I was awake during the night pondering some things about life and the way we view life in the world today. This may have something to do with my trip to Walmart with 8 of my 9 children and the looks of shock and disgust which often occur, but I digress.  It occurred to me that if you sit down with a young child and explain to them in the simplest of terms what abortion is, they instinctively know it is wrong!  Even without going into detail about your beliefs...its murder, life begins at conception etc. they can tell you quickly and definitively its wrong.  But then, something happens....at least to a vast majority of children.

They are then "schooled" by the government and taught that life is about THEM and their happiness....about achieving success and having money, about living to pursue their dreams at all costs...they are schooled to be selfish.  Another important lesson is learned along the way.  It goes something like this:  Children, you see, are a costly burden that should be avoided, or at least limited, so that your goals aren't hindered...because after all, its all about you.  Children are also a lot of hard work and well, being tied down with them is far less exciting then traveling and lavish vacations.  Thrown into this mix are classes on sexuality, reproduction, and acceptance of the homosexual lifestyle....all taught to children with already raging hormones.  They are told its okay to embrace their sexuality, that it's normal to feel that way and that reacting to those feelings is fine, even outside of marriage.  Just go ahead and do what feels right, use contraception, and if an "accident" happens, well....there's always abortion. See, its all about you and its not really a baby anyway....so it's okay.  Do whatever needs to be done as long as your happy.  All of these lessons are backed up and reinforced by television ads, and the government controlled media.

There are no lessons on the value of human life, the value that GOD himself places on human life.  No lessons on the blessing that children really are.  They are not taught that all life is a gift from GOD.  They are not taught that sex was designed by God, for marriage only, to bring both pleasure AND children.  They are not taught that everything they do in life has eternal consequences and there will one day be a judgement.  Lord have mercy on this nation!  How have things gone so far?  Why is there so little value placed on human life, not only by the world but even in the church?  Oh that the church would wake up and take a stand.  May we be diligent in teaching our children the Truth.  The life God designed is about sacrifice....pouring yourself out for others when you feel you've already been emptied.  There is no place for selfishness in your walk with Christ.  Yes raising children is hard work, but it's kingdom work...and it matters.   May we go completely against the grain and teach our children to take a stand for life.  May we teach them to be warriors for Jesus Christ and to fight for what matters to Him.  I myself have begun preparing my children to go to the front lines of this battle, to the very gates of hell to confront this spiritual war.  I've been convicted once again of my need to daily instruct my children that life is a gift that only God can give, and that only God should take...that life is indeed ALWAYS a gift, never a choice.

Cities 4 Life

On January 20, 2012 my husband and I attended a life altering dinner.  We were deeply convicted to take a stand against abortion....to stop sitting on the sidelines of this fight, and get down and dirty in the heat of this spiritual battle!  The church has been silent for far too long and I for one am THRILLED to be getting involved with this wonderful ministry!  Take a moment and check out their site.  What will YOU do to fight for the unborn?


Cities4Life Proclaim from cities4life on Vimeo.

In the trenches?

We all get busy and for moms of many, every day is busy.  Sometimes, life moves beyond the normal busy days and you find yourself in the trenches.  Have a new baby at home?...a virus turning your house upside down?...perhaps someone in the house has a chronic illness?  Whatever the trench you find yourself in, you know how it goes...  Your schedule has gone out the window, sleep is coveted but nowhere to be found, the laundry is piled up, homeschool lessons may be hit or miss, and the children are acting....well, less than perfect.  It's hard, the days can be long, and it's oh so easy to become discouraged!  However, you aren't in the battle alone.  The Lord is right there with you every step of the way - through every shed tear, every endless cleanup, every sleepless night.

When things have been tough for me lately, I've found it easy to slip into self-pity and despair but praise God, He has shown up and reminded of something so precious...so vital!  You may miss a math lesson, and history may seem to be well, history.....But no matter what the situation, you need not skip the one needful thing, that one good part!  You can still pray with and TALK TO your children as you go through your busy days, reminding them of their (and your) need of a savior, of God's goodness and unending grace and mercy.  You can point them to the love of Christ, teaching them to treat others with love.You can still look them in the eye and tell them that no matter what is happening, God is still good and Jesus is the answer to every situation.  Let them see you praise and thank Him despite your weariness...sing a song of praise while you are huddled in the trenches together. Don't let sickness or sleeplessness get in the way of pointing them to the Living Word at every opportunity!

I'm feeling so blessed...so thankful for God's mercy in this busy season of life.  Will you purpose to walk out, and talk out, your faith with these precious souls God has entrusted to you?  I'm starting fresh today....

Because He first loved us....

It's true..."We love Him, because He first loved us." 1 John 4:19  Face it...we didn't want Him.  We wanted to serve the flesh and continue in our sin, all the while denying our need of God or that we were even sinning.  It was in His mercy that He came to us and opened our eyes and hearts, drawing us to His bleeding side and giving us eternal life, and that more abundantly.  We didn't want it, and we certainly didn't deserve it.  However, our Lord is patient and kind, full of mercy and grace.  God's word is clear...every one of us is born a sinner. 

