Love This.

the following is an article by Rabbi Boteach copied from a friends blog...i don't think i could say it any better than this...


A funny thing happened to me the other day when my wife and I had, thank God, another baby (a boy). Many of my friends didn't seem all that happy for me. Sure, they went through the motions of smiles and congratulations. But it was evident that many thought me insane. Why would a young man and his wife ruin their lives with eight children? Who could afford the Jewish day-school bills? Didn't we want to live life a little, and not just be burdened with kids?




It got downright surreal when a European film company, pressed me, while my wife was in labor, to finish shooting a segment that had an urgent deadline (I obviously told them they were insane). And the next day, I was mildly criticized by a Jewish organization which was supposed to be hosting me for a lecture for having to cancel on them because the lecture clashed with the baby's bris.



I don't mind that the world doesn't really love babies, just that it pretends to. It's time we got honest about our priorities. Most people get a new car every two or three years, but one or two babies through the life of their marriage is plenty. You can get drunk on an airplane, laugh hysterically with your mates, and still not really anger people. But if you dare bring a crying baby on board you will be given malicious looks as if the little thing is a package that ticks. If you walk your dog along the street, people will stop you to tell you how cute he is. If you walk down the street with a baby, you might find a woman or two who coos, but for the most part, you'll be utterly ignored.





Indeed, the contempt shown to parents of many children is the last acceptable prejudice in our society. As a father of a large family, I find myself apologizing wherever I go, as if I committed a crime. The frequent and loaded stares from scornful onlookers imply that the famine in Africa was caused by my selfish insistence on overpopulating the earth. Long ago my wife and I discovered that few hotels were prepared to accommodate so many children, even if we took three of four rooms, which is why we bought an RV for travel.



How strange to live in a world where loving children casts one in infamy. Having a family with many children implies a backwardness and primitivism that is deemed unbecoming in the developed countries of the West. Large families, it is thought, exist only among religious weirdoes or the teeming hovels of the Third World.



Rich countries, by contrast, prefer to increase their standard of living rather than the number of the living. Looking at Western birth rates for the year 2001, the United States averaged only 14.2 births for every thousand Americans, and the birthrate among white Americans is so low that the United States will soon lose its white majority. Indeed, one can go for days in a wealthy city like Manhattan without encountering a single pregnant woman. Riches and children have become inversely proportional such that the more of the former, the less of the latter.



Hence, the high birth rates of extremely poor African nations like Uganda – at 47.52 births per 1,000 – or Niger with 50.68 births per 1,000, are deemed to be prime causes and indicators of their penury. The abundant fertility and unconstrained sexuality of these countries confirms the unspoken Western mindset of these country's inhabitants as being just one step above savages. Contraception has become a synonym for civilization.



A Christian mother of six once wrote to me, "I find it troubling to worry about getting pregnant again ... because I don't want to face the criticism of friends and family. Why do people not see children as a blessing?" A fair question which deserves a fair response.



Why is it that even many synagogues today are not children friendly? Why are people impressed that Jay Leno owns 20 motorcycles, but disgusted that some religious families choose to have 10 children?



Let's not finesse the response. We all know why. A world that has lost its innocence has trouble appreciating beings who are innocent. A world that has become selfish has soured to the idea of leading a life of selflessness. A world that has become grossly materialistic is turned off to the idea of more dependents who consume resources. And a world that mistakenly believes that freedom means a lack of responsibility is opposed to the idea of needy creatures who "tie you down."



They can go fly a kite.



By just looking at my children, I become more innocent. By loving them, I become more noble. By spending my money on them rather than myself, I find transcendence. And by being a father and liberating all of the love in my heart, my spirit soars free. I work hard to support a large family and I give up no pleasures in doing so because my children are my foremost pleasure.



I am often asked by women dating men how to tell whether they are marriage material. I tell them, "See if he enjoys children." A man who loves children is playful. He will spend his life joking with his wife because he loves to see her laugh, and will flirt with her because he loves to see her smile.



There was a time when husbands and wives worked hard to ensure they could afford the blessings of a large family. Today, the higher your earning bracket the fewer children you have, but then we always knew that many turn money from a blessing into a curse.



Before he died, the Lubavitcher Rebbe launched a campaign asking parents to have one more child than they originally planned. It is a campaign that a dwindling Jewish community should revive as it continues to disappear.



Posted: March 02, 2006

1:00 am Eastern

By Rabbi Shmuley Boteach

© 2010 WorldNetDaily.com

Jones Gap

it finally happened! i finally got matt to take me back to Jones Gap State Park!

it rained on us...but that did not ruin our fun.

these are the very steps that i walked down in my white dress over 12(!) years ago...

i got a few shots of everybody playing in the rain before the battery died in my camera.

this was SUCH a needed break for me...i won't go into details but i have been battling discouragement for weeks now. please continue to keep praying for relief for me if you think of it...

i love the light in this one.

something about this place makes me feel rooted...this is where matt and i would go for picnic dates and hikes before we married. i love it so much.

another favorite of the day..

