Quick Update

Sorry that I have been so absent! I have things I want to blog about, but there is not a lot of time these days, and now we have dial-up :-(, so I try to be careful about the amount of time I spend on the computer ~ not a bad thing!

We have been out of the hospital for almost a month. Jethro is doing well, we have a small pharmacy in our house now, and I think I may be on my way to being a nurse, but we are adjusting. We go to Dr.s appts (scheduled) every other week, but have seen our Dr.s about once a week since getting out. We spent one afternoon back at the hospital, but the Dr. ended up releasing us, so we didn't spend the entire weekend, which is what we had expected. We are so thankful that the Lord has blessed us in this way. When they discharged us, they told us to expect to be back...it just works that way with heart babies.

On St. Patrick's Day, our house burned. This is not the phone call you want to get when you are in the hospital with a baby in the PICU following open heart surgery! However, God is so good! Because we were in the hospital, none of the children were home, and we did not have to worry about anyone being hurt. We lost some precious things, but in the end, they are just that...things. And it was so much easier to put into perspective the loss of a house when we were/are dealing with life and death issues with Jethro. Please don't misunderstand ~ losing the house and our possessions is still not an easy thing, but I believe that if it was the only thing we were dealing with it would be much more devastating. As always, God's timing is perfect, and I praise Him for the ability to see that.

So, for the time being, we are in a rental ~ a house I have wanted to live in since I was a little girl ~ and waiting to see what the insurance is going to do. We will rebuild, it's just a wait and see game at this point. If you are so inclined, we would appreciate prayers for the insurance company to work quickly and for wisdom for us in how best to proceed with a rebuild. There are so many options, but we may not have a lot to rebuild with, and we need a fairly sizable house with the number of us that there is.

So, that is the Cliff Note version of what's going on. Thank you to those of you who continue to come and read. At some point, I will get back to posting on a more regular basis.

Announcing...

Jethro Storms Dole
February 26 via emergency c-sec
9lb 1oz, 22" long

Jethro was born with a congenital heart defect (CHD) known as Ebstein's Abnormality of the Tricuspid Valve, and Pulmonary Atresia. Ebstein's is a rare defect, only affecting 1 in every 210,000 babies. To make things even more difficult, Jethro was born with a severe form of it.

At this moment, I am writing from his room in the NICU where he was born. We are praying for stability as he is scheduled for surgery in the morning to begin the process of turning his heart into a 2 chamber organ instead of 4 chambered. Tomorrow will be the first of 3 surgeries performed over the next 3 years. It is open heart, so carries a fair amount of risk, but without the surgery, his condition is incompatible with life ~ not something a Mama wants to hear concerning her child.

I have been fairly absent here, and hope to rectify that, but I honestly don't know when I'll be able to.

If you are interested in keeping up with Jethro and what's going on, you can check out our family blog, The Legend of Thousand Hills Farm , or, if you are on Facebook some friends/family have set up a group for him that you can join. It's Jethro Storms Dole.

We appreciate your prayers.

Living Set Apart and Holy

If you follow our family blog, you may have already read this. However, I wanted to post it here as well, because I have some thoughts that I want to share about how this applies to living out our lives as godly wives. This was written by my oldest son, Will, who is 19. After reading it, I asked him if I could share it, and he graciously gave his consent. I hope to post my thoughts on this in the next few days. Here now, is Will's post:

So this is mostly just writing to myself...but honestly most of what I write is. I comprehend and process better if I have to put things into words. So I shall attempt to share the lesson God has been teaching me of late. The subject is holiness.

We shall start with our premise that we, by nature, are sinners condemned to hell. We are condemned to hell because God is holy and perfect and cannot tolerate sin. But because in addition to His holiness and justice, God is also loving and merciful, He offers His son Jesus, as a sacrifice for our sin, and faith in the redeeming work of Christ is the only way to heaven. Once we have by faith accepted that covering for our sin, we are promised a place in heaven. And we are called to be saints...which is where the fun begins...

