I received some lovely responses from the devotion last week, WHERE ARE MY HELPERS? and so I thought that rather than writing a new devotion for you that I would post these responses so you can be blessed by this further insight.

Actually, I should give further testimony myself. Last night I as over at Evangeline’s saying goodbye to them and the children as we leave for England in the morning. Currently she has to rest as she has (or had – we are praying and believing for a miraculous healing) a subchorionic tear and has been hemorrhaging inwardly for a number of months.

While there last night I tasted some of Rashida’s beautiful homemade bread. Rashida is only six years old and makes the best bread in the world. I have been making bread for years and years but I have to concede that her texture is better than mine! Rashida grinds the wheat and makes the bread and makes all the meals for their family of six children and delights in doing it. She does as good a job as any adult! The older boys, Zadok 10 and Sharar 8 take charge of watching the children and the home runs as smoothly as ever with peace and order while Evangeline rests on the couch or the bed.

So once again dear young mothers, be encouraged. It doesn’t take long to be blessed if you train your children! And here are some more testimonies for you…

Dear Nancy, There is something that is sometimes overlooked by mothers of large families... Yes, it is hard when your children are young, and becomes easier when they get older and turn into wonderful helpers.... BUT there is even more benefit! I am the second of six children.  My three younger sisters are 10, 12 and 14 years younger than I am. I was a big help to my mom with the children until I married at age 24 (two years ago). Now that I have my first daughter, my sisters are helpers to me!  They are 11, 14 and 16 years old.  There are no more young babies in my mother’s home, but my younger sisters can learn how to care for children by helping me. Later, when my children are older and my sisters begin to have their first children, my older children can be helpers to them! It is a wonderful cycle of learning and helping that is often overlooked because in our society there aren’t many second-generation large families. Most of the women I know who have large families are the first to do so, and they don’t have the younger siblings to help them...so there is a time of exhaustion and discouragement until their first few children grow old enough to help...So there is so much more benefit from having a large family because not only will your older children help you, they will get help later from your younger children and so on and so forth.

Blessings,

Candi Summers, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Dear Nancy, This is so true.  We have five little ones and it seem so much easier now then when we had just two.  Partly because they are getting older and they are heeding our training, but partly because when you die to yourself and decide to step out in faith to have more than the world's average number of children God removes some of the selfishness that was holding you back. Everything in me that doesn't want a big family is selfishness.

Peace Be With You,   

Patte White, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Dear Nancy, I remember years ago when we had only three children, the oldest was four years and the youngest only one year. I remember vividly sitting on the back patio crying and waiting for my husband to come home, then crying and telling him, "Honey, I just can't do this, I'm failing and I'm going nuts". Well today I am 39+ weeks with our 8th child, we have a full time ministry, and there is no vacation from God's work, so we keep real busy. The children are homeschooled, and we have a farm which requires lots of chores. And the big miracle is, I not only still have my sanity, but things are pretty much in order at any given moment. So be encouraged, it will get easier.

The focus for those who now have all little ones is to stay focused. What has changed from that crying day? We really started praying and these are the answers we got. I have always been a list maker, even if the list doesn't get followed I feel like I have some direction. My husband is very spontaneous and I can accommodate that but I still must have some direction. In those days my list would be something like this:

  1. Seek God, spend some time in prayer, even if only while nursing

  2. Meals and diapers

  3. Serve husband

  4. Nurture and love children

  5. Clean house

  6. School

This would be my priority list. Of course there would be sub heading "do" lists under each topic. Serving my husband maybe shouldn't have been after meals and diapers but when you have little ones some things just have to be done when they have to be done. In those days if I never got half of the things on my "do" lists done, at least I knew I had started with the most important. School with my oldest who was 4 didn't get done many days. I for one can't focus on school if there is stuff everywhere, so for me cleaning or at least picking up is a priority. Even now we don't start school till chores are done, now usually by 10am. But we are all different so do what works for you.

It is VERY hard to take the time to teach your children how to clean up etc when you are already worn out, but if you will do it together with them it is really worth it. Plus if you do it together you get nurturing and cleaning all done in one shot. I remember we would do pick-up two or three times a day. I just had to know that the floor was under there somewhere. We would do it first thing in the morning, right before daddy got home, and before bedtime. It would only take about 15-20 minutes each time and everyone walking age and up was expected to help. We would make a game of it.

