Five Teen Agers

I remember back in the early days of my marriage and motherhood.  We had many young ones very close together.  (we still do)  Our older children are closer in age though than our younger ones.  I remember how busy I was then and how many people when they should have been encouraging a young mother of many instead found it their place to discourage.  I remember very well doing the math and realizing that one day I would have five teen age children at the same time.  So many tried to discourage me by saying things like how they felt so sorry for me, how they were glad they were not me, how they would shoot themselves rather than being in my place, how I would regret having these children, and the open ended “just wait until” comments.

Thankfully, I did not let those comments discourage me.  In fact, I often did and still do feel sorry for those people who did not realize the blessing of children and young adults.  I remember speaking with my husband and saying how we knew it would be different.  Yes, it doesn’t matter how well you parent, you can still have a wayward child.  But, when you are raising your children for the glory of God and being dependent upon him and fully engaged in prayer for your children trusting in the promises of God, there is hope and confidence in who those children will grow to become.

I used to say to myself that I would wait and see when the day came whether those discouragements were valid.  One amazing thing I have discovered in this journey of parenthood is this, if you see your children as blessings that is what they end up being.

Well, we are in the midst of birthday season and I am now the mother of five teen age children and I can easily without reservation say that they are each a blessing!  Not only a blessing but a tremendous blessing!  They do not give me heartache as the naysayers said they would.  I am honored to be their mother!  I am honored that the Lord blessed me with them!  My life is fuller and richer because of them!

Having five teens is not the disaster so many told me it would be.  It is not full of heart ache and grief as many warned.  I still have my hair and it is not white!  I am blessed beyond measure!

So to all those naysayers, I hope you can see that children and young adults truly are a treasure, a blessing, and a gift of the Lord!

Our Quiverfull Journey

I am the oldest of eight children. My parents divorced when I was about a year old. My mother had a total of seven children and my father remarried and had another child. My friends from high school would probably tell you that I was never having children after taking care of all of my siblings for so long. My husband comes from a family of four children. His father, however, is the youngest child of nine siblings. My husband and I knew we wanted a large family but that meant five or maybe six. We were scoffed at for even wanting that many. We were young when we married, 21 and 18, and the “acceptable” large family size at the time was 3-4 children. The “acceptable” family size is considered much smaller today.

We married young and our family was started right away, we had “stair-step” children. Within our first five years of marriage we had four children. When our youngest was about 15 months old, my husband sat trying to figure out how to tell me he thought we had enough. As he sat contemplating this, I gave him what I thought was wonderful news. I was expecting our fifth child. His immediate response was, “That’s it, we’re done.” Needless to say, this did not sit well with me. A month before the baby was born my husband had a vasectomy. I tried to convince myself this was a great idea and even signed the papers for the surgery. I seemed pleased on the outside but I was devastated on the inside. I think my husband felt relief.

As time went on I became more and more upset, especially as I watched my baby grow older. The yearning for another child grew. Guilt and regret seeped in. I began to pray, God please forgive us and change my husband’s heart concerning this.”

God began to bring people into our lives that He would use to show us His truth. There were some with many children who did not use birth control and there were others who had undergone reversals and had been blessed with children following the procedure. They shared with us how God had worked and continued to bless them in regards to childbearing. I began researching the subject and came across a few books at a used book site. They were inexpensive and I bought them. One of these books spoke my heart, so much so that I called and talked with the author. What an encouragement she had been to me. In fact, we discovered that years earlier I had actually lived in the same neighborhood where she lived. If only we had known them back then.

I began to share with my husband the things I was learning. These things were not merely the opinions of others. That would not be enough. What did God have to say about the matter? Their basis in writing, I found, came from the scriptures and I studied the scriptures on these things as well. God was moving and at work.

My husband began to say things like, “I counted all of the children, who’s missing?” or “WOW, it would be cool to have so many blessings!” and even “You know, if we had the money I would consider getting a reversal.”

