Bringing up 5 rowdy boys & 1 twirly girl!
Today, Reformation Sunday, marked the confirmation of faith for Drama Boy and his three classmates at our church. His confirmation verse is Joshua 1:9, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
Somehow it seems as if it were only yesterday that we brought our wee firstborn to the waters of baptism.
Alveda King, niece of Martin Luther King Jr., on a Department of Homeland Security domestic terrorism report that links pro-lifers and hate groups. King said, “To say, as the Department of Homeland Security does, that white supremacists have exercised a ‘longstanding exploitation of social issues such as abortion’ tells me that either the government, the supremacists, or both are clueless about abortion’s grave impact on the black community.”
(courtesy of World magazine)
My head knows that I can never be good enough for heaven, but my heart rejoices that Jesus’ blood covers all of my sins.
My head knows that I am saved by grace alone, but my heart wants to earn it.
My head sees bread and wine, but my heart receives forgiveness.
My head understands that our family is complete, but my heart longs for another baby.
My head knows that homeschooling is the best choice for our family at this time, but my heart grows weary of the daily work involved.
My head know that sending the kids to school is an acceptable choice, but my heart yearns to finish the course we have already begun.
My head knows that I am loved, but my heart fears that I’m not good enough.
My head counts the blessings all around me, and my heart is thankful.
As drawn by Bouncy Boy, age 6
It’s a feeling you never quite outgrow, even though you know better than to mention it. Most of the time. But there is still no denying when something just isn’t fair. Maybe it’s when your kids get left out because the powers that be weren’t playing by their own rules. Maybe it’s when your husband is pushed to resign his call for no compelling reason. Maybe it’s when you hear the words “it’s a boy” for the fifth time. And yet, if life were completely fair. . .
The promise of heaven would not be ours. Jesus would not have come to live the perfect life that we can never live. And He certainly would not have been crucified as the perfect sacrifice for our sins. No, if life were fair, Jesus would have remained in heaven with his Father. . .and we would be left to muddle through life knowing that our eternity would be spent in hell.
For one will scarcely die for a righteous person–though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die–but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
–Romans 5:7 & 8
As we confess in the Divine Service, I am a poor, miserable sinner. I have inherited the sins of my fathers and I daily sin much. It does make me poor and miserable to consider my sins, but it also brings me much comfort. No matter how hard I try, I sin. I do the things I ought not, and I don’t do the things I ought.
For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. –Romans 7:18-20
I am lazy–quarrelsome–selfish–hot-tempered–and the list goes on.
But it’s not all about my actions. It’s about Christ, Whose blood is more than sufficient to wash away my sins and the sins of all mankind.
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him gracioulsy give us all things? Who shall bring any charge agains God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died–more than that, who was raised–who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, ‘For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.’ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. –Romans 8:31-39
6. You shall not commit adultery.
What does this mean?
We should fear and love God so that we lead a sexually pure and decent life in what we say and do, and husband and wife love and honor each other.
This is what we teach our kids at home, but unless you moms with daughters help, the boys will struggle to remember the lesson. God’s word, with Luther’s explanation, is all very well and good as we sit around our dining room table as a family. The problem begins as soon as they step outside our door (as an aside, the problems can invade the home, but this is not a post about mass media).
Everywhere I go, I see girls who have not been taught the importance of dressing modestly. I send my sons outside to play, and the girl next door is wandering around in a teeny bikini. I send them to Sunday School, and a girl is wearing a thin summer dress without a slip. I wait for the cashier at the store, standing behind a young lady whose pants are so thin and clingy, I start to wonder if she’s wearing underwear. Popular t-shirts for girls of all ages have sayings that are on the edge of provocative (or are insulting to males). Bra straps show on purpose; camisoles are worn as outerwear; low rise pants hang precariously from hip bones; skirts reveal an inordinate amount of leg. I realize teens have always pushed the envelope on “acceptable” attire, but styles have really gotten out of hand.
Men are very visual creatures when it comes to sexuality (don’t believe me? ask your husband), and while the men certainly need to learn to control their own thoughts and actions, women also need to learn to project an image that doesn’t tempt men to sin in thought or in deed. This is equally true for boys and girls, especially since boys lack the maturity to keep their hormones in check. It’s rather like taking a small child to a large toy store. . .and telling them to look but not touch.
This is to be the first in a series of (sporadic) posts on modesty and clothing. When I have searched for articles on the subject, most of them are from a very legalistic point of view: wear headcoverings, don’t wear pants, skirts must be x” past the knee, and so forth. I will be writing both as a woman trying to dress herself and her daughter in a modest fashion, as well as wife to a husband and mother to five sons who have eyes as well as hormones (or will eventually, in the case of the younger sons).
I am tired of being counter-cultural. I would be happy to go along with the status quo, except that I am uncomfortable with many of the politically correct ideas that make up today’s status quo. I am not speaking here of mere Christianity, because I am quite content to be different for the sake of the Gospel. Rather, I am speaking of all the little things that most people do every day without a second thought, such as:
I write these things not as a plea for sympathy, because I am content with the way that I am and the choices I make. I am merely frustrated to be in the minority so often.
In memory of the countless lives extinguished before birth these past 36 years. . .
If you are concerned about what the Freedom of Choice Act could do to life here in America, there is a petition you can sign at www.fightfoca.com.
. . .that I am Jesus’ little lamb.
. . .that Larry’s health is back to normal, and that he loves and cherishes me more than I deserve.
. . .for our six happy, healthy children.
. . .for food on our table. . .
. . .and mouths to eat it.
. . .for babies who grow up all too fast.
. . .for children who love me.
. . .that our family is able to work together.
. . .for the roof over our head, and for the church family that provides for us.
O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, and His mercy endures forever.
