Well, since mid-June this place has been hopping. All nine of the school-age children were home for the Summer. We ran to events, packed for camps, cooked on the grill, planned outings, spent time at the library, played lots of sports and Whew! Planned a wedding! Mom is worn out. All good things must come to an end! Today at 9:04, a large yellow bus pulled up and the remainder of the children climbed on for their first day of school adventure.
And so I am here! It is quiet, the house is empty, but I am NEVER alone. I am savoring some precious extended time with my Savior reading his delicious words which will nourish my soul.
Oh, yes, then I shall tackle the LIST, the house (which looks like someone picked it up off its foundation and shook it and set it back down!). At noon I have a lunch with Hannah. There are errands for the wedding. And then at 3:00 those yellow buses begin to arrive with their precious cargo! The afternoon shall be spent with laughter, munchies, chatter and funny tales of the day's escapades!
How I love this job! How I thank God and my husband that I am able to put 100% of my effort into this job!
God is so very good!
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Monday, August 30, 2010
A Gap and A Great Blessing!
Should I try to fill in the gaps in the last 9 months? So much has happened in that time. The Bade Family has had our up days and our very down days. There are times as a parent that I think "I can't do this and I don't want to any more!" Is that something I should not share with others? I can tell you that God is faithful to me in those very bleak moments. I get up every day and keep moving ahead, "Pressing on toward that goal of the upward call of Christ." There is work to do here. All I am called to do is the NEXT THING. And I work diligently to do that NEXT THING well.
This school year had its moments! We had frustrations with our two homeschooled middle school boys. Our Sarah finished her junior year in high school and was baptized for her 18th birthday. The other six children finished their school year strong and ready for Summer. We had a daughter get engaged and we've watched them work through some very tough issues. But let me tell you what is happening today!
And in exactly 13 days our oldest daughter, Hannah and her beloved, Erik will be married! They are young, strong and full of dreams! She looks like a princess in her beautiful gown. They are decorating their home together. He leads her, prays with her, helps her make decisions. They can sit for hours chatting and enjoying each other. Oh Lord! What a blessing this is for us, her parents!
"Let marriage be held in honor among all." Both Hannah and Erik have had very high standards for their purity in this "waiting" time. The boundary lines were drawn early on in each of their lives as single people. Each was raised knowing that they would wait for the one God would choose for them. They have never dated another, only each other. What a wonderful gift to bring into a marriage relationship. No baggage, no comparing, just a fresh start together in the Lord.
Tonight I am calm. I am excited to see all those coming in from out of town. We are anticipating some very late nights and many, many happy memories made. And most of all we long to see these two beloved children of God share their precious vows together at 2 p.m. on September 11th at Faith Bible Church. On that day, they will walk into the building as they always have, as two separate people. BUT, when they walk away from the church that day, as God looks upon them, he will no longer see two people. He will see one flesh. In God's perfect math equation in marriage 1 + 1 = 1.
All I can say to that is "Praise the Lord" and "Pass the tissues!!"
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Recipe for a Stress Free Christmas Season
One mom focused on the REASON FOR THE SEASON
1 Walgreens, pre-lit tree, on sale
1 box of unbreakable ornaments
3 strings of colored lights that still work
Old Christmas decorations that have been sitting in a thrift shop box
1 copy of "Best Christmas Pageant Ever"
Box cake mixes, Easy cookie recipes, jello
Hot cocoa mix and marshmallows
Graham crackers, frosting and candies
Battery operated candles, lots of them if you can!
Lots of Christmas music that focuses on Jesus' birth
Friends, Christmas light tour in our car, free concerts, free carriage rides
A continually open Bible and a child who can read it
Set up tree in 10 minutes or have older son do this and plug in the lights (enjoy the squeals). Allow all children to decorate our precious tree, no matter how it looks. Let the older boys lay the lights anywhere and set up the old decorations however they want to. Set battery operated candles in the windows and light them at dusk every day. Read "Best Christmas Pageant" sometime in the month and discuss every chapter! Bake only easy stuff all month using the simplest recipes you have. OR teach an older child to do this. Drink a lot of hot cocoa. Build gingerbread houses on paper plates out of the graham crackers, frosting and candies. Let children eat gingerbread houses! Keep Christmas music on whenever you can remember to do so. Invite friends in, go caroling, go see others lights, check out all the free stuff in town. Read and re-read every Christmas letter and card, allow children to play with all cards and photos. Two or three times a day, dive into the Bible to keep the stress level down....the Book of James or Philippians....Psalms....Luke 2! Focus, focus, focus! (Note: I'm still working on perfecting this recipe!!!)
Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday Jesus
This is our annual postcard photo and blurb. Enjoy!!!
2009 Bade Family News Flash 2009
Perspective on "Tying"
Frustrated, our youngest girl, Lydia, sits here again and again, with her little tennis shoes and their very long laces. Over and over she works the white strings to make them into the pretty loops that I show her as an example. "Come on Lydia, take the left string and make it go around the mountain and through the tunnel!" "Mom, I can't make it do that!" I hear repeatedly. She's five and we will continue to work on this one task until she is successful, even though she is convinced she will NEVER tie shoes by herself. Until that day when she can tie, she will trip over the trailing dirty strings and need the help of others.
Working equally as diligent, but with a task that has much harsher consequences if not successfully completed, is our oldest daughter, Hannah. She is focused these days on "tying" of a different sort. With that sparkling jewelry on her left hand, she is working to learn all she can about "Tying the Knot" and making that knot foolproof. She wants to be part of a KNOT that can never be untied, but by death. She will be one of the laces and Erik the other. The result, a strong knot the parts of which are indistinguishable as separate pieces. "Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh." (Genesis 2:24)
Wise counsel, God's Word, parental involvement, time in prayer together and alone, learning to yield, listen, and apply Biblical principals to problems are the ingredients of making this knot hold fast for their forever. As parents we must not sit back and "let them figure it out." Now, prior to the wedding ceremony and marriage, is our time to be very much an active part of this "tying" process. The tricky part is knowing when to be silent, when to nod, when to open up, teach OR send her out with a bit of coaching to work through some issue on her own. We constantly pray for wisdom as we have the two of them here for an evening of "just talking." We want our words to be seasoned with grace, full of truth and helpful to them.
Oh, dearest Father in Heaven, how hard this time is in so many ways. We rejoice with Hannah and Erik because we know how amazing a strong marriage can be. But we also plead for them before your throne because we know how very difficult it is to knot one sinful person to another for life. Help us work through the difficulties with grace always on our tongue. Give us words, wisdom and courage to do Your will now for the preparation of this daughter and this man for a lifetime of serving you. May they never seek riches, or the approval of others, rather may they be wholly focused on you and the needs of others for all their years together on this earth. And Lord, help Lydia with her frustration and help me when we get to the two-wheeler and all that running! Or better yet, help me find a wiling brother for that one!!! Amen
Our Arrows
"Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth." I picture a young warrior with arrows in his hand, ready for battle, ready and willing to move ahead because he is prepared for anything and protected by his arrows which are straight and have a painstakingly hand-made point on them.
Now I take that picture and relate it to our five sons who are standing here arguing over whose turn it is to carry the full bag of trash out of the kitchen and walk 20 feet to the larger garbage can outside. "I'm not big enough to carry that," "I did it yesterday," "you always make me do it," "why do I have to stop this game, mom, just for trash?"
Our Five Sons! These little men could not be more different. We have the oldest who loves to play with his little siblings. He'll read to them, teach them a game, help them get ready to go somewhere. But handing in homework? No, not this boy, that's too hard to remember. Worry about how that affects grades, nah, just have fun!
Then there is the next oldest guy. Charming, cerebral, excellent musical skills and yet convinced that God created the universe to orbit his body, focusing on his needs first. And even better, he is willing to remind us daily of this!
Our third oldest son loves football almost more than food. I think the list would be food, football and then oxygen. He has an amazing laugh, and always has since he was a tiny baby. But try to make this boy understand that his way is not the right way, good luck! You' ll talk until you are blue in the face and he'll still fumble down his own path and reap the whirlwind.
The next guy in line is only nine years old. He tries desperately to follow in the staggered footsteps of his older siblings. He is kind, would give you his last piece of gum or his last cookie. He'll drop everything to do a task. BUT, beat him in a game of basketball and you will see quite a different boy in front of you. You may find yourself chasing him through the park just to talk about it!
The littlest brother is a tag along at best most days. He can't keep up even when he seriously tries. But he still tries. Usually he gets stuck playing with little sisters, to whom he is closer in age. Smart as they come, this little one is. He is excelling in school, BUT he has become a sort of sponge for picking up the bad habits of the other boys at recess time.
