Evelyn's Development

Below is some info on Evelyn's development. Tomorrow will mark week 22!! I've been reading these bulletins each week since we found out we were expecting. It's always super fun to read what's happening with the baby developmentally. I can't believe how fast time is going!

How Evelyn is growing (22 weeks):

Evie now looks like a miniature newborn, checking in at around 10.9 inches and almost 1 pound. Her skin will continue to appear wrinkled until she gains enough weight to fill it out, and the fine hair (lanugo) that covers her head and body is now visible. Her lips are becoming more distinct, and the first signs of teeth are appearing as buds beneath her gum line. Her eyes are developed, though the iris (the colored part of the eye) still lacks pigment. Eyelids and eyebrows are in place, and her pancreas, essential for hormone production, is developing steadily.

Note: Every baby develops a little differently — even in the womb. Our information is designed to give you a general idea of your baby's development.

Rethinking the Concept of the Church

Another post from the Borg family! How fortunate for our one two readers.

Having grown up in a largely evangelical culture Rachel and I have had to rethink our understanding of the church. After all, many in the evangelical world (this is one of those broad, sweeping, generalizations I tend to make) don’t have well formulated ideas on what the church is and how the Christian relates to the church. This is obviously a very important subject for every family to consider, after all, when Christ finished his earthly ministry on earth he left the church to carry out his work, and it’s plain that Scripture assigns a very important status to the church. The church was purchased by Christ’s giving of himself and shedding his blood (Acts 20:28; Ephesians 5:25), the church is called the Bride of Christ (Revelation 21), the church is the body of Christ (Colossians 1:18), and it is the church that the gates of hell shall not prevail against (Matthew 16:18). Granted the church consists of all God’s elect, it spans the divides of denominations, it is bigger than any race, nation, culture, or language, it is present on earth and in heaven. But the church has always been manifested in a visible and tangible way on earth, and under the gospel it is in local congregations—and it is the local congregation that Rachel and I have grown to love and cherish. But it also appears that the idea of the local church is being attacked by pragmatism and postmodern thought (I read an article in Newsweek a few months ago about the growing popularity of house churches—how awful!). So in light of all this, Rachel and I want to ask the following questions and would love to hear thoughts on them!

1. How important is church in the Christian’s life?
2. What is the purpose of church?
3. Is church an “optional” thing for Christians?
4. When considering a move should churches in the area affect someone's decision?
5. Can church be supplanted with audio sermons on the Internet?
6. Are para-church organizations *just as* important as the church (i.e. Christian camps, Christian organizations, etc).
7. Is church membership important?
8. How do you teach your children to love and value the local church?
9. What should “church day” (i.e. the Sabbath) look like? Or, what are some things you and your family do to honor the Sabbath?
10. And one more “fun” one: Should solos be allowed in church?

Well feel free to comment on any of the above questions. Hopefully, if we are fortunate enough, Rachel will pipe in with some of her thoughts—I know she’s really wrestled with this stuff lately.

On a Somewhat Similar Note...

Kyle and I would like to announce the very exciting news that we are no longer the owners of a television. We actually haven't had access to TV channels since we got married (we just watched DVDs); however, this last Sunday we took the leap and removed the television set from our home. Jake and Jeff have been kind enough to "store" the TV and entertainment center for us until we can sell them. It's not that we view television as intrinsically evil or anything, we've just realized that it's a worldly distraction that we'd rather not battle against in our home (especially with the arrival of Evie). We desire to have a family that enjoys doing things together (reading, playing games, outdoor activities, singing, praying, etc) instead of spending our time in front of the TV.
I personally have LOVED this first week of not having a TV. It's bothered me for awhile that most Americans' living rooms are centered around the television. I want our home to be a sanctuary, a place of refuge, for our family and for guests. It already feels so much more peaceful without that extra noise and distraction. It's amazing how desensitized you can become to things without even realizing it. When I was staying in Austin a few weeks ago I watched a little TV, and I was appalled at some of the content/commercials. After not being exposed to much of that over the last year and a half, it was like I was viewing it with new eyes.
Again, we aren't suggesting that everyone goes and get rid of their televisions. This is just something that Kyle and I have been thinking about a lot lately and so we figured that we'd share some of our thoughts with all of you :) We would love to hear what you think!

~ Rachel

Is Disney a Bad Influence on Covenant Children?

This was originally published at Synod of Saints.

When we learned that we were soon going to be parents we began to revaluate some areas of our lives. This has been for the good and has led to multiple life changes. But when we learned on Friday that we would be having a daughter (Evelyn Grace; you can see the ultrasound video here), I began to think of other things. It seems that many people are concerned that if we protect our children from the world they will grow up to be socially inept, or that this protection will only encourage rebellion in later years of life (an objection I just don’t see in Scripture, c.f. Proverbs 22:6). And so many parents give their children a liberal dose of “the world” to make them well-rounded.

Though this post could relate to many things, music, mass media, public schools, etc, I pose the question for a specific purpose. It seems many people blindly accept the messages of Disney without really contemplating the meaning of the messages. It has led me to think, that many of the “beloved classics” are actually a bad influence on raising a child in the covenant—and this entails more than just some of the magic that is involved; that, I must admit, is one of the least of my concerns. Clearly Disney has produced a plethora of movies, and not all of them necessarily carry bad messages, but as we have considered them more and more, we have become more and more convinced that Evelyn will not be watching these beloved classics—at least not until she is old enough to understand her place as a true covenant child and distinguish between fantasy and reality.

