The Feast of Dedication--Hanukkah

Did you know Jesus celebrated Hanukkah? I didn't know that before this past few months. It got me thinking.

 In fact there has been a whole strain of events that have gotten me thinking about our relationship to Judaism, the Jews, God's people, and the paths He had them travel in order to both preserve them, sanctify them, relate to them, and ultimately save them. How does this relate to us as believers? Does it relate to us as believers? Is Hanukkah even something we should consider celebrating or is it a tradition of old that doesn't apply to us as Gentile believers?

I'm finding, we are very misinformed or have greatly misunderstood the OT as Modern Christians, and we have lost so many of the beautiful feasts and festivals God put into place to create pictures of His greatness and His ultimate provision of Salvation.

 As a Gentile believer I have been grafted into the Salvation intended and planned for the Jews. God has adopted me into His Chosen People. How beautiful. And, if that is so, why then would I put to rest the traditions and celebrations God laid out in scripture for His People? Rather, I contend we should have adopted them and incorporated them into our worship.

 Although we are no longer under the Law, because Jesus came to fulfill it, we can practice the law along with the feasts and festivals in order to Worship the still, unchanged, Magnificent God. The same God who pursued and preserved the Jews, displaying for them His great Love through feasts, festivals, traditions, and practices.

So, we come to Hanukkah. It is just one of the first of the Judaic celebrations we've sought to know more about.

It is the Feast of Dedication, put into place about 160 years before Jesus. Fulfilling prophecy laid out in Daniel.   It is a festival of lighting candles for eight days to remember the dedication of the temple and the relighting of the lampstand which God commanded should never go out (Exodus 27:20-21).

Judah the Hammer set out with an Army (the Freedom Fighters) to defeat Antiochus Epiphanies. Antiochus Epiphanies ruled over Israel and commanded all Jews to renounce their way of life, practice pagan observances, and live like the Greeks. He erected the "abomination of desolation" in the temple. Thus defiling the temple God had built and persecuting the rights of the Jews to obey God's law.

Many Jews turned their back on their God to avoid persecution from Antiochus, but some stood firm, facing death, death of their children, and their families in order to stand against Antiochus. Judah the Hammer, a priest, and his family led the war against Antiochus Epiphanies defeating them only through God's perfect strength and will.

We don't face being killed for our faith today. But, we do face subtle indoctrination to succumb to the Satan's plans and give in to humanist, progressive ideology. Will we be those who give in or will we have courage, individually and as families. to stand for God, even if no one else is standing?

Once Judah the Hammer defeated Antiochus, they went to restore and rebuild the Temple, set into place the altars God had designed, and found 1 cruse of oil.  Traditionally 1 cruse of oil would only last 1 day, but in this case God provided yet another miracle and the light lasted 8 days while they rebuilt and rededicated the temple to their One True God.

As the Jews move through the 8 days of Hanukkah they remember God's ever faithfulness and the dedication of the Temple, the significance of the Light, and the Temple.

As we (Christians) move through the 8 days, lighting the candles, placing the light in the window, and remembering Gods preservation and salvation of the Jews and the dedication of His people, we can see a completeness to the picture through Christ.

We can see Jesus as the Light, the resurrected Temple, our own bodies as the Temple of the Spirit and the fulfillment of this picture by Jesus the Messiah and His death on the Cross.  We can see the need and desire to rededicate ourselves to Him each day, each season, and the value of the practices laid out by God as a beautifully painted picture of His Grace, Mercy, Love, and Atonement.  We see evidence of God through the Jewish People.  Through the preservation of the promise, the Covenant, and we, as Christians, get to partake in this Covenant with His people.

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A great little snippet from Above Rubies:
Jesus Christ, the Son of God was never reticent to speak the truth, even in the face of death. When he came to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Dedication, he was walking in Solomon's Porch (on the eastern side of the temple) and people gathered around him. 

Jesus knew the Jews would be remembering more than the rededication of the temple and the lighting of the

 Menorah again. They were remembering the great victory over Antiochus Epiphanes, but also how he lifted himself to be god over them. It was Antiochus himself who added "Epiphanes" to his name, which means "God manifest" which was utter blasphemy to the Jews.

In the midst of this thinking Jesus boldly and publically declared, "I and my Father are one (John 10:30). In other words, He confessed that He was God, which of course, He was! This was too much for the Jews who, remembering Antiochus Epiphanes the evil blasphemer, took up stones to stone him (John 10:22-33).

It was no coincidence that Jesus chose this timing to speak these words. Everything about Hanukah speaks of standing up for truth even in the face of danger.

God no longer lives in the Holy of Holies in the temple, but in our bodies, which are the temple of His Holy Spirit. In fact, we are not just the temple of the Holy Spirit, but the "naos" which is the Holy of Holies (1 Corinthians 6:19 and 2 Corinthians 6:16). What an indescribable truth! 

Our "naos" may not be desolate, but it is very easy for us to allow things to come into our lives which grieve the Holy Spirit and spoil and dirty our temple.

It is a lovely idea to have a rededication of our temples one night during Hanukah. Choose which morning or evening you would like to do together as a family. Explain to your children about it, and then ask each one of them to confess to the Lord anything in their lives that grieves the Holy Spirit and to rededicate their body temple to the Lord. This includes mom and dad too, of course. When we have all dedicated ourselves individually, then the father can rededicate the whole family to be living sacrifice to the Lord and to be set apart for His purposes (Romans 12:1-2). I pray that the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you mightily as you experience this dedication service in your home. 

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Scriptures for Hanukkah
Day 1
God is the Source of Light
Genesis 1:3-5
Exodus 27:20-21, cf. Leviticus 24:1-4
Psalm 36:9
John 10:22-33
Matthew 6:22-23

Day 2Jesus is the Light of the World
John 1:4-9
John 3:19-21
John 8:12
John 12:44-46

Day 3
Shine your Light
Proverbs 4:18
Isaiah 58:6-8, 10
Isaiah 60:1-2
Matthew 5:14-16
Philippians 2:14-15

Day 4
The Word of God is our Light
Psalm 19:7-11
Psalm 119:105, 130
Proverbs 6:20-24
Ephesians 1:17-18

Day 5
Walk in the Light
Isaiah 2:5
1 John 1:6-9
1 John 2:8-11
Romans 13:12-14
Ephesians 5:8-20

Day 6
We are to be a Great Light
Psalm 18:28
Isaiah 9:2, cf. Matthew 4:12-17
2 Corinthians 4:6-7
1 Peter 2:9

Day 7
God is my Light
Psalm 27:1
Psalm 37:3-6
Psalm 89:15-16
Psalm 112:4
Micah 7:8
Acts 26:18

Day 8
God is the Light of Heaven
Isaiah 24:23
Isaiah 60:19-20
Revelation 21:22-25
Revelation 22:3-5

