Why We Allow God to Plan our Family Size

Why we allow God to plan our family size

 Guest Post by Hindsfeet

( Allow? Allow God? Who am I to allow God? )

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths." Proverbs 3:5, 6

Sometimes people ask me what scripture we base our family size on.

Are Mothers Called To Minister Too?

One of my dear friends recently asked me how I felt my "calling as a missionary" related to my "calling as a wife and mother".  I pondered this question, answered her email, and decided to expand my answer into this article.

Anyone who knows me in real life would easily affirm that I definitely feel my #1 ministry is in my home, to my children and my husband, and to support my husband in whatever he is doing, in his calling in the Lord as well.  In recent years, there has been a lot of teaching in the church about focus on family and the godly priorities of raising godly children and building strong marriages. And how necessary these teachings have been!  Our families are the cornerstone of our society, and of the church as well. We cannot have strong churches without strong families, and we cannot have a strong society without strong families. I have known parents in full-time ministry that have sacrificed time raising their children "for the sake of the call", and the results were not good!   However, I have been realizing something else too.

Night Owl or Early Bird?

One night we had a provoking talk at our church, for ladies, about women being "busy at home", from Titus 2.   The thing that stuck out to me most, that night, however was this little quote, by Martha Peace:

"I have heard of women who pride themselves on being "night people". That means they have trouble getting up in the mornings because they come alive at night. They may stay up till all hours reading, watching television, or pursuing some sort of interest.  They next morning they are too tired to get up and care for their family... these women are not "night people". They are lazy and selfish.

Living with Less and Liking it More

Originally written in January of 2009.

Nearly two years ago now, in 2007, we took a trip to visit my husband's family in Brasil.  As always, leaving the United States of Stuff for a while caused me to reflect on the current state of materialism in this country.
Now just to set the record straight, Brazil is the most developed country in South America, and while not wealthy, my in-laws live a very comfortable life in a new apartment just blocks away from a beautiful beach which boasts the largest beachside garden in the world.  However, their home is not cluttered with the typical american array of various and sundry miscellaneous.

Adventures in House Cleaning

I used to get frustrated with my children when I let them help me mop the kitchen floors, because they couldn't seem to stay out of the bucket, always wanting to keep dunking their rags in and then spreading WAY too much soapy water all over the place!

Then one day a couple of years back, I decided to just lose the bucket altogether! I literally just took the soapy water and poured it ALL over the kitchen floor. It was great! The kids were just thrilled to take their rags and slop the soapy suds all over the place, and in the process my floors got a great scrub!

Lessons from the Ironing Board

Lessons from the Ironing Board

My mother was a fulltime homemaker and loved it. She always said that she enjoyed cooking, keeping the house tidy, and even doing dishes. She kept up well with the laundry and often had something good baking in the oven. She homeschooled us children and found time to do extra projects with us as well.  She often offered hospitality for a meal and many times even long-term, for missionaries, friends, and those in need.  I have much to thank her for as an example to me of a homemaker.

Family Vision

Written in December of 2008

Think about it honestly: what has shaped your thinking, and therefore your actions, about what a family is, how a family should operate, what the roles of the husband and wife are to be, and how the parents are to relate to their children? Is it the culture we live in? Is it the way that you yourself were brought up? Is it the teaching of someone you know or a book you have read? Or is it simply the Word of God?

The Lord constantly challenges me in this area: is my thinking lined up to the Word of God? Am I allowing HIM to impart His vision to me so that I can live out His heart in every area of my life, or am I just doing what comes to me naturally, living in my “default” mode?

Getting it All Done

 

Question: How do you get it all done?

Answer:

1. spiritual strength – learning to lean on the Lord
2. physical strength – on eating and supplements
3. practical strategies – organization and discipline

First of all, I want to start by saying that I am in the learning process myself, and merely sharing some things that have been helpful to me. I do not have things “all together”, by any means! I could make just as long of an article on all of the areas that I need to, and would like to, improve on! In fact, maybe I will do that in the future, so that you can all give me suggestions! Anyway, for now, here are some things that I have found the most helpful: 

Cabin Fever Solutions

 Cabin Fever Solutions

I don’t know about you, but I am feeling SO ready for spring!! I haven’t feel too stir crazy for most of the winter, but all of a sudden, I’m feeling the days drag on. So, I have been trying to dig out some ideas to keep the kids happy and busy for this last little bit of being cooped up. I’d love to hear your ideas too – leave a comment below!

