Blessed!

See more on this video HERE! And then photos below...




Thank you, Jesus, for your little creation; for a wonderful Thanksgiving gift!

Personal Matters: Family Planning

I just received this comment on another post and thought it brought some things to light that I might not have discussed before. ~ Lisa

Comment: I think this is a personal matter between a couple and God. If you feel God calling you to have another child, fine. Many people feel God is *not* calling them to do so. It's important to listen to God's voice in this matter.

Response: Thank you for taking the time to comment.

You are correct on a few points.

1) It is VITALLY important to hear God's voice in this matter! How do we hear His voice? How do we know his heart? How has he chosen to impart His Will to us? Through the Bible. Have you really searched the Scriptures to know God's heart on family planning? If not, He is outspoken on the matter. I encourage you to look and to keep reading.

2) All choices, whether GOOD or BAD, are between God and the person who is making those choices. The responsibility of choosing what is godly and scriptural is on the shoulders of the individual (or couple) who is making those choices. However, when someone has come to know and understand the truth in any spiritual matter, they are required by Scripture to speak the truth in love. That is my intention with anything I ever post on family planning on my blog.

The problem with feeling that one thing is biblical for one couple and not biblical for another is that if we believe that, we have bought into relativism. Relativism is a very dangerous thought pattern that is fluent throughout our culture and now the Church. There are absolutes, in our culture through established laws, but especially in God's Word. The problem is that most Christians do not study intently on Scripture and truly search and search for their answers. The answers to our problems usually can be found in God's Word. One must be diligent in studying and applying Scripture, as well as questioning the traditions of others. The Bereans are an excellent example of listening to the opinion of others and then searching Scripture to see if it were so (Acts 17:11)!

Having a clear faith, based on the creed of the church, is often labeled today as a fundamentalism....Whereas relativism, which is letting oneself be tossed and 'swept along by every wind of teaching,' looks like the only attitude acceptable to today's standards.

"We are moving toward a dictatorship of relativism which does not recognize anything as for certain and which has as its highest goal one's own ego and one's own desires." Pope Benedict XVI

I encourage you to seek the SCRIPTURE for the answer to whether or not GOD should be able to create life when He pleases or whether or not we should dictate to Him when He should have the power to create souls within someone's womb. I encourage you to not just check off this as something that is not your business or mine, but to search Scripture and have a Biblical opinion on family planning, as GOD sees it, not as man sees it.

"One of you will say to me: "Then why does God still blame us? For who resists his will?" But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? "Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, 'Why did you make me like this?' "Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?" Romans 9:19-21 Who is the Potter and who is the clay? What role are we taking on in this matter of family planning? Is that role Biblical or man-ordained?

For a greater Scriptural explanation on this subject (if you are truly looking for God’s say on this), look here.

Thank you for commenting! I pray you will seek and find God's truth on this matter and embrace children as He does!

Family Planning: Surrendering to God

Q. I wanted to ask you more about your encouragement to let God plan our family. I want to get to the point where I fully surrender this and stop wondering and going back and forth after each baby...my dh was there at one point, but we both get nervous after each baby, seeing our family grow and with so many boys dh is concerned about "how we will feed them all" when they are teenagers. Anyway, it's rare to find someone who truly surrenders this area to God- no holds barred, so I'd love to hear your thoughts on it. Thank you. - K.A.

A. Surrendering anything to God is HARD to do. It's dying to flesh; trusting in God more than yourself; picking up your cross without looking back. Bottom line...what does Scripture SAY on the matter? Once you've come to that point of KNOWING what you NEED to do, just do it. Throw up your hands and forfeit it all for Christ's sake.

God WILL feed those He sends. As long as you have your priorities in order (no fancy phone or cable or bigger-than-you-NEED house), the rest will fall in place. "I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread." Psalm 37:25 He won't send you a "blessing" just to make the child bring curses on your family! Can you do things that will curse your family (overspend, etc.)? Yes. So, keep that in mind when budgeting and living life with 3 or 20 children! It's the person who spends unwisely (usually), and not the extra child(ren) that causes the financial disturbance. In other words, it's the lifestyle that is expensive, not the child.

I will say that most people I know who wisely handle the money they are given, never see hard times. They cut back where they need to and the Lord provides. Does He sometimes stretch their faith and hold back provisions in order to make them depend on Him? Yes. And that's okay...and to be expected.

I hope this encourages you to "just do it"...what you know to be right and honorable in the eyes of God! Remember, GOD is the potter and WE are the clay! Allow HIM to form (or not form...you're not promised continued fertility!) the little souls within your womb. :)

Does Scripture REALLY say NO to birth control?

Conception is not a chance or a risk - babies are an intentional creation, every single one of them. Acknowledging this is a huge step towards surrender. It's not such a scary idea when we're not risking something. And once we surrender Lordship to Christ, and open up our grip on our own plans for life so that we may receive what He has for us, then there is no perceived "loss". Only gain. And we gain freedom from feeling torn between desiring babies but fearing it would be irresponsible to have more due to life circumstances; freedom from guilty feelings that come with knowing we're out of obedience with our Lord; freedom from financial fears, because our priorities and values become new and God's provision is perfect.

