The Home Warrior

As arrows in the hand of a mighty warrior, so are children of the youth.

~Psalm 127:4

Did you catch that? Our children....they are arrows.

Not just harmless arrows, but like arrows in the hands of a warrior.A mighty warrior.

Are you believing the lie from the depths of hell that you are nothing more than a housewife, a maid, a server of all but yourself? Are you settling for nothing more than children who walk a straight line, stay out of trouble, and get good grades? Do you view your husband as simply the man who brings home the bacon and changes the oil in the car? If you must honestly answer "Yes" to any of these questions, than stop! Stop believing the lies and start believing the Word of God.

You, as well as your mate, are a warrior, a person ENGAGED in warfare. Who is your enemy? The Bible tells us quite clearly who our enemy is, if we are believers and followers of Christ: "your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour" (1 Peter 5:8). What is your greatest weapon? Your children! The ones who leave fingerprints on your windows, who bicker with their siblings, who scrape their knees and bang their shins. They are our greatest weapon!!!! They are arrows and they're going to be used to fight against somebody's enemy, either God's enemy or the devil's. We MUST not be complacent! The devil, our adversary, IS walking about, seeking whom he may devour and you know who he wants the most? Our children, because he knows God's Word is true (better than many of us Christians do)! He knows what dangerous weapons our children are! If the devil knows it and believes it, shouldn't we?

Love your children, treasure them for what they are (arrows in the hands of a warrior), pray for them and over them, and get on your knees before the Commander and ask Him, beg Him, plead with Him to make you and your husband warriors equipped and able to raise these arrows for Him. You will find me there, on my knees, too, petitioning the Lord to take our feeble, miserable attempts at raising our children and make it something powerful for the glory of His kingdom.

The next time I have to fill in the blank "Occupation" on a form, I wonder what would happen if, instead of writing 'homemaker', I wrote 'Home Warrior'? I think I'll give it a shot!

P.S. The bow and arrows in these pictures were beautifully crafted by Craig's father and given to him just recently. Such a treasure!

Whirlwind Days

Oh, its been a whirlwind of days. Camera-less days, at that. I have no proof that I've been doing what I've been doing so you'll just have to trust me!

Friday was spent enjoying a Civil War Reenactment provided by the NWCWC. It was a host of fun, though the very warm weather caused us to pity those in wool attire and ushered us sooner than we had planned to the comfort of our air conditioned vehicles. We are looking forward to attending another reenactment when the opportunity arises.

Saturday, not only did we get to enjoy the company of my sister-in-law and my adorable niece and charming nephews two, but also the city's annual 4th of July parade complete with too much candy! The rest of the day was spent slip-sliding (all 50 ft of it!!!), eating, chit-chatting and watching fireworks with 27 children and their parents. Tons of fun, I tell ya! Tons!!!

We continued to enjoy our visit with my sil and children through out the weekend, saying goodbye to them yesterday afternoon. Laundry beckoned, naps enticed, and quiet enveloped the busy-ness of us all.

Which takes us to the present, looking forward to celebrating in just a few days Sarah Grace's arrival into the world two years ago, visiting Craig's parents in Alaska, and soon an anniversary. And thus continues the whirlwind: a grand and blessed whirlwind!

The New-born Babe

" The new-born babe is a fresh act of God.

He is the latest revelation of God's creative handiwork.

The babe's presence so fresh and pure says all anew "God is faithful"."

"Here is the latest impress of the wondrous image of God.....

No thoughtful man can study his own baby, and in his heart doubt the existence of God"

~S.D. Gordon

"Quiet Talks on Home Ideals"

Photo: These are the precious feet of a Gift from the Father to some dear friends of ours.

A Pictoral Update

Little painted toe nails...too cute for words!

"C'Mere, Tucker... c'mere..." She calls out to her doggie, beckons him to his bed, snuggles in beside him, borrows a lock of his hair and snags her thumb. For her, it is pure bliss. This girl and her dog...

A beautiful trip to Pacific City with my parents, complete with the lowest tide of the year. Treasures abound!

Hunting and searching...

Hundreds of starfish: purple, orange and pink, feasting on the mussel-coated rocks

My Dream-Come-True and our Fabulous Four! Oh, how I love these people!!!

Worth it!!!

"Sacrifice is the a and the z, and all the vowels and consonants in between of motherhood. Sacrifice is love at its best.

There is no other spirit for motherhood; no other key to unlock its doors; no other solution of its tangling problems; no other sure weapon to lay its foes low in the dust." ~S.D. Gordon

This quote above was on my mind this morning when Craig took us out to breakfast. We piled our modest-in-number family into a booth and chit chatted about various happenings and the such. The hostess, a young gal looking to be in her early 20s, came to take our drink order. She glanced around our table at Craig and I and the Fabulous Four and then back at me in shock, "Are these all yours?" As I looked around the same table, I joyfully announced, "Yes!!!". Her next question was so fitting: "Isn't it hard?" There was a look of disbelief and perhaps of feeling overwhelmed at the very thought of said children being all hers. I don't criticize her for that question or the look that went with it. There are days when I must look the same way and that same question is written all over MY face. How do you answer such a question? If I answer "No, its not hard", I'm down-right lying. If I say "Yes, it's terribly hard", one would question why its not the Fabulous One instead of the Fabulous Four that sit around our table, with room for more. A thousand thoughts went through my mind as she stood there, looking at me with expectation. There were a million things I would have liked to tell her. But time does not stand still long enough. There wasn't time to tell her that those little people looking back at her have given so much more than they have taken, that I am not the person I was pre-children (and the world is grateful for that!!!) and that life is full of hard work (for goodness sakes, I wouldn't call waitressing an easy job!!!). There wasn't time to tell her that life is not about taking the easy way and doing our best to get out of hard work. There wasn't time to tell her that these children were actually flesh-wrapped gifts from the Creator of the universe with the potential to worship at the feet of Jesus Christ for all of eternity. There just wasn't time....So I looked at my table full of gifts and said to her, "Yep, its hard but it's so worth it".

And it is! It is so worth it!

Preparing...

"I am not preparing my children for college...

I am preparing them for Heaven."

~Voddie Baucham Jr.

Did Your Husband Take You to Church Today?

Did your husband take you to church this morning? Did he sit beside you in the pew, stand with you as you worshipped the Lord, closed his eyes beside you during prayer? Or perhaps he led your family in worship some other time this week, prayed with you before a meal, or read God's Word to you and your children? Have you thanked him? Have you told him lately how much you appreciate him taking your family to church? If not, please do it... today. I know many women who love the Lord but sit alone every Sunday. Both my husband's mom and my own mom took their families to church, with no husband beside them. On behalf of these women, thank your husband today.

Did you leave the house grouchy this morning? Did your husband take too long drinking his coffee, reading the paper, checking his emails? Did he not help you enough with the children this morning? Did he drive too fast or park in the wrong spot or wear that shirt that you just can't stand? Instead of thanking your lucky stars that you have a husband who will take his family to church, did you sit there in that pew grumbling inside about all the things your husband is not? Then please repent before the Lord and then before your husband and count your blessings instead of his faults.

And when you're finished with your counting, on behalf of all the women who sat alone today, wrap your arms around your husband and, even if it feels awkward, thank him for taking you to church today.

If you are one of those women who had to sit alone today, please know that you were on my heart this morning. May you feel the Lord's presence in an undeniable way each and every time you sit in that pew alone. And may the Lord reach into the heart of your husband in a way that only He can, and bring your man to his knees. You are brave women and I admire you greatly.