Well, that last statement got me off to a busy start! It didn’t take me long to find reversal doctors listed on the internet. To my surprise there were a lot of people with the same convictions. We were not alone and some doctors even believed this way. We found a doctor who provided the surgery as a ministry. We were amazed! God had provided a doctor and an extremely low cost surgery; all we had to do was pray for the finances. God again provided.

The surgery went well and we were so excited. We had never had a problem conceiving before and I figured within a month I would be pregnant. As each month passed, however, I would became more and more devastated. My husband finally asked me if another child was going to be the only thing that would make me happy. He reminded me of our obedience to repent not only in word but also deed – having actions of confession and repentance that places this physically not just spiritually back in the hand of God (this is not to say that God is not still sovereign, He is). He asked me if I would be content and trust the Lord whether or not He chose to bless us with another child. After all, it was not about having more children (though that was our desire) it was about submission and obedience.

After much prayer and wrestling, God brought me to that place of peace where contentment flowed. My desire was still to have another child but I was resting in the Sovereign Lord. I had come to terms with the fact that we most likely would not have another child. I began to take comfort in the fact that we had surrendered things back into the hands of God, which ultimately was the whole point. Peace and contentment filled my heart when I surrendered this to the Lord.

The very next day after my surrender, I was taking my morning shower and the smell of the soap made me nauseous. Thinking this was only my mind playing tricks on me or maybe even part of grieving; I took what I deemed would be my last pregnancy test. Even though I believed it to be a big waste of time I went to the pregnancy center. I volunteered at the center and the ladies there had traveled this journey with me. When my friend returned from reading the results she had tears in her eyes and whispered, “It’s positive.”

The Lord blesses those who seek and obey Him. He used this waiting period to bring me to a place of closer communion with Him. To a place were I was content with God and not just His blessings in my life. Once content, He blessed me abundantly with the desires of my heart. The Lord desires that we not only seek and obey but for us to also be content in that obedience.

My husband and I were sure that this would be the final child to be brought forth from my womb and we rejoiced in her! God, however, does so much more that we can ever ask or imagine and we have since been blessed with four more children. That makes a total of five reversal babies so far. Nothing is too great for my God. What He will accomplish in a surrendered, obedient, and contented life is extravagant!

We have experienced trials along the way and I know we will continue to, but isn’t that a part of the surrendered life? The blessings far exceed the irritation and even persecution of the critics!

Nine Years Ago Today

Nine years ago today I said hello to a sweet little baby girl.  Yes, our Abigail is turning nine today!  She is our first reversal baby.  I will re-post the story of our journey that led to the reversal in a few days. For now, I will simply say she is a child that was prayed for!

She was a most contented baby.   She has a bit more spunk now!  She is a joy!  She is a delight!  She loves to have fun!  She is full of love!  She has a compassionate heart!

I love that sweet and silly girl!

Happy birthday Abigail!  You are such a gift of God!

Red-Nosed Caribou

What do you get when you have an Alaskan child who is deprived of secular Christmas stories?  You get to overhear the following  conversation.

My four year old was looking at a piano book earlier this morning and was on the page with the song Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer.  She noticed a drawing of Rudolf.  She pointed to his red nose and then with a bit of urgency and concern she asks,

“What happened to the caribou?!?!?!”

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.

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After a short pause she answered her own question.

“Oh, he is blowing a bubble out his nose.”

Image via Wikipedia

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Do you think it is time for me to tell her the story??  LOL  Nah, overhearing these conversations is priceless!

Showered With Prayer

This past weekend the ladies from the church we attend threw a baby shower for the baby and me.  I have had many a baby shower thrown for me and my newborns but this was by far the biggest blessing of them all.  I love these ladies so much!

Everything was perfect!  There was a cute little safari theme with little monkeys,  a dessert made especially for me with my favorite ingredients, and an amazing group of loving ladies to share conversation with!  These ladies are there to share joys and struggles and to offer encouragement.  There were even the adorable little baby gifts!

BUT…….

