Beginning at the Beginning: The Lord's Beautiful Plan, Design and Purpose for Womanhood Part 2

*If you have not yet read the first 2 articles in the stay-at-home daughterhood series, please click here and here to do so now before continuing on with this one. Thank you! :)



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Two weeks ago, we discovered what the first calling was that God gave to women, that of being a helper to man. It is now time for us to discover another one of the high and glorious callings God has given uniquely and solely to women.

A Woman is to be...

... a mother.


Before we proceed with our study of this high and glorious calling, I want to make it clear that I do not believe all women are called to be mothers. Nor are some women sinning by not having children. God has sovereignly chosen to call some women to a life of remaining unmarried, while others are married but are barren. However, this is the exception to the rule, and unless you are given the gift of singleness or are barren, it is highly likely that you are called to be a mother.


The very first command the man and woman were jointly given in the Garden of Eden after the creation of Eve was to "be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the earth" (Gen. 1:28a). I believe the fact that this is the first command they were given jointly-and the first command Eve ever received-proves rather clearly its weightiness and the importance of this subject to the heart of God! The Lord later issued forth many other commands, but this was the very first one ever heard by the ears of man and woman together. Isn't that amazing? The Lord, now that the first couple was finally together, could have given them any number of commands. He chose, however, that the very first one would be that they were to have children and thus multiply greatly.

Not only is this command the first one issued to the couple in the Garden, it is also important to note what commands follow this one. After being commanded to have many descendants, God tells Adam and Eve that they are to: "subdue it [the earth]: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth." We noted in part 1 of this article that the Dominion Mandate is linked closely with the Great Commission. Both commands make it clear that men and women are God's ambassadors on this earth and as such, are to take dominion of it for Jesus Christ. However, would this have been possible if Adam and Eve had never procreated? Or, let's say they did have numerous descendants, but that the members of the early church did not. Would dominion in the name of Christ have continued? It's highly unlikely. God could have saved other Jews at the time of Christ, and thus carried on His Christian dominion for a short time, but if these Christians didn't multiply, either, the ambassadors of Christ on the earth would quickly die out again. God has so ordered His creation that the way mankind is to succeed in taking dominion over the earth and spreading the light of Christ's gospel over the face of it, is by having children. This may seem surprising to some, but it is nonetheless the way God has ordained matters. We see this beautifully laid out in Psalm 127:5 which says, "Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them [children]: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate." The phrase "speak with the enemies in the gate" literally means, "subdue or destroy the enemies". Christians are called to be fruitful so that their dominion in the name of Christ can continue on mightily, and so that they might destroy the dominion work of Christ's enemies. One Christian couple can only accomplish so much dominion work themselves and can only crush and thwart so much enemy dominion. But if they have many children and grandchildren-which the Bible refers to as blessings from God-just think of the dominion work a godly family can accomplish by God's strength and grace!

I know I'm likely going to open up a can of worms with what I'm about to say next, but I believe it to be Biblical truth and therefore feel that I must share it with you. The man and woman were not just told to have children. Rather, they were told to be fruitful, multiply and fill the earth! In other words, they were commanded to have many children, a command which is reissued time and time again throughout the Scriptures. But why? Why is it so important to the Lord that husbands and wives have large families? Because this is how a couple's Christian impact in the world is continued and built upon down through the centuries. As noted above, we alone would not be able to have nearly the impact of dominion and evangelism. But when we have progeny, then we, by training them up in the ways of God, are able to continue and further the work of Christ down through the generations, as children and grandchildren accomplish far more for Christ's kingdom than their ancestors did. Nancy Campbell articulated this fact clearly when she wrote, "One of the biggest threats to the devil is husbands and wives who understand God's revelation for marriage and who will bring forth godly offspring for His glory. The devil is frightened of the godly seed, for it is they who will destroy his works in this world. The enemy knew that God would need an army in this hour to fulfill His great purposes. He knew that if he could diminish God's army, he could thwart God's plans. It is the strategy of Satan to minimize the holy seed. The sad thing is that the Christian church has unconsciously fallen into this trap. As Christians in the last few decades have decided to have fewer children, they have limited the power of God on earth. God's plan is to fill the earth with His glory. God calls the increase of children our 'glory' (Hos. 9:11)."1.

Satan understands well the importance of Christians being fruitful, and I believe this is the reason so many today-even many Christians-have bought into the lie that a family should have no more than 2 or 3 children-if that. Satan has successfully whispered the lies, not only to the world but to Christians as well, that children are too expensive, the earth is overpopulated, we were never supposed to have large families, it's unhealthy to have many children, etc. These are vicious, child-hating lies which the enemies of God have spoon-fed to us for far too long! Christians, rather than seeing through these falsehoods and obeying the Word of God, have fallen prey to the wiles of the Adversary. Consider with me where this kind of thinking has gotten us. Church attendance is dropping dramatically and families are falling apart. I won't go into all the destruction we are now seeing, as I have referred to that already in part 1. However, suffice it to say that this once Christian nation is falling ever faster into the abyss of sin and damnation. I believe this can be directly linked to the lack of on-going Christian dominion, which can in turn be linked back to the lack of large Christian families dedicated to the work of Christ. I understand that some couples are barren, while some have health conditions that may have followed the birth of previous children which keep them from being able to have more. The Lord, for some reason or other, has simply chosen to only bless some couples with 2 or 3 children. However, what we see in many Christian circles today-the lack of large families-is not due largely to health conditions or infertility. Rather, it is linked directly to people cutting off their seed. While many wouldn't admit this, it shows a disdain for children when one cuts off the ability to reproduce. Some may ask what right we have to tell fellow Christians that they are commanded by God to have large families. I understand this notion, but Christians are commanded to proclaim God's Word to the lost as well as to their fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. If Christians do not step up to the plate and lovingly show fellow Christians the heart of God when it comes to the subject of having children, then we will be guilty of lessening the dominion work of Christ on this earth. Thanks to a disdain for children and the lack of surrendering every aspect of our lives to God-including the number of children we have-Christianity is not having the impact it is called on to have. Instead, Islam is taking its place. Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world. According to one website, "Islam is growing about 2.9% per year. This is faster than the total world population which increases about 2.3% annually. It is thus attracting a progressively larger percentage of the world's population."2. (emphasis my own)

Mr. Voddie Baucham, a nationally known pastor, conference speaker and author (and the father of my dear friend Jasmine!) has conducted extensive research on this very topic. He writes, "With a birth rate hovering around two children per family, a biblical worldview rate below 10 percent, and about 75 percent of our teens leaving the church by the end of their freshman year in college (using the more optimistic estimates from Chapter 1), it currently takes two Christian families in one generation to get a single Christian into the next generation"3. This should astound us! Compare this information with the fact that, "The birth rate a society needs to break even and not start to disappear is 2.1 babies per woman. Anything less than that, the culture disappears in a matter of three generations or more. The math can’t be argued. No culture has ever survived once it reached the breaking point 1.3 babies per woman. Now let’s take a look at this globally. United States birth rate is 2.1, New Zealand 1.9, Canada 1.5, Germany and Austria 1.3, Russia and Italy 1.2, Spain 1.1. Now let’s take a look at some Muslims countries. Afghanistan 47.02 per 1000 people, Albania 15.08 per 1000 people, Niger 7.46, Mali 7.42, Somalia 6.76, Afghanistan 6.69,Yemen 6.58. I think you can start to get the idea here. Muslim populations are filling up the birth shortfalls all throughout Europe and have already started taking over the European culture. They are imposing Sharia Law on old Europe already and very soon, the Europe we know will be gone. The thing about this is the Muslim culture does not assimilate themselves to whatever country they live in. They change the culture of the host country. We’ve already seen this."4. This should wake us up indeed, and prove just how far we've fallen from God's standard of Christian dominion. This is due (in large part) to our disdain for large families and our rejection of the command to "be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the earth." It is time we fall on our knees before God, asking His forgiveness for our rejection of what He refers to as a reward and "a heritage" (Ps. 127:3).