Read the rest of this wonderful post HERE!

For all who are wondering, I do not agree with the author in that there is no sin in using birth control. While sins are not always rebelious sins, they are always deviations from God's perfect plan for us. We, too, at one (thanhkfully short) period of time were ignorant of what God had to say about "filling the earth" and how God alone should be the One who decides when to create life (after all He is my Creator...who better to trust with big decisions like that than He). Since only God can see further down the road than I can, only HIS plan in creating life can be the perfect one. We can't both be right. ;)

Good vs. Better

We are all given a choice between wrong and right; between what's good and what's BETTER! Those who base their decisions and "CHOICES" on their feelings, instead of God's Word are in for a big surprise when they stand before their Maker and account for why they rejected His plans for their lives!

Reinventing the Wheel - Birth Control

Even with Natural Family Planning, the reasonings behind birth control are still the same whether "natural" or "un-natural". Birth control is the attempt to control the procreation and prevent God from creating when He pleases. Whenever we try to reinvent the wheel in family planning we end up causing more harm than good. There is so much relief and peace in just letting God do what He does best...create life at His whim. :) I would hate to try to plan when or if I should have another...and then schedule my love life around all of it. Too much stress for a marriage!

Which Road?

We are all given a choice between wrong and right; between what's good and what's BETTER! Those who base their decisions and "CHOICES" on their finite feelings, instead of God's infinite wisdom, found in His Word are in for a big surprise when they stand before their Maker and account for why they rejected His plans for their lives!

Which road will you take? What feels good or what is good?

Psalm 37:23-26 In Light of Family UNplanning...

"The steps of a good man are established
[prepared] by the LORD, and he delights in his way."

Your life, lived within God's Will, is under Divine guidance and control! He does not idly create and send your family a new child! Your ways; your baby's ways are PLANNED by God! Are you taking PLEASURE in the path the the Lord has set before you? Are you complaining about where He has led you in family UNplanning? God has prepared this way for YOU. Rejoice in the way and praise God through all times!

"When he falls [a temporary calamity], he will not be hurled headlong,
because the LORD is the One who holds his hand [God "upholdeths"]."

So spiritually, whatever falls the believer may have through his own weakness and corruption, and Satan's subtlety, the Lord 'having begun a good work' in him, "will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ" (Phil 1:6). A beautiful type of this is Christ's stretching forth His hand to catch and save Peter from sinking in the waves (Matt 14:31).(from Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary)

Are you fearful of falling or failing while treading that path that God has laid before you? Take heart, God promises to be there to hold your hand. You will not be destroyed! Place your hand in His and TRUST your Creator God!

"I have been young and now I am old, yet I have not seen
the righteous forsaken or his descendants begging bread."

Nor his seed begging bread - i.e., continuously. Temporarily David had in his destitution begged sustenance from the rich Nabal. The very object of the psalm is to counteract the temptation to fretfulness at the temporary wants of the godly. But, alike in the Old and the New Testaments, the godly are exempt from permanent abandonment as to the needs even of this life. He who commands us to pray, Give us this day our daily bread, will not mock His children by withholding that which He Himself has encouraged them to ask, with the implied promise that He will grant it. He does not raise hopes only to disappoint them. They who make heaven their end will not be allowed to want any necessary on the way (Matt 6:33; Ps 84:11; Rom 8:28,32).(from Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary)

Are you afraid of not being able to provide for those little ones that the Lord might (or might not) send you? David says in this psalm that the RIGHTEOUS and their descendants have never been known to beg for food continuously. Now, will you reap what you sow? Yes. So, be careful to be righteous in your actions and God will reward you and provide for your own accordingly. Does this mean that you will have everything that you ever dreamed? No. God will provide for all our NEEDS as He see fit!

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: the neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds!" Luke 12:22-24

"All day long he is gracious and lends [he is compassionate], and
his descendants are a blessing."

Be gracious and giving! By living a life of faith and compassion your children will prove to be the BLESSINGS that God has always intended them to be.

Follow in HIS ways; Hold HIS hand and all will be well for you....not perfect, but well!

Adoption vs. Letting God Plan Your Family

Q. How can adoption play a role in [letting God plan your family]? In many adoption cases, pregnancy disrupts a case (which can be paralleled to losing a baby). Therefore, my husband and I felt it necessary to use natural planning (and sometimes barrier methods -- but never anything that would be abortifacient) to space our biological kids in order to respond to God's call to care for orphans. But I definitely agree with your post [HERE] as far as 'peace of heart' being a fault decision maker. I want what we do to be in line with God's will but I can't figure how to do both? Also, in several of your posts you mention God controls how many kids we should/will have. I agree, but wonder how you respond when people say we are messing up the possibility of adopting (obviously I don't agree with people that would think that, but I'm having a hard time articulating an answer Biblically). Additionally, and this is slightly off topic -- I wondered about the abortion-counter on your site, is it also including babies being aborted thru birth control? I imagine it'd be difficult to get an exact number, but I was just curious whether those numbers should be much higher for those poor sweet babies that don't even have a change to implant in the uterus.