10 Reasons We Don't Do Santa

I know this will be a controversial post, I've been feeling the need to write it but avoiding the potential for "haters" to comment. It seems in the current world of Facebook and Social Media, people immediately think you must be talking to them, specifically, when you post something in direct opposition to their personal feelings. It was amusing to see this reaction on a recent post by Above Rubies as she discussed the research showing that women are now ovulating about 400 times in their lives vs. 100 times when birth rates were once higher and nursing was once the only source of feeding an infant. That is for another day, but the implication that women ought to be nursing longer, birthing more often and lowering ovulation (which has shown to reduce many female diseases) seemed to set an uproar among the women who found themselves to be the exception to every possible scenario that would make doing the above "impossible." So, in an effort to post about Santa and the personal convictions myself and my husband have developed for our family, I do not desire to hear every scenario in opposition to our opinion that would exempt readers from feeling convicted about doing the same. My post is in love, in the spirit of sharing, and in an effort to draw us back to the heart of the matter. I am by no means, elevating myself or my family, but rather sharing a piece of our life with you and our heart on the matter. Whew! now that we have that out of the way...let's get to it. 10 Reasons We Don't Do Santa 1. It offers a false responsibility to obey and behave. Talk about manipulation. 2. It provides a false root to the spirit of JOY concerning Christmas. Is Christmas Joyful b/c of Santa or because of our Savior's Birth? 3. It encourages Materialism. When we so desperately attempt to re-focus Christmas on the Christ, we still instill a "gimme" attitude and an essence of asking for gifts. 4. It is deceiving and a lie, yet we teach our children NOT to lie. We become hypocrites making exceptions for the lie. 5. It causes a sense of "stress" concerning kids finding out the truth, by whom and when and keeping up the facade. 6. It distracts from real "imagination" and "exploration" for children in which they learn to understand it isn't real, only fun. 7. It can stir our faith in more than just Santa...if Santa isn't real, is Jesus real? 8. It offers no value to the intended Christmas Experience. My children still get super excited about Christmas, the presents (all 3 they get), the anticipation, the food, the family, and we are able to spend WAYY more time on Jesus. 9. Celebrating it is not Redeeming it. To see what I mean about redeeming it, click here to read Mark Driscoll's take on Redeeming Santa. 10. It can become Pagan, irreligious or religious in it's own right, consuming. We never say it's bad to believe in Santa, in fact they know some people who do and they know not to ruin for them if they can help it. We have told them about St. Nicholas and giving gifts to the children. It's all just fun, but NOT REAL. I wanted to put the 10 points above first in case as a reader you decide you don't want to continue. But, below I offer up a discussion on the real roots of Christmas, and the possibility that no matter how hard we try, because we do try, to make Christmas about Jesus' birth, it really, actually, Just ISN'T. So, if you are interested in learning a little bit more about why creating pagan customs such as Santa (pagan simply meaning not rooted in Christ or the things of the One True God) continue reading below. It's fascinating stuff. I recently read a wonderfully written, well researched, extremely historical yet sensitive article by Tim Hegg titled, "Why I Don't Celebrate Christmas." He is a Christian and began doing research on the true nature of the holiday and what it really is about. Granted, us modern day Christians, myself included, have found great ways to attempt to draw Christmas back to be being about CHRIST. We focus on His Birth, the symbolism we can find within the traditions such as the Star being the star that let the Shepherds by night, the Tree representing Christ Body as the Tree of Life, atoned upon the Tree, you get the picture. We too have incorporated into Christmas wherever possible elements of the true beauty of the season as it is centered upon the Messiah. But, the reality I am finding is that we cannot escape the actual history behind the holiday and it's very real connections with Paganism and the cover-up we've not been exposed to for many decades. I say all this to set up the fact that the aspect of Santa, falls right into this facade that is Christmas. (I love Christmas, I seek to create memories, traditions, to instill JOY into the hearts of my children, to GIVE to those less fortunate, and to connect with the ones I love). But, Christmas is deceivingly not of God. In fact, not once, in the Bible do they mention Christ's actual birthday. It is no where to be found. The earliest believers never once celebrated the BIRTH of the Messiah. It mattered not. Luke only mentions Christ was born in the 15th year of the Reign of Tiberius. No month, no day. The day of Christ's baptism on the other hand...specific. January 6th is known as the Epiphany. Celebrating Christ's birth only became an issue when the church set out in the fourth century (about 400 years after his birth) to establish Dec. 25th as the date of his birth. In fact, there wasn't even a consensus of that Day, rather the day was chosen then the Math was constructed to make it fit. It is much more likely to be in May. What really happened was this: The century was challenging Christ's Humanity and Deity and it was being challenged with many Pagan celebrations. The Virgin Birth became the obvious point that needed to be stressed to combat the Arian Heresy. Also, the expanding Church had become predominately Gentile and the effects of paganism were very heavy within the "community of the faithful". Gentiles, untrained in Scripture, brought many pagan customs and ideas into the church. It is no surprise that Dec. 25th was chosen considering it is also the date of many other pagan festivals. Most significantly the Roman festival of Brumalia (Saturnalia), the celebration of Mithra, and the Soltice as well as Dies Natalis Invicti Solis (A Roman Pagan Holiday). The Church essentially used Christmas to replace Pagan holidays and festivals and is noted in History by Bishop of Constantinople in 398CE. The list grows as we explore the Pagan festivals the Church was attempting to compete with. Many historians believe the Church's plan was to provide a substitute for the pagan holidays. Unfortunately, what happened was that the church began to incorporate many pagan customs within this attempt. Some of those Pagan Customs we see in Christmas are: 1. Decorating with Evergreens 2. the Tree (used to placate the gods) 3. Holly Berries 4. Mistletoe 5. Yule Logs Pope Gregory I wrote in a letter to Augustine permitting and even encouraging harmless, popular, pagans customs as they were capable of Christian interpretation (twisting). We can read though, very specifically in God's word what he has to say about mixing Pagan rituals with our faith. He SET APART the Sabbath, the Jews (his Chosen People), He called things HOLY (set apart), God preserves nations, peoples, forbids mixing, He sanctifies. In the giving of the TORAH, God made is repeatedly clear not to mix differing things, crops, cloth, animals, etc. The language expresses God's utter hatred for mixing . Deuteronomy 18:9, "When you enter the land which ADONAI your God gives you, your shall not learn to imitate the detestable things of those nations."..."In order that they may not teach you to do according to all their detestable things which they have done for their gods, so that you would sin against ADONAI, your God." Deuteronomy 20:18 This is called Syncretism and it means to attempt to union or reconcile divers or opposite tenets or practices, especially in philosophy and religion. In short, mixing things that do not go together Paganism and Christianity. They refurbished symbols, customs and rituals from Godless practices. All this being said, I know as Christians we do not set out to mix pagan rituals with Christian faith. But, we have been deceived if we believe these pagan offerings actually are fit before our King. It may not be our heart to offer such things before Him but we do so unknowingly. Those things born of pagan birth are most likely still considered demonic to the spiritual world. We are in an age when, as the believers of the true Messiah, we ought to shine distinctively, not adopt pagan customs and blend in with materialistic self indulgence and perpetuate lies to children.

Why we are Choosing to Celebrate Shabbat

We were recently inspired by some friends of ours concerning the celebration of Shabbat. They were kind enough to invite us all over for the tradition they have been participating in for over 15 years.

For some time now I have been feeling a tugging to learn more about the Torah, the Jews, God's Chosen, and the Feasts and Festivals He called His people to participate within. To study the deep significant of the OT in a way I haven't before. Knowing full well that elements of each feast and festival represented deep truths related to His divinity and His Character as well as His purpose for His people.

I feel that as modern day Christians we have abandoned our true place as Gentiles, grafted in to the Jewish covenant through Jesus. This somehow has translated into us developing our own traditions for the church, it's people, and we have left behind the traditions and remembrances God first called His Chosen people to participate within.

Each of them displaying important factors of His Will and Purpose and who He wills for us to be with Him. Modern Christian has moved past the Torah b/c they see that Christ fulfilled the Law, but then we sacrifice so many of the blessings God wanted to poor out on us through the OT pictures, practices, and traditions. The idea is that we are not celebrating Jewish festivals and feasts but rather God's.