Before continuing, I want to make it clear that if you have been guilty of the sin of rejecting children or having a disdain for them, there is great forgiveness in Christ! This article is not meant to judge you, but rather to proclaim the glorious, joy-filled truths of God's Word to you. As an example of His forgiveness, I would like to share with you the testimony of my own family. I was born 3 years after my parents were married. My mother had been on the birth control pill until they felt the time was right to have a baby. Shortly after I was born, my father underwent a procedure so as to cut off the chances of my parents having any more children. Around the time I was 5, my parents began to desire another baby. My father went in to have his surgery reversed, and they were soon blessed with my precious brother, Andrew. After his birth, my father returned to the doctor to have the procedure done again, so as to prevent any more children from coming. My parents went on like this for years, thinking nothing of it. They were content with their son and daughter. However, during the end of 2006/beginning of 2007, the Lord began convicting my parents of their sin of rejecting God's blessings. In May of 2007, my father went to have his surgery reversed yet again. In the past two years, my parents have not been blessed with more "arrows" (Ps. 127:4). They may never be. But they now have a peace in their hearts. They know that they have repented and are now living in obedience to God and His Word. I am very proud of my parents and their willingness to make things right in the midst of a culture which disdains such actions. So, take heart! God will forgive you just as He graciously and lovingly forgave my own dear parents!

Being a Mother, Helping a Husband

As I touched on briefly in part 1 of this article, by being a mother, a woman is helping her husband and fulfilling her role as his helpmeet. I believe there are numerous ways by which having children can be seen as being a help to one's husband. First, mankind was commanded to be fruitful and multiply-a task which man alone clearly could not accomplish. He needed a helper in this responsibility. Second, by having children, a family's wealth is actually increased-not decreased-if the children are industrious and dedicated to furthering the wealth of the family. This family can then in turn be a greater blessing to others, and will have more resources to use in furthering dominion. Third, as stated above, man's dominion work is hindered when the command to be fruitful and multiply goes unheeded; this God-given work flourishes and advances, however, when many children are born to a Christian family that is dedicated to training and preparing them for spiritual warfare.

What a Blessing!

Ladies, God has granted to us a great gift in providing the ability to mother children-arrows for His kingdom! The magnitude and greatness of this privilege cannot be overestimated. This, however, is not a task to be taken lightly! The way we train and raise our children will dictate the future of the world. Someone once said that the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world. How true this is! We musn't view child-rearing as a menial task for which we need no special preparation. Satan would like us to believe this lie, for it can lessen our ability to successfully take dominion, but we musn't heed his deception! The Kingdom of God depends upon us being faithful to the high and glorious calling of nurturing, nourishing, training, loving, educating and preparing many arrows for Christ! Young ladies, we must see the importance and beauty of this life work, and must use our unmarried years fully and joyfully prepare for this calling (this will be addressed in more detail in a future article)! Motherhood is by no means a stifling work as militant feminists would have us believe! Rather, it should be viewed as a way in which we can greatly impact the world for Jesus Christ. What service to those in need we will be able to accomplish alongside our future children (should the Lord so bless)! Over and over in the Bible children are referred to as great blessings, and God's people are commanded to bring forth mightily. What a privilege we have as women! How wonderful that the Lord has given us the ability to greatly impact the course of history, and to train up the future men and women of the next generation. What a glorious vocation, and an important and exciting lifework which must be taken very seriously!

Conclusion

In closing, I would like to share with you the following beautiful words of wisdom:

"Every normal woman is equipped to be a mother. Certainly not every woman in the world is destined to make use of the physical equipment but surely motherhood, in a deeper sense, is the essence of womanhood. The body of every normal woman prepares itself repeatedly to receive and to bear. Motherhood requires self-giving, sacrifice, suffering. It is a going down into death in order to give life, a great human analogy of a great spiritual principle." (emphasis my own)

~Elisabeth Elliot, Let Me be a Woman 4.

Please return next Friday, when part 3 of this article will be posted, and we will delve deeper into the roles God has graciously given to women!

Footnotes:

1. Nancy Campbell, Be Fruitful and Multiply: What the Bible Says About Having Children, pgs. 37-38 (Vision Forum Ministries, 2003)

2. http://www.religioustolerance.org/isl_numb.htm (Use Christian discretion when viewing this site!)


3. Voddie Baucham, Family Driven Faith, pg. 174 (Crossway Books, 2007)


4. http://americaspeaksink.com/2009/01/muslim-birth-rate-taking-over-the-world/ ( I am not familiar with this gentleman, so please use Christian discretion when reading his other material. He is dedicated to conservative values it appears, but be careful nonetheless!)

5. Elisabeth Elliot, Let Me be a Woman, pg. 53 (Tyndale House Publishers, 1976)




*For further reading on this topic, I highly recommend two wonderful and in-depth books by Mrs. Nancy Campbell: Be Fruitful and Multiply: What the Bible Says About Having Children and The Power of Motherhood: What the Bible Says About Mothers

Exciting Updates on the Stay-at-home Daughterhood Article Series!

Hello, ladies! I hope this day has been a great one for all of you so far.

As I promised yesterday, today I'll be sharing with you some exciting updates about my current article series. So, without further ado, here goes! :)

I mentioned in the introduction to the series that I'll be posting, near the end of this project, several interviews with young women dedicated to stay-at-home daughterhood. Well, my dear friend Jasmine Baucham has already excitedly agreed to provide us with an interview and a glimpse into her life! Also, Blair and Claudia Brown and their sister Kelly Bradrick are excited about this project and may very well allow me to interview them, as well, if time allows, which I really appreciate! We may also be able to enjoy an interview with my friend Miss Jocelyn Dixon of A Pondering Heart and Feelin' Feminine. I'm currently working on lining up further interviews, as well. This is a really exciting time, so please pray that the Lord would direct this whole interview process.

There is something else I've been wanting to announce to you, and I thought today would be a good time. At the very end of this series, I will be hosting numerous giveaways of God-honoring books, CDs, and DVDs which will encourage and edify you young ladies as you embark on your journey to Biblical womanhood. So, be sure to tell others about those, as well!

