Archive for baby

Mother’s Day, 2026

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Culture with tags , , , , on May 10, 2026 by paulthepoke

Luke 1:41-44 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why am I so honored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For as soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.

the baby leaped… baby or βρέφος/brephos; an unborn or newborn child, infant.

Notice, the term is not called a ball of cells or a fetus. Luke, through the Holy Spirit, chose the term “baby” as translated in English.

Scripture is very consistent. Babies are formed in mother’s wombs. Scripture also points out that wombs are located in mothers. In our 21st century culture, it is necessary to point out these fundamental truths.

Granted, there are elements within our society who would like you to believe these are little clumps of cells that happen to be inside of a woman. Critics and experts in reproductive health would have you believe life does not begin until the fetus is outside of the woman’s body. Some of these reproductive experts take motherhood and life away from women. Scripture says something contrary to the culture and women’s reproductive experts.

Two times in the verses above, babies leaped for joy. Babies were capable of hearing and understanding what was going on outside of the womb. Babies also had a physical and emotional response to what they were hearing from outside of the womb. In both cases, joy was expressed.

Colorful bouquet of roses and ranunculus with a Mother's Day greeting card on a wooden table
Happy Mother’s Day

Remember, the fruit of the womb is a blessing. Let us give thanks to the women in our lives who chose to be a mom. These women chose our lives.

Here is to all the moms out there wishing you a Happy Mother’s Day!

Ecclesiastes 11:5 As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the bones are formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things.

~

https://www.amazon.com/Paul-Lehr/e/B09W8FB77N

Mother’s Day, 2023

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Culture, Trend Update with tags , , , , , , , , , , on May 14, 2023 by paulthepoke

Ephesians 6:2-3: Honor your father and mother (this is the first commandment with a promise), that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.

Mother: μήτηρ, métér. Simply translated “Mother“. She is a biological female. There is no debate or defense of the term in regards to gender or pronoun.

Words have consistent meaning. There is an unstated social contract and understanding we all agree to when we communicate. If words did not have consistent meaning, the end result would be confusion. To fundamentally change the meaning of basic terminology and semantics results in confusion and break down in social order. We are watching this happen in today’s American society and culture. And who is the author of confusion?

It is a “Mother“, a woman, who has the biological anatomy of a womb. The woman is associated with the womb, not the man. There are countless verses that state this fact over and over.

We are made by God. He created each one of us for a purpose. All of us are here for reason and meaning. We arrived because a “Mother” was our vehicle into this world. This is God’s way and order.

Ecclesiastes 11:5 As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the bones are formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things.

Psalm 139:13 For You created my innermost parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb.

~

Jesus, the Creator of the universe, recognizes his Mother, Mary, a woman. Both sexes, woman and men, are recognized in the verse below by Christ.

Matthew 12:49 And extending His hand toward His disciples, He said, “Behold: My mother and My brothers!

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Locals recognized that Mary, a woman, was Jesus’ mother. And there are brothers or men mentioned in the verse.

Matthew 13:55 Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas?

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I understand the verse below will likely severely trigger popular culture. The verse will differentiate a biological woman, a biological man, and invoke the Spirit of God. Plus, marriage between a woman and a man is defined. Notice, it is also the woman, a mother, that carries and ultimately brings the Child to birth and into the world.

Matthew 1:18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.

~

And for those of you who are openly hostile and frankly nasty towards your parents… After all, they took care of you when you were a mere infant, a helpless baby. They sheltered you. They clothed you. They fed you. And they wiped your butt and cleaned you after you defecated all over your bad little self.

You may disagree with your parents and that is fine. It is okay to disagree. Learn to disagree with civility. Drop the angry, destructive attitude. But, take some time to reflect and show some respect.

Whether you believe in God or not does not change the fact He (note the pronoun) is real and He (pronoun) means what He (pronoun) says. He (pronoun) is merciful and gracious towards those who change their attitude and heart. But stay on the path of a dishonorable mindset…

Proverbs 20:20 If one curses his father or his mother, his lamp will be put out in utter darkness.

Leviticus 20:9 For anyone who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death; he has cursed his father or his mother; his blood is upon him.

~

To all the Mothers, women, we salute you and thank you. Happy Mother’s Day!

https://www.amazon.com/Paul-Lehr/e/B09W8FB77N

“You’re released” Christine McDonald

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Christine "Clarity" McDonald with tags , , on July 24, 2020 by paulthepoke

At last, the phone rang. The guard answered. “It’s for you,” she said. It was the judge.

