Why I Need Another Baby! Pink Saturday

Let me show you why I need another baby:

Ok, so I'm partially joking...!!  Of course, I would be blessed, honored, and delighted if God saw fit to send more babies our way.  Our children are such joys---they are definitely God's greatest blessings and rewards! 

But, in addition to that, I REALLY WANT ONE OF THESE SHIRTS!!! I love the idea of putting Hannah's prayer for Samuel on a t-shirt---what a wonderful way to share the truth that children are a blessing!

I was just randomly searching Etsy listings the other day, looking for God to point out people he wanted me to feature on my blog, and I discovered Regan and Melody's shop, His Child Clothing.  I asked Regan to write up a little "About Me" dealie so I could introduce her and her daughter to my readers and encourage you to visit their shop.  

They've got the CUTEST little tops for toddlers, as well as several inspiring maternity shirts for the expectant mom who wants to share the truth of God's word regarding children with others around her. 

Surely, there are some of my readers who either know someone who is expecting or know someone with a sweet little toddler who would be blessed by this unique and God-honoring business!  Maybe you'd like to take a minute and visit their shop, give them a couple hearts, bookmark the shop for future or right now purchases...maybe even send the link on to someone you know who would also be interested!

Here's what Regan and Melody have to say about His Child Clothing:

"Our names are Melody and Regan and are a mother-daughter team. We started His Child in April of 2010 when we realized the need for maternity apparel that was devoted to God and His value of life. I (Regan) have more christian shirts than I can count, but when I got pregnant I couldn't find a Christian maternity shirt. At least I couldn't find one that wasn't sold beside a disgusting "knocked up" type of maternity shirt. Refusing to give money to someone who sold what they didn't believe in, we started making our own shirts.

Our belief is that the carrying and birth of a child is one of the most wonderful mysteries any woman is blessed to experience. A lack of stylish and modest clothing should not dampen the joy of this event. HIS Child’s purpose is to make pregnancy fun and fuss free as moms get ready for work, church, or just out to have fun. Our mission is to encourage parents and to honor the sacredness of life in a positive image and in a fun and stylish way.

The name HIS Child is based on John 1:12. “Yet to all who received Him (Jesus), to those who believed in His (Jesus’) name, He gave the right to become children of God.” (John 1:12)

Thank you for the opportunity to spread the word about His Child. It means a lot to us.

In Him,

Regan & Melody of His Child"

Let me just note that no goods or services were provided to me prior to publishing this post on my blog.  It is solely for the purposes of spreading the word about a business I respect!  Oh, and it's also a big SHOUT OUT HINT to my mom and husband...  :)

Happy Pink Saturday!  Be sure and stop by to see Beverly and the Pinkies at How Sweet the Sound!

Also linking with: 

Lynzie's Colonial Dress and Homemaking Link-Up Weekend!

Hello everyone, it's the weekend! Woot!  Woot!  

Welcome to the Homemaking Link-Up Weekend here at Hope In Every Season.  I'm so excited to report that last week, my very first week hosting the party, was a total success!  As promised, I've chosen a couple of participants to feature who especially blessed me with their posts.  I'll introduce you to Lydia and Mary Joy in just a moment!

Today, I'm sharing the sweet Colonial-style dress that I made for my daughter, Lynzie, a couple months ago.  

I love this pattern and have made several dresses for her with it over the last few years.  She wanted an outfit to look just like the American Girl doll, Felicity Merriman, from 1776.  We made her a mob cap from a simple pattern I found online.

We made a shawl from a curtain I found at Salvation Army.  There was even enough fabric for a shawl for each of her three sisters!  (and thirty more sisters!!)

We had two little munchkins, Avalon, 2, and Liam, 1, hiding behind the scenes during our photo shoot...

Lynzie, 11, and Michael, 9, are headed to the Oregon state piano recital this Saturday in Albany and they're very excited!  Here they are on the day of the local recital in which they placed as alternates to State.  Since one winning team was not able to go, our kids get to go in their place!

