Six Years Later…An Update
It’s hard to believe it’s been six years (this month!) since we called it quits here at Pearls and Diamonds.
No, I’m not posting here because we’re reviving this site–it will remain a static resource. But I did want you to know that Abigail is a pretty awesome labor and delivery nurse these days, celebrating new life on a regular basis. And I’m active in the blogging world once again at http://www.KeptandKeeping.com, where you can follow my meditations on life as a woman, wife, homemaker, and homeschooling mama of two energetic little boys and what it looks like for us to follow Jesus each step of the way.
And maybe I’ll twist Abigail’s arm and have her write a guest post for me someday. 😉
Anyway, if we never meet again in cyberspace, I hope we will meet one day in the coming Kingdom.
Grace and Peace,
Lauren Scott
This Website is now a Static Resource
We will not be adding new content.
However, you are welcome to browse the archives and read past articles–and even comment or send us an e-mail!
We may pass good stuff along via the Facebook group, so feel free to join up. Hopefully, someday the Three Weavers will be finished, at which time we’ll share the link to its online home here and in the Facebook group.
That’s all for now, folks!
The End of All Things Is At Hand
Posted by Abigail
At sweet sixteen, my Shadow and I decided to start a business, catering tea parties. We’d grown up hosting them and it was high time to cash in our experience and make our etiquette pay for itself. “Tea by Two” we called our party hosting, and drew out menus, business cards, flyers and wrote up advertisements. We collected dishes and hats, tried out recipes and bought up ingredients.
You might think I’m going to say the venture flopped.
It didn’t. It took off before we’d gotten in the cockpit! Without even advertising, we landed several parties in less than a month, with requests to go out of town for more. We turned over all our investments and pocketed a tidy little sum each. It looked like we were gearing up for a roaring business.
Then something happened.
You might think I’m going to say that the venture crashed.
It didn’t. But my Shadow came to me and said, “Um…I can’t keep up with this. I hate to do this…but can I bail before this thing is flying too high?”
I was relieved.
We were sixteen. Still trying to wrap up school and keep up with serving our families. Neither of us had our own car. Neither of us really wanted to dive into filing self-employment taxes. We didn’t really want to travel very far for parties. We were borrowing my family’s kitchen and freezer space. We really only did it for the fun of having a little side deal. And, we discovered, the pressure of performing made the tea parties not quite the same as the ones we’d hosted for friends. After a few, it was okay to put that in our file of things that we could do in the future.
Folks seemed surprised when we relegated the project to “good memories”, deposited our earnings in the bank, gave away our dishes and hats and moved on.
But sometimes we have to lay aside even good things or things that are going well and refocus on priorities.
This blog has been a bit like my catering experience.
See, Lauren and I had become such good friends and, after she and Nathaniel got married, we talked so much about women’s issues and what we were learning—and how it was really the same, married or single—that we got excited. First, we were going to write a book. But book writing was a bit more intense than we were really shooting for. That’s how we settled on a blog.
I don’t think either of us expected it to take off quite like it did. We’re nobodies. We don’t have famous dads or husbands. We’re not really a part of many of the conservative movements. We didn’t really even know there were other girls out there like us online.
Then came the dilemma. Should we actually work this blog and try to go big? After all, blogging is a platform to voice the things we think are true. We were beginning to get advertisement requests, giveaway offers, reposting requests, awards, listings and even guest writing requests. And of course, the inevitable mountains of spam as well as a few nay-sayers. As we began to look around the web at other websites, we began to understand just how seriously blogging could be taken.
Slowly we began to be a little disturbed by how many girls there were online—and how much time was spent online—and how much girls were being influenced by online teachers whom they had never even met. Including us.
We’d always agreed to keep the blog low priority. I suppose some can call it ministry, but our primary ministry will always be to our families and to the folks God has placed in our sphere of natural contact.
As time has passed, Lauren now has, not only a big man to take care of, but also a little man to train and teach in the ways of the Lord. She’s developing relationships with a great church body and trying to outreach to neighbors. She’s been fine-tuning budgeting and homemaking skills and learning to balance time. The internet can sure knock a hole in good time management! And now she’s discovered a new blessing and responsibility, due in September.