Before I close, I want to give all glory and praise to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for the work He has conducted in my heart and life and for the grace, strength and encouragement He has provided me with through the first weeks of this series. I grew up disliking writing very much. During the past 2 years, however, the Lord has changed my heart and given me an exciting passion for ministry to girls and young ladies through the venue of the printed word. I'm so thankful, in awe of my Lord, and excited to see what He has planned for the future of this ministry.

Also, I want to publicly thank my dear, wonderful mother and father. Mama has served as editor during this project, and I'm thankful that she will continue on in this work throughout the remainder of this series. She is a very talented editor, and is always quick to pick up on any spelling and grammar errors there may be in my articles. She also helps so much with providing me with ideas to help various parts of the articles flow better. She's amazing, and I'm so thankful for her help. This series would be impossible were it not for her. I'm also so thankful for Daddy's help, input, great points and oversight. He also has edited the articles so far here and there, and I'm excited about working with Mama and Daddy further throughout the course of this project.

I hope you ladies (and any gents that may be here) have a wonderful weekend and blessed Lord's Day!

No stay-at-home daughterhood post tomorrow! :(

As most of you know, I have a home business making and selling tea cozies. Mama and I will be at a local holiday craft fair this Saturday, with my cozies available for purchase. Because of this, I've been incredibly busy this week sewing cozies. The vast majority of my time besides this sewing has been dedicated to school work. This has, quite unfortunately, left me no time to really sit down and produce the part 2 article this week. I was going to try to still work on it as best I could so that it could be published tomorrow, and thus be on schedule, but Mama suggested that I simply wait until next Friday to post it, thereby giving me more time to dedicate to writing it. It pained me to delay the writing/posting of part 2, but I did see the wisdom in her decision. Therefore, the next stay-at-home daughterhood article will be published not tomorrow, but rather next Friday, October 16th.

Between now and then, I will be answering comments I've received on my last two posts that I have not gotten around to answering yet, so be sure to check those out!

Despite the lack of an article tomorrow, that day will not be without a post pertaining to stay-at-home daughterhood! :) I will be offering some exciting updates tomorrow about the series that you won't want to miss, so please be sure to come back for those!

Also, during this week break, please do continue to pray for the series, and assist me in this work by spreading the word about it!

Thank you all so much for your help and support! I'm sorry for the delay, but thank you so much for your patient understanding!

*Also, please pray that the sale would go well Saturday! :)

Please welcome the Daughters of His Story Paper Dolls!!

As I mentioned here, my dear friends Breezy and Emily Rose Brookshire have just completed, by God's amazing grace, a wonderful project: the Daughters of His Story Paper Dolls Collection. I'm so excited about this great ministry and the impact it will have on girls and young ladies-the future wives, mothers and homemakers of the next generation! The dolls are now available for purchase on Noble Rose Press, the beautiful site talented Emily designed as a store for their projects. Through Saturday, October 10th, Breezy and Emily are offering their paper dolls at a special introductory sale price, so hop on over to Noble Rose Press and take a look! I've already place my order, and am so looking forward to adding these dolls to my collection of hopechest items! :)

Also, the Brookshire's friend Sarah Mae is offering a giveaway of these dolls, so be sure to go to her blog and enter!!

Thank you for supporting my dear friends in their dominion endeavors! Please continue to spread the word about their home business, and may these dolls serve as a great encouragement to you and your family!

Beginning at the Beginning: The Lord's Beautiful Plan, Design and Purpose for Womanhood Part 1

*If you have not yet read the first part of this article series, please click here and do so now, before reading on.





Before we approach the subject of stay-at-home daughterhood head-on and form a defense thereof, I believe it imperative that we first begin at the beginning. What exactly do I mean by that? Well, I believe we should step back and discover from God's Word what exactly womankind's job description is-why woman was created, what she is to do, what high callings Almighty God has given to her, etc. This valuable study will provide us with a beautiful portrait of womanhood which will reveal just why stay-at-home daughterhood is so important to the heart of God and to His plan for women, and how it fits into His design for womanhood.

The Book of Beginnings

If we're going to "begin at the beginning" with our study, what better place to start than in Genesis, the Book of Beginnings, where woman first made her debut in this world?

To begin our overview of the purpose for woman, we must turn to Genesis 1 and 2. Genesis 1:1-31 gives us an awe-inspiring description of God's work of creation. For six consecutive days, the Lord added, stroke by stroke, beautiful new designs to His portrait of creation. On day 6, man, the crown of God's creation, was formed and fashioned into a being in the image of Almighty God Himself. Genesis 1:27,28 tells us that mankind, consisting of man and woman, was created in God's image, and as such, were to be His ambassadors on this earth by multiplying greatly and subduing and taking dominion over that created earth and all contained therein. Chapter 2 of Genesis, which, for our purposes we will be focusing on now, tells of the creation of Eve with much more detail than chapter 1 gave us. Chapter 2 provides us with a description of the home God fashioned for the man and woman (the Garden of Eden); tells us that God commanded Adam to not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; and then presents to us the very reason why woman was created. God had given Adam the duties and responsibilities of tilling the ground (Gen. 2:5b,7), tending and keeping the garden (Gen. 2:15), naming the animals (Gen. 2:20), and, as noted previously, taking dominion of and subduing the earth and multiplying greatly, thus filling it (Gen. 1:28). Adam was given many jobs to do, but was without a helper to aid in these or a companion with whom to share stories of his accomplishments. Genesis 2:18 says this: "And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.'" Prior to the end of each day of creation, God had looked over what He had made and declared it to be good. On day 6 however, after creating Adam and commanding him to not eat of the tree of knowledge, He declared it not good. There was nothing wrong with this creature, Adam, but there was something missing. Adam was alone, and this was not at all a good thing. Here, in verse 18 we read of the main reason God created woman.

Woman is to be.....

A helpmeet to man.

Eve was created to be a helper to Adam. Prior to her creation, Adam was surrounded by a beautiful, perfect world full of rushing waterfalls; the pleasing aroma of fresh flowers; animals of every kind, size and shape; mouth-watering foods-everything he could ever want, right? Wrong. Despite the beauty that surrounded Adam on every side, he was neither happy nor fulfilled. Each animal had its mate, but Adam was left without such a companion-alone in a breathtakingly beautiful garden with no one to share it with, no one to refresh or comfort him after a day of tending the garden, no one to praise God with him or to rejoice with over the magnificence of the garden. God saw Adam's incompleteness and loneliness and knew exactly what he so desperately needed. Adam needed a helper, a completer, a companion. He needed a creature equal to himself and made in God's image as he was, to share his life and burdens with. Our gracious God knew this, and so caused Adam to fall into a deep sleep. While he slept, God took from him a rib and used it to fashion a woman, a glorious helper for Adam (Gen. 2:21, 22). Now, why didn't God simply form Eve of the dust of the ground as He did Adam, instead of going to the trouble of putting Adam to sleep, taking a rib from him, and using it to create a woman? I think He chose this method of creating woman for several reasons. First, I believe He did so to portray the fact that while Eve was equal to Adam, she was not the same as him in all ways, nor should she be. Second, I think our God chose this method of creation so that Adam could wake up to a beautiful, satisfying surprise. Imagine the rush of joy, relief and excitement Adam must have felt as he awoke and saw woman for the very first time! He expresses his bliss at the sight of his helpmeet in verse 23 of chapter 2, forming the first poem ever written. Third, I love Matthew Henry's explanation of the creation of woman: "That the woman was made of a rib out of the side of Adam; not made out of his head to rule over him, nor out of his feet to be trampled upon by him, but out of his side to be equal with him, under his arm to be protected, and near his heart to be beloved."1.

