Becoming Abigail

To Everything There is a Season

2011-06-28T07:07:00.000-07:00

Hello!

I know it has been awhile since we last posted. Both our lives have been very busy and have taken some fun turns! First of all, I (Tahirah) have moved to sunny Florida!!! I am very excited to be here although I miss a lot of my old friends. Florida has been my dream state of residence for a VERY long time. :)

Brooke has been busy with finishing school, camp and upcoming vacation. You may still have kept track of her over at True Love's Kiss. We've both been so busy that we have had to actually schedule time to talk with each other!

I have been doing a lot of blog surfing since moving and I have come to the conclusion that it is time to say goodbye to this blog and move on to other things. I don't think I will completely leave blogging. A new blog idea has been tumbling around in my head for awhile and I think I may act on it. So, look for me in the blogosphere again soon!

Thank you for all our followers and for the encouraging words so many of you wrote. May the LORD richly bless you and keep you!

Love,

Tahirah

Kansas City Convention!!!

2011-04-25T20:04:00.000-07:00

http://trueloveskissblog.blogspot.com/2011/04/view-of-city-from-32nd-floor.html Read about our recent LTC Convention in Kansas City. :)

~Brooke

Interview With Brooke!!!

2011-03-01T20:16:00.000-08:00

The Long Awaited Interview with Miss Brooke is here!!! Brooke is truly an exceptional young woman. Her love for God is palpable and she is an inspiration to me and my family. Enjoy!

1. How have you enjoyed homeschooling?

I have immensely enjoyed homeschooling; I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. :)

2. Would you homeschool your children if you have any?

Absolutely! I plan on homeschooling any and all future children that I have.

3. What are the common negative comments you get about homeschooling?

I believe the most common comments that I have heard, either personally or from other homeschooling families, are: homeschoolers are not socialized, homeschoolers wouldn’t get an opportunity to play sports, and that homeschoolers are sheltered.

4. What are your responses to these comments?

First, most of the homeschoolers I know are very well socialized. They are especially good at communicating and socializing with people who are not their age. Many public school kids make lots of friends their own age, but many homeschooler befriend people outside of their own age range. For myself, I know many of my friends have been two or more years younger than me, and as much as 18 years older than me.

In regards to sports, homeschoolers have just as much opportunity to play as public schoolers. I have been involved in martial arts since I was 12 and am currently a black belt, my brother does tumbling and trampolining; I know homeschoolers who played soccer, basketball, baseball, wrestling, football, swimming, etc. I even know a homeschooler who was the Iowa Gymnastic State Champion.

As a matter of fact, homeschoolers are sheltered. But they are sheltered from the negative influences of the world. So it is not a sheltering that anyone should fear. :)

5. Why did you decide to be a stay-at-home-daughter?

I started reading some blogs about SAHDs. Everything I read made a lot of sense, and was backed up by scriptures. As I was already planning on living at home for some time after graduation, it wasn’t too big of a stretch to a SAHD. Most of the things I read really made sense, both physically and spiritually, and I felt convicted to be a stay at home daughter. For me, I believe it is the right thing to do.

6. How do you plan to fill your days as a SAHD?

Well, I am currently attending an online school, so I plan to graduate from that. I plan to work from home part-time as a medical transcriptionist; I plan to teach piano lessons; I plan to write, because I dream of being a writer, and possibly publish some of my work; and I plan to work on homemaking skills to prepare for having my own family someday.

7. Why have you chosen courtship as a way to get to know a suitor?

With 50% of all marriages in this country, yes even Christian ones, ending in divorce, something must be done. I believe courtship is that something. I believe the traditional dating relationships are not working. Courtship is a way to get to know a suitor without becoming too invested emotionally; it enables you to continue to guard your heart, something that is harder to do in a dating relationship.

8. Why have you chosen to save your first kiss for marriage?

I have chosen to save my first kiss for marriage, and that is a personal commitment. Not all may feel led to do this, but I feel that I have. Someday when I get married, I want to be able to present myself to my husband and say, “Here I am. I’ve never given myself to another, not even in the smallest way. I have saved myself for you.” How special will it be to have my first kiss, first time to hold hands, etc., with the man that I marry?

9. How does the word of God inform your decision to save your first kiss for marriage?

God’s word speaks many times about purity. Purity is important to God. Marriages are also important to God. His word tells us to treat young men as brothers in the Lord. I believe that by saving my first kiss until my wedding day, it is a way that I can take purity seriously, help my marriage to start off well, and treat other young men I may meet in a pure way.

10. Have you endured persecution for your choices?

Wow. I think I could write an entire blog post on this question alone. I’ll try not to though. ;) Yes, I have endured persecution for my choices. As early as 14 years old, I was struggling with this persecution. My best friend abandoned me, two other girls ignored and excluded me. Outings were planned and I was deliberately not invited. All because I was homeschooled, and so I was “different.” Several years later, one of the same girls came back into my life. I thought perhaps things would be different, but I was again eventually pushed away. A young woman that I respected deleted our Facebook friendship, left argumentative comments on this blog, and in other ways hurt me, simply because I had chosen to state what I believed in about purity, courtship, etc. Our relationship was basically ruined, and I never said a negative word to her. And friends, these examples were all within the church! Because of these things, I have struggled with acceptance and rejection.

Sadly, I have even see this translate over to the blogging world. I have to continually be sure that I write what I believe and feel, even if some people might not agree. That is part of what inspired me to write “I Don’t Fit in a Box.” I wanted people to know who I really am, and not look at me as something I’m not. That’s another goal I have with my new blog, True Love’s Kiss. My goal is to write as truly and honestly as I possibly can. To be “real” with my readers. Rejection will probably come, but hopefully some people will see my honesty and accept me for that.

11. What gives you hope to live faithfully through this life?

My hope is in Christ, and the eternal salvation that He has promised. I wait on Him.

12. If you could give other young women or girls advice on how to wait on God, what advice would that be?

Pray. Just pray, a lot. I’m telling this to myself as well. It can be very hard to wait, but in the end it will be worth it. God has a Master Plan. We just need to trust him with that. If we are willing to wait for God’s best, I know in the end we will all feel completely overwhelmed that he works everything out so perfectly. Find other like-minded young women who are also waiting. Wait together, encourage each other. Find an older woman who has “been there, done that” to encourage you. Read scriptures about waiting. Read books written by other young women about waiting. Above all, realize this, your life is not about getting married, having children, or whatever else you are waiting for. Your life is about serving God, in whatever way he calls you to do that.

An Interview with Tahirah

2011-02-27T12:25:00.001-08:00

Hi everyone! Tahirah and I decided to do something fun and interview each other. I don't know about her, but I sure had a lot of fun doing it! :) ~Brooke

1. When did you decide to be a stay at home mom?

I decided to be a stay at home mom when I was in college, before I even met my husband. I had a mother that was truly a supermom. She was able to work out of the home and be a phenomenal mother to her children and a loving wife to my father. My mother is truly a type A person and everything she does, she does well. I realized that I was not a type A person and that I would just end up stressed out if I had all those burdens on my shoulders.

Also, I learned that men relate a lot differently than women. I came to the belief that it was important for a man's self esteem to provide for his family. I saw how a man really suffered if he was not able to provide adequately for his family and/or when he felt that his wife outshone him in provision for the family. Being that financially providing for my family was not what I felt called to do, I decided it would be best not to compete in this arena.

2. When did you decide you wanted to homeschool your future children?

My husband and I came to the decision to homeschool our future children together. We met a homeschooling family :) and were very impressed with their children. We also got to know a few other homeschooling families and almost all of them had exceptionally well spoken children who were very sweet. The children stood out from the average children we knew. We started looking into it more at that point and saw that there were wonderful education opportunities for the kids and most importantly, the ability for the parents to be even more influential in the children's spiritual lives.

3. What's the biggest lesson you've learned from your marriage?

That I need to depend on God for all things. It seems like when you are not married, you feel, if you can only find Mr. Wonderful then you can depend on him to ensure you are not lonely, always happy and content. That is one of the greatest misunderstanding of what marriage is. You will always need to be able to depend on God first and foremost.

4. What would you tell other young women wanting to be married someday?

If you cannot be content with God and find joy and happiness in your everyday life as a single woman, do not expect that to change if/when you get married. Be faithful in whatever realm God has put you in because if/when you are married you will have to learn to be content and joyous and faithful in many situations that are just as difficult.

5. You've shared with us in the past about your troubles having children. What did God teach you through that?

That is a great question. God taught me so much through that struggle. I think the biggest thing I learned was not to put my hope in the things of this world. I know that may sound kind of etherial, but it is true. I still struggle with expecting heaven to be here on earth, but it is not to be. It is very easy to want to strive to have a picture perfect life here, and not so easy to crucify that dream for God. But, it is necessary. We were bought with a price, we are not our own. Accepting whatever symbol God wants me to be is what I need to do, not dictate to God what I want my life to look like. Believe me, I still struggle with this :)

6. What's your favorite homemaking skill?

Organization! I love organizing. I even love surfing organization forums just for fun.

7. What is the hardest part of being a mother?

Realizing that what you do with your little one affects their eternity, while knowing that ultimately you do not have the final say on what decisions they will make in their lives.

8. When and why did you first become convicted of the stay at home daughter movement?

Fairly recently I started reading about young women who chose to stay at home until/unless they married. I then saw through scriptures, that this was the default pattern for God's people. So unless God makes another calling clear I believe it should still be the "default" for young women.

After coming to this understanding I then saw so many advantages to this as well as the many many disadvantages of young women being unprotected that it made it even more apparent that this was the wise path to take. My husband and I are both in agreement on this and he is very excited for our daughter to stay with us forever (or until God choses differently).

9. What is your favorite scripture?

Joel 2:25a And I [the LORD] will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten

10. What is your opinion on birth control?

That it is evil. I know that sounds extreme :) But it has done nothing but brought me sorrow. In general it also cuts off what God calls a blessing, children. I realize that everybody's situations are different, but in general birth control is not in line with what scripture says should be valued.

Great Men

2011-02-26T23:06:00.000-08:00

~By Tahirah

I have had several blog ideas rolling around in my head for a while. The one I find myself wanting to write at this time has to do with men. As what happens many times, a theme has popped up into my life recently. Lessons about the way God made His creation and what He has imbued in the hearts of man.

Recently I have been reading the book Love and Respect by Doctor Emerson Eggerichs. So far I highly recommend it. It asserts a man’s need for respect and puts it on par with a woman’s need for love. It references the Bible as it’s source of knowledge and illustrates what respect for a husband looks like.

