Recently we had the opportunity to have lunch with a young newly married friend whom we haven’t seen in a few months. After the usual banter and light gossip about the lives of mutual friends, we asked about his life now that he had been a husband for a while. His bride, his new house, their plans for the future- you know the drill.
Oh my, the sparkle that came into his eyes as he told us that they were discussing the planning for their first child! Seems she was ready to have a newborn in her arms as of yesterday, and though he was agreeable to the idea of becoming a daddy, he wanted to carefully lay out their future…plan for a perfect time to have a baby.
We exchanged amused looks when he then wryly admitted, “But there probably never is a perfect time for a new baby in the picture, is there?”
He is correct, as every parent already knows. Babies bring with them financial burdens we cannot predict, years of lost sleep never to be recovered, and anxiety levels that could dwarf Mt Everest. And if the expected Little Miss Baby Jane is instead discovered to be a Jane, Jack and Julie all in one birth… well, sleep, extra money and relaxation time becomes only a dim memory for the next few years. May God help any couple stay sane if they become parents of multiples overnight.
We have experienced some of this same anxiety and amazement of multiple new births this past year. No, Renie is not expecting again! But we have watched as God took our simple plan for a new baby – writing for a “couple of newspapers each week” – and gave us multiple babies within the space of a year. Coffeetime Column now is in over eighty papers, has its own sponsored website and as of March 17, we will see the birth of the new Coffeetime: Hosted by Andy and Renie Bowman.
When you log on to our website Coffeetimecolumn.com, you will see a link that will connect you to our Coffeetime Podcast. Click on any title and you will hear us laughing together as we discuss the real stories behind some of the Coffeetime Columns we have written. You will also very likely hear us relive some embarrassing and painful times in our life together. Or the true reasons Renie recorded her last musical CD, that reflect the struggle she endured, fighting hidden physical illnesses that threatened her life and the resulting debilitating depression she tried to hide.
Parenting – the scriptural way according to us Bowmans? Yep, it’s there. Marital clashes fought fairly? We each have opinions on that too. You may not agree with us on everything – or anything – but you will hear a couple have fun together, talk openly about doing life together, and trying to live in a way that pleases God.
New Bowman Baby on the way!
We are Dr. Andy & Renie Bowman, authors of the nationally syndicated "CoffeeTime Column" and hosts of popular podcast "CoffeeTime with Andy & Renie Bowman". 