Raising Godly Seed: Our loss, our baby's gain

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Our loss, our baby's gain

Deciding whether to post such a sacred family event has been difficult. However, since our family uses this blog to document many of the things that really matter to us throughout the year, missing a baby that we'd hoped for in April 2010, cannot be left out.

We had been slowly sharing the good news of expecting our ninth precious child, when at week seven, on September 13, he/she suddenly left us. This was a first for our family. I am especially thankful for the ease of the process. In a week I was "back to normal", although I hadn't really wanted to be. Friends who knew were especially kind and prayerful. I spent what could have been a terrible week feeling truly cared for by God and by people. Even my mother, who lives eight hours away, was close to my heart (by phone) on one of the more difficult days.

We will not forget that this one little person awaits our family in Heaven. We are so very glad that he is in the best possible place and that his life has been nothing but pure perfection and love. We do not grieve for him. I have grieved for dashed hopes, and a miscarriage-free history, but not for long, because I know I am truly blessed. If God never gave me another child, I am satisfied in Him and with our family. Of course, I truly hope not to miscarry again. But regardless, God is sovereign and He is the same One, worthy of all my trust in any circumstance. Since we trust Him completely with our womb, we look forward to another baby, in another season-if God should be so generous. And I am beginning to understand a fraction of the pain that other ladies who've miscarried are experiencing. This is good.

"And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. "Romans 8:28

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God." II Cor. 1:3-4

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Our growing testimony

We are not able to raise this family in our own strength, determination and knowledge. But all things are possible with God! "May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it." I Thessalonians 5:23-24 Although onlookers will try to categorize all homeschoolers or large families together, we know that He lovingly and specifically leads each one of us in lives that will fulfill His purposes. We were married in May of 1990. I could barely wait to complete one year of my first job, out of nursing school, and start a family. Fifteen months into my career, I was pregnant and too sick to continue working in the pediatric stepdown unit. I changed to a slower paced, part-time job, and our first baby was born in December '93. Both of us had been raised in Christian homes and had individually accepted Christ as our Savior around ten years of age. However, we did not know that embracing the responsibility of God-led parenting would change our entire view of life and all of our desires. God has captured our hearts by calling us to raise children for His glory. Has not the LORD made [husband and wife] one? In flesh and spirit they are his. And why one? Because he was seeking godly offspring. So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith with the wife of your youth. Malachi 2:15 That same year, I heard a radio program about homeschooling on Focus on the Family with James Dobson. We'd never heard of homeschooling before. That day marked the beginning of an incredible faith-filled journey of seeking God's specific will for our family. Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always. Psalm 105:4 In seeking, we've found that He calls us to many habits that have become "non-traditional" in modern America. For example, we embrace and work toward a father-led family, daily family Bible study, training/educating/discipling our children at home, God-planned family, modest dress, multi-generational corporate worship, courtship, back-to-the-basics food preparation, simple living, and natural medicine (as often as possible). We have felt abnormal in many situations. We're comforted by the definition of holiness: to be set apart for the Lord. The Apostle Paul says that we are aliens and not of this world. "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." Romans 12:2 Thankfully, we've met many precious families throughout the last nineteen years who are being led similarly. While it is comforting and encouraging to fellowship with like-minded families, we also see the creativity of our God in the many different ways He leads families which resemble one another outwardly. The "big" decisions that set us apart are not made easily, nor quickly. It is not in embracing any man-made laws or legalism that we have peace and joy, but in utilizing the liberty of His grace that we can choose to walk as He directs us. "So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord...who has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace." II Timothy 1:8-9aAs of January 2013, we have been married twenty-two years, have nine children, atleast three in Heaven, have been living on one income and have been homeschooling for thirteen years. Our eldest is in her second year of post-highschool studies and the youngest is 2 1/2 years. The oldest six have made professions of faith, saying that they believe that Jesus died for their sins, that God raised Him from the dead and that they identify Jesus as their Savior and Lord. And we recognize this is just the beginning. The Lord has begun a great work and He will be faithful to complete it.

Raising Godly Seed

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Our loss, our baby's gain

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Our growing testimony

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