For instance, consider The Little Mermaid. I haven’t seen the movie but I do know something about it. Ariel, in one of the scenes sings a song called, “Part of Your World.” In this song she is singing about the gadgets and gizmos that she owns. But the whole song seems to be one of dissatisfaction, and greed, “You want thingamabobs? I've got twenty! But who cares? No big deal, I want more.” Then she goes on to sing about the things she wants. Call me crazy, but this is strikingly pathetic, and greedy. It is the idea that one never has enough, and the only way to be happy is to get more, more, more. In the words of John Piper, “Stuff, stuff, stuff…It’s killing us.” This world is built on the need and desire for stuff, and her song seems to encapsulate this idea. Why would I ever find it cute to have Evelyn dancing around singing this song? It’s appalling!

Another common theme that seems prevalent in the Disney movies I have seen is disobedience, often against parental control. Just think, Ariel disobeys her father and goes to explore the world, Simba goes into the uncharted territories (after singing an incredibly individualistic song called “I Just Can’t Wait to be King”), Jazmine leaves the palace grounds to go seek adventure outside. Mulan pretends to be a guy in order to enlist in the army, breaking the civil laws of the land (something Robin Hood is notorious for too). Most of the time this breaking of authority, while being implied as “bad” is pictured and imagined in such a way as adventuresome. But it’s a direct violation of the fifth commandment! Children were killed in the Old Testament days for disobeying their parents (thank goodness for grace!). In the Law of God, disobeying parents is mentioned right alongside not committing murder, or adultery, etc. Is this something that I want Evelyn exposed to at such a young age?

The worst part of all this is that I am being dead serious. Need we mention that Beauty and the Beast seems to propagate free love? Who cares if a human loves some big gross beast, we ought to love whomever we want (this is of course founded on Disney’s backing of homosexual relationships). And Lady in the Tramp shows the fun and romance of having a “good girl” fall for a “bad boy.” Cinderella, though not horrible, seems to instill in many girl’s minds that they are Cinderella and should wait for Prince Charming (seems rather worldly), and how many girls never outgrow that childhood fantasy? In Pinocchio we here the ever annoying song, “Let your conscience be your guide”…umm “The heart above all things is deceitful.” This isn’t all one giant conspiracy theory on my part nor is it an ignoring of the Christian liberty we have in Christ. I don’t think these movies are intrinsically evil, that’s counter Scripture (c.f. Mark 7:14-23). And I don’t think all Disney movies have bad messages (I mean seriously, The Fox and the Hound is a classic!) and that if you watch them you will grow up to be a horrible person. But I certainly don’t think they do much to help instill in your children a love for the gospel and rejection of the world. We are charged, in our child's baptism, to "strive, by all the means of God’s appointment, to bring her up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord?” (BCO 56-5). And as parents we want to ensure that we do everything to remove every obstacle that stands between our child and the cross.

So I’m asking for thoughts (especially from parents!). Is there redemptive quality to Disney movies? Is all of this one giant conspiracy theory? How do you, as parents, protect your children from the world that they might be “infants to evil” (1 Corinthians 14:20)? Am I raping my child of their "deserved" childhood?

Behind the name...

Some of you may be wondering, "Why the name Evelyn Grace?" Well here is the answer :) Evelyn is just a name that we both thought was very pretty and feminine. Also, we love the nickname Evie! I personally like older, less common names. Many of the trendy names that are popular these days are just not my style at all. We thought about using a biblical name for awhile, but it seems that most of the "good ones" are either already taken by members of our families or close friends. I informed Kyle that Evelyn is kind of biblical because of EVElyn :) As for the middle name Grace, we thought it was also pretty and flows well with Evelyn. More importantly, it is our prayer that the Lord's sovereign grace would be realized in Evelyn, and that she would reflect that grace to her neighbor.

~ Rachel

Evelyn Grace Borg :)

So once again, I apologize to my readers (basically Mom) for my lack of blog posts. I just haven't had a lot to write about lately; however, I hoping to begin updating this blog at least once a week in order to maintain any readers that we do have :)

On Friday, Kyle and I had our ultrasound. It was super exciting! If you've talked to us at all over the past several months, you probably knew that we were having a hard time deciding whether or not we wanted to find out the sex of baby. Last week we had FINALLY agreed that we would wait to be surprised. However, on the way to the clinic Kyle changed his mind and informed me that he DID want to know. Kyle and I can both be pretty spontaneous sometimes, so needless to say we found out that we are having a GIRL and we are naming her Evelyn Grace. We were both super excited when we found out, although we would have been just as excited either way :)

The ultrasound itself was a very fun experience. It was so neat to see the four chambers of the heart, the kidneys, spine, bladder, etc. It's amazing that all her organs are basically developed, Evelyn just has to grow and gain weight :) We were so thankful to hear that everything looks good and that Evelyn is healthy. All of the screening tests came back normal.

I can't believe we are already halfway there! I will be 21 weeks on Thursday! Time is going so fast.

It's A...JOB

Well it's about time, but Kyle (woops, I mean "I") got a job! I lost my job last May due to circumstances outside of my control (ask if you want to know). I have been jobless since. During the summer I looked for jobs and didn't have much luck. Coming into the fall we decided maybe I should focus on other things. But when we found out baby (Witsius) was going to be born we decided it was time for me to get a job again. Anyway, I've been looking since January, and turned down one job offer since. But last Thursday I had an interview with Xcel Energy and they called on Friday to offer me the job.
So what is it? I'm a meter man. That's right, the creepy guy that once a month comes into the backyard and scares everyone. That's going to be me. Now before you point and laugh know that this job is going to be sweet! Not only do I get to be outside all day (during the summer) but I get to work on my tan. Albeit it will be a nice farmer's tan. No really, it's going to be a great setup and really help Rachel and I plan and save for seminary. Anyway, we are very thankful for this opportunity and the provision of the Lord at this time in our life.
Grace and Peace.