Also recently I have been watching several documentaries. While history was not my favorite subject in school, I really enjoy reading about it, visiting historical sites and watching documentaries when given the opportunity. The other night my husband and I sat down and thoroughly enjoyed Lewis and Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery directed by Ken Burns in 1997. A man’s need for adventure was palpable just by watching that film. I think it is hard for a woman to understand this facet of a man, as we tend to enjoy safety and security. Men like to do great things, things that will change the course of history or at least put their mark on history. This is something that I did not always understand, and something that I actually once fought against in my ignorance and fear.

Years ago my husband wanted to play professional baseball. He is a very talented athlete and desired to combine his God given talent to serve God in the professional ball realm. I, on the other hand, could not understand this desire. While I had played division 1 sports in college I still could not understand this drive my husband had to pursue such an insecure profession. I fought against this dream of my husband’s. I argued and spoke out of fear. As we know in 1 Peter 3:5-6 Peter wrote, “For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves. They submitted themselves to their own husbands, like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her lord. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.” I didn’t realize that by giving way to fear of being insecure I was acting as the foolish woman in Proverbs 14:1 who tore her house down with her own hands. “The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down.”

I do not know what the Lord’s will was for our lives at that time that I might have gotten in the way of, but I do know what the Lord’s will was for my life at that time. It was to trust the LORD and be subject to my husband and treat my husband with respect, not to give way to fear, but to boldly put my trust in the LORD.

Recently I read the article Where Have The Good Men Gone? Kay S. Hymowitz argues that too many men in their 20s are living in a new kind of extended adolescence. Published by the Wall Street Journal, Saturday, February 19, 2011. It describes an extended adolescence that many of today’s young men are in. It gives a pretty good outline of what our current culture promotes to young men and it does not look good. I was pleased that it did not seem to attack the young men but instead gave the reasons many men find themselves in this category, a category of irresponsibility, not of childhood nor of adulthood. This category is a holding pattern where nothing great can be achieved.

Getting married and starting a family was given as the exit plan to this extended adolescence. While I am pro-marriage I think there is a bigger issue here. We are living in the height of American society, the wars have been fought to defend and delineate our country, the frontier has been explored, our government has been established. We are in a decadent era in the United States, which our ancestors only dreamed about. They lived and died to give us, their descendents, this quiet and peaceful life. What I believe men lack now is the impetus to do great things. It is very easy to sit back and allow life to pass you buy. Men are not called into the realm of greatness by necessity or default, now they have to search for it. This is not an easy undertaking and one in which we, as women should support them in finding.

I write all these seemingly disjointed ideas to pull them together and make them applicable to my life (and hopefully to yours too). We need to help our husbands be “great”. We need to show them respect, which gives them confidence and security at home to go out into the world and do great things. We need to be supportive of their “great” visions. If it is not what the LORD has laid for them to do, we need to let the LORD turn their hearts to His plan. I am not saying that we should not give our opinions and share our desires, but we do not need to speak from a place of fear or a place of authority over our husbands.

My hope for all of the ladies here is that they will build their houses up, and help their husbands to do great things.

Be Thou My Vision

2011-02-26T21:35:00.000-08:00

One of the most beautiful voices of our time sings this stirring hymn. Enjoy!

The BEST study on faith

2011-02-24T12:15:00.000-08:00

This study is for people who are yearning for meat.

https://rstudies.wordpress.com/2011/02/23/the-revealed-order-of-reality-hebrews-11-and-12-with-thematic/

It's Here!!

2011-02-06T21:01:00.000-08:00

It's officially here! My new blog has launched. I am so excited and relieved. I have spent the good part of 2 weeks trying to come up with a good name for this blog. So please hop on over and show your support by becoming a follower. :)

~True Love's Kiss~

~Brooke

A New Beginning

2011-02-03T19:47:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone. I have some exciting news. I am in the creative process of starting a my new blog. It will still focus on much of the issues I talk about here, as well as some of my own poetry and stories. I will still be blogging here as well. What I really need is some help from you! I desperately need a name for this new blog. So if you have any really great and awesome ideas... let me know! :)

I Don't Fit in a Box

2011-01-26T21:45:00.000-08:00

I was thinking about the term "stay-at-home-daughter." I'm not sure how much I really like this term. Do I consider myself a stay-at-home-daughter? Yes. But I still don't really like the term. ;) You see, that term itself can carry a sort of stigma. Not that I'm saying it always does. But it can. Many times, when you think of the term stay-at-home-daughter, you think of a young woman who has graduated high school but still lives at home, has many siblings, wears a lot of skirts and dresses, etc. I have a feeling that this picture is not necessarily true for many SAHDs, including me. Not that there is anything wrong with that picture, but no one wants to be mistaken for something they are not. It is always a dangerous thing when anyone tries to make a generalization of anything, especially people. People were not made to fit into boxes. You don't fit in a box. I don't fit in box. God created each of us differently, and in different situations. But whatever situation you are in, whether many siblings or few, whether you wear dresses or jeans, whether you have many children or only 1, those things don't matter. What matters is that you do what God has called you to do.

I just wanted to say I'm not your "average" stay-at-home-daughter. I wear jeans and dresses. I plan on staying at home until I'm married. I only have 1 sibling. I plan on homeschooling my future children. I'm staying pure until marriage. I'm saving my first kiss for my wedding day. I believe in courtship. I'm currently enrolled in online school. I'm a writer, a musician, a martial artist, a sister, a daughter, a student, a teacher, a Christian, and yes, even a stay-at-home-daughter. But I don't fit in a box.

Lessons From the Lord

2011-01-23T21:20:00.001-08:00

by Brooke
Well readers, I'm sitting here not exactly sure how I want to write this post. I've had this post in mind for a little while now, and was just waiting for the time to write it.

Recently I feel like God has really been "revealing" things to me. I say revealing, but really I mean "reminding," because they are all things I already knew, but maybe had just forgotten, as we humans tend to do. :) So today I'm going to share some of those things with you.

God has been reminding me to be selfless. Now I can't say that I've ever considered myself to be a extremely selfish person, but lately God has helped me realize that there are many times I could be serving Him and others rather than myself. He reminded me of my own words of advice I gave to a friend, "my life is about serving Him." But am I really living by that philosophy? He's made me realize that many times I'm not. I've been convicted that I need to have a more servant attitude. Even when I have to do a task that I consider less-than-enjoyable, I need to look at it as serving Him. Looking at work from this perspective makes a big difference. Instead of saying, "Well I have to go get to work now," I've been saying, "Well I need to go serve the Lord now." Try it! It will change your attitude.

He's also been reminding me that He knows best, and I just have to be willing to follow his plan. Of course, I know this, sometimes I just tend to forget. Sometimes I can't help wondering or even worrying about things. One of the most common for me, and probably for many other stay-at-home-daughters, is wondering about my future husband and marriage. Quite simply, I want to get married. And sometimes I get tired of waiting. But I know that God's plan is perfect, and I just have to trust in him.

So these are a few of the things I've learned lately. I hope the lessons the Lord has been teaching me can help you as well.

Keep serving Him with all your heart.

Birthday Party Time!

2011-01-06T17:43:00.003-08:00

Sweet Baby Girl is turning two soon and we had a wonderful birthday party for her. There were three sweet little girls with their mother and grandmothers and an extra grandmother thrown in for good measure. The three girls played the piano together, played puppy dog, ate lunch, had cake, played pin the tail on the donkey and drank “tea” together. With so much paparazzi (uh, I mean grandmothers) there were lots of time outs for pictures.

We asked the guests not to bring a gift for Sweet Baby Girl but just to come and celebrate the birth of our daughter. I thought it was super sweet that everyone brought a gift – for all the guests. Happy H brought party hats for everyone, Shy S brought homemade beaded bracelets, Grandma G brought little tin lunchbox purses and stuffed animals and Sweet Baby Girl gave all her guests bags of goodies to take home. I think it is a great party when the guests get to leave with as many fond memories and goodies as the birthday girl.

New Years Resolution - Become an Encourager

2010-12-31T23:40:00.001-08:00

~ by Tahirah

I’ve made several New Years resolutions including a bit of organizing and starting back up with a sport I enjoy. I’m very excited about getting started. But, I just decided to make an even more important resolution, to be an encourager. Scripture tells us of Barnabas, which means Son of Encouragement. He was a great teacher and God Himself set him aside to teach His people. Encouraging the people of God is of great value to God and a blessing for those around you.

I believe a lot can be taught by encouraging people. Sometimes it is very easy to dwell on the “thou shalt nots”, the list of things one should not do. While that list has its place, it is very uplifting to be affirmed and encouraged to do the right thing. This past year I have learned that encouragement can build bridges where sometimes “thou shalt nots” can tear them down. Let me encourage each of you to be an encourager.

Also, I would love to steal some of your good ideas, so if you have one on how to encourage others, please leave a comment.

Meaning and Memories: Christmas Traditions

2010-12-14T12:55:00.000-08:00

Christmas is upon us. As I write this, I believe it is only 11 days away. Christmas is absolutely one of my favorite times of year (even though I don't particularly like the cold). One of my favorite parts of Christmas is the individual traditions that each family has. They are all different, but they all hold with them meaning and memories. For example, a few of our family's traditions are decorating the tree together, buying and wrapping gifts for one another, cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning, and having the family over on Christmas day. I love the Christmas traditions that my family has, and I look forward to someday starting my own traditions (as well as keeping some of the old ones) with my own family. One of the best parts of Christmas is that it brings back that much-needed element of family to this world that seems to have forgotten it. What are some of your favorite Christmas traditions? I hope that you are able to celebrate them with your family this year!

Merry Christmas!

How to Quickly Complete All Your Scrapbooking

2010-11-18T17:36:00.000-08:00

By Tahirah

Scrapbooking is a craft that I seized upon around 15 years ago when my mother first introduced me to it. I loved everything about it, the colors, the creativity and the vibrancy of what previously had been a very dull manner of showing pictures and memorabilia. Since then I could not be satisfied with regular photo albums. Each layout in each book had to be a work of art. I spent countless hours and money perfecting my craft, developing a signature style. Scrapbooking became so huge that it went from being a fun hobby to being work.

Several years ago we moved into a new home. It was a charming colonial but was built in 1930. All the remodeling work that had been done between 1930 and when we moved in would better be called “re-muddeling”. There were so many projects with the house that when I had down time between house projects I did not feel like tackling the monumental task that I had made of scrapbooking. Therefore, I put it off – for years. Pictures and paraphernalia would pile up and I would toss it into the banker’s box labeled for each of the various places we lived. Each year that I put it off made the task of scrapbooking more arduous in my mind so I would continue to put it off.

