Thursday, July 3, 2008 True Labor?
It started and stopped AGAIN! This time we headed to the hospital but decided to stop by the office first when the contractions went from painful and every 10 minutes to easy and every 20 minutes. They sent me home.
We are so ready for this kid to get here.
:o)
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Tuesday, June 10, 2008 Needing Movie Recommendations
When baby makes his/her debut I'll be watching lots of movies during the late-night and middle-of-the-night feedings. So I need to add some good movies to my Netflix list. If you have favorites you'd like to share, (and I'm particularly interested in those that are "80s classics", independent, or British films) please email or post a list in a comment.
Thanks so much!
Moms4Psalms |
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Friday, May 9, 2008 A Rant Against Birth Control
Men are responsible.
Recently reading different blogs and arguments in favor of birth control and against the "Quiverfull Movement" brings me to a rant on a perspective I have yet to find. The Bible says that children are a blessing [also translated inheritance and reward] from the Lord and "Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them." The responsibility on the man includes all aspects from conception to raising the children in the ways of the Lord. The reward and blessing are pronounced as the man's as well. Certainly the woman has much involvement, responsibility, and blessing here, but the focus in Scripture (and seemingly not in the Christian culture on this subject) is on the male of the house.
If you hold to the following five truths, keep reading. If not, don't bother.
1. God is sovereign.
2. Christians are commanded to be fruitful and multiply.
3. God opens and closes the womb.
4. Children are a gift, blessing, and reward from God.
5. Wives are to submit to their own husbands.
If these truths are embraced then the questions that arise about attempting to "take control of one's fertility" are not merely in vain but are possibly sinful and at the very least could be resulting in a lesser degree of blessing on the man.
NOTE: {I do not believe that the number of children equals how blessed a man is . . . someone entrusting fertility to God may have only one or two children. That man may very well have a full quiver and be blessed beyond measure by the one or two children the Lord gave him.}
Women are full of excuses, and their men are to blame.
Many of the reasons couples stop having children are serious issues that need to be addressed within each family. Examples I hear often from women:
1. I am so sick for so long that I am neglecting my children or unable to take care of the house. The husband is responsible to take care of his family. He may need to work harder around the house for a season both with housework and in caring for the children. He may choose to work more hours to provide funds to hire household help for a time. He may decide to live near a support group such as a particular church or extended family members.
2. I am unable to homeschool like I want to while pregnant. Yes, we may have to forego teaching Latin to our second graders as we had wished but they can learn Latin in their later years. The subjects may have to be the bare necessities (Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic) and Dad may need to teach in the evenings or on Saturdays for a time. Hiring tutors or sending the children to a Christian school might be the preferred option. The father is responsible for the training and education of his children.
3. I can't handle being pregnant. Again, the husband is responsible to care for his wife's needs and to dwell with her with understanding (remember that the Bible says she is the weaker vessel). Keep in perspective that we are talking about nine months or so of the most difficult times. Step up, men, and help your wife to be strong! The nine months of misery are just a blink in the span of eternity! Men and women may need to give up all outside commitments to focus on the basics of running the household for the times surrounding births of babies. There will be years ahead to enjoy and serve in other areas.
Men are ultimately responsible for decisions made in their homes.
And when it comes to the decision of family size, some men:
1. Give up responsibility by letting their wives rule in this area. And they may very well not have the blessing of a "quiver full" of children because of it. It could be that they chose to marry a disrespectful woman and will struggle to lead her. But they must learn to rule their households well, with strong, sacrificial love, laying down their lives for their wives.
2. Are unwilling to work around the house, care for the children, or dwell in an understanding way with their hormonal wives and so limit their family size. And they may very well not have the blessing of a "quiver full" of children because of it.
3. Would rather buy "toys" or material things than provide for a large number of children with their earnings, or would rather not work hard enough to provide for a large family. And they may very well not have the blessing of a "quiver full" of children because of it.
Submission is hard and God is sovereign.
Women may suffer to some degree from the decisions their husbands make regarding family size (be that to have many children or to stop having children). I cannot stress enough to single women how very important it is to discuss this topic in detail prior to marriage. But once married, it is a great relief as well as sometimes a great struggle, to respect your husband's decision-making in this area. You can pray for God to change your husband's heart on this issue, but you must REST and TRUST that God is sovereign over your family size. The man who rejects children (either by his own desire to do so or by his weakness in not leading his wife in this area) is limiting his own blessing and reward. The consequences to others, to the Church, and to society may be far-reaching as well. He will ultimately be held responsible for his leadership in this and all areas.
