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A Bundle of Myrrh

"My beloved is unto me as a bundle of myrrh." Song of Solomon 1:13

5 Favorites

May 7th, 2014 by Aubri

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This week my 5 favorites are these wonderfully “Pro-Life” posts. Read them!

1.

The Third Secret to Destruction Proofing Your Family “You might even say that my mind tottered to think that I, a bride of 19, could certainly end up with a couple of dozen children! To say I was scared would be to vastly understate the nature of my panic, which was rather comprehensive. Yet, 34 years later, here I am with merely seven children, and what forethought could not encompass, experience has. So allow me to try to sum it all up in the form of my third secret to destruction-proofing your family. Husband and wife, embrace your mission as the king and queen of your little kingdom, your family — and enjoy, when you want to, what we may quaintly and not without relief from the pressure of modern unconstraint refer to as the marital embrace —  simply accepting the children God sends you as the gift that they are.”

2.

The Real Life of the Pro-Life Home “Far from having done our part when we carry a baby to term, we can continue to choose life every day. Every day we choose the life of another over our own life. Every day we can lay down our desires, our selfish ambition, our self-importance, and choose life. And of course this is not unique to mothers — every Christian has the means of fighting for life by laying theirs down for those around them.” Motherhood is the big-leagues of self-sacrifice. Millions of women kill to avoid it. In our culture of self-gratification, to embrace selfless motherhood is a revolutionary act. To see the sacrifice and rejoice in it. To recognize that the cost is your own life, and to willingly lay yourself down. The world hates the smell of that sacrifice, because it is the smell of grace. They hate it because it is the smell of something living and burning at the same time — something that is impossible without a risen Savior.”

3.

Gift Language “That’s why you, Church, are afraid to talk to me. The world has given you faulty language that fails to deliver truth, comfort, or babies. Give me God’s “gift language” every time. Remind me that children are a heritage from the Lord, a gift from Him that is received. And when I get mad that God has not yet given me the gift of children, keep watch with me in my grief and use some more of God’s “gift language.”

4.

The Fruit of the Womb is a Reward “Consumerism and feminism combine to make man, male and female, into God.  Children are regarded as commodities that may not be worth the price.  A woman is taught that she can by her own choosing obtain a status greater than what God gives her in motherhood.  Motherhood is denigrated because it becomes a merely human activity.  Severed from its source of dignity in God, it is cheapened. If children are a blessing from God as the Bible says they are, the bearing of children is an honor God bestows.  If the fruitful womb is a reward from God, the conceiving, bearing, and nurturing of children is something to be desired, extolled, protected, and enshrined in custom, law, and expressions of piety.  It is from this Christian perspective that we must examine feminism and its claims.”

5.

A Good Kind of Crazy “Motherhood has certainly shown me more of the bad and ugly parts of myself than I ever would have wanted, but if I really sit and think about it, I can see that God is doing just as much good in me precisely through this vocation, even though most days I cannot see it. Yes, being a mother and having 3 close in age does drive me crazy most days, but it is the best kind of crazy.”

 

 

 

True Beauty

May 5th, 2014 by Aubri

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Thank you to Rebekah for kicking me into gear with this post I’ve been sitting on for a while now. I won’t write a lot because I think most women all too familiar with the problem we have with “negative body image”. We’re all very familiar with the lies our culture crams down our throats so need to go into that either. We all struggle in our own ways, if you don’t struggle wonderful! What a gift! I’ve met some of you ladies and you’re my heroes!

I just wanted to share some posts and quotes I’ve come across over the last few months that said things I needed to hear.

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Not Here

May 4th, 2014 by Aubri

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Luther writes:

“He has been raised from the dead and He is not here. His name is now “He is not here, ” as St. Paul writes, “If you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above. “Christ is not here. Hence, a Christian must not be here. He has left the husks down here, such as earthly justice, piety, wisdom, the law, and whatever else belongs to earth. Christ has in himself overcome all things and left them behind. And in that we believe this: we too are called “Not Here,” even as He is.  “As St. Paul says, “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth”. What a wonderful saying it is. Your life is hidden, not in a chest, for there it might be found, but in Him who is nowhere. Our life shall be above all human wisdom, justice and piety. As long as you abide in yourself, you are not devout, which means that our life is hidden high above our eyes and high above all that we can feel.”

How easy it is for me to believe this life is all we have. I naturally focus on my struggles, the pains and needs of loved ones, even death itself and lament “This will never end!” Even temporary joys come to be things I hold on to, not wanting them to end, not wanting them to be taken from me or I from them.

But we are called to be Eternally Minded. “Set your mind on things above.”

“While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”

By giving me baby after baby God is pushing me toward the eternally minded. Revealing to me the eternal gifts that come with LIFE. Convenience, a certain lifestyle, ease, pleasure, these things are put into perspective when tiny souls are created, born and live all around you. The temporary riches of this life lie. And I can see, on my good days, the eternal riches Phil and I have been given.

I am called “Not Here” and confess the weakness of many times white knuckling “Here”. Of holding fast to all the husks on this earth. God help me to walk the life of “Not Here”.

May Day

May 1st, 2014 by Aubri

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Can any of you believe it’s already MAY? Of course you can’t. But here it is. For May Day this year we’ll be delivering May Baskets with muffins to our neighbors. Tradition is to leave the basket on their door or porch and sneak off. If you’re caught in the act you’re given a kiss so Gerhardt will be running for his life.

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