Genesis 2:21 and 22 is not simply a beautiful account of the creation of woman that is to be read and then forgotten. Rather, this is a passage which holds such rich truths about the duty and purpose of woman. Woman was not made to be on her own, autonomously doing her own thing, as she so often does today. Sadly, many women have rejected one of the most important reasons for their very existence and have en masse neglected their duty to be helpers to their husbands. We would likely be shocked if we knew just how many men there are out there today who, thanks to feminism, find themselves in the same plight as Adam prior to the creation of Eve. They are burdened with difficult, overwhelming duties and plans and they have visions seemingly too big to come to pass. Think of all the great things these men could accomplish if they simply had capable, strong, godly, visionary, supportive helpmeets at their side, cheering them on in their endeavors and helping them every step of the way! Instead, many men today find themselves crippled, for they are without the strength or encouragement needed to accomplish big, great things. Someone once said that behind every great man, there is a great woman. This person had realized something vital to the health of a society and had tapped into knowledge that sadly, very few people-even Christians-possess today. As you've probably noticed, America is suffering terribly from a widespread epidemic. Of what does this epidemic consist? It comes to us in the form of a massive shortage of strong, godly men in the homes, churches, and gates of America. We are bombarded on every side with a sad scene full of an abundance of weak, wimpy, lazy, visionless men who seem to be good for very little. What do you think is the reason for this? I would submit to you that America's lack of strong, manly leaders directly correlates to the lack they have of competent, productive helpmeets to cheer them on towards ever greater plans, accomplishments and victories. Men with big visions usually have wonderful helpers and companions with big visions waiting in the wings ready to encourage and strengthen them. How much more transformed could the above described men of America be if they simply had helpmeets who believed in and prayed for them consistently? God created man to need woman. He had been given his duties; he now needed someone to spur him on with encouragement and respect in order for him to have the gusto needed to heartily accomplish his God-given tasks. In her book Free to Stay at Home: A Woman's Alternative, after addressing the creation of woman, Marilee Horton writes, "From the first, man had the potential to run as fast, jump as high, and sing as well as he ever could. But God made him with an ego that needed a cheerleader, and so with the advent of the female factor, he wanted to jump higher and run faster."2.

There is no magic pill that can be taken for the malady plaguing America and robbing her of godly, masculine leadership. Rather, God must do the work. He must once again raise up godly women who take their high calling as helpmeet to a man seriously and seek to fulfill it with great joy, dignity, pleasure and devotion, for such a time as this. Wives must strive to be the visionary helpmeets our God desires for them to be, and mothers must strive to train their daughters to be virtuous helpers to their one husbands one day. Young ladies (that's you and me!)must begin now to prepare for the high calling of helpmeet by studying God's Word to discover what a helper is to do for her husband and how she is to treat him. We accomplish this task by watching and learning from women older than ourselves (Titus 2:3-5), who are seasoned helpmeets, and by being a help and comfort to our fathers, the most important men in our lives (this we will address further in a future article!).

We have now established the fact that woman is to be a helper to man and that man needs his helper. Now we need to answer the questions, "What is she to help him with? Is there something specific she is to help him do? If so, what?" For the answers to these important questions, we must again refer back to the Book of Beginnings. We already discovered in Genesis 1:28 that man was given the following commands and duties by God Himself: "....be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth". A similar duty is issued forth in Matthew 28:19-20: "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.". As the Lord's ambassadors, man is to take dominion of the Lord's creation for the benefit of mankind and seek to evangelize the lost throughout the world. Being fruitful and multiplying (which we will touch on further in the next article) is one of the ways in which man is to fulfill his duty to subdue and take dominion over the earth in Christ's name, for by producing many children and bringing them up in the Word, they are able to have further impact on the world and ensure that this dominion and evangelism will continue, Lord willing, on down through the ages. This responsibility given to man to take dominion over the earth is so vastly important, and obedience to it is crucial. Equally crucial to this, is that each Christian man have a visionary helpmeet by his side, encouraging and assisting him in this vitally important work. Oh, the power of a godly helpmeet! It cannot be overestimated and must not be underestimated! A man cannot fully, in victory, take dominion over God's creation by himself-he must have his helper. Is it any wonder then, with the exodus of women from their husband's side to a life of autonomous living, that America, once a strong Christian nation, is now in the shambles she finds herself? Young adults are leaving the church in alarming rates; teen pregnancies are skyrocketing; well over 50 million babies have been murdered in the name of selfishness since 1973; more than half of all marriages end in divorce; homosexual "marriage" is being legalized; families are falling apart; sexually transmitted diseases are at an all time high; churches are operating according to unBiblical standards; women are largely surrendering the needs of their families to others so that they can selfishly pursue their own careers and lives apart from God's commands; our government is saturated with ungodly rulers; America's children and youth are squandering what could be their most fruitful years in trivial pursuits instead of accomplishing, with the strength of Christ, great things for His Kingdom; and the list could go on and on.

Real Life Examples

How do we know things would likely have been different at this time in our history if wives had been godly and encouraging helpmeets to their husbands and spurred them on to accomplish great works for the Kingdom of God? Because history proves this to be so, and provides us with examples of just such a scenario! One of my favorite examples of a godly, visionary helpmeet encouraging and supporting her husband and his mission is the lovely account of Jonathan Edwards and his wonderful wife Sarah, as recorded in Elizabeth Dodd's great book, Marriage to a Difficult Man: The Uncommon Union of Jonathan and Sarah Edwards. This awe-inspiring read shows us just how much a man can accomplish and what a mark he can leave on society, when he has a faithful, praying helper! Something we must remember about the Edwardses, was that they lived during a time of moral decay. Church attendance was low, the amount of drinking and profanity was high. This is precisely the time for which our Lord fashioned Mr. Edwards, and he went on to be one of the leading pastors of The Great Awakening. The wonderful woman by his side unceasingly supported, served and strengthened her husband, which enabled him to evangelize many souls, edify fellow Christians, and research for and write a long list of books that have touched and changed many lives, having a great impact on countless pastors and laymen both then and now. Through Sarah's help and influence, Jonathan Edwards was able to rise to prominence, and remains to this day a household name in many Christian families. As you can see, being a helper to one's husband is far from an enslaving position of second rate importance-it is an adventure crucial to the heath of one's country and the church. On the vary topic of being a helpmeet, Mrs. Dodds relates the following heart-warming account of Sarah Edwards, "Sarah had most of the responsibility for [their] property. She saw that the garden was planted, that the hired man had his instructions for each day. They used to tell in Northampton how once Edwards asked, 'Isn't it about time the hay was cut?' To which Sarah mildly replied, 'It's been in the barn for two weeks'."3. Sounds like the Proverbs 31 woman! Because Sarah was a competent, godly, productive helpmeet, Jonathan Edwards was able to fully trust in her. This cleared up much of his time, for he knew that his estate and children would be cared for by Sarah's able hands. This allowed him to worry about other things, namely the work of the ministry. It is highly doubtful whether Jonathan would have been able to have the impact on the world that he did, and continues to have, had it not been for Sarah!