Now the fruit of it: just this morning my husband told me that he was meditating on the scripture about the centurion, he was a man under authority but he had men under him that he trusted and how he could tell one "do this" and another "do that" and know it would get done. My husband said I was like that centurion! Kind of a funny thing to say to your wife but it was a great compliment! When this next baby comes I plan on doing little else but sitting in a rocking chair, and holding and thanking the Lord every moment for this new child - probably for the first whole week! Yet the cooking will be done, the wash will be done, the floors will be swept, the little ones will all have clean faces as they gather around me to look at their newest sibling, the school will be done, and I have no doubt someone will even get out my clothes and lovingly hold the baby when I do get up for a shower! Also I won't have to wonder, I will know for sure that the horses, chickens, rabbits, dogs, and everything else outside is well tended to.

Now our oldest is 13 and she and the next youngest daughter can run a house better than most full-grown women I know. Our oldest son works harder than most men, and they still get their school done everyday, and meet daddy's top priority - they spend at least an hour in prayer and worship every day! So hold on sisters, every day is worth it. Pray and ask the Lord for your list, then enjoy your calling, knowing that He will give you what it takes to fulfill it. When people ask us if it is hard to have so many children, and they explain that they can't handle the two children they have. I tell them that this is why it is so hard.  I tell them when I only had two, I was pulling my hair out too, but when you finally give in to what the Lord has, be it 2 or 16, that is when peace comes!  

In His Service,

Penny Raine, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

May you have a wonderful week.

Love from NANCY CAMPBELL

Jeremiah 10:20, “My tent is plundered, and all my cords are broken; my children have gone from me, and they are no more. There is no one to pitch my tent any more, or set up my curtains.”

Although this Scripture is talking about the coming desolation of Judah because they had turned away from the Lord, it also reveals another interesting point. Because all his children have been taken from him, the father laments that he no longer has any helpers. He has no one to help him pitch his tent and set up his curtains!

Children are wonderful helpers. Now that all our children are married and raising their own families, I have to do all my cleaning, cooking and wash all our dishes myself! My helpers have all gone! Some nights Colin and I will call for Carmelita. Nearly 40 years ago when Colin and I were serving the Lord in the Philippines we had a maid called Carmelita. When we returned from the Philippines to New Zealand, we would often call for Carmelita but of course she didn’t come! I would be still looking at the all the dishes and the kitchen waiting to be cleaned up.

It would be every mother’s dream to have a live-in maid, but as our children grow, that’s what we can have. A mother of eight children shared a little incident that happened at a recent Family retreat. As she was walking with her son they noticed a mom and dad with four small children, one in a backpack. Her son said, “Mom, they remind me of us when we were all little.” Then her husband replied, “Back then it seemed as though we had so may children and we were overwhelmed, but now we have eight children it doesn’t seem as though we have many.” What had happened? Those little boys have now grown into strapping big sons who can milk their goats and help maintain their home. Their older daughters have also grown to become helpful nannies who can help with the little ones and the housework. Life is so much easier.

When down in Australia at another Family Retreat, a mother of seven shared, “I have trained my children so well that now my daughters can run the home as well as I can (the two oldest were in their early teens). I have been eased out of my job. I have time to pursue my projects and enjoy life. Sometimes I feel guilty that I have such a wonderful life!”

These are two of similar testimonies that I frequently hear from mothers with larger families. So be encouraged dear young mothers. The hardest time of motherhood is when you have your first two, three or even four children, especially if they are close together. They are all little together and you have no helpers. But these little ones will grow and as you train them your life becomes easier, even as you have more children.

God intends us to work together as families. God wanted the order, the beauty, the fruitfulness and the lovely atmosphere of the Garden of Eden to spread across the world.  The job was too big for one couple and therefore God commanded them to “be fruitful, multiply, and replenish the earth” so that with more and more helpers they could “subdue it and take dominion” over it.

As your children grow, you will have many helpers to keep the home running smoothly and to accomplish great things. On the days when your little ones are under your feet and you feel as though you can’t accomplish anything in life except changing diapers and washing dishes, remember that your children won’t stay little. In a few years you will have helpers. In fact, these years go too quickly. Make the most of these precious days when they are little. You may feel tired and overwhelmed but they are still some of the most wonderful days of your life. You will never get them back again. Treasure them.

