Biblical Feminism

I recently came across a belief system based on Titus chapter 2 that took me a little by surprise and prompted me to so some study in this chapter. My husband (coincidentally) is preaching on this chapter at church on Sunday evening, so I was able to discuss some thoughts with him as well. We both agree that it is hard to misunderstand what Paul is saying.

"But as for you, speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine.
Older men are to be temperate, dignified, sensible, sound in faith, in love, in
perseverance. Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not
malicious gossips not enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, so that they
may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to
be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands,
so that the Word of God will not be dishonored." Titus 2:1-5

My husband and I came to the same conclusion on this passage. Women are commanded to be "workers at home" or "keepers at home" as the KJV puts it. Women are clearly commanded to manage the domestic affairs of the household.

Some criticism for the belief system or "denomination" that I ran into is that they take this command to the extreme. They believe women are not, under any circumstances, to work outside the home. There is no need for college education for women, and women should not be in the workforce. Period. To do so would be blasphemy!

I did some research online, and did not find a clear statement from churches within this denomination that would either prove or deny such criticism, but I can tell you if that is in fact what these churches preach, I disagree! I do not believe it is a sin for a woman to have an education. I do not believe it is a sin for a woman to work outside the home. (Many women may need to work in order to provide for their families.) I do believe, however, that when a women neglects the needs of her house, husband and children in order to have a career or pursue an education, then she is dishonoring God.

God calls women to be "workers at home" and in today's society, homemaking is not popular, glamorous or highly esteemed. That is true. However, in reading this passage, a bigger issue jumped out at me. Discipleship! Older women need to be teaching, encouraging and setting an example for younger women to follow. I do believe that most Christians have missed the boat on this. No matter where we are in life, we all have the ability (and mandate) to make an impact on those around us. {This command is for the men too!} You don't have to be perfect. You don't have to have all the answers. You just have to have a love for people and a desire to see them grow to be more like Christ. You just need to let people in and be willing to be used by God.

Who knows... maybe if we (as "older women") really took the mandate to train the younger women to love their husbands and children seriously, future generations just might see a shift in society back to the Biblical model of the women's role to be a worker at home.

The Thrill of the Hunt!

I love summer for many reasons. One reason I love summer: Garage Sales! My kids also love garage sales which makes it a fun family activity! :) I have scored some pretty good deals so far this summer. I bought a set of golf clubs for Levi for $1.00, some name brand (practically new) jeans for the bigger boys for a quarter each, a Baby Bjorn carrier for the baby for $5.00 and a few other odds and ends.

This morning, I loaded the kiddos up in the van and headed off to Wal-Mart. (I needed to print a few pictures) On our way, I saw signs for a community yard sale... and well, I just couldn't resist. I almost didn't go because I knew the baby would be getting hungry soon, but I decided to drive by and only stop if something really caught my eye... it did! I passed one house that wasn't having a garage sale, but had these two trikes by the side of the road with a sign on them - FREE! (I was shocked and delighted!)

The lady said that her grandkids had simply outgrown them and she didn't need them anymore. They were a little dirty (nothing a little soap and water can't fix!) and we actually already had the green one (a previous garage sale treasure), but for that price I am sure we can find a good home for it! :)

Are the "terribles" coming?

Levi didn't really hit the "terrible twos" until he was three (and then he made up for lost time!). Today is Benjamin's 3rd birthday. Although he had his moments over the past year, for the most part he is a lovable, easy going little boy... and that makes me worry about the year ahead! Will he follow in his brother's footsteps of the "terrible threes"?

Happy Birthday to my sweet boy! You hold a very special place in my heart. I can always count on you to give me lots of kisses and cuddles and you always know how to make mommy laugh! I love you very much!

Summer Vacation

On June 28th, we loaded up our mini van and headed to St. Louis to visit my grandparents. (my grandpa isn't in the picture because he was at work.)

Our first family vacation in four years!!

We had fun at the St.Louis Zoo! (my grandpa is behind me in the blue shirt... this is the only picture I got of him!) :(

Touching the Stingrays.After we spent a few days in St.Louis, we went up to Wisconsin to visit more family. (my parents met us there.)

Noah's first swim in our hotel pool.

My Uncle Dale gave the kids a ride on his mini bike. They LOVED it!!

We had a wonderful time on vacation! Hopefully it won't be another four years before we decide to take another trip! ;)

Sweet tooth

I love sweets! Always have.

We had some friends over on Friday night, so I thought it was the perfect opportunity to try out my recipe for Snickerdoodle cake. It did not disappoint! :)

I usually go for all things chocolate, but this cake was delicious!!! (I plan on making it again on Thursday for a special birthday treat!)

Here is the recipe if anyone is interested:

1 package plain white cake mix

1 cup milk

8 Tbsp (1 stick) butter, melted

3 large eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Mix all ingredients with an electric mixer until well blended. Divide batter equally into two (greased and floured) 9" round cake pans. Bake at 350 for 27 to 29 minutes.