Before closing this article on the fact that woman is to be a helpmeet to man, I want to bring to your attention another example of a truly godly helpmeet. Susannah Spurgeon, the wife and helper of Charles Haddon Spurgeon, the Prince of Preachers, took great delight in being her husband's helpmeet. She once wrote, "My whole time and strength were given to advance my dear husband’s welfare and happiness. I deemed it my joy and privilege to be ever at his side, accompanying him on many of his preaching journeys, nursing him in his occasional illnesses, his delighted companion during his holiday trips, always watching over and tending him with the enthusiasm and sympathy which my great love for him inspired. I mention this… simply that I may record my heartfelt gratitude to God that, for a period of ten blessed years, I was permitted to encircle him with all the comforting care and tender affection which it was in a wife’s power to bestow.”4. Wow! Here was a woman who took her role as helper to her husband very seriously, and who knew the great impact such help could have! She didn't complain because she wasn't in the lime light. Rather, she delighted in her husband receiving all the praise. Charles Spurgeon remains one of the most famous English-speaking preachers, and like Edwards, continues to have a major impact on countless people even to this day. He rose to prominence, but not in a day of revival and reform. Rather, he rose to the pastorate in a day of moral and spiritual decay, and was used by God to lead a reformation in England. It was not uncommon for him to preach up to 10 times a week, and over 10,000,000 people heard him preach. He also founded a pastor's college and an orphanage, and wrote a long list of books. Would all this have been possible if he were constantly weighed down with worries of what was going on at home? I think not! Behind every great man is a great woman, and behind this great man was a wonderful woman named Susannah who delighted in and took great joy from her role as helpmeet.

In Conclusion

Young ladies, take heart! America may be decaying all around us, but so were Northamton during the time of Edwards and England during the time of Spurgeon. Sarah and Susannah did not despair when they looked at the sinful culture around them. Rather, they took full advantage of an opportunity to change it for Christ's sake by helping their husbands and advancing their godly ministries. May we prepare now to go and do likewise!

