The Importance of Being Feminine

It's important to take special care to maintain femininity. Especially in our culture which seems to be doing away with all distinctions of gender. I don't want my girls to ever fall for the lies the world has to offer on this issue. Men and women are different. Women can't do anything a man can do. And this isn't just ok, it's very good. It's God's wonderful design, He has created a divine order whether we like it or not. I want my daughters to like it.

I want them to be certain that God made them little women and to seek to please Him in their "womaness". I want them to enjoy being little girls for as long as they can then become the little ladies, the little women, that God in His goodness has made them. I want them to look forward to the rewards that God gives only to women and may someday give to them; submitting to their husbands, bearing and raising children, taking care of their home by making it a place of love, cleanliness, order, kindness and simple pleasures.

I want them to be feminine in the ways they behave, dress and speak, with modesty and politeness. Even if they grow up only wanting to play baseball, skinning their knees and hating baths, I still expect their character to be of godly ladies.

Of course I know all of this begins with ME! So it is my goal to be more aware of my own gifts of femininity, guard them and demonstrate them to my little ladies. Many of these gifts come so naturally to us women, we don't even think about them but some are so maimed with our sin we can be very careless in neglecting them or even denying them.

There are so many simple things I can do to begin teaching the girls the delights of womanhood. I'll admit some are not so simple, it's not always easy to submit, to "love" being pregnant, enjoy rearing children or keeping a clean home, and everyone at our house knows how much I love frumpy stained t-shirts and sweatpants, but I want to do a better job at emphasizing the joys over the burdens and the beauty over the blah.

"Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful." 1 Peter 3

Collecting Satisfactions

The girls and I went with Phil to the assisted living center today to attend a service he was leading for the residents there. I was very pleased with how well they behaved during this and it was so sweet to hear Lily say her little "ahh-mean" at the end of the prayers.

A Good Daddy

Enduring

From The Natural Mommy:

The goal should not be merely to survive childhood, but to make the most of it. To train them up in the way they should go while enjoying their presence and trying your best to also make it enjoyable for them.

It’s a test of endurance, raising many small children. Breath in, breath out. Open my eyes. Slow down. But don’t stop. I can do this. With your grace and provision, God, I can do this

Some days certainly feel like I'm just "enduring". There are other days when all but a few moments are just wonderful. Things around the house get done, the girls play nicely together and don't need me every second and it's sunny and warm outside and we can get out to enjoy it. Yesterday was one of these days. So nice after a Monday that seemed endless, when nothing seemed to be right and I was a huge grump. I started the day with some much needed work I finally felt like doing, so I had a clean mopped floor, clean bathrooms, washed diapers and a nice walk in town. After nap time it was finally "hot" enough to get our little pool out. The girls loved it. Then it was over to the garden to watch Phil till and visit with some other young mommies. These are such small pleasures but very real pleasures in my life. I'm so thankful for the "easy" days.

Comment Woes Part III

Making comments on my own blog doesn't always work for me. So here is my response comment to Heidi who was so kind to leave a comment on Preserving The Christian Family III.

Hey Heidi! Stalk away, that's one reason I keep these blogs, for creepy family and friends like you! I forgot that I do or did have this Sing the Faith. I'll have to look for the files since I changed computers I hope I switched them from my old iTunes Library! That would be great to start letting the girls listen to. It would be great for me to listen to to! And I have seen these Follow and Do books but never looked through them for some reason. I've been looking for a good way to teach toddlers the catechism. These sound perfect! Thanks for sharing these resources, I really appreciate it! Hope you are all doing well!

Anyone else interested in these resources they can be found at cph.org.

Follow and Do Set (Set of 6)
Sing the Faith CD

Thanks Heidi!

We're Learning

“Children rise to risk,” says Joan Almon, executive director of the U.S. Alliance for Childhood. “Give them some genuine risk and they quickly learn what their limits are, and then they expand their limits.” The problem is: If kids never encounter even tiny risks, they never develop that thing we call common sense.

I found this interesting quote on Free Range Kids. It's good for me to hear things like this because I have a super strong tendency to fear every step, concrete surface and sharp object around my babies. Phil often says "they'll learn" and "let them do it once and they'll know better next time". There's much truth to that but I still cringe and want to pad the world.

