When is a Joke Not a Joke?

The following anecdote made me ponder that question:

At a homeschool moms' fellowship last night a friend shared
what happened to her at church on Mother's Day. The pastor
said they had an award for the mother with the most children.
My friend has the most children in her congregation - five.
They called her to the front of the church and told her that
her award was a "Kentucky Birth-Control Kit," and then they
gave her a baseball bat. She was so humiliated.

I am sure that the pastor meant that little display to be humorous. However, it is wrong on so many levels.

First of all, the mom was humiliated, on the very day of the year that is supposed to be a mom's special day. Secondly, it was done publicly, adding to the shame of the moment. The third, and worst thing about this little "joke", in my opinion, was that it failed to view children as the treasures they truly are - gifts from the Hand of God.

Our family likes to joke. We tease each other. We share stories about family foibles. We crack jokes about "half-wits" or Newfies or blondes (and I fit into two of those categories; some days my hubby would claim I fit all three!). We have no problem with self-deprecation.

However, there is a huge difference between cracking a joke or teasing someone and the kind of public humiliation this poor woman had to endure in front of her entire church.

The Cost of Motherhood

Being a mother is my greatest personal blessing, or as Charlotte the Spider from Charlotte's web said, "it's my magnum opus - my great work". Most of the time, it's a joy to be a mom. I love to see the happy smiles of my children, from the younger ones to the married ones. I miss them when I am away from them, or when they are away from me. They are always on my mind. I desire that they would grow in grace, and in the knowledge of the Lord, and I pray that God will use them for His glory.

There are times when motherhood is discouraging, though. When I have to tell my kids for the thousandth time to make their beds or put that load of laundry away, I wonder if they'll ever get it. When I have to listen to both sides of an argument, and both kids are upset and are certain that they are right and their sibling is wrong, and unfair, and unkind, it takes great patience and much wisdom. I feel my own weakness in times like that.

And that's when I cry out to God. I cast my cares on Him. I repent for the wrong attitudes I still hang on to, and for the lack of patience with which I treat my children. He is ever faithful.

Doug Phillips wrote the following:

The Rise and Fall and Rise of Motherhood: The Cost

Once a lady went to visit her friend. During the visit the children of the friend entered the room and began to play with each other. As the lady and her friend visited, the lady turned to her friend and said eagerly and yet with evidently no thought of the meaning of her words: “Oh, I’d give my life to have such children.” The mother replied with a subdued earnestness whose quiet told of the depth of experience out of which her words came: “That’s exactly what it costs.

There is a cost of motherhood. And the price is no small sum. And if you are not willing to pay this price, no amount of encouragement about the joys of motherhood will satisfy.

But the price of motherhood is not fundamentally different from the price of being a disciple of Jesus Christ. In fact, Christian mothers see their duty as mothers flowing from their calling to Jesus Christ. And what is this cost?

Christian motherhood means dedicating your entire life in service of others. It means standing beside your husband, following him, and investing in the lives of children whom you hope will both survive you and surpass you. It means forgoing present satisfaction for eternal rewards. It means investing in the lives of others who may never fully appreciate your sacrifice or comprehend the depth of your love. And it means doing all these things, not because you will receive the praise of man — for you will not — but because God made you to be a woman and a mother, and there is great contentment in that biblical calling.

Great contentment, and great joy.

Proverbs 23: 24 The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice, And he who begets a wise child will delight in him. 25 Let your father and your mother be glad, And let her who bore you rejoice.

Bill C-51 -- Big Brother knows best, apparently.

OH, how the mighty have fallen! In the good old days, doctors were regarded with the utmost respect, and if the doc ordered it, you can be sure the patients would do it. There was no questioning of a doc's opinion. I remember the attitude of my parents' generation very well.

Mine is different, I have to say. I am a bit suspicious of the medical community. I know that many, many ( probably most) doctors and nurses are dedicated, passionate people. They care for their patients and desire to see the best for them. However, they don't necessarily know it all.

My doc is a bit leery of chiropractors, for instance. He'd far rather have sent me to physiotherapy after my accident. I chose to go to a chiropractor who really helped me, not only physically, but emotionally. She was there for me when I was discouraged about my slow progress. She cheered me on when I was taking two steps forward and one step back. She encouraged me to keep on moving, to keep on trying, and to see the progress I was making, however limited.

My doc doesn't understand homeopathy at all. Yet when he couldn't give me any good advice regarding the pain in my breast from the seatbelt injury, it was a homeopathic remedy that sped up the healing and took away the sharp, stabbing pain.