Just because the Jews have failed to see Jesus as the true Messiah, does not mean the feasts and festivals were in vain and have lost their meaning. In fact, through Jesus we can see the true significance and the picture of ultimate Grace found within them fulfilled through Jesus.

shab·bat 
/SHäˈbät/ 
  
The Jewish Sabbath 

For six days you may perform melachah, but the seventh day is a complete Sabbath, holy to the L-RD ... it is an eternal sign that in six days, the L-RD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed. Exodus 31:15-17 

The word Shabbat is used to reference both the meal we share as a family as we usher in the Sabbath on Friday night to Remember, and the day of rest on Saturday to Observe the only thing in Creation the Lord called Holy.

Even more significant to us as Christians, grafted in to the Jews promise and covenant by God, as Gentiles, we experience the fullness of the Lord's will as He laid out the feasts and festivals for His Chosen People, because we know Jesus became the fullness of His Will.

There are two important parts of Shabbat: To Remember and Observe.
 

Remember:
To remember God is the creator of both the heavens and the earth and all living things.
To remember the freedom found through the Exodus.

We do this through the Shabbat meal, which has several parts, to usher in the Sabbath day.

Observe:
To refrain from "typical work" or labor and strain.
To observe the day as Holy unto the Lord and spend time together as a family, in joy and celebration, without the pressures of our "typical" behaviors and responsibilities.
To spend time in His word.

To spend time in Prayer.

We do this through the day of Rest as the Lord first displayed and modeled for us.

The Meal:
There are several movements of tradition as we move throughout the meal time, to mark and remember both God's creation and His provision both through the Exodus and through Christ the Savior. Each of them has a Hebrew prayer to usher in the next tradition, and is greatly grounded in Jewish purpose.
1. Washing of hands--we wash away the icky feelings from the week, forgive and renew.

2.Charity--we give of our abundance to those less fortunate, into a Charity box, which we hold until the time comes in which another's need arises.

3. Approaching the table for prayer, then lighting the candles to usher in the Sabbath (done by the woman of the home). 1 Candle represents Remembering the other Observing.

4.The taking of the wine--The Abundance of God's provisions poured out to us, also the blood of Christ provided to us as atonement for sin.

5.The breaking of the braided bread (Challah) with Salt--The provision of the Man-nah in the Exodus, 2 loaves on Friday, by God along with Christ's body, broken for us. The Salt is a symbol that it never goes bad or rots, it preserves.

6.The Father blesses each child of the family and then reads a blessing over his wife.

7.We say a final prayer, ending with saying loudly "Shabbot Shalom".

8.We engage in our family meal, giving everyone the opportunity to share about their week (High's of the week).

9.We discuss God's abundant blessings both in the OT and the New and how it relates to us as Christians in the light of being grafted into the Jews Chosen Position with the Lord. How this then implies what our true traditions, celebrations and remembrances should be.

10. Lighting of the candles on Saturday to Usher our the Darkness and bring in the Light. Both the light of provision in darkness given to the Jews upon the Exile, the Light given upon Creation and the Light given in Jesus Christ. Moving through these prayers, traditions and sharing in the markers to remember God and our Savior now as the fulfillment of the Law, we are blessed and reminded of God's character, love, provision, plan, and our position in Him.

Below I pasted some information about Shabbat from a Jewish website. There is tons of information available.

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The Nature of Shabbat

The Sabbath (or Shabbat, as it is called in Hebrew) is one of the best known and least understood of all Jewish observances. People who do not observe Shabbat think of it as a day filled with stifling restrictions, or as a day of prayer like the Christian Sabbath. But to those who observe Shabbat, it is a precious gift from G-d, a day of great joy eagerly awaited throughout the week, a time when we can set aside all of our weekday concerns and devote ourselves to higher pursuits. In Jewish literature, poetry and music, Shabbat is described as a bride or queen, as in the popular Shabbat hymn Lecha Dodi Likrat Kallah (come, my beloved, to meet the [Sabbath] bride). It is said "more than Israel has kept Shabbat, Shabbat has kept Israel." Shabbat is the most important ritual observance in Judaism. It is the only ritual observance instituted in the Ten Commandments.

In modern America, we take the five-day work-week so much for granted that we forget what a radical concept a day of rest was in ancient times. The weekly day of rest has no parallel in any other ancient civilization. In ancient times, leisure was for the wealthy and the ruling classes only, never for the serving or laboring classes. In addition, the very idea of rest each week was unimaginable. The Greeks thought Jews were lazy because we insisted on having a "holiday" every seventh day. Shabbat involves two interrelated commandments: to remember (zakhor) Shabbat, and to observe (shamor) Shabbat.

Zakhor: To Remember

Remember the Sabbath day to sanctify it (Hebrew: Zakhor et yom ha-Shabbat l'kad'sho)-Exodus 20:8

We are commanded to remember Shabbat; but remembering means much more than merely not forgetting to observe Shabbat. It also means to remember the significance of Shabbat, both as a commemoration of creation and as a commemoration of our freedom from slavery in Egypt
In Exodus 20:11, after Fourth Commandment is first instituted, G-d explains, "because for six days, the L-rd made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and on the seventh day, he rested; therefore, the L-rd blessed the Sabbath day and sanctified it." By resting on the seventh day and sanctifying it, we remember and acknowledge that G-d is the creator of heaven and earth and all living things. We also emulate the divine example, by refraining from work on the seventh day, as G-d did. If G-d's work can be set aside for a day of rest, how can we believe that our own work is too important to set aside temporarily? In Deuteronomy 5:15, while Moses reiterates the Ten Commandments, he notes the second thing that we must remember on Shabbat: "remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the L-rd, your G-d brought you forth from there with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm; therefore the L-rd your G-d commanded you to observe the Sabbath day." What does the Exodus have to do with resting on the seventh day? It's all about freedom. As I said before, in ancient times, leisure was confined to certain classes; slaves did not get days off. Thus, by resting on Shabbat, we are reminded that we are free. But in a more general sense, Shabbat frees us from our weekday concerns, from our deadlines and schedules and commitments. During the week, we are slaves to our jobs, to our creditors, to our need to provide for ourselves; on Shabbat, we are freed from these concerns, much as our ancestors were freed from slavery in Egypt.

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As believers we get to also remember the freedom given in Christ from sin, through the Cross. We are given the gift of experiencing the fullness of the message God prepared for the Jews through the atonement of Christ, the Son of God. How much more do we see the full beauty and the experience the completeness of God's perfect will?

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Shamor: To Observe

Observe the Sabbath day to sanctify it (Hebrew: Shamor et yom ha-Shabbat l'kad'sho)-Deuteronomy 5:12

Of course, no discussion of Shabbat would be complete without a discussion of the work that is forbidden on Shabbat. This is another aspect of Shabbat that is grossly misunderstood by people who do not observe it. Most Americans see the word "work" and think of it in the English sense of the word: physical labor and effort, or employment. Under this definition, turning on a light would be permitted, because it does not require effort, but would not be permitted to lead Shabbat services, because leading services is his employment. Jewish law prohibits the former and permits the latter. Many Americans therefore conclude that Jewish law doesn't make any sense. The problem lies not in Jewish law, but in the definition that Americans are using. The Torah does not prohibit "work" in the 20th century English sense of the word. The Torah prohibits "melachah" Mem-Lamed-Alef-Kaf-Hei, which is usually translated as "work," but does not mean precisely the same thing as the English word. Before you can begin to understand the Shabbat restrictions, you must understand the word "melachah." Melachah generally refers to the kind of work that is creative, or that exercises control or dominion over your environment. The word may be related to "melekh" Mem-Lamed-Kaf. The quintessential example of melachah is the work of creating the universe, which G-d ceased from on the seventh day. Note that G-d's work did not require a great physical effort: he spoke, and it was done. The word melachah is rarely used in scripture outside of the context of Shabbat and holiday restrictions. The only other repeated use of the word is in the discussion of the building of the sanctuary and its vessels in the wilderness. Exodus Ch. 31, 35-38. Notably, the Shabbat restrictions are reiterated during this discussion (Ex. 31:13), thus we can infer that the work of creating the sanctuary had to be stopped for Shabbat.

