Musings as of recent

I'd mentioned on Friday I went up to St. Joe for the evening to support my mom's role in the community theater's rendition of Peter Pan. My mom loves musical theater but has encouraged her kids to audition, while she supports from the side lines. This year the roles swapped as she traded in her sewing needles (for years she made the costumes) for a script. I can't imagine a more suitable role than she was given- that of Mrs. Darling. What would be more natural a transition than to go from being a mom, to pretending to be one on stage? Her part was small and to be honest, it was unusual seeing my mom on stage, but I'm glad I could be there to support her and she did a great job.

Mom & I backstage after her performance as Mrs. Darling.

Nick & I were both really excited about going to church on Sunday. We'd been invited the week before to join a small group that met after the service and we were looking forward to joining a diverse group of families, some older, some younger... and two families with babies Luke's own age. However, plans changed throughout the course of Saturday night/Sunday morning as we were up most all of the night with poor Luke, who could barely sleep because his cough took a turn for the worst. By the time dawn came, we were both exhausted and knew it was in no one's best interest to share whatever it was he had. We read through a chapter in Proverbs and did prayer time in our bedroom; not exactly fellowshipping with other believers like we had hoped, but still we found encouragement in the words we read. I am so thankful I serve a God I can come to no matter where I am, and He will dwell in my midst!

Nick & I ventured out this week to visit the local library system. In our young marriage we have been blessed to live in two communities thus far with excellent library systems and we have taken as many opportunities as possible to enjoy the wonderful resource it is (call it a cheap date night if you will). In moving to Johnson County, we have hit the jackpot of all library systems- 11 libraries within the county! On top of this, once we move into our new house, we will also be able to use the Olathe Public Library (a separate entity) as well.

We decided to check out the Central Library first, one of the larger branches. We spent a good 2+ hours looking around and didn't even get a 1/4 way through the building! Both of us were encouraged to find they had a large Christian living section... I have been hungry to get my hands on a good book since I haven't had anything at hand since we've moved in with our in-laws. However, I had no idea how hungry I was until after we got home. In just two days, I have already read this:



And this....

And this....


All three were great books.... the first two definitely challenged my thinking and I would highly encourage them (Voddie Bauchum does a wonderful job encouraging parents to take ownership in teaching and living the Gospel within the home- essentially being the Church and not depending on church leaders to facilitate the parents' roles as the primary spiritual leaders in their children's lives; Josh Harris' book calls Christians to take the responsibility to love, cherish, serve and commit to a local church as we're called to do, and not simply take a consumer approach to finding a place to call home). I got the Duggars' book more or less out of curiosity... I've enjoyed seeing what life is like for them as a family of 18 kids on TLC. Being a home-school graduate myself, I grew up knowing several large families. By most standards I felt my own family of six (4 kids, 2 parents, as not to be confused as 6 children) was large by our culture's standard. Both Nick & I were raised in church backgrounds and families that consider birth control use within marriage as normal and expected so the concept of having a family much larger than my own has been met with questioning and open criticism. My initial curiousity in the Duggars was that of disbelief- like many I wondered how they did it, were they in their right minds?, etc. The more I've seen of their family, the more I've been drawn to how mature and confident and polite their children are, and how happy they are as a family. That is to say, I've gone from more of a curious skeptic to an intrigued enthusiast. Their book is definitely a good read... I am surprised to see the grace they bestow on some incredibly hateful remarks they've received. They definitely trust the Lord in all aspects of their life and their book addresses how God has provided miracle upon miracle within their lives.

And yes, it has got me thinking about the whole "quiverful" approach. Nick and I have been going through Scripture and simply can't find anywhere that condones birth control and limiting family size like is so common not only within secular culture, but also within the Church. And I don't find it to be an a-biblical concept; As Doug Phillips says "The Bible calls children a blessing and debt a curse, but in our culture we apply for curses and reject blessings". Food for thought. There will definitely be more on this to come in future blogs.

And as far as things go on the homefront... we are still awaiting a response to hear from the bank on our request for them to pay for structural repairs on the house (regardless we plan on purchasing the house). I should get an update within the next day or so.