So, even though I appreciate my doctor's advice, I tend to look to other, alternative sources of information. Darn lucky (providential!) I did, because it was in so doing that I discovered, with help from my sister and my daughters, that I have celiac disease. Through reading and researching, I have found out what foods harm me and cause those many and varied symptoms I suffered from for many years.

I resent that the medical community never helped my mom, even though she attended her doctor's office regularly. They didn't ever put two and two together. They treated her symptoms, but never got the whole picture. So, instead of realizing that her gas, her bloating, her anemia, her seizures, her joint pain, her fatigue, her dark circles and her skin problems were a result of celiac disease, which could have been treated by a change of diet, they treated each of the symptoms separately. She died of cancer at only 65; so did my grandmother.

So, I am a fan of Natural Health Products. I like my naturopath. I appreciate the common sense of my chiropractor. I own the "Bible" of health nuts: Prescription for Nutritional Healing...and the advice therein has benefitted my family.

Which brings me to my point: I believe that Bill C-51 would be a detriment to Canadians. It would severely limit our options to seek alternative health care. It would deny me access to those supplements and remedies that have made a radical difference in my life.

I phoned the Prime Minister's office today. I phoned the Minister of Health and talked to his assistant. I phoned my own MP, Paul Steckle. And this is why:

In Canada Natural Health Products (NHPs) are endangered!

Under Bill C-51, Natural Health Products are subject to strict licensing requirements.
60% of these license applications have failed, and at least 75% are expected to fail. This means that 75% of the NHPs many Canadians rely upon could become illegal.

Bill C-51 will:

Outlaw nearly all NHPs
Criminalize the use of herbs
Favour drug/medical treatments
Ignore your constitutional rights
Impose U.S. laws on Canadians

URGENT CALL TO ACTION

Bill C-51 was introduced into the House of Commons on April 8, 2008.
The Bill is not law yet, but will become law unless Canadians act
quickly. It's essential to let key Members of Parliament know that:

• you are opposed to the police state powers in Bill C-51

• you want them to vote against Bill C-51

• you want access to natural health products protected

Send a hand written letter to:

Your local member of parliament
Prime Minister Stephen Harper
Tony Clement, the Minister of Health

You can send letters without postage to:

Name of person ie. Stephen Harper
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6

Stephen Harper's ph# (613) 992-4211 and (403) 253-7990
Tony Clement's ph# (613) 944-7740 and (705) 746-9053

PLEASE ACT NOW!

For more info: www.nhppa.org

And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed,
which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the
which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for
meat - Genesis 1:29.

Sewing with the girls!

I have two sewing machines. One is my original, purchased 33 years ago. It's an Omega, with a zig-zag, straight stitch, button-hole, and a few "fancy" stitches. The other sewing machine is a
White, which is at least as old as my Omega. It was purchased at a garage sale for $35, and that included a solid cabinet.

I have been wanting to teach the girls to sew for quite some time. Today, I sat them down and had Linda read the manual for the White, pointing out all of the parts to the girls. Then, Linda hemmed a pair of shorts for Patrick, and I helped Tiana make a little bag out of the cut-offs.

Meanwhile, I was sewing a bag out of a couple of pairs of jeans. I had fun deciding how I was going to do it. It turned out fine, with pockets inside and out, because I added the backside of a second pair of jeans to the original shorts I was working with. I lined part of the inside of the bag with soft red satin. Tomorrow Daniel is going to cut a piece of plastic siding to fit into the bottom of the bag, so it has a more solid bottom. I'll cover the plastic with denim, too.

This is what it looks like (sorry they're sideways) :

The first one is the back of the bag:And this one is the front of the bag:

Becky Rides her Bike!

Becky is very proud of herself today. Her biggest brother, Justin, learned to ride his bike when he was 7. The next biggest brother, Ethan, learned to ride his bike when he was 6. But our little granddaughter, Becky, is only 5. And very, very proud of herself!

I told her mom not to tell them that she was only four. Wouldn't want to burst the bubble...

The Laundry Room Disaster

As many of you know, I was blessed this winter by the son of a friend of mine. Joel worked long and hard to redecorate my laundry room. He fixed drywall holes, put in insulation, mudded, painted, laid a floor... all to my joy! Since then, doing laundry has been a pleasure.

I have rules posted so that the laundry room stays clean. The children know that they are not to throw things willy-nilly into my laundry room. They each have a basket in their rooms, and when the basket is full they are expected to carry it to the laundry room, wash and dry the contents, and put it all away. If they were to follow the rules, I would have a continually clean laundry room.

