A Quiver Full

Naomi is four years old today. How time flies! It seems like yesterday that Todd and I were bringing her home from the hospital.  She is such a joy and a blessing to our family, as all our children are. I am so thankful for each and every one of them.

However, by the stares and comments I get from people when we are out in public with our five youngest children, most people in our society apparently frown on large families. One of the most common remarks I get is, "Are all those yours?", which begs the answer, "No, I stole them from the park down the street." But instead of saying that, I opt for shock and awe, and tell them (with a huge smile on my face), "Oh, no! We have 2 older children and 3 grandchildren!" That response usually causes a jaw-dropping, deer-in-the-headlights reaction. Most people don't expect that type of reply. Maybe they expect me to complain about my children. Maybe they don't understand that I consider motherhood the highest calling and that
I love being around my children. Maybe they don't understand what a blessing children are.

Another remark I hear alot is, "Wow, you have your hands full!" And it 's usually not said in a very nice tone of voice. My answer to that is, "Yes, I do have my hands full - of blessings!" Sometimes, if time allows, I continue with, "My husband and I believe that children are a blessing, and not a burden." I realize that our perspective of children is the very opposite of what is the cultural "norm" in our country.  In our culture, children seem to be considered a burden. Every time I go to the grocery or pharmacy or wherever, I hear parents yelling at the children, complaining about them, and I even heard one mother telling her little boy,"If you don't behave, I'm going to tell the policeman to take you away."  How awful! I feel so sorry for those children.

Psalm 127:3 says that children are a "heritage from the Lord" and  the "fruit of the womb is a reward". Children are a heritage and a reward, and what a blessing they are! I've heard it said that we can't take anything with us when we leave this earth. But that's not true: we can take our children. Our children are our biggest spiritual investment....an investment that will last for eternity. My prayer is that the Lord will take my feeble efforts at raising these "heritages" and use them for His glory.

Psalm 127:5 : "Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them.They shall not be ashamed. But speak with their enemies in the gate."

Once upon a time....

     Once upon a time, there was a little girl. She was loved much by her parents, and always tried to please them. She always thought that being good would get her into heaven, so she tried each and every day to be good. She did all the things that were taught in the denomination where she grew up, but no matter what she did or how hard she tried, she just couldn't be good all the time. She wondered, "How many good things do I have to do before I'm considered good enough to get to heaven? When will I know that I'm good enough?" She thought about death often, even though she was very young. She had been to funerals and wondered, "If that person's soul isn't in his body, then where is it?" She had no peace, often lying awake at night, wondering where she'd end up if she passed away in her sleep.

    Time passed and eventually the little girl grew into a young woman.She had gotten tired of trying to 'measure up' when she really had no way of knowing if she was saved or not.  She decided there was no point in trying anymore and gave up. So she became very rebellious toward practically every form of authority in her life.

One day a friend asked her to go with him to talk to a preacher. She reluctantly went, wondering if this man was going to tell her more things she needed to do to try to be 'good enough'. But what she heard was nothing like she'd ever heard before! He shared Bible verses with her, and  told her that the Lord Jesus loved her so much that He paid her sin debt when He died on the cross for her sins -  and the sins of the world. (John 3:16) She had a hard time understanding that Jesus loved her - and died for her sins. How could that be? she wondered, but the preacher was very patient in explaining it all to her.  All she had to do was admit that she was a sinner. (Romans 3:23)  That was easy; she had spent the biggest part of her life trying to make up for all the wrong things she had done.  Then she had to believe that the Lord Jesus died on the cross and rose again and that His blood was shed to pay for her sins. (Romans 5:8) She believed. And she trusted Him alone for the forgiveness of her sins.  What a peace came over her! After all the years of trying to earn her salvation, she now rejoiced in what only the Lord Jesus could accomplish on her behalf.  She now knew that she was saved and kept - for eternity.

That little girl was me.

2 Timothy 1:12  "...for I know Whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day."

Children and Eternity

Some would gather money
Along the path of life.
Some would gather roses
And rest from earthly strife.

But I would gather children
From among the thorns of sin;
I would seek a golden curl
And a freckled, toothless grin.

For money cannot enter
Into the land of endless day.
And roses that are gathered
Soon will wilt along the way.

But, oh, the laughing children
As I cross the sunset sea,
And the gates swing wide to heaven
I can take them in with me.

                                       -  Anonymous

Thankful Thursday

1 Thessalonians 5:18 :  "in everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."

Thankful Thursday....and I have so much to be thankful for! But if I had to choose just one "thankful" thing to write about today, it would be the promise of eternal life through my Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. That promise becomes dearer to me with each passing day as I see the condition of the world around me: wars, famines, earthquakes, and the list goes on and on; not to mention the hardships and suffering that I see my family and friends going through. There is pain and sorrow everywhere. It is easy to become disheartened and even depressed if I dwell on these things.

But I have to remind myself that this earthly home is not my eternal home. (If this world was the best that I could hope for, how sad that would be!) I need to keep my eyes looking heavenward, where the Lord has been preparing a place for me.  In these troubling times, what a comfort that is!  And the more I see of this earthly home, the more I long for my heavenly home -  to be with my Lord.

Hymnwriter Henry F. Lyte penned it well when he wrote:

"My rest is in heaven, my rest is not here,
Then why should I murmur when trials are near?
Be hushed my sad spirit; the worst that can come
But shortens the journey and hastens me Home."

Phillipians 3:20  : " For our citizenship is in heaven..."

 I'm so thankful for my heavenly home.....definitely something to look forward to!  :)


This post is linked up at http://theimperfecthousewife.com/2011/06/thursday-link-up-6/ 

and at http://www.eph2810.com/thankful-thursday/thankful-thursday-gods-shelter/

On Learning Contentment

Being content is something I've been trying to learn for a long time, and the Lord continues to work on me about it. I am so thankful for my loving -  and patient -  Heavenly Father.

It's not that I long for or wish for what someone else has or does. For me, it's mostly thinking, "Why do things like this have to  happen to me (or my family)?" But over the years I have (slowly) learned that the Lord uses all kinds of situations - good and bad - to help conform us to the image of His Son.

I like what John MacCarthur says about learning contentment, based on Phillipians, ch. 4...

- trust in God's providence
- be satisfied with little
- be independent from circumstance
- be sustained by Divine power
- have a pre-occupation with the well-being of others

The third point really hits home with me.  "independent from circumstance" So when things are going rough, I should not let it affect  me at all. Wow! That's a hard one! I find it much easier to just grumble and complain about it.  But as I tell my children (and I'm preaching it to myself, too), "The right thing to do is usually the hardest thing to do." So instead of asking, "Why me?",  maybe I should ask, "Why not me?"

"Now godliness with contentment is great gain."  1 Timothy 6:6

What's in a Name?

Some of you may be wondering how I came up the name for my blog. My dear father-in-law, who unexpectedly went Home to be with Lord on December 27th, would come have dinner with us twice a month. While looking at the children all seated around the table, he would say, "Seeing all your children around the table reminds of  Psalm 128:3."  So I guess you could say that the idea actually came from my Dad.