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As believers we can see and often hear that Jesus has fulfilled the Law and we are not bound to the same observances as the Jews were in the OT. Although, this may be true, there are fabulous blessings available when we honor the things the Lord has set out to honor and those things Jesus himself honored, being the Messiah.
We may not see or interpret the word "work" the same considering we no longer build sanctuary's or temples, but, we can see in our busy modern lives the need to honor the Lord's day of rest. He called in Holy. When we do so, we enjoy both a sense of accomplishment from preparing for Shabbat throughout the week and then rest when we spend the day Observing the Lord's perfect picture painted through the OT, which displays His Character, beauty, authority and governing over the Earth.
For our family we see a handful of blessings being offered by getting back to the feasts and festivals, specifically Shabbat, the Lord laid out for us, as Gentiles, adopted into His Chosen People.

1. A weekly family time of Remembrance and Observance which displays for us both God's divine nature and provision along with Christ's fulfillment of the Lord's will.

2.Tradition which offers teaching and instructing in the ways of God's people, which connects us more closely with God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ.

3. Spending the week with Intentionality to draw in the Shabbat meal on Friday night and the day of rest on Saturday. We must be more diligent as a family to prepare to experience Shabbat together.
4. Keeping my family coming together on a regular basis, hopefully as they grow, and possibly leave home. Establishing a tradition they look forward to and enjoy so they too will bring their families over once they grow.

5. An opportunity to teach reverence and respect for the Lord's Holy things. To dress up in honor of Him. To act out of love for him.

We do not see celebrating Shabbat weekly as an act of obedience or religiousness that earns favor with God, but rather out of our deep love for Him and His Son Jesus, displaying our respect for the days He designed and remarked in scripture as significant and Holy. It is an act of Love. A reverence of the fulfillment of the Saviors sacrifice in light of the picture God was painting from the beginning.

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Ebay is a great place to purchase the items you would need/desire to celebrate the meal time (Challah (bread) cover, candlesticks, Handwashing Cup, Charity Box, Bread plates, Wine Fountains, etc.).

   

Waging the War with Words

The summer has flown by and we had lots of blessings come our way including vacations and time with family, abundant blessings with a new baby on the way (we are covering with prayer in hopes to avoid another miscarriage) and summer swimming, gymnastics and much more.

Whew...this past summer was crazy and wonderful and thank goodness for cameras that catch all the moments so we can remember them forever! Through the summer activities I've also had an opportunity to begin mentoring with a wonderful spiritual leader that God brought into our lives through swimming. She's challenging me in many ways and through a more consistent time spent with the Lord, because that has suffered in these past six months, I'm learning so many things.

I primarily feel the Lord teaching me more about His spirit. Some of the things I began learning 9 years ago about His spirit, spiritual warfare, spiritual and physical health, and sanctification are coming up again a if to be renewed in my heart and my mind only to allow me then to share with my family, children, and friends in the right time and way. I see a spiritual warfare going on with my oldest son. This has been shown to me recently through God's faithfulness and I'm taking the steps to try to fight the battle on his behalf while teaching him to do so also. But, being young still, I must fight as his advocate at this time, waging war against the pull between God and Evil.

I've learned much about the power of prayer and come to realize that although I've attempted to be a prayer warrior for my family, I have failed at the same time. The goal is to create new habits. Long ago I posted about prayers I wrote for the kids and my husband as well as daily/weekly prayers for them to cover them in His word. those prayers come to my phone each morning and sometimes I carelessly delete them with the rest of the junk. This is confession time. Instead my hope is to open them, pray them before ever leaving my bed, and cover my family in prayer as I've hoped to do all along. Oh how easily we get distracted from what matters the most.

 In addition to this, my husband and I have chosen a saint and servant in the bible that we hope to represent our children and researched character qualities for each of them. I then took those qualities and put them into a prayer for them as well. I'm still in the process of finishing this project but once I'm done I plan to create a printable, print and hang in their rooms for them to read for themselves as well each day. To give them clear direction as to who they are in Christ. It's been a great path of research for me and for contemplating who God has called them to be in life.

 I say all this as a way of a simple confession for my failures but my hopes for the days to come. To hold myself accountable for the role I play as a mother and wife and the supreme responsibility to wage war for my family against spiritual warfare, using the only real weapon, God's word. I hope you might be encouraged too

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Making Much of Him

I've started reading John Piper's "Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ." It's been a joy to read, and I'm not a reader. It has refreshed my soul. In Chapter Two he writes, "Christ does not exist in order to make much of us. We exist in order to enjoy making much of Him." That is a powerful statement. To ENJOY MAKING MUCH OF HIM. Not just to make much of Him but to ENJOY it. Whoa... Just let that one sink in. For "old", "long time" believers like myself I often find that I forget about the most basic, wonderful, joyful part of following Christ is the opportunity to be Satisfied in HIM (this is a common, well-known remark of Piper's, "He is most glorified in us when we are satisfied in HIM.") Satisfied in HIM...Making much of HIM...Enjoying making much of HIM... Piper states, Christ is not glorious so that we get wealthy or healthy. Christ is glorious so that rich or poor, sick or sound, we might be satisfied in him. An important thing as believers, although some "Christian" religions do not agree on this issue, is Christ's eternal, original existence. "Christ never became or developed. He simply was." Some may argue the significance of Christ origin, deity vs. human, eternal vs. created. It is on this very foundation in which we develop our view of God/Christ and salvation. If we do not believe Jesus is eternal and endless we cannot then be sanctified by his sacrifice. It changes the very nature of all things biblical and the trustworthiness of the God's word. This eternal being of God (Christ) is the basis of Yahweh, "to be". A perfect reference to God (Christ's) absolute nature is Isaiah 43:10 and Isaiah 44:6. In the two verses above we see God talking, calling himself the Alpha and Omega. In Revelation 22:12-13, 16 and John 8:58 we hear Jesus also calling himself the Alpha and Omega and "I am". If we believe that either verse is true and the Bible is completely God's infallible word (no matter the translation, b/c translation does not mean it goes from Hebrew to Italian to English, rather directly from Hebrew to English, or Hebrew to Italian, etc. so there is no loss in translation, especially since we have the original language, Hebrew and Greek alive and well), we must believe both verses are true. If one is a lie the whole Bible is called into question which then calls into questions Jesus' death and resurrection. The only conclusion is that... God has always been. Jesus has always been and the two are ONE. If God has always been and His glory is magnified through me, to enjoy making MUCH of HIM...I must consider seriously the deep importance of not mixing up the order of things. To make more of myself, to take Glory in myself as a believer, to confuse and believe the LIE that God's purpose is to glorify me, rather than ME glorify Him...I will never fully enjoy the plunder of being satisfied in Him. "To feast on this forever (God's Glory), is the aim of our being created and our being redeemed."

Growing Forward

Well, even though April was somewhat sad there has still been an awesome amount of JOY and I can see God growing us through the loss and the pleasure of raising 5 wonderful arrows.

Satan is good...it is almost as if he has come into the loss and stirred my children towards tough behavior, discontent, not getting along...the list goes on.

In that not-so-quiet discontent have been many lessons for me. The forging of a fresh point of view.  The furnace which refines my approach with my children.  The realization that I AM NOT PERFECT and the regrets and mistakes I have can only be any good to any body if I give them to God and allow Him to make Silver in the Refining Fire.