The boxes in my basement were piling over with stuff. We were seriously contemplating putting the house on the market. I knew I did not want to move a bunch of disorganized junk from one house to another. The answer to my dilemma came while I was visiting with another woman from church. We started talking about scrapbooks and she pulled hers out to show me. They were so simple; three ring binders with 8 ½” x 11” sheets off paper with pictures and mementos taped on. She would use a colored marker to draw a quick design such as squiggly lines. I started to see my “works of art” in a different light. They had become a burden. I was years behind, my friend was caught up. My pictures etcetera were in the basement in boxes, hers were on display for friends and family to enjoy. Her way was better.

Being a fairly creative person I was not totally ready to churn out minimalists scrapbooks, but I did have to minimalize and streamline the process. Following are the directions to make great scrapbooks quickly and efficiently:

Put pictures and memorabilia in chronological order
If you want it done lightening fast, have a group of ladies over to help you. It will still go fast with this process even if you do it in your own.
Pick a color scheme for each book eg. Use your college colors for a book during your college years or 2-3 vibrant colors for a book during the years you lived in Florida. This gives the book a cohesive appearance and keeps you from taking a lot of time agonizing over the color scheme of each layout.
Get an acid free, lignin free glue stick or double sided tape, adhere pictures and memorabilia to 12”x12” color coordinated paper. Keep the picture layout simple. Do not overcrowd the pictures or it will look cluttered and detract from the pictures.
Label pictures. If you are using a scrapbook where the page protectors are bound in the book (most books excepting straphinge or old styled books) you may opt to use blank folder labels to place on the outside of the page protector to label pictures later. You can find these labels in assorted colors.
At your leisure add stickers around the pages.

For all you avid scrapbookers this may seem too simple for your taste, but trust me, with the well spaced pictures, color coordination and relevant stickers the books turn out to be simply elegant and best of all quick and easy. If you get the majority of your pictures and memorabilia organized in this manner, it will leave you more time and energy for special scrapbooks you would like to spend a bit more time on such as a wedding or baby book.

Making Work More Enjoyable

2010-11-08T20:01:00.000-08:00

Recently, I found a very good way to get work done that I would like to share with you. Sometimes work is just not very fun! But we have to do it anyway-so find a way to make it fun. While I am doing school, I will put in a CD of classical music-I prefer William Joseph or Tchaikovsky. Then I light a couple of candles. It makes doing my school so much more relaxing and enjoyable. I suggest you try this with any task that you find less-than-enjoyable. :)

~Brooke

To Be a Stay At Home Daughter or Not

2010-11-01T02:35:00.003-07:00

~By Tahirah
This blog was not actually supposed to be a debate but an encouragement to like-minded individuals. With that said, recently under another post a debate did begin on if SAHD-hood was in my words, the “optimal” circumstance or just another one of many paths the Holy Spirit may put you on. I argued that scripture and the Holy Spirit must agree, that the Bible would not say one thing and the Holy Spirit something different to an individual. I challenged the other person to show a scriptural principle or example of a different path.

Well, I found one. In my daily Bible reading this weekend Christ said in Mathew 19 to his disciples after speaking with the rich young ruler, “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.” And again in Mark 10, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.” I see no reason why this would not include a never married young woman. To God be the glory, the Holy Spirit may call a never married young woman to a path different than staying under the authority of her father.

I do still think it important that one be sure the Holy Spirit is the one actually doing the calling. The fact that one turns 18 and society then expects you to either go to college or get out on your own is NOT a calling from the Holy Spirit, nor does it equate to leaving for the sake of Jesus or the Gospel. Society does not dictate what the Holy Spirit calls one to. I pray everyone will listen more for the Holy Spirit and less to the traditions of men.

My Story of Scoliosis

2010-10-16T11:54:00.001-07:00

Today I am going to share a story with you-my story. Even though it's mostly a story about physical problems, if you look closely, it is also a story about God's provision and grace.
When I was 10 years old I was diagnosed with idiopathic juvenile scoliosis. Basically, I was growing so fast that my spine couldn't keep up, and as a result it was ending up curved instead of straight. Obviously, this can cause some pretty serious problems if not treated. My parents decided to have my treatment at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, even though it was a 2-1/2-hour drive. (By the way, I loved Mayo Clinic.)
At my first appointment, we found out from the x-rays that I had a 27 degree curve. The doctor recommended bracing me. He normally wouldn't recommend that on the first visit, but my scoliosis was already progressed enough that bracing was needed immediately. So I was fitted for my first back brace. I wore a back brace for the next 4 years. It was not easy! I had to wear the brace for 20-23 hours a day, taking it off for bathing or sports, and/or an hour or so break a day. I was able to take it off myself, but had to have someone to help me put it on.
Having a brace was hard. I could do normal things when it was off, but after having it off for too long, my back got extremely sore. It was hard for me to go to sleepovers or summer camp. And because of the design of my brace, my posture was always crooked with 1 shoulder higher than the other-something that didn't look very nice in pictures.
Wearing the brace was sometimes painful, especially during the adjustment period. There was an initial adjustment period, when I adjusted to wearing the brace. There were also 2 other adjustment periods when I had to adjust to a new brace after outgrowing the one I was in. Even though a long undershirt is worn under the brace, sometimes sores can still develop on the skin. So we had rub my skin with rubbing alcohol to toughen it up. We were told that the first 2 weeks would probably be the worst-because of the adjustment period. Remarkably, those first 2 weeks were really not bad at all. I know it is because I had so many people praying for me. My diagnosis was quite a surprise to my family, so our church family was remembering us in prayer.
The hardest time for me was adjusting from my first to my second brace. It was extremely painful. That second brace continued to give me problems-it had not been formed right, so it ended up applying pressure to the wrong spots, creating some bad sore spots. Eventually we had to have a third brace that was formed correctly, but I was left with 2 scars (a small one on my upper back, and a much larger and worse one on my lower back) that I still have to this day.
But in the end, God worked it all out to his glory. You will remember my original x-ray showed a curve of 27 degrees. Now, bracing is not meant to correct a curve, only to keep it from getting worse. A very good brace wearer may, at best, correct their curve by 1 or 2 degrees. But after 4 years, my final x-rays showed a curve of only 11 degrees! I know that through so many people's prayers, God had decided to work a miracle. He had basically healed my scoliosis, as a curve is not even considered scoliosis unless it is higher than 10 degrees. The doctors were amazed and pleased.
After I was done wearing the brace I still had some things to work through. My back was weak after so many years of being supported by a brace. I had some physical therapy exercises to strengthen it. But through exercises, my karate classes, and God's healing, I now do not have those problems.
Today, even though it was extremely painful and difficult, I am so thankful that God gave me scoliosis and used me to show how he can do anything. Don't ever doubt Him! I am a living testimony that he answers prayers.
~Brooke Reninger

A Ladies' Work Co-operative

2010-10-05T13:24:00.000-07:00

~ By Tahirah
Discretionary time to complete projects and household tasks goes way down when you have a new baby. I began feeling overwhelmed by the growing “to do” list and projects. The mountain of projects became so large that I lost my motivation to even get started with them. It was much easier to spend time cuddling with my little baby then to figure out how to carve out time for activities that I was not nearly as enthralled with.

As it turned out, my husband and I started contemplating a move a few months after the birth of our daughter. By that time I had seen where clutter that previously could be ignored grew into an albatross. I did not want to move a bunch of clutter from one home to another. Plus, I decided that our next move needed to be to a smaller home. I was having a difficult time keeping up with our current home and realized it was due to the fact that with more space comes more stuff. Also, with more space comes more dirty surfaces. I wanted to be able to move to a home that I could completely clean in 2-3 hours, not the entire weekend.

Downsizing was on my mind, but how was I going to get the time to go through and organize everything? I tried putting baby in a sling but at the time could not find one that she and I were both comfortable with. Besides, the tasks had grown so enormous that I could not find the motivation to even begin them. I felt like the tasks were so large it would take a team of women to get them done well. While I was feeling this way, providentially several women from my congregation said they too had large household tasks to complete that were weighing on their minds. I suggested we get together to help each other with our work.

This turned out to be a huge blessing in so many ways. Just getting our work co-op in place relieved my mind. Knowing that the tasks would eventually get done allowed me to actually begin doing them. We had four ladies in our co-op. We met almost every Tuesday morning from 9:00am to noon. If one lady was busy one Tuesday, she simply skipped that Tuesday and came to the next one. There were enough times when people had to miss that it all came out even. Sometimes if one of us had to miss she got together separately with the upcoming hostess to work on the project at another time. This also worked well because it gave the hostess another opportunity to set aside time to work on her project.

These seemingly insurmountable projects were quickly whittled down to size. Over chatter, laughter and great fellowship it hardly felt like work at all. We really made a lot of headway every Tuesday in our various projects because we generally had a total of twelve woman/hours worth of labor during a short three hours. Each hostess felt so grateful to have the help but the other ladies usually felt like it was more fun than work so it was definitely a win-win set up.

I would encourage you to consider setting up a work co-op. Beside myself, my co-op had one woman with teenage children and two other women with grown children. This worked out wonderfully for me because I was the only one with a baby so we did not have to worry about keeping several children occupied. When my baby needed attention we sometimes took turns holding her and so we all had plenty of time to help. It was also nice because a couple of the ladies have grandchildren that are out-of- state that they do not get to see as often as they would like and so they were always ready to cuddle a grandbaby (even if it is not their grandbaby). If possible, I would suggest you make your co-op of women who do not all have small children for this very reason. If that is not possible, perhaps you can make it into a work play date sort of co-op where one mother supervises the children while the others work on the projects.

While it is nice to offer water or coffee, we generally did not offer many refreshments unless someone had something on hand that they wanted help eating. This made it nice because you do not have to run around getting food and beverage ready, you go directly to the task at hand. Also, no one felt like they had to “keep up” with the other women and provide a spread. We all looked forward to our Tuesday and excitedly corresponded on-line about whose turn it is and what the project will be. The fellowship was so precious to us and the help with the work so appreciated that we are all thankful to be a part of this group.

Even if you are not able to start up a work co-op, do not let that stop you from getting group help for your projects. When a large project comes up on your “to do” list and someone says, “call me if you need anything” you can let them know that you are having a small group of women over to help you complete (insert task) and ask if they would be free to join you next week. You can continue to organize group help made up of whoever is free and willing until your projects are done. Just be sure to lend a hand whenever you are available as well. Not only can you pay back or pay forward by helping others out, but also you get to enjoy the fellowship and sometimes learn a new skill or better way of doing something.

