Recently I watched this lecture with the children. (You can watch it for free right now) It is a wonderful look at how we are made and just a small window of what Our Creator does inside the secret place that is the womb.

I know getting close to my own time of birth and labor probably has a lot to do with it; contemplating my role as a wife and mother, I mean, especially a home schooling mother. That in itself is a whole different ball of wax. It`s not always fun, and I`m not always thankful. It would be so much easier if I had 2.5 kids I sent off to school each day, like I used to, so that I could write, craft, workout easily, without interruption, go visit friends for several hours, bible study for hours at a time, instead of in little snatches here and there. How often I read of Face Book or hear mothers say they can not wait for school to start back so that they can send them away. I myself have been guilty of this very attitude in the past.

Yet Psalm 127:3 is so clear Lo, children are a heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is His reward. Is it really our children who are the problem or is it our own thinking, our own selfish attitude towards the Lord`s blessings upon us?

Why do we as women want to limit God`s favor upon our lives? Why, if we are really honest with ourselves, do we see the role of wife and mother, staying at home, as second rate, as less than what we could or should be, or want for ourselves? Society tells us the feministic lie, we can be all things, bread winner, preacher, mother,wife, and lover, but even as Christian women, knowing what the Lord`s word says, why do we believe all this? Why do we think that we have to compete, with our husbands and each other?

I have heard lovely women say things such as "my last child ruined by body and gave me stretch marks".

The Lord has been working on my heart in this, on so many levels and I feel I am seeing my role, for the first time, as He sees it. It is so amazing that over the last few years I have started to believe my role to be a sacrifice, for my husband, for my children, even for the Lord!

What a lie the devil has draped over my eyes! He is so sneaky that I didn`t even catch it. I am so thankful for God`s Grace and patience in my life.

My role as a wife and a mother is not a burden to be dragged around, but a wonderful gift from our Savior, to be cherished and coddled. I don`t see my stretch marks as a bad thing at all, but a blessing that has taught me so much about what a real woman looks like and what those marks represent, God`s hand upon my life and in my womb. They are an actual sign that God has touched me, I am honored to have them. My heart aches for the young women who refuse to have more than one or two children because they want to keep their figure, (just another of the evil ones lies). How I know they will regret it when they are old, and wrinkled anyway.

Just to have been born a woman is a special blessing. What a privilege it is to be a part of the miracle of life. Every movement of the sweet blessing in my womb is a special gift to be cherished. Evidence of His handy work. How personal a gift. It is a secret gift, in a secret place to be pregnant, even for one day. It is not something that can be fully shared or expressed in words to others.

What an honor to carry this baby, to feel him move and grow inside of me, to see how the other children`s faces light up when they hug my belly or talk about his birth, and then when he is born, to watch him learn and grow, to love him and hold him and nurse him. To see him grow in his relationship with his father and his siblings. To see the Lord`s work in his body and in his life, who could see this role the way the Lord sees it and say " no thank you Lord, that`s enough blessing for us"? How easily we, as women, have been tricked into giving up the precious role of wife and mother. I pray Lord you would reveal your precious gift of being born woman, and the honor of the role of wife and mother to all the women of the world. May we sluff off the lies of the devil and learn to truly cherish and welcome Your gifts into our hearts and lives. AMEN!

Jane and Dillard

Hello All, just wanted to let you all know that my in-laws, Jane and Dillard Wilbanks have been hit a little hard today. Their house has flooded so badly that they needed to be rescued by the fire department. We believe that everything will be a loss,( even their cars) but won`t know for sure until they are able to get back into the home.
We PRAISE GOD that they are safe and unharmed.
I know many of you know them and may want to help so I have set up a flood relief fund for them through Pay-Pal. The button is above the pic on the left side of my blog screen.
Please pray for them as these next few days may be rough, but we all know God`s provision will see them through. Blessings to you all for your prayers and gifts-Kristi Wilbanks