Like I said, this is something that I have struggled a lot with lately. Mostly because I love my sin. Sin is quite often fun. I mean, some of it isn't, and then there are consequences you have to deal with afterward...but let's be honest, if there wasn't some enjoyable quality to most sin, wouldn't everyone be perfect? And so, I have been trying to walk sideways on the slippery slope of sinning whilst trying to maintain my relationship with Christ. Some people call this walking the fence, but I like the slope analogy better, just because it makes it obvious that it will all lead in one direction. But back to the point. I have really felt God calling me into ministry (not sure what capacity yet, we shall see), and so I've been trying to study more and really grow in Him. And interestingly enough, all at once, He has sent influences from every side, whether it be sermons, to sermons I listen to online, to Bible study, to casual conversations...and it keeps boiling down to one thing. We must live holy, set apart lives for Christ. Which is a hard concept for me, but here's what I've been learning.

As I've been hammered with this subject I have found it interesting the large number of different passages that directly address the issue. Let's go over a few of my favorites...
Ephesians 1:4-"just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love..." He chose us before the foundation of the world. To be holy. To be without blame. Wow. I don't know about you, but this makes me feel two big things right off the bat-1)How amazing that the God of the universe cares enough about me that before the foundations of our very planet were laid He picked me out to be one of His chosen holy. What an amazing privilege. 2)What a huge responsibility. God went to the trouble of making me, calling me to be like Him, and all I can muster is some half-hearted attempt to be better than the Jones' down the street. How pathetic I am. But despite how much of a loser I am, there is hope. And we will get to that in a bit, but first let's look more into holiness.

Ephesians 4:20-24-"But you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness." This one is quite interesting to me, because a slight rabbit trail that my brain has been taking with this is the whole idea of "being true to yourself". Everywhere we turn that's what talked about, our entire culture is built upon being yourself and doing what you want. Well I want to propose something here. That the concept of, "being you" is both undesirable and unbiblical. "You" (and me, and anyone walking this earth) are a sinner. Our hearts are corrupt and deceitful (Jeremiah 17:9), beyond repair. We in ourselves, have nothing. There is no good, no commendable qualities to pursue. But there is a second part to that verse in Ephesians, which closely parallels a more familiar Romans passage...

Romans 12:1,2-" I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." God doesn't just sit there and tell us how bad we are, but He'll save us anyway. No, he says, yes I saved you from that. I have called you out of the pit and into light-now turn from your wicked ways! Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. This blows my mind, people always talk about how Christianity is a set of rules, just ties you down...it's the exact opposite! Jesus offers ultimate freedom, freedom from ourselves. Freedom from the bondage that is sin.

Romans 6:14-"For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace." God pulls us out of sin and allows us to choose life, and choose to follow him. How freeing is that?

My point in all of this is to say that God has called us, as men and women of His, to a higher standard. This isn't just for Pastors, youth leaders, or "spiritual" people. This is everyone who calls themselves a Christian. This world needs change, people. This world needs hope. And that is only going to come through the Gospel, and we will only be effective in spreading that if we are living the life that He has called us to live. Holy. Set apart. Saints of God.

Will Dole copyright 2009

I apologize

I'm sorry that I have not been posting here. I do want to finish Ruth, and there are some other things that I have been pondering. However, we have found out that the baby I am carrying has a serious congenital heart defect, and much of my time has been spent going to Dr. appointments. And most of my blogging time has been spent on our family blog, where I am updating on the baby. If you are interested in keeping up with what is going on with our son's heart, go to The Legend of Thousand Hills Farm .

I do not plan on abandoning this blog! I just don't know how much time I'm going to have to write here. The baby is due in late February, and then we will be spending time in the NICU. Your prayers would be greatly appreciated. For specific prayer requests, you can check out our family blog.

Thank you for your patience!

Holidays

I just added a button on the left from the Old Schoolhouse magazine. They are generously giving away an almost 200 page e-book! It has wonderful ideas for Thanksgiving and Christmas ~ crafts, food, color pages for the children ~ even calender pages for November and December to help you keep the Holiday Chaos under control! :-)

It's a beautiful, full-color e-book. So, download one today and enjoy your holidays!

