Tired of Being Told That It's OK to Do Nothing!

     I'm just going to cut right to it. I am absolutely tired of the posts that give me a million and one excuses as to why I should just sit around and breathe and be happy that at least I'm alive. Not that I shouldn't be glad that I'm alive, but the idea that just doing one thing on my list a day is enough. So, for the rest of the day, I should just sit back, pat myself on the back, and look at my oh-so-lovely children and just sigh, because, after all, isn't this what life is all about? Just soaking up their laughs and giggles? Just looking at them with a tear welling up in my eye and smiling because they're mine? Just, just, just STOP!

     I must admit something before I continue on. I fell into that mindset. You want to know what it did for me? NOT A THING! Well, maybe something. It made this fire well up for me to finally say something about all of this nonsense. Yes, moms need a break. Yes, moms need a rest because we're human just like everyone else. Here's the thing: taking a break and resting connote having worked. Laundry is not the devil. The dishes are not your enemy. Sweeping is not anti-Christ. These chores are tools. Tools to show you who you are. Tools to show you who your children are. Tools that will remind your kids of all you did for them in love. It's much easier to see someone's inner workings by testing them. I do grow tired, physically, of doing these things and teaching my children to do these things as well, but there's a problem when I grow tired, emotionally, of doing these things. Not that this never happens to me. It does, trust me. However, those moments are opportunities for me to assess why I'm doing what I'm doing. If it's out of love then being emotionally tired is my enemy. It's to be fought and not to be given into.

 

"Let us not grow weary in doing good for in due season we shall reap if we faint not." This is a truth that we must reckon within ourselves. There's nothing wrong with wanting to do good for your children. There's nothing wrong with wanting to do good for your husband. Yes, make sure you're healthy and rested. Do not neglect yourself. However, being a mom is hard work. Whoever told you it was easy is clueless. Whoever makes it seem easy is lying to you. 

     Today was a tough mom day. I had to take my 3-year-old to the dentist. He had a follow-up at 8 a.m. from last week because he had an abscess. You want to know what went through my mind? "Everyone is going to think that I'm a horrible mom! What 3-year-old gets a cavity that's so bad it abscesses? It happened on my watch, and they're all going to know that I failed." To some reading this entry, this way of thinking sounds irrational, but I can imagine that any mother/caregiver reading this can relate. After the appointment, you know what I had to do? Go back home, home school the younger ones, tutor some of the older ones, wash and sort laundry, nursing in between these chores, and then do some of my own college course work.

     

      Here's how I will counter all of those nonsense blogs and I pray you'll join in with me. Are you ready for it? YOU GOT THIS, WOMAN! There it is.  I want to encourage you to do, as opposed to telling you that you're incapable of doing. I know it's hard.  I know that sometimes you feel like you're losing your mind, but I will guarantee you will not regret one sleepless night. Just imagine how you would feel if you knew you took the easy way out. I didn't give you a snippet of my day so that you would do exactly what I'm doing. No. Your life is different. Your days are different. I just wanted you to be inspired to do what's right even when you're feeling blah. Don't give up! I won't let you give up! I will join you in prayer to overcome whatever battle it is you're facing. Most of all, remember that  God will reward you! 

     

What does your 31 look like?

I've been studying Proverbs, and have realized that the Proverbs 31 woman is a woman that has applied all of the wisdom of Proverbs 1-30 to her life.

There are so many parallels to what she does and what the other chapters say, that it's unbelievable that I have never quite noticed it before! For example, chapter 1, verse 33 reads, "but whoever listens to me will dwell secure
and will be at ease, without dread of disaster.” You'll notice that she applies this wisdom in verse 25 in chapter 31, "Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she smiles at the future."

Proverbs 31 is " descriptive, not prescriptive." In other words, a woman doesn't have to do everything the Proverbs 31 woman does, to be a Proverbs 31 woman herself. Rather, she must run after wisdom, and run after it hard. She must observe the Words of God, and apply them to her life. We all have different circumstances and families, that there's really no way for all of our walks to look the same. The one thing we can have in common, is following the Word of God. What does your 31 look like?

Metamorphosis Of Me- M.O.M.

Everything was tight and tone
Even my heart was made of stone
I had time to be alone
All has changed.

I traded abs of steel
For a much softer appeal
Stretch marks, a mama's seal
I've been rearranged.

Long gone are sleep-filled nights
Enter feedings by lamplight
But I laugh with new might
This is my call.

Now there are little mouths to feed
Hearts with the Gospel I must seed
My life has changed, I must concede
They are my all.

The Word of God is a call to do!

I'm sitting here at the computer. Our daughter, Abigail, has a leash clipped to our youngest daughter, Amani, and is walking her like a dog. Israel and Elise are going around on scooters. The rest of the family is dispersed throughout, reading or playing or conversing. As loud as it may seem, these times always feel like breaks to me. No one is tugging at my clothes. They're all having fun doing their own thing.

I've been thinking about a lot of things lately, but one thing stands at the forefront. When God tells me in Scripture to "Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person" (Colossians 4:6), does He really mean that? Does He really want me to live at peace with all men, if at all possible (Romans 12:18)? What about esteeming others as higher than myself (Philippians 2:3)? I'm supposed to love my enemies AND pray for them (Matthew 5:44)? Am I really expected to avoid foolish disputes and arguments and strife that profit nothing (Titus 3:9 & 2 Timothy 2:23)? 

I think yes.

"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." ~James 1:22

Our Olive Plants: The Twilight Princess

Every Thursday, Around Our Table will feature one of our children's thoughts. It will be in whatever form they decide to express themselves. This section will be titled, 'Our Olive Plants,' with a subtitle of their selection. Enjoy!