Psalm:1 I waited on the Lord; and He inclined unto me, and heard my cry. 2 He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay. and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.
This verse is so true for me. As my anniversary approaches I always want to reflect on my life with Wade. What a journey our marriage has become. I find it so interesting and exciting to see how God has changed me and continues to do so. When I married Wade I expected much less actually, than God has blessed us with. I thought we`d have a few children, own a house, a dog ( we have the dogs) :), but I never really expected to be blessed the way we have been. God pulled me out of the muck, and set my feet on His path, it is a wonderful thing to know you are in His will. What a Rich life I live and could Never deserve. I often wonder WHY, why would God do all that He has done for me and all He continues to do. This is the true meaning of His Grace. He loves to bless us and show us His love for us. Sometimes the hard part is actually humbling ourselves to accept it. We have got to take God out of our little box, and acknowledge how great He is, in order to fully experience Him in our lives.
There have been some questions and concerns that have been brought up to me about our newest blessing and I`d just like to address them here.
I know some people may think I push my ideas on my husband, but this is not the case. I can appeal to him, but in the end it is left up to him to decide. It has been a wonder blessing to see my man step up and trust God in this area of our lives. It has been a leap of faith for both of us and we want to give God the Glory. How good is our God, that He would trust us with a new life, that He ,who created all ,would allow us to partner with Him, to bring forth a new person. What an awesome blessing and responsibility, and we do not take it lightly.
You may say, how will we pay for this new baby, Wade will work himself to death just trying to make ends meet, but I say this is wrong thinking. God will provide just as He has with all of our children. As a matter of fact, we always tend to be doing better when we have a new baby.
There are always those who will worry and wonder," what could they be thinking" and I don`t wish to change people, that`s God`s work. My goal here is to help those wondering about our hearts and motives understand our point of view.
God`s word is clear; Psalm127:3 Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is His reward.
We want to always look upon God`s gifts as just that, gifts from a loving, Gracious God, who does mighty things in our lives, when we allow Him full rein. His thoughts are not our thoughts, His ways are not our ways, but if allow Him in more and more, we can get closer toward that goal.
This is truely the goal for our lives and the example we want for our own children. And so, we gladly welcome this new baby, how ever long God decides to bless us with him in our lives. May the Glory Always go to Him. Amen.

Praise The Lord!!

Psalm 113:9 "He settles the barren woman in her home as a happy mother of children. Praise The Lord." NIV

God is just so Good, isn't He? Who can praise him enough? I read this verse in Psalms the other day and just had to share with you all, the way it touched me. For so long I was that barren woman, barren in my soul. But God saved me, literally lifting me out of the depths and has settled me in a happy home. I love being a wife and mother, so much so that I wonder what my next stage of life will bring. I am more blessed than I could have ever asked to be. Why does God bless me so greatly? I am nothing but a wretch, a sinner. Yet He continually blesses me with His love and Grace. There are days, of course, when I don`t want God`s blessings! ( blasphemy to think much less write, but true none the less) I would rather go to the gym, or have coffee with friends, or spend hours uninterrupted, doing crafts. Yet, in my heart of hearts, I know this is not what I want, nor is it what God has given me. I can always tell when I have started to try to do things on my own, because this is the thought process I begin to have, poor, self-rightelous me. If I were to spend my time doing these things, I know I would miss out on, not only eternal blessings, but a chance to further Christ`s Kingdom. Not that these things aren`t important to some extent, we all need a little time to our selves, but every time I see Gabe learn a new word, Matilda sing to Eli, or the girls learn a new skill in the kitchen, I am filled with a sense of awe for Christ`s Creation and that He would bless me in being a part of His plans. I am forever greatful to my wonderful husband as well. He has truely taught me so much about dying to self and living for others. Every day when most people are still snug in their beds he drags himself out of bed and out of the house, to earn a living, that I may stay home with our children and be blessed by them throughout my day. Praise The Lord.... for so many things, too many to name.