So when she told me she needed to stop blogging, it was a relief. For me, handling the webmastering had been complicated, since I’ve never actually had reliable internet. Aside from difficult, it also made me feel guilty. It seemed like, if we were going to blog, and people were going to read it, it needed to be done well. Plus, we both appreciate presentation. You know, new content, nice layout, domain name. The works. And I didn’t have time or accessibility for “the works.” For both Lauren and I, we discovered that blogging began to suck the life out of our private relationship with the Lord. If we discovered something in scripture or were convicted about an area we needed to grow in or if something rankled us or if we learned a powerful lesson or walked through a hard time, we felt compelled to share. Like we were withholding something valuable from ladies who depended on us. It became difficult just to worship humbly before the Lord, because others were watching. And we became increasingly aware that, well, neither of us really need to be putting ourselves forth as teachers right now.
We’re both young women. With lots of life to live and people to serve. And things to learn. And it’s lovely to share what God is doing and teaching us, but our priorities still have to be our families and those whom God has placed in our natural sphere of contact: those who know us and see our lives, who can encourage us and grow with us and teach us and hold us accountable to practice what we preach.
And we encourage you to make those your priorities as well.
Yes, we’re bailing before this thing is flying too high.
From Lauren:
First I’d like to apologize that this post didn’t make it up a couple of months ago. And I would cite this as just one of the many reasons I am glad to be saying good bye to blogging. I have a lot to learn about time management (among other things)! And, in truth, it was about six months ago that I first talked to my husband and then Abigail about quitting. What prompted me? Well, I read Jasmine’s good-bye post on her blog where she described the upcoming release of her new book and her excitement over all the things she would be free from and free to do once she stopped blogging. Strangely, I found myself feeling jealous—no, not of her having a book published (that had me quite excited!), but of the freedom she expressed. I took a walk and wrestled with what I was feeling and took it to the Lord in prayer. It seemed quite clear that blogging was getting in the way of the things that I really needed to focus on. And with Nathaniel and Abigail in support of the decision, I pulled away. And what a time of refreshing it has been! Since I am less focused on an audience, my God has made very, very clear what He wants to accomplish in my heart—and let me tell you, there’s a lot of work to be done! His word is indeed a mirror that shows us what we really are, and His good Spirit highlights the messes He wants to deal with, accomplishing His good purpose!
And, of course, as Abigail mentioned, finding out Nathaniel and I are having another little blessing, and being currently swamped with morning sickness, taxes, and a host of other things…I have no regrets. J Well, except for all the unfinished series and anticipated articles that never were written…but I trust you all will forgive me and rejoice in what the Lord is doing with us now. Maybe we will write a book one day. 😉 Blessings to you ladies who have joined us on this journey. Your thoughts and encouragement have been much appreciated!
From Abigail:
Friends often accused me of being content. But I declare myself innocent of the accusation! The facts are, I rarely wept the deadly tears of the unmarried simply because I had other dreams that plagued me more than marriage. Dreams that seemed undefined, but still powerful, hopelessly far from fulfillment and even, at times, irreconcilable with my convictions. Sometimes I fought with myself over whether or not they were even godly. I wrestled these dreams into a slumbering state of contentment over and over and over again. This summer they came to life with more ferocity than ever. In frustration, I cried out to the Lord, “You gave me these passions. Now what am I supposed to do with them?” Many of you have made the same demand. Some of you face the paradox of the “godly desire” that is still unfulfilled. For many, it is marriage. For some it is missions. For others it is motherhood. For some it is just more. Disatisfaction is a necessary part of growth. But of this I am certain—that desires are not godly or ungodly in themselves. Because we can worship “godly desires” by desiring them more than God. And anything that takes precedence over God is certainly ungodly. Godly desires are desires that are made to bow, yielded, to pay homage to God, to His Word and to His timing. And when they are prostrate before the King, they may be pursued, time and truth permitting, as a pursuit of Yahweh Himself. Since deciding to “exit” the blogging world, I’ve been trying to focus my pursuits. The pathway has been very up and down! And I begin to see how truly God is a God of creativity and ingenuity and that He abundantly bestows both as we make our way through a transient life. I’m thankful for the ways that He’s been shaping my character, strengthening my backbone and stretching me—whether it’s finally studying medical stuff or navigating the real-estate market or negotiating services and compensation or—as of the past week—nannying a handful of children.