If I fail to allow Him to use those moments of struggle, regret, hardship, the ones I can't get back when I overreacted or spoke too harsh or expected too much then they are for NOT, lost on the frailty of the Human Condition rather than FOUND in His Love and forged into something beautiful in His Mercy and Grace.

Grace...this concept of Christian, biblical Grace is actually foreign to so many well intentioned Christians I know.  We speak about God Grace, we accept it fully because without it we would have nothing, but we fail so often to ponder how Grace is supposed to shape the Gospel that is alive and risen within us.

Even recently I've watched a Christian women fail to offer another woman grace on any measure.  We so quickly slip into legalism and judgement rather than remembering that our own "GOOD WORKS" are as filthy rags to Him.  He, our Gracious God, is much more interested in our hearts.

We make choices for our family, seek to be conservative, modest, kept from the world, what have you, and in making that choice we automatically call it BEST and judge others for not coming to the same conclusion.  Isn't God refining each of us in a different fire with a varying temperature?  

I'm not by any means that in so many things we find God's word to be explicit, black and white instead of gray and those issues ought to not be handle with passivity but should also not be absent of Grace.  In the areas in which we find a varying degree of application we MUST exhibit Grace or we lose our influence upon others.

Not only do I feel the desire to see God's perfect GRACE in my own life more than I ever have before, but I desire to display GRACE to those around me and especially my children. 

For, if I fail to exhibit for my children God's explicit biblical principals without Grace I rob them of the ability to both see God's GRACE for them which in turns keeps them from truly being able to offer it to another. And isn't that what the Gospel is about?  The Gospel that is alive and breathing....not past or history but alive.

If my children leave my home without being able to extend Grace...their impact for the Gospel will be lost.

If my children cannot discern God's word, make decisions that align with His will, and fail to see others through the lens of Grace...they've missed the Gospel.

I'd rather make some mistakes, have some regrets, overexpose them to a degree (movies, music, people) and have them see the need for GRACE when it comes to the human condition than have children who think the world ought to live by their own standards and who miss the need for God's Grace.  We cannot wrap them in bubble wrap. That creates rebellion. We cannot teach them religion...that also creates rebellion.  Rather, we must allow them to see the depravity of man, our desperately lost souls, and to see the world with a heart of forgiveness.

Don't freak out...I am not saying we don't discriminate what our children watch or see or hear or that we don't consider a healthy sense of ignorance over naivety...We homeschool not to keep our children from the WORLD but to prepare them for it.  With God's truth, GRACE and His love.

The Deceiver and Distractions

He, the deceiver, is good at bringing moments of distraction into our daily lives which tend to linger too long and pause on the way out with a final whispering word as to keep your eyes turned away from what truly matters.

Our lives are busy...maybe not always on the go and often we find ourselves at home, but the moments are moving, often fleeting, always in motion towards the next bridge, path, fork in the road.  We often forget to pause, breathe and take it all in.

God allows the motion to come in and sharpen us, refine our fight and our will in the war.  But, then the deceiver whispers again...distractions...the turning of the head for even just a moment can cause our motion, our natural motion to shift just slightly off course.

We must hear the Father's call to find our course.  We must breathe...find the rhythm of the Master, the motion of the Son.

It's a minor shift off track but is rocks the very center of the motion God allows to come in and sharpen us.

To see the moments, the minutes, the trials, the sharpening as anything less than controlled and held by the Father we would be believing a lie...yet another distraction.

I so often hear myself echoing back after instructing the children or reproaching them for inappropriate actions and I realize...I did not allow the Father to refine me in the moment.  I allowed the moment to distract me from the opportunity...

How can I breathe and let the moments refine me?

Willingly I experience refining after the fact but in the moment I often fail to fight and seek God's will in the war.

I'm regretful for those moments not handled so well, the ones where I overreacted, acted impatiently all while asking them to show patience and grace.  Lord, help them to be blind to my hypocrisy...its unintentional and often repented for as I walk this path as a mother.

I've run out of redo's.  Cole is turning 7 this summer, he'll begin to remember how I react, how I talk, how I make him feel.  Any grace period that exists although most likely just a ghost, has begun to end.

I MUST find the strength to push out the distractions, CALL forth the will to wage the war, to be refined, to take a breathe in all moments and speak only words that matter.

God, bring the refining moments and help me to move with the motion that is filled with you. To find YOU in all things...the chance to show you, serve you, reflect you and most importantly fill myself with you so it will pour out as the natural motion of our lives takes place.

There is no space to allow distraction to settle, although it often comes, when the space is filled with YOU.

Gift Challenge-Joy in the Loss

We recently suffered the loss of our sixth pregnancy.  We were beyond excited to be having number 6.  God did many strange things this time.  In the past I've slowed my nursing down, had 1 cycle and gotten pregnant with ease.

This time I had 3 full cycles before conceiving.  I became impatient, which is ridiculous.  Where is the trust, faith, joy, and peace in that.  None the less I was feeling irritated with the change in status quo.

Then conception. I was so excited, the kids were excited...there was no lack of love for this tiny,knitted person growing in my womb.

On April 15th, just four days after the bleeding  began, I passed the baby at home, in the quiet.  After learning the heartbeat had stopped I cried quietly to myself as to not frighten the children.  I processed what it meant.  No baby on November 2 this year.  No growing belly, baby kicks.  There was grief that first day after finding out.  Questions, disappointment, guilt...

Then as we waited for the baby to pass naturally there was much to consider and be thankful for. It was a reminder of how richly blessed we already are. And although we don't always understand why or to what end God allows things to happen, I do know He allows them so that we might be refined, given a chance to glow in the sadness with a richness that can only come from Him.  There is Joy in the struggle and in this moment I hoped to reflect Him.

So, I think it is fitting to dedicate today's gift challenge to finding the JOY in the Sorrow.

301. 5 healthy, beautiful children
302. Blessings abundant that can only come from having children
303. Smoochy kisses from my 18 month old
304. A few more moments to enjoy an empty womb which allows for more time and attention on the 5.
305. A supportive husband who lovingly held me when my heart was sad and stayed home to be with me as we waited for the final passing.
306. The love and support from so many strong mommy women, showing their love and their grief in the loss with me.
307. Making the joy of someday having one more feel even more special
308. Deepening the Longing
309. Driving deep the conviction that children are a heritage
310. The reminder the God is in control
311. Remembering to breathe and trust in Him
312. Slowing down

I won't forget those moments with this little precious life.  It is something many women experience, many whom do not already have 5 wonderful gifts, and many who are much further along than I was. The beauty in it is the depth in which it roots into your soul.  It is something maybe only a mother or mother to be could explain and even then words will fall incredibly short.  It's an unspoken love and a deep longing.  I'm actually, now thankful for it. I pray to encourage and help others who will experience this as our lives move forward.

Things to Remember When Times Seem Tough

‎"Much of what God allows in your life is not for you to simply accept, but to get you to rise up! God wants you to know how to wield the weapons of warfare, how to take a stand, and how to fight." -Captivating


‎"For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope." -Romans 15:4


‎"God's version of flowers and chocolates and candlelight dinners comes in the form of sunsets and falling stars, moonlight on lakes and cricket symphonies; warm wind, swaying trees, lush gardens, and fierce devotion.....He knows what takes your breath away, knows what makes your heart beat faster. We have missed many of His notes simply because we shut our hearts down in order to endure the pain of life. Now, in our healing journey as women, we must open our hearts again, and keep them open. Not foolishly, not to anyone and anything. But yes, we must choose to open our hearts again so that we might hear His whispers, receive His kisses." (Captivating)


Now, Jesus said, don't you think God cares just a little bit more for you than the birds of the air? "Are you not much more valuable than they?"(Matt. 6:26). Indeed, you are. You, dear heart, are the crown of creation, His glorious image bearer. And He will do everything it takes to rescue you and set your heart free. (Captivating by John and Stasi Eldredge)


 Don't be decieved. "Satan is the one keeping you in bondage. He is the one who has done these things in order to prevent your restoration. He fears who you are; what you might become." Don't believe the lies...believe the Truth.