Please return next Friday, when we will take a look at the other important roles God designed specifically and solely for women!
~~~~~~~~~~

Footnotes:

1. Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible, pg. 10 (Hendrickson Publishers, 1991)

2. Marilee Horton, Free to Stay at Home: A Woman's Alternative, pgs. 49-50 (Word, Inc., 1982)

3. Elisabeth Dodds, Marriage to a Difficult Man: The Uncommon Union of Jonathan and Sarah Edwards, pg. 36 (Audubon Press, 2004)

4. Charles Ray, The Life of Susannah Spurgeon, pg. 173 (The Banner of Truth Trust, 2006)

Tag; you're it!

I came across this tag today on my friend Breezy's site, and decided to post my own on here. Enjoy!

Here are 10 facts about myself:

1. I started ballet at the age of 4, and quit at 6 when my brother was born. I was also once a ballroom dancer but quit lessons, after being very convicted by the Lord, 2 years after I started.

2. I'm completely terrified of spiders! I can't even go near them to kill them, as I'm afraid they'll jump on me. :/

3. I can't stand green peas!

4. I had surgery for slipped capital femoral epiphysis (SCFE) in May of 2003 (at the age of almost 11) and had a screw inserted into my hip.

5. I've never been a very athletic person, but over the years have enjoyed playing basketball, volleyball and-of all things!-flag football occasionally. I wasn't that great, though, and was never on a team.

6. I've been homeschooled all my life and skipped second grade. Also, speaking of school, I went to get my senior pictures taken last Monday! :)

7. When I was really little people would ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up, and I would reply, "A mommy and a cooker!".

8. I'm currently working on a very exciting project that I hope to, Lord willing, announce soon!

9. My hair was once waist length, and at that time I got 10 inches cut off and donated it to Locks of Love (a group that takes the hair and makes it into wigs for cancer patients)-it was then shoulder length after that.

10. My mouth is rather small, so I had to get my wisdom teeth taken out back in January 2007 before they were even through the gums.

If you're reading this, consider yourself tagged, and be sure to leave me your link so that I can read your answers! :) Have fun!

Introduction to the Stay-at-Home Daughterhood Article Series

*The following is the first installment in this series; a new article will be posted each Friday.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What was once so natural and almost universally accepted and practiced, has become an enigma. Today, it's even a fighting phrase for some and even a picture of enslavement. What is this hated and misunderstood topic I speak of? Nothing other than what we refer to as stay-at-home daughterhood. As we will discover through our study, this concept of Biblical daughterhood was one that was once widely popular and seen as perfectly normal, safe and wise. What changed, and why? How did we go from the mindset of full support of stay-at-home daughterhood to one of sincere hatred at the very thought of it? We will uncover the answers to these questions as well as many others throughout the course of this series.

In this brief introduction, I want to quickly address various issues pertaining to stay-at-home daughterhood. What I want to begin with is the question that I'm sure is on the minds of many, and that is-just what is stay-at-home daughterhood? For years, I had never heard of such an idea, and I know there must be countless other young ladies who are currently in the same boat I was. They have either never heard of stay-at-home daughterhood, or have heard the phrase but don't know what it's referring to. There are many misrepresentations alive today concerning this doctrine, so I want to shed some light upon stay-at-home daughterhood's true nature, thereby clearing away some of the chaos and confusion that abound when this topic is raised. Some entertain the thought in their minds that this belief is one that was specifically designed to enslave young women, and that a stay-at-home daughter is a mindless, wimpy, mousy young lady who is chained to and slaving over a hot stove all day long. They seem to think that this poor daughter never sees the light of day, but is instead locked away in a dungeon-like basement in the family home, ruled by an overbearing and abusive father. While this portrayal may seem rather humorous (and very outlandish!), there are some who truly believe this is what we are referring to when we speak of stay-at-home daughterhood. When you begin to fully grasp this fact, and realize that these people, because of their misunderstandings, are seeking to lead others away from the beauties of Biblical daughterhood, the above notion loses all its humor rather quickly. While this is one notion some have regarding this doctrine of daughterhood, others think that stay-at-home daughters are alike in all respects to stay-at-home wives and mothers, in that they take over and replace all aspects of their mother's work and influence in the home, and in so doing, become a sort of second wife to their fathers and mother to their siblings. Neither of these notions is based in reality or Biblical teaching. While some daughters may live in one of the two scenarios mentioned above while at the same time call themselves stay-at-home daughters, these portrayals are not faithful to the picture of stay-at-home daughterhood found in the Bible.

We must be careful when we newly discover a Biblical teaching on daughterhood (or any other subject, for that matter!), for we too often take passages and run with them, forming legalistic and unBiblical thought patterns. Stay-at-home daughterhood is a valid, Biblical and beautiful doctrine, but must not be taken so far as to morph the daughter into a wife and mother or to enslave the daughter by putting her into the status of a second class citizen. When followed and practiced Biblically, stay-at-home daughterhood is a wonderful blessing by which a daughter is able to fully exercise her God-given talents while remaining in the protective realm of her father's house and striving to do all within her power to bless her family and others who enter that home.

Simply put and Biblically speaking, stay-at-home daughterhood is the belief that an unmarried daughter is to remain in the home of her father until the time when she is given in marriage by him. I can already see some of you who have never before heard of this doctrine incredulously raising your eyebrows. This is a common reaction, but a sad one as well, for this practice used to be viewed as a "no-brainer", so to speak. It was once simply assumed that a grown, unmarried woman would enjoy life in her father's home, filling her days with hospitality, productivity, industry, projects dedicated to ministering to others, and various accomplishments in her God-given, womanly work. What a contrast this expectation is with the one all-too-common today that if you're a high school graduate you must immediately be ushered off to a college or full-time job somewhere! It is a relatively recent notion-and a sad and destructive one at that- which says that if a daughter is in her father's home until she's married, there must be something wrong with her, or her father must be a brute who wants absolute, totalitarian control over her. Neither could be further from Biblical truth, and it is high time that we as Christians become more Biblically literate when it comes to the question of what a young woman is to do between her high school graduation and her wedding day. Instead of succumbing to the world's teachings and today's cultural norm with unquestioning, blind obedience, we should be actively seeking to know the heart of Christ when it comes to issues pertaining to a daughter's life. We are to be in this world but not of it. However, too many Christians today are not actively seeking God's will on the subject of daughterhood, but are rather following after the world and its ways, visions and plans for today's daughters. Christians today aren't even bothering to second guess the world's expectations and priorities. So, it is time for God's people to step up and start discovering for themselves what God's Word teaches daughters to spend their valuable, God-given time doing. And second, once they discover God's thoughts and commands on this topic, must seek to proclaim these truths to others. Clearly, feminism has attempted to tarnish and obscure the shining, radiant truths of God's Word (which is the true liberator of women!) in the hopes of somehow giving females "a better life". It is beyond time that the dust and filth which feminism has showered on the beautiful portrait of daughterhood which the Scriptures present, be brushed off and that the ancient truths of Scripture be raised up once again! That is just what I'm seeking to do through this series.

To present to you, statistically, just how far we've regressed when it comes to what we believe an unmarried young woman's role is to be, consider these reports:

• In 1946, more than 90% of young women ages 15-24 lived at home with their parents
• According to a survey conducted in a bridal magazine c. 1970, 67% of young women lived at home until marriage
• In 1995, 30% of young women remained at home until marriage
• According to the 2000 census, 20% of young adult women lived with their parents
• In Britain, during the second quarter of 2008, only 18% of women aged 20-34 still lived at home with their parents**

I read somewhere that during the first years of the 20th century only between 3 and 5 percent of unmarried young women lived away from their parents. Contrast that with the 2008 report from Britain, which says that 82% reside away from their parents! Do you see how far we've come? While feminists would see this downward spiral in the number of unmarried women living at home with their parents as progress, the Biblically-conscious Christian should view these statistics as tragic regression.

You may be thinking, just why did the percentage of women remaining at home until marriage drop so dramatically? Well, it is my goal to answer this as well as many other questions pertaining to stay-at-home daughterhood through the course of this article series. I believe it is imperative that we as Christians understand the history surrounding the decline in the number of stay-at-home daughters so that we may better know how to combat the lies and sly plans of those who oppose Christian family life. Throughout this study, we will be covering such topics as:

• What is God's design for womanhood and how does stay-at-home daughterhood pertain to and correspond with it?
• Where in the Scriptures is stay-at-home daughterhood taught and presented?
• Why is stay-at-home daughterhood so important?
• What effect did feministic philosophies have on stay-at-home daughterhood and why?
• What about college and higher education?
• What about a young woman taking a job outside the home?