 We are so proud of our sweet kids, but not so much because they're excellent piano players.  Each one of our children is kind, compassionate, creative, honest, and striving to live a life that is pleasing to God in the state of maturity that they're in.  What a blessing our eight children are to us!

Here are a couple other blessings I'd like to make mention of:

First, I'd like to introduce you to Lydia of The Vintage Mama.  Lydia linked up to my Homemaking Link-Up Weekend last weekend and shared with us her great ideas for cooking with Pumpkin Puree.  Some of my favorites included great recipes for Pumpkin Spice Coffee Creamer and Pumpkin Spiced Rice.  I was especially excited to hear that she's had success freezing pureed pumpkin because I've got a honkin' one on my porch now that needs to be taken care of!  Be sure and stop by real quick to read the rest of her ideas and tell her you read about her here on Hope In Every Season!

Secondly, I "met" a lovely lady this week who has written such inspiring and uplifting posts this week!  I could just read her blog for hours and come away feeling so blessed!  Make sure and stop by Learning to Live a Surrendered Life to meet Mrs. Mary Joy Pershing and spend some time being encouraged by her thoughtful writing!

Hope everyone has plans for fun and relaxation this weekend!  Be sure and link up your home-related posts below and grab my button at the top of my sidebar to remind you to come back every week!  It can be anything having to do with homemaking:  crafts, recipes, DIY, even just telling us about a piece of your life like I've done today!  

Also linking up to:

Show and Tell Friday @ My Romantic Home 
Thrifty Things Friday @ The Thrifty Groove 

So, Why Do You Go to Church? Do You Really Have To?

I've had a question mulling around in my head for awhile now and since I'm in a writing mood, maybe I'll mull it out here!

So there are two, not really opposite but maybe conflicting, opinions that I've been made aware of recently concerning church and our reasons for being there...the reason for it's existence. I'm speaking of an actual organized church in an actual building...you know, with a sign and a bulletin and a schedule and all that. I'm NOT speaking of "the church" as in all of us believers...the body of Christ.

One side is this: I read a comment on a news article recently where the commentator stated that the last place on earth that people should look for God is in the church. I guess his opinion was that our churches have gotten so far away from what God intended that more people are becoming confused and misled by attending church than they would be otherwise.

The other side is this: I recently read a piece of writing from a person who was becoming dissatisfied with his experience at his church. He was frustrated that he didn't seem to be getting fed enough and that the sermons were oftentimes discouraging, leaving him feeling worse off than he did before he arrived. He was feeling like the pastor maybe should be offering something a little meatier---and more positive---something to make him come away with a good feeling and to start his week off on the right foot. He could see how the Sunday experience was benefiting his children and spouse but didn't think he was getting very much worthwhile from it.

After thinking the first scenario through for the last 6 weeks or so, and the second through for about 2, I have to say that I completely disagree with the first and pretty much disagree with the second.

In the first scenario, the speaker is making a blanket statement about all churches---all denominations (I'm assuming...), all situations, locations, whatever. I think this is extreme. For one thing, if the speaker does not think God can be found in the church, what sort of proper alternative would he suggest? Although our churches may not reflect God in completely the way they should, I can't think of any better place to find answers, to find fellowship, to make a start in a Christian walk, than in a church. Yes, the people in our churches are just as full of sin as the people outside our churches...that's the nature of humans, unfortunately. However, the people in the churches know the big "secret" that those outside of a relationship with God don't understand. Christians know that there's a such thing as grace, freedom, redemption, newness, wholeness, and peace in Christ. If someone wants to find a group of people who will welcome him, take him under their wing, provide answers, give direction, and ultimately lead him to the One who can fix it all---where else would this writer recommend that would be more likely to provide this than the church?

On the other hand, just what exactly is a church "supposed" to provide? Or more specifically, what should the leadership's role be in the church? Should a pastor be sensitive to those who are seeking encouragement, blessing, positivity? Of course. However, in my experience, the best pastors or teachers are those who present the facts as they are and let the chips fall where they may.