Absent....then Easter

I don't even know how longs it's been since I wrote. It seems like forever. No One Thousand Gifts, No poetic writings of my trials as a mother or my joys. I've gone silent over the past few months. Things have been...strange.

I'd like to blame homeschooling. It sent us into a new schedule, placed new demands upon my time, my free "me" time, caused me to cherish a quick nap when I can grab one.

The holidays came and went with a whirlwind...why do I fear this will all happen again too soon. It's already April for goodness sakes. April...

We have a January birthday, twinkies in March, trips to the dunes as a family...sometimes it's a blur. But, a lovely, blessed, crazy, sometimes manic blur...

I'm a perfectionist, I think we've talked about this before. My ever demanding need to keep things consistent, updated, and perfected. When too much time goes by without writing or sitting down to share on our family blog (which operates much more like a timeline of events than this particular blog) I tend to then avoid it because I'm uncomfortable with the imperfection.

Isn't is crazy? Blogging doesn't have to be perfect. It's just a simple window to my heart. Something I actually use to leave behind a piece of myself for my children. It's a journal. But I started and restarted journals as a kid when too much time went by. I couldn't stand the lapsing in time. I wanted to be a perfect, neat, tidy, wonderful little journaler (is this a word?). What world is that from?

But, as is to be expected, here I am again picking up after a month of being away and tons of inconsistencies before that. God is refining me through even something as simple as this!

Easter
I've laid low this year about Easter. Much less than the year before have I talked and read about the coming celebration. Maybe I'm tired or maybe it's just a year to be quiet.

Christmas was quiet this year and for that I'm grateful. It simplified God's love for us. Made the whole thing just about God coming to earth. No confusion or too much information (which I think I've done before with the Jesse Tree and readings).

Easter is following this same smoothly, quiet path.

My oldest randomly asked me when were going to do Passover, by marking our doors with red paint and sharing in the model God set in motion long before Jesus was actually nailed to the cross. They get the picture. My sweet, sinful, distract able little children see the picture painted by God in Egypt and then again in Isaac and then again on the cross.

It amazes me. There is no confusion to them. It is as clear as day. Jesus is the blood on the walls, the lamb in Isaac's place, the final payment of our sin at Galgotha.

We began to read this morning to start our school day in Matthew of Jesus being crucified. It is a simple version of the events, not too filled with details in case they get distracted, when they get distracted.

Within minutes the questions are flooding from their mouths. "Who helped Jesus carry the cross?", "Was Jesus' brother there to watch him die?", "Was his mommy sad?", "Where was his daddy?", "Where did he go after he died before he rose from the tomb?", "Does he live in heaven now?", "He loves us so much mom.".

I asked my children if they would be willing to die for the whole world, beyond the people they love and who love them. My oldest who is still 6 (even though I like to treat him like he is already 7), pondered this carefully and then matter of factly said, "No. They don't deserve it."

It was as though God simply handed me the smoothest line of questions and answers in order to perfectly paint for my children the ultimate and love and sacrifice Jesus gave to us on the cross. I couldn't have planned it better. I simply obeyed the tugging from the Lord to read to them from the Bible. Something I don't do enough b/c they tend to get bored.

God is faithful.

We then took a hike up the hill at a nearby church to see the cross and see the tomb, to ponder even more what He did for us that day. What God had planned from the moment Adam took the apple in His desperate desire to draw us back to Him. To bridge the gap between the creator and the created.

I saw the cross today through my children. I put the pieces together again in a renewed way and then reminded us all that it isn't just about eternity. It has to be about today. Living out the gospel today. Loving, sharing, forgiving...

I asked them, "If the cross and the gospel are the most important things in our life, do we share them with others like we should?". Cole, stated, "No, I don't." I asked him why. "Because I get nervous."

Me too buddy. Me too. It's true. We don't want to offend, put off, seem weird...Well, I don't want to do that. But, the gospel is the most living and breathing thing we as Christians have to share.

In what ways has the Gospel moved you today?

Filling Their Souls

A wonderfully encouraging post from Preparing the Soil. It is the song of my heart...I just need to remember to sing it!


Before I had kids, I remember having a conversation with a young mom. It was one of those conversations that sunk straight into my soul and I knew that for some reason, I was to remember it. This mom and I were talking about her young children who were about three and four at the time. She mentioned that they loved to play and wrestle and that her husband often did that with the kids. I asked her if she did as well (fully assuming that she did), and she said something that I will never forget. She said, “Oh no, that isn’t really my thing.”
I have thought about that conversation many times in my last nine years of parenting. You see, sometimes we just need to do things because it will build into the hearts of our children. Sometimes we need to do an activity because it will fill a soul. Sometimes we need to do things because it makes our children smile and giggle and it will build the invisible bonds of the parent-child relationship.

This all came to mind as I put the boys to bed tonight.

I love my boys. I never, ever wanted to be a mom to boys and in all honesty, it took me about two years to come to terms with the fact that I had a son. Now, I can’t imagine life without them. I adore their energy and enthusiasm and zest for life. I love their fascination with sports and legos and flexing their muscles. I love to watch them “just be boys” and I am thrilled to be a part of raising them. But being a mom to boys doesn’t come naturally to me.
I am not a rough-and-tumble, loud, high-energy person. My idea of a perfect day involves a lot of quiet, a lot of books, and a lot of sipping hot drinks. I was never a real “girly-girl” and yet male humor and activities have never really gotten me excited, either. However, I want to have the heart of my boys. I want to have cords of connectedness so strong that nothing can break them. I want their hearts to be in tune with mine and I want to be someone they long to be with. And that means doing things that don’t necessarily come naturally and doing things that “aren’t really my thing.”

As I tucked the boys into bed tonight, I had to “find” one who was hiding in his brother’s bed, I “captured” one as he struggled to get free, I was tackled, I growled like a tiger, I pretended to cry when they said—in fits of giggles—that they didn’t love me, I knocked them on the head, I smothered them with kisses, and I filled their little boy-souls with rough and tumble love and laughter. And I didn’t do it because it is “my thing.” I did it because it fills their heart and I hope that hundreds upon hundreds of these little memories will merge into one big memory that will allow them to say, “I had a happy childhood.”

Sometimes being a parent involves us stepping our of personality, out of our comfort places, out of what’s easy and into a place where our actions can really communicate with our children’s hearts. We have to be willing to let go of our desires and our natural inclinations and instead meet our kids where they are. Tonight, it was being silly with rowdy boys. This morning it was with an almost-nine-year old who hates math and was in tears clinging to me saying, “I just want to be with you!” This afternoon it was playing pig on the basketball court and praying I would make it so one of the boys wouldn’t be out again. No doubt tomorrow it will be with a certain three-year-old who will bring be an infinitely high stack of books I have read too many times. Saying yes doesn’t always come easily or naturally, but I pray each day that God will enable me to do what is best for the five little hearts I am responsible for.

Please Lord, let me say yes and do whatever it takes to hold onto their hearts, even if it “isn’t my thing.”

Affirmations

I just thought I'd share this neat little list of Affirmations for Kids. They don't necessarily fit every child or family but some of them are pretty neat.