Ruth Chapter 3

Finally, we are back to Ruth! One of the reasons it has taken me so long to post on Ch. 3, is because I'm not really sure what to say. :-) I find myself reading it, longing for that kind of relationship, but not knowing how to get there.

Ruth trusts the people in her life. On a deeper level, I believe that she trusts God to lead her through the people in her life. When Naomi shares with her the custom of going and laying at a man's (Boaz's) feet, she doesn't argue or question her, she just does it. She trusts her mother-in-law to guide her in doing what is right and appropriate. When Boaz gives her instruction, she doesn't argue or question him either, she just does it. She trusts him to do what is right and good.

The other thing that really struck me in chapter 3, is that although Ruth's actions are bold, she is not. When she goes to the threshing floor, she goes softly, she quietly uncovers his feet and lies down ~ Boaz doesn't even know she's there until the middle of the night. Once he discovers her, he once again commends her character and blesses her.

As a wife, what I take away from chapter 3 is that I need to trust God. My relationship with my Heavenly Father needs to be such that I know Him well enough to know that He is trustworthy. I can trust my Beloved to lead me in paths of righteousness, because I can trust my God to lead me through my Beloved. This is something that I have 'known' for several years, but have had a hard time putting into practice. Over the last couple of years, God has shown me again and again, that even when I can't see it, He is leading through my Beloved. My job is to trust and follow. Not easy for someone as headstrong as I tend to be. But so necessary if I truly want to be a godly woman. I also see that I can do bold things, but they can be accomplished with a meek and gentle spirit. My desire is to behave in such a way that it reflects my Father's character.

Chapter 3 leaves me with the desire to be a godly woman. As my boys grow older and begin to enter the stage of life where they might bring home a young woman who is destined to be their bride, I long to have the kind of relationship that Naomi and Ruth shared. Not to replace or displace her mother, but to add to and bless her with another trusted adviser, to share in common the love of God and which ever son she loves. And that leaves me feeling somewhat adrift. Other than praying for that kind of relationship, I don't know how to achieve it. I don't see that around me. What I see most often is a strained relationship between the mothers of sons and the son's wife. I see young women not willing to listen to the wise counsel of their mother-in-laws, and only willing to listen to and love their own families. And it makes me sad, because I believe that God has so much more for us ~ I believe He shows us what could be in the book of Ruth ~ if we would just embrace His design.

If you have this kind of relationship with a daughter-in-law, would you share with us? Would you share how you have cultivated this love and trust? I am certain that I am not the only one desiring this, and yet at a loss as how to accomplish it when the time comes.

Being Content

**I will get back to the book of Ruth, but something else has been on my mind this week, and so I decided that I would write a post on contentedness instead of pushing ahead with Ruth.**

In the book of Philippians, Paul wrote: "Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me." Philippians 4:11-13

We have come face to face with this over the last 8 months, and I think that with the economy being what it is, many of you probably have as well. Maybe you have been able to be content, and maybe you haven't. I have been so thankful for the many things God has brought us through over the last several years, so that as we have walked through these months of unemployment and sporadic employment, we have been able to completely trust in Him. Don't get me wrong ~ there have been moments of panic and worry ~ but they have been minimal. I was telling a friend yesterday that God is so...well, God. :-) Is there truly any adjective that can adequately describe our great and glorious Father?

Being content can be difficult. But I do believe that the key is keeping our focus on God. If we are looking at our circumstances, then being content is going to be difficult. I'm not talking about sticking our head in the sand, and pretending that whatever is happening isn't. But I am talking about not "focusing" on our circumstances. Some of us are worriers by nature. It is difficult for us not to worry ~ there's always something to worry over! Some of us belong to communities that, depending on our personality can make it difficult to be content. The homeschooling community can be like that. I don't believe it means to be. :-) But as things are taught (Biblically based things), it can make it difficult to be content with where God has us. The entrepreneurial movement caused many to be discontent with being employed by someone else. However, God does not call every man to be an entrepreneur. Some men are just going to be employees. I do believe that we all benefit from entrepreneurial thinking, but that does not mean we are all going to be self-employed.

