Contemplations of a Mommy "Monk"

Okay, I'm new to this thankful Thursday thing (and I know it's Friday), but I wanted to get started right away! *I'm thankful for my sweet husband who keeps on being so patient with me no matter what crazy moods I get into! *I'm thankful for my adorable 6 year old first grader who wrote a book entitled "The Rainbow" for her teacher and gave her homemade pickles on the first day of school. We really aren't training her to be a brown noser~ *I'm thankful for my precious 4 year old who makes me cry every time I realize she's in preschool now! *I'm thankful for my 2 year old even if he does try to wreck everything that actually has value in our home.

The phone call literally brought me to my knees. Sometimes when devastating events occur outside of my personal world I can easily put them out of my mind. But this was different: the little girl who was deathly ill was the same age as my son (18 months). Although I knew the parents, they were not close friends so I can only explain my heavy heart as a burden from the Holy Spirit. I cried out to God for her deliverance – I pled with Him for her salvation. Tears ran down my face as I sought God’s blessing over this dear child that I didn’t even know. I believe in the power of prayer and I often pray for the needs of my friends and family. My experience with prayer has shown me that God is sovereign and I must trust Him to make the best decision. I sense Him prompting me to pray in a certain direction – for healing as an example, but I don’t always see what the end result will be. Prayer is such a strange thing because I know God will make the right decision with or ...

Could God actually be pro-choice? You’re shocked to hear it, of course, and your religious political training is rebelling against the idea. Let me be clear; I’m not trying to make some big political statement about abortion (I’ll leave that hot topic alone)! This is much bigger than one issue – God’s mode of working among humankind has always been pro-choice within the confines of His ultimate sovereignty. Let’s begin at the beginning. When God created human beings, He made man and woman in His own image which means He gave us freedom of choice. God’s decision to give mankind the choice to reject Him has always perplexed deep thinkers. We wonder why He would allow people to follow a path of self-destruction when He could have intervened in His power. Instead of forcing us to obey Him, He gives us space to make our own decisions and the freedom to fail. If you are a parent, you understand both the agony and the necessity of freedom. At the beginning of life our children have no real fr...