby Jonah already has a blanket and several sweet little outfits at home. As soon as we have finally moved into our new home, we will begin working on her nursery. The Lord has brought us a promise and such happiness in the faith and knowledge of His plans for our little family.

James 1:5

If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.

The song below (which you will need to watch within a browser) describes the joy of the Lord and the grace He provides so well: “Exceeding Joy” – Hillsong