6/5/10 postings of an amazing woman

2 of my Renegade friends are in China right now.  It is so fun to follow along on their blogs and read their updates.  Another lady traveling with them,  I don't know her,  but I just read her blog--she is an amazing Christian lady--has 2 kids 23 and 21,  an almost 4 yo adopted from China,  and are now adopting an almost 3 yo from Inner Mongolia--a really poor area.  She is a great writer and amazing Christian.  Thought I would share with you some of her words that I found profound:

"I think there is no greater calling than to be a mother and that is what God has called me to be.    Jean Fleming wrote the following and expresses this calling beautifully:

"Webster's defines "call" as a "divine vocation or strong inner prompting to a particular course of action." In every generation mothers must answer the call to BE what no one else can BE and to DO what no one else can DO for their children.  It isn't that mothers can't do many other things, but if they refuse to accept their calling as mother some child ends up short changed.   The empty space that mother leaves echoes for generations.

Mothers are neither the cause of all society's ills not the saviors of the nation.  But the future of society does depend, in part, on what we do with the children under our care.  What calling could be more glorifying to God?

God calls us to bring to our mothering a high level of commitment and a right perspective born out of a clear vision and a Biblical value system. "   Will you answer His call?"
 And:  
"I seldom think on the things that I am NOT, but today I will share a couple of them.  I am not a public figure.  I am not an influential political leader.   I am not a learned theologian.

I am, however, something that is precious in God’s eyes.  I am a mother.

I am grateful for the children the Lord has given me to love and nurture.

But motherhood is not a life you choose if you want instantaneous rewards.   Being a mom presses every button I have and tests everything I think I know about spiritual growth and trusting God to provide.  Mothering is a life choice that stretches me, consumes me, squeezes me, and shapes me.

Being a mom means I will live my life in a matrix that is never ending and paradoxical.  One in which great love and great pain often go hand in hand.  One in which the tiniest of moments produces incredible joy.   One in which my fatigue or frustration or lack of wisdom or fear become doorways to the throne of grace.

And there I find a Father who welcomes me, lifts the weight of the task from my weary shoulders, and reminds me of what I know to be true:

Generations from now, Lord willing,

my descendants will be scattered

across His earth, standing against

the tide of whatever ungodly culture

exists in their day.  They will have the

potential to proclaim the simple

truth of the Gospel that changes

the heart of men.

As Christians we pray about what we should do with our money but do we really seek God’s will regarding the size of our family?   How can we possibly imagine that children don’t fit in God’s plans?  The challenge today:  Do I have the mind of Christ in this critical area of life?”

And: "We along with three other families from our agency are about to bring home little children who once were left all alone with little hope for a bright future.  But God, being full of love and mercy, rescued these precious ones by placing adoption on the hearts of their parents.  Normal men and women who just knew that someone out there was waiting...who knew that God does not necessarily call the equipped.   He equips those He calls...and those who allow faith to lead the way.  Those who will say "Yes!" when it would be much easier to say "No."

The Word of God tells us that the Lord wants to give us the desires of our hearts in accordance with His will (Psalm 37:4).  Sometimes we fear our desires and longings.  We assume that our yearnings are not spiritual enough to merit God's approval.  In reality, our deepest hopes are often rooted in dreams that God  has planted in our hearts.  Without the Holy Spirit, that compelling sense that this is the direction we should go, I doubt we would ever have the courage to move forward. "

Pretty profound words,  wouldn't you say?