Teacher Training

2010-09-26T19:35:00.000-07:00

My brother and I.

Today I would like to write to the stay-at-home-daughters (SAHD). This is officially my first year as a SAHD, as I just graduated in December. But as I am doing an online school course, I still feel like somewhat of a student. I am looking forward to graduating, when I will have more time to devote to things for training to be a stay-at-home-mother. But I am doing what I can now. This year in homeschooling, my mother is letting me teach my younger brother spelling. It is going pretty well so far-spelling is one of my stronger points, and my brother is a pretty good speller. ;) I am enjoying it and learning a lot-about my teaching style, changes to make when the curriculum needs some improving, etc. If you are a homeschooled SAHD with younger siblings, I would highly encourage you to try teaching a subject-with help and supervision from your mother. In most cases, she has been homeschooling for many years, and can offer an amazing amount of advice. It will give you wonderful training for the future when you may be homeschooling your own children. Also, start out small. This year I am only teaching spelling. But maybe next year I will teach 2 subjects. I would also suggest to teach not only with your strengths but your weaknesses as well. (I guess that means I should take science or math next year... oh dear!) As a SAHD you have a wonderful opportunity to learn and train at home, and get a "jump-start" for when you have your own family. Take advantage of this opportunity!

~Brooke Reninger

Facing the Opposition

2010-09-20T21:37:00.000-07:00

I have told you in the past about the group I have on Facebook. Recently our fan numbers have skyrocketed to over 5,000. Unfortunately this has also brought with it quite a lot of horrible posts containing inappropriate content and language. Of course, I delete these posts as soon as possible, but I was finding it very discouraging. But then someone will put an encouraging post on the page. I have had more than one husband say something such as, "My wife and have been married for such and such years, and I wish I had saved my first kiss for her. It would have made it so special. Stay strong in your convictions!" I have had more than one mother write, "My children are all saving their first kiss for marriage." These sort of posts are so encouraging to me, and make me believe, once again, that the page is doing some good. And recently someone wrote something that encouraged me the most, "When you are doing the right thing, you are probably going to meet some opposition." So I hope to encourage all of you as well - if you are meeting a lot of opposition, maybe you are doing it right! Stay strong with the strength of the Lord and never give up. =)

P.S. Let's celebrate - this is our 30th post! ;)

~Brooke Reninger

Titus 2 or 1 Tim. 4???

2010-09-20T21:17:00.001-07:00

Titus 2:2-4 says “Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children,”

This verse shows the type of relationship we should strive for with our sisters in Christ. But, just because you might be considered the “younger woman” in the Titus 2 verse does not mean that you should not be an example. Sometimes 1 Tim. 4:12 is overlooked, but it is an excellent verse, “Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself an example of those who believe.” I have been privileged to see first hand a young woman who was an excellent example in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity. I will not embarrass her by naming names… but suffice it to say that the way she has conducted her life has impacted my family and me more than she would ever realize.

So, if you are a “younger woman” do not underestimate the impact that your life of wholesome speech, good conduct, love, faith and purity can have on other believers.

Daily Bible Reading (the easy way)

2010-09-20T08:01:00.000-07:00

By Tahirah

Before I had our daughter I was in the habit of reading the Bible daily. I used The Daily Bible: New International Version: With Devotional Insights to Guide You Through God's Word by F. Laguard Smith. This Bible was so easy to read through with a quick summary about what you were about to read which allowed you to understand the daily reading in its proper context. Also, since it was in chronological order I was finally able to match up my various timelines of kings and prophets. I loved this Bible and often gave it as a gift. Every so often if I got behind on my reading I would read two days reading each day until I was caught up.

By the time my daughter had turned six months I was struggling to keep up with the readings and often got two weeks or more behind. When baby was about six months she wanted to touch and taste everything, including my Bible. If I opened it while nursing her little arm would shoot out and start feeling around until she touched whatever had my attention. If I did not pull my Bible away fast enough I would end up with crumpled or torn pages. So then I would ask my husband to watch her while I desperately tried to catch up. My Bible reading then reduced from a meaningful listening to God allowing Him to transform my mind to a speedy reading of an old document, barely retaining any information. I was wasting my time; the time God had given me.

Years ago I had bought the Bible on CD. I used them with headphones when I worked full time. I was able to listen through the entire Bible in about three months. My husband also had enjoyed working out and listening to them. I considered loading those CDs onto my laptop to listen to but I had become so spoiled reading through the Bible chronologically. I loved the fact that I now had an idea when in the book of Acts different epistles were written. After searching through the Internet I found the perfect solution. Back to the Bible has several Bible reading plans. The one I use is the chronological reading plan http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/devotions/chronological/ while I was pleased to just read it on my laptop the feature that got me even more excited was the little button to the right of the scripture reference. LISTEN. I was able to push that button and listen to my daily reading! So I could do both, I could read along as the daily reading was read to me.

I changed my homepage from the news to this Bible reading. It helps me to remember to do my reading first thing, before anything else catches my eye and distracts me.

This has become a special time for my daughter and me in the mornings. I made it a rule that this is quiet time between God, baby and me. I do not check my e-mail or Facebook or make phone calls. Sometimes I turn on the local Christian music radio station, which helps to contribute to the attitude of an open mind toward God. Oftentimes baby climbs in my lap to nurse during this morning time, which makes it even sweeter.

The Power of Saying "Yes" with a New Baby

2010-09-05T19:49:00.000-07:00

Grand-mommy and "Princess"

Learning to say “yes” when help is proffered is a needed skill. This was and is probably one of the most difficult things for me to do. It is also one of the most important things you can do for the benefit of you and your new baby. I was always the one to help. If something needed done and I had the extra time I would often volunteer. I was not used to being on the receiving end of help and was not sure how I felt about needing it.

To put it bluntly for all those “I can do it myselfers” out there, trying to do it all by yourself is impossible. God even helps to prepare us for relying on others to help. By the end of our pregnancy we can hardly even stand up without someone’s help. This carries over to post partum where we need to take it easy and let our bodies heal. We cannot just jump back into our old routines without risking our health. Whether your little blessing came to you through adoption or birth, there are so many new physical demands that a baby brings, I believe to do motherhood well, we need help.

There are several seasons in our lives. Being a first time mother begins a new season in our lives. This is a season to accept help. If you are having a hard time accepting the fact that you are going to need help, there are a couple of things to keep in mind. First, there will most likely be another season in your life when you can once again be the person lending a hand. The season of being a new mother does not last long and it is important that you make the most of it which brings me to the second point, your baby needs for you to accept help. Your baby needs a healthy, content mama. Years ago when families lived together or very close to each other, there was always someone ready to prepare a meal, hold a fussy baby or step in wherever needed. These days we live in much smaller family units and it is too much to expect a first time mother to have a clean organized home, prepared meals, completed projects and spend all the time that a baby needs. Being wise and choosing the most important tasks and learning to delegate others will help you to thrive in this season.

To master any skill practice is needed. Practice accepting help graciously. Get in front of your bathroom mirror, look yourself in the eye and say, “yes please”, “I would appreciate that”, “thank you, that would be wonderful.” Next time someone offers their assistance, use one of these phrases. You want to accept help but you need to do it graciously. You need to show that you realize how thoughtful it is that someone is trying to make your life easier. The best way to do that is through practice.

One dilemma to deal with when accepting help is figuring out what kind of help you need. Keeping a “to do” list is helpful in these situations. There are so many times when people offer their help and say things such as, “just let me know how I can help”, or “call me if you need anything”. You need help but cannot figure out what they can do to help or how to capitalize on their offer. When you receive offers such as these, do not wait to call them about it later, it is easier to get something in place right away, while they are thinking about it and can schedule it into their day. Practice giving responses to the “call me if you need anything” offers of help by saying things such as this: “I would love your help, do you like cooking or cleaning better.” This gives them the opportunity to help in the way that they can best use their skills and allows you to get the help that you need but were too shy to ask for. Having a “to do” list allows you to quickly relate what needs to be done on the spur of the moment without fumbling around, answering “okay” and never calling because you feel too awkward to take them up on their offer. We will get to the tasks to put on your “to do” list later.

No matter what the offer of help, accept it graciously. When I first had our daughter, all I wanted to do was spend time cuddling her. When I received offers of help to watch her while I completed my tasks I was not inclined to accept those offers. I wanted to be the one to hold and cuddle her all the time. I was not nearly as interested in keeping my kitchen clean although that needed to be done too. I would have preferred offers to clean my kitchen at the time as opposed to offers to watch her. Do not reject those offers to watch the baby. You just might need to postpone them for a few months. When I was fully healed from my delivery and several months went by, I was glad for those offers to watch her. I knew what I needed to do and wanted the time to quickly accomplish a task without relegating her to the crib or playpen. Those that offered to watch her became invaluable to me by giving me time I needed and the attention that she needed.

It might be helpful to practice saying yes, to these types of offers of help as well. Even if it is something that you do not want or need at the time, it is something that might come in handy in the future and you would be doing yourself a disservice by flat out rejecting these. Practice saying phrases like, “thank you, I will be sure to call you when I need that, what times are best for you?” “Thank you very much for thinking of me, I will definitely keep that in mind.” No one’s offer of help should be taken for granted or rejected.

Being close friends with women who are grandmothers was an unexpected blessing. Both my parents and parent-in-laws live in other states. They would have loved to do anything and help in anyway when it came to making life nice for their grandbaby. They wanted to be there to indulge her every need. Unfortunately in modern times, many of us move to where the jobs are which may be away from family. Grandparents cannot always pick up and follow the grandchildren either because they are tied to jobs themselves. My older friends, who had grandchildren themselves, sometimes in states far away that they missed, were happy to step in and help. Often older women have skills and patience that us younger women need a lifetime to build. They are able to quickly whip up a casserole, or have patience and desire to hold a crying baby and do nothing but cuddle and rock with it for an hour.

Titus 2:3-5 says, “Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderersor slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled,pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled. I have found that once again God knew what He was talking about. There is a reason He called older women to this task. They have a lifetime of training in these areas; they are the experts, the PhDs. Receiving teaching from them is like receiving teaching from top professors. If you are fortunate enough to have godly older women in your life, especially if your own parents and in-laws are not close by, seize the opportunity afforded to you and accept their help whenever you can get it.