The call now for fathers to be more involved with their children; particularly their sons, can cause discontent ~ especially for mamas! Now, I do want to say before I go any further, that I do believe that a father's involvement is crucial ~ for both our sons and daughters. But I as a woman cannot truly teach my sons how to be men. I can impart wisdom to them, and I can teach them many things that are integral to being a man, but by virtue of my sex, there are many things that they just need to learn from their Daddy or another godly man. We have one son in particular that just because of his temperament and some of the issues we have had with him needs his Dad to "take him in hand" more than the other boys did/do. But, my Beloved is working for a farmer right now. He is gone before light and doesn't get home until after dark. I can allow this to cause me to be discontent ~ and contentious with him when he gets home ~ or I can choose to be content because God has provided this job for him at this time. I am thinking and praying about ways he can still be more involved with this son, but for now I am not dinging at him about it. God knows what my children need, He knows what I need, and He knows what my Beloved needs. When my Beloved does get home, he is only up for a couple of hours before he's in bed and I believe that time is better spent with us being able to talk and the children being able to talk and snuggle with their Daddy before bedtime. I could fuss at him about making lists of chores for the older boys to accomplish, but in this season it's not the most important thing. I am his helpmeet. Right now that means that I need to look around the place and see what needs to be done, and get the boys to working. For instance the other day, I put one of the boys to work putting the roof on our wood shed. We've had the materials for probably a year, but my Beloved just hasn't had the time to get it done. So, I gave one of the older boys the task of getting the roof on the shed, telling him how it would bless his dad to have that project done. Now we just need to get the wood stacked. ;-)

These past 8 months have been such a blessing to us. We have seen God provide for specific bills we didn't have money to pay, we have seen God provide work when we needed it (though not a job), we have seen God provide for our needs through the generous gifts of our brothers and sisters in Christ. He truly is Jehovah Jireh! We have come to the realization (!) that God is the one who provides. He is the one who always provides, but when our husbands are bringing home a paycheck, it's easy to forget that it's God and not our husband who is providing for our family. These past months have stripped away all pretense of self-reliance, and made plain the reality, the truth that it is God who is providing for our family's needs.

GOD IS OUR PROVIDER

Do you believe that? This is where the contentment rubber meets the road. :-) If I believe that God is sovereign over all, if I believe that what God brings into our lives is better than what I would want, if I believe that God loves me and what He provides is enough, then I am going to be content. I have come to realize that while my Beloved is responsible for looking for work, putting in applications, doing his best and projecting the best image possible at interviews, ultimately the getting of a job is God's arena. My Beloved can do everything to the best of his abilities, but he cannot force someone to hire him. Only God can provide the job. This has actually been a very freeing realization. It has allowed me to settle into contentment much more quickly than I think I would have otherwise.

We have been praying about a particular job, but with my Beloved farming right now, timing is not what I think it should be. :-) Last week, I spent too much time worrying about it. He needs to talk to this person, this needs to get done, how will he have time, etc. It began with just a few thoughts about it here and there, but began to crescendo in my heart and mind. After spending the better part of one day worrying about it, I realized I needed to stop and pray about it and just leave it with God. After all, if he is to have this job, it will be in God's timing. So, I prayed. I prayed about the timing of it all, I prayed that God would move my Beloved to do what he needs to do when he needs to do it, etc. About 2 days after I had prayed about it, my Beloved came home, and all he wanted to talk about was this job and what he needs to do and how I need to help him. Now, God does not always answer our prayers so quickly ~ and I am not suggesting that you grab onto a "name it and claim it" or "prosperity gospel" type of beliefs ~ but I am suggesting that instead of stewing on something you pray about it and quit worrying! I can be content because I trust that God is going to do what is best for our family ~ whether that happens to be what I want or not, in the time I want ~ and rarely if ever does God work on my timetable!

Trust God that He has you right where He wants you; right where you need to be. Believe that He is working everything for your good ~ your family's good. And if contentment is difficult for you to find, pray about it and ask God to help you find it. He's faithful ~ I'm pretty sure that's a prayer He will answer.

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