I'm trying now that Lily is becoming such a big girl to let her do a lot more on her own as far as climbing and getting off things goes. I know she has to learn how to do these things on her own. A couple months ago she landed on her face coming off the slide at the park and hey, she was ok. It startled her and she had dirt in her mouth and I wanted to cry, but she was ok. I'm working on Mama being ok now.

Preserving a Christian Home III

Read Bible Stories to your children, sing hymns and pray with them.
Ever since I have attended college I have observed children of pastors, church workers, and Lutheran school graduates that weren’t interested in talking theology. Indeed, I observed they didn't know much theology. Quite often the children would know the church politics and gossip more than they did about what the Bible taught. This is nothing new. Laache: Book of Family Prayer was published 1884. The first week of Epiphany, Laache urges parents to pray for their children. He points out it is so sad when we observe children of Christian parents leave the faith. Laache asserts that the parents did not faithfully pray for them. This is one reason I am so keen in talking theology with my children. So I urge parents as well to teach and sing hymns and pray with their children. This is also talking theology.

God rewards parents who read and teach their children to treasure God’s Word. Your children learn to talk theology, especially with you. This gives them confidence in God’s Word. God wants all His children to turn to Him in everyway. When children see their parents humble themselves under God’s Word and tender care, the reward is great. . Only God’s Word and the Sacraments can give this confidence. The Marks of the Church. The B-I-B-L-E. The Preached Word. Holy Baptism. The Lord’s Supper. That is all we have to offer our children and it is our duty to do it and be confident that God will be faithful in what He has offered for us to give to our children. Hymns are prayers to God. These hymns keep us mindful of what God has done for us in Jesus and we pray with thankfulness and for strength. Pray for your children.

Preserving a Christian Home by Dorothy Preus

Preserving a Christian Home II

God gave these children to mothers and fathers to care and nurture. It is not anybody else's responsibility. It is so easy in this world to think that somebody else is going to teach skills, religion, and anything else that needs to be for the children. There is an expert for everything and for everyone!!! The church has unwittingly failed to respect and encourage parents in their role for their children. We have Sunday schools to teach Bible stories to the children. This is good. Are the parents teaching Bible stories to them at home? Are the parents attending Bible class while the children are in Sunday school? In everything parents do and say, they are teaching their children.

Parents should not abdicate their responsibilities in teaching their children the Word of God. Our culture is suffering from a couple of generations or more where parents have abdicated their responsibilities for their children to the state, church, and school, public or private. Our churches should be bursting at the seams and busy setting up mission churches all over the world because the children have been taught the way of salvation. But sadly, the children have not always learned the Law and the Gospel. The children have not had impressed upon them that the church is there to provide the forgiveness of sins in the Word and Sacraments. So they have left the church, or have gone to a "feel good" church. After all they sing those fun songs too. It makes them feel good. What have they been taught? Self-esteem or humility? Were they taught sin, repentance, and Jesus' blood on the cross for sinners?

Preserving a Christian Home by Dorothy Preus

No More Crib?

Well Lily flung herself out of her crib twice yesterday and scared me to death! She was throwing a fit and didn't want to be in there and it happened so quickly. The first time she did it we were eating lunch and heard a big thud come from her room. The second time I saw her do it and couldn't catch her in time. Thankfully she landed on her back and it scared her but she didn't seem to be hurt. This was enough for me to never want to put her back in there though!

We did put her in the crib for bed last night because we had company but for nap time today we took her mattress out and put it on the floor. She didn't want to lay down on it and cried at the door for a few minutes but then got quiet. When I went to wake her up she was at least half way on the mattress.

I don't know if she's ready to not be in the crib, but I'm so worried she'll really get hurt if she climbs out again.

Preserving a Christian Home

"As mothers we want to see all of our children in heaven. We can't store up our treasures for heaven, but our children are the only treasures God gives us that we can hope to have in heaven with us. We know this because Jesus treasures children. When we teach our children that the church is there to nourish their faith, to provide forgiveness for their sins, to give comfort in sorrow, to give them peace with God, and to give joy beyond all understanding, we are teaching them the church is home for the Christian this side of heaven."

PRESERVING A CHRISTIAN HOME by Dorothy Preus