• What is a stay-at-home daughter to do with her time? What are her roles and responsibilities?
• Can a stay-at-home daughter truly be productive and further Christ's kingdom while remaining at home?
• What are some ways that a young woman can earn money without leaving the protection of her home?
• What are some ministry ideas for a stay-at-home daughter?
• What if a young woman has a father who no longer sees the importance of protecting her, and wishes to send her off on her own? What is she to do?
• What if a young woman has an abusive father?

We will also be joined in our study by several young women who are committed to joyfully remaining at home under their father's authority and protection until the day they marry. I will be conducting several interviews with these various ladies over the next few weeks, in the hopes that they will serve to be an encouragement to you, and serve as a picture of just how happy, exciting and productive the life of a stay-at-home daughter can be!

So, whether you are a committed stay-at-home daughter who just needs a dose of encouragement, or someone who is passionately against stay-at-home daughterhood, or someone somewhere in between, this article series is for you!

I pray that the Lord would bless you richly through the reading of this series, and that He would open the eyes of those who need their eyes opened, and would encourage and strengthen those who need edifying. In order to see the impact of this series on those who read it, I put a poll on my blog a couple months ago, asking my readers to please vote in response to the simple question: What are your thoughts on stay-at-home daughterhood? The poll was responded to with 186 votes and the following are the results I received:

• It's 100% Biblical and such a blessing--88 votes (47%)
• I don't see it taught in the Scriptures--48 votes (25%)
• It enslaves young women--39 votes (20%)
• I don't fully understand what it is--20 votes (10%)
• It's weird and wacky--11 votes (5%)
• I've never heard of it--8 votes (4%)

At the end of the series I'm going to reopen this poll. While I understand that not all of those who voted in the poll the first time around will necessarily come to my blog and vote again, while at the same time new people who did not vote in the first will vote in the second, I still hope to attempt to see what effect the series has had on the way some of my readers view the subject of stay-at-home daughterhood.

Throughout the course of this series, I would appreciate your prayers! Please also spread the word as much as you can! Thank you all for the part you are having in making this project a success! May all glory, honor, and praise go now and forevermore to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

** Statistical Information courtesy of research conducted on Google

Snapshots from Daddy's Birthday

This past Thursday, September 17th, was Daddy's birthday. Here are some photos of the celebration. :)

Andrew and I tend to make cards for Daddy, but we happened to find some we really liked instead. Here's the one Andrew picked for him. :)

The two most important men in my life. :)

This is the card I picked for Daddy

Daddy talking to Andrew about one of his gifts. :) He received a CD set of Doug Phillips reading Poems for Patriarchs

Daddy blowing out his musical candle! :) This is the 2 layer chocolate cake with chocolate icing he requested.

Enjoying precious fellowship with the Brookshire family!

We were so excited and blessed to be able to spend time with the dear Brookshire family while in Indiana! Daddy and I had met Mr. Brookshire and his sweet daughters Breezy and Emily Rose at this year's Vision Forum Father Daughter Retreat. While speaking with them, we discovered that, amazingly, they lived only about 20 minutes down the road from my great-grandparents! We had also visited the Brookshire's church before without realizing they went there! This time while in Indiana we were able to visit their church again, and they were so kind and hospitable that they invited us over for lunch afterwards. It was so wonderful to see them again (and to meet their wonderful mother!). This fun time made Mama's birthday even more special. A memorable day of fun, much laughter, and encouragement was enjoyed by all!

Breezy, myself and Emily Rose-special kindred friends!
The men- Mr. Brookshire, Daddy and Andrew

Mr. Brookshire and Daddy enjoying a good conversation!

Goodbye 'til next time! (this picture got out of order :( )

A group of likeminded Christians enjoying joyous fellowship together

My dear friend Breezy and the Brookshire's sweet family dog Bentley (who is also very obedient, I might add!)

Mr. and Mrs. Brookshire, Daddy and Mama

Mrs. Brookshire and Mama- two precious, godly women who delight in being wives, mothers and homemakers!

For more photos from our time with the Brookshires, please click here!

**Special note: the Brookshire sisters have just completed, by God's grace, a wonderful new project that will be featured in and available through this year's Vision Forum family catalogue (which is due out soon!). This wonderful work will, I'm sure, serve to encourage, edify, teach and strengthen the sturdy, godly, feminine, submissive, and visionary wives, mothers and homemakers of the next generation! For more information, please click here (and be sure to spread the word)!

Fun, fun, fun in Indiana!

Here are more photos from our time in Indiana. Enjoy!

My dear Papa (my great-grandfather) makes the best grilled hamburgers!
Fun-loving Nanny!

When Andrew discovered that he was finally the same height as Nanny, he was so excited!

Daddy and Andrew having fun as usual! :) I just love it when they wear their matching shirts!

Mama and Nanny enjoying a dice game

Me, Mammy, and my great-uncle Glen (who is SO much fun, as well!)

Me, dear Mammy, and Andrew

Me and my precious Mammy. She is such a godly woman and a wonderful role model for me. She radiates with kindness, femininity, hospitality, love for Christ, motherly love, and modesty. Her submissiveness, meek and quiet spirit, and the fact that she delights in being a woman are always so evidant. She truly is a delight to be around, and I'm so blessed to have her as my great-grandma!

Me and Glen...having fun as always!

Our vacation was a wonderful one, filled with fun and special memories. Lots of games were played, good talks were had, yummy foods were made and consumed, etc. We're very thankful for the time the Lord allowed us to have, and hope that you enjoyed this little glimpse into it! :)

Mama's birthday in Indiana

Well, these pictures came up out of order....I hope you'll bear with me! :)

Mama's birthday was Sunday, September 6th, and thus she was able to celebrate it in her favorite place....Indiana! She was able to visit with both great-grandmas (who both made her very yummy cakes!), which made for quite a happy day!

Andrew and I gave Mama the jewelry for her birthday, not knowing that Nanny (my great-grandma) had purchased this top for her. Look how well the earrings and top match! :) That was quite a pleasant surprise.
Mama and Nanny :)

The tasty pineapple upside down cake Nanny made for Mama

Mama and her not so little boy on her birthday (reading the card he made for her!)

Daddy, Mama and Mammy (my other great-grandma). Mammy made her a beautiful, moist applesauce cake. She is a very creative woman-she even put icing flowers on the cake!

I do believe it was a happy birthday, don't you? :)

On the road.....to Indiana! :)

As some of you may know, my family and I left for Indiana on Friday morning, September 4th to go visit my great-grandparents (and some dear friends, as well!). The following are some pictures I took in the van on the way to beautiful Indiana farmland! I hope you enjoy.... As most of you probably know by now, I'm a major sucker for sky photos (I have over 60 on my camera right now!), and simply couldn't resist capturing these two works of art on camera!
Isn't our God a master designer?

My sweet brother Andrew and I

We have much fun together, I assure you! ;)

A precious picture of Mama and Daddy that captures the beauty of their godly marriage. On occasion, especially on long drives, you can catch them silently holding hands. :) Sweet or what?

Yes, I adore my sweet, silly brother!

Get your vote in now!! :)

The long awaited stay-at-home daughterhood article series will, Lord willing, begin this Friday, September 25th!! You have only 3 days left to vote in the poll- please do so and spread the word about the series. I also eagerly welcome your prayers for this project!

God bless you this week,
Rebekah

The Importance of the Bill of Rights

*The following was written for a school assignment. I decided to post it here in the hopes that it would quicken you to fight for your blessed freedoms against those so intent upon destroying America.

Patrick Henry was a very wise man who understood the fact that, without a bill of rights, the U.S. Constitution would not necessarily be a liberty-preserving document. He refused to even support the proposed Constitution at the time when such a bill was absent from its pages, for he knew the sinfulness of man's nature and the desire man has to control others and usurp authority. He distrusted the proposed Constitution, for he felt that under it, America would quite easily fall into the hands of a monarch yet again. Mr. Henry knew something that many Americans today do not: without the addition of the Bill of Rights to the Constitution, there could not be still in existence "the land of the free", the United States of America.

The Founding Fathers undoubtedly fought hard for our freedom. During the Revolutionary War, they endured frigid winters, hunger, and a lack of sufficient clothing. Many of them bled and died so that we might have the blessing of living free. They also framed the Constitution for the sake of their posterity-us. Just how are we thanking them today? By referring to religion (the term our Founders used for Christianity) as incompatible with the realm of the civil government and politics. By crying out for separation of church and state and for the outlawing of Christianity, rather than for freedom of religion. By calling the second amendment and the bearing of arms unconstitutional. By ruling our government in such a way that we are supporting its takeover by foreign nations and philosophies that are bent on America's destruction. By calling abortion acceptable under the phrase "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness". That's how we're thanking our Founding Fathers for the many and varied sacrifices they made for us! Shameful? That would be an understatement!