_____________________________________________________________

101 Affirmations for Children

1. I can do whatever I focus my mind on.

2. I am awesome.

3. I am very intelligent.

4. I am a fast learner.

5. I am worthy.

6. I deeply love and accept myself.

7. I enjoy learning.

8. Learning is fun and exciting.

9. I understand the lessons taught in school completely and quickly.

10. I believe in myself and my abilities.

11. While I appreciate details, I am able to also see the big picture in things.

12. I have many gifts and talents.

13. I learn from my challenges and can always find ways to overcome them.

14. I am open to possibility.

15. I embrace my fears fully and calmly.

16. I make like-minded friends easily and naturally.

17. I am healthy and am growing up well.

18. I have persistence in what I believe in.

19. Miracles happen to me all the time.

20. I am very creative.

21. Ideas for problem solving come easily and quickly to me.

22. I am a great listener.

23. My family, friends and teachers love me for who I am.

24. I am unique and special.

25. Opportunities come to me in good time.

26. I may make mistakes sometimes but I choose to learn from them.

27. I accept myself even though I sometimes make mistakes.

28. Every day and in every way, I get better and better.

29. My intuition guides me in what I do.

30. I am calm, relaxed and peaceful.

31. I am always in the right place at the right time.

32. I enjoy being, feeling and thinking positive.

33. Problems challenge me to better myself in every way.

34. I trust myself in making great decisions.

35. I am loving kindness to all.

36. I do my best in my work and tasks.

37. I am present.

38. I trust in my ability to solve problems.

39. I enjoy my own company.

40. I accept compliments graciously and openly.

41. I am whole and complete.

42. I enjoy trying new ideas.

43. I embrace changes in peaceful, harmonious and positive ways.

44. I believe I can be whatever I want to be.

45. I can visualize very well.

46. I am vibrant and have lots of energy.

47. I am divinely protected.

48. I am kind, generous and loving.

49. I complete my school work on time every day.

50. I am deserving of love, trust and kindness.

51. I achieve great and successful results.

52. I am brave.

53. I experience beauty wherever I go.

54. I have got an awesome imagination.

55. I am able to solve problems creatively.

56. All is well in the world.

57. I am thankful for my blessings.

58. I have a healthy relationship with my teachers.

59. I choose to forgive all others for any mistakes they have done.

60. I feel confident and secure.

61. I enjoy letting events unfold in good time.

62. I have loving, positive and happy thoughts.

63. I express my ideas easily.

64. I am courageous even when things are unknown to me.

65. I reach my goals easily.

66. I am in charge of my own life.

67. I enjoy playing games with my friends.

68. I am gentle with myself.

69. I have many friends who like being near me.

70. The trees, flowers and birds are my friends.

71. I radiate love and compassion.

72. Miracles happen to me every day.

73. I am on my way to creating great wealth.

74. I am excellent in languages.

75. I am quick and accurate with Mathematics.

76. I am able to analyze and see clearly for problem solving.

77. I read, write and learn fast.

78. I absorb knowledge like a sponge and am able to apply what I have learnt.

79. I do my best for my studies.

80. I am attentive in class.

81. I am a natural in _________ (sports).

82. I am on top of my classes.

83. I enjoy challenging myself in new ideas, possibilities and directions.

84. I am a winner!

85. I turn failures into opportunities for success.

86. I handle all my responsibilities and tasks well.

87. I enjoy eating healthy snacks.

88. I love my body.

89. I am honest and trustworthy.

90. I choose to look for the best way forward for myself.

91. I am able to understand and solve complex problem sums or questions easily.

92. I enjoy experiencing life in multiple ways.

93. I love being healthy!

94. I manage my time well.

95. I like being punctual.

96. I enjoy having habits that will help me have a happy, healthy and successful life.

97. I listen to my gut or inner wisdom closely.

98. I am able to easily draw inspiration from nature and life.

99. I believe in my dreams.

100. I have an excellent memory.

http://www.abundancetapestry.com/101-affirmations-for-children/

Emergency Numbers

Real Men

This is a topic near and dear to my heart, considering I have 4 soon-to-be REAL men in my house (currently) in which I have been trusted to raise as such. My husband and I have been encouraged and inspired over the past four years, in large by the homeschooling community, but also pastors such as Voddie Baucham, Mark Driscoll and Matt Chandler and also several books we've read. We have also enjoyed much of the teaching from Raising Real Men, in which we got to hear speak at the last homeschool convention.

Our society has completely feminized, disrespected, defaced, dehumanized, and created an acceptable culture of masculine mutilation in which Women are at the top, men are idiots who act like overgrown teenagers and everything in the world is RIGHT if men would just be the work horse, bring home HALF the money for the home, and shut their mouths about everything else.

It is downright disgusting and I'm completely tired of it. I even know too many people within my large (not intimate) Christian circle who talk and act the same way, tolerating and/or perpetuating the cycle, or worse allow their husbands to follow this ridiculous trend by being hands off with the children, devoted to sports and video games, and rarely make time for any one but themselves or their buddies while barely lifting a finger out of love for their spouse. Mommas boys who don't put their wives first and make questionable decisions b/c they can't think for themselves...come off it.

This is NOT what God designed and it will be take the culture to the pit of hell (in my not-so civil or politically correct opinion).

I could truly go on for a very long time with examples of how we see this in our society today. But, I will save that for another time.

Instead, before I paste a great article I read today on this very matter, I'd like to profess that Justin and I will chose a DIFFERENT PATH for our boys. It will require much prayer, endless, on the knees, hours of prayer. That is step number 1. Secondary to that is the INTENTIONAL, hear that INTENTIONAL work of setting them onto the course of TRUE MANHOOD.

Leadership, sacrifice, protection, love, hard work, determination, chivalry, LEAVE AND CLEAVE (when that time comes), loyalty, dedication, fatherhood...qualities we just DON'T see in our culture today. Men today think it's cool to dress androgenic, behave effeminately, shy from hard work, drown themselves in hours of a world that isn't real while they play video games neglecting their responsibilities and their wife, and think they are entitled to something even if they don't work for it or earn it.

Really...

My daughter is supposed to marry someone like this?

No way in HELL...

We will go back to arranged marriages to make sure this doesn't happen. Dare me...

We desire for our children to reflect the maker, make a stand for what is right, while not standing too far outside of the culture so they don't impact any one. This is a challenging task...a heavy one as a mother...and all the more tricky to achieve in a society that operates in this effeminate manner.

There are so many "traditional" ways in which we castrated real manhood in our culture. Let me list a few things we do to keep this at bay:

1. We let our boys play with weapons and get DIRTY...God created them from the earth.
2. We try not to allow crying and being wimpy to determine any change (this robs them of accountability and learning the hard lessons that not everything is fair).
3. We expect respect (towards us and others especially adults and ladies).
4. We try (it is hard) to discourage the sense of entitlement. This is a rough task but we are prayerful.
5. We expect them to contribute, even at age 3,around the house. We want them to be hard working.
6. We discuss chivalry and being a Modern Day Knight
7. We try to teach them how to make decisions (when appropriate) and do things independently when possible. NO BABIES after they are done being babies. *smile
8. We don't let them give up
9. We intentionally parent with the knowledge they might get married young and they need to be READY even young. There are no excuses.
10. We intentionally look for their strengths and weaknesses to we can sharpen the iron and reinforce the weakness into strengths.
11. Allow them to be sensitive (not cry babies to get what they want) genuinely sensitive.
12. Allow them to express emotions.
13. Validate their differences.
14. Build them up about the things that are Good and God honoring.
15. Encourage character.