A. First, the abortion counter on the side measures only surgical abortions...not the ones caused by birth control and not the ones caused by the abortion pill (medical abortions). So, yes...there's even more sad numbers to add to those! :(

Second, I believe that people should pursue adoption while still allowing God control of their wombs. We did NFP when adopting Annalise 8 1/2 years ago (photo above), as we were unaware of the Biblical premise for letting God have that control over the womb. But when we were in the midst of looking to adopt in 2007, we had four children at the time and were leaving my womb completely open to the Lord. We were looking into doing foster to adopt, were open to all ages (through 12) and sibling groups of ANY size. But...our family was considered "too large" to adopt from the foster system. We hired an agency in Washington state to send out profile to social workers and "go to bat" for us, so to speak. Even then, we were told by social workers ALL over the country that having four children was "too much".

We found out I was pregnant and kind of put adoption on the back burner, thinking that no one would want us to adopt if I was pregnant on top of having four children! We thought God had closed the door to adoption and we were at peace with that. BUT...right after we found out that we were pregnant with a girl (Ellie), I got a call from our agency in Washington state. They had a birth mother with a sister agency in Missouri who needed a home for her older boys who were 2 & 5 and she wanted to look at our profile. We told them she could, but that there was something they should know...I was 20 weeks pregnant. They said that would likely be a "deal-breaker", but said that they'd tell the birth mother anyway. Well, long story short, we talked to their mom on the phone and she chose our family to adopt her two boys. We were out in Missouri 2 weeks later (photo above)! We were told that adopting or gaining custody when the adoptive mom is pregnant is unheard of! Bottom line...it was God!

I find it very interesting when you said, “I want what we do to be in line with God's will but I can't figure how to do both?” Well, you really don't have to figure out how to do both! God will do all the figuring for you! That's one of the beautiful things about faith and trust in God...have faith and trust and the rest is up to Him! All you have to do is to learn to leave it ALL in God’s hands.

You never truly know if you will even be able to get pregnant or keep the babies that you become pregnant with (miscarriage). Most who knew Mark and I early in our marriage would have assumed that since I conceived and gave birth to two babies so soon after being married that we would have had baby after baby. After all, our first baby was our "honeymoon baby" and the second baby I became pregnant with when the first baby was only 6 months old. They would have envisioned us to have been in the position of the Duggar Family by now! However, their assumptions were incorrect. Mark and I have lost 7 precious children. Early in our marriage we had taken our fertility for granted, assuming that it would be there when we wanted.

We just never know what life will bring, and THAT is why God is the only one who knows what’s best for us! If you look at all my posts on letting God plan your family, ask yourself this when reading the Scripture and listening to the logic... "Can this be refuted or superseded by another Scripture having to do with the caring of orphans?” I have found that answer to be ‘no’.

Take some time and really ponder these questions below...

• God tells us that pure religion is to take care of widows and orphans. Are there more than one way to do this?


• Is God not capable of working around your pregnancies, like He did with Trey and Jake’s adoption?


• Can God choose to postpone a pregnancy without your help?


• If you do have child after child when handing over your womb to God, is there not another way to take care of widows and orphans? [You might want to read about our ministry to the unborn. This is just one way to help take care of the widows and orphans.]


• Will God send you a biological child at a time that is anything less than perfect?


• Will God send you a biological child to spite the poor child that you were set on adopting? Or is it that He knows and wants what's best for you and for the child that you want to adopt?


• Are you open to GOD's timeline and plan for sending children to your family through adoption or are you trying to control that way of planning your family, as well?

These are some difficult questions, but I think they are ones that really uncover someones motivations and reasoning when contemplating whether or not to adopt and whether or not to use birth control to limit the number of children God may or may not send you during that adoption process.

I believe that Scripture points to God, and God alone, having control over our wombs. If we really believe that He has and deserves the control to create a new soul as He pleases, HE will lead and guide us to our adopted child(ren), in accordance to His Will. I truly believe that. Do we need to actively pursue adoption? Maybe yes, maybe no. Our family actively pursued adoption in the past, whereas now we are open to adoption if He leads us to a particular situation (possibly through our pro-life work). Whether your pursuit of adoption is an active or passive pursuit should be based on where God directs you.

Botom line....if you can find Scripture that allows you to dictate when children should be sent to your womb so that you can do _____ (in your case, adoption), then you have found a “loop hole”. If not, then God still desires to be in control of creating life.

Look more around my site on family planning! I think you’ll find a ton of “meaty” Scriptures on this subject!