I'll go off on a tangent here for a second, but has anyone read Kay Arthur? Know what I absolutely LOVE about Kay Arthur that I've yet to find in any other author? She presents just the facts, ma'am. She lays out a Bible truth, provides some background and then leaves it up to the reader to come up with an interpretation. If you are a smart reader, you'll ask the Lord for an interpretation. If you are a lazy reader, you'll come up with your own interpretation and hear about it from the Lord until you take the time to stop and ask Him what His interpretation is! What Arthur does not do, however, is give you the Kay Arthur interpretation. I love that.

So, why the tangent? Because I believe that applies to the situation with scenario number two. What I really think is important for speaker number two to understand is that if he is not spending time with the Lord throughout the week, receiving the spiritual food that he needs to survive, then he can not expect to get much out of the service on Sunday. This is more than just ritually opening up the Bible, reading a certain amount of verses, praying an ordinary prayer, and going about the day. As growing Christians, we've got to be seeking the Lord's truths and their application for our own life. We can not expect the pastor to provide this for us. For one thing, it would be impossible for the pastor to say something to an entire congregation of people and have it be just exactly what they all needed to hear to fill the tank for the week. The exception, of course, being that the Lord set it up that way and then the person who hadn't spent the time with Him wouldn't get it anyway because they couldn't recognize His voice. If speaker number two is not feeling fulfilled at church, then he has not been honest with himself about where he stands in his relationship with the Lord, as well as why he is at church in the first place.

So, why do we go to church? Do we have to? What about all those "home churchers" out there? What about those guys who say that they can commune with God better during an afternoon at the lake then they can in any given church service?

Hebrews 10 tells us not to forsake assembling together as a body. Now I know I wasn't there, but I'm pretty sure that, back in the day, it took awhile (as in years) before there was an "established way" of having church. I bet people assembled together in homes, at the lake, in a field, in a barn, here and there and wherever. So, the church building is not so important, right? The New Testament is actually full of examples of people assembling together all over the place...think of all the places Jesus ministered...get over the building...it doesn't matter.

What matters here is the coming together of believers. How many believers? I mean, just two or three people hanging out can't really be considered an "assembling together", right? Matthew 18:20 tells us that where two or three are gathered, there's the Lord, right there with them. What more does one need for a church service than people and the Lord, right?

So here we have a couple of reasons for coming together as a group of Christians---whether it be in a church, or in the gazebo at the park. For the sake of scenario number two, let's say we're in a traditional church building. Why are we there? These two verses tell us that we are there to assemble as believers, that the Lord might come down and be in the middle of it all. Kinda like a family reunion, right? Listen speaker number two, it's for fellowship. It's a home base where we can talk about the Lord freely and worship Him corporately. Is it essential that it's done in a church building? Of course not, but it's essential that it's done.

1 Corinthians 12:27 tells us that the gifts the Lord has given us are for the body. Let me be specific: they are not for our own body. They are for the body of Christ. God gives us each abilities, talents, insights, knowledge, and more that we may use it to minister to others. What better place to use these gifts than in a setting made up of your brothers and sisters in Christ! If we come into church with the attitude that we are there to receive, then we will most assuredly come away feeling disappointed. However, if we come into each fellowship opportunity, whether it be a home study group, a men's breakfast, or a traditional church service, with the attitude of being there to bless others, we will most likely come away feeling fulfilled and refreshed.

I guess, after thinking this all through, I believe that we should attend church for the main reasons of having fellowship with other believers and allowing God to use us to bless and encourage them. I don't believe that we have to be in an actual church building to be participating in fellowship and that those "home-churchers" are in no danger of frying any time soon. As for that dude on the lake, well, we all need a little quiet time in the Lord's presence now and then---and what was Jesus, if not a dedicated fisherman?

This article was featured in The Christian Home magazine, Issue 47.