Mother By Design

Where Are the Green Pastures and Still Waters?

April 14th, 2009

“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.” Psalm 23:1-3

This is a favorite Psalm of Christians worldwide. It brings to mind a picture a life of ease in an idyllic setting. But more often than not, we find ourselves weary and thirsty. The cares of daily life wear us down, and those green pastures and still waters are only a mirage. We search for things to restore our souls, but end up feeling more and more used up and exhausted.

Wait a minute! Maybe the key is that we’re searching for THINGS to refresh us! While there’s nothing wrong with mom’s nights out or scrapbook crops or a good book and cup of coffee, those aren’t the things that we should be relying on to refresh us. Those things can help, but has anyone else ever noticed that the more things we do to give ourselves a break, the more we need/want? Too often, it seems that the more I try to use things or activites to give me the time off I need, the more restricted I feel. I seem to shrivel up in my soul, rather than grow and mature into a more happy wife and mother.

The Lord has promised refreshment, but He has said that HE will provide it. If I am not spending time relaxing in His presence, no amount of other things will satisfy my soul. He can certainly use outside activities to provide some of our rest, but it is time with Him that will truly rejuvenate me and cause me to mature and grow. I have seen this happen over and over again – why is it that I am still so quick to neglect that quiet time when things get hectic?

Why, oh why am I constantly having to relearn the same things over and over again?!

Posted in Daily Life, The Christian Life

3 Comments

Holding Each Other Up

April 13th, 2009

“And so it was, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses’ hands became heavy; so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. And Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. ” Exodus 17:11-12

Do you ever feel like you are in a daily battle as a mom? Sometimes we are battling to teach our children the basics of living. Other times, we are battling rebellion. And still other times, we are battling against the world for the hearts and minds of our children.

It is very easy to become exhausted in our daily battles. Some days, it doesn’t even seem worth bothering anymore. But when someone comes along beside us and lets us know that they understand what we’re going through and they are there to support us, it suddenly seems do-able again. This support might come from husbands or from friends. (For that matter, it can even come from someone we don’t know!) It can come in the form of physical help or giving us time off to recharge. But I think the most important form this support can take is prayer.

For those of us who are stay-at-home moms of young children, it can be hard to offer physical help to someone else … especially when we ourselves are often exhausted. However, one way that we CAN help each other is to pray for each other. Just knowing that a friend is praying for me can mean the difference between just barely making it through the day and making it through successfully. It can mean the difference between ending the day feeling defeated or ending the day feeling that something has been accomplished.

Are you feeling the need of prayer support today? Who do you know that might be need to be supported by your prayers?

Posted in Daily Life, The Christian Life

1 Comment

The Spendors of Spring

April 10th, 2009

“Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” Matthew 6:28-30

Daffodils in a neighbors yard - picture taken by my daughter

Today, I got to go with DH to pick up his vehicle from the shop. The drive through the countryside was spectacular. It would truly be hard to leave this area of the country in the spring! My eyes feasted on

Rolling hills
Red barns
Green pastures
Horses
Forsythia
Cows
Redbuds
Ponds
Daffodils
Streams
Cherry blossoms
Ancient stone walls
Trees with the shadow of new leaves

It was supposed to be raining this afternoon, but the sun was shining around the dark clouds giving everything that special spring glow. I couldn’t help but glory in God’s creation!

If the Lord can clothe the earth in such splendor, surely I can trust Him to see that my needs are met. :-)

Posted in Daily Life

6 Comments

Whiners and Complainers

April 9th, 2009

“For the LORD hears your complaints which you make against Him. And what are we? Your complaints are not against us but against the LORD.” Exodus 16:8

I was reading in Exodus last night, and it struck me how often the Israelites would complain and how quickly it was after the Lord had just performed some miracle for them. They saw the parting of the Red Sea and the deliverance from Pharoah, but three days later they were complaining to Moses that there was no water and they were going to die. The Lord had Moses cut down a tree and throw it into the water so that it became drinkable, but soon they were complaining that there was no food to eat. The Lord provided manna every morning and quail every evening, but they were soon complaining again about a lack of water. The Lord provided water out of a rock, but soon…

It’s easy to see when we read about someone else complaining, but how often do I complain to the Lord? I’m pretty sure that I don’t wait 3 days in between complaints! Although the miracles that the Lord has done in my life may not be as spectacular as those He performed for the children of Israel, they are miracles, nevertheless. Yet, it isn’t long before I’m complaining again and thinking that things are going horribly wrong – or at least that they aren’t going my way!

I need to do a whole lot more thanking and a whole lot less complaining, methinks.

Hmmm. DH just now got home early with a gorgeous long-stemmed red rose for me. No complaints here! :-)

Posted in Daily Life, The Christian Life

6 Comments

All Things Work Together for Good

April 8th, 2009

“‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,’ says the LORD.” Isaiah 55:8

Some things in life are very frustrating. A current frustration in my life has to do with a vehicle being out-of-commission. My husband’s pickup has come up with an unidentified electrical problem. He thought that it had to do with the alternator, but replacing it didn’t fix the problem. Now it is in the shop, and all that has been verified is that the problem is not with the alternator!