Oh....and before anyone comments on how I am discouraging people from adopting and promoting the birth of biological children as more important than the adoption of a child....I am not. I am wholeheartedly FOR adoption! However, I think that God is wholly capable of deciding when and if to send us biological children, just as He is wholly capable of deciding when and if to send us children by way of adoption. I think we, as humans, think that God needs our help with this...and we make it much more complicated than it needs to be. If you follow what He says in His Word, you cannot go wrong. If you believe God is the Creator or life, then He will send you children when He deems is best...even if it be in the middle of another adoption. God is sovereign. We are called to obey. That is it. The outcome we envision is never promised.

Does the feeling of peace make birth control okay in God's eyes?

Reposted from July 2010

Q. If a couple prays and God gives them peace to use birth control, are they in God's will regardless?

A.The below verses show why I have a problem with seeking "peace of the heart" when making a decision. Peace doesn't necessarily equal God's Will. Peace can accompany God's Will, but it should not be a determining factor when making a decision. We are all prone to foolish thinking, which is why the study and meditation on the Word of God is so vitally important when making ALL decisions.

Jeremiah 17:9 "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?"
Proverbs 28:26 "He that trusts in his own heart is a fool..."
Proverbs 12:15 "The way of a fool is right in his own eyes..."

That's why since GOD is the only Creator of human life, I trust HIM alone with the decision as to when He should create a human soul! How could I time having a child better than the Creator Himself? To think I could/can/should do so would make me a FOOL!

Having Many Children is Poor Stewardship in this Economy!

Reposted from July 2010

If any of you reading this have ever entertained this thought, please show me Scripturally where family planning is considered good stewardship. What is the opposite of wise stewardship? Foolishness, right? So, you are basically saying that those who choose to trust God in creating when He chooses and sending them blessings as He wills, are fools. We are fools to trust in the Creator of the universe to create when and if He so chooses. That is either a poorly thought out argument or complete and utter arrogance in regards to God Himself!

Bill & Kim Kinderman put it this way: "Another major problem with the argument is the alleged authority of the steward. The steward works for someone else who has established the parameters of his stewardship. The steward does not make their own rules – they do what the boss says; they accept what He gives and the blessings He sends. So, with this in mind, remember – God is boss and has told human stewards of His world to be fruitful and multiply. So how is it legitimate without some further word from God on the subject for the steward to just up and decide one day "He does not really want me to do this – He left it up to me to decide." The Bible, in other words, nowhere tells man He has the authority to decide that God’s command to be fruitful and multiply no longer applies. Man may claim authority to decide this, but the Bible does not indicate God intends for man to assume such authority. Who do we think we are, to tell Him what blessings we will and will not accept, guided by our selfish desires for comfort, prestige, the praise of men, or other carnal motives?!!

Obeying God in this area will create such a strain on God’s ability to help you financially that it is unwise stewardship to just let the blessings (kids) keep coming?! He owns the cattle on a thousand hills, but He needs your help in limiting the kids so that there will be enough funds left for Him to spread enough around so that each couple will be able to reasonably support [them] financially”.
Is God not capable of sending you the EXACT amount of children He wants to send? Will He call you foolish and a poor steward if you "allow" Him to create a child? Can you really see Him scolding you for poor stewardship of your resources when HE alone is the one who creates life? Can you see Him accusing you of poor stewardship when it goes against His thoughts on children being the UTMOST blessing?
By thinking that we should be in charge of whether or not (or when) God creates life makes us look like we believe that we are the all-knowing ones who took this "burden of prevention" off of God's shoulders and put it onto our own shoulders. We, as the clay, are looking at THE POTTER and saying that we will take on the burden of helping Him prevent His own creations. This is *complete arrogance* to assume that He gave us charge of creating or preventing souls, especially in alignment with stewardship.

Here's some food for thought (Scripturally) for you...

One of the best verses in the Bible to point out that only GOD knows when our quiver is full is this: "Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it. Unless the Lord keeps the city, the watchman stays awake in vain." Psalm 127:1

* The word “builds” in Hebrew is “Banah,” which actually means “to obtain children.”
* A form of "banah" is also used for the word "house," which is translated as "especially family."
* Then, the word "keep" is shamar" which is translated, "hedge about/protect/preserve."
* "In Vain" is "shav" = "or shav {shav}; in the sense of desolating; evil (as destructive), literally (ruin) or morally (especially guile); figuratively idolatry (as false, subjective), uselessness (as deceptive, objective; also adverbially, in vain)"

****Remember, This is also the same Psalm that talks of how happy a man is who has a quiver full of children! Wow! Amazingly laid out all in that one short chapter! Is that a command in this instance? No. BUT it is a warning.

From the fears you have concerning the economy's impact of procreation and God's provision, I doubt that you would reject the "blessing" of more money and a better economy. You'd take more money and a better economy, yes? But yet you would plan and possibly reject God's most-talked about blessing of children out of fear that you aren't managing your household well enough. You're afraid that GOd might send you a "punishment" of a child because you were a poor steward in not using birth control to control God and His creations. Wow. Yes, that's what that argument of stewardship in family planning entails....that God wants you to better manage the creation of children and if you do not, you will be "punished" with less money and resources because God "had to" send you additional children because of your failure to use birth control, and ultimately control God in giving you blessings of children. Logically AND Biblically this whole argument holds no water. Search the Scriptures, if you dare, to find the truth in this. I pray you will learn to trust GOD and accept ALL the blessings He chooses to send (or not send) you...money, housing, a better economy and most importantly, ETERNAL souls....CHILDREN!