xoxo

My story

I (Matt) have just been asked to be a guest blogger on this fine publication. This is one of the greatest honors of my life and I will do my best in the following post to uphold the tradition of journalistic excellence that this blog represents.
This week I was reminded several times of who I was before I became a Christian and he changed my life. Many of you have heard this story so you are excused from reading the rest of this post if you want. But if you haven't I will keep it brief.
I started drinking early, 12. By the time I was 16 I was drinking and using drugs heavily. By 17 I was also selling drugs to support my habit. I had fallen into a downward spiral. If anyone tells you that the human heart is not inclined toward wickedness please send them to me.
When I was 19 God sent Tiffany into my life. He had just started working in her life; drawing her back to him. She invited me to come to church with her. As you can imagine I had some bad experiences with church people so I wasn't exactly enthused to go. But I had a plan how I could stay in good with her and run them off at the same time. It might be good for me to give you a description of myself at this point. I was what you might call the typical "dirty hippie kid"; long scruffy beard, dreads, and about as unhealthy as you can get. Tiffany told me recently that she thought that I was on the verge of death. I ate very little. I was on a steady diet of alcohol, drugs, and cigarettes. Looking back I think she is probably right.
So, I put my plan into action. I fluffed up my beard, didn't wash my hair, and tried to look as undesirable as possible. But a funny thing happened when I went to the church. Instead of being repulsed by me the people in the church came up to me and loved me. My plan backfired. I was confused, I had to come back and find out what was going on. I kept coming back. I kept hearing God's word, and eventually I recognized that the hole that I had been trying to stuff full of all the world has to offer really only needed Jesus to fill it. I accepted Christ as my savior and he radically changed my life.
I'm not saying it was all roses from here on out and I'm not saying that I never faltered but God was with me and he cared for me. When I fell he lifted me up, dusted me off and sent me on my way again. God is my ever present strength.
 But why have I told you all this? I told you to encourage you. Do you know someone who is like I was? There is hope in Christ. I told you this because It helps me. It is easy for me to rest in myself, to think I can do it myself. But I can't! I can do nothing without God's wonderful indwelling Spirit. I told you this enlighten you. God is real and he really changes hearts and lives, he can change yours too.

the digits

our move back to SC went well. we have completed our stateside training and now we focus on partnership devlopment.

SOOO,,,we are getting closer to the goal! We are going to switch now to numbers for our support level in hopes that it will be more meaningful- we still need $1190 monthly to reach our budget requirements by july.

 we don't have internet at the missionary house or a home phone..i think we will just use our cells now and hopefully we will have internet soon so that we can update more frequently...

news

wow. this is the first time i have been able to access the blog since the last post- not sure what's up...anyway i have NOT been in a bloggy mood. here's a quick update for my peeps


guess what friends...we recieved word that our visas are on the way! it took less than 3 weeks! And we are up to73.7% of our monthly budget- still hoping to make it to 100% by mid july  xoxo

I Am Resolved

The words of ths old hymn have been running through my head so much lately (esecially the first verse)...they sum up pretty well how i feel about leaving the few worldly goods we have and taking our family to the jungles of PNG...

I am resolved, no longer to linger

charmed by the worlds delight,

Things that are higher, things that are nobler,

these have allured my sight.

(refrain)

I will hasten to Him, hasten so glad and free;

Jesus, greatest highest, i will come to thee

.

I am resolved to go to the savior,

leaving my sin and strife;

He is the true One, He is the just One;

He hath the words of life.

I will hasten to him, hasten so glad and free;

Jesus greatest highest, i will come to the.

I am resolved to follow the Savior,

faithful and true each day;

heed what he sayeth, do what he willeth;

He is the living way.

I am resolve dto enter the kingdom,

leaving the paths of sin;

friends may oppose me, foes may beset me;

still will i enter in.

I am resoved and who will go with me?

Come friends without delay,

taught by the Bible, led by the Spirit,

we'll walk the hevenly way.

I will hasten to Him, hasten so glad and free;

Jesus greatest highest, i will come to thee.

                               (by Fanny Crosby)

Hear me people! Jesus said Himself in Matthew 19:21 when asked speciffically by a rich young ruler how to obtain eternal life "If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possesions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me."

Now this is where we lose most comfortable Americans. i do NOT believe this is figurative like most of us want to think. the common teaching is that this means you can't love your stuff more than God. that makes us feel better- but check this out-

"when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property."(v.22)

You see? there had not been 2000 years of watered down theology to lessen the blow of what Jesus had just told him. and this man knew...it cost too much. He looked into the face of Jesus and knew this wasn't up for discussion...but Jesus i won't love my stuff like i love you!  nope. he walked away. and Jesus said;

"Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."(v.23, 24)

Even the disciples were astonished.

Please don't let the world's delights charm you in to missing the joy of  following Christ! Be FREE!

Give it away! Come follow Him!

   

more spring photos

once again i want to brag on Courtney at http://www.storinguptreasuresphotography.com/ ; she does a GREAT job with children- just capturing them the way they are~ none of the posing stuff that looks so fake..we just played around and she took pictures that really capture each child's personality...

but i will say that she did some BEAUTIFUL 6 month portraits of evangeline that were more studio style- with the black background-  they were STUNNING! Look back to the November 2009 posts if you want to see more...