Food Inc. An IMPORTANT Movie

2010-08-28T01:46:00.000-07:00

For anyone who is trying to feed their family in-line with how God created food to be eaten, please watch this film. Here is a trailer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eKYyD14d_0

Hate Posts

2010-08-20T21:14:00.000-07:00

A few months ago, I created a fan page on Facebook called "Saving Your First Kiss for Marriage." The
intentions of this group were to unite people who had similar beliefs and convictions for the purpose of encouragement, and also that we might be able to get the word out to other people about this philosophy. I was surprised at how quickly it spread! We currently have over 300 fans- in only a few months. Through this page I have learned of so many people who share my beliefs, while in "real life", the number of people I know who believe in saving their first kiss for marriage can be counted on one hand. This has been such a blessing to me, and I hope to others as well. (If you would like to become a part of this group, there is a link at the bottom right of this blog page.)
But recently I have been getting a lot of "hate posts" on the page. People who don't agree with this way of thinking have been going on and sharing their feelings, sometimes to the point of inappropriate material. Obviously this can become very discouraging. But it has done just the opposite for the group! The opposition has spurred the members of the group on- our numbers are increasing every day, and people have been posting on why one should support the belief. There have been so many scriptures and good Biblical, spiritual, mature conversations lately. In face of opposition, the group members have stood up for what they believe in- in a very convincing way! It is very encouraging to see.
One member put it very well when they said that hate posts will not discourage us. It will only make us that more passionate about what we believe, and it will cause us to pray for those who find it necessary to post those hateful comments.
I have chosen not to delete comments only because the commenter does not agree with our viewpoints. That sort of discussion is good and healthy, and do not expect everyone to agree! I do, however, delete comments that contain any inappropriate content. I will continue to keep the page as pure as possible, while still promoting godly discussion.
The members of this group inspire me- I hope that in the future I will remember the lesson they have given me: When faced with opposition, stand strong! No one will sway me from my beliefs! Pray, and never lose heart.

~Brooke Reninger

Infertility

2010-08-10T07:47:00.000-07:00

There is a lot of talk on the blogosphere today about having your Quiver full from Psalm 127: 4-5 "Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one's youth. How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them; they will not be ashamed when they speak with their enemies in the gate." But what if your quiver is empty?

That was a reality my husband and I faced. Early in our marriage we listened to "good advice" to wait until we were "established" before we started having children. So, to that end, I went on the birth control pill. I truly believe the pill is evil. My whole cycle disintegrated with the use of the pill. I have since met many other women who experienced the same demise of their cycle due to pill use. I also found out the pill is an abortifacient. Since my husband and I believe new life starts when the egg and sperm meet, that was the reason we finally got off the pill. I was so angry when I learned this fact that I actually looked into suing the manufacturer of the pill I used. The use of the pill is one factor that I believe that lead to my infertility.

For whatever reason you may be experiencing infertility, I would like to give you some resources that I found on my journey and share with you our story from infertility to motherhood. An excellent website to help you get through these times is Hannah's Prayer. Here is my story (with resources) as written for my "About Me" page on Hannah's Prayer.

I had 10 years primary infertility, 5 known miscarriages and 1 ectopic pregnancy. I also went through a 3 year stretch without conceiving at all. I also had 9 days of spotting before my period. After my ectopic pregnancy I had a laparoscopy which showed I had moderate endometriosis. I tried 2 rounds of clomid and oral progesterone (which I have since learned can cause genital defects in babies. ) We went to a Reproductive Endocrinologist and were told our best chance of conceiving was through IVF. My husband had been accommodating in me trying the clomid and oral progesterone but we decided against pursuing further medical treatment. We started focusing instead on treatments to get my body healthy and working properly on its own. After my laparoscopic surgery, I developed intense pain during my period. It was unbearable. I have since learned this often happens as the result of scar tissue that builds up after a lap. It is often mistaken for returning endometriosis. One good thing about my lap was that my 9 days of pre-period spotting reduced to 4 days.

The diagnosis of endometriosis combined with my intense pain and infertility along with our beliefs that Western medicine is fundamentally flawed because much of it is based on Darwinian principles set me on the path to finding natural remedies. I soon came across Clear Passage Therapies I HIGHLY recommend them. Here is a link to their 40 minute YouTube presentation. Here is a link to their newly published book. The last day of my treatment was the first day of my period. All of my abdominal pain was gone. (I still had the mild lower back pain I always had). Also, my pre-period spotting was reduced to 2 days.

While at Clear Passage Therapies I borrowed a book from their research library entitled Inconceivable: A Woman's Triumph Over Despair and Statistics (I highly recommend this book to those who are "older" and trying to conceive against the odds.) This book helped me to step further into the world of natural healing. I then went on to doing such things as taking a Colonics. (This is the one I took) While it may get bad press from some, it delivered what was promised. My husband still takes it every 6 months.

I also learned about acupuncture combined with Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) aka. herbs from Inconceivable. I did that once a week for 10 months after Clear Passage. My pre-period spotting went away completely after a few months of acupuncture as did my lower back pain. My period also turned bright red without clumps. Until I read Inconceivable I did not know that dark red periods with clumps is an indication that something is amiss.

I started getting pregnant again (after 3 years of complete infertility). But I miscarried. My body was healing but wasn't yet able to sustain a baby. That is when I went on the endometriosis diet. They also have a wonderful recipe book that is worth every penny (and I don't even like to cook). On this website's forum I learned that just because your day 19 progesterone is fine does not mean that your day 20 progesterone is fine too. I had my progesterone tested years prior and was told that it was good. I was advised to take progesterone cream anyway. This made a lot of sense to me because endometriosis is an indication of too much estrogen so one would think you need more progesterone to balance your hormones. Also progesterone is necessary to help soften the uterine lining so the baby has a place to attach. With my early miscarriages and short luteal phase I believed I had attachment issues.

I took an all natural progesterone cream (the natural creams do not cause birth defects in babies, just some of the oral types). I made sure there were no parabens in it which act like estrogen. Here's the one I used from GNC my link. I used it 3x a day starting after ovulation. A couple of weeks into my pregnancy, when the doctors found out I was taking progesterone cream they gave me a prescription for progesterone suppositories to be taken 2x a day. I was not about to give up my cream altogether so I still used my cream in the afternoon. I learned that women who go into labor early will often use progesterone to keep their babies snug inside until they are due. For that reason I resumed using the cream 3x day when the suppository prescription ran out. I used it until I was 36 weeks pregnant.

The good thing about using natural progesterone cream is that your body is supposed to make it anyway so you are not introducing a foreign substance to your body. Also, when you are pregnant your body is supposed to make copious amounts of it so you can't overdose on it. If you take "too much" it just makes you sleepy.

Also, NEVER under-estimate prayer. When I first found out I was pregnant I went to the doctor right away because once you have an ectopic pregnancy your chances of having another are greater. My HCG levels were so low we were told that this child was either another ectopic or we would miscarry. I asked the church to pray for a miscarriage as I didn't want to go through the drama and hospitalization of an ectopic again. Our elder who prayed, instead lead the church in prayer that God would make sure the baby was in the right spot and would grow healthy. The next day I had my HCG testing redone and we were called the following day with the results. The doctor was shocked. My levels had done more than their usual doubling! They had skyrocketed up there by some...miracle

Thank the Lord my Primary Infertility finally ended with the birth of a healthy baby girl.

For Such a Time as This

2010-08-01T18:45:00.000-07:00

The other day, I was considering a verse in one of my favorite books in the Bible. "And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?" -Esther 4:14. I have always liked this verse. Mordecai was encouraging Esther to have the courage to stand up for her people, telling her that perhaps that was the very reason God had placed her in her position as queen- so that she might deliver the Jewish people.

But then I began to think about how this verse can be applied to our lives today. If we really think about it, as daughters of Christ, that makes us princesses. We, therefore, are in a royal position. What does the verse tell us? That perhaps God has placed us in our royal positions for such a time as this. He doesn't expect us to just sit around in our princess-ship, he expects us to use that power for his good and his glory. This can also be applied to the specific places we are currently in in our lives. God has placed us there for a reason. Whether it seems a royal position or not, who is to say he has not placed us there for such a time as this?

~Brooke Reninger

Fabulous Articles for Unmarried Women

2010-07-29T14:03:00.000-07:00

These are MUST READ articles especially for unmarried ladies. I thought I would post the link to them here. Always wait on the Lord. Enjoy!

How to Pray for a Husband

Is It My Fault That I'm Not Married?

Unmarried Women's List of Things to Do

2010-07-26T10:52:00.000-07:00

~by Tahirah
This morning I was reading an article listing things a single girl should do before getting married. Some of them were okay, but some were downright foolish like, date a creep and get drunk in the middle of the day (I can't believe they actually published this stupidity). So, instead of unmarried women going by this death wish list, I thought it would be fun to make a list of our own for unmarried women. I'll start us off:

Take measurable steps to grow closer to God like daily Bible study, devotionals and/or quiet time with God. Not only will you possibly have more time at this stage in your life to do this than in others, but this will allow you to get on the same page as God if/when He brings you your husband. This is critical because if you mess up here, the rest of your life is negatively impacted.
Learn to cook because we all have to eat and not everyone gets to marry a professional chef.
Learn to knit or crochet (I wish I had), this is a wonderful way to redeem time during long waits at doctors offices and actually have something to show for it. (I still hope to learn to crochet soon)
Learn a musical instrument. Even if you only have a couple of years to learn, music and being able to create music bring joy to a home.
Learn a foreign language. Communication is key to spreading the gospel and it is wonderful to be able to make friends with people and speak with them in their own language. I am terrible at languages and keep telling myself I will learn to speak French...one day.
Enjoy God's world. Do outside activities where you can marvel in God's creation like camping, hiking, boating, fishing and skiing.
Get physically fit. Who knows what God's plan is for all of us? We need to be physically able to do all He has in mind for us. It would be sad if He desires for us to go live in a third world country and endure the everyday rigors with the people who live there for a time but we can't because we did not take care of ourselves and now our health won't allow it.
Get organized. The sooner, the better. Music, photos, digital media and anything else that needs order.

Above all, we all must use the time God allotted us for His purposes. I hope to see what others thoughts are.

A Pleasant Home

2010-07-20T00:20:00.000-07:00

By Tahirah

Several years ago in my daily reading Micah 2:9 stuck out to me, "You drive the women of my people from their pleasant homes. You take away my blessing from their children forever." God cared that women had pleasant homes. It was always important to me that I had a pleasant home and it was eye opening to see how much it meant to God.

I have always enjoyed decorating. When I was growing up my mother bought lots of decorating magazines home from the grocery store and I would pour over every one. When I went to college I studied architecture and later became a licensed Interior Designer. Interior design is ALWAYS fun!