I'm not writing anything new.  Any born again believer knows these things.  So why do we expect better of our children than what we were?  They are born in sin the same as we were.  Our children aren't born wanting to submit to us, to obey us, or more importantly...to obey God.  They, like we, are born selfish, rebellious, and disobedient.  As parents that have been redeemed, shouldn't we extend the same grace, mercy, and patience toward them that God so lovingly showed us?  Instead of lashing out with harsh words or angry outbursts, we must tenderly and lovingly correct them - pointing them to the One who can change their hearts.  We must never treat them cruelly or harshly because they aren't treating us the way we think they should.  That's not God's way...He is good to us, all the time - whether we are walking in obedience or stumbling along the path.  Correct them we must, but it must be done with love.

We are by no means perfect and will certainly fail.  I pray we will be quick to realize our failure and repent before the Lord, also asking our children to forgive us.  You've seen the look that crosses their precious faces when we've hurt them with our words or actions....looks of confusion and pain.  They love us and trust us...they look to us to protect them.  They are like tender little plants that need to be pruned...may we be careful not to trample them underfoot because we have failed to keep our eyes on Jesus, praying for His divine help and the patience and stamina that it takes to love them the way He loves them!

A busy season of life

As a mother of 8 precious blessings, I can certainly testify to this being a busy season of life.  My days are long and yes, even trying sometimes.  But my heart?  Well, my heart is full to overflowing.  It is hard to put into words how amazing it is to have a broad age range to tend to.  On one hand, I've watched in awe as my oldest "baby" boy has become a man...while on the other hand I'm watching the youngest baby boy learn to roll over, babble and try to sit up on his own.  I have some learning to read and some learning to multiply.  Each of them has such a distinct personality...one loves to draw, one takes wonderful pictures and one is the resident "geek squad"...there is no new piece of technology he doesn't understand.  My youngest girl is two and wants to run the house.  I have one young one who loves to cook and one who lives to color pictures for mommy and daddy.  And then there's the baby...he loves to smile, drool, and soak up all the attention from his siblings....and oh how they love him!

There is a never-ending list of tasks...math and phonics lessons, dishes, baths, cooking, laundry...  Am I busy?  Yes, of course.  But above all else I am exceedingly blessed.  I will forever count it a privilege to watch them grow and learn, and develop into the special people God has created each one of them to be.  Like all seasons, it will one day end.  So rather than grumble and complain about the hard work and constant training, I will continually give praise to the One who entrusted each precious soul into my care.

When the flood comes

Somewhere along the way, many Christians have gotten the idea that once they put their faith in Christ, life will go smoothly...things will be a piece of cake.  This couldn't be further from the truth.  There is refining that must take place, a molding....being broken and reformed into someone more like our Lord.  It's a process, and it's often a painful one.  I want to be sure that my children understand the way it really is to serve Him.  The last thing I want is for them to buy into the idea that life will always be smooth sailing and nothing will ever bring them to their knees so long as they confess Christ as their savior.  However, I must be sure that they understand...no matter what they are going through He is still faithful, He can be trusted, and He has not forsaken them!!

One of the ways we can do this as parents is to not coddle them to much.  Don't shield them from everything in your life that is difficult.  We must let them see that their are trials to walk through...even crawl through on our knees in total dependence upon Him.  Show them that you have faith in Him no matter what the situation is...show them that He is to be trusted no matter what.  When we keep our trials from our children we may very well send them the message that bad things never happen when you are walking with Yeshua....that things are always easy and everything goes our way.  I'm not saying we have to give them every detail of our struggles.  But, when the big trials come, the ones that are more like a flood and you have to sink or swim, have faith or give up...you need to let them see you walk by faith and not by sight with a daily reliance upon the only One who can keep your head above water.

Full surrender

I'm just wondering....where are all of the "Christians" who are fully surrendered to Christ?  All any true follower of our Lord has to do is look around and the sad state of the church is pretty obvious.  The church is full of people who proclaim Christ with one side of their mouths, and talk filth with the other....so called believers who act no different than the world and thank God that it's "all under the blood".  Where do people get the idea that they can say, do, and think what they want and take the Lord's grace for granted?  Somewhere along the line, the church lost it's way...the line between holiness and worldliness has been made unimportant!  I believe one of the biggest areas where we have let things slide is in the home...starting with the family.  Believers have stopped discipling their children!

Christ's people should be different, set apart, and held to a higher standard.  We shouldn't try to fit into the world and if we're honest, we shouldn't even like most of the things the world likes.  It's time for a revival...a total surrender of all believers....time to give your whole self to Christ and do what He would have you do.  One of the ways I try to get this point across to my children is something I myself have been using as a standard.  I tell my kids to ask themselves, "If I were doing (saying, thinking, etc) xyz and Jesus showed up, would I be ashamed?"  And then I remind them that He knows about it either way!  Just this one simple question can make a huge difference in the way we behave.  One day we will stand before Him and have to give an account for how we lived.  This should make any believer keenly aware of how they are living...keep us on our toes so to speak.

I want to raise children who will do His will, not their own....who will not try to keep pace with the world but will stick out like a sore thumb!  I want them to understand that there is more to being a believer than just proclaiming Christ with your lips.  You must be changed from the inside out!  You must surrender yourself to His ways, not your flesh.  Our children must understand that they cannot continue to live a sinful lifestyle and take advantage of the grace of God!  Romans 6:1-2 proclaims it..."What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? 2God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?"  Read your bible, study His word in earnest, and it will be clear that being saved isn't a license to sin...but license to give it all up for His namesake.