Christmas will soon be here. it seems I am not as busy as i was this time last year and for that I am thankful. Oh I do love so much to attend births. I adore it in fact! but my family does need me to be there for them so I cut back. Family is a bigger priority. they wont be little forever! I don't know how some doulas do it, working fulltime, some holding other outside jobs and having a family! my goodness it's a lot of work.
I'm still working at a local hospital program which is going great. I'm also leaking out the word via friends of my doula services.... I'm not officially advertising as I don't intend to get too busy. a few here and there works for us right now.
I'm coming up on my 2 yr anniversary. The beginning of the year. woohoo! time has flown in that regard! I can hardly think that what was once my "dream job" has become a reality. sure it's a lot of work... but I suits me well I believe. it has been good to me and i have learned so very much. I tell you what, working in an apprenticeship type atmosphere you learn FAR more than thru just schooling. sure I can read what all the books say, but it doesn't sink in and become second nature until you put it into action. Now I would never recommend skipping the schooling, but I would say to any future doulas out there, learn thru your mentors as much as possible, it makes all the difference in the world. ask a doula friend to join her at some births, there is where you will learn the most valuable lessons. there you will find your own style and become comfortable in your profession.
remind me to make some new links to my favorite birthing sites and books. my old list could use an update!
Merry Christmas everyone! enjoy the community of this season, not during any other time of year are people as caring towards one another. (I'll not bring attention to the rude few that run you down in the shopping centers trying to race towards the last of the newest video game systems! hehe) but hey I'm sure those rude people are rude every other part of the years as well ;)
The Devotional Life Is Almost Crowded Out And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business… That
ye may walk honestly toward them that are without…
1 Thessalonians 4:11, 12
We Christians must simplify our lives or lose untold treasures on earth and in eternity!
Modern civilization is so complex as to make the devotional life all but impossible, multiplying distractions and beating us down by destroying our solitude.
"Commune with your own heart upon your bed and be still" is a wise and healing counsel, but how can it be followed in this day of the newspaper, the telephone, the radio and the television? These modern playthings, like pet tiger cubs, have grown so large and dangerous that they threaten to devour us all. No spot is now safe from the world’s intrusion.
One way the civilized world destroys men is by preventing them from thinking their own thoughts. Our "vastly improved methods of communication" of which the shortsighted boast so loudly now enable a few men in strategic centers to feed into millions of minds alien thought stuff, ready-made and predigested.
The need for solitude and quietness was never greater than it is today. Even the majority of Christians are so completely conformed to this present age that they, too, want things the way they are.
However, there are some of God’s children who have had enough. They want to relearn the ways of solitude and simplicity and gain the infinite riches of the interior life. They want to discover the blessedness of what has been called "spiritual aloneness"—a discipline that will go far in making us acquainted with God and our own souls!
what a shame that we can actually let ourselves become too busy for God. as I meditate on what that means i am filled with terror. have I benn so duped into believing God isn't interesting enough to hold my attention for more than a few minutes every day? I am convinced this is the greatest tool that is used against us.
I am determined to let my kids grow up watching me enjoy the things of God. I want them to be comfortable with silence, quiet and even "boredom". I think honestly, our fear of being bored is much worse then being bored. all those times I think "I don't want to do that! it's so boooorrrriiinnng". and really once I am there doing that boring task (dishes, or gardening, or washing diapers...) I'm not really bored. I'm actually living in the moment. thinking, aware of my breath and aware of myself in space and time. If I could bestow the gift of the enjoyment of quiet to my kids I would feel it a job well done.
If you could get everyone in the world to change their behavior in one way, what would you have them do differently?
Submitted by Ross.
THINK!!! (it's a lost art I believe)
I went to Baltimore to see this:
The Business of Being Born
followed by a panel discussion hosted by:
(Riki Lake)
possibly the most interested and exciting day I've had in a long time. certainly since becoming a doula anyhow. Riki is from Baltimore which was part of the reason they were abel to book her on such short notice. (we live about 20mins outside of Baltimore)
it was a great movie and an even better discussion! I enjoyed it so very much. Riki Lake was one of my favorite actresses when I was a teenager (John Waters films... I don't recommend them so much now as a Christian, but they are pretty funny) anyhow it was so weird to see her many years later grown up, with kids and involved in something so much a part fo my life. Even better? no one treated her like she was famous. no one wanted autographs or anything silly, it was just like anybody else who supports natural birthing choices. I got to sit behind her during the movie (kinda neat) and the discussion was quaint so we all really got a lot of questions answered. she really is doing a lot with this movie to help the birth culture and I would recommend it to anyone! it does have a few graphic birthing scenes to those of you who mind that sort of thing, but it's for a great cause... not "over sexualized" in any way.
over all it was a very fair and non-antagonistic view of the birthing culture. very open and honest and truthful, but not in a throw in your face kinda way. it wasnt meant to shock you into disbelief, but to shed lite on the truth abot how the system works and how a woman's body working during labour.
as soon as it's available it will make its way into my personal doula library! I urge you if it's showing near you anytime to go see it!
it's about time right? I never post anything... so I will. This is a picture a friend took of us at a restaurant yesterday. it's so rare we get a real family picture with us all together and everyone is looking at the camera, so I have to post that
(he is an older mennonite gentlemen and refers to his younger friends as "son" and "daughter" or of course brother and sister if they are older. he's such a kind person and it was quite an honor!)
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This is Laura:
(granted not the best picture... )
This is Laura with insomnia:
oh my goodness I am tired.
(btw that is my green covering from Garlands of Grace. I love it as it has a non-slip strip that helps it stay on for the most part. for some reason it looks crooked in the picture...)
Subject: What are your Two's?