We are taking the Bill of Rights and turning it on its head today. We are sticking out our stubborn necks against our Founders and rejecting the blessed freedom they paid so dearly for on our behalf. Today, Americans are blindly rejecting the rights which their ancestors held as dear and precious, the rights that separated them from the countries of mourning, slavery, trepidation, abuse, dictatorship, darkness, and sadness. Our ancestors viewed the Bill of Rights as a gift from God that proclaimed the blessings He had given to us in this new country. Just as it would be shameful for Christians to reject their Christian liberty, so it is shameful for Americans to reject their God-given national liberty! That's exactly what we are guilty of doing today, however-rejecting what our Founders referred to as "the blessings of liberty".
Just how important is the Bill of Rights? Could we get along allright without it? Would we be truly free in this nation without it? Is the Bill of Rights overrated? I think not! In fact, just as Patrick Henry did, I know not! The Bill of Rights that the Lord has blessed us with is precisely what separates us from Communist China, from Islamic Iran, and from the former Soviet Union. Without this Bill America would quickly be reduced to a nation of concentration camps and dictatorships. Instead of joy and capitalistic industry would be wretched sadness and socialism. Instead of freedom, independent living, and peaceful sleep at night knowing we live in a free nation, would be chains, slavery, torment, and the dread of living another day in such dreary circumstances, combined with the fear of actually facing death at the hands of a dictator and his minions. America is separated from China by a thin line of, first of all, the blessing of God, and secondly, the Bill of Rights.

All around us here in America are politicians intent on destroying the Bill of Rights. They prowl about in the dark of night, working silently to erode away our freedoms and our God-given privileges. They are crafty God-hating men and women who receive their joy from ruling and controlling others. These powerful workers are dedicated to destroying the United States of America and all she has stood for in the past. While these politicians are working hard, incessantly striving to reach their idolized goal, the majority of Americans are helping them by remaining in a state of slumber, disinterested in what is going on about them. Americans are their own worst enemies, and unbeknownst to them, are actually serving the very people who are working so hard to destroy them. The politicians striving to overtake America by destroying her Bill of Rights would not be as successful as they are becoming if it weren't for lazy Americans who are keeping their eyes shut and their ears deaf. Because we Americans take not the time to observe what is going on around us, to educate ourselves as to what our government is working on, and to fight against those who are attempting to control us, we are handing over our freedoms bit by bit without so much as a fight.

It is high time that we, the descendants of the fighters in the War for Independence, took on that revolutionary spirit and set out to defeat King George III yet again. Wake up, America! Fight back against those who want to take away your precious freedoms! Make the Founders proud in the way that you bravely resist the socialists' deeds of darkness. Wake up, America, before it's too late-before your Bill of Rights is nowhere to be found!

Stay-at-home Daughterhoodhood Article Series Delay :(

I hate to be the bearer of bad news this morning, but the release of the first article in the stay-at-home daughterhood series has been pushed to Friday, September 25th, 2009. The time between my arrival home and today was going to be spent on putting the finishing touches, etc. on the first article. However, I've been distracted and preoccupied due to the terrible news received Monday about a family in our church. While I know this delay is a huge letdown to all of you as well as to myself, I feel that I would be letting us down all the more if I attempted to just go through the motions with the article, without really putting my heart and my best into it when my mind is on other things. I want this series to be the best it can be to God's glory, and I feel that if I had attempted to prepare the article for release today, it wouldn't have been the best it could be. I'm so sorry for this unexpected and unforseen problem and postponement. I had so wanted this series to begin on my father's birthday (today). I know, however, that God's will is best, and His timing perfect. This way, at least you'll have more time to vote in the poll and spread the word about the series! God is good, and has a good plan for this project. To God alone be the glory!

Please continue to pray for the family at church!! This is such a sad and awful situation, and they really need prayer at this time! Thank you!

Updates, a Reminder and Prayer Requests

Hello, all! My family and I returned yesterday evening from a truly delightful trip to Indiana to visit my great-grandparents. While there, we were able to have lunch and enjoy a great time of fellowship with some of my dearest friends, Breezy, Emily and the rest of their family. A great time was had by all (more on that later!), and the Lord was so merciful in granting to us traveling mercies on our journey back home. As always, a wonderful visit with family ends in an emotional departure. But God is good, and I'm so thankful for the precious time we were able to have together.

As most of you know, Lord willing, the first article in the stay-at-home daughterhood series will be posted this Thursday, September 17th. Also, please note that there is limited time available to vote in the poll that is associated with this project, so please do vote while you still can! Please continue to keep this series in your prayers, as well! That is greatly appreciated, I assure you!

While driving home yesterday, Mama discovered that there were 2 messages on her cell phone from our pastor. They sounded very urgent, and upon calling back, we were told something that we never ever would have expected. I don't feel at liberty at this time to reveal all the details (especially not on the public venue of a blog). However, I am pleading with you that you would please pray for a family in our church. Something has happened that has sent us into complete shock and disbelief. Though you don't know all the details (nor do we at this time!), please don't allow that to cause you to underestimate the importance of keeping this family in your prayers. If, in the future, I feel that I can share more with you all, I certainly will. But for the time being, I would so appreciate your prayers! They mean more than you know! We know that the Lord will bring good out of this situation, but we truly are wondering why it has happened. 'Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus, though! God is good, and will bring good out of this problem. Thank you so very, very much for your faithful, caring prayers and concern!

Also, there is a friend of mine from church who was injured recently during football practice. He had to have surgery for torn cartilage in his knee, and at this time, we are unsure whether or not his cartilage will heal. Please pray the the Great Physician would work wonders, that his recovery would not be too painful, etc.

Thank you all so much for your love and prayers. What a joy it is to have readers like you! The Lord truly has blessed me through you all, and I pray that he will use me to be a blessing to you in return.

God bless you,
Miss Rebekah

A Plea to the American Unbelievers of Today

*The following was written for a school Bible/writing assignment, but, with the knowledge that some of my readers profess to not be Christians, and are thus unsaved, I felt that the Lord would have me post this on my blog as well. May it prove to be a blessing to all who read what's contained herein.

A Plea to the American Unbelievers of Today

The vast majority of you claim to believe in God. However, what do your actions say? Do they agree with and support your words? By no means. Some of you even go around claiming the name of Christ, but to no use. You claim it in vain. You are filled with carnality and are thus the enemies of God, not the friends thereof. I would submit to you that the belief you claim to hold is not a belief in the One True God, but rather a belief in the gods who are a figment of your imagination. Most of you do indeed believe in a god or gods, but none of these will be able to help you on the coming Day of Judgment-you will be left in your sins if you do not turn from them now unto the true and living God.

You rely on your made up gods and religions in the hopes that one day you'll be found worthy to enter heaven. These false gods of yours do not exist and will therefore be of no assistance to you on that day when you find yourself at the judgment seat of Christ. Woe to you who believe in these false gods! Woe to you because there is no hope whatsoever for you. That is, unless you turn from these fantasy gods to the One true God and His Son Jesus Christ.

You all go scurrying about in an abyss of relativism, chained by confusion and chaos. All this worrying and arguing about what truth is could easily be avoided if you simply turned from Satan, the author of confusion, to Christ, the author of all true knowledge. Fear of Christ is the beginning of knowledge, but not one of you possesses true knowledge, for you do not fear Christ. You must repent of your sins and turn to the Savior. God has revealed Himself to you through your consciences, His creation, and His Word, but you have ignored each and every one of these signs from Him. He will not be patient and kind to you forever. One day, He will turn from His lenience to His wrath and will subdue each of you and your sins. On that great Day of Judgment there will be no chance for any of you to repent of your sins and turn to the Savior. That chance only exists today, in this moment, as you don't know what the next day or even the next hour may bring. Your only hope is to be found right now as you listen to my words. When I am finished speaking to you, your time of hope may be finished as well. You have but a moment to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ in faith. Your life is but a vapor and will soon be gone, and if your life ends before you turn unto Christ, your soul will forever be lost. Jesus is showing to you His tender mercies in allowing you to hear His truth today. Do not resist these mercies, but rather cling to them. They are your only hope of salvation.

Now, as I close, I plead with you, I beseech you, to not turn away from your only chance to be saved. Turn not your back on this loving Savior Who died on the cross to save sinners such as you. Do not choose to spend eternity in hell; choose rather to spend your eternity in paradise, in the presence of the God Who shed His blood to save all those that would believe. Rich peace and joy that passes all understanding would immediately fill your souls if only you would surrender them to God. Please do not turn away from His offer of salvation. Today is the day of salvation, today is the appointed time. Turn not away.