So how do we get from this motley crew to "arrows" ready for battle? Fortunately we have a weapon that has been handed down to us by none other than God himself. That weapon is the word of God. "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness" (2Tim3:16)
There is hope in Christ! I cling to this hope for our sons. We need to be on our knees, but we also need to be opening the Word to our children and requiring them to read it, listen to it, pray it, memorize it, obey it. We need to discipline them for not heeding this precious Word, pointing continually back to God's standard for everything in life. May each boy one day utter these verses, "How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Through your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way. Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path." (Psalm 119:103-105)
Lord, take this rag-tag bunch of boys and make them into men who do not waver. May they become like those straight, strong, useful "arrow." Make them into men who will follow you and your ways, even to the death if necessary. I plead with you, Lord, stuff them full of your sweet Words until those words overflow into all of their lives and the lives of all who are around them. And please Lord, make one of them want to put this trash bag into the outside can! Amen.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Wow! Tall order there! In Titus 2:
5 I read, "train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind and submissive to their own husbands that the word of God may not be reviled." If I could have understood what a blessing this one verse is early on in our marriage, I may have saved us years of agony! What it doesn't say is, "Teach the young women how to win every argument with their husbands and children, be controlled by their emotions, entertain any thoughts they want, use any language they choose, be kind when it suits their needs and submit ONLY when there is something to be gained by it." But it seems that is how I lived for many years, completely missing the joy of being a wife.
I have learned in the last decade or so of my life that I can rest in the Word of God. He loved the world so very much that HE gave us HIS only Son so we may have ever lasting life. Why would a God who loves us that much, make us slaves to a system of marriage and home life that doesn't work.
Resting, refreshing, retreating, reviving...these are the words I use now as I am soaking up HIS word and HIS commandments. His ways are wonderful ways that make life easier and bring deep joy.
I have the distinct privilege of making this home a retreat for the 12 people who live here and for anyone who enters our door. Also, for a short time, I have the precious job of spending gobs of time with our children in a relationship that will generate memories in their minds for all their years. I can bring smiles or tears with just a word. It's a powerful position we moms hold in their lives.
As I submit to Greg I can see him standing a bit taller. He gains a measure of assurance in his position as our leader. As I submit, I train the children to submit to their leaders, bosses, teachers and anyone in authority over them. Submission to Greg doesn't mean I am a lower class of person, it simply means that I understand God's order in our home and I am willing to take my place where HE wants me to be. I am undoubtedly blessed beyond measure by Greg when I submit to him, because as the head of our household he gains confidence and treasures caring for me. It has taken me YEARS to see that this really works ladies! We were meant to submit as a form of love and respect to our mates and they LOVE it! And we benefit from it!
As I love and treasure our children, I show the world that I value life. I value their lives, their hearts, their future, their needs and wants. I am an example to the world of someone very counter-cultural in this time we live: a woman who actually LOVES kids!!! Lots of kids!!!
What a wonderful joy I have in my heart as my husband walks in and holds me in his arms after a long day. Then we gather everyone at the long dining room table for a meal I've prepared. We eat together, share stories, Greg shares some scripture and usually we dive into our book we are reading. With just a bit of planning early in my day, I can make all this happen and bring a blessing to my family and to myself. I want them to take these memories with them wherever they go and to know that loving and training family was one of my favorite jobs.
What is the legacy we are passing on? Do I have time for a kiss on the lips from my 6 year old when I'm busy working? Is there enough room in my day to sit with a sullen 11 year old who needs to share an important story with me? Is setting up the trampoline in the rain out of my job description (we actually did this last week)? Can I laugh when I am overcome with things to do?
This is a season, another season of life. There was the Air Force Season with deployments and military commitments. There was the baby season full of new babies, little giggles, toddling sweethearts, diapers and sleepless nights. Now we are in this season of training heavily, quality checks on chores, coaching the older ones, preparing them to go into this world ready for the challenges. The girls need to know how to submit to their husbands and run their home in joy with love and confidence. The boys need to know how to provide for a home and family and lead them all in righteousness.
And my part is day by day, step by step, building, adding, correcting. Loving, being self-controlled, being pure, being home, being kind and submitting to my man. And if I am faithful I shall reap a harvest that is beyond my wildest imaginings.
Continually look for the ways God is working in the lives of your children and comment on that. Last week we had the privilege of commending an older son on how he handled someone flirting with him. He handled it in a Godly way and we told him we were so full of joy as we watched him walk through that uncomfortable situation. This takes time to do, but builds confidence in our children and proves to them that the word of God is TRUE and works righteousness in their lives and will lead them to being a wise man and not a fool.
Pray for their spouses now. Pray for someone who has remained pure, innocent, righteous. Pray for someone who loves the Word of God and knows him personally. Pray for a person with a strong character who can handle adversity. And add more, pray the scriptures over that person who will one day walk into your home and amaze you!