Because my husband needed my vehicle to make his 120 mile (round trip) commute to work, I was without a vehicle for three days last week. Of course, I didn’t have a chance to plan ahead for those days. ;-) Then, we thought the problem was fixed over the weekend, so DH took his own vehicle to work on Monday. He didn’t make it all the way to work before he had to call me to go rescue him. Another fix was tried (in a grocery store parking lot!) and didn’t work. We were able to jump-start his car so that I could follow him to the mechanic and then take him the rest of the way to work. I then had a few hours to drive many miles to run the most important errands before going back to pick him up. Now here it is Wednesday evening, the mechanic has let him know that they haven’t yet found the problem, and I am still without a vehicle.

Another frustration has to do with homeschooling. We use the BJU Press Distance Learning curriculum, and we are currently in the last year of receiving the video lessons via satellite. I record all of the lessons so that we can reuse them for younger children. Well, we had several days of high wind that blew our satellite dish out of alignment, so I’ve had several days of not getting the classes. While I can get them from friends or pay to get replacement recordings, it’s a royal pain and the cost adds up. Last night DH and some of the boys got up on the roof in the dark to try to fix the problem, and just ran into one problem after another. DH won’t be able to get back to it again until tomorrow, so we’re just missing more and more classes.

Humanly speaking, it would be very easy for these things to stress me out. However, I am learning that the Lord has reasons for things that I cannot see. Rather than stress about these frustrations, I am choosing to relax and know that the Lord is in control.

When I step back and look at the big picture, I recognize that these are really very minor things. There are much more important things to be concerned about, and my life is really rather easy in comparison with that of many other people. How easy it is to get caught up in the frustrations of the little things and let them cause us stress! It is much better to sit back and realize that “ALL things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”

Posted in Daily Life, Reliance on the Lord

4 Comments

Gratituesday: Small Blessings

April 7th, 2009

For today, I am going to join HeavenlyHomemakers.com in counting my blessings. If I start writing, I could probably go on for days, but I’ll just list a few things that I can think of right now. Some, of course are obvious, and some are not so obvious.

Salvation
A loving, hard-working husband
7 precious children and one soon-to-be born
A solid roof over my head
Plenty of food in the pantries, the refrigerators, and the freezers (yes, I have multiples!)
A job for my husband
The ability to stay home with my children
Freedom
An acre of land for the children to play on
My husband’s truck in the auto shop giving me another forced day at home!
Schoolwork waiting to be graded
Loving family and friends
Health
April snow flurries that ARE NOT sticking. ;-)
The promise of a visit soon from grandparents (Hooray!)
Noisy children (well, at least they’re happy!)
Birds, squirrels, deer, racoons, and other wildlife visible outside my window at various times
A rich heritage
A need to declutter – we are blessed with an abundance of STUFF
A definite lack of boredom!

Okay, I’ll stop at 20 for now. What things are you thankful for today?

Posted in Daily Life

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Every Knee Should Bow

April 5th, 2009

“Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:9-11

Yesterday, I stumbled across a BBC interview about a beautiful young lady who is passionate about her faith in the Lord Jesus. Deborah Drapper is a 13 year-old homeschooled girl living with her family in the British countryside. The 4th of eleven children, she is bright and articulate, and enjoys spending time with her siblings. What is striking about her is that she regularly looks for opportunities to share the gospel with people she meets. Her concern for the souls of other people and their need for salvation put me to shame.

While the video shows a family of parents who obviously love their children and and siblings who enjoy being with each other, the BBC interviewer attempts to portray Deborah and her siblings as objects of sympathy because they don’t know what “reality TV” is or recognize the names or faces of such celebrities as Britney Spears. The children are shown to be bright intellectually, and there is no indication that their academic education is lacking in any way. It is very apparent that the parents are importing a very strong spiritual foundation, one that is preparing the children for life as strong Christians and productive members of society. However, the children’s cultural education is focused on by the interviewer, with its significant lack of introduction to such things as celebrities, teen sex, drugs, and smoking. In the eyes of the interviewer, it is not enough that the children have frequent internet access, the poor things are deprived of having a TV in their rooms and access to teen magazines!

It took me no time at all to discover that this interview is being used widely in athiest circles as an example of why children should be taken away from Christian parents. It is posted on YouTube with such tags as “abuse” and “indoctrination” . It is okay for parents to expose their children to all kinds of garbage and leave them to the pitfalls of peer pressure, but it is not okay to teach them that there is a God who made them, and of whose standards they fall short. It is not okay to teach them that, because they have sinned against that God, they are worthy of eternal judgement. And it is certainly not okay to teach them that that same God has provided a way through His Son for them to escape eternal judgement, but that the gift of salvation through His Son is the ONLY way of escape!

One day, every single one of those who are now denying the existence of God will be forced to admit the truth. Those who now express anger at Deborah’s parents for daring to teach her the truth of the Bible will one day bow their knee before the One they now deny, and will confess Him as Lord. There will be no more denying the existence of God, His laws, or the Savior that He provided. There will only be eternal suffering and regret that the day of salvation was neglected and the Savior spurned.

