Christian Businesses and the HHS Mandate

A blog article appeared on Justin Taylor's blog at the Gospel Coalition addressing the HHS Mandate by the Federal government and the effects that it may have on Christian business owners.  Tyndale Christian Publishers may be run out of business by the fines that they will face for not following the HHS Mandate, which states that businesses must not only provide free birth control to their employees through their healthcare plan but also abortion-inducing drugs.

Here is a fact sheet on the HHS Mandate, which I believe oversteps the intended bounds of government.  

It is important to be informed as the election approaches; however, more importantly, we as Christians need to know how to pray for the direction of our country and the decisions of those in leadership.

May Update

Well...I think I'm officially a new woman! My 15 week old bruiser has slept through the night two nights in a row, which means that this mama is actually getting 8 hours of straight, glorious, blissful sleep! Can you tell I'm excited?!

One thing that I've learned since having Hudson is that lack of sleep is not becoming on me. I become impatient, easily discouraged and grouchy as a mom. So, it is a wonderful feeling to see the light at the end of the tunnel and know that consistent sleep is here...or at least around the corner.

I haven't blogged in a long time, so I wanted to update how life as a family of six is going. I don't seem to have enough time to update baby books (which I have some guilt over, considering that Elly's is full and beautiful!), so maybe this is my best avenue of recording milestones.

Elly is becoming a big girl. She's creative, bright and doesn't know a stranger. She is also extremely particular (a nicer way of saying anal retentive!). She wants things a certain way and is very sure of her opinions and habits of doing things. This characteristic will hopefully result in her being a visionary who keeps a clean house :) but only time will tell. Preschool will begin at the end of the summer, and we are all excited for Elly to be a "Little Lamb".

Silas has matured SO much since coming home from the Congo 10 months ago. He is talking up a storm and loves to dance, sing, and laugh. He can be the life of the party and quite a charmer. His whining has decreased a hundred fold from last summer, but he still commonly can go from laughing to uncontrollable crying in a moment's notice. My most recent consistent prayer for Silas is that God will grow him into a steadfast, godly man...that his high highs and low lows will mellow into consistency. He loves to pray at meal times and can often be found singing to himself. Personal favorites include: Go Tell it on the Mountain, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, the ABC's and Jesus Loves Me.

Mercy has a smile that can light up a room. She is generally joyful (unless you steal her toy...) and loves to play games and be chased. She is a daredevil, often found climbing and getting into everything that she isn't supposed to! She just moved into Elly's room, so the girls sleep together at night, and it seems that Mercy is growing into a big girl right before our eyes. She had her hernia repaired as well as her adenoids removed and tubes put in several weeks after Hudson was born. The result is that she can hear and is slowly starting to talk more. It will be nice when she can start articulating her wants because she definitely has opinions...she just struggles communicating them. Mercy is a daddy's girl and LOVES her baby brother. Since joining our family, Mercy has gone from being quiet and content to really spunky and fun but still content. Both she and Silas have been a great blessing to our family.

Hudson, for those of you who haven't seen him, is GIGANTIC! He is a beast of a child...weighing at 2 months what Elly weighed at 6 months! He is just starting to sleep better but hasn't really fallen into a schedule yet. He is smiling and cooing and melts my heart often. After struggling for so long to consent to the idea of being pregnant, I am so thankful for his smiling, chunky face. He brings me great joy...and I can see how the baby of the family always seems spoiled! ha

Overall, the adjustment to 4 has been a challenge, but we're making it. Hudson is my constant companion as it's basically impossible for anyone to watch all 4 without help. We have incredible help from our family and church family. Everyday I have people come over to help me with the kids, which we are SO blessed by. I look forward to the day when I can help young moms out in the way that so many are helping my family out. God has been so good to put us in the church and town that we are in.

For Andy and I, some days it seems like pure survival and other days are more joyful. The days are full and require a lot from us, and for awhile we felt like two passing ships...he would come home from work and help with the older ones while I cared for Hudson. Things have settled down some, but we still find that we have be intentional about spending time together because once the last child's head hits the pillow, we quickly follow.