Frosting:

8 Tbsp. (1 stick) butter, room temperature

3 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted

3 Tbsp. milk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Blend butter with electric mixer until fluffy. Stop the machine and add the sugar, milk, vanilla and cinnamon. Beat until light and fluffy (adding more milk if the frosting seems too stiff).

I lightly sprinkled some cinnamon sugar on the top of my cake for a "finishing touch".

Enjoy! :)

Thankful for asthma

I know it may sound odd, but I am very thankful that my son, Benjamin, had an asthama attack and I had to take him to the ER in the wee hours on Monday morning.

Benjamin woke up around 11:30 Sunday night coughing and wheezing. We gave him a breathing treatment, as we usually do when this happens, but it didn't really seem to help. My poor baby was very obviously struggling to breathe (very scary for a mom), so I decided to take him to the ER right away. (While we were gone, Ray was awake worrying and praying) They were able to get the wheezing under control with a steroid and we came home around 3:00 Monday morning. Ray and I were both very exhausted when we were finally able to crawl into bed! Our other children, however, slept very well the entire night (unaware of the situiation) and were wide awake at 7:30. UGH!!

Rather than sit around the house all morning... thinking about how tired we were, we decided to take the kids to the park. Hopefully they could burn some energy and take a nice, loooooong nap. :) I decided to put Anna's hair in a ponytail before we left the house. (This is where the praise comes in!) You see, Anna normally wears her hair down and puts a in a headband (she is trying to grow her bangs out). But because she was going to be running around outside, I decided to pull her hair back... that's when I saw it. I thought she had a scab on the back of her head and was wondering how she got it, but then I saw moving legs! A tick! Based on the last time she was outside, it had to have been there for at least 36 hours. (who knows when we would have noticed it!) We were able to get it out in one piece (along with some flesh) and Anna was a real trooper!

This afternoon she developed a low fever, so I called the pediatritian. They said her fever was borderline and they want us to keep a close eye on her. All day she has been acting pretty lethargic, has been complaining of nausea and her fever has gone up. (sigh) Right now she is sleeping soundly, but I cannot keep from worring. If she wakes with a fever in the morning, we are off to see the doctor. I am praying for you now, sweet Anna!

(I think I worry too much about my kids sometimes!)

Pickles!

Levi and Benjamin are relatively close in age and are similar in a lot of ways (I get asked very frequently if they are twins)... yet in some respects they couldn't be more different. I was reminded of this in a small way just the other day.

Several months ago, I took Benjamin with me to the grocery store to pick up a few items. Ben always loves to go with me because they have toddler sized carts that he can push around the store! I was walking down the aisles and would occasionally ask him to pick up an item and place it in his cart. When we got to the checkout, he was helping me unload the groceries onto the counter. I noticed the cashier was scanning a box of cake mix (an item that was not on my list), so I asked Ben if he put that in the cart. "Yeah, I like cake!!" was his reply (with the biggest smile on his face!)

Yesterday I made another trip to the store to pick up a few items and on this occasion I took Anna and Levi with me. Again, at the checkout I found an item in my cart that was not on my list.... Pickles! I held the jar in my hand and looked at Levi (who was grinning from ear to ear) "You didn't have any in the fridge!" was his reply.

Benjamin is my sweet tooth. He loves cakes, cookies and candy. Levi's favorite?.... Pickles! Just one small way my two boys are oh so very different... but I love them both so very much!

our life

Life has been really busy for our family this past week. It was especially busy for me as I was preparing for our yard sale. (I never knew how much work a yard sale can be!) I am the type of person who likes organization! I do not function well under chaos, so when the pile of items to sell in our yard sale started to take over the guest bedroom, it drove me crazy! I wanted to spend all my free time organizing that room and getting things perfectly organized for the sale, but I knew that I also needed to be spending time with my boys.

On a rainy Thursday, I decided to ignore all things pertaining to the yard sale and just enjoy my boys for the day. We built a tent in the living room and had a lot of fun. We sat under the blanket and sang songs and I told them stories... about Noah, Joseph and David. What a fun way to spend a rainy day!

Our yard sale was on Friday and Saturday. My main motivation for the sale was to sell all of my little girl clothes that were starting to take over my house! My mom also came to help out with a bunch of things from her house that she wanted to sell. I joked that our yard looked more like a small flea market than a yard sale! :) (should have taken a picture!)

On Friday afternoon, we ended the yard sale a little early because we were headed to a Lake county Captains Game. Last time we went, the game went into extra innings and it started to rain, so we didn't stay for the post game fireworks. Levi was disappointed, so we promised him that next time we went to a game, we would stay for the fireworks. The game lasted 11 innings... despite the rain, but we stuck it out. Noah was getting a little fussy, so my mom took him for a walk while the 5 of us watched the fireworks all huddled under one large umbrella! I would have preferred to watch the fireworks without the rain, but it was a great family bonding moment!

Our yard sale continued on Saturday and it was a very enjoyable day. We got to meet many neighbors, hear about things that are going on in their lives, pray for them and invite some of them to church. Overall it was a very enjoyable... but long.... weekend.

