The Importance of Communication

My husband likes to take me out to lunch once a week, if possible, so today he took me to a great buffet in town. We had such a nice time, talking, laughing, reminiscing, and just being together.

The Lord has blessed us with a sweet daughter who will be getting married in a month and a half, and, since I have a great desire to be able to call her when she disappears to far-off Michigan, and our current phone contract is up, we decided to go to another cellular phone place and change carriers. This phone service will allow me to call her mobile to mobile for free – unlimited talk time. And, I also was able to get a camera phone – which means that when the Lord begins blessing us with grandchildren, I’ll be able to see them!

All this is relatively expensive, but communication is so important, I am ready and willing to pay the price! What relationship can survive without healthy, loving communication?

We need to do whatever is in our power to communicate to our families. They need to know we love them! Hopefully I will be writing on this more later, but suffice it to say, they need focused, real, and consistent expressions of love. May the Lord help us to that end!

Bridal Shower

Though it almost made it to being a surprise, Kathryn found out about the Bridal Shower just a few minutes before arriving at the church where it was hosted. Ah, the "blessings" of younger siblings! She was, however, very pleased, and I think was still somewhat surprized.

We had a great time. There was food, a beautiful two-tiered cake, a fountain with lights, and of course all the decorations. Presents were everywhere! Such kind people the Lord has blessed us to know.

The devotional Mrs. Harvey gave this evening was such a blessing, also. She spoke simply, from the heart, and also from much experience. She is the kind of godly older woman that we all can look up to and learn much from.

I have heard of Bridal Showers of worldly people who have had wicked games, ungodly discussions, and gifts shown before all that are only meant to be seen in private. It is refreshing to be in a Bridal Shower where lewd things are not brazenly discussed.

The purity and sanctity of marriage is at stake when we take the wonderful and precious things of marraige and treat them as base, lewd things. There can be no room for compromise in these areas in the life of a godly Christian, for to do so would cheapen our own relationships. I am thankful that my daughter and her fiance recognize the dangers in flirting with worldly atitudes.

Long live the godly home and the pure marriage!!

I had the wonderful problem today of having little ones almost constantly underfoot. My husband was at work, and each of the older children were busy with things that kept them out of the house most of the day, so it was me and my 3 little ones at home. I taught Lydia and Johanna their math lessons (2nd and 1rst grade), made lunch(with their help), and, while Jason took his nap, the girls did their phonics, and reading. Then, after Jason woke up, it was time to start dinner, and they all helped me cut up the melon, etc.

It seems to me that many mothers with large families tend to ignore the little ones. The commotion caused by a family with a lot of children of many ages sends some mothers into a tailspin, and they sit in their seat, holding their heads and saying, "Don't bother me now, I'm trying to get something done. Go play." And there IS so much to do! I find myself going from the time my feet touch the floor in the morning to the time I pull them back under the sheets at night.

I was taught long ago from my mother that if you tend to a child's needs when they need met, then you will have a contented child, and I have found it to be true. Each of my children have needs throughout the day - from the 2 year-old to the 20year old - that need met, and can only be met by me! Sometimes I feel that there is not enough ME to go around! But the Lord is faithful, who will not put on us more than we can bear. If He has given us these children to love and take care of, He will give us the strenth to do the job!

I have been reading about those who have their little ones with them while they work, garden, cook, clean, etc., and how that binds the hearts of mothers and children together. So I've been trying it with my yong children. I want them to learn to enjoy work, and to know how to do things around the house. It serves two purposes: they learn how to work, and they get to be with me! They LOVE it! (And that's an understatement!)

Even when the big ones are grown, the little ones still need that time with Mom. Though it is very difficult, I want to do my best to meet that need. So far, my little ones are happy, contented, and learning!

Family Time?

As we try to do at least once a week, my husband and I and all the kids spent some family time together last night. The Lord provided us with a seasonal creek toward the back of our property and a hefty rain storm last night, so we all went down to the “swimming hole” for a dip. (You can do that here in Texas in April!) Though the air was warm, the water was cold, and so when the little ones began turning blue, we figured we’d better go back up to the house.

After we all got dry, dressed, and back to “normal,” we went out for a bite to eat. Our family of 9 can eat fairly inexpensively at most of the fast food places in town, so we decided to go to the chicken place. Unfortunately, the chicken place had a movie playing on the TV! I didn’t see quite what was going on on the screen, but my husband decided (and I’m glad) that we didn’t need to be treated to the latest in murder, argument, and mockery, so we went to another place. Thankfully, we were able to find another chicken place in town that did NOT have a TV, and so were able to have an enjoyable family time.

It got me to wondering, though. Don’t people watch enough TV in their homes? There was a day when people went out to eat to enjoy each others’ company, not simply feed their face. How could they possibly communicate when there’s a shooting going on??

There must be something seriously wrong with America. People are not talking to each other. No longer do they go out to enjoy each others’ company. They simply eat their meal and go home – together, but separately. Oh, how sad!

Though I find the television creeping more and more into our daily lives (Walmart, restaurants, etc.) I do not find it to be a good thing – a thing improving our quality of life. It breaks my heart to see America slowly sliding down the slippery slope of debauchery, but we need to take it back – one home at a time.

How? Dare to be different! Communicate! Dare to express your love! Look your little ones right in the eyes and smile deep into their souls. Tousle their heads as they walk by. Look at your husband and smile like he just got off the plane from Iraq. Oh, how different our world could be – starting with your home – one home at a time.

Years ago - about 18 years ago, to be exact - the Lord put writing on my heart. At that time, I was a young mother with two small children, and I felt I knew a lot. I understood, however, that every profession requires a time of apprenticeship, and I knew that I would need to spend years in the "school of hard knocks" in order to be effective. Well, these 18 years have gone by, and I have been passing the time writing in a journal, studying, reading, and of course, rearing my own family. The Lord has blessed us with 7 children, and I have learned so much. My oldest, my beloved daughter, will be marrying a godly young man this summer, and the Lord has impressed on me - Write! Now is the time! And so, with my husband's blessing, I have begun.

There have been many fears that beset me along the way, to try to discourage my from writing. One of those fears has been that I know that whatever I write has probably been written by someone else, only better. However, the Lord has shown me that we are in a generation that "knows not God," and many have propbably never heard some of the things I will write.

The other main fear is that many of the things I write about are struggles I have. After all, who wants to hear about someone else's struggles when they have enough of their own? And who wants to hear advice from someone who is not perfect? But, again, the Lord has shown me that everyone has struggles, and sometimes it is easier to take advice from someone that you know has been in your shoes.

May the Lord bless these feeble efforts!!