It is truly critical that we as mothers and also parents (team) trudge this glorious path with firm love and enduring strength. The enemy will not ignore it. He will try to distract us from it,confuse it with naughty behavior, entice us with distractions so we don't meet the issues head on. We must cherish the CALLING!!

Check out this awesome article, only 1 of so many wonderful articles concerning MEN.

I want to write about how there are no men. (Well, there aren't no men, there are just few men). And a lot of women don't even like real men; they like feminized men - - especially if they're gay. That's even better. And many women marry mama's boys because they don't want a real man. Then they get shocked when his mother can push him around better than they can. Well... his mother has had a lot more practice -- his whole life.

Betsy Hart, one of my favorite writers, recently wrote a great article about this topic. She begins:
Whatever happened to men? That's a common question today, being asked by social commentators, parents and single women everywhere. They are lamenting young men's shrinking status in academia, the workplace and, maybe especially, marriage....

She goes on to say:
...it's simply the case that too often today's males are living up to the low expectations the culture has for them.

This is true particularly since feminism arose with the attitude of "we don't need men." Gloria Steinem said: "A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle". That was feminism. It rarely had anything to do with equal pay for equal jobs. It had to do with hating being a wife... hating being a mother... and hating men. That's what feminism primarily has always been about. Don't kid yourself.

Betsy Hart goes on to quote from Bill Bennett's new book: The Book of Man: Readings on the Path to Manhood. In it, there's an essay by:
David Gelernter, the renowned Yale computer-sciences professor who was injured in an attack by the Unabomber[. He] talks about how he is bringing up his own sons against the culture. He writes that 'a man's role in respect to women is to protect, to help, to support, to cherish as opposed to consume. We are a consumer society and the number one consumption is that of women.'

...Families need to teach young men what it means to be responsible, to work hard and to be prepared to someday get married and care for a wife and children....

I would argue that we also might teach our daughters to respect men. Real men, not the men concocted for treacly romantic comedies. And to respect themselves enough to wait for that man in every sense of that word.

Please take the time to read Betsy Hart's entire article: Lamenting the Demise of Manliness in America

And then my staff got me information on traits of real men and I want to share this article with you. It's from the blogger MochaDad:
Men were made to be bold, strong leaders. However, our society has attempted to repress these traits. (Sidebar: Look what happens in schools with little boys and girls. Schools are organized for little girls who can sit quietly and sweetly with their hands folded at the desk. Of course I was never one of those little girls, but generally speaking the schools were. And the little boys? Well, we say they have ADD and we drug them so they'll sit like little girls with their hands folded sweetly.) If you look at the way men (especially dads) are portrayed on TV, you'd think we were all a bunch of irresponsible, befuddled, nincompoops, who can only function with the help of a "smart" female partner, friend, or spouse.

He titles his blog: The 7 Traits of Real Men. Women -- I want you to read them because this is the guy you should look for. Men -- I want you to read them so you can stop being weenies and take back your masculinity, your parts, your giblets -- if you get my drift. I can't believe how many women who have called my show over the years who I've told they should have married another woman because the traits they wanted in their husband are not masculine.

Read it Here.

Motherhood is a Calling

I wanted to share this lovely article written on Desiring God by Rachel Jankovic. It's wonderful and the beating of my heart...is it your heart? If you are a mother, it should sink deep into your soul.

Motherhood Is a Calling (And Where Your Children Rank)

by Rachel Jankovic | July 14, 2011


A few years ago, when I just had four children and when the oldest was still three, I loaded them all up to go on a walk. After the final sippy cup had found a place and we were ready to go, my two-year-old turned to me and said, “Wow! You have your hands full!”

She could have just as well said, “Don’t you know what causes that?” or “Are they all yours?!”

Everywhere you go, people want to talk about your children. Why you shouldn’t have had them, how you could have prevented them, and why they would never do what you have done. They want to make sure you know that you won’t be smiling anymore when they are teenagers. All this at the grocery store, in line, while your children listen.

A Rock-Bottom Job?

The truth is that years ago, before this generation of mothers was even born, our society decided where children rank in the list of important things. When abortion was legalized, we wrote it into law.

Children rank way below college. Below world travel for sure. Below the ability to go out at night at your leisure. Below honing your body at the gym. Below any job you may have or hope to get. In fact, children rate below your desire to sit around and pick your toes, if that is what you want to do. Below everything. Children are the last thing you should ever spend your time doing.

If you grew up in this culture, it is very hard to get a biblical perspective on motherhood, to think like a free Christian woman about your life, your children. How much have we listened to partial truths and half lies? Do we believe that we want children because there is some biological urge, or the phantom “baby itch”? Are we really in this because of cute little clothes and photo opportunities? Is motherhood a rock-bottom job for those who can’t do more, or those who are satisfied with drudgery? If so, what were we thinking?

It's Not a Hobby

Motherhood is not a hobby, it is a calling. You do not collect children because you find them cuter than stamps. It is not something to do if you can squeeze the time in. It is what God gave you time for.

Christian mothers carry their children in hostile territory. When you are in public with them, you are standing with, and defending, the objects of cultural dislike. You are publicly testifying that you value what God values, and that you refuse to value what the world values. You stand with the defenseless and in front of the needy. You represent everything that our culture hates, because you represent laying down your life for another—and laying down your life for another represents the gospel.

Our culture is simply afraid of death. Laying down your own life, in any way, is terrifying. Strangely, it is that fear that drives the abortion industry: fear that your dreams will die, that your future will die, that your freedom will die—and trying to escape that death by running into the arms of death.

Run to the Cross

But a Christian should have a different paradigm. We should run to to the cross. To death. So lay down your hopes. Lay down your future. Lay down your petty annoyances. Lay down your desire to be recognized. Lay down your fussiness at your children. Lay down your perfectly clean house. Lay down your grievances about the life you are living. Lay down the imaginary life you could have had by yourself. Let it go.

Death to yourself is not the end of the story. We, of all people, ought to know what follows death. The Christian life is resurrection life, life that cannot be contained by death, the kind of life that is only possible when you have been to the cross and back.

The Bible is clear about the value of children. Jesus loved them, and we are commanded to love them, to bring them up in the nurture of the Lord. We are to imitate God and take pleasure in our children.

The Question Is How

The question here is not whether you are representing the gospel, it is how you are representing it. Have you given your life to your children resentfully? Do you tally every thing you do for them like a loan shark tallies debts? Or do you give them life the way God gave it to us—freely?

It isn’t enough to pretend. You might fool a few people. That person in line at the store might believe you when you plaster on a fake smile, but your children won’t. They know exactly where they stand with you. They know the things that you rate above them. They know everything you resent and hold against them. They know that you faked a cheerful answer to that lady, only to whisper threats or bark at them in the car.

Children know the difference between a mother who is saving face to a stranger and a mother who defends their life and their worth with her smile, her love, and her absolute loyalty.

Hands Full of Good Things

When my little girl told me, “Your hands are full!” I was so thankful that she already knew what my answer would be. It was the same one that I always gave: “Yes they are—full of good things!”

Live the gospel in the things that no one sees. Sacrifice for your children in places that only they will know about. Put their value ahead of yours. Grow them up in the clean air of gospel living. Your testimony to the gospel in the little details of your life is more valuable to them than you can imagine. If you tell them the gospel, but live to yourself, they will never believe it. Give your life for theirs every day, joyfully. Lay down pettiness. Lay down fussiness. Lay down resentment about the dishes, about the laundry, about how no one knows how hard you work.

Stop clinging to yourself and cling to the cross. There is more joy and more life and more laughter on the other side of death than you can possibly carry alone.