Rachel Lundy's Blog, page 6

Preparing for Stafford: The Fun Stuff

A small glimpse of Stafford's face at his 33 week ultrasound.
It is incredibly hard to take care of a baby when you suffer from low energy levels and post exertional malaise. Over the past nearly eight months I have been doing what I can to prepare and make life as easy as possible after Stafford arrives. Today I’m sharing about some of the fun and practical baby preparations. I hope this will be helpful for some of you who have a chronic illness and a baby on the way. And if you don’t, maybe...

Preparing for Stafford and Stepping Back from Blogging

Stafford, 12 week ultrasound
For the past seven and a half months we have been preparing for Stafford’s arrival. I move pretty slowly, so we need the full nine months to prepare for a new baby in the house. It has been hard for me to keep up with blogging in the midst of all the baby preparations, which is why I have been quieter here lately. Much of my energy has been put toward shopping for baby clothes and other needed baby items, going to doctor’s appointments, rearranging bedrooms to make...

Teatime Conversations: Coping as a Less-than-Energetic Mom

Reader Question: What sorts of things help you to cope with your identity as a less-than-energetic mum?

It helps me to remember that this is the life God has called me to. He has made me a mother. He has chosen William, Adelaide, and Stafford to be my children. And He has chosen for me to live with dysautonomia. God is in control, and He is sovereign over all things, even illnesses and disabilities. I fully believe that God could heal me if He chose to do so, but He has chosen not to bring hea...

Favorite Books of 2017

I enjoyed reading plenty of books in 2017. I finished 43 books in the year, and I started a few more. My reading goals are not as ambitious for 2018. My goal this year is to read 15 books, and I hope to finish most of them before Stafford is born.

Here are my favorite books from 2017:



Gracelaced by Ruth Chou Simons

Gracelaced is one of the most beautiful and encouraging devotion books I have ever read! Each page is illustrated by Ruth, who is both an author and an artist. Her devotions are rich...

A Day in the Life

Many of you have told me that my "day in the life" blog posts are your favorite. It has been nearly four years since I wrote a day in the life post, so I decided it was time to do a new one. What follows isn't a "bad day" or a "good day." On a bad day I would primarily be confined to bed. On a good day you would be surprised at how much I can do. But on an average day, this is what life is like right now. 
Life is about to change a lot in March when we welcome our new baby. I am hoping I...

Busy Hands: Using Up Scraps

After working on many different crochet projects for the past 14 years, I have quite a stash of leftover scraps of yarn. Some leftover pieces are big enough to use for a small project. Other leftover pieces don't go far, but I want to use up all of the scrap yarn I can. I only throw away yarn if it is less than about two feet long. Here are some ways I use up my yarn scraps.



I make cup cozies. I have tried a few different patterns, but this one has turned out to be my favorite for looks, funct...

Book Review: Happiness

Two years ago I started reading Happiness by Randy Alcorn. I have greatly enjoyed reading this book, and I have learned so much! I was given a complimentary copy from Tyndale House Publishers in exchange for a review. I never thought that it would take me two years to finish reading this book and write my review. My thanks to Tyndale for their patience with me!
Happiness is a very big book (481 pages), and it has been a slow read for me. I could have read it quickly simply to get through it. B...

The Second Advent

The Advent season is one of my favorite times of the year. During Advent we remember the promises that God made in years past. We remember the waiting and the longing and the hope of God’s people. We remember that God kept His promise to send a Savior! 
The message of Advent doesn’t end at Christmas. Jesus came to earth to die on the cross in our place. He suffered the wrath of God so that all who believe on Him will never have to suffer God’s wrath. Jesus died and came back to life, conq...

Top Seven Blog Posts of 2017

Hello Friends,

Thank you for reading here at Cranberry Tea Time this year. Whether I know you in real life or not, I am grateful for you, and I am glad to have you as a part of the Cranberry Tea Time community. It has been a joy to write for you and to chat with you this year.

Do you want to know what your favorite blot posts were from Cranberry Tea Time in 2017? Here are the seven that had the most views this year:

Marriage, Chronic Illness, Christ, and the ChurchBusy Hands: Matching CowlsThe G...

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! The Savior is born! I hope you have a meaningful Christmas as we celebrate Jesus coming to earth. 

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. 

There was a man sent from God, whose name was...