trag·e·dy
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Noun
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Tragedy
Reply
/ˈtrajidē/
Fellowship of the Unashamed
Fellowship of the Unashamed (An African Martyr’s Last Words)
I am part of the “Fellowship of the Unashamed.” The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I am a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won’t look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, and my future is secure. I’m finished and done with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tame visions, mundane talking, cheap giving, and dwarfed goals. My pace is set, my gait is fast, my goal is Heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions few, my Guide reliable, my mission clear. I won’t give up, back up, let up or shut up until I’ve preached up, prayed up, paid up, stored up, and stayed up for the cause of Christ. I must go until He returns, give until I drop, preach until all know, and work until He comes.
And when He comes to get His own, He will have no problem recognizing me. My colors will be clear. “For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ” (Romans 1:16).
Blessing or Burden?
Church, arise!
It is time we stop letting the world and our culture tell us we are crazy for having more than two children!
You will not find ONE Scripture verse that says children are anything but a blessing!
(OK there is that part in the O.T. that talks about stoning them if they are disrespectful)
But even then it doesn’t say, Forget about kids, they’re trouble anyway.
Church, arise!
If we truly believe God’s Word and take it for what it says
Then we must treat them for what they are:
A BLESSING not a BURDEN
(even when they look like the little girl at the top of the page)
So, God always makes it known to us when we have had our last child. That one that makes the family…complete. And if that is one, two, or three for you and your husband; follow God’s call. But DON’T let the world scare you into stop having (whether by birth or adoption) children. Remember, you will stand before the Lord Jesus Christ one day…not your neighbor, boss, coworker, or family.
“We must not hide them from their children, but must tell a future generation the praises of the Lord, His might, and the wonderful works He has performed.”
Psalm 78:4
“so that a future generation— children yet to be born—might know. They were to rise and tell their children”
Psalm 78:6
“For He strengthens the bars of your gates and blesses your children within you.”
Psalm 147:13
“Therefore, I want younger women to marry, have children, manage their households, and give the adversary no opportunity to accuse us”
I Timothy 5:14
I know not every woman will be called to bare children. All the more reason for those of us who have been blessed with this opportunity to rise up and answer the high calling that God has called and predestined us to. For those who have not been called to bare children, may you open your heart and home to be a mother to the motherless and an example to us and our daughters that there is salvation alone through Jesus Christ and our identity is wrapped up in HIM, not our children!
I was just looking over the web site of a private college we pass when we travel. I always think, that is such a nice looking campus.
I’m not sure which is worse, telling a student, “Don’t freak over the $58,000 sticker price, you probably qualify for financial aid” or telling young people what they hear from every admissions counselor, high school guidance counselor, and many parents, “Hey, you just take out a college loan” WITHOUT giving them the reality that paying back $224,000 (not including interest) will take a L-O-N-G time and a big chunk of their paycheck, whether or not they find a job in their particular area of degree. Since every college brags that no one pays full tuition price, how about we get real and just charge what it would actually cost to make advanced education a reality for everyone. My kids are in a pit. We make just enough to not qualify for financial aid, and not enough to supplement a private college education with a “college fund”. Unfortunately, we need cash to raise our kids right now. And with any extra cash we are blessed with, we find it more fulfilling and gospel oriented to hold on to it loosely and further Christ’s kingdom.
Thankfully, we trust in the Lord to provide. Right now my son is getting hands on experience in a field he loves with state of the art equipment and training as well as mentoring from godly men along the way. Will this provide him with a secure career in the future? I dunno. But God does. And it can’t hurt. And God sees the desire of my son’s heart, which is to NOT be 22 years old and trapped under a load of debt. I know that is never God’s will for us.
So start praying for your kids now. Whether they are out of high school or still small, pray God will provide debt free opportunities for them whether it involves college, hands-on experience or touring Europe with a backpack (never understood where the cash came for that lol).
I have no fears about my children’s future. If you ask my son what he is going to do when this gig is up he will say, “I don’t know. I’m not worried about it. I can always work at Target.” Yep. He’s 19.
Practicing What I Preach
I think perhaps God had me write my last blog post to make sure I would follow through with my advice.
We have been traveling for a couple weeks. We were on our way home and stopped in Virginia for supper at a local family restaurant. When we were first seated by the hostess our waitress, a slightly older woman, rolled her eyes. I’m not sure if she’d had bad experiences with young children or what but it didn’t start out my attitude on a good foot. Then when she came to take our drink orders and “welcome” us it didn’t get much better. I kept thinking, “This will be okay.”
I had my laptop out to look up some motel possibilities and catch up on email. When she returned with our drinks she spilled a 32 oz Sprite all over. It soaked my laptop cover (praise the Lord not the laptop), the end of the table and splashed on my shirt and pants that I planned to last one more day of traveling. She was apologetic, of course, and the hostess also came and helped clean it up. I was gracious about the laptop cover and said don’t worry, it’s okay.
She got a little friendlier, and shortly after she brought my meal of stuffed chicken breast which was covered in gravy, she came and said, “I brought you some more gravy.” I guess that was a peace offering. I texted my southern-born niece and asked her if it was custom to get a side of gravy with your gravy. 
My husband and I both reminded ourselves we don’t know what was going on in her life and it was our job to show her the love of Jesus. So, that being said, when she came at the end of our meal and thanked us for being so kind about the spill, it wasn’t hard for both my husband and I to know what to do. I went to check out while my husband gave her a gospel tract and a double tip. He likes to use the optical illusion tract with the blue and pink card to prove things aren’t always as they seem such as what or who the world says Jesus is. Her response?
“Your family just proved that to me.”
It wasn’t so hard to be kind. Actually, it was pretty easy. I’m going to try it more often.