Wives need to rest in God's sovereign plan, thanking Him that decisions such as family size are not ultimately theirs to make, but theirs to submit unto. Whether a man decides to use measures of birth control or not, God has ordained the exact number of children each family will have. How many are willing to TRUST Him, WORK hard, and ENJOY the blessings and rewards He will give?
Behold, children are a gift of the LORD,
The fruit of the womb is a reward.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,
So are the children of one's youth.
How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them;
They will not be ashamed
When they speak with their enemies in the gate.
Psalm 127:3-5 (NASB)
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Sunday, February 17, 2008 The Flu Hit Us ,Too
Hubby was feverish and bedridden for five days last week with his first-ever case of the flu. I am now on day four and very ready for this to be over. My husband is caring for everyone and everything while I rest. Who knew I'd miss housework and caring for sick kids so much? This is not fun, but the Lord is sustaining us and we hope it will soon be over.
On a nice note, some ladies from church have graciously brought us food and gone grocery shopping for us. What a blessing church family can be in times of need!
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Friday, February 8, 2008 Confessions of a Distracted Housewife
Back in my "single" years when I read the commands to wives to "respect their husbands, love their children, and be workers at home" I would think how easy it sounded to answer that charge. I prayed, pined, and whined for the days that I could be a wife, homemaker, and mother. Now that I fill each of those roles I can say wholeheartedly that I love my life, I am thankful for everything the Lord has given me, and that I was a complete idiot to ever think it would be easy.
1 Corinthians 7:34 says "The unmarried woman cares about the things of the Lord,
that she may be holy both in body and in spirit. But she who is married cares about the things of the world--how she may please her husband."
My advice to the unmarried . . . Make every effort to grow in the faith, develop homemaking skills, and serve in the Church. I had so much time to study Scripture, read theology, fellowship/serve within the Church, and to learn how to manage a home while single. I wish I had spent more time devoted to these things! On a financial level I would also encourage young women to use their earnings (and only if they are debt-free!) to buy lovely home furnishings and decor for their home and begin to practice the art of homemaking.
Once married, I had nine months and one week as a stay-at-home wife before our first child was born. I worked hard to learn how to iron, clean, cook, and make our little apartment a lovely home. My husband enjoyed at least one new recipe per week and usually came home to a three-course meal, often with flowers and candles on the table. I'm so thankful I had that time to devote to homemaking skills because once our daughter was born our lives became the whirlwind that they still are. (Hubby only has a vague memory of the days of coming home to a nice meal on the table. He also now does all his own ironing!) When our firstborn was four months old we were still trying to figure out the whole parenting thing and I was pregnant with baby number 2! My time and energy were stretched. It began to be very difficult to do my duties well and it started becoming very difficult to spend time alone in Bible study and prayer.
The newly released book "Passionate Housewives Desperate for God" says that a heavy burden placed on mothers at home is the mandate of a "quiet time." The authors encourage busy moms to pray when they can, and study Scripture as they are able, but to let go of the burden and guilt of not being able to devote 1/2 hour of uninterrupted quiet time each day to the Lord. I do feel guilt, and do believe it is vitally important to spend time in regular Bible Study and prayer. But I am also learning to utilize the times I am given without being angry when my planned "time alone" gets interrupted by a little one needing my attention. Praying in the shower is often now the only bulk of time I have alone to focus. I try to use the Lord's Prayer as an outline for my prayers to keep me undistracted by the zillions of thoughts about my day that creep in.
Most mornings I only have time to pray a desperate plea for HELP: "Lord, help me to respect my husband, love my children, and do my work for Your glory." Loving the kids, working at home, and respecting my husband is the hardest work I have ever done. I fail every single day as I sin and struggle in this high and holy calling. I am weak and dependent on the Lord for grace and strength to make it through each day. It is certainly sanctifying work! And I believe all things in life are given to Christians to make us sanctified, that we will be made more like Christ through each trial and each moment in our lives.
Easy it is not. But it is all good. |
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Tuesday, January 15, 2008 Need Travel Advice: Charleston or Savannah?
Help! My family offered to keep the kids so we can get away for our anniversary, but we are not sure where to go. (We haven't been away without at least one child with us in seven years!) Two places we've wanted to see and never have are Charleston, SC, and Savannah, GA. If you have a vote for the best place to visit of these two cities, please email or post a comment soon.
Thank you! |
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Thursday, December 20, 2007 A Drive-Thru Morning
My five and six year old boys now have a digital clock in their bedroom. It was given with the strict instructions that they were NOT to come out of their room in the morning "until the first number is a SIX." Well, at 3:00a.m. they began coming into our room. Every twenty minutes or so for the next three hours, despite threats to their very lives, they continued to sneak in and wake us up. They wouldn't go back to sleep because they kept watching for that 3 to turn into a 6 (obviously having no concept of the hours in between).