Once upon a time, before there was Pearls and Diamonds, I kept a personal blog. Perhaps you will find me there.
We hope you will live your moments in light of God’s redemptive sacrifice of His Son, the Holy Spirit’s powerful filling and the eminent return of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! To Him be the glory both now and forever, amen!
Blessings,
Praise Not Me
Praise not me
But praise the Father
Who draws and gives
Of life the water
Who shines that we
Might see His glory
Praise not me
This is HIS story
Think not of me
Think much of Christ
Whose work of love
Paid the price
For all the deeds
That I have done
Think not of me
Think of the Son
No power I weild
But ’tis the Spirit
Of Grace who reveals
The Truth when I hear it
Who opens eyes
And changes hearts
Who seals God’s child
And never departs.
Copyright Lauren 2011
Um…has anyone seen Lauren or Abigail?
It’s been pretty quiet around here…and we’ll tell you why, soon. As soon as we get to it. 😉
Meanwhile, we wanted you to know that we’re not renewing our domain name…so the blog address will just go back to being plain ol’ http://www.pearlsanddiamonds.wordpress.com So you might want to update your bookmarks and links…sorry for the inconvenience!
And the Three Weavers–we still hope to finish it. Really and truly. It just got stuck in final phases and…well…the director has been very busy. We’ll let you know when (if) it finally gets finished.
Meanwhile, seek Yahweh while He may be found.
Blessings,
Lauren and Abigail
Because We Never Know the End…
Posted by Abigail
The last word you heard from me, I shared that I was losing a baby. I told of hard paths, of death, of grief, of discouragement. And I told of the Shunamite woman–of the miracle baby who grew up and died. And of the pathway of trust down which Yahweh led her. Whatever God does is always good, regardless of our limited perspective. Then I vanished into real time.
In the story of the Shunamite woman, the end was not death, but resurrection. God’s very real power at work to bring life from death.
I want you to know that, in real time, God did intercede with mercy. I’ve since discovered that the baby’s life has been spared. And the mother looks beautiful–as the nurse says, she’s gotten back her sparkle. Even when I saw death, God was working for life.
The fact is, I’ve been seeing a lot of “hopeless” situations–both at the clinic and in the rest of real time. I’m sure many of you can sympathize. Many of them, I still don’t see the end. May never. But I know God is still righteous and does what is right.
I’d love to hear how God is at work through hard situations in your life…what you are learning about trust, and what you are discovering about death and resurrection.
Young Sisters in Spirit
Our friend, Abigail Otwell, has recently started a discussion board/forum for…our kind of people…you know…young ladies who desire godliness. It’s called Young Sisters in Spirit, and you should visit and sign up and join the discussion. It will be fun! And encouraging.
God Wants Me to Be Happy
Or does He? This is a phrase we’ve encountered often—usually used as a loop-hole to escape obedience—when disobedience sounds like more fun. It’s a lie. From multiple angles. Here are two of our top concerns:
First, our happiness is not God’s primary concern.
Second, disobedience never really makes us happy.
Agree or disagree with either? We’d love to hear your thoughts. Weigh in and tell us what you think.
We hope to cover this issue someday—maybe even soon. In the meanwhile, Mrs. Parunak at Pursuing Titus 2 handled this issue in a pretty straightforward manner in her article “Wouldn’t God Want Me To Be Happy?” We encourage you to take a look at what she has to say.
It Will Be Well
Posted by Abigail
I’m losing a baby.