“You’re released,” he said. “The baby is drug free. You’ll be unshackled right away. Someone from the county will bring you the clothes you were wearing when you were brought in.”

I hung up the phone.

The guard said, “I’ll get your clothes back to you as quickly as I can.”

“Really? You think they’re going to fit?”

She laughed. “Well, maybe not. But we’re not social workers here. We detain the arrested. Surely you can call someone.” She paused. “You need anything?”

“A soda with caffeine would be wonderful,” I said.

She brought me that, said “Congratulations,” and left.

The guard arrived with my clothes and the 96–cent check I had on my books. The clothes didn’t fit. Meanwhile, the woman handling the birth certificate had entered the room. She said, “Surely you want to call her something other than Baby Girl McDonald.”

I picked up the little girl and said, “Jasmine, because she smells so sweet.” I laid her on my chest, listening to her breath, feeling her heartbeat. “Jasmine Nicole.” I signed the birth certificate.

The nurse said I’d be released from the hospital the following day. That would give me another day of rest and a little extra time to figure out what I was going to do.

I held the baby and cried, telling her how I had grown attached to her little kicks in my tummy and would miss her. I explained to her that I was too much of a mess to care for her. My experiences with service providers had been rather jaded. It seemed from my past experiences that there was simply no help for people like me. I did not know how to live, I did not see hope for help, and I could not risk messing up her life; mine was so useless, so dark, so tainted. Desperate to ensure that my brokenness would not damage her little life, I would leave her in the hospital. I told the sweet, warm little girl that they would find someone much better to be her parent, and that I would never forget her. My tears flowed freely.

To be continued…

Contact Information:
Christine C. McDonald
636-487-8986
Christine.CryPurple@gmail.com

“Love your neighbor, all of ’em.” -Christine Clarity McDonald

https://crypurplemovie.com/

The Gift of Life… Christine McDonald

Posted in Christine "Clarity" McDonald with tags , , , , on July 17, 2020 by paulthepoke

Then I went into labor. I remember them shackling my ankles to the bed in the delivery room, and the nurse asking, “Do you guys really have to do that?”

The officer said, “She’s ours until that baby comes out and we get the stool sample from the baby to see if it’s positive for cocaine.”

The guard from the county who was with me knew me from my many times in and out of the county jail. While I was in labor she asked me, “So what are you going to do after the baby arrives?”

I said, “I’m homeless. You know I can’t care for a child.” Besides, I was not aware of services.

Sadly, as I look back over my experiences in the years thereafter, I realize that if you aren’t aware of what services you need, they aren’t always offered up freely. So, teaching individuals how to be their own self–advocates is vital. I didn’t even understand that there were services for me to ask for. Who knows if I would have been considered for any of them if I had asked? Regardless, the professionals in contexts like hospitals and courts should freely provide information of suitable services for hurting individuals. This is their right, no matter how far gone they are and no matter how long their brokenness has existed in their life. Everyone should be given enough information to make choices to have help or not. Everyone deserves a fighting chance.

Photo by Rene Asmussen on Pexels.com

The big baby arrived at last: 9 pounds, 8 ounces. “It’s a girl,” they said.

The doctor said, “Hey, can you take off these shackles? She’s not getting up for a while.”

The guard complied, and then she moved to the other side of the room, close to the door. She picked up the phone and called the judge, then handed the phone to me. The judge said, “Well, honey, the baby is a good, healthy size. I’ll be in touch again when the stool sample comes back.”

After I was cleaned up and showered, I was shackled to the bed again. The baby was in my room. I remember holding her and smelling her.

“You got family?” the nurse asked.

“Not around here,” I answered.

It took some 36 hours for the poop test to be done. There was also a huge amount of paperwork to be taken care of, so I was in the hospital for about two and a half days after the baby was born.

For two and a half days, that little baby shared a hospital room with me, gripping my finger and sleeping on my chest. The nurses would wake me and suggest I place her in her bassinet, but every time I said, “Not yet.” The baby was so warm and smelled so sweet. I shed tears when I spoke to her while I fed her.

To be continued…

Contact Information:
Christine C. McDonald
636-487-8986
Christine.CryPurple@gmail.com

“Love your neighbor, all of ’em.” -Christine Clarity McDonald

https://crypurplemovie.com/