Seeing Double!

Twins are everywhere! I had lots of fun taking notes on doubles that I've seen. This kind of reminds me of the fun I had with my sister when we were young. We would choose a car that we wanted and we would count every time one would pass by. Instead of counting 1978 Pintos, I'm counting the times I'm reminded of this promise.

September 12, 2008: 8 year old twin boys downtown.

October 28, 2008: A set of twin boys walking down the street.

October 29, 2008: Twins on the "Bringing Baby Home" show.

October 29, 2008: Twins on the "Tyra" show.

November 4, 2008: 3 year old twin girl gymnasts while voting on Election Day.

November 6, 2008: 3 year old identical twin boys that were wearing gray coats.

November 10, 2008: 15 year old twin boys at Ford City. They were drummers.

November 25, 2008: 65 year old identical twin ladies at work. They were "pencil sharp."

December 5, 2008: Teenage twin boys on "Cosby Show."

December 18, 2008: 50 year old twin ladies on the bus.

January 8, 2009: 4 year old twin boys going on a train station.

January 13, 2009: Newborn twins tucked away in their carriers while I was at work.

January 14, 2009: 5 year old identical twin girls with their backpacks.

January 26, 2009: 10 year old identical twin girls.

January 27, 2009: 5 year old twin girls wearing satin Roca Wear jackets.

February 3, 2009: 3 month old fraternal twin boy and girl at work.

February 7, 2009: A set of twins on American Idol as contestants.

February 9, 2009: Twin girls on "The Baby Story."

February 11, 2009: Identical newborns on "House of Payne."

February 14, 2009: 16 year old identical boys while visiting my dad in the hospital.

March 5, 2009: Twin boys at church

August 12, 2009: Twins on the "Birth Day" television show.

May 31, 2009: Newborn twin boys at the hospital while I was touring the birthing center.

September 14, 2009: Twins on "I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant" television show.

November 2009: Read story about twins born in two different years.

May 17, 2010: 1 week old identical twin girls in the grocery store.

May 18, 2010: 5 year old identical twin girls while I was leaving work.

Oh my! Isn't that fun.

Even when there are distractions, will you still be able to count your promises or will you have to start from one?

From Being Cold, Empty, and Dark to Celebration!

God has taken my womb from being cold, empty, and dark, just as this nusery, to being full of celebration.

What's In Your Basket?

Monday, February 9, 2009, I fell in love with Moses baskets! This is something I had not seen before. Something that is so odd in such a common place -the hospital. I asked a man who was carrying a newborn where he purchased the basket and he said, "the baby's god-mother bought it." He didn't know where she purchased it. I started my hunt to find Moses baskets! I didn't stop until I did. About a week later, I went into one of my favorite stores and there it was. Imagine that! Give God praise for leading you to a basket. Not just any old basket, but a Moses basket! I fell in love!

"Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the entire staircase."
- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Throughout my journey, I've been inspired by these words.

An Elder's basket is never empty.
- African Proverb

Lights, Camera, Baskets!

BOOM!

What a GIFT!

On Mother’ Day, May 9, 2010, I received a wonderful gift!  I was given the opportunity to preach.  Never had I received such a gift as this on Mother’s Day, besides the beautiful outfit I’m wearing that my daughter gave me.  My pastor, Bishop Louis Clark, blessed me by extending the opportunity for me to preach about “The Miracle of Birth.” Over the past year and a half, I learned that birth is not an illness. I came across several writings on natural childbirth in addition to films on water births.  Last year, I had shown the film to a couple of women groups I led.  I was honored and proud that one of the women, who attended the meeting I hosted, said that she was so inspired by the film that it led her to have her baby naturally. She shared the results of the natural birth with me.  Her baby immediately latched onto her breast and was highly alert following the birth. Throughout my research, I was most surprised by the way other countries treat birth so differently. In various countries, midwives attend to births rather than doctors. The woman is encouraged to go through the process of labor and not to hurry the time.  I am convinced that birth is not an illness.  Other countries also have less medicated births mainly because they believe birth is natural.  I was also impressed to learn that a doctor in France designed the first maternity unit of a hospital which was completely a non-traditional way of facilitating a healthy pregnancy. Can you imagine prenatal care consisting of bringing the staff and pregnant moms around the piano to sing and eat sardines?  That was what a prenatal care visit consisted of.  Can you imagine the outcome of the visit on both sides?  He shared how pregnant moms, including staff, would have a much different attitude while interacting with one another. I began to envy women of such countries. The high value that is placed on childbirth is not one that I’m familiar with.  I believe it’s time to restore the value and virtue of childbirth not only in our country but in our communities, families, and homes.

Happy Mother's Day!

This Mother’s Day, May 9, 2010, is a day of reflection for me. On September 2, 2009 at 3:30am, it was a transforming moment and day for me. I thought I had missed my season and thought that it would never come again. I was confused and messed up. All I could do was cry. While everyone in the house was sleeping, I went to my back window and peered into complete blackness in the sky. Was there a moon? If it was there, I didn’t see it. What a black experience. To survive this moment, I had to see that God was beyond the blackness. I didn’t know why He stayed there. During one of the traumatic times in my childhood, I couldn’t wait until morning because I knew light was coming. I felt safe when there was light. At a young age, I knew light represented hope. I had hope that things would change! God led me to read Hebrews 11:35 and I Kings 17:22 as I thought my dream had died.

I looked up into the darkness and knew something was wrapped in it. For the first time, I saw darkness as gift wrapping paper. Day doesn’t begin with light it begins with darkness. God gift wraps each day for us. As the sun rises, He takes off the wrapping paper while we enjoy the gifts of beauty, glory and the treasures of each day.