Here is an EXCELLENT article from a godly man in regards to the age-old "stewardship" argument in regards to birth control. I challenge you to read it and share your thoughts. Here is an excerpt:

"Imagine, if you will, this parable starting in a different way. “There was a man traveling into a far country, who called his own servants, and attempted to deliver unto them his goods, but his servants refused.” Eesh. You can almost anticipate the response from the man who had just had his authority personally attacked and rejected. If this Master was upset at a servant who received a talent but did nothing with it, do we really want to know how he would respond if his servant refused to accept the stewardship at all? And yet, when it comes to birth control, we do that very thing! And then have the bravado to claim we are doing it in “the name of stewardship”! Think for a moment about what stewardship really means. At its very foundation, as we saw in the parable above, it implies (and demands) acceptance of that which is to be stewarded. Webster’s defines it as the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one’s care. A servant who refuses to accept the Master’s talent may be many things, but he is no steward – in fact, he is the negation of a steward – one who refuses to carefully and responsibly managing something entrusted to one’s care."

Testing for Pregnancy Disorders and Fear of What Might Happen

Q. Hi, I remember reading your post before your last pregnancy. You talked about having blood test done to find out if you had a clotting disorder. Why did you have that done? Did Insurance pay for it? I have 4 children. I have had pre-eclampsia with my 2nd and 4th. The last one was bad enough that I had an emergency c-section at 33 weeks. My Dr. of course does not want me to have anymore. He tried to talk me into getting my tubes tied. I thankfully declined. I can not imagine not having more!! Did you ever consider stopping after your problems? I have to admit the thought of being pregnant again scares me. Thank you!

A. Have you ever encountered bleeding issues after birth? If so, you might want to have them test you for clotting disorders. There are numerous disorders to test for, but pre-e is a common result of the autoimmune/clotting disorder. I have antiphospholipid syndrome. I ended up with severe Pre-e with Eva and was induced at 37 weeks. I’ve had it with other children, as well.

Yes, our insurance covered the testing, as it was ordered by the OB who treated me in the ER with Levi. They needed to find out why I had lost so many and experienced such dramatic and sudden blood loss after each of my births and losses (13 total). They may or may not consider your testing medically necessary, BUT ask your OB that they "code" it as that, so that it is covered!! (on a side note, you should look into Samaritan Ministries Christian Healthcare....we have done it since Levi's loss and LOVE it...wish we'd done it YEARS ago!)

ANYWAY...yes, I did have doubts about having more, but only when I was in the "thick of it"...when I had lost Levi and was in the ER. I was passing in and out of consciousness in the hospital and was told later that I had come within an hour of dying. I remember telling Mark that I thought that Judah was our last. At the time I said that, I was getting my first of four blood transfusions and had already been in shock when the ambulance came for me. It was very surreal...very scary. So, yes, at that point I felt that we would have no more children.

HOWEVER, after I could gather my thoughts and seek God (just days later), I reevaluated my beliefs about God's sovereignty in creating life and re-thought and re-read what I said I believed all those years. This was the conclusion we came to: It is BECAUSE of our belief of Who God is that Mark and I both hold fast to our beliefs about family planning. God has numbered each of our days (including mine and Levi's) and He would not create a child in my womb that was to cause my death without His foreknowledge and planning! God would not create a soul that we "should have prevented," just to take my life away to prove to the rest of the world that He needs our help in family planning. The fact is that He needs no one's assistance in the creation or prevention of life. The Creator can handle it all without our finite wisdom and help. He does not need our assistance in family planning in the least. Why do we worry so? Because...we are human.

My view of God is a view that He is all-powerful and all knowing. He is our protector; our shield. He is our comforter. He loves us with a love unspeakable. He holds us all in the palms of His hand. He numbers the very hairs on our heads, therefore He will not let anything happen to me in childbirth that He didn't have planned from before my own birth...He does not curse us (take away our lives needlessly) because we did not limit the blessings of children - His creations. If I were or am to die in childbearing, that was planned from before the beginning of time! This life is but a vapor (James 4:14 "Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes."). Because my life is a mist, I will choose to let God watch out for my well-being while He takes over the creations within me. After all, who could know what's better for me and my babes, but the all-knowing God; Creator of Heaven and earth!

I trust in God - and God alone. I trust NOT in my limited human understanding. I have a peace that goes beyond understanding, knowing that in following His plan for our family that He will continue to watch out for us, whether I am here to mother or not; whether He chooses to bless us with more children or not. I TRUST IN GOD'S Wisdom, as only HE can see down the road ahead! I rest in His hand! Humans cannot fathom His love. We should not attempt to second-guess His decisions (although it is okay to tell God about our human feelings...He wants to listen to His children).