What I loved most…..

about the day was that this baby shower was not filled with the typical baby shower games.  Those can be fun but that is really all they are.  My friend who organized the shower suggested something completely different.  Instead of playing the usual baby shower games we had a time of group prayer.  I had several prayer requests that I sent to my friend and she shared them with the ladies who attended.  It was so amazing to have such a godly group of ladies praying over me, my newborn son, and the rest of my family!

They prayed for our little Nathan, that he would grow into a strong, godly, young man.  That he would come to know the Lord at an early age and live a life honoring the Lord.  That he would be healthy.  That God would be preparing a godly wife for him even now.  They prayed for me and for my husband as we teach and train him.  That I would be patient even amidst sleepless nights.  That I would have compassion.  That I would not grow weary and that I would rely upon the Lord in the great task of being a parent.  They prayed the same things for my husband as he leads our household.  They prayed for our family with our upcoming move. They prayed for our other children, for our schooling, and for there to be a good relationship cultivated between our newest son and our oldest who has already moved out.

It was such an unbelievably sweet time of prayer!  I do not ever recall people praying for our family in such a way!  It is an amazing blessing that I will always cherish!

I think of all the gifts that we received that day the time of prayer was by far the most special, most desired, and most needed of them all!

As I thank the Lord for my new son and my entire family, I will be thanking him for the church family he has blessed us with.

Thank you Lord for each of those ladies!  Thank you Lord, that we can come before your throne in prayer!

Thank you ladies of Faith PCA Anchorage!  Thank you for showering us with prayer!!!

Songs For Saplings

About a year or so ago a dear friend shared a CD with me.  She said that a friend of hers put these CDs together and thought that we would enjoy them.  The children LOVED it so we decided to purchase the rest of the catechism cds and have been enjoying them ever since.

The other day a very well known blogger posted about these very cds.  Challies posted about Songs for Saplings along with other music for children.  Challies wrote:

Songs for Saplings is James and Dana Dirksen from Porland, Oregon. They have recorded four albums, one of which follows an A,B,C format while the other three are questions and answers, much like a catechism. I suppose these albums will largely appeal to younger children. They are quiet and acoustic.

He is correct in his assessment of the cds. They are geared toward younger children. But they are beneficial for the entire family.  The catechism cds do appeal to older children more and more in the second and third cds.  There is a great variety in the style of music on each cd. You can even listen to excerpts on their website.

What I love about them is that the children (and us parents) learn the great truths presented in the Westminster Catechism which is derived directly from scripture. Each question and answer also contains the scripture that teaches the truth. This way your children are not only learning the doctrinal truth but the scriptures that proclaim that truth.

Songs for Saplings is a ministry of the Dirksen family and this is what they state on their website.

We create lively, fun songs that attempt to deliver the deepest of Biblical truth in a format that your children will love to listen to. We want them to understand who God is and what He has done, as well as what He wants your children to do and to be. We hope that you will benefit from these CDs and use them to help teach your children about our God and his great love for us.

With Christmas time approaching, what better gift could you give than the gift of music which teaches and proclaims the greatness of our Lord Jesus Christ?!

I am pleased to announce that I can offer you a 20% discount off of your order when you buy CDs from their website. This includes the “12-pack bulk pack” which a lot of people order for gift-giving. This does however exclude the 24 and 48 CD bulk packs, which are already heavily discounted.

All you need to do is enter the following code as you go through the checkout: mamaarcher
It’s really simple.

Hopefully you will find this really helpful as you order CDs this Christmas!

As you seek to grow your little saplings……

into strong oaks of righteousness…

Songs for Saplings can be a musical and fun tool for you and your family to use and enjoy!

that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified.
(Isaiah 61:3b)

Visit SONGS FOR SAPLINGS and order your CDs today! Order some for your friends and family too! Don’t forget to enter the discount code for your 20% off!

Please leave a comment and let me know if you plan on making a purchase and what you think of their music and ministry!

Regardless of whether you order, please tweet, email, and share on Facebook so that others can take advantage of the discount offer!