FINALLY...Consulate Appointment

I keep saying that we just need to go away and something will happen and that is exactly how it worked again this time.   We had traveled to Florida for Brady's college graduation and a few days of excitement and celebration in honor of our firstborn.   Dave's cell phone rang the minute he turned it on after we touched down at Tampa International Airport.  It was our coordinator letting us know that our consulate appointment was confirmed and we could book our flights.

So we now have our airplane tickets booked and are finalizing all of the details of our in-country travel once we arrive.  We will leave on May 26 early in the morning and arrive back home on Friday evening, June 11 after 17 days of adventure!

Since this is Mother's Day weekend I have lots on my mind - Brady graduating, Mikelle traveling home from SEU, raising Sasha to know and love God and bringing Zoe home.

I seldom think on the things that I am NOT, but today I will share a couple of them.  I am not a public figure.  I am not an influential political leader.   I am not a learned theologian.

I am, however, something that is precious in God’s eyes.  I am a mother.

I am grateful for the children the Lord has given me to love and nurture.

But motherhood is not a life you choose if you want instantaneous rewards.   Being a mom presses every button I have and tests everything I think I know about spiritual growth and trusting God to provide.  Mothering is a life choice that stretches me, consumes me, squeezes me, and shapes me.

Being a mom means I will live my life in a matrix that is never ending and paradoxical.  One in which great love and great pain often go hand in hand.  One in which the tiniest of moments produces incredible joy.   One in which my fatigue or frustration or lack of wisdom or fear become doorways to the throne of grace.

And there I find a Father who welcomes me, lifts the weight of the task from my weary shoulders, and reminds me of what I know to be true:

Generations from now, Lord willing,

my descendants will be scattered

across His earth, standing against

the tide of whatever ungodly culture

exists in their day.  They will have the

potential to proclaim the simple

truth of the Gospel that changes

the heart of men.

I am reading the book “Turning the Tide”  Having MORE children who follow Christ by Holly Elliff and the above comes from her book.   It has been very interesting to read about what happens when believers choose to have fewer children or no children at all and what the long term effect on our culture and world will be. An interesting statistic is that the average number of children in a muslim family is 7!!!!   SEVEN!  This is true even here in the USA! 

As Christians we pray about what we should do with our money but do we really seek God’s will regarding the size of our family?   This book, shared with me by a precious friend, has really touched my heart and challenges Christians to search our hearts in this area and consider how the truth of God’s word applies in this part of our life.  God is about life, growth and increase.   How can we possibly imagine that children don’t fit in God’s plans?  The challenge today:  Do I have the mind of Christ in this critical area of life?”