My laundry room is upstairs; I live downstairs. I only go up there once in a while, but when I do, I expect to see everything as I left it. I need a huge reality check.

I live with a bunch of children who happen to be sinners. They know what is right and good to do, but they forget, or sometimes they can't be bothered, or they are just too busy doing other good and valuable things, like cleaning the yard, studying math or history, or working with their dad.

Because of the above, my laundry room does not stay in the shining, glistening state that I want to see when I make the trek up the stairs. And every time I go up there, and see things out of place, I fume and fuss. It makes me angry. (Imagine the little green alien on Bugs Bunny...)

Today was one of those days. My older children were all off, either working, helping a sick older sister, or having a fun work bee type of day at a friend's house. To my dismay when I entered the laundry room, I found every surface cluttered with laundry - some folded, some not. I found socks on the floor, laundry baskets strewn about, and dirty laundry overflowing the hampers. ARRRGGGHHHH!!

I can tell you that it didn't make me happy to see that. I had just read a bit of Jim Elliot's journal, and was inspired by his desire to serve the Lord no matter what. The state of my laundry room caused me to grumble: "why do I have to do this work, mutter, mutter; why are my kids so lazy...grumble, grumble; how is my life going to count... groan, groan..." I phoned my daughter and vented, telling her that the state of the laundry room was unacceptable, and that she should pass that message on to her brothers.

Thankfully, the Holy Spirit whispered to me as I shed tears, standing there furiously folding clothes that should have been put away as soon as they were taken from the dryer (one of my rules!). He graciously reminded me that I had two sweet children home with me, watching me, learning from my example. I didn't want to spoil their day. It's not often I am alone with my two youngest.

So, I prayed. I repented. I reminded myself that I, too, break the rules. I am lazy. I don't do everything I ought to do. Yet God graciously forgives me. He overlooks my failings. He sees me as a precious, chosen child of HIS. And if I have been forgiven so much, surely I can forgive others. After all, the ones I was angry with were those I love dearest - my precious family.

This poem says it better than I can:

I like to see a lovely lawn
Bediamoned with dew at dawn,
But mine is often trampled bare,
Because the youngsters gather there.

I like a spotless house and clean
Where many a touch of grace is seen.
But mine is often tossed about
By youngsters racing in and out.

I like a quiet house at night
Where I may sit to read and write.
But my peace flies before the tones
Of three brass throated saxophones.

My books to tumult are resigned,
In vain my furniture is shined,
My lawn is bare, my flowers fall,
Youth rides triumphant over all.

I love the grass, I love the rose,
And every living thing that grows.
I love the books I ponder o’er,
But oh, I love the children more!

And so unto myself I say:
Be mine the house where youngsters play!
Oh, little girl, oh healthy boy,
Be mine the house which you enjoy!

by Edgar A. Guest

“Where no oxen are, the trough is clean. But much increase comes by the strength of the ox.” Proverbs 14:4

At the end of the day, I have to say, I love the children more. More than a clean laundry room, more than a washed floor, more than a spotless yard. And I am thankful to say that we'll start the next week with a clean laundry room. The little ones helped me do eight loads of laundry today! They cheered my heart with their willing work and happy smiles. I am truly blessed.

Water! A new Well!

Our farmer neighbour stopped by a week ago to tell us that he is buying the farm that surrounds our property from his dad. This farm used to be part of the property we now own, and when our little piece of land was severed off from the farm, the well ended up on their land. We paid for the use of the water for a few years after we moved in, then disaster struck! One day, when we arrived home from Rick's mom's funeral, we discovered we had no water. The farmer wasn't willing to do anything about it, so we made arrangements to get the water mainline dug up and replaced. That was a very expensive proposition at the time. We've used that water (from the neighbour's well) ever since.

So, Mr. Farmer (alias) dropped by last week to tell us that his lawyer informed him that the supplying of water to a neighbour was a litigation waiting to happen. The lawyer told him to cut us off.

We can't blame our neighbour. Ever since the Walkerton tragedy, where contaminated water caused death and hospitalization to a few people, Ontarians have been very cautious about their water supply. Wells have been decommissioned, and new wells dug. And farmers who supply their neighbours have simply stopped doing so, just in case something would go wrong.

So, we called the well guy, and he arrived today. The kids were fascinated with the huge equipment, and wanted to know how things worked. Did you know that the drilling process begins with water? They also use air under pressure! And here I thought the drill would be made of diamonds. Shows how little I know.

I'm not sure how deep he had to go, but he was out there for hours. Apparently we have good water, and lots of it. It is not yet connected to the house, because, in spite of much digging, the boys haven't found the main pipeline yet. I do hope they'll find it tomorrow. I can't wait to take a shower with a bit more water pressure than the slow trickle I am used to!

