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!

OK, I can’t keep quiet any longer!

I have known for a whole week!   The news has leaked out here in Alaska but now we are going public.  I found out two days AFTER my hubby left.  It would have been nice to celebrate together. I would have known sooner but just misread the physical symptoms as pre-deployment stress.   Obviously, that was not the case.  I can now literally say my I have my hands full.

Baby number ten is on the way.

I am feeling pretty good so far considering how sick I usually am.  I am nauseous, sleepy, having a few migraines, and I can no longer stand the taste of my regular diet coke, but thankfully that is all.  Of course, that is ALWAYS open to change!  I would love not to have months of the usual vomiting and dry heaving though!

We already have a boy’s name and have narrowed our girl name down to three.  Due date as of now is November 23.  We will be having a very thankful Thanksgiving!

Psalm 127:1a Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.

Psalm 127:3 Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.

Psalm 139:13-16 For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works;my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret,intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance;in your book were written, every one of them,the days that were formed for me,when as yet there was none of them.

Praise the Lord with us! And please pray for our family.

When people hear about those who believe the Lord is sovereign over the womb and that it is an area in which we are not to intervene, people often think of very large families.  That is not always the case.  In fact, there are many who are only blessed with one child or maybe not even any children.  Some of these families have followed through with adoption and yet still prayerfully leave their own fertility in the Lord’s hands without intervention.

Here are a few links that deal with this very thing.

Visit Kristin at Precious in His Site

Stop by Ann’ Re’s

Pay a visit to From Then to Today

For more Quiverfull links, see the page tab above.

Visit Cindy at Life-Learning in a Family Enviroment to read about their journey in her blog post, Letting God Decide the Size of our Family.

Visit Christine over at Live to Learn to read her story.  Her family has traveled the road of sterilization and reversal.  In her post, Our Vasectomy Reversal Story,  she shares about the amazing way that the Lord has worked in their lives.

Lady Why over at Where the Kudzu Grows has an amazing story of going through sterilization and reversal two times.  The Lord has worked in many amazing ways and she lists miracle after miracle in her story.  To read visit: A Testimony of the Lord’s Patience, Grace, Miracles, and Faithfulness.

Kerri has a unique way of sharing her beliefs.  Read her Arrow Story on her blog, Life with Full Hands.

Audrey, has taken the time to show the effects living this lifestlye has had upon the generations of her family.  If only more would stop and consider the great impact they could have for the Lord if only they would be open to the blessings of the Lord.  Read her post over on her blog, So, This is Heaven on Earth.

The last link in this carnival is for the Peterson Clan blog.  The post is a short one but touches on a topic that many do not see.  The fact that not all who live this lifestyle are blessed with many children and that there must be contentment and trust concerning that as well. 

I hope you are blessed and encouraged by the links included in this carnival.  Please take some time to browse the blogs listed, leave them a comment, and please come back here and share your favorite link, something you learned, something that encouraged you or made you think.  For more blogs of quiverfull minded families go to the quiverfull page.  Have a blessed day!

For this carnival I would like to highlight the story of a couple of the ladies on the blogroll. First is Suzanne from the Beauty of it All. She has shared with us in a four part posting. Take some time and visit her blog.

A Heritage From The Lord Part One
A Heritage From The Lord Part Two
A Heritage From The Lord Part Three
A Heritage From The Lord Part Four

The other post I would like to highlight today is posted by the McAfee Family. Here is one statement from their post I would like to share with you.

Being a quiverful family is a daily struggle and is not an easy path but it is a worthy conviction and I pray that God will bless us all!

Take a few minutes and pop on over to read their story, A Quiverfull Life.

Next is Mandy Mom. She is a new member to our blogroll. If you have not stopped by her site yet then you are missing out on a treat. She shares her families journey in the post I will highlight here. Mandy shares about the many justifications that they used and how God brought them to a place of realizing they were simply that, justifications. How God revealed His will to them and brought them to where they are now. Her post was a great blessing to me! Take a moment and read her post, Fill My Quiver.

To start off this Quiverfull Carnival I am going to share with you a few posts from a real life friend of mine. Kim from over at Life in a Shoe writes:

Let me start by saying that I understand that God gives some families fewer children. I am not talking about those who couldn’t have more children, but those who chose not to – for any reason.

My hands are full, though I firmly believe that even a single child will keep a mother’s hands full. 8 children really are not 8 times as much work. Children require our full attention whether we have 1 or a dozen.

Who among us is really ready and fully equipped to raise even one child? Can any of us really expect to succeed in this monumental task by our own strength and virtue?

Finish reading the article HERE.