My client left the dimly lit counseling room where we’d been talking for the past couple of weeks, still intent on abortion. There was nothing I could do to change the outcome. The hardest part was this: I’d known from the beginning that I was fighting a losing battle. As soon as I heard the facts stacked up against her I knew that abortion would sound like the overwhelmingly best option.
But even as she walked out, and I ran upstairs to the bathroom and cried, the tears were just a cleansing. Because God is not dead. This path I had walked was rugged and hard, discouraging and wearying. The whole way I was trembling, aware of just how fragile and how stumbling I was. But I had seen God’s hand. God’s work. God’s power. God’s provision.
Lately, I’ve been walking a lot of these paths. As I round a bend in my life and I see the valleys stretched out below, I cringe. I can see the path and I don’t want to walk it. I’ve walked it before and I know what the end looks like—heartache, failure, confusion, tears. I hate feeling fragile, wrestling for wisdom and pleading for clarity. I hate making decisions that seem right, when my heart is torn. And the lies! The lies that assault me at the end of these valleys—that the outcome is my fault, that I destroyed what might have been good, that I didn’t do enough, that I was unworthy, that I spoke faulty words, that I have rendered a terrible testimony of the Lord—beat against me like fiery darts. When I see those valleys loom in the distance, I start looking for short-cuts to avoid that path.
I am a wimp.
Because God is not dead. The pathway is not about a destination. There is only one destination of which I am assured—eternity with my Bridegroom. And this is assured because of the pathway that He walked to purchase my spirit from bondage. The end of that pathway was death.
Or was it?
Let me tell you a story of humanity. There came a day when the prophet Elisha passed over to the Gentile city of Shunem. There he was shown hospitality by a prominent woman. As time passed, she and her husband built for him a room on the roof of their house. In his gratitude, Elisha sought for a way to repay her kindness. Regardless of her wealth, her good marriage, her comfortable circumstances, she lacked one thing: a child. So Elisha told the Shunamite woman that she would embrace a son.
Her reply? “Oh no, man of God! Do not deceive me!”
I can only imagine that this woman’s heart held wounds from years of lack. Perhaps years of loss. And as she looked down a path that frightened her, she was afraid of the end. Because a pathway that might end with joy, also might end with sorrow.
Soon she conceived and gave birth. And almost as soon, her son suddenly died.
Quietly she laid him on Elisha’s bed and told her husband that she was going to run down to the man of God. “Why?” her husband asked. Her only answer: “Shalom.” Peace. It will be well.*
When she came near Elisha, his servant came out to meet her and inquire about her family. Her only answer, “Shalom.” Peace. It will be well.
Then she came to Elisha and flung herself at his feet and her words rushed out in a confused, hurt torrent. “Did I ask a son from you? Did I not say, ‘Do not deceive me?’”
In this moment, it seemed that the pathway had ended in death. Heartache, failure, confusion, tears. And she had seen it coming. She had been afraid. She hadn’t volunteered to walk this pathway. Hadn’t she said “Don’t deceive me?”
But along the way she had groped for God’s purpose. She had gone straight to the source. To others who asked, she said, simply, “Shalom.” Peace. It will be well. Her grief found expression in trust.
God was not dead. In a dramatic display of power, which proved that it was not Elisha’s staff, nor even Elisha who held life and death, God raised her son. About eight-hundred years later, He raised His own son.
The destination of these paths was neither death…nor resurrection. Those were things that happened along the way—for God’s glory. The destination was trust.
The pathway Jesus walked opened a way to God—through trust. His example was trust in the Father as He entrusted His soul to a faithful Creator in doing what was right. And He gave us something in which to trust—a tangible proof that God is with us.
The results of a pathway are in the hands of a Sovereign God. But we can look at the pathway Christ walked and the power of God in His resurrection and have hope. We confidently expect that God will bring us through life…and death…and resurrect us to an eternity with Him. And if this is our eternal destination, why should we fear any path that lies before us? If God is for us, who can stand against us? Immanuel means “God is with us.”