On this particular day, September 2nd God unfolded a treasure. He had me to recall the banquet of wine that was held on the second day. The king asked Esther “what is they petition?” For the second time, what is thy petition? He asked her twice. He told her it shall be done, even half of the kingdom. Esther had asked that for favor and life be granted to her.

I went before God with my petition. I asked God for favor and for life to be granted to the families of my church, Shepherd’s Kingdom Ministries International. While Esther was asking for life, she was interceding for those who were threatened with death. This reminded me of Hannah who lived in Ramah which was a place where male children were being killed. Not even this discouraged or watered down Hannah’s dream of giving birth to a son. She continued to pour her soul out to God. Samuel was born and became a great prophet of the nation.

In my transforming moment, I learned to respect and reverence God as the giver of life. Before this, I had done the opposite. I was counting exactly 40 weeks to having new lives in my arms. I left God out it. This experience caused me to rely upon God in a way that I never had to before. I looked at how the woman with the issue of blood went from doctor’s appointments and medical treatments to touching the hem of a “garment?” Truly that was a new thing and certainly out of the box. Jesus’ garment healed her land, healed the landscape of her mind and healed the landscape of her heart.

In pregnancy, I understand that God can move in new ways. He moved the children of Israel from following a cloud to following a box. I’m sure this was a challenge because, for years, they learned certain things about the cloud they followed. They knew rain would come out if but didn’t know what to expect out of the box. We are so accustomed to how pregnancy works that we don’t expect that God would do anything different or new with it.

From the cloud to the ark, Moses had to rely on God in new ways. He had never experienced plagues. There were ten of them. This year 2010, I have and still is confronting my 10 plagues. We must have courage to confront the plagues. It will teach you to rely on God in ways you never had to before. You’ll see into dimensions you normally wouldn’t see into.

When the twins arrive, they will be well prepared for any special occasion.

Before they could even understand, they light up my life.

Find Fun In The Tragedy

Don't settle for just having the experience of a tragedy, but find fun in it. It may seem strange to partner fun with tragedy. If you can't find fun, create it, and then you will soon find that you've also picked up a new skill! Despite my tragedy, I had fun pulling out the twins' shoes, and making beautiful pictures and shapes. As a result of the fun, I've joined a camera club. I'm starting a new adventure of learning photography.  I can't wait to share more with you.

                                                                               

Trust God Before YOU Try To Alter His Future For YOU

Of the 650,000 women who choose a tubal ligation as birth control, approximately 10 years from now will find themselves in a tragedy.  My tragedy began in 1989.  I had my tubes tied, clipped, and burned after the birth of my baby girl.  I was set, so I thought.  Uncontrollable asthma during my pregnancies convinced me, along with a couple of family members, that a tubal ligation was the way to go. My ex-husband agreed. Did I mention, I wasn't going to get stuck with a house full of babies?  So, I got the "fix."

After getting divorced, I'd prayed for God to send someone in my life who would be much older and have children of his own.  This was my plan to avoid the issue of "having more children."  Well, 12 years later, my new husband said that he never wanted to have children of his own.  Perfect, I thought.  A year later, I found it difficult to control my desires of wanting to have another baby.  The desire grew stronger and I had deeper regrets of getting "fixed." 

Several women in the Bible were barren and God opened their womb.  I believed God to open my womb.  I searched for a doctor that would reverse my tubal ligation.  I went to the hospital to gain records regarding my procedure in 1989. They could not be found.  I returned a year later thinking they must have located them by now.  No record.  I called the doctor who performed the procedure.  He didn't have my records.  Another attempt. No record. 

For ten years, I prayed, cried, regretted, hoped and prayed.  My tragedy of the decade. I got my tubes tied rather than completely trusting God with every part of my life.

Don't try to alter God's plan for your future with natural remedies. Let God be in complete control of your life. 

Living Life on the Red Carpet

Pregnancy is Red Carpet worthy. It is not just for celebrities, but for me and every other pregnant woman in the world. As you can see, here’s a picture of the “reserved” sign where my car was parked.

Not every shopping mall has reserved parking for expecting mothers. Even on the bus, not every bus recorded announcer asks riders to yield their seat to expecting mothers. I found these certain places and routes, like certain shopping malls and certain bus routes, to be the most pleasurable. Pregnancy is an investment. I invested, in not only in my twin boys, but my appearance. Pregnancy is not the time to invest less. If anything, it should be over the top, if there's such a thing, when you're carrying another life or lives. I learned about a doctor in France, some years ago, who designed a maternity care unit that focused his pregnant patients on being happy and emotionally pampered. A visit to his unit would consist of bringing pregnant women together with the staff to sit around the piano and sing, eat sardines and blueberries, drink cranberry juice, and talk to each other. I'm sure you can imagine how different their visits looked for both the staff and the women. I shifted my focus from complications, high risks, advanced maternal age of a multiple pregnancy to empowerment and taking pictures of myself with nature. I also participated in theater productions, took strolls downtown, and went on carriage rides.

These activities drove away anxieties and negativity. That’s why I can say, it took me about two years to identify my tragedy. One of the most emotional things for a woman is to get a "negative" report when she has dreamed of pregnancy. Pregnancy tests were designed for the purpose of increasing the option and time of terminating a pregnancy and not to insure that the pregnancy would be healthy. Many women upon seeing the pink line would then stop smoking, stop drinking, get rest, drink water, eat healthier, and take care. We must move beyond this place of relying on test results to warn us of changing our lifestyle to prepare for a new life. We must live to the point that life can come forth at any moment now. Just two questions for you. What can happen for you at any moment now? What will happen if you begin to live your life on the Red Carpet without the paparazzi?