God’s Provision: Walk in Faith—A Look at Chapter 9 of Be Fruitful & Multiply

“The Bible teaches that we are to look to God in faith not only for children, but for His provision for these children conceived in faith.”

Once again, Campbell begins her chapter with a poignant thought. Most Christians will agree that we are called to rely on God to provide for us, but they seem to limit God’s provisions by thinking that they “can’t afford” to have more children or that they don’t have enough room. It seems to me that people think they need a lot of “things” to be able to have children, but it has been my experience that you only need a lot of faith and love.

“Faith simply obeys—and trusts God!” Campbell is very direct and honest. People have told me that it isn’t that simple, but it truly is. Now, realize that I said it was simple, not that it was easy. I don’t think we were called to live an easy .life and it would be pretty boring if it was always easy, but that doesn’t mean it has to be complicated.

Let’s take a look at a few verses in Deuteronomy 28.

“Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today . . . Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks. Blessed shall be your basket and your kneading bowl . . . The Lord will command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand, and He will bless you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you.” (1, 4-6, 8)

If we obey God’s commands, then He will bless us. What will He bless us with first? The fruit of our body. He will increase our children BEFORE He will increase what we need to take care of those children! We need to step out in faith to see what God is truly capable of.

I have seen God bless us tremendously since we gave my womb over to His control. I can recount countless stories of how He has provided for us in a way we never imagined in His timing and not ours. I had someone say to me that she wished God blessed her in the awesome ways He does for us. In all honesty, I wish I would have had the courage to tell her that she first needs to put her faith in Him to see Him work in mighty ways. This person is a believer and has a strong relationship with Christ, but by watching how she lives her life, I get the impression that her faith is in her savings and not in God. She stock piles food, toiletries, etc. because she thinks there will come a time that she can’t afford to buy them. She and her husband both work two jobs when just one of his jobs brings in more money for the two of them than Chad makes for our family of eleven. I’m not saying it isn’t wise to plan for the future, but when you relish in the fact that you have enough food stored up to feed yourself for six months and there are people in your own church who are struggling to feed their families, there is an issue.

If you truly want to see God perform miracles, then take that step of faith. When the world is telling you that you are not being wise in your decision but you know it is Biblical, then you are most likely taking the best step. God will use the unlikely of this world bring about His will. He will bless those who are faithful in ALL things.

Campbell says it well when she says,

If we only have faith for a small family, we will receive small provision. If we have faith to believe God for the children He wants us to have, we will experience God’s larger provision to provide for them. God’s provision is for the “fruit of the womb.” And remember that God does not show up with His provision before the baby comes. He will show up when the new baby arrives. And He never fails!

I encourage you to look at where God may be calling you to take a step of faith. Pray about it to make sure it is truly what God is calling you to do and if so, then leap! He is faithful to do as He says He will.

Foolish Living

God reminded me of a few things I already knew, but hadn’t been thinking about lately when I read Nehemiah 2. I think this is one of the important reasons why we are to be in His Word everyday. He can not speak to us through His Word if we do not read it and know it.

Nehemiah was the King’s cup bearer. The King asked Nehemiah what was wrong and before Nehemiah answered him, he prayed. He prayed. Before even doing something as simple as answering a question, he prayed. This was definitely a reminder that I need to stop and pray for God’s guidance before I do or say anything. I need to remember that every opportunity is an opportunity to show God’s love and be a witness for Him and the best way to do that is to pray for His guidance before starting.

I also saw that the Israelites worked for God despite the fact that the people around them laughed at them. Verses 18-20 tell us that they put their hands to the hard work of rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem and those in authority around them laughed and despised them. Nehemiah answered their laughter and derision with “The God of heaven Himself will prosper us”. We know that if we live how God calls us to live, then people who are of the world are going to laugh at us. They don’t understand why we would want to follow God instead of taking charge of our own lives. They think the Bible is foolishness. However, if we are living as God calls us to live, then we know that the Lord will prosper us regardless to how foolish the world thinks we are being. I have seen this proven over and over not only in my life, but in the lives of family and friends who choose to follow God.

Learning these two things has been beneficial to me already as I saw that I was doing things without praying about them first and was making unwise choices. I was able to repent and change my ways and I now have a peace moving forward. I receive that same peace when I move ahead with following God’s commands even though I receive condemnation from those around me for supposedly making “foolish” choices. The funny thing is that the foolish choices I was making and had to repent of were not seen as foolish in the eyes of the world even though I didn’t feel peace with those choices. We have to remember that the ways of God are not the same as the ways of the world. We are called to be different, to stand out, and to be a witness for Him.