When my client walked into the clinic asking about abortion, it was an opportunity. That hard path I dreaded was an opportunity to do what was right—and trust God to do what is right. And it was not a path I walked alone. Not a battle lost, the victory just looked different than I assumed. And the victory belonged to God. I’m not losing a baby. The baby isn’t mine. What God has done never ends at death. His work goes on.
As I’ve come down what seems to be the end of several hard and painful paths—torn between hope and hopelessness—I’ve wanted to curl up, cover my head and hold as still as possible. Maybe it won’t hurt. Maybe I won’t have to see paths like these again.
But I know I will. My life may be long ahead of me. Or it may be short. But the valleys will always loom ahead until I pass through the last valley. And trust means that I don’t have to fear the valleys, because the Lord is there as well. I must view them as an opportunity to do what is right—and trust God to do what is right.
He always does.
It will be well.
*The story of Elisha and the Shunamite woman is taken from 2 Kings 4. According to Keil & Delitzsch (Commentary on the Old Testament, pg 220), the word “Shalom” that the Shunamite woman used means, literally, “Peace.” It could be used as a simple greeting, but in her case probably denoted more of the concept of “It will be well” or “everthing is fine”—with a goal of politely avoiding questioning.
Where Have I Been?
Taken from a journal entry–a year ago–and convicting me again today…
Where have I been? Out seeking success apart from the Lord? Seeking the world while neglecting my soul? Doing from first thing in the morning, till late at night, while my Bible and headcovering lie mostly neglected on my desk. It’s so easy to prioritize the visible. Always I cling to success and goals and dreams.
But Father, if this thing, this success, be what distracts me from You, what woos and wins my heart away from my Bridegroom, then I hold it out to You in reverence, in awe, in fear and in trust. Take it. Always You have whispered in my ear that I must have no gods beside You. Always I have learned that idols made with human hands have no life. Always You remain the Life that breaths, the truth that lives, the power that reigns. I creep again into the lately forsaken chamber of my heart and kneel beside the cold, hard altar where I burn my thoughts and dreams and goals for Your glory. I must lay this one, too, this dream, on the wood of the altar. I will soak it with the water of tears and watch while You kindle the fire to make it pleasing to You. “The Lord, He is God.” He is a jealous God. A God who deserves every ounce of my being.
Lord, whate’er between us stands
Whate’er I grasp in these two hands
Must not be treasured, for I find
The things I cling to, these things bind.
Far from treasure, I must view
All things as loss in light of You
Worthless, measured by Thy grace
Colorless beside Thy face.
So Father, teach me first to prove
That I am conquered by Thy love
And so enslaved to do Thy will
That all my dreams must Thee reveal.
What You Seek
I seek a remedy for pain
You only seek my greater gain
I look for breast to rest my face
You give me suffering’s embrace
What is my pain compared to Yours?
My splinters measured by Your thorns?
I seek to walk in comfort’s ways
You seek to teach my lips true praise
I cry because of aching bones
You wish I’d worship at Your throne
What are my tears to darkened stars?
My stitches measured by your scars?
I seek to shun my misery
You seek to teach me harmony
As You Yourself once learned to kneel
So You would have me, e’er You heal
What is my suffering to Your shame?
My aching measured by Your pain?
You do not seek that I would bear
A cross You will not also share
Nor do You seek to cruelly break
What You do not seek to remake
And any pain that leaves me torn
Is lesser then the weight You’ve borne.
This house of clay is not my home
But You teach patience through my bones
I face the fire You’d lead me through
And see the road emblazed by You.
Your suffering puts my pain to naught
This is the lesson You have taught
This is the outcome You have sought.
by Abigail Copyright 2005
Things I’ve Learned in the First Year
Posted by Lauren
That’s right. Elijah turned a year old at the beginning of this month. It’s hard to believe. Nathaniel and I have been so blessed by this little gift from the Lord. I feel as though I have grown up faster in the past year than in any other year of my life so far! And we have been delighted to watch Elijah grow up to become an energetic little boy who is about to take off running (once he figures out walking for more than 5 or 10 steps at a time).
