Legal(istic) Eagle

The last couple of years have been times of great spiritual growth and awareness for our family. That statement might sound haughty at first but let me lay it out and say that while I wish I could take credit, I can not. It is The Lord who removes blinders and reveals the truth.

J and I have have many way too late at night discussions on all things spiritual and our mutual desire to make sure we aren't falling into the ditch of legalism on one side of the narrow road or into the ditch of permissiveness on the opposite side. I know we have so much work to do in this area. Right now we are in a season where we are tempted to be pulled more by the "legalistic" ditch. Suddenly, a lot of things look terrifying and evil at first glance (at least they do to me--I'm more of a "Chicken Little" type of person in general).

The "legalism" fairy (close relative of the "pride" fairy, if you will), wants the t.v. shipped off to some heathen's house. But...that would leave the door open for the "pride" fairy to come and do her dirty work ("We have no t.v.! We are one more degree holier than we were when we had the t.v. and two more degrees holier than people who have a t.v.! Praise the Lord, it's good to be us!").

Maybe this isn't the most bestest example, but Matthew 15:1-10 says it. Getting rid of the t.v. isn't going to make our hearts any cleaner. God changing our hearts and us desiring to please Him is going to guide us in what entertainment we allow in our home. Not saying that families who choose not to have a t.v. are being prideful and/or legalistic, just saying that at this current time those would be the reasons our family would take an ax to the beautiful flat screen sitting innocently against the wall. We would still have the same ugliness but would be minus a television.

(Would it be prideful to mention right now that we don't have cable and only have the boob tube on for an hour in the morning while Momma gets herself caffeinated and awake? Lest anyone believes that we are permissive about the t.v., I'm going to leave this little paragraph in. I really hate the t.v. because I think our time is better spent doing just about anything else on earth than staring at the television. But yeah, we have a t.v. and we do watch it...sometimes. Even me, the hypocritical tv hater)

I love the people that God has placed in our lives. All of them. But I am extra-extra-extra thankful for the families we have met who seek to glorify the Lord with their lives and to conform to God's standard. They don't all look the same--they all come with with their own unique family style. We all have our little differences (family-integrated church/traditional church, vaccinate/non-vaccinate, hospital birth/homebirth, tv/no tv, "small" families/"large" families, vegetarians/carnivores, etc). But the thing I admire about these godly families is that we know these little differences do not validate or invalidate us. Legalism would definitely put a wedge between us if each felt justified by their standards.

And not to get off subject, but I am so challenged by families who are different from us. Not to copy them so to speak but I love that many times God has stirred our hearts to change by the fellowship with other families. We each have our own styles, true, but godliness in action is a beautiful thing to see and a worthy thing to imitate. If we get defensive and seek to justify ourselves when we see godliness in the lives of others, there isn't a whole lot of opportunity to grow. God forbid that we allow Satan to steal the seeds that were just planted.

Anyhow, in the pursuit of the "narrow road," Jason and I have tried very hard to keep our eyes on Jesus. What this means for us is that we seek His will for our family, we try to be challenged by the wonderful godly families in our lives, and we don't cling to feelings of insecurity because they are lies designed to get us to look away from Jesus who is at the end of the narrow road. The truth is that we are not justified by homeschooling, family devotions, super smart kids, any of our abilities and/or talents, or even our marriage. All of those are things should be used to glorify God alone because we are justified by Christ alone.

Love this page on legalism. Completely worth the time to check out. So convicting...and yet, so reassuring!

http://www.reformationtheology.com/2006/06/what_is_legalism.php

Seasons

I really enjoy the change of seasons. While I have a favorite season (spring), I have learned to appreciate all the special things that are unique to each season.  Easter and Passover, gardening, longer days, and the gradual awakening of the plants and animals are what I look forward to most in spring. Summer brings pool days, 4th of July fireworks, cicadas singing, and garden harvest. We look forward to fabulously cooler days, the approach of Thanksgiving, and occasionally some fall colors when autumn mercifully comes around. Winter always holds the hope of a possible snow event, big pots of soup, December and the joy that Christmas brings, and the beginning of a new year.

 Each season has its own joys.

Each season also has its share of less than pleasant aspects of life.

Spring (I'm reaching here...there isn't much not to like about spring) means it's time to get back to yard maintenance and boy, it's hard to focus on getting much work done when those gorgeous days are calling you outside. Summer (I'll limit my complaints) means it's time to melt for 5 months straight, cabin fever, and mosquitoes. With fall (again, reaching!), it's time to clean out the garden and it's the beginning of "sick season." Winter will bring the continuation of "sick season", a little bit of cabin fever during our two weeks of cold weather, and sometimes we have an endless string of cloudy days which always make me want to stay in bed.

Our family life is like the seasons as well. Right now we are in midst of someone's babyhood (also someone else's toddlerhood, and the childhoods of three more blessings). I very much try to remember that as I go through my days. Each baby puts his/her own personal twist on our lives. We have survived the "newborn" and "little baby" seasons of Jacob's life and now have entered the blissful calm-before-the-toddler-storm time of "big baby" season. Baby boy naps twice a day, sleeps pretty well, is happy (as long as we stay home...), and remains in the general vicinity when he is put on the ground (unless a sister spirits him away). This is a season that is like spring--I can't really find many things to not like about it.

Of course, not every "baby season" is the same and not every baby is guaranteed a "peaceful spring" and a "hot summer" (after all, we have had freezing weather in April in Central Texas). And if that's the case, well then it's God's will and we just have to roll with it. That child and his/her temperment are perfect for our family. His plans are always greater than ours even though we may have a difficult season.

I do think that the key to surviving these baby seasons is to look at them as they truly are: seasons. Except that unlike the seasons of the year, once these baby seasons are gone they never return.

I try to remember this when I have to plan an outing with details nearly as complex as the invasion of Normandy. Have everyone get ready, feed baby, jet out the door and get back before nap time.

Or like last night when I kept him up all afternoon so I could put him to bed early so I could run downtown and attend a good friend's birthday dinner only to breathlessly plop down 45 mins late at our dinner table and within a short time receive a text message that Jacob had woken up. I had half an hour until I had to race thirty minutes back home for the little guy's next feeding. I wasn't upset, I know God is in control and I was called back to my family. This time of baby intensely needing momma will pass before I know it.

I comfort myself with the "this too shall pass" mentality when my little boy won't go to anyone except for Jason or myself. Peaceful date nights are out of the question right now--I could leave him but why not wait a short season until he (ok, WE) are ready? I firmly believe that God provides the "breaks" that we need as moms. During this season they may only be an hour at the end of the day after all the children have gone to sleep and I am plopped down on the couch next to my equally tired husband. If that is all the wakeful "rest" that God gives me for the day, I (try to) thankfully and happily receive it because I know if I actually required more, He would have provided it.

Babies are only "babies" for a short year. While ours isn't a "baby centered" household where the family bows to the whims of a tiny tyrant, I do believe that "baby seasons", particularly the first six months where everyone is adjusting to adding one more family member and mom is recovering from pregnancy and birth, are meant to be a time where we slow down a bit and "be still" before God. We stay home a little more, I sit and nurse a hungry little person while reading to the older kids, and rest in the knowledge that God has put us in this season to grow us.