HDQ for February 24

It's the return of the HDQ AKA the Hump Day Question. In the past I really enjoyed doing this as it was me answering any question YOU put to me. I am starting this up again and will be doing this on a weekly basis so as to hopefully give you a little more insight to me that you might be interested in knowing. Recipes, family, hobbies, thoughts/opinions, jokes, beliefs, etc.

On Mondays I will be asking you to submit your questions to me in the comments section of that day's blog post. I will then answer them on the hump day of the week AKA Wednesday. All I ask is that you keep the questions clean.

I have two questions to answer this week. The first from one of my oldest and dearest blogfriends, Captain Picard.

Well, Nic, I guess the first thing I can think of was what was the very first thing you thought when you knew you were pregnant last year?

The short answer: "Are you SERIOUS?"
The long answer: "Are you SERIOUS? I was told it would be 'pert near' impossible to get pregnant again, but oh, wow, ok, it was less than 30 seconds to go from blank to two lines. No waiting for three minutes. Ha-ha. Oh. Wow. Hmmmmmm. Wow. Really?! Oh boy! What's Oscar going to say? This was definitely not expected and we both thought we'd never have another child from either of us. Ummmm, wow. . . wow . . . I'm going to be a mommy again at the age of 36. Wow. I . . . hmmmmm, I need to sit down. Ok. This is a miracle. I mean literally a miracle. Wait, did I read it right? One line is . . . not pregnant and two lines . . . yup, definitely two very bright unmistakable lines. Ok. This is just . . . wow! . . .(deep breath) . . . I'm going to be a mommy again!"

Our next question is from LittleWomen21

So, I will take you up on your HDQ. Was your ex-husband a Christian, did he claim to be a believer? Did you go to church together - and if so how did you handle church - and how did the church treat you - during and after the divorce? I ask because all too often churches tend to shoot their wounded instead of loving them.

Great question and no, it's not too personal at all. My ex-husband was agnostic when we were dating and then after we were married and Emily was born, he said that being involved in the pregnancy and birth made him realize that there is a God out there. He now "claims" to be a Christian, as many people out there do, but his walk, talk, lifestyle and behavior still do not show the fruit of the Spirit nor the presence of the Holy Spirit in his life. Emily feels the brunt of this on the weekends she is there as she is so sensitive to the call of the Holy Spirit and the leading of God in her life – and thank you Jesus for that!

He went to church with me occasionally, but it was rather more to "babysit" Emily than to get anything out of it. To him it was an exercise in boredom and I could see him mentally tuning out the pastor because he was uncomfortable there and felt like he had better places to be.

I didn't talk about it with too many people at the church, but I had known the pastor of the church for years. Knew him before I knew he was a pastor. He was the next door neighbor of one of the families I sat for on occasion. He was exactly the same outside of church as he was inside. A man of integrity, truth and compassion. A true man of God. I talked to him about what was going on and then to the youth/children's pastor in order to let him know that there might be some emotional problems with Emily at Sunday School (there never was, thank God), and one other man who was the Pastor of Caring Ministries (they called it something else back then and he is the PERFECT person for the job and still holds that position today and so many lives are better for it). They all prayed for me, over me, for Emily, for healing for my heart, etc. Honestly, they have been the most amazing and wonderful people I have been privileged to know.

Our church is very unique (or it seems like it these days) in that, though it is a VERY large church it IS NOT a "seeker" church, it is anything but a "seeker" church and that is refreshing. They tell the unvarnished TRUTH, knowing that the Gospel is offensive to those without the Holy Spirit guiding their lives and yet refusing to change the message to make it more "palatable" as so many churches these days are doing, love as Christ loved, follow the example of Jesus in treating the wounded, the downtrodden, the outcast and they do it so naturally and easily that one never gets the sense that it's forced or disingenuous. I am blessed with a wonderful church home! They treat the wounded with care and love and prayer instead of shooting them where they stand.

To find out more about them you can visit their website at FEFC.ORG.

Thanks so much for participating in the HDQ this week! I really enjoyed the diversity of the questions and the ability to answer them!