Because I trust so in my Creator...and the Creator of my children, present and yet to come...I will keep my vow to let HIM plan our family! "I will fulfill my vows to You, O God, and will offer a sacrifice of thanks for Your help. For you have rescued me from death; You have kept my feet from slipping. So now I can walk in Your presence, O God, in Your life-giving light." Psalm 56:12-13

HERE are some thoughts on risking death in childbearing. It might be of some encouragement to you!

I hope I was able to answer your questions and encourage you some with this!

Ministry or Children? Hands off my womb so that I can serve you better!

Reposted from June 2, 2008

Below is a very interesting article about something rather sad....choosing between "ministry" and children. Isn't raising our children a MINISTRY that GOD CHOSE to give us? Can you not minister with children by your side? I know our family ministers to many while having our children right there with us! It's just not "popular" or perhaps as "respected" as those who "sacrifice" their childbearing years for God's Kingdom's sake. Huh?

• Does God require sacrifice at the cost of intentionally closing your own womb to the only One who really controls the creations that happen within?


• Is God incapable of designing His perfect family size for you WHILE you minister?


• If God's the one who creates, and not us, then why do we need to "protect" our wombs from HIM in the name of ministering for the One who creates babies?


• Are you afraid He might create a baby within you before the "time is right"?


• Does God accidentally create new life? Does He create mistakes or suprises? They might be a surprise to us, but NOT to the one who knits us together in our mother's womb.


• Why do we need to seal up that special place where GOD, and God alone, creates human souls for His Glory?


• Has He asked you for your help in preventing life or are you assuming the role as the Potter?


• Does He really need your help with preventing what He might create?


• Why do we feel the need to CONTROL GOD and His power and His Will to create souls?


• Why do we have to prevent His creations through birth control, especially for the "sake of ministry"?

We assume authority, that is not rightly ours, when we tell God [by using birth control] "hands off my womb" so that I can serve you better! How vain to think that we need to control God and HIS Will for our family and the creation of ETERNAL SOULS! ~Lisa

Ministry or Children?

By Cheri Fields

I was browsing through the Christian Blogosphere today ran into a Christian mother’s site where the headline of "Family Planning" couldn’t help but catch my eye. The writer honestly and with clear conscience believes that non-abortive methods of birth control are appropriate for Christians--not just for health concerns (that wasn’t even mentioned), but for the "ministry’s sake."

From what she said, it seems that she believes it to be impossible to have an influence on Christ’s Kingdom when you are in the throes of rearing a dozen children. Her contention is that people are brought to Christ primarily through evangelism, so to trade witnessing for bringing up a small crop of Christians in a family is a bad payoff.

It breaks my heart to see how far Satan has led us as Believers down the road of every couple being in total control of their procreation. The first principle upon which to base such a monumental decision for our lives needs to be that of God as the One in charge of children. He it is that closes and opens the womb; He it is who determines whom and how many He sends to grace the earth and bless His followers. We are simply the vessels He uses to carry out this miracle.

Is He really such a primitive and incapable God that He cannot be trusted to give and withhold the responsibilities and opportunities of parenthood as He sees fit? * Read the rest HERE....

Is it sinful to try to conceive more children?

The Box

Since sometimes we struggle grasping the idea of children being gifts from God, here's another way to look at it. Assume you have a special hiding place where your husband habitually leaves sweet presents for you. Say, a little box on a shelf in your closet.

One day, he finds that you screwed the box closed and then wrapped duct tape securely around it in your best efforts to keep him from putting any other gifts in there. He still COULD [put the gifts in the box], but he definitely got the message. He would get the impression that you obviously didn't like his previous gifts (if he had already given you any). So much so that you didn't want another one.

If you had just gotten married and you both knew that he was PLANNING to put gifts in this little box and he found it in the above described way, he would probably be hurt that you didn't even want the first gift from him. "She doesn't think I can give her good gifts!" he would think to himself.

However, how would he feel if you put that box right where he could see it, perhaps even leaving it open, eagerly waiting for his gift! YOU cannot put the gift there, but you can certainly do your best to remind him that you LOVE his gifts and are EAGERLY awaiting another one!

Now, think of the husband as God and the special box as your womb. Keep in mind that God is God and not a man who doesn't always get us. He knows what is best for us, He knows what we need, He is our provider, our protector, He gives us all that we need and never gives us something that would destroy us but gives us "every good gift". ~ Kelly Leinbach

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COMMENT: Isn't it legalism to try to work for our blessings?

RESPONSE: Actually, legalism is trying to improve your standing before God, as the Pharisees did. It is the motive, not the deed itself; the heart, not the action. In other words, true legalism is a type of work-based salvation. Obedience is a heart, seeking to obey Jesus and become more like Him in order to bring joy to the Savior! "Obeying God's laws is an act of praise, not a bribe. Obeying God's commands is an act of gratitude, not a payment. " Dr. Robert G. Spinney So, I don't really see how legalism could be applied to this subject, unless someone was trying to "improve their standing before God" by actively conceiving children..."The more children I have, the happier God will be with me." In that case it would most definitely be a "heart issue".