Homemade Laundry Detergent

I have been asked about the laundry detergent I make. I used the recipe from the Duggar's website and adapted it for our use. Because we don't have any convenient place to store a 5 gallon bucket of laundry detergent, I use make 2 1/2 gallons of the concentrate. I don't like the smell of Fals Neptha and I wanted something more natural, so I use a bar of Dr. Bronner's soaps. When I make this recipe, it lasts us about 2 months and we average 15 loads a week. I can buy the washing soda, borax and 1 bar of soap for the same price as one jug of natural laundry detergent. I've used the washing soda three times to make this batch and have enough for a fourth if I don't use it at other times as I have already done for a homemade oxy clean I've been trying. If I didn't use it for that, I would get at least 5 batches out of one box of washing soda. My borax box is still 3/4 full after using it for three batches. Combine that with the fact that 1 jug of store bought only lasted me 2-3 weeks, it is a HUGE savings to make my own detergent.

2  Cups - hot tap water
1  Dr. Bronner's bar soap (any scent)
1 Cup - Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda
½ Cup Borax

Grate bar of soap (I use my food processor) and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted. 

After melting the soap into the water.

Fill two 1 gallon buckets and an empty laundry jug half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken. Shake laundry soap jug and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use. (will gel)

I filled two 1 gallon pails and 1/2 a 1 gallon pail because the jug I had been using broke yesterday and I haven't gotten a replacement yet.

Optional: You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons. Add once soap has cooled. Ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil.

Yield: Liquid soap recipe makes 5 gallons.

I use 2-3 tablespoons of detergent in my front loader depending on how dirty the load. I use 1 tablespoon for my cloth diapers.

Easy, Cheap Coffee Cake

On Sunday mornings I usually try to do something very simple for breakfast and of course, cheap is always a good thing. When I don't have time to make something on Saturday (like this weekend because we were gone all day Saturday), then I use this coffee cake recipe.

1 1/2 cup sugar                                  
1/2 cup butter or coconut oil, room temp
2 eggs                                                
1 cup milk
3 cups whole grain spelt flour              
4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

Beat soft butter and sugar. Add egg and milk. Mix in dry ingredients. Spread into greased 9 x 13 pan. Sprinkle cinnamon & sugar on top. Bake at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes.

Variations:

Arrange thinly sliced apples on top before sprinkling the cinnamon & sugar. Bake this for 40-45 minutes.

Combine 1 cup rolled oats, 1 cup brown sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon and sprinkle over batter.


Note: Today I used 3/4 cup sugar and 1/2 tsp stevia and it was too sweet so I should have done 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 tsp stevia. We found when we did all stevia, it altered the taste too much.

Learning Joy in the Middle of the Night

Last night was not a good night for my youngest. Not only is she dealing with teething and a virus which causes congestion, but we are staying at a friend’s home so bedtime routine was different, she slept in a different crib, and all of us were in the same room. She was up multiple times and most of the time that she did sleep, it was only because I was holding her. I think I got a total of 3 ½ hours of sleep.

At around 2:45 a.m. I was talking with God about the situation. I was exhausted and I was afraid of her waking everyone else in the house. I was blunt with God and told Him that I was trying to find contentment in the current situation, but I was having a hard time doing so. How stupid I was. He immediately reminded me of my friend who miscarried last week, of my friend who may have been miscarrying as I was whining, of my many friends who have experienced miscarriages before, of mothers who have empty arms due to still births, giving their children up for adoption, or heaven forbid, kidnapping. I was instantly humbled.

I began praising God that I had Tissa in my arms, that I was well enough to be able to hold her, comfort her, and pace the room with her. I thanked Him for herbs to ease her teething pain and clear congestion. I praised Him for the fact that the other girls didn’t wake up.

I also took the time to pray for my friends. I prayed for comfort for my friend who miscarried last week. I prayed for peace about His plans for my friend who is worried that she might be in the process of her fourth miscarriage. I prayed for my friends who have experienced miscarriage and/or still births before. I prayed not only for those mothers whose hearts may ached because they gave their children up for adoption, but also for those children that they may find homes where they would have a mother to love them, hold them, comfort them, and pace the room in the middle of the night with them.

I’m still on my journey of learning contentment and joy, but I am so glad I am not on this journey alone. The Lord is constantly by my side and as I learn to praise Him in all things, it becomes easier and I pray eventually it because a way of life. It is amazing how much I am learning about myself since committing to this journey. The Lord is truly opening my eyes to a number of aspects of my life that need changing and those changes are coming easier and easier as I become a more joyful, Christ-filled woman.

