spotlight: new mom advice from the Pitts

Beth has a pact with her best friend Sarah.

Sarah and her husband (one of my best friends) Matt just had their first little one – a sweet girl named Grace Elisabeth.

This is God’s good providence to us, because Sarah gets to be Beth’s fullback. She gets to run out a little in front of Beth and take some pretty serious body blows and do some solid damage to the opposition . . . and we get to benefit from her hard labor.

Accordingly, the pact is that Sarah tells Beth everything.

By “everything” we mean the “good, bad, weird, embarrassing, awkward, painful, agonizing, unspoken, and whatever else” of having a baby.

In honor of this pact, I decided to spotlight some sage advice that Sarah recently posted on her blog:

The two words of wisdom I have been told in this season of life that have brought me the most freedom have been:

1. “She is a person to be shaped, not a robot to be programmed.” -Matt

2. “The good news is, she won’t remember any of this!” -Mandy

So, new mom, be free!

Thanks for the good advice Sarah – and thanks for honoring the pact from day one.

Thanks as well for keeping the blog freshly posted with pictures of your beautiful daughter – you should see Beth light up when Google Reader shows a new Pittsfest post.

We get really excited about pictures like these:

a frightful deluge of grace

as I sit in my office reading C.J. Mahaney’s little book Humility: True Greatness, there is a pretty serious thunderstorm over West Tennessee that has been dropping buckets all day.

though it is a little book, Humility is one of those soul-wrenching reads.  how could i miss the extent to which our God loathes and despises prideful and haughty hearts?  how could i miss that the essence of pride is “self-glorification” and “contending for supremacy with God”?

what terrifying truth.  what terrifying warnings against pridefulness God gives us in Scripture.

he actively opposes the proud.

the arrogant in heart will not escape punishment.

prideful haughtiness is an abomination.

outside the thunder booms and bangs, occasionally rattling the building.  lightning flashes and cracks through the sky.

terrifying.  when it catches you off guard, there is little that rattles you like the fury of a thunderclap.

“The warnings from Scripture about pride could not be more serious and sobering.  And they’re an expression of God’s mercy, intended for our good.”

the wise man will take the thunderclap at face value.  he will hear the might of the storm and be warned – today is a day to heed the voice of the storm and watch the rain from the safety of the indoors.

these sonic explosions in the sky are God’s grace to the man who listens.

these cosmic soul-shaking revelations from God, terrifying and fearful as they are, are God’s grace to the wise man.

flee pride.  put haughtiness to death.  heed the Words of God.

pursue humility.  find life in humility.  heed the Words of God.