Susanna Foth Aughtmon - Expectant Blessings: Prayers, Poems, and Devotions For You and Your Baby

Expectant Blessings

Prayers, Poems, and Devotions
for You and Your Baby

SUSANNA FOTH AUGHTMON

Copyright 2016 by Susanna Foth Aughtmon

Published by Worthy Inspired, an imprint of Worthy Publishing Group, a division of Worthy Media, Inc., One Franklin Park, 6100 Tower Circle, Suite 210, Franklin, TN 37067.

WORTHY is a registered trademark of Worthy Media, Inc.

HELPING PEOPLE EXPERIENCE THE HEART OF GOD

eBook available wherever digital books are sold.

Names: Aughtmon, Susanna Foth, 1970- author.

Title: Praise for expectant blessings : prayers, poems, and devotions for you

and your baby / Susanna Foth Aughtmon.

Description: Franklin, TN : Praise Worthy Publishing, 2016. | Includes

bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2015045849 | ISBN 9781617956683 (tradepaper : alk. paper)

Subjects: LCSH: Pregnant women--Prayers and devotions. | Pregnant

women--Religious life.

Classification: LCC BV4846 .A79 2016 | DDC 242/.6431--dc23

LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015045849

Scripture quotations are from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NIV Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or otherexcept for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

ISBN 978-1-61795-668-3

Cover Design: Jeff Jansen/Aesthetic Soup
Cover Photo: Ashley Jade
Photograph used with permission from Emy+Annie | emyandannie.com
Additional Cover Photos: iStockphoto.com

Printed in the United States of America
1 2 3 4 5 6WOR20 19 18 17 16

This book is dedicated to
Jack, Will, and Addison...
the three beautiful, large-headed baby boys
who made me a mom.
Being your mom has turned my heart
inside out with joy.
I am so proud of the young men
that you are becoming.
Know that Dad and I love you the most.

PREGNANCY IS one of the most beautiful adventures to be had in a womans life. The experience of growing a new little person is an amazing, awe-inspiring season of life. God is at work in you both physically and spiritually as He crafts this baby in your belly. The amount of love and hope that flood your heart for this little one during this process will leave you changed forever. From the sighting of the blue lines on that pregnancy test, the transformation has begun. You are a mom. Now and forevermore.

I have had the great privilege of growing three new little people: Jack, Will, and Addison. Lovebugs, every one. Each time I discovered I was pregnant, I was so overwhelmed I cried. So much joy! So much hope! (And then there was also the nausea and wild hormone fluctuations... but those brought different kinds of tears.) My husband, Scott, and I were beyond thrilled at the prospect of being parents. I couldnt get over the fact that I was this lucky, this blessed, to be able to bring a new little one into the world. And I absolutely could not wait to be a mom to these little ones. I was especially hoping they were chubby... because I do so love chubby babies. I got my wish all three times. So. Chubby.

Each of my pregnancies was completely different. Each of them took place in a time of transition for our family. My first pregnancy took place when we were youth pastors at a new church. My second took place during our move to the East Coast. And my third pregnancy took place during our first year church planting back on the West Coast. For some reason babies and transition seemed to go hand in hand for us. And God used those transitions coupled with the promise of new life to bring us closer to Him. The vulnerability of being in a new situation showed us time and again how much we needed HimHis grace, His love, His provision, and His guidance. What we wanted more than anything... along with a healthy newborn with squeezable thighs... was for this little one to be close to God, too.

God always wants to pull us closer to His heart. And pregnancy is a wonderfully unique time for that to occur. A new life is being created. The Creator of the Universe is inviting you to get in on the joy of it. He wants to grow your little one, but He also wants to grow your heart. He doesnt just want to shape your childs ten fingers and ten toes; He wants to shape your soul. There is no bigger transformation that you will experience than becoming a mom. Whether it is your first amazing pregnancy or your seventh amazing pregnancy, there is always more joy, more love, more hope, more wonder to be had as this new life grows within you.

When I found out I was going to be a mom for the first time, I truly could not contain myself. Becoming a new mom consumed me. I talked about it. I dreamt about it. I wrote about it. All of the poems in this little book were written from my mothers heart and born out of my mommys desire to connect with my unborn baby during my first pregnancy. I was so amazed by the miracle that was taking place inside of my body, I tried to capture my feelings and emotions in words and phrases, syllables and rhyme. I knew that no amount of prose could capture the love and overwhelming sense of awe that filled me as I watched my body change and grow. But it seemed right to keep trying. The more I talked to my babies and the more I sang to them, the closer I felt to them. The more I prayed and asked Gods richest blessings over them, the closer I felt to God.

This moment, when new life is welling up within you, is the perfect time to get closer to the One who loves you the most. To reach out to Him. To connect with Him. To trust Him through the ins and outs of this amazing season. Each of the devotions in this book were written in hopes that you would laugh, be encouraged, and know that the God of the Universe holds you in the palm of His hand during your entire pregnancy. Each Scripture included is a reminder of His truth and His deep love for you. Each prayer is simply a jumping-off place for you to start a conversation with the One who loves you and your little one the most. And the biggest hope of all is that the thoughts and prayers and poems found in this book will be a blessing to you and to your baby.

So in the spirit of Jesus, who felt it was truly important to bless the little ones in His life, may you have a truly wonderful pregnancy as you bless this sweet baby.

THIS IS IT! Your moment has arrived. You are pregnant. A mom-to-be. A soon-to-be-nesting mama bird, as it were. Unbelievable, isnt it? So let the praying commence. Because that is what we moms do. We hope. We dream. We peruse baby websites, and we pray.

You may not think that you know how to pray, but prayers are just conversations that you have with your heavenly Father. It makes sense that you would put your questions, your deep concerns, your greatest hopes, and your innermost thoughts to the One who loves you and this little one most of all. He has the power and ability to do amazing things.

God wants to be close to you whether or not you are pregnant. But there is something so revelatory about having a baby that it seems to invite His presence even more. You are experiencing daily miracles, and He wants in on that. All the joy. All the hope. All the creativity. And you need Him right now. In those moments of reading His Word and listening for His voice, He will remind you once again how much He delights in this new little one that He is forming.