I thought I would post a few tidbits that hopefully will help you create a pleasant home without an unpleasant price tag.

Never underestimate how much a good cleaning and organizing can do to make a home pleasant.
Pick a wood finish that you like, light, medium or dark. Buy pieces of furniture within your wood shade. Even if the wood is all different, it will look cohesive.
When you choose paint, choose a palate for the whole house. Whether you pick three colors all with the same shade, use one color of varying shades or all pastels etc., this will again bring cohesion to your home with the added benefit of being able to move furniture from room to room and it all matching.
An exception to the whole house palate can be any room that closes with a door, i.e. bedroom.
Do not choose too many different flooring materials or colors or a house will start to look choppy and disjointed.
Choose if you like silver or gold. Many accent pieces such as mirrors have silver or gold frames. Again you would like to have a cohesive look to your home, choose one and stick with it.
You might also decide if you prefer a specific material. Personally I really like crystal so many of my picture frames and accent pieces are crystal. The downside to choosing crystal is that is is VERY heavy and as much as we have moved, sometimes I wish I had chosen something lighter. Other materials that one might choose would be ceramic, bamboo or painted wood.
Always have something red for sparkles and something black for grounding in your room. I read this several years ago and was surprised at how well it worked!

May your home (or room) always be pleasant no matter how humble!

A Giveaway!!!

2010-07-16T12:29:00.000-07:00

Hello everybody, Brooke here. I am excited to announce a giveaway! My good friend Hannah, over at A Homemaker's Daughter, is celebrating her 100th post! How exciting! Congratulations Hannah!

Hannah and I recently became acquainted through our blogs and the Stay at Home Daughters Network. I am excited for her success in her blog, and thankful for her friendship. She is giving away some beautiful handmade cards. Hop over to her blog to enter the giveaway.

The Songs We Listen To

2010-07-12T23:02:00.000-07:00

~ By Tahirah

This morning my Bible reading came from the book of Amos. I had one of those moments where I saw something I never noticed before. In chapter 6 God says,

⁴"Woe to those who lie on beds of ivory

    and stretch themselves out on their couches,
and eat lambs from the flock
   and calves from the midst of the stall,
⁵ who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp
   and like David invent for themselves instruments of music,
⁶ who drink wine in bowls
   and anoint themselves with the finest oils,
   but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph!
⁷ Therefore they shall now be the first of those who go into exile,
   and the revelry of those who stretch themselves out shall pass away." ESV

All day long I thought about the first part of verse 5. It made me consider the type of music to which I listen. I mostly listen to the local Christian radio station but every so often I get on YouTube and check out a video from an artist whose focus is anything but Christ. While I do not believe in setting up a "doctrine" of acceptable music, I believe this verse asks us to consider our choices of "entertainment" especially in light of our fallen world. In today's world we can substitute many other idle pass-times for "idle songs". We often watch "idle television/movies", play "idle games", and surf "idle websites". James says in chapter 4 that our lives are like a mist that is here for a little while and then vanishes, and they really are. On the side of the road I see memorial crosses to young teens and men and women who were killed in car accidents. It seems weekly there is a death of a celebrity and of course we all know of loved ones and others who have passed on. We do not have long on this earth, what activities would be acceptable to the Lord? When we meet the Father will we be ashamed of all the time He gave us that we wasted on pursuits contrary to Him? Will He say we were more concerned with the latest idle pursuit than with the lost and dying world? I pray He will change my heart to be more motivated to be about His business, and not wasting His time He gave me pursuing idle songs.

Titus 2 Class Notes: Having a Biblical Worldview

2010-07-08T15:04:00.000-07:00

It's here! The highly anticipated (maybe), long awaited Titus 2 Class notes! :) These are some of the notes that I took from the class, along with some of the teachers' notes. Obviously it's not as good as actually being in the class, but I hope that you enjoy them.
~Brooke

Date of class: June 12, 2010
Teacher: Brenda Reninger
Topic: Having a Biblical Worldview

Key verses for this topic: Romans 12:2, Colossians 2:6-8, Romans 1:18-23, Psalm 127:4, Proverbs 22:6.

Important points:

The class was about having a proper worldview and the importance of instilling that worldview in our children. Each student was given a sample worldview test, based on the Worldview Weekend Worldview Test. You can look into this further at: worldviewweekend.com. The Nehemiah Institute also offers similar tests.
Categories that make a worldview: Theology, philosophy, biology, psychology, ethics, sociology, law, politics, economics, and history.
Worldview is defined as: "How I see the world."
The question was asked, "Why are all the young people leaving the church?" Answer for yourself, but we discussed how, perhaps, we are not instilling in them a truly biblical worldview.

Interesting quotes:

"Nothing is secular- you must look at everything as sacred."
"Look at the world through God, don't look at God through the world."
"Ideas rule the world. Ideas have consequences."

Some eye-opening statistics:

70-88% of students from "Christian" homes deny their faith before graduation from college. (barna.org)
Only 9% of Evangelicals have a biblical worldview. (barna.org)
Instead of preparing their children for life, the vast majority of parents are waiting for social institutions to train their kids. (barna.org)
Only 9% of young people under age 24 base their moral choices on the Bible. (barna.org)
In 2006, 91% of Evangelical kids said, "There is no truth apart from myself"- that's up from 52% in 1994. (barna.org)
Only 33% of churched youth say the church will play a part in their lives when they leave home. (Josh McDowell, 2006)
In the 1970's only 5% of 15-year-old girls had sexual intercourse; by 1997 it was 38%. (Columbia University Report, 1997.)

To Read or Not to Read?: The Twilight Dilemma

2010-07-06T08:03:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone, it's Brooke here. If you are anything like me, I'm sure you've noticed our culture's most recent epidemic. Of course I'm talking about Twilight. First the books, now the movies; it seems everyone is talking about it. But, as Christian girls committed to purity, we wonder if we should actually read them.

I have read a few different Christian articles concerning Twilight, but recently found one by Jasmine Baucham that I thought was really good. You can read this article here: http://www.ladiesagainstfeminism.com/for-the-unmarried/eclipse-an-ideal-romance/.

Personally, I have chosen to stay away from the Twilight series. I have not read the books or seen the movies. So I cannot from experience say that they should be avoided. But I do know that the reason most people are attracted to this series seems to be one thing: sex appeal. Because of this, I do not think it would be in my best interest to follow the Twilight series. As young (and even older) Christian women devoted to living pure lives, I do not think watching or reading the Twilight saga is wise, or in our best interest.

"'Everything is permissible for me' -but not everything is beneficial."1 Corinthians 6:12

The Same Old Lie - by Kelly Crawford

2010-07-03T19:10:00.000-07:00

Becoming Abigail appreciates the following article because we have witnessed first-hand the lies even our fellow Christians believe and have felt their deadly effects. This is a great "wake-up" call to us all.

Name-calling, insults, slander–if you are a disciple of Christ, you have probably shared in some of His bad reputation. (They accused Jesus of being demon-possessed.) In fact, the Bible says that you can be sure of it.

And should we be surprised at a culture who continues to be deceived by the very same lie Satan fed Eve in the garden?

Think about it…”Has God indeed said?” That was the deceiving question that stumbled all of humanity, and continues to today. “Does God’s Word really mean that?”

Eve thought it was a question worthy of consideration, and the offer Satan gave her was too delicious to resist. “You can become like God.” She fell for one thing…..POWER.

It’s the same thing that still draws us. “I can be strong on my own…doing my thing…interpreting truth to stroke my feelings.”

You can read this article in it's entirety at LAF http://www.ladiesagainstfeminism.com/foundations-of-truth/the-same-old-lie/ You can also visit Kelly's Website at http://www.generationcedar.com/main/

The Canvas

2010-07-02T16:21:00.000-07:00

The Canvas

I shall not direct my own way

but rather follow what you say.

I shall not take the steps I choose

but rather the ones You want me to use.

My life does not belong to me

I am a canvas, this I see.

You are the author of my life

through all the good and all the strife.

I know my way is not my own
I lay my life before your throne.

I give up all I wish to do
and submit myself fully to You.

Use me according to Your plan,
this is my one and only demand.

Written by Brooke Reninger

Kevin Swanson Watch Disk 1 of The Family Economics Conference DVD - Completely Free

2010-06-28T05:34:00.000-07:00

By Tahirah: I saw this video by Kevin Swanson a couple of months ago. Since watching it, I've contemplated it quite a bit and yesterday was finally able to share it with my husband. It has inspired me to think scripturally and counter-culturally about the economy of the family. It is a long video (about 65 minutes) but if you have the time, it is well worth it!

http://www.generationswithvision.com/Blog/20100416/Watch-Disk-1-of-The-Family-Economics-Conference-DVD---Completely-Free

Recipe for a Happy Marriage

2010-06-28T05:04:00.000-07:00

By Tahirah: We just moved to a new home a state away. I am sorely missing some of my old friends but am happy to be in our new home. I feel so thankful that the Lord blessed us by selling our house in this tough economy. We have decided to downsize to a two bedroom apartment. I am thrilled because I think it will be a lot easier to keep up with then our large home. I just never felt like I always had it properly cleaned. Also, our new apartment is very open and my one and a half year old can play while I cook dinner. I could never put her down before because there were too many dangers she would get herself into, namely oddly placed stairs.

Since we are doing a major downsizing I am having to go through all my stuff and condense. I LOVE to purge and am thrilled to have an excuse to simplify. Sadly for me, the process is taking much longer than I like. We've been in the new home for a week and I still have about a weeks worth of stuff to go through! This after auctioning off a lot of our furnishings and donating many boxes to Goodwill before our move.

While going through my stuff, I ran across a little photograph album given to me at one of my wedding showers. The ladies all wrote recipes for a happy marriage. I thought it would be fun to share some of the highlights with you. I'd love to hear your recipes too!