I've been learning lots of things from having all of these children.
These lessons include (but aren't limited to...):

 --Learning that God does in fact give us more than we can handle...BUT He puts us in community with others who fill in the gaps. We have been incredibly blessed by so many who help us and love on our kids.

--I have seen the ugliness of my sin as I struggle to handle the chaos of 4 under 3, but I also am reminded that my perfect Father is gracious and is using these hard days to change my character. It has been extremely humbling to see my sin. I often pray that He will protect my children from my sin as I often feel like I'm failing at the job that God has assigned me. However, the Bible promises that His strength is made perfect in my weakness.

  --I have been reminded again and again that I am small and weak and must be submissive to the LORD who is over all. I would not have chosen to have 4 children under 3, if I had been given the choice, but God has plans for my little people and my job is to accept the circumstances and be faithful to raise them to the best of my ability.

All four are unique little treasures, and Andy and I are thankful for how fearfully and wonderfully they are made.

The LORD has done this...

I haven't blogged in a verrrrrry long time. It has been a crazy 7 months since Silas and Mercy joined our family. We have had peaks and valleys...good days and bad, but God has seen us through. Our children are adjusting well and are turning into little people with personalities. They are running (and climbing) all over the place, and just last night Elly, Silas and Mercy all chased each other around the house giggling while Andy and I sat together on the couch. It was a good feeling.

The last 7 months have been a struggle for me in many ways...Adjusting to the reality of being pregnant was really hard. I questioned God's love for me. I didn't want to be pregnant. It was difficult to care for 3 little ones as I got bigger and bigger. I was on bedrest for two weeks towards the end and unable to care for my kids, and throughout the pregnancy had moody, irritable days when I wasn't a great Christ-like example to my kids. I have felt many times like a fish out of water...inadequate to be the mom to all of these kids. But I have also seen God refining Andy and I through these crazy days.

When I first found out that I was pregnant, all that I could think about was this giant mural that's in the front of Cornerstone Christian Academy. It says, "The LORD has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes." Psalm 118:23

This mural came to mind because I knew that the Lord had done this...I had been on the pill, so the likelihood of becoming pregnant was almost zero. BUT I could not say that it was marvelous in my eyes. Andy and I were stepping out in faith by adopting two children instead of one. We knew that we would have to rely on the Lord in a tangible way, so when I found out that I was pregnant it seemed too overwhelming...too much for me to handle.

But then Hudson was born. As a look at his little facial expressions and how intricately and wonderfully he is made, I can truly say, "The LORD has done this, and it is marvelous in my eyes." It is incredible that God creates life and forms little bodies that have ten tiny toes and ten tiny fingers. To God be the glory for the miracle of creating life.

And God has been good to us. We have wonderful help. I have a husband who is amazing with our kids, which frees me up to care for all of Hudson's needs. God has guarded my mind thus far, so I'm not struggling with postpartum depression issues like I did with Elly. God has given us a little guy who sleeps well and rarely cries. He has tangibly shown His love for me by giving us all that we can handle but not more.

There will certainly be hard days ahead, but I know that God is good and His steadfast love endures forever. His plan for my life and for my family may be different than mine would have been, but He ways are better. I am thankful that He has brought Hudson into our lives and am excited to see the plans that He has for this little unexpected miracle.

*For pictures of our newest addition, see Sue Chamber's blog.

When You Shouldn't Adopt: Insights from Russell Moore

This is an excerpt that I read on Justin Taylor's Blog this afternoon:

From Russell Moore’s post “Don’t Adopt!”

Children shatter your life-plan. Adoption certainly does.

It’s worth it.

But Jesus tells us we ought to know that a king going into battle must measure his troops, a tower-builder must count the expenses of the project (Lk. 14:28-31). Those who see adoption as a warm, sentimental way of having a baby are mistaken and dangerous. There are far too many who plunge in without counsel, without a commitment to fidelity no matter what. They search around for a baby who fits their specifications. And babies never fit your specifications…at least not when they grow up.