I encourage all of you to start on a journey to contentment and joy if you haven’t already started. I highly recommend One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp to get you started on that journey. Making your own list of one thousand gifts is humbling as well. I have shared some of the things on my list before, but I’ll share some more with you because it is always uplifting to me to hear/see others praising God for what He is doing in their lives.

Scalloped Egg Casserole

I'm going to start sharing recipes more often because I don't know of a wife/mother that isn't always on the lookout for an easy, cheap meal. Almost everything I make is pretty simple and inexpensive.

Today's recipe was handed down from my grandfather. I grew up around men who cooked all the time so I have had to learn to be content with the fact that my husband never cooks. But back to the recipe. Scalloped Egg Casserole is a comfort food for me. I like the fact that it provides lots of protein for a small investment. I have used this recipe when we have had friends over for dinner who are vegetarians and they all liked it.

I wish I had a picture for you, but I don't. This is something I've been wanting to make, but haven't lately for a few reasons. One, we were off yeast for a while which meant no bread and I just wasn't sure if I would like it without the bread cubes on top. Two, we were using a lot of eggs when we were off sugar so I was low on eggs by the time we could have bread again. And three, we are going out of town this weekend so even though I would love to make it, it will have to wait until next week. Maybe I'll post a picture then!

Scalloped Egg Casserole

10 hard boiled eggs                                                      6 tbsp butter--don't use margarine, please

6 tbsp flour                                                                   2 tbsp dry mustard

2 cups milk                                                                   1 tsp salt

2 slices of bread for bread cubes

Melt butter, whisk in flour and dry mustard and cook for about 1 minute. Whisk in milk until thickened. Grease a 9x13 casserole dish. Peel and slice the eggs. Put a small amount of sauce in the bottom of pan, then a layer of sliced eggs, more sauce, and other layer of eggs and keep going until gone. Butter bread slices and cut into cubes and put on top. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Overflowing Blessings--Resolution for Women

"Give and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measure back to you." ~ Luke 6:38

When we think we have nothing to give, we need to resolve to be content where we are and figure out how we are going to get out of bed for the fifth time with a child who keeps getting up, or how we can help the neighbor who just had surgery, or how we can help the family that is in need. God will bless us for our faithfulness to give when He calls us to give. When we resolve to be content "Then look toward heaven with holy anticipation, and sit with your long skirt gathered up in folds and draped loosely across your lap, prepared to catch the overflow in the welcome pockets of room you've created."

Reading this chapter reminded me of a time where this was played out in my life. A friend needed some canning jars. I had some I wasn't using that year so I gave her a couple dozen. She didn't want to take them because she figured I would need them the next year. I told her I would let God worry about that. The very next day I received a phone call from my uncle wanting to know if I could use some canning jars. He had six boxes for me! A few years later I even got back the ones I gave to my friend because they were moving and didn't have room for all the jars.

Another story also came to mind. It is found in 1 Kings 17:8-16. A widow only had enough food to feed her and her son one more meal of flat bread. She gave some to the prophet Elijah whom God had sent to her. Because of her faithfulness, her flour and oil didn't run out until God sent rain. Verse 15 tells us it was "many days"; however, if you read before and after that story, you'll learn that there wasn't rain for 3 1/2 years. Now Elijah didn't go to her at the beginning of that time, but even if ti was halfway through, that still means that her food lasted for 455!  Talk a bout God's abundant blessings!

When we are content with what we have, we are more willing to give to others. Learn contentment and receive God's overflowing blessings!

God is Never Wrong

I received the following story in an email and thought it was so good that I had to share it!

A king who did not believe in the goodness of God, had a slave who, in
all circumstances, said: My king, do not be discouraged, because
everything God does is perfect, no mistakes!
 
One day they went hunting and along the way a wild animal attacked the
king. His slave managed to kill the animal, but could not prevent his
majesty losing a
finger.
 
Furious and without showing his gratitude for being saved, the nobleman
said "Is God good? If He was good, I would not have been attacked and
lost my finger."
 
The slave replied only "My king, despite all these things, I can only
tell you that God is good,
and he knows the "why" of all these things. What God does is perfect. He
is never wrong!"
 
Outraged by the response, the king ordered the arrest of his slave.
 
Later, he left for another hunt and was captured by savages who made
human sacrifices.
 
As the savage was ready to sacrifice the noble on the altar, he saw that the
victim had a missing finger. They released the noble: they could not offer
an imperfect body to the gods.
 
Upon his return to the palace, the noble authorized the release of his slave and he received him very affectionately.
  