I really have learned a TON in this past year. Some lessons have been delightful and funny. Others have been very difficult and perspective-changing. All in all, I am beginning to see how God uses little people to make us adults more like Christ. Here’s what I’ve learned:
- Parenting is a lot harder than I thought!
- Babies need lots of attention. And lots of love.
- My mood affects my son. If I have a bad attitude, his behavior will reflect it.
- Likewise, if I am inconsistent in training him, his behavior will reflect it.
- When friends (seasoned mothers) tell you to cherish every moment with a newborn, because the time will fly by, they’re absolutely right.
- Resting is a major responsibility of a woman who has just had a baby.
- Maternal illness does seem to affect the bonding experience with baby. 😦 Especially when the mother’s illness prevents her from holding her baby comfortably, or from even changing his diaper.
- God doesn’t give us babies for us—as though they exist to fulfill us emotionally or to complete our checklist “What I need to do and/or have to be a godly woman”. God gives us babies to love and train in His ways, and to show us that we need much more training in His ways as well. He gives us children so that we will be made more like Jesus. And so that we can train them to love and be like Jesus.
- Most baby toys are overrated. A nine month old will be very happy with paper, an empty raisin can, and a joyful mama.
- Cloth diapering is so much fun! Really! It is!
- Making sure your baby takes regular naps is very important. When I wasn’t diligent to provide structure and consistent nap times, Elijah wasn’t getting the sleep he needed and it affected him.
- Nursing a baby for the entire first year really is a hard milestone to reach. I wanted to give up so many times! A supportive husband makes a big difference!
- Once you hit the one-year mark and are still nursing and your pre-toddler becomes less and less interested and you can see that your nursing relationship may not last much longer…you wonder why you ever thought of giving up early.
- But once your one-year-old gets sick for the first time and you get to nurse him almost twice as much as usual that day, you think that maybe we can make it to two years… (OK, so I learned that this week, not technically within the first year…can we call that a bonus lesson?)
- Making your own baby food is not that big of a deal.
- Getting outside each day is so so important. The sun, the rain, the heat, the cold…all gifts from God in His time. All to be enjoyed and shared with a baby. (Going out in severe weather not recommended.)
- There is much more involved in training and caring for a young infant than getting them to sleep through the night. Seriously. Try to avoid having the tunnel vision that I did.
- If you didn’t have any “motherly instincts” before having a baby, you may not have too many of them once baby arrives. SPEND TIME WITH BABIES BEFORE YOURS COMES ALONG!!! I had almost no baby experience at all. Praise the Lord we’ve survived!
- To Train Up a Child is a very good book. One I think I will be reading often over the next 20 years or so.
- Kisses from a baby are about the sweetest things ever.
- Infant potty training works. It goes really well until you have a pre-toddler. Then it all goes down the drain. (At least we’re at an impasse right now…) Puns intended.
- Laziness and motherhood do not go together. Don’t even try it.
- Exclusive breastfeeding as a form of birth control does not work for everyone. Not even for a month.
- My husband is an amazing man. I knew this already, but I get to see it in so many more ways now that he is a papa—and husband to a scatter-brained mama.
- Natural childbirth is hard but good. Wouldn’t do it any other way, as the Lord allows.
- Vaccinating in the first year wasn’t necessary for Elijah. No vaccines yet. No sickness yet (until a stomach bug this week…then again, it may have been that I mixed asparagus in with his re-fried beans…). I’m going to guess that breastfeeding is better than any vaccine. (We may consider some vaccines in the future. But we are very happy to have held off for the first year.)
- When the doctor expresses concern over something, don’t panic. Especially if the area of concern is something you lived through (very small baby according to weight gain charts, heart murmur, etc). Ask questions. Ask lots of questions. And don’t worry—trust the Lord. Most tests come back negative. And many doctors who know you have insurance don’t hesitate to recommend testing any little deviance from “normal” or “average”. Sometimes I wonder if it isn’t a liability issue. Just ask lots of questions.
- It would be nice to have had a good understanding of health insurance and/or cost of procedures and services before having a baby.