Love from NANCY CAMPBELL

PRAYER:

“Oh Lord, help me to realize that my children are precious gifts from your hand. Help me to make the most of every special day with them. Help me to give of myself without resentment as I will never be able to recall these days again. I thank you, Lord, for my precious babies, but I thank you too, that you have given them to me to train and polish them to be helpful hard workers and to be mighty arrows who will accomplish great things for your kingdom. Amen.”

QUOTE:

“Mothers of children, can you not see

The world of tomorrow asleep on your knee?”

 

Psalm 144:12 TLB, “Here is my description of a truly happy land where Jehovah is God: Sons vigorous and tall as growing plants. Daughters of graceful beauty like the pillars of a palace wall.”

Last week we talked about raising valiant sons, sharpened, polished and ready for God’s army. But what about our daughters? How are we to raise them? Are they to be part of the army too?

When you think of raising your daughters, I am sure your mind goes to Proverbs 31:10, “Who can find a virtuous woman, for her price is far above rubies.” You want your sons to be valiant but you would love your daughters to be virtuous. But what does this word ‘virtuous’ mean? I think you will be surprised to know that it is the Hebrew word ‘chayil’, exactly the same word that is translated ‘valiant’ for our sons!

Our daughters are also part of God’s army. He wants us to raise them to be strong in character. He wants them to grow up strong in faith, strong in truth, strong in godly convictions, strong in submission, strong and unbending in their commitment to virtue and purity and standing strong against all deceptions of the enemy.

Our daughters also need to be strong physically. It is interesting that the Word of God likens our daughters to pillars. We know that pillars have to be strong, strong enough to hold up and bear the weight of a building. A palace is not a small building; it is usually a very large construction and therefore needs especially strong pillars. You would think that God would have likened our sons to pillars, but no, it is our daughters. He wants them to be trained and prepared to be strong enough to bear the weight of raising a family. This is no easy task. They have to be prepared mentally, emotionally and physically. I believe that the reason that most mothers do not enjoy motherhood today is because they came into motherhood mentally unprepared. They were trained for a career in the workforce rather than motherhood and therefore were not mentally and emotionally conditioned for it.

As a young woman I read that it was important to nutritionally prepare your body three years before conceiving a baby. I thought that was good advice at the time, but now I have changed my opinion. I believe that we should start preparing our daughters for future childbearing and the physical commitment of raising a family from the moment they are born. We start by nursing them at the breast, giving them the life-giving food that God wondrously provides for them. As we introduce new foods we continue to give them life-giving whole foods so their bodies grow strong. No serious or intelligent mother should ever allow her children to drink pop and eat the devitalized junk food that is prevalent today. It paves the way for problems!

One springtime, as I walked around the sheep with my father in New Zealand, he remarked, "The ewes are so healthy this year, we have no problem with lambing.” I pricked up my ears. “Yes,” he continued, “if the ewes are on good grass, we have no still births and do not have to help birthing the lambs.” I thought, this is the exactly the same with us. We are what we eat. If we raise our children on living foods, their bodies will grow strong. If they eat dead refined foods, we can expect that they may have physical problems later one during pregnancy and childbirth.

Many parents like to start a bank account for their children when they are born so they will have a substantial amount to set them up in life when they grow older. We should also start a health bank for our children. Pregnancy and childbirth can draw quite a big chunk from their health savings. If it has been continually been built up over the years with healthy life-giving foods, there will be plenty to draw on. When the health bank is low, pregnancy and childbirth can be more difficult. Our bodies were created by God to bear children. It is a natural process. Physical problems in this area reveal a low or nonexistent health bank.

Pillars not only bear weight, but the pillars of a palace are beautiful. They are a feature. God wants us to not only to raise strong daughters, but beautiful daughters. Beautiful in spirit, soul and body. Daughters who walk and act gracefully. Daughters who embrace their femininity and maternalness. Daughters who care about keeping their bodies fit and healthy. The New American Bible translates it this way, “Daughters like carved columns, shapely as those of the temple.”