Spoil him everyday - it comes back tenfold!! - Suzette
You have to take time for yourself. This is one thing we always forget to do. - Vanessa
Communicate! Never let silence take over, it can destroy. - Marsha
Some say marriage is made in heaven, but the work is done on earth. So work at keeping it together. - Deletha
Always have J.O.Y. (Jesus first, Other's second, Yourself third) and you will always have joy and happiness in your lives. - Avonelle
Always put God first. Tell your husband you love him EVERY day. Never pillow your head angry . - Mary
Don't start doing anything you do not intend on doing forever. - Gail
Seek to understand and then...to be understood! - Valerie
Pray for your husband and marriage regularly. - Sonya
Plan to stay married for life. - Terry
Have devotionals together. - Deborah
Always remember that neither one of you is perfect. Love each other through all your imperfections and forgive each other as God has forgiven you. - Jennifer
Don't say anything negative about your spouse to others. Always make sure your spouse is #1 (even after you have children). - Linda
Love the Lord always. - Denise

I Love My Father

2010-06-17T21:36:00.000-07:00

Fathers' day is only 3 days away. So of course, this is the time that most of us think of our fathers. I just want to say- I love my father! He is an amazing Christian man, and has taught me so much about God and living a godly life. I am so thankful for his guidance, involvement, and love in my life. I am thankful that he is committed to families, homeschooling, and serving the Lord. He truly does inspire me; his love is a wonderful reflection of the love my heavenly Father has for me. I hope that I can be his Abigail- his joy. I thank God for my father- I love you Daddy!
~ Brooke Reninger

A Guilty Secret...

2010-06-16T10:12:00.000-07:00

So, this is Tahirah and I have a confession, I love looking at old instructional videos from Coronet and the like. The hokey ones made in the 1940s and 1950s that you can find on YouTube. I thought I would share a couple of my favorites with you.

Here is my favorite, it is the nightmare of being unprepared that I think many of us can relate to. It is about 15 minutes long.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5lKQwVodoU

Here's another favorite, it shows how your everyday dinner should be special even when eaten "just" with family. It is about 10 minutes long.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvsyAT2rWBY&feature=related

Enjoy!

Coming Soon... Titus 2 Class Notes

2010-06-14T18:30:00.000-07:00

Recently at our church, we have started a Titus 2 Women's Bible class. It is taught by the older women/elders' wives in an effort to pass knowledge from the older women to the younger (see Titus chapter 2). We had our first class on Sunday, and it went really well. I am excited to see God work through this class. I am going to post my notes from each class here on the blog, so you can see some of what we are talking about. I hope to start that soon, so keep a lookout!
~Brooke Reninger

What Our Country Needs

2010-06-13T19:02:00.000-07:00

This is a wonderful poem that a friend of mine had on her blog a few days ago. I have been reading So Much More, and this poem really brought out some of the things that book talks about.
~Brooke

What Our Country Needs

What does our country need? Not armies standing

With sabres gleaming ready for a fight;

Not Increased navies, skillful and commanding,

To bound the waters with an iron might;

Not haughty men with glutted purses trying

To purchase souls, and keep the power of place;

Not jeweled dolls with one another vying

For psalms of beauty, elegance, and grace.

But we want women, strong of soul, yet lowly

With that rare meekness, born of gentleness;

Women whose lives are pure and clean and holy,

The women whom all little children bless;

Brave, earnest women, helpful to each other,

With finest scorn for all things low and mean;

Women who hold the names of wife and mother

Far nobler than the title of queen.

~Unknown

A Grandmother's Legacy

2010-06-11T10:11:00.000-07:00

Many of you know how I love to write poetry. A few years ago, I found out that my grandmother had also written poetry. I decided to share some of her poetry with you today, in a tribute to her. You see, she passed away last night after battling cancer.

My grandmother was a very talented woman. She was a wonderful cook and baker, and a talented seamstress. She passed these talents on to her daughters. She believed in the family. She came from a family of 13 children, and with the help of her husband, raised 7 children of her own.

My grandmother made a very special gift for each of her granddaughters. A bride doll, with a handmade dress and veil. (See attached picture.) I am her youngest granddaughter, and will be the last one to get married. I believe that my grandmother had a vision- a vision of a family for each of us, that we would each continue the family that she helped to start. I believe in her vision as well, and when God sends me my husband, I will remember her vision. I am thankful for the legacy that my grandmother passed down to her children and grandchildren- that of faith and family.
Brooke Reninger

Here is a poem that she wrote to her own mother:

Dear Mother

From your deep and peaceful sleep,

You climbed the stairs; Or Lord to meet.

And as they dressed you in a long white gown,

Just a soft sigh, but not a sound;

A tiny tear touches your face,

As they pin your wings in place.

And above your beautiful soft white hair,

A halo shines in all its glory there.

A glorious walk down that golden street,

Your husband and all your friends to meet.

To express your many joys and gladness.

No more sorrows, worries or sadness,

Where love, faith and hope is the key.

what a beautiful, wonderful place to be.

You take your chair on the righthand of the Lord.

"So children, look at me,

An angel, I am to be."

So cry no more and dry your tears,

For to me you shall come through the years;

So continue to have patience and strong love,

Someday we shall meet in our heaven above.

Your Loving Daughter,

Doris Ruth

The Law of Love

2010-06-10T08:06:00.000-07:00

Our good friend and sister in Christ wrote this essay and gave us permission to repost it. She is aptly named because she displays Charity in the most difficult of situations.

I Corinthians 10:23  

An Essay  By Charity Pearce

   "All things are lawful for me." First Corinthians 10:23 is a verse which has intrigued and puzzled me for many years. On the one hand, it is liberating to believe that ALL things are lawful for me. On the other hand, it seems directly contrary to so much that is in Scripture. How to Scripturally justify the God of the Ten Commandments with a God for whom all things, it would seem, are lawful? This is the question. It is my contention that all things are lawful for one who is washed clean by the blood of Jesus Christ and for whom love is the primary motivator. Not that there is no law, but that those living by the Spirit are being held to a higher standard; the perfect law that gives liberty. Nobody who truly loves and trusts God would want to live in a state of lawlessness.

  Consider those of us who live in a "free" country. We live in a society in which most reasonable decisions, we are free to make without interference from government. At least that is the idea. To a more or lesser degree, I believe based in large part on how much we buy into the ideals of the society we live in; we don't necessarily need to legislate much. As a citizen of a place we love, we care for the land and the people in our society without legislation. We just need education on how best to carry out that task. There are always a few lawbreakers who need laws and penalties to do what those of us who truly care about our environment do of our own accord. But love, as opposed to fear, will always be the best incentive.

  First Corinthians 10:23, as quoted from the New American Standard Bible says: "All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful, but not all things edify." It has been said that this verse is a misguided belief or quote of the Corinthians of the day. This is a possibility, but it would necessitate assumption as there is no direct evidence that this is the case. It is not Scripturally stated as such. Furthermore, it isn't necessary to interpret the verse in this way in order to justify it with the rest of Scripture.   

The Greek word translated "all things" in this passage is the word "Panta" - which does mean "all, everything, the whole". This quickly eliminates the probability that it is referencing only the fact that all foods are lawful, although the direct reference is whether food sacrificed to idols was lawful for Corinthians to eat. If Paul had wanted to state that all foods were lawful, he could easily have said "all foods are lawful for me" and not confused us with the word "panta". So, if all things are lawful, how does this fit with commands from other areas of Scripture, including the verses directly preceding and following?

In what way are all things lawful?   The argument had apparently been made that it was unlawful to eat meat sacrificed to idols. This command had been given by the Apostles in Acts 15 and in Acts 21 in regard to what the Gentiles who believed were required to do. Traditionally, we would then consider it a relevant command even to us today, and the validity of this Scripture in I Corinthians would then be in question. If we dig deeper into the meaning of this verse, though, we will see that a profound truth, relevant throughout Scripture, is being taught again here.   

The profundity is found in reading on to the end of this verse and to verse 24: "but not all things edify. Let no one seek his own good, but that of his neighbor." Paul is not advocating a state of lawlessness, but rather a higher standard for us. An ideology of systematic law keeping wasn't the goal that God set for us. He had greater things in mind. Consider Romans 13:8: "Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law." And verse 10: "Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law." The Law had been fulfilled by love.   

This is not a new truth. Throughout Scripture, God makes clear to His people that His greatest commands for them involve loving one another and loving Him. From Deuteronomy 6:5 on, it is clear that God desires love more than anything else. Our obedience proves our love, trust and faith in Him. It isn't, nor has it ever been the agent of our salvation.

  Over and over, the New Testament teaches that Christ was the end (or fulfillment) of the Law. (Romans 10:4, Matthew 5:17). For a clear picture of this, reference Romans 5:20-13:10. To abbreviate: Law came so that transgression would increase, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more. When we are buried with Christ in baptism, we are raised to walk in newness of life. Our old self is done away with, and so we consider ourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ. The law only has jurisdiction over a person as long as he lives, and as Christians, our death came when we were baptized. Therefore, when we die to ourselves and are buried with Christ, we are joined to another, that is to Christ. Our joining Christ, at baptism, also fills us with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38) and Galatians 5 tells us that if we walk by the Spirit, we will not carry out the desires of the flesh. We no longer need the Law except as a tutor (Galatians 5).   

We are now under the perfect law - the law that gives liberty (James 1:22-27). Our citizenship in God's Kingdom (Philippians 3:20) and our love for the King of this heavenly Kingdom will inspire us to want to please the King, and the citizens of the Kingdom. Legislation is no longer necessary. James teaches in chapter two that we are to fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, to love our neighbor as ourselves. We will be judged by this law, which will be merciless to one who shows no mercy as mercy triumphs over judgement (James 2:13).   

"Not all things edify." Obviously, God who designed and created us, knows what edifies (or builds up) so if a choice we are making isn't Scriptural it wouldn't edify ourselves or others. But even if by the letter of the law, I am acting Scripturally, if I insist on my rights and I damage a weaker brother, then I would, in the spirit of the law, not be building that brother or sister up (I Corinthians 8:7-13). Thus I would be wrong, no matter how much I might argue my Scriptural soundness. The higher law - the law of love and grace takes effect.   

So, to those of us who walk by the Spirit, all things are lawful. No other law but love is needed. And if we don't walk by the Spirit, it doesn't matter how closely we follow the law, we won't be citizens of the heavenly Kingdom. I Corinthians 8:1 states it simply. "Knowledge puffs up (or makes arrogant), but love builds up (edifies)." I Thessalonians 5:11 tells us to encourage one another and build one another up. And Peter addresses this issue in I Peter 2:16 when he says: "Act as free men, but don't use your freedom as a covering for evil but as bond-slaves of God." And how is a bond-slave of God to serve and please his Master? I Corinthians 13 - "if I give all my possessions to feed the poor and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing." We are to love. Love the Lord our God with all our hearts, all our souls, all our minds and all our strength. And love our neighbors as ourselves. "Upon these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets." Matthew 22:40.

   "He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God." ~Micah 6:8

Is God Extreme?