On the other hand, there will be rejoicing for Deborah and her parents, as the Lord rewards them as “good and faithful servants”. They will spend an eternity in the joy of their Lord side by side with those that they have introduced to the Savior through their faithfulness. May the Lord help me develop the same passion for the Gospel that Deborah has, and may I help inspire my children to the same!

Posted in The Christian Life

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Child Training

April 4th, 2009

“Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6

Susanna Annesley Wesley (1669-1742) was the mother of John and Charles Wesley, the founders of the Methodist Church. Susanna was the youngest of 25 children, and grew up to give birth to 19 children of her own. Only 10 of those children survived infancy. Although Susanna was deeply religious, setting aside 2 hours per day for prayer and raising her children for the Lord, it was not until late in her life that she was brought to salvation through the testimony of her sons. (John and Charles were saved while on a missionary trip to Georgia, and then their testimony brought Susanna to see that her salvation could come only through grace, not of her own works.)

Several years ago, I came across this list that Susanna Wesley supposedly used in raising her children. While I may not agree with every single one, I think they provide a good example and definite food for thought.

Susanna Wesley’s Rules for Child-Training

1. No eating between meals.

2. All children in bed by 8:00 p.m.

3. Take your medicine without complaining.

4. Subdue self will in each child.

5. Work with God to save the soul of each child.

6. Teach each child to pray as soon as he can speak.

7. Require all to be still during family worship.

8. Give children nothing they cry for.

9. Give them only what they ask for politely.

10. To prevent lying, punish no fault which is first confessed.

11. Do not allow a sinful act to go unpunished.

12. Command and reward good behavior.

13. Preserve property rights, even in the smallest matters.

14. Strictly observe all promises.

15. Require no daughter to work before she can read well.

16. Teach children to fear the rod.

Posted in Children, Mothers

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One of a Kind

April 3rd, 2009

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5

What is it that makes each child so very different? Just how many opposites can you have?! Even from the womb I have noticed significant differences. For instance, although most babies would stop kicking when “Daddy” would try to feel the kicks, number 5 seemed to say, “Ah, it’s Daddy. Time to practice Karate!” I didn’t even feel baby number 7 moving until I was 20 weeks along, yet I have literally felt this one since I was only 12 weeks. (I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t watched the baby moving the screen during an ultrasound and realized that what I was feeling very definitely coincided with the movements I felt!) Now that I am 20 weeks along and feel the strong kicks of my unborn child, I wonder how it is possible that I was only starting to feel the last baby at this point.

As soon as they are born, we see more personality differences. Some are “good” babies who sleep a lot and are content when they are awake. Others have us walking a path in the living room night after night. As they get a little older, we see differences in their tempers. My sixth baby threw her first full-blown temper tantrum at only 2 months of age. I didn’t know what to do with a tantrum in an infant that young! However, I think number seven was almost a year old before he really threw a temper tantrum. Then some exhibit the “terrible twos” way before they turn two, and others have more of what I have called the “terrific twos”. Of course, the older they get, the more and more we see changes in their personalities.

When I only had 3 or 4 children, I used to say that I had 3 or 4 opposites. Now that I am expecting number 8, I’m not sure that I can continue to say that they are all opposites, but they are still very different from each other. Of course, now and then I see similarities, but only in a few areas. Each child is still very much his own person.

I believe that these differences can only be evidence of the hand of a Creator. There is no way that there could be so much individuality by random chance! But even more, it is evidence that we were created by a loving God. Only a loving God would care so much about us that He would make us each unique. There is no one else just like me, and there is no one else just like you. God took the time to form each of us to reflect a small part of His own character, but in a different way than anyone else! And to think that not only did He make me different from anyone else, but He also had a plan for my life before He ever began to form me in the womb is just mind boggling.

Posted in Children, The Christian Life

2 Comments

The Unclouded Day

April 2nd, 2009

“The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light.” Revelation 21:23

I love sunshine! While I know that the spring showers are necessary to bring the green and the flowers that I love so well, it is hard for me to feel my best on a cloudy overcast day. But give me sunshine shining in the window and let me see the trees illuminated in the yard, and I feel myself taking deeper breaths and holding my head higher. Even the bright glare off my computer screen in the morning is not enough to make me wish to pull the blinds!

The winter days are never long enough for me. I love the longer days now that we are into spring, and enjoy knowing that the days will continue to get longer for a few more months. I look forward to the sun rising earlier and earlier, and I can hardly wait for the days when the children will go to bed before dark has fully set in. Soon there will be light after dinner for family walks or enjoying the garden after we’ve eaten of its bounty. I don’t even want to think about the fact that, in a few months, the trend will be reversed, and the days will once again get shorter.

Some day, we will be in a land where there will be no need of the sun, but we will never wish for more light. The Lord Himself will be the Light, and we will never feel any lack! There will be no shadows, no clouds to dim the Light. There won’t be any need for artificial light, and we won’t ever suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), either. Never again will we long for the sunshine, for we will be able to bask in the glow of the Son. What a day that will be!

Posted in The Christian Life

1 Comment

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