The King James Version uses the word “cornerstones” in this Scripture. This is also a wonderful meaning. The cornerstone is the most important and prominent stone of a building. The rest of the building takes its direction from the cornerstone. Without the cornerstone the building would be totally out of alignment. As mothers, and as we train our daughters for future mothering, we are the pivot on which the home is built. We are indispensable to the building of a strong home. We determine the character of the home. We set the standard.

Love from NANCY CAMPBELL

PRAYER:

“Oh God, please give me your vision for my daughters. Help me to train them for the purposes that you have destined for them, rather than pressures of our modern society. Give me wisdom as I polish them and prepare them to be beautiful pillars in their homes. Amen.

QUOTE:

Psalm 144:12 MLB, “Our sons then are like plants, raised to full size in their youthful vigor.”

What kind of young men does God want us to raise for Him? He wants our descendants to be mighty in the land. These “mighty” offspring mentioned in Psalm 112:1-2 are champions. The word is ‘gibbor’ meaning ‘valiant, warrior, champion.’ As we read through the books of Kings and Chronicles we see a picture of the kind of warriors they trained in Bible days. God hasn’t lessened his standard for today, so let’s see what they were like.

THEY WERE SKILLFUL!

1 Chronicles 5:18, “The sons of Reuben, and the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh, of valiant men, men able to bear buckler and sword, and to shoot with bow, and skillful in war, were four and forty thousand seven hundred and threescore, that went out to the war.”

The word ‘skillful’ in war is ‘lamad’. It means ‘educated, taught and trained.’ We cannot live with our head in the sand, dear mothers. We are in a battle. We are training our children for war. We must train them to fight against the enemy of their souls. We must train them to be warriors for God.

THEY WERE VALIANT!

1 Chronicles 7:2, “The sons of Tola… were valiant men of might in their generations.”

This phrase, “in their generations” is repeated over and over again. They did not raise one or two valiant men.  They raised generations of them. This is what God is looking for – a whole generation of warriors who know how to overcome the enemy and take territory for God.

Now what is this word ‘valiant’ that we read over and over again? It is the Hebrew word ‘chayil’ that means ‘an army, virtue, valor, military strength, great forces, noble, strong.’ Here are just a few examples…

1 Chronicles 7:11, “Mighty men of valor… fit to go out for war and battle.”

1 Chronicles 9:13,  “Very able men for the work of the service of the house of God.”

1 Chronicles 12: 8, “And of the Gadites there separated themselves unto David into the hold to the wilderness men of might, and men of war fit for the battle, that could handle shield and buckler, whose faces were like the faces of lions, and were as swift as the roes upon the mountains.”

1 Chronicles 12:25, “Of the children of Simeon, mighty men of valor for the war.”

1 Chronicles 12:28, “Zadok, a young man mighty of valor.”

1 Chronicles 26:30, “Men of valor… in the service of the king.”

   1 Chronicles 26:32, “Men of valor… for every matter pertaining to God, and affairs of the king.”

THEY WERE READY!

1 Chronicles 12:24, “The children of Judah that bare shield and spear were six thousand and eight hundred, ready armed to the war.”  When our children are of the age to go out into the world, we must make sure that they are ready! Ready to stand against the foe. Ready to battle the enemy.

THEY WERE EXPERT!

1 Chronicles 12:33-36, “Expert in war.”

We are not training mediocre warriors. We are training them to be expert. This is a full-time job. We can’t take it lightly. We are responsible to the Lord of hosts for the quality of His arrows.

THEY WERE CHOICE!

1 Chronicles 7:40, “All these were the children of Asher, heads of their father’s house, CHOICE and mighty men of valor… And the number throughout the genealogy of them that were apt to the war and to battle was twenty and six thousand men.

This word ‘choice’ is a very special word.  It is the Hebrew word ‘barar’ and it means ‘singled out, chosen, proved, cleansed, purified and polished.’ What a vision! There is nothing greater that you could do in the whole of the universe than raise young men who are singled out by God, cleansed, purified, proved and polished!

We’ll talk about our daughters next week.

Love from NANCY CAMPBELL

PRAYER:

“Oh God, thank you for reminding me that you have enlisted me in your employment to train your task force in this end-time hour. Save me from taking this mission lightly. Fill me with your wisdom, your anointing and your power to accomplish this mighty task. Thank you, Lord. Amen.

AFFIRMATION: