On Sunday Dr. George Tiller, a doctor who provided late-term abortions, was murdered at his church. Abortion is such a controversial topic that I would normally not write about it, but I feel compelled to say a few words given the news of Dr. Tiller’s death.

I must confess that I have been grappling with this very topic myself for quite some time. I am an educated woman, and I enjoy the rights that have been fought for and won by other women before me. I choose to stay home with my children, a right that women did not have in the past. I know what abortion is, and I now how both sides of the fence view it. But this issue is more complicated than just the facts about what abortion is. It is an emotionally charged topic, and politics play into it all. It is not clear cut.

It is a great idea to research and understand a topic before you formulate an opinion. I have found a brief description of what an abortion entails at Daybreak Pregnancy Resource Center. If you are interested in reading about it, please go to their website, http://www.daybreakinc.org. (I’d rather not link to any website related to this topic.) By the way, Daybreak is a non-profit counseling and pregnancy center.

In the end, your opinion of abortion does not really matter. God tells us that murder is a sin. Period. He does not detail who is murdered and why; there are no exceptions.

You shall not murder. Deuteronomy 5:17

We are all sinners. We are not called to judge each other, though.

Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Luke 6:36-38

We are called to love God and each other.

Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Matthew 22:37-39

I am saddened by this whole situation.

I will pray for others.

I will love others.

Will you?

My kids (A2 & C 5) and my nephew (P 4) were in the back seat of my dad’s SUV. We were leaving the beach one windy spring day, and we were talking about Jesus walking on water.

P – “The beach was fun, Auntie. I wanted to go in the water.”

Me – “It was too cold to go into the water today. We’ll go in the summer.”

C – “Jesus walked on water.”

P – “How did Jesus walk on water?”

C – “He just did.”

Me – “It was a miracle.”

P -”But how, Auntie?”

Me – “Jesus can do anything.”

P – “Jesus is alive. Can I see Him?”

C – “He used to be on earth, but now He’s alive in heaven.”

P – “Why is He in heaven?”

C – “He lives with God there. You can see Him when you go to heaven.”

A – “He’s in your heart, too.”

P – “Jesus is pretty cool!”

C – “Yes, He is! I love Jesus”

Photo courtesy of brett.wagner

We read the story of Jesus being crucified a few times per A2’s request recently. I wrote about that experience in my blog post, Mom is Learning About Faith. She seemed intrigued by the story. A few days later C5, A2, & I were drawing pictures. A2 decided to draw a picture of Jesus being beaten.

While she was drawing, A2 explained that Jesus was “banged up” because He loves us, and He died for our sins.

I am amazed at her understanding. Before she started drawing, she told me that she wanted to draw the picture of Jesus. Often times when young children draw pictures, their ideas of what they are creating changes as they progress with it. But A2 did not veer away from her original idea the whole time that she was drawing. She was focused on showing me what she knows about Jesus.

If she’s doing this at 2, I can’t wait to see what she does when she’s older. God has an amazing plan for this little girl!

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1

Faith is amazing and a mystery to me. I have many questions and doubts, but I believe in God and I love Him. My faith is strong and it is growing every day, but there is a lot for me to learn about faith.

Children’s faith is even more awesome to me. They know so little, yet their faith can be so much stronger than any adult’s. In Nepal I saw children who had nothing but their faith, and they were truly joyful. They sang praise songs. They prayed fervently. They knew Bible verses. They invited me into to their lives, sharing what they had – faith. I was filled with awe. There is a lot I can learn about faith from the children I met in Nepal.

Watching my own children’s faith grow has been truly a blessing to me. They love God and Jesus. They pray and remind me to pray. They beg for me to read Bible stories to them and sing praise songs. They ask big theological questions all day, and I don’t most of the answers to their questions. They also make profound statements about God, Jesus, faith, and the Bible. It is a mystery to me that they are so little, yet they have such BIG faith. Their eyes are open to things that I could never see on my own. It touches my heart. There is a lot I am learning about faith from my children.

I was overjoyed and honored when my four year old daughter prayed with me and asked Jesus to be her best friend forever.

Last night my two year old daughter asked me to read the story of Jesus dying on the cross. We have read this story a few times, especially recently during Holy Week and Easter. At the end of the story, the book leads a child toward accepting Christ. I asked A2 if she wanted Jesus to be her best friend forever. She nodded, and C4 told her that she had to pray. A2 bowed her head and prayed an unintelligible prayer. I think she asked Jesus to be her best friend! Tonight she asked me to read the same story and prayed quietly again. I’m not sure if this means that A2 is saved, but I do know that the Bible tells us that we are to have faith like little children do.

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Matthew 19:14

There is a lot I am learning about faith from my children.

Photo courtesy of H_Elise

Today I pitched in by watching my friend’s three kids for the afternoon. It was a fun day for the kids. They all get along really well, so in some ways, it was easier for me to have them here. The rain even held off long enough for us to play outside for a bit. I rather enjoyed hanging out with the kids today! Besides, that’s what friends are for, right?

One minor problem with having five children in my house is the amount of food that they consume! The only food I had enough of to feed a crowd was pasta. The only fruit I had was pineapple, and a few of the kids didn’t like pineapple. I realized how badly I need to go food shopping, too.

Miraculously three of the younger children napped for two hours. My friend’s oldest daughter was really helpful with this since she sang to my oldest daughter to put her to sleep while I sang to the two little ones (both 2 1/2).  However, I am not used to having kids awake during nap time. I missed my rest time today, but the big kids played quietly for much of the time after I played a few card games with them. It worked out just fine.

Today my friend unintentionally gave me a glimpse at what it could be like to have the large family that I have always wanted to have. That’s what friends are for, right? I discovered that it’s lots of work and seriously exhausting to have a large family. I also discovered that it’s also so wonderful to be a part of a large family.

All in all it turned out to be a great day! Thanks, Jesus, for giving me the chance to take care of my dear friend’s kids to see a glimpse of life in a big family.

Tonight our small group studied 1 Corinthians chapter 1. It was a great study! I found myself challenged and convicted.

While reading 1 Corinthians 1:10-16, I was reminded of an article in Newsweek that I recently read. Apparently, some Christians on Facebook are using the term Follower of Christ rather than calling themselves Christian in order to avoid the stigma that comes with that name. The divisions in the church that Paul talks about in 1 Corinthians are still present in the church today. (The Bible is still relevant, isnt it?) Paul tells us that these divisions are not what Christianity is all about. In the end, our focus needs to be on the work that Christ did on the cross. What does that mean?

I immediately thought about brokenness. We are all sinners. We can never be perfect. God purposely has chosen those that the world perceives as inadequate, small, and lesser to do big things (1 Corinthians 1:26-29). We see this time and again in the Bible. Moses murdered someone. David committed adultery and had someone murdered. Jesus was born to a young, poor woman. If we weren’t broken, we wouldn’t need Jesus. God wants the glory for those amazing feats (1 Corinthians 1:30).

At my ladies’ Bible study we are learning about fruit of the spirit, and today we talked about patience. One of the points was that we have to be patient with our circumstances and do things God’s way. The example was the temptation of Jesus. The devil tempted Jesus with getting all His inheritance that God promised by simply taking it. Jesus resisted that temptation because we have to remember that Gods work must be accomplished God’s way.

God is whispering to me about letting Him take control of my life. I need to be patient and let things happen His way in His time. I am broken, and I need Jesus. If I wait, God will get the glory for the work that He does through me.

I can’t wait to see what He will do!

Photo by bardgabbard

We were stranded today because Daddy took the 4-wheel drive car to work. It snowed last night. Then all day we had freezing rain. It turned out to be a good thing, though.

Today the girls and I stayed in our pj’s all day. I cleaned up the house, and they played. They were WONDERFUL all day long. They even helped me do some cleaning. Their new job is scrubbing the kitchen floor!

Here are a couple of things to note about today:

~C4 was completely under control today. I was able to leave the room for extended periods of time and not worry about anyone’s safety. What a blessing and what progress!