My dear, God was really good for me! I was almost killed by the wild
men, but for lack of a single finger, I was let go! But I have a
question: If God is so good, why did he allow me to put you in jail?
 
My King, if I had gone with you in this hunt, I would have been
sacrificed for you, because I have no missing finger.
 
Therefore, remember: everything God does is perfect. He is never wrong
 
Often we complain about life and things that happen to us apparently
negative, forgetting that nothing is random and that everything has a purpose.
 
Every morning, offer your day to God.
 
Ask God to inspire your thoughts, guide your actions, to ease your
feelings. And do not be afraid. God is never wrong!

Thinking Like a Christian: What Does the Bible Say About Public School?

Thinking Like a Christian: What Does the Bible Say About Public School?

Trust and Obey—A look at Chapter 8 of Be Fruitful & Multiply

“Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams.” – 1 Samuel 15:22

I often hear people say that it is better to seek forgiveness than to ask permission, but that is completely contrary to God’s word. As stated in the verse above, God would rather have obedience than asking forgiveness later. I often wonder if people truly know the meaning of repentant. Being repentant is to turn away from one’s sin. If you are committing the deed with the idea that you will just ask forgiveness, then you aren’t truly repentant because you aren’t turning from your sin.

If you read the next verse, then you learn how strongly God views rebellion from His commands.

“For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He also has rejected your from being king.”

Of course, Nehemiah was speaking to Saul at the time, but we can still apply this scripture to our own lives in that God will reject us from completing our true calling if we reject His ways long enough.

God woke Nancy up one night after she had been studying the issue of couples saying they are sacrificing having children to be free to serve God. He told her, “The perfect will of God for your life will never contradict His existing commandments.” How perfectly worded! If you feel God calling you do to something that is against a command in the Bible, then guess what . . . He isn’t really calling you to do that.

So many times people try to graft the advice of the world with what the Bible says and what they end up with is a weak argument for how they are interpreting the Bible. If God is truly calling you into the ministry (what the world considers ministry because I firmly believe that motherhood is a ministry), then He isn’t going to give you something that would hinder that call. If you are truly only supposed to have three children so that you have more money or time or whatever to be a missionary, why not trust that He will only bless you with three? If He blesses you with 6, 7, or 12 children, why can’t He also bless you with the resources to still go and be a missionary? The problem isn’t an issue of what you think you need to be successful in whatever it is He is calling you. The problem is in not trusting God that He can do all things!

Some more tidbits from this chapter . . .

“The truths that are written in Genesis are never altered throughout the rest of the bible, only enlarged upon.”

“We cannot disobey one commandment in order to fulfill other commandments.”

“Obedience to God’s ways, even when we feel they don’t suit us and it is contrary to everything we want to do, will always lead us to the ultimate blessing.”

“God’s ways are contrary to our natural way of thinking. They are usually opposite to the current trend of society. We belong to a different kingdom with different principles.”

What does God require of us? He tells us exactly what He requires in Deuteronomy 10:12-13

“[W]hat does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments of the Lord and His statutes which I command you today for your good.” (emphasis mine)

Not only does He tell us precisely what we are to do, but He reassures us that it is for our own good. Don’t look at God’s commands and something bad we need to endure, but as love designed to protect us and bless us beyond imagination.

What will you do today? Will you put your faith and trust in the One who designed you and created you? Will you trust the “majority” and go with what the world says is the intelligent thing to do? Will you obey some of God’s commands, but only those which you think you can or those that aren’t “outdated”?

Personally, I choose to trust and obey God. While I may not be perfect and I may fail sometimes in both those areas, it is my desire to trust Him with ALL that I have and in ALL that I do. I strive to study more so that I can not only learn all His commands, but learn how I can be obedient in all of them. Join me today—Trust and Obey!

Trust and Obey

When we walk with the Lord,
In the light of His word,
What a glory He sheds on our way!
Let us do His good will;
He abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and obey.
Trust and obey, for there's no other way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

Not a burden we bear,
Not a sorrow we share,
But our toil He doth richly repay;
Not a grief or a loss,
Not a frown or a cross,
But is blest if we trust and obey.
Trust and obey, for there's no other way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

But we never can prove,
The delights of His love,
Until all on the altar we lay;
For the favor He shows,
And the joy He bestows,
Are for them who will trust and obey.
Trust and obey, for there's no other way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

Then in fellowship sweet,
We will sit at His feet,
Or we'll walk by His side in the way;
What He says we will do,
Where He sends we will go,
Never fear, only trust and obey.
Trust and obey, for there's no other way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.