Kim had quite a discussion concerning her first post so she posted some clarifications to try and address any possible misunderstandings. Here is a quote from that post.

My intention was not to point fingers at those who disagree with us, but to encourage each of us to examine our decisions and convictions in light of Scripture rather than resting upon the standard lines of reasoning. Sometimes our own desires and fears can masquerade as convictions. We are all guilty of adopting the values of the society around us, but we are called to be different. We need to be ever mindful that we are held to God’s perfect and unchanging standard, and often that means conforming our own will to His.

Please take a moment to read the entire post.

Joyful Mom over at A Woman’s Journey home has a great post entitled “Are Children Really A Blessing?” Here is an excerpt:

Children are a HUGE part of the life of keeping a home, for most home keepers. I get a huge variety of questions regarding my own children and how we do things in our home. I am also asked, quite often things such as, “Why do you have so many children?” “Are you done yet?” and “You must have fairly easy pregnancies and deliveries, huh?”

Pop on over and read as she addresses these questions and encourages you.

Raani, who is a new comer to our blogroll has posted about her quiverfull conviction. She address many things ranging from the culture, artificial hormones, pregnancy in the Bible, and where to draw the line as well as answering several questions. Take some time and pop over there and read her informative post. She also posted a follow-up with a link to a sermon, HERE.

Take some time out today and browse through these ladies’ posts. Please come back here and let me know which one has blessed you the most or made you think and evaluate.

It is that time once again to share more testimonies and stories from others. I pray that you are touched and blessed by those who are sharing the work of the Lord in their lives.

TF at Made from Scratch shares her journey. She says “I told J what I had been reading, and we read scriptures in the Bible together that concerned having children and trusting God completely, we talked about it and we both knew this was the way we wanted to live. We wanted to show God how much we loved him, We wanted to trust Him in every aspect of our life. Having children shouldn’t be any different. I refuse to make excuses anymore. No matter if I have 2 children or 10, I will accept them joyfully, and I won’t forget for one second how blessed we are.” Read more of her article, Living a Quiverfull lifestyle.

Lisa shares, “One of our family’s passions is letting others know about our conviction to let GOD plan our family. Of course our beliefs must always be Scripturally aligned with our convictions, which is why we seek out GOD’s opinion on the issues first and foremost.” Take a moment and read the rest of her post, Obedience Results in Blessings of Children.

One of our newest blogroll members is Raani. She addresses several questions often asked of those who hold this conviction of God’s sovereignty over the womb. Stop by and see what she has to say as a means of Answering the Questions.

Quiver Mamma shares, “Early in our Christian walk we also learned that walking in obedience to the word of God brings blessings. People often say that life does not come with an instruction manual, but it does, and it is called the Bible! And when we step out in obedience and apply the word of God to our lives, great things happen. When we trust in Gods promises for us and our lives he fulfills them. And this was the backdrop for what became our quiverfull conviction.” Read the rest of her story, Yes, We are Quiverfull.

Vanessa says, “In a recent forum discussion, I met a lady who was somewhat confused about the quiverfull lifestyle. It seems that others had led her to believe the possibility that being quiverfull was a salvation or a sanctification issue. I suppose I created this post in an effort to describe what being quiverfull means to my family.” Pop on over to Creative Counterpart to read about her story.

There is an amazing post over at A Woman’s Journey Home. Her story includes the diagnosis of never having children, the Lord opening her womb, a husband wanting no more children, a life and death event, loosing children, and being blessed. She writes, “We have learned, that being QF is more than just accepting the Lord’s will if a baby is coming every year. It is also trusting Him when they are only with us for a little while…or if the months go by and the womb remains empty.”

This page is not a blog post but is written by a lady who has had 9 c-sections thus far. I have her permission to share this. Please read it and be reminded of how God can do all things even go against what the medical community will tell you.

Take a moment to visit Tapestries of Grace. She writes, “We had been Christians for only about 6 months and, never being one to swim against the current, this concept of allowing the Lord to plan our family seemed outright bizarre. We were already considered strange for home schooling but this was just more than his mind could comprehend.”

Our last link for today is a wonderful one. It was written by Jennifer’s (homekeepingheart) aunt.
She writes, “What do we say when we find out that some one is expecting a baby? Well, you might say, it depends? Have you ever thought about the message we are sending as Christians when we scorn life that God has created? Scorn life, you say. I would never do that. Well, I have heard it done over and over in my life, and sometimes I wonder whether Christians really think about what they are saying. We need to be so careful about accepting the world’s view of children.” Take a moment and finish reading her post, Embracing Life.