~I was able to clean up after the Christmas craziness!

~I got a TON of work done for my upcoming workshop. I am getting very excited about that.

~The girls are getting back on track with their routine. They both napped today and went right to bed at the usual time.

~We somehow did school work and devotions today.

What an amazing day! Thank you, Jesus! Someone must be praying for me and my family.

Photo apdk

Since C4 accepted Christ, she has been hilarious with her sister. She keeps “preaching” to A2.

The other day she told A2 that she had asked Jesus to be her best friend and A2 can do that after she gets to know Jesus a little better. When she knows a lot about him, she can ask Him to be her best friend, too.

Today I heard her explain that no one is perfect except Jesus. She went on to say that people always make mistakes and need to ask for forgiveness. She explained that you have to pray and tell God that you are sorry for making a bad choice and ask Him to help you to stop doing that. A2 was listening very intently during C4’s “sermon”.

It amazes me how God works through ALL of us. Maybe A2 will accept Christ because of her sister’s “sermons”.

The Bible tells us that He wants us to approach Him like little children. My daughter’s faith is remarkable, and I can only hope to come to Jesus the same way that she does.

It has been an exciting time in our home. Recently C4 accepted Christ! I am honored to be the person she prayed with that day. I have never had the privilege of praying with someone who is accepting Christ.

We have been talking about salvation for a long time, and I had suggested that Jesus could be her best friend if she asked Him to be. She had always said that she wasn’t interested in that just yet. But on this particular day, when I brought it up, C4 said that Jesus was her best friend. I told her that she had to ask Him to be her best friend before He would be. We were sitting at the kitchen table eating lunch when she decided to pray. “Jesus, I want you to be my best friend. Amen.”

At first I wasn’t sure that she knew what she was asking for. I wondered if it made sense to her. After all, she is only 4 years old. I left it alone for a couple of weeks before I brought it up again. When I asked if she wanted Jesus to be her best friend, she reminded me that she already asked Jesus to be her best friend that time in the kitchen when we prayed together! She truly has accepted Christ! God moved my little 4 year old girl to love Him!

It is funny to listen to her when she is with A2. She says,”You need to learn more about Jesus before you ask Him to be your best friend.” A2 just listens to her. I often hear C4 praying when she is in her bed before she falls asleep. She is really in love with Jesus!

We have been doing many Advent activities this year, and I have noticed that both of the girls are playing “Going to Bethlehem” or “Baby Jesus is born”. They are singing the Christmas carols like “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” and “Away in the Manger”. A2 is on her way to accepting Christ in time, too. She talks about Him all of the time and prays a lot, too.

I am amazed by my God. Watching my children’s faith grow has in turn made my faith flourish! I hope that during this wonderful Christmas season you are able to witness this miracle in your life!

Photo by futureshape

E and I have been working on our budget these days as I’m sure you have been doing as well with the economy the way it is. We have been pretty successful with trimming some of the fat off of our spending, too. It has been good to know that we are getting our finances under control, but we have Christmas on the horizon now. We have decided that we are going to buy household items for each other this year instead of indulging in the things we want to have. The kids, of course, are getting a couple of toys, but they are mostly getting things they need like underwear, socks, and toothbrushes. Luckily they are still young enough that ripping the paper open means about as much as getting the actual gift! Fortunately for us we had gift cards left over from last year and the year before so we’ve managed to keep the price tag low so far.

With that being said, I think that this Christmas might be the best one we have yet. I say that because this year we are being forced to think about what really matters to us. We’ve also been doing lots of Advent activities this month, so we are all drawing closer to Jesus this month. Couple that with reading the Christmas story in its entirety on Christmas morning, and I think that this Christmas will be full of meaning. I am looking forward to having time with our family delighting in the Lord while playing, laughing, and eating great food with my family.

So here’s to a Christmas filled with what we really need, love. This Christmas and every Christmas we receive love from our Lord and Savior wrapped in the love of our families.

Have a blessed Christmas this year knowing that Jesus loves you!