~The Twilight Princess~

Who's seen the Twilight Princess? in all her stolen light,

Without an eye of falter, or mind of human blight?

Who's heard her charming night-call? to all the sons of day,

to come unto their resting, to dance in sleeping's sway?

Who's needle has woven her silk? of luminance into some garb,

and worn it as a trophy, of their whit more sharp than barb?

Have you seen the Twilight Princess? as she takes her father's post?

as he retires yet another day, from the Almighty's  host?

Have you seen her quiet reflection, in the ponds of purest drink?

And have you seen her surpass the song, of what you did then think?

Can you capture all her beauty, like a crown from'er father's head?

how she's made you think to drop pen, and gaze her face instead?

Have you seen her brothers watching? as she climbs to throne of Sky,

for unless you believe the Maker, you can only ask but, "why"?

Have you seen the Twilight Princess? as she paints in orange paste, 

the unseen portal of your vision, all within a season's haste?

Can you sing the strong sonata? of her foreign language key,

if you've tried you've learned quite quickly, that all words do quietly flee.

Yet isn't the glory of Maiden, but a drop of aquifer?

from the river of glory, of God I can't refer.

Have you seen the Twilight Princess, yet worshipped not luminescent flow?

for if you have you've traded raindrop, for vast, all glorious flow.

About the Author:

Ian Gabriel is a 13-year-old, with an interest in writing and reading. He enjoys reading books on Theology and poetry. 

I Did Not Know I Had Too Many Children

With global warming, overpopulation, and rising poverty levels, I should have known better. I'm slowly destroying our economy. Our carbon print is killing countless amounts of animal species worldwide. Aaron and I will never go on great vacations. We will lead miserable lives, enslaved to these out-of-body fetuses that keep needing food, and clothes, and shelter, and care.

At least, that's what some would like for us to believe.

I really don't want to write a post filled with sarcasm or arguing why children are not a curse. We've heard all of the arguments before. What I do want to accomplish, however, is to speak to how we respond to those that would accuse us of having too many children.

I've come to find out that the problem was with me. Whenever someone would say something like "Are you gonna' have anymore," or, "I hope this is your last one, " or, "Are you done," my immediate response was full of sarcasm and anger, and just downright frustration. Why do I say the problem was with me? I wasn't convinced of my own argument. I wasn't quite sure if we were doing the right thing. 

I'm not saying that this is the case for every mom or dad reading this post today, but if it does hit home for you, I hope I can help or encourage you in His Word, because that's the only source that will last.

I have not encountered too many in these past couple of years that have been disgusted at our family size, but that streak quickly came to an end yesterday. Elise and I were at the laundromat, and I needed assistance with one of the machines I was using. The owner came to help, and we started a small conversation. He asked if Elise was out of school and I told him that I home-school our children. He then asked how many we had, and I told him 10. Immediately, his retort was, "Oh, no! That's too many!" I smiled, and replied, "No, that's not too many. They're a blessing from God." He said, "No, no, no, no, no, they're not! He continued to say that, even as I said, "Children are an heritage from the Lord." He then broke his "no" chant, to say, "That is wrong!" I backed up, said thank you for your help with the washer, and continued on with my task. 

Rewind this to a couple of years back, and I would have had this man crying where he was standing, or yelling back obscenities at me. What would that have accomplished? Were those moments that I blew up at anyone who questioned my life's choices a good testimony about God? The fact of the matter is, children ARE a heritage from the Lord! Children ARE a blessing! If all the world came together and chanted, like the laundromat owner I encountered yesterday, "No. No. No. No. No...," would that change God's Word of truth? 

God's Word is our authority. Not my method of argumentation, but His Word. Not how loud I can yell, but His Word. And, unless I'm convinced of that, I'm going to fire at anyone that opposes me. I've learned that the best defense is to use the Word of God. (And I'm not talking about the verses that can be used out of context. For example, if someone said to me, "You have too many children, " I shouldn't answer with, " “You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord?,' or, "You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?" I'll remind you that Satan is the one that takes verses and misapplies them.) Boldly proclaim the Word. Yes, 'children ARE an heritage from the Lord', and I am happy to have my 'quiver full of them.' Realize that if they oppose what you are saying, their real opposition is with God. 

I'll leave you with these few reminders of how we should address others, regardless if what they're saying to us is offensive, or rude, or just plain ignorant.:

"Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person." ~Colossians 4:6

"But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you," ~Matthew 5:44

"My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires." ~James 1:19&20

"How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers,these things ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water." James 3:6-12

To Our Sons and Daughters

To our daughters, Elise, Abigail, and Amani:

Respect yourselves as daughters of the Most High God. Modest dress is not a call to be unattractive, and/or dull. In fact, the opposite has been proven. Women who dress to reveal, trigger a portion in a man's brain that views women as nonhuman...as tools. Yes, they seem to exhibit a power over their male audience, but it's the same power that Lowes and Home Depots possess. You, our beauties, are not hardware stores. You are minds and souls and were wonderfully made. So, until a man respects you for your intellect and personality, don't allow him to rule your body. Allow him to pursue you with a promise to wed you. Don't let him pursue you as if you're some sort of weekend renovation project.


Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,
    but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. ~Proverbs 31:30


To our sons, Ian, Israel, Ezra, Ephraim, Ethan, Elias, and Ezekiel:

Your manhood is not measured by how many women you can sleep with. True manhood is measured by how much you honor God, and in honoring God, loving one woman for the duration of your life. You will show women every where how much they are valued, by upholding your promise to your wife. In this, you are telling all that women should be honored, protected, and cherished. In turn, you will be respected. Do not give in to the pressure that society pushes on you. Look at the end of those that follow their ways. Be the example of a godly man. 

Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright; for the end of that man is peace. ~Psalms 37:37