My Two Cents on Co-sleeping

I was asked this question:

I'm sure you have always had people ask you if you get enough sleep? I get this question all of the time and when I tell people I actually do, I think they are more than shocked. I mean, Esther sleeps with me for right now and her feeding is really automatic, so I never have to fully awake to feed her. But I guess what I am trying to get at is the fact that she does sleep well through the night, and I don't know if this is just because we sleep together and she is breastfed, so we don't need to wake up, or if other babies that are breastfed as well are just "up" during those nighttime hours. Am I blessed with a good sleeper, or do all co-sleeping, breastfed babies just naturally stay asleep most/ all of the night?

My Two Cents on Co-Sleeping

Before I had my first child, I was SOLD on co-sleeping, and I do mean with a capital “S”!

To be busy at home

By Lori O'Dea, originally published on MamaKnowsBest.net

Busyness has become a badge of honor in today’s society. Ask anyone how they are and they usually respond with an automatic “fine”, closely followed by “I’m so busy”. In most cases, what they mean is busy everywhere else besides home.

One Big Key to Cutting Stress: Prepare in Advance

Picture this:

You are running out the door, already five minutes late for an appointment, when you realize that the baby needs a diaper change. You drop your purse, diaper bag and toddler’s hand and run to change the baby. Now, you are finally ready to head out the door. But then you realize that your toddler only has one shoe on! You ask him where his shoe is, and he answers, “I dunno…” You turn back toward his bedroom and frantically search for the missing shoe. Finally locating it under the bed, you shove it on his chubby foot and hit the door running, baby and bags in one hand, two-shoed toddler by the other. Once everyone is buckled in the car, you realize that you left your cell phone in the kitchen charging, so you dash back into the house to retrieve it. Now, instead of five minutes late, you are fifteen minutes late! What else could go wrong?

Family Funny Book

 

Here’s an idea that was given to me when my oldest child was a baby, and I’m so glad it was! So glad in fact that I’d like to pass it on!

The idea is to have a “family funny book” in which you record funny things your children say or do. I just use a simple notebook and try to have it handy so I can jot things down as they happen. 

You just think you’ll never forget, but I am so glad I started this because already I look back and marvel at how much I’ve forgotten! The children are old enough now to enjoy looking back and having mama read them a thing or two that they said when they were little and laughing at themselves and each other. 

They are Happiest When They are Working

I think I have found a BIG key to happy children: giving them plenty of work to do. Good, physical labor seems to give them much better attitudes!

Don’t get me wrong – I certainly know the value of child’s play as well, and my children certainly get plenty of time for that as well.  However, we seldom see the benefits of teaching children to work touted in our modern society.

IDEAS FOR ROAD TRIPS – MAKING LONG CAR RIDES MORE FUN WITH SMALL CHILDREN

We are currently on the road with four small children – ages 0,2.4,6. We went from our home in Illinois to the East Coast, spending some time in Ohio and Pennsylvania on the way, a day in DC, a day in NYC, traveled down the coast a bit, then to Philadelphia and a few other stops on the way home! Whew!

Anyway, here are some things that we have found helpful for traveling with small children and making it fun for the whole family.

Ideas for Family Devotions

My husband is very creative when it comes to family devotions. He loves to use hands-on visual aids to bring a point home with the children. Here are a few ideas that we have used, which I hope will spark some ideas in you to try with your family! I would love to hear of your ideas as well! You could leave a comment below, or post separately.

Several years ago, I wrote a few articles for Heart of the Matter Online, and I just decided to post them here so I don't lose them. :)

Once a Homeschool Kid, Now a Homeschool Mom

By Elizabeth K. Tsukayama

I have been asked many times to compare what it was like being a homeschool student to what it is like now being a homeschool mother – what I do the same, what I do differently, and how my experiences as a child have helped me now that I am homeschooling my own children.
When I first sat down to write about it, the first thought I had looking back to my years as a homeschool child, was of all the wonderful memories I have of our times together as a family.

Several years ago, I wrote a few articles for Heart of the Matter Online, and I just decided to post them here so I don't lose them. :)

Putting the Homeschool Cart Before the Horse

By Elizabeth K. Tsukayama

 

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge…” Proverbs 1:7

I started attending our local homeschool conference when my oldest child was 22 months old, and I am so glad I did! At that point, my husband and I were not looking for information on the nuts and bolts of teaching different subjects, but rather inspiration on the visionary aspects of homeschooling – the big picture.
Our firstborn is “one smart cookie”. At 22 months, he knew the alphabet backward and forward, could count to some fairly large number, and talked like a five year old. I was understandably proud of my little genius and was constantly looking for ways to increase his scholastic abilities.