Two names you go by:
Laura, MOOOOOMMMMYYYY!
Two things you are wearing right now:
a ratty old nightgown and old sweatpants underneath b/c I'm cold. I'm a vision of loveliness!
Two things you would want (or have) in a relationship:
honesty, trust
Two of your favorite things to do:
read a good book, knit
Two things you want very badly at the moment:
sleep with out giving up any time. and more time.
Two pets you had/have:
Pee Wee the dog, Penny (Penelop Annabella Breece, but she's really my mom's and terribly horribly allergic... but she's cute!)
Two people who will answer these questions, or first to send it back:
????
Two things you did last night:
Tried to sleep while Sean snored ;), read my Bible
Two things you ate yesterday:
Pizza and pea alfredo stuff.
Two people you have last talked to:
Sean, My mom
Two things you're doing tomorrow:
Watching the kids tear apart the house, putting the house back together when they go to sleep. same ol'
Two longest car rides:
Md to Ill. South carolina to Md.
Two favorite holidays:
My birthday (I love that day!) and Christmas Eve
Two favorite drinks:
ice cold water with icy shavings in it, fountain cherry coke with crushed ice.
those who knows me well know I am a huge fan of the Weston A. Price Foundation (wapf). It's a way of eating and living... and well I could tell you all about it, but why not go HERE and read it yourself.
well recently I stumbled upon THIS article about Childbirth pain... great insite on preparing your body for the endurance of birthing. I am going to keep it on hand for my future clients so I figured I wouls share it here as well!
Something I have been giving real thought to lately. those of you who know me well would know this is really unlike me... but as I grow he less I am satisfied by the shallow -guised as deep- spirituality. This is an uncomfortable change for me. uncomfortable to consider... but something (or someone) is leading me thru this. it is not a choice so much as a must. I must do this. I must allow myself to consider more, think longer and react slower. and most important as well as most difficult, I must allow myself to consider that logic doesn't always equal truth. the truth of the matter is not how well it can be argued nor by whom. Truth need not prove itself in our timeframe. This may seem obvious, but it is a lie I've believed for a long time - that I believe what makes most sense to me at the time. it seems so reasonable doesn't it? until it's considered I am not all knowing, nor particularly smart.
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A LOWER LEVEL
O God, thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works. (Psalm 71:17)
There are leaders and there are churches within the Christianity of our day who will surely answer for their failure to apply the disciplines of the New Testament to the present generation of young people.
Much of Christianity today does not hold to the necessity for disciplines in the Christian life. If we have any of God’s concerns in our hearts, we must grieve over the lack of spirituality in the lives of great segments of professing Christian young people.
It is not my calling to assess blame. It is part of my Christian calling to proclaim the fact that no one, young or old, has the right to come to Jesus Christ and stake out their own conditions and terms.
Segments of Christianity have made every possible concession in efforts to win young people to Christ; but instead of converting them to Christ they have "converted" Christianity to them. Too often they have come down to the modern level—playing, teasing, coaxing and entertaining. In essence, they have been saying to them, "We will do everything as you want it," instead of giving them Christ’s insistent word, "Take up your cross!"
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when I posted this on another forum a friend said this to me:
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"I've walked the same road. I do think it's a spiritual maturity thing. Though I will say, that if it wasn't for Christian Lite, dh and I wouldn't be going to church at all. When we started we would have been TERRIFIED of a church taking itself or its message seriously."
this is what I've been thinking about lately. and why I often forget to blog here. it's weighing heavy on my mind and I'm finding myself often lost in thought. I try to stay on topic here as much as possible, but how can one have a blog and not be honest to some degree? I am a doula... but there is also more to me than that ;)"I've thought of this a lot too. convinced I never would have come to christ if it weren't for my very alternative christian youth group... but when I think about it those are just mediums. If Christ calls you, you'll hear it. granted it may be your choice whether or not to answer, but you'll hear it regardless. I'm not trying to imply christians need to stick to some kinda regimented way of spirituality. dull boring and one size fits all... but I am saying that making Jesus "cool" or "hip" or "rawkin" (which was my word hehe!) isn't really Jesus... is it? but, just some weird slant we try to make on Him to make him look more appealing to others. But, what really appeals us to a life for Christ isn't how cool he is, but that he SAVES us. shouldn't that be more than enough? I mean really... it's pretty pathetic if you think about how we taylor Him to meet our needs for extra-cirricular activities. give us a false sense of purpose and meaning in our lives. looks deep but is quite shallow."
((it really urks me that everything has to have a topic. Vox, where do post my annoyance?))
I was late to the birthing circle meeting b/c Eli was sick. so I called Suzy (Suzy, where ya been anyhow? -she has a vox...) anyhow I called Suzy who was already there and she began. (thanks, Suzy!!!) I'm not "in charge" of the group, but in charge of making sure everything pans out. we have a committee and everyone on it is very reliable so we get along great so it's a good time and i think everyone enjoys themselves a lot.
well there were visitors today! which was great to walk in and see new faces! two pregnant mamas and also a local birth instructer. We all had good conversations and joked about the trials and such of pregnancy, birth and mothering. It was fun and it's great to hear everyone's perspective on things like breastfeeding toddlers to how to have natural births in a hospital. Everyone who had a birth plan brought it in and we discussed what worked and didn't work well for them.
which brings me to my point... women in our sociecty do not support one another like they should. we are too spread apart, too busy, and too "spoiled" by modern convience. of course this is all my opinion. but i can do that on *my* blog =P at any rate it's a wonderful thing when woman come together to enjoy and support one another. The birthing circle and LLL are two examples of just that. I am very blessed to be a part of that. and sadly it also makes me very aware of what I am missing from not having that more than just twice a month.