Hubby finally gave up trying to sleep and went to work. I tossed and turned and barked and growled and finally got up myself, feeling as if I hadn't slept all night long. As soon as I fed the kids their allergen-free, organic, gluten-free cereals with rice milk, I loaded them all up (half of them still in pajamas) and we drove to the Chick-fil-A drive-thru where I ordered a most delicious sausage breakfast burrito and a LARGE Dr. Pepper.
The new baby (now 11 weeks gestation) didn't like that very much and I thought I was about to lose my breakfast as we turned into our subdivision. We made it into the house where the chalkboard "To Do" list tells me to de-clutter the kitchen and scrub all the marks off the walls with the ever Magical Mr. Clean Eraser. My in-laws are coming tomorrow to spend the weekend, my three year old turns four and needs a gluten-free cake with Maple Cream icing made for him. Did I mention half the kids are needing their noses wiped every few minutes?
Naptime will NOT be optional today. Thankfully, the 80s cartoon from the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" tv series is due to arrive from Netflix in the mail. Aahhh . . . I am so looking forward to an hour of relative peace, interspersed with laughs and exclamations from my own little mutants of "Awesome, Dude!"
Hopefully the mailman will not be late! |
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Friday, September 14, 2007 Free Offer: One Entire MONTH of free Netflix
Any of my reader friends out there who would like to try Netflix for an entire month free can email me (see the "Email Me" link on my sidebar) and I will forward you the friends coupon for you to try it for a month FREE. I'll also get a free rental for you doing this, so please help me out and have fun renting movies for free for a month.
We really enjoy Netflix. We don't have cable and like being able to pick out some great movies (I really like the British chick flicks) at a low price per month. You can also get seasons of television shows (commercial free!).
Email me quick as this is a limited offer as well as a limited time offer! |
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Monday, July 23, 2007 TAGGED
Duckygirl tagged me so here goes: 1. All right, here are the rules. 2. We have to post these rules before we give you the facts.3. Players start with eight random facts/habits about themselves.4. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules. 5. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog. So here are 8 things about me....
1. I prefer icing over cake so I save calories by just eating icing straight out of the container . . . no cake required! Ha! :o)
2. I'm good at throwing tissues, french fries, or candy to the kids (even those sitting in the back of our 15 passenger van) while we are stuck in traffic. And they're good at catching, too.
3. I'd rather watch a movie than read a book, and I love to read books.
4. Jeans, a sweatshirt, and soft socks are my favorite things to wear.
5. Favorite place to wear those is on an easy hike to a beautiful waterfall in the Blue Ridge Mountains during very chilly weather.
6. I love cheese, ice cream, butter, and mayo but do without them for nine (plus) months of almost every year while nursing a food allergic child!
7. When I'm stressed or angry I like to go for a drive (ALONE) and BLAST country music through the radio.
8. Even on my absolute worst, most stressful days there is nothing I'd rather be than a homemaker in my house and wife to my hubby and mom to my kids.
Let me clarify that. In that scenario there is nothing I'd rather be than those three things . . . while on a mom's getaway for a retreat to a mountain! :o)
Bending the rules: I am tagging all of you ladies who will do this and please leave me a comment that you've done so--including non-homeschoolbloggers EmilyG, LizMcCrea, and Ann! :o)
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Monday, May 21, 2007 Eight Year Anniversary
For our eight year anniversary we hired two sitters (teen sisters at a rate of $14/hr total) to come and keep all six kids. We went to a Mexican restaurant and then went grocery shopping together. Eating out when I have to avoid all traces of milk and eggs (due to baby's bad reactions thru nursing) is a challenge. I was able to eat chips and salsa, tacos without cheese, and after interrogating the waiter about the sopapilla frying process, a sopapilla minus the whipped cream and butterscotch. I don't think we've gone grocery shopping together without children for several years. Strolling the aisles of the local Publix without even one child with us made us feel like newlyweds again. (LOL) On the way home we listened to Norah Jones singing "Come Away With Me." Great song, great idea...we really should get out more often! |
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About Me
My faith teaches me that the calling of Christian homemaker, wife, or mother is just as holy as one to "full-time ministry."
I am a mom of seven children ages nine and under (plus one on the way!) seeking and sharing helpful tidbits learned during this season of life. May we glorify and enjoy Him each day!
:o),
Moms4Psalms
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