COMMENT: What if someone tries to impress others with the number of children they have, not just to impress God? This was obviously part of the Pharisees problem.

RESPONSE: Yes, but I think the Pharisees (and people like them now) could also be viewed as being proud and pompous in addition to being a "legalist." Being a legalist is obeying God's laws for selfish reasons or for the praises of men. If you're sincerely and solely trying to please God by obeying His laws, then you're definitely NOT a legalist. In that case, Jesus would have called us all to be "legalists" when He said, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments" and God would have also called us to be so when He said, "Be holy because I am holy." We get labeled as a legalists quite often, but I don't believe that we are. I believe that we're doing what we do (whatever it might be - not just in this matter) to please God and honor Him through obedience. Again...it's ALWAYS a heart issue with obedience to Scripture.

COMMENT: Should we have big families simply because they did in Bible times?

RESPONSE: I DO NOT think that we should all have large families. I simply believe that God is the one who is shown throughout Scripture to be the One Who opens and closes the womb. He is the one who should be the decider of whether or not He creates an eternal soul. I just LOVE the whole "present analogy" that "Kelly from FL" (quoted above)! It's perfect for understanding how we attempt (and most often succeed) in taking away that control from God by using birth control. God certainly does have the ability to override birth control, but most of the time He chooses not to (which is why so many people use it - if He did override it regularly we wouldn't rely on it's success rates so much).

Soooo......It's all about God's control over our family size...not about the actual SIZE of that family, which is why I said that we all need to be content all the time with the number of children GOD has chosen to give us, whether it be 0 or 20. Contentment at any point is key.

BTW...."The Power of Motherhood" by Nancy Campbell is EXCELLENT on realizing God's plan for women and childbearing! It really opened my eyes to see how I could be ALL that God wanted me to be in this season of life (my childbearing years). There's also a YahooGroup that discusses the chapters, if anyone's interested.

I think we need to be open to hearing the Lord's heart in this issue!!!! Be content; be open; seek God in all things!

Have Fewer Children? What does God say?

Comment: If you keep having children whom you are unable to take good care of, both spiritually, physically, educationally, etc... those children will not be the blessing to the world that they could have been had you had fewer children and had been able to focus more on them.

Response: God only ever refers to children as BLESSINGS. Never does he refer to His creations as a curse. Psalm 139:14 says, "I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well." and Genesis 1:27 says, "God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him." We are wonderfully and fearfully created in the image of God. How could such a being be considered anything less than a blessing from God?

We see time and again that children are the most talked-about blessing in the Bible. For instance, in Deuteronomy 28:1-14, which are known as the prosperity verses, God provides an adequate list of what He names blessings: your possessions, your labors, your womb, victory over your enemies, your leadership. I believe that the overwhelming responsibility of training these blessings relies solely on us, as parents, which is a HUGE responsibility. However great that responsibility is, we humans have never been given the charge, nor do we have the ability to CORRECTLY foresee when to plan/prevent these blessings from God. Situations change. Incomes fluctuate - down and up! Let God provide for those He chooses to send you! Have faith and give over your womb to God for HIM to use as HE sees fit. Psalm 37:25 says, "I have been young and now I am old, Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken Or his descendants begging bread." He will provide the necessities...maybe more, but never less than what you and your family needs to adequately provide for the lives He blesses you with! Children are not expensive, but lifestyles are. As long as you are managing your lives Biblically and appropriately, God will provide ALL you need!

The verse Jeremiah 17:9 says, "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" That clearly states that we are deceitful to the core and that our hearts cannot perceive the long-term effects that God sees when He sees fit to send us children. Who do you think knows what's best for you? Yourself...or the One who made you?

Death in Childbirth...Stop having children before it's too late

Comment: Many a mother has been laid to an early grave because her health was poor and she kept taxing it with pregnancies.

Response: If that is true, then God failed these women by sending them too many babies. How could the maker and taker of life make a mistake like that? I just don't understand how one can fail to see the sovereignty of God when claiming that these women, who accepted God's eternal blessings of children, were "sent to early graves" due to God's mistakes in creating lives and/or the women's failure in preventing them. Biblically, I just don't see the reasoning behind this.

In Job 33:4 is says, "The Spirit of God has made me; the breath of the Almighty gives me life." Since GOD (the Almighty) GIVES life. He has the final say in whether we live or die. The sustaining of life is God's realm, as it is His realm in creating life. the ALMIGHTY gives life. We can't force Him to give what is not ours to give.