Of course, all of this thinking about the necessity of water has brought me to consider Christ, who is the Living Water:

Revelation 21:6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.

Jesus gives of the fountain of the water of life freely! This One Who is the beginning and the end, who is Omnipotent God, died on the cross that I may live.

I love the story of the Samaritan woman who comes to the well during the dusty heat of the day. When Jesus asks her for a drink of water, she is incredulous. How can you, a Jew, speak to me, a Samaritan AND a woman?


John 4:10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.

Matthew Henry comments,

"Jesus begins with a modest request for a draught of water: Give me to drink. He that for our sakes became poor here becomes a beggar, that those who are in want, and cannot dig, may not be ashamed to beg. Christ asked for it, not only because he needed it, and needed her help to come at it, but because he would draw on further discourse with her, and teach us to be willing to be beholden to the meanest when there is occasion. Christ is still begging in his poor members, and a cup of cold water, like this here, given to them in his name, shall not lose its reward."

Jesus needed the water because He, Who created the entire universe (including every drop of water) and sustained it moment by moment, was willing to subject Himself to dwelling in a body, experiencing fatigue and hunger and thirst. He did that for our sake. He asked the woman for a drink for her sake.

Matthew Henry continues:

He assures her what he would have done for her if she had applied to him:

“He would have given thee (and not have upbraided thee as thou doest me) living water.”

By this living water is meant the Spirit, who is not like the water in the bottom of the well, for some of which he asked, but like living or running water, which was much more valuable. Note:

(a.) The Spirit of grace is as living water; #Joh 7:38. Under this similitude the blessings of the Messiah had been promised in the Old Testament, #Isa 12:3; 35:7; 44:3; 55:1 Zec 14:8. The graces of the Spirit, and his comforts, satisfy the thirsting soul, that knows its own nature and necessity.

(b.) Jesus Christ can and will give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him; for he received that he might give.


Secondly, That the living waters he would give should yield a lasting satisfaction and bliss, #Joh 4:14. Christ’s gifts appear most valuable when they come to be compared with the things of this world; for there will appear no comparison between them. Whoever partakes of the Spirit of grace, and the comforts of the everlasting gospel,

a. He shall never thirst, he shall never want that which will abundantly satisfy his soul’s desires; they are longing, but not languishing. A desiring thirst he has, nothing more than God, still more and more of God; but not a despairing thirst.

b. Therefore he shall never thirst, because this water that Christ gives shall be in him a well of water. He can never be reduced to extremity that has in himself a fountain of supply and satisfaction. (a.) Ever ready, for it shall be in him. The principle of grace planted in him is the spring of his comfort; #Joh 7:38. A good man is satisfied from himself, for Christ dwells in his heart. The anointing abides in him; he needs not sneak to the world for comfort; the work and the witness of the Spirit in the heart furnish him with a firm foundation of hope and an overflowing fountain of joy. (b.) Never failing, for it shall be in him a well of water. He that has at hand only a bucket of water needs not thirst as long as this lasts, but it will soon be exhausted; but believers have in them a well of water, overflowing, ever flowing. The principles and affections which Christ’s holy religion forms in the souls of those that are brought under the power of it are this well of water.

[a.] It is springing up, ever in motion, which bespeaks the actings of grace strong and vigorous. If good truths stagnate in our souls, like standing water, they do not answer the end of our receiving them. If there be a good treasure in the heart, we must thence bring forth good things.

[b.] It is springing up unto everlasting life; which intimates,

First, The aims of gracious actings. A sanctified soul has its eye upon heaven, means this, designs this, does all for this, will take up with nothing short of this. Spiritual life springs up towards its own perfection in eternal life.

Secondly, The constancy of those actings; it will continue springing up till it come to perfection.

Thirdly, The crown of them, eternal life at last. The living water rises from heaven, and therefore rises towards heaven; #Ec 1:7. And now is not this water better than that of Jacob’s well?

I am thankful today that God has given me an opportunity to reflect on the glory of my Saviour. He is a gracious Saviour, who has given me eternal life; not only that, He has deposited a down payment in me: the Holy Spirit, Who lives within, sanctifying me and giving me joy in the midst of sorrow, and hope in the face of despair. Because of Jesus, I have my eye fixed on heaven. Because of the Holy Spirit, my life has changed, and I continually do those things that my Father has planned for me to do (for we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them!). This living water will never end, and one day I will spend eternity with The Water of Life Himself. PTL!