2010-06-09T16:00:00.000-07:00

Is God extreme? That is the question my husband asked a good friend of ours. He asked this in light of a discussion in which our friend was comfortable taking a “middle of the road” stance. It is a question that anyone who desires to please the Lord should answer. How comfortable should we feel about fitting into society, not standing out but blending with the general public?

As followers of Christ we should do as he did. He never blended in; he called us to a high standard, a standard of holiness. He sanctified us through his blood. Sanctify literally means, set apart. So if he set us apart, why are we trying to blend in? If he made us clean by his own blood, why are we anxious to dirty ourselves up with the world? I think our belief that no one is better than anyone else has been misunderstood. We are not inherently better than anyone else, but we said, “yes” to the offer Christ made to set us apart and be holy. Why then do we disdain his blood, which cleans us, and run and jump back into the mud pit? After you take a bath, do you think you can go wallow in the mud with everyone else and not get dirty? Why would we even want to? But that is exactly what we do when we do things the way of the world, not the way of the Lord. That is exactly what we do when we allow, even encourage, the government to do things the Lord has told us to do, whether that be education or taking care of the widows and orphans. That is exactly what we do when we run our churches like businesses or governments. That is exactly what we do when we go about finding a spouse the way our culture says to find one. That is exactly what we do when we align ourselves with non-Christians in marriage.

I’ve just recently watched two excellent videos I got for my birthday. One was entitled Return of the Daughters, the other Homeschool Dropouts, both obtained through Vision Forum . I highly recommend both of them. I plan to do a more detailed review of them in the near future. Home educating our children and unmarried adult daughters living out their God given role in their families are extremely counter-culture but in line with the design God laid out in Scripture. In Homeschool Dropouts the complete interview of Kevin Swanson, a Colorado homeschool leader, is available as an “extra” to watch. He spoke about, among other things, continuing the counter-culture lifestyle the Lord has called us to lead. A light went off in my head. There are so many other ways, non-institutionalized ways, in which to live our lives. Ways in which we can indeed live out Deuteronomy 6:7 “You shall teach them [God's commandments] diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.” These were commands to the fathers (not just to the mothers who usually are the ones doing the home educating). But how are father’s supposed to do this when they are locked away10 or more hours a day? We need to free ourselves from the world to be able to do the will of the Lord.

Kevin Swanson thought the foundation of living according to God’s Word was laid in the first wave the Homeschool Movement, but he challenged us to continue to live counter-culture. I for one would love to take up that challenge. Besides being counter-culture to the corporate world, he spoke of learning to “do church” the way God intended. The extras we have tacked on to our churches do not enhance our spiritual growth but hinder it. My favorite example of tacking on unintentionally harmful elements is from the old movie Contact with Jodi Foster. Jodi Foster’s character was given blueprints for a spacecraft from an alien race. The humans could just not understand why there was not a chair in the spacecraft and reasoned that it was unintentionally left out. They then added a chair. When Jodi started her journey it was very rough, she was being jarred and tossed about. Finally it got so bad that the chair was thrown loose from its bolts and slammed into the ceiling where it was stuck for the rest of the journey. As soon as the chair was loose, the flight became smooth. The thing that was added to make a more comfortable journey (the chair) was the very thing that made the journey rough. This is what happens with every extra-biblical element we add to church. Living scripturally means worshipping scripturally. We need to free ourselves from the church “institution” to be able to worship the Lord.

This is a lot to take in considering how deeply ingrained in the world we are, but I believe with the Lord’s help, we can take up Kevin Swanson’s challenge and find how to live our whole lives better in-line with scripture. I’m certain once we do this on any front, we will look to the world to be... extreme.

The Baby Conference — Topics Announced!

2010-06-08T11:37:00.000-07:00

The Baby Conference — Topics Announced!

A Letter for Purity

2010-06-07T16:35:00.000-07:00

My understanding of the biblical call for purity has on occasion been questioned. Recently I was accused of adding to the scriptures. In my circles there has not been a lot of teaching/preaching about purity so I think there is a lot of ignorance of what the scriptures actually say regarding purity. I must admit, I got pretty perturbed that I was being accused of standing in the place of God so I wrote a letter to my accuser (who happens also to be a good friend and brother in Christ) to enlighten him to what the scriptures actually call us to. Perhaps you too have been questioned. If so, feel free to use this excerpt from my letter to help you respond to inquiries. I'd also love to hear some scriptures or thoughts that come to your mind when discussing purity and courtship.

Dear Friend,

Here are some of the scriptures that have shaped my beliefs concerning purity. I have asked myself if “accepted” activities between dating couples – making out, staying over with boy/girlfriends, etc. – honor these scriptures or disregard them.

1 Timothy 5:2

Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity.

I would not consider a man making out with a woman to whom he is not married to be treating her as a sister or with absolute purity by any stretch of the imagination. I am astounded that anyone in the church would defend this ungodly behavior with such nonsense as, “I just don’t think it’s a sin.” If you would not behave in such a way toward a sister or brother, then it is not okay to behave in such a way with any other person who is not your spouse. Would you _____ (fill in the blank) with your sister by birth? If the answer is no, then would the apostle Paul say that it is godly to _____ (fill in the blank) with anyone else?

Christ says in Matthew 5:28

But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Unmarried persons rubbing body parts together do not make for righteous thinking. Job said, “I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a girl.” But yet we defend unmarried people looking (and more than just looking, but acting) lustfully towards one another? Many men had multiple wives during Job’s times. Job had as much “right” to lust after any single woman as today’s unmarried men. But yet, Job was righteous and above reproach, he made a covenant not to even look lustfully at a girl, let alone act lustfully. Lusting after women, or causing others to lust, is fleshly and does not achieve the righteousness of God.

We, as a people, are called to be holy, above reproach, without even the appearance of sin, sanctified, set apart, separate, peculiar, and as a city on a hill. Why does this high calling get tossed out the window as soon as we start looking for a mate? All of a sudden, we can mingle with the ungodly, treat each other lustfully, be worldly, and not even appear to be any different from everyone else. This is double-mindedness.

The Lord told Israel, you shall be holy because I am holy. What standard really brings holiness? What standard is above reproach? What way of living and relating to the opposite sex achieves the purity that God had in mind when he created man and woman?

But there is an even deeper issue here than the physical aspect of relationships between men and women. The deeper issue can be summed up in the question, “Is God enough?” God tells us that He is all we need. We are told to wait on Him alone, that He will lift us up with wings like eagles. We are told to seek God first and foremost, and everything else will be provided. We have seen what happens to people when they do not wait on God but do things their own way, not believing that God is faithful and will take care of them. Sarah and Abraham did not wait on God, and Ishmael’s descendents are still here. King Saul did not wait on God and offered sacrifices before Samuel came, and the kingdom was ripped from him. I firmly believe that we are to wait on God for all things, especially something as important as the person God chose for you to marry.

A godly woman will wait on God. She will wait on God to bring to her a man after His own heart for marriage. She will accept nothing less because every good and perfect gift is from above. Anything less is NOT from God.

My husband and I believe in a Scriptural model that we intend to use with our daughter. We hope to raise a godly daughter who will desire to submit to the Lord’s will. We are NOT binding these practices on anyone else, but believe that this model achieves the righteousness of God. In the interest of living by faith in God and His standard of purity, these are our household standards and the physical manifestations of the standards:

Treat one another with the purity of a brother or sister

No intimate touching before marriage in any way more than you would a brother or sister
No course jesting or crude/sexual talk

Be holy, avoid the appearance of sin

Ensure that non-Christians cannot condemn Christ because of what appears to be impropriety
No sleepovers

Be pure, do not be lustful or provoke lust

Dress modestly so as not to cause anyone to stumble
Do not look lustfully at anyone; No staring at immodestly dressed people

Not giving Satan a way in

Do not be alone with temptation; Have other people around always

Again, I would like to reiterate that we have NOT bound this on anyone else (but this will be the practice for our own household), nor have I added to the Scripture. I understand that you do not feel that Scripture speaks plainly on purity, but I feel that Scripture speaks clearly and abundantly on being pure, above reproach, and like Christ. I hope that you will respect the fact that we disagree without accusing me of adding to the scriptures or binding things on people that are beyond the intent of God.

As always, I respect you and your insights. If you truly feel I have misunderstood God’s standard for purity, I would welcome your thoughts. If you still think that I have added to the scriptures please let me know, as it is my aim to abide by them, not add to them. I ask this of you sincerely as it is my desire to do the will of the Lord.

Sincerely,
Tahirah

Total Purity

2010-06-05T10:42:00.000-07:00

Purity. It's a word that most of us are familiar with. But did you know there is more than one type of purity? There are at least 3: purity of body, purity of mind, and purity of heart.

Purity of body: For example, dressing modestly, saving yourself for your spouse, etc. Purity of body is a wonderful thing, but unless it is accompanied by purity of mind and heart, it is hard to stay committed to bodily purity.

Purity of mind: Are your thoughts pure? The things that you spend time thinking about- are they pure? If they are not, stop, pray, and strive to set your mind on pure things. See Philippians 4:8.

Purity of heart: What are your intentions? Are your motives pure? Why do you want to do that certain thing? Is it because it is the right choice for someone living a life of purity, or are you wanting others to notice you? We must work towards having pure motives and intentions.

All of these types of purity work together in a person to transform them into a beautiful creature. If one is missing, the others will fail. If we are searching for total purity, we must have pure minds, hearts, and bodies.
Written by Brooke Reninger

Out of Thin Air

2010-06-03T18:12:00.000-07:00

God’s timing is perfect. Sometimes we might not think so, but it always is. It can be hard to wait- whether it is for a husband, a child, or anything else. We don’t like to be patient. We think we need it now, or at least in our own time frame. But the truth is, the world operates on God’s time frame. Which, by the way, is much better than anything we could come up with. Again and again he has demonstrated his perfect timing.

I was about 14 or 15 years old. I had very few friends, was rejected by kids at church because of my beliefs, and felt very alone. Then one day, almost out of thin air, God sent me a friend. She lived in a totally different state, but we became close friends through email. He actually provided me with 2 close friends- at the very time I needed it most. His perfect timing.

Sometimes I wonder where God is going to find a husband for me. Will he just pull one out of thin air? He could. He provided friends for me seemingly out of thin air. Why not a husband? This is the God who made the world in 6 days- out of thin air. He saved me through his grace and mercy. He planned out the salvation of the world. Do I really think he can’t plan out my very small life? I must trust him. Trust that his will, his plan, and his timing are perfect. Because they are.

And once I truly trust him, he will make things happen in his time. Even if he has to pull someone out of thin air.

Written by Brooke Reninger.