P.S. in this video, Matilda is singing a song about God she made up"if you see a rainbow, you see God`s hands" notice the baby in the backround, and the vaccum cord. Just a day in the life... :)

`Tis The Season

Hello All. It`s been so long since I`ve visited blogland. It`s good to be back. ;)

I`m sure you all are gearing up for the holidays and I just wanted to share a few things on my heart, and some of the things we will be doing as a family this year.

Several years ago, I really felt that God was calling us to stop "doing" Santa with our kids. It`s not that we wanted to take the joy, fun, or surprise out of Christmas, but we did want to get Christ back in, and this was the most obvious way to start.

We also started observing/celebrating Advent. We have a little wreath, with candles that we set out on our dining table along with some kid friendly nativity figures. (kid friendly meaning chipped;) Each night we have a little devotional and light the candle that goes with that week, until Christmas morning when we light the white candle in the middle, representing Christ. What a joy it is to build up to that morning, not only to give gifts, but to reflect on the Real reason for this season. Sweet baby Jesus who would not only choose to die for me, but A Heavenly Father willing to send that baby, His Baby. I have often thought of my own babies and wondered, could I do it for anyone, much less a filthy wretch like myself? If I am perfectly honest, my answer would be no each time. I am too selfish to risk my own pain, or the pain of my offspring, for anyone. What an amazing God we serve. This is why we as a family want to look differently than the rest of the world. This is THE reason for so many of the choices that we make throughout the year, but also and especially now, during this season of reflection, and rejoicing.

Which brings me to the next thing that we have started doing. We wanted to play down the "stuff, I want" aspect and the commercialism of this Wholly Season and one of the ways we`ve been able to do that is by making all of our gifts. This will be the first year we are going all the way, nothing bought (except a few stocking stuffers). I can not tell you how stoked I am about this. It is a wonderful way to get the children focused on others and off of themselves. It is also a great opportunity to teach them new skills, and the value of hard work.

One other quick thing, we have always limited the TV time, but now we do not allow them to watch commercials. It is a good way to help them learn to not only guard their eyes, but it helps to eliminate the coveting that tends to happen with us all. Just pay attention to the amount of toy commercials that come on during a Christmas special, it`s sickening to take advantage of younglings this way. I certainly don`t want my money going to further an industry that abuses young minds this way. I`m not saying I will never buy my kids store bought toys, but certainly not during this time of year, when it`s so... disgustingly obvious that money is the end objective. This is just not what we want our children to learn or focus on. Sweet Baby Jesus is the true gift to each of us, and I really want my children to grasp that.

And so I would just encourage each of you to take a little time with God this season and ask Him, is there some little thing, it doesn`t have to be as extreme as we are going,(this has been a gradual change for us over several years) but is there one little thing we can do to get us focused on a more biblical, slower,reflective Christmas with our families? I hope that you will share how God moves your hearts. Blessing to each of you during this exciting season-K

A few more pics

10 Short Years Already?

Just wanted to share some pics of Wade and I, but in looking through what we have, I`ve realized one of us was usually taking the pic. HA!

I still can`t believe that Wade and I have been married for 10 years. It seems like just yesterday we were standing on that cliff and pledging ourselves to each other, trying to make a little family of our mismatched group. Of course it hasn`t always been roses, but man has God blessed us. God is so Good, and I can not imagine who I would be with out Christ or Wade.

Thank you Jane and Dillard, for having Wade and for loving Jesus. Your faith is multi-generational, and I can not express how much that means to me. It has always been my goal to have a grounded, stable, life and family and we do have that, but we have so much more than that as well. Our lives are so rich and full of love and joy and I am so thankful that this is something our children know.

Wade you are my heart and my life and I am so thankful to know you and share my life with you. May we never loose focus of our goals for our family and our relationship with each other and Christ. And may the Lord bless us with many more years together. I love you!