If what’s behind all of this isn’t crucified, war-fighting, eyes-open commitment, you are going to wind up with a child who is twice orphaned. He or she will be abandoned the first time by fatherlessness and the second time by the rejection of failing to live up to the expectations of parents who had no business imposing such expectations in the first place.

We need a battalion of Christians ready to adopt, foster, and minister to orphans. But that means we need Christians ready to care for real orphans, with all the brokenness and risk that comes with it. We need Christians who can reflect the adopting power of the gospel, which didn’t seek out a boutique nursery but a household of ex-orphans who were found wallowing in our own blood, with Satan’s genes in our bloodstreams.

If what you like is the idea of a baby who fulfills your needs and meets your expectations, just buy a cat. Decorate the nursery, if you’d like. Dress it up in pink or blue, and take pictures. And be sure to have it declawed.

The rest of the post is available here.

I can certainly testify to the fact that adoption, just like most things in life, seems much more glamorous and romantic on the front end. Don't get me wrong, I dearly love my children, and they are great blessings in my life, but the days are not always easy and the transitions are not always perfectly smooth. I must agree with Dr. Moore that we cannot bring orphans into our home to satisfy a longing in us...just as we should not marry to satisfy a longing or do a whole slew of things that we think will "make everything better". Only God can fully satisfy, so our purpose behind adoption must be to imitate the gospel and grace of Jesus. We love because He first loved us. We, who were once far off, have been brought near to God...are given the Spirit of sonship and have the grace of calling to the God of the Universe "Abba, Father."

May we, as recipients of this grace, champion adoption and extend grace to "the least of these" as an expression of love for our Father and care for the defenseless rather than seek our own selfish fulfillment in what cannot fulfill. I pray that more children find families but also pray that those families realize that the call of adoption is not an easy road by the standards of this world, but, as are all things that God calls us to, is good and joyful and life-changing.

DeYoung Article about Children and Stress

I feel stressed often these days...typically multiple times a day. I find myself much more easily angered than I even used to be as well as much more exhausted. While this article doesn't give a fix-it formula for parental stress, it does caution me to be aware of my attitude around my children and remind me that I am not alone.

One man's comment to DeYoung's article was: "I never knew I was such an angry person until I had a house full of little kids.” This is what I find myself saying to friends who ask how we’re doing. Perhaps it was the lack of stress before we had 4 kids in 6 years (and recently moved across the country) that I never realized the selfishness and anger lurking within me.

But now I am called to die to myself every day, in very practical ways. And I’m not good at it. I’d rather be angry and pout.

But once recently while doing the dishes and grumbling, an inaudible voice told me: “you said you want to be a servant, right?”

After all, if anyone wants the be first, he must be very last, and a servant of all. May the Lord grant us forgiveness, and faith to trust Him and walk in His way as servants."

Here is Kevin DeYoung's article: click here.

My hope and prayer is that God, in His grace, will go before me, strengthen me, and change me from the inside-out.

The Christmas Card vs. Reality

We all like to show the world the cookie cutter family photo, where everyone is smiling and everything appears perfect. Growing up, the Lovejoy family Christmas photo would inevitably look lovely, but without fail my youngest sister would cry during the photo shoot because Sarah and I were being so mean (sorry Rachel...).

So, after getting family photos taken from the wonderful and talented Chambers clan, I thought that I'd take the opportunity to contrast what will likely be our Christmas card with reality...which though crazy and sometimes stressful, is a bit more fun to look at it.

Say Cheese....











VS.























We certainly aren't perfect and the days are wild, but I wouldn't trade it...most days! :)

Review of the new movie: The Help

There is a new movie out called "The Help", which is based off a best-selling book written by Kathryn Stockett. After seeing the previews and hearing great things about the book, I do hope to see it, especially because I figure the movie fits into my life a bit better than reading the book these days!

This review from Her.meneutics seemed thoughtful and thought-provoking.

Enjoy!