Psalm 49:7 "No man can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for him..." So, we cannot redeem our lives without God's approval. If it is our time to die, then we will die that day inevitably. The only way we can speed up death is by sinning or being careless in our actions. Allowing God the ability to create life inside us is handing LIFE over to Him. How is that careless? Oh, and in case you're wondering...yes, this verse is talking about a PHYSICAL life, not a spiritual (although obviously God is the only redeemer of the spiritual life, as well), because In verse 15 it says, "But GOD will redeem my life from the grave..." So, here we see that God will redeem lives, as He pleases....not man. We are unable to redeem life on our own and without His hand on the matter. Preventing His hands from creating life in our wombs does not buy us more time. He is in charge of the creation and the taking of life...or at least he SHOULD be.

In Luke 12:25 Jesus says, "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this little thing, why worry about the rest? O You of little faith!" This just sums it all up! We are unable to add to our life without GOD's consent and His hand in the matter. We assume the awesome responsibility of preventing life, making the costly and boastful assumption that God needs, requests or expects this help (in whatever circumstance), yet we can add no hours to our own lives. THAT is why I leave it ALL to Him!

Taking Chances and Breaking Rank

I'm not going to say to my commanding officer. "But, I don't want any more arrows. Just 1 or 2 to take into battle with me. They're too cumbersome & too hard to handle. I'll take my chances & go into battle with just 1, Okay, commander? I think I really am the 1 who knows best in this situation. I know you are the superior officer. But, I'm not letting you control EVERYTHING. I'm breaking rank on this one."~Marla K.

I couldn't agree more with the quote from Marla! All of our human reasoning and logic FOR birth control goes against the God we see in Scripture. Only God opened the womb and only God closed it. If God is the same yesterday, today and forever, then that still holds true today. If that is so and He is the POTTER, then we, as the CLAY, should accept His creations that He chooses to create within our womb. If He told you he wanted you to have 2, then you'll have 2 whether you use "protection" [from blessings] or not.

Humans have a tendancy to play God. I almost decided to stop having children after nearly dying from blood loss after losing our four month old Levi. Instead, I chose to rely on what I had found true in His Word, and now we are blessed with little Eva!

I trust Him with creating or not creating, as only He is infinite in wisdom. I am merely here to serve Him and leave Him the room to create as He chooses! I won't tell him "hands off my womb" and I won't assume He needs me to help Him with creating/preventing life itself. I am so thankful for my 6 biological blessings, my 3 adopted blessings and my 7 blessings awaiting me in Glory! God is GOOD...and as I say when ministering at the abortion clinic, God NEVER creates mistakes...never!

‎"One of you will say to me: "Then why does God still blame us? For who resists his will?" But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? "Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, 'Why did you make me like this?' "Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?" Romans 9:19-21

Wouldn't Trade This Life for Anything....

How quickly tiny bundles of joy grow! How fleeting are the lives we live! How ungrateful we are in times of stress for the blessings of little ones!

As a mother, many of us tire of the thankless hours and sheer amount of work that comes with motherhood. I, however, treasure all my sleepless nights, my cleaning of vomit and my endless loads of laundry all for....the smiles and memories that I make with my precious children!

I can't help but think what fools are they who intentionally refuse these sweet and precious blessings called children! There is no trial, hardship or everyday drugery that I would trade for an empty (or less empty) house and deafening quiet!

Eva Caroline is HERE!

We are so pleased to announce that Eva Caroline Metzger is here (story below)!

I was induced on the morning of February 10th because I tested positive for preeclampsia. My protein levels were 595 and should have been less than 150 and my blood pressure was through the roof, even on meds.

I was able to have everything I wanted - a non-medicated, non-invasive, 2nd VBAC - thanks to my midwife (whom, at 35 weeks along, I discovered had moved her practice to Mooresville...an hour from where we live)! I did have to have the “dreaded induction”, but it was needed (my midwife said that most docs would have c-sectioned me immediately or put me in the hospital on magnesium). I also was able to labor 100% natural, which is what I wanted in order to avoid complications with heparin and epidural meds (paralysis). The other HUGE thing was that I had NO BACK LABOR (first time ever!) probably due to chiropractic care and my midwife who fought for me to stay out of that horrid hospital bed! The labor was about 20 hours. Eva was sunny side up and gave me a hard time, but she was so worth it!

Little Eva Caroline was 6 pounds and 17 1/2 inches long, born on February 11th at 10:26 A.M. at 37 weeks. She had the cord wrapped twice around her neck...little wiggle worm! The placenta had the cord attached at the side, instead of in the middle. The cord was also not protected by the placental membranes, either. THANKFULLY her cord was EXTRA LONG, which we were told actually saved her life. They said that most babies with that kind of placenta either die via miscarriage in the 2nd trimester via placental abruption (which is what I had with Levi at 16 weeks) or they are stillborn. THANK GOD for His protection over her. It was amazing to see just how LITTLE of a connection her cord had to that placenta! Thank you, Jesus, for bringing Eva into the world healthy and well! Anyway....that’s the “birth story” for all who would like to know!

Her mother, father and 8 siblings are SO excited she is finally here! We have been battling the flu since her birth, but God is pulling us through with help from friends and family! Thanks to ALL who provided meals!!! We are so grateful!

"For this child I prayed, and the Lord has given me my petition which I asked of Him."
1 Samuel 1:27