- Elijah is a little boy. He is all-boy. He loves things on wheels, throwing things, banging things, rough housing with his Papa, making noises, army crawling, climbing, chasing…but he is still a baby, still needs to be held and nursed and soothed when he’s hurt. I love the mix of independence and dependence. So sweet.
- Elijah was fully capable of understanding and disregarding our basic instruction “No” by 8 months old. And he has been testing us to see if we really mean it ever since. 😉 Babies are clever.
- Having someone (a sister-in-law, perhaps) to stay with you and help you around the house during the first week or two after giving birth is absolutely invaluable! And especially while you are waiting for the drugs to kick in to bring your auto-immune disease under control so that you can actually function.
- Rice cereal may not be the best first food for baby. Elijah apparently could have used something with a lot more calories!
- Boppy pillows are great.
- You don’t need a crib or a changing table. A pack-n-play that you got for $40 at a garage sale (thank You, Lord!) will do just fine—and it can be moved easily.
- Hand-me-downs and second-hand are the way to go for baby clothes. Of course, when you’re given new clothes, that is perfectly acceptable, too.
- Elijah was 7 lbs. 9 oz. when he was born. He is 18 lbs. 9 oz. at one year. Not all babies triple their birth weight by one year. And just because they don’t doesn’t mean they are unhealthy. Guidelines are only suggested norms. They do not take into account that every baby is different. My little guy is little, but he is very healthy. Looking at his parents, we shouldn’t expect him to be big!
- I am way more disciplined and diligent now that I have a baby. I wish I had been this productive before he came along! Imagine what I could have accomplished!
- I have no idea how working moms manage. No idea.
- I’ve had many moments where I feel as though I really love my son for the first time. It just grows…
- It’s difficult to accept a debilitating illness as a blessing from the Lord. Especially when it seems to taint what is supposed to be one of the most incredible moments of your life. But God is calling me to trust Him. I know I did not have the right attitude when we found out I had gestational pemphigoid. And I honestly don’t know that I ever really had the right attitude. I of course pray that it will not return in future pregnancies (though that is likely to happen), but I can see now that the Lord had a purpose in it, and He may still be seeking to accomplish that purpose with the same tool in the future. And I will desperately need His grace, His word, His love, His Spirit to endure whatever trials may come and to entrust myself to the faithful Creator in doing what is right–indeed He does all things well!
Any other young moms out there? What has the Lord been teaching you?
*Any opinions shared on medical issues (vaccines, testing, etc) are not intended to tell you what you ought to do. They are simply my own musings over my own experience (as is most of this list). Use your best judgment to care for your own baby.Keeping “Godly Homemaking” in Perspective
Posted by Lauren
Last night Nathaniel and I (along with Elijah) attended a Bible study where a man named Titus from Nigeria shared about what the Lord is doing in his country and the need for literacy so that people can read God’s word for themselves. It was a wonderful presentation, and a great wake-up call to consider how we can be supporting the suffering body of Christ around the world–through prayer and giving.
During Titus’s presentation, he took a small portion of time to discuss the problem of finding clean water that is an everyday reality for most rural people in Nigeria (and all over Africa). A picture popped up on the screen of a woman carrying a very large pot on her head–so that her family would have some to drink and some with which to wash clothes. This of course had an impact on my heart, realizing how incredibly blessed we are to have clean, running water, and how important it is to consider the needs of others, but it also made me think of how foolish we can be sometimes over here in the West, trying to paint an elusive picture of the perfect homemaker…of the “godly” homemaker.
The women in the picture had to walk miles for the water they needed, carrying a large pot and sometimes a little baby the whole way. This could take HOURS. Imagine if three or four hours of your day were spent walking and gathering water. Would you have time to pursue “godly” hobbies like sewing or knitting or baking cookies? Would you have the time to attend a ladies brunch and Bible study? Would you have the time to post to your blog (assuming you do not have a smart phone)? Would you have time to teach your kids Latin? Make all of your own clothing? Prepare every meal from scratch? Would you have the money to buy only organic produce (because, of course, that is the most “godly” thing to do)?
