Changing Diapers and Doing Dishes

I suppose I've been told all my life that being a homemaker is a valuable thing.  I must admit, though, that there have been times when it was hard for me to catch a vision of it.  Of course, there were the 'more spiritual' things I could be doing if it didn't take so much time to keep these kids dressed, cleaned and fed...not to mention the house cleaned and organized.  Then there were the more financially rewarding things I could have been doing to make our lives more comfortable.  

In some ways, I'm in that stage again of the home and children taking most of my time.  It occurred to me today that it really is God's plan for domestic duties to take time!  God would have been perfectly able to cause human children to be born able to take care of themselves within a short time as many animals are able to do.  God could have caused our bodies to only need to eat once a week rather than several times a day!  Think about how much more time we would have for 'spiritual' things if He had done so!! :-)  Awww...aren't we so wise?  Do we know better than God?  He has ordained and organized for the nurturing and domestic duties to be time consuming...perhaps why He mentioned in His Word that women are to be 'keepers at home'.  

Now, I'm not suggesting that women shouldn't have any outreach in their lives.  I actually believe they should!  I am only addressing our attitude toward our family and homes and I am justifying the value of investing in these things!

Resonating with Ogden Nash...dedicated to my 'flying' parents... :-)

No, You be a Lone Eagle by Ogden Nash

I find it very hard to be fair-minded 
About people who go around being air-minded. 
I just can't see any fun 
In soaring up up up into the sun 
When the chances are still a fresh cool orchid to a paper geranium 
That you'll unsoar down down down onto your (to you) invaluable 
cranium. 
I know the constant refrain 
About how safer up in God's trafficless heaven than in an automobile 
or a train 
But ... 
My God, have you ever taken a good look at a strut? 
Then that one about how you're in Boston before you can say antidis- 
establishmentarianism 
So that preferring to take five hours by rail is a pernicious example of 
antiquarianism. 
At least when I get on the Boston train I have a good chance of landing 
in the South Station 
And not in that part of the daily press which is reserved for victims of 
aviation. 
Then, despite the assurance that aeroplanes are terribly comfortable I 
notice that when you are railroading or automobiling 
You don't have to take a paper bag along just in case of a funny feeling. 
It seems to me that no kind of depravity 
Brings such speedy retribution as ignoring the law of gravity. 
Therefore nobody could possibly indict me for perjury 
When I swear that I wish the Wright brothers had gone in for silver 
fox farming or tree surgery. 

Family Ties

Our family ties are strong.  We understand each other on a spiritual level, and that's important to all of us.  We also get together regularly for holidays...and other times when we can.
But, we are spreading out and getting farther apart.  It hasn't been easy for me since the first days when the kids started leaving the house.  I enjoy them and value their company!
I was expressing to Don the other day how one of the children was saying how hard it would be to move away from family and miss the get togethers....I felt the same way.  Don answered something like,"We need to put the family ties aside and put the Kingdom first."  This statement could be taken as insensitive or a 'guy' thing to say.  But, the Holy Spirit started working with me about that as the statement kept running through my head.
I could feel the Lord causing my heart to begin to let go of my feelings of anxiety about my children moving far away.  A few days later, the Lord took it even further and told me, "You're going to be with them for eternity, you know."  I had to answer in gratefulness, "Yes, Lord.  How could I be so selfish?  I will always have eternity to look forward to.  Why wouldn't I want them to labor here for a few years?"  They are not mine, and I must not forget it, but keep them in an open hand for the work of the Kingdom.
God is good and helping in my weakness.

Caroling...and more...

This is the 3rd year we have caroled to our neighbors here in the NE Fort Wayne area.  The Delagranges were with as usual, and Paul and Silas McCulfor.  God blessed our time.  There were three Christmas family gatherings we crashed of our Amish friends.  It was striking to me how much warmer and friendlier they were with us than the first time we caroled to them.  Our neighbor behind us had told me 2-3 times today that she wouldn't be home, but be sure to come to her mom's where the whole family would be.  So, we did.  Emily had a whole box of oranges and some candy waiting for us.
There is an Amish man that Don takes to work.  We hit his family gathering which had 60 or more people at it. Fred walked between the tables telling us who his children were and some of the grandchildren.  He had 33 grandchildren there in that room and 15 great grandchildren.  Then Fred asked if the 'girl who went to China' could tell a little about her trip.  Mikah and Don both shared some about the trip.  Fred turned to his family and said, "I want you to know that these people used their own money to pay for their flights and their own money to pay for their hotels in order to tell people about Jesus."
Mikah's trip has impacted the Amish.  I gave reports out to the teachers I drive and also to Emily's family.  They loved reading about it and some made copies of the reports to pass out to others.  They would ask me in the car on the way to school, "Have you heard any more from Mikah?"  The Amish are not evangelistic in their culture so this is something rather foreign to their culture.  I'm trusting it has opened their eyes and hearts to a greater vision and responsibility.
We caroled to a non-Amish couple in our neighborhood who are in their 60's and they had never been caroled to in their lives.  They were sure delighted!  We also caroled to the new family renting the Keyes house, and to a co-worker of Mikah's.  We didn't run into any cold shoulders tonight!
Praise the Lord for the work He is doing!

The Lord at 'Work'

I have shared the gospel a couple times with one of my clients from work.  At the end of life, it is all the more urgent to know Christ for the sake of eternity though the benefits of a full live lived for Him are already lost.  The gospel message has not seemed to be understood as yet, and when I've offered to read the Word to her, she always refuses saying she says her prayers every night.
Last night, I offered to read out of a missionary book to her.  She said yes!  I just picked up right where I was in the book, not knowing what was next.  With credit to the grace of God, she let me read for over an hour and the chapters had several stories of conversion in them.  There also were clear descriptions of sin that would have spoken to her experience in life.  Praise the Lord!  She didn't say much about it all, but I'm believing that it was God on her trail and praying for the completed work.

Email Notification-by her favorite son

My favorite son Jake set up my blog with the "Follow by email" gadget. Be sure to make his work worthwhile by signing up for email updates from my blog. Thanks Jake for your tireless I.T. labors. :)



(love you mom:)

Dedication

It was such a special night.  Pastor Mander spoke on Nathanael in the book of John.  He knew who Jesus was in chapter 3 and Jesus said he was without deceit.  In the end of John, Nathanael is seen as still faithful.  He wove in a good gospel message about receiving God's gift of salvation as there were several there who were not saved.
Jordan shared out of Samuel how Hannah prayed for a child and God gave one to her.  He broke at that point with gratefulness for God giving them a child.  He sang a hymn about giving your child to the Lord.  Then he said how they intended to have a godly home and how grateful he was for both his and |Naomi's godly heritage.  He was emotional at that time too.  It was a powerful time for all those who could hear.  He then sang Happy the Home. 
Jordan and Naomi are amazingly natural parents.  Now that I see them in that role, I can't imagine them not having a child.  They work together and do so well.  It isn't something they do out of duty, but out of calling.