Because of the yard sale, I hardly did any housework over the weekend, and now I am trying to get caught up! (not an easy task!) Today is also Anna's last day of school and I am looking forward to having her home all summer. She told me this morning that she was going to leave the house as a first grader and come home as a second grader. Wow, they grow fast!

First Time for Everything

I have never had a garage sale before, but we are getting ready for one this weekend. My main motivation was all the girl clothes that are taking over my house!! I saved everything from Anna in case we had another girl... three boys later, I am ready to get rid of it all!! I tried giving clothes away (and I did get rid of a lot), but we still have TONS!! (All the storage bins in this picture are full of girl clothes and shoes!)

Once we decided to have the sale, I started to look for other things to sell. I never knew we had so much junk!! Plus, my mom is adding her stuff to this yard sale as well!

I have been keeping very busy this week trying to price and organize everything, but hopefully it will be a success and we will sell enough to clear up some space in our storage room! If you are in our area on Friday or Saturday you should stop by! :)

First Tuesday

On the first Tuesday of every month, the Pastors and wives from our area get together for fellowship and Bible Study.I have come to really appreciate and treasure these times with our fellow laborers for Christ. They have all been such an encouragement to me throughout the years. The group is very diverse and there are couples from all phases of life, yet all are very dear friends. It is a place to share trials and joys; both in ministry and life. (And especially as a mom of pre-schoolers, I greatly look forward to the adult conversation!) :)

Today, being the first Tuesday of the month, we got together in typical fasion... but this month was a little different. We always have a picnic in June as we wrap-up the year and break for the summer. I really enjoyed the fellowship and time spent with dear friends this afternoon and will greatly miss them over the summer. I am looking forward to September with great anticipation! I can't wait till we meet and again and have the opportunity to share all the amazing things that God has done!

Growing fast

I snapped this photo of my daughter on Monday night. Ray was at the YMCA playing racquetball (as he does every Monday) and I was busy getting my boys into their jammies and tucking them into bed. After the boys were in bed, I came back into the living room and this is how I found my daughter... sitting on the couch reading "Junie B. Jones"! (she recently told me how much she loves reading chapter books)

I couldn't believe how grown up she looked to me all curled up with her chapter book! I remember a time, not long ago, when she was just beginning learning to read and struggling with her first set of sight words. The time has gone so fast and she has become quite the reader!

Anna, at this moment you seem very grown-up to me (that makes me a little sad). You are becoming such a loving and kind young lady! I am very proud of you and I love you more than you can imagine!

An American Pastime

This week has seemed very long and exhausting. We started the week with lofty goals to potty train our third child… we failed (at least for now). I cleared my schedule for the week so that I could stay home with Benjamin and focus on teaching him how to use the potty. Day one and two did not go well at all! About halfway through day three I remembered that we had a Peter Potty. Of course! Why didn’t I think of this before?!? Levi was fascinated by the potty training urinal, so I was sure it would be a hit for Ben as well. When I took it out of the box he freaked out – literally! He backed away from it crying and shaking saying, “No, no, no!” Well, I thought, maybe if he sees Levi using it, then he won’t be so scared; that didn’t work either. Now, Ben was afraid to go near the real potty as well. (sigh) We’ve decided to give the whole potty thing a break for now and try again sometime in the near future.

Among other things going on this week, potty training and being housebound for a few rainy days had added a bit more stress in our lives, so it was fun to be able to get out and enjoy some family time tonight. As part of a reading program at school, Anna got a free ticket to a Lake County Captains baseball game (minor league team of the Cleveland Indians). When I was ordering the tickets, I was a little apprehensive about taking Noah to the game because I wasn’t sure how he would do, but Ray convinced me that we should all go as a family. He was right. We had a lot of fun (despite the rain) and Noah was such a good baby (other than the exploding diaper in the first inning… good thing I packed an extra outfit!). He didn’t cry or fuss at all, just sat and enjoyed the game with the rest of us!

I’ll close by sharing with you a funny conversation that Ray had with Levi during the game:

Levi: “I need to go potty!” (starts to get up) “My pants are wet!”

Ray: “From the rain, or pee?”

Levi: “The rain... I think…. Maybe…”

Sunshine

Today was a beautiful day! Anna had a half day at school, so it was a perfect day to get outside and enjoy the sun after a few rainy days! We did just that!

We are looking forward to the summer when we can spend lots of lazy days together in the sun!

Beginnings

As a mom of four young children, daily life is an adventure! (especially with my boys!) Amidst the chaos of the day, I found myself reading some blogs posted by friends and being really encouraged. I am encouraged when I read about how God is working in the lives of others and pray that God would use me in a mighty way. I am encouraged when I read about others' trials and triumphs (and silly stories) about parenting... because raising children is not for the weak at heart! My desire is to be a godly wife and mother. I want to enjoy my children as much as possible while they are young. Many of you have been an enouragement to me in ways that you will never know! And while this blog may not be read by many, or I may not have the chance to update it on a daily basis (afterall, I do have four children!), if I can be an encouragement to others, even in a small way, to God be the glory!