How can a Christian woman in Africa be “godly” when she cannot do all the things that many conservative Christians in the West say a “godly” homemaker should be doing?
These thoughts only added to a lesson my Father has been teaching me lately. Being a godly wife and mother isn’t about being the best housewife on the street, it’s about being godly in the role God has given me as a wife and mother. It’s not about the outward stuff, as though the kingdom of God consisted in eating and drinking…or frugal shopping or an 1800’s-like lifestyle or wearing nice clothes.
The kingdom of God is “righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 14:17).
I’m afraid we can get all too consumed with outward tasks and outward adornment (modest, of course), and outward actions, that we forget about the fruit of the Spirit. That we fail to be godly because God is barely in the equation anymore.
Being godly starts with God. It starts with His work in humble hearts. Seeking Him is of far greater value than making your own bread or using cloth diapers or growing your own organic vegetable garden.
The point here is not that any of these things is wrong. The point is that they do not make you godly. Nor are you ungodly if your house doesn’t look or function just like Susie Homemaker’s. Godliness is seeking Yahweh, being empowered by the Spirit and motivated by love to obey God and joyfully serve Him in whatever life-situation or role you find yourself in. It speaks more to attitudes than to actual tasks.
So let’s revisit our Christian wife and mother in Nigeria. How can she be godly? She undoubtedly rises early to prepare food for her household. She praises God for His provision. She cares for the needs of her husband and children–her heart is grateful to God for them and compassionate towards them. She walks however long it takes to find water for her family. And along the way she is perhaps meditating on what little bit of Scripture she has access to this week. Or maybe she sings praises. Or maybe she delights in the sunshine or rain that her Father has given her that day. She lovingly nurses her infant, and shares what she knows about Jesus with other women along her path.
She may be very godly. And all you would see is a woman walking a long way to get water. And then working hard when she returned home. A woman who, at the end of the day, may have nothing more to show for all of her labor than this: she, her husband, and her children … are still alive.
(Assuming they were not attacked by Muslims that day because of their faith in Jesus–another reality of the Christian life in Nigeria).
She is godly because she is filled with the Holy Spirit of God and manifests the fruit of His work in her heart. She may not know as much as you and I about theology. She may not even be able to read the Bible for herself–only clinging to the slivers of light that came through the teaching she heard at the small gathering of believers that she attended earlier that week. But every word of God that she finds, she devours. And she trusts in Him to provide and protect, and to keep His promises.
May we consider that our Western, task-driven, formulaic, and sometimes legalistic view of what it means to be a godly woman might just crumple when held up to the light of God’s word. We are not to compare ourselves with each other or with a cultural ideal. We are to seek the Living God. May we be Spirit-filled believers who put the skills and gifts God has given us to good use in the roles that He has placed us in.
More to come on this subject…
Why Am I Not Married?
Recently we posted a link to the “No Girl Left Behind” website. A satirical solution to the “marriage crisis” (which, incidentally, we’ve not witnessed.) Of course, the answer to the question “Why am I not married?” is not always, “Because you aren’t ready.” It can also be, simply, the Lord has something else for you to do right now. But if you’re single and don’t want to be, it may be helpful to consider what “accomplishments” make a women truly marriageable. In response to the “No Girl Left Behind” website, the Botkin sisters have answered with a few thoughts for those who may be feeling panicked regarding marriage–or simply want to know what an “accomplished” woman should cultivate–and we think their thoughts are worth considering.
Commitment…then Intimacy
Chew on this…
Commitment produces intimate relationships, in that God-given order. The order God established is not an intimate relationship then commitment. God shows Himself to you in different ways and allows you to choose Him. Before there is a solid commitment you do not enter the Holy of holies, into the most sacred dwelling place with our Savior, into communion with His Spirit. You are not intimate with Him until that most significant step is taken: commitment.
Heather Arnel Paulsen, Emotional Purity: An Affair of the Heart, 2001
…and tell us what you think.
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Pearls and Diamonds 