What an amazing job I have as a believing wife and mom. What a blessing it is to know that God has plunked me down right here, in this home, at this time, with these people to be the hub of our family.
Father, thank you for your unfailing word. Help me to always cling to your truth. As the Psalmist in 119 says repeately, "give me understanding, clinging to your testimonies, lead me, I will meditate on your precepts, I will delight in your statutes, open my eyes...." It's a continuous process, Lord, plant in me a desire to always begin my day at your feet, resting quietly, soaking up your precious words. And Father, thank you that you are a good Father that we can confidently turn our children over to every day. They were yours before they were ever ours. Amen!
5 I read, "train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind and submissive to their own husbands that the word of God may not be reviled." If I could have understood what a blessing this one verse is early on in our marriage, I may have saved us years of agony! What it doesn't say is, "Teach the young women how to win every argument with their husbands and children, be controlled by their emotions, entertain any thoughts they want, use any language they choose, be kind when it suits their needs and submit ONLY when there is something to be gained by it." But it seems that is how I lived for many years, completely missing the joy of being a wife.
I have learned in the last decade or so of my life that I can rest in the Word of God. He loved the world so very much that HE gave us HIS only Son so we may have ever lasting life. Why would a God who loves us that much, make us slaves to a system of marriage and home life that doesn't work.
Resting, refreshing, retreating, reviving...these are the words I use now as I am soaking up HIS word and HIS commandments. His ways are wonderful ways that make life easier and bring deep joy.
I have the distinct privilege of making this home a retreat for the 12 people who live here and for anyone who enters our door. Also, for a short time, I have the precious job of spending gobs of time with our children in a relationship that will generate memories in their minds for all their years. I can bring smiles or tears with just a word. It's a powerful position we moms hold in their lives.
As I submit to Greg I can see him standing a bit taller. He gains a measure of assurance in his position as our leader. As I submit, I train the children to submit to their leaders, bosses, teachers and anyone in authority over them. Submission to Greg doesn't mean I am a lower class of person, it simply means that I understand God's order in our home and I am willing to take my place where HE wants me to be. I am undoubtedly blessed beyond measure by Greg when I submit to him, because as the head of our household he gains confidence and treasures caring for me. It has taken me YEARS to see that this really works ladies! We were meant to submit as a form of love and respect to our mates and they LOVE it! And we benefit from it!
As I love and treasure our children, I show the world that I value life. I value their lives, their hearts, their future, their needs and wants. I am an example to the world of someone very counter-cultural in this time we live: a woman who actually LOVES kids!!! Lots of kids!!!
What a wonderful joy I have in my heart as my husband walks in and holds me in his arms after a long day. Then we gather everyone at the long dining room table for a meal I've prepared. We eat together, share stories, Greg shares some scripture and usually we dive into our book we are reading. With just a bit of planning early in my day, I can make all this happen and bring a blessing to my family and to myself. I want them to take these memories with them wherever they go and to know that loving and training family was one of my favorite jobs.
What is the legacy we are passing on? Do I have time for a kiss on the lips from my 6 year old when I'm busy working? Is there enough room in my day to sit with a sullen 11 year old who needs to share an important story with me? Is setting up the trampoline in the rain out of my job description (we actually did this last week)? Can I laugh when I am overcome with things to do?
This is a season, another season of life. There was the Air Force Season with deployments and military commitments. There was the baby season full of new babies, little giggles, toddling sweethearts, diapers and sleepless nights. Now we are in this season of training heavily, quality checks on chores, coaching the older ones, preparing them to go into this world ready for the challenges. The girls need to know how to submit to their husbands and run their home in joy with love and confidence. The boys need to know how to provide for a home and family and lead them all in righteousness.
And my part is day by day, step by step, building, adding, correcting. Loving, being self-controlled, being pure, being home, being kind and submitting to my man. And if I am faithful I shall reap a harvest that is beyond my wildest imaginings.
Continually look for the ways God is working in the lives of your children and comment on that. Last week we had the privilege of commending an older son on how he handled someone flirting with him. He handled it in a Godly way and we told him we were so full of joy as we watched him walk through that uncomfortable situation. This takes time to do, but builds confidence in our children and proves to them that the word of God is TRUE and works righteousness in their lives and will lead them to being a wise man and not a fool.
Pray for their spouses now. Pray for someone who has remained pure, innocent, righteous. Pray for someone who loves the Word of God and knows him personally. Pray for a person with a strong character who can handle adversity. And add more, pray the scriptures over that person who will one day walk into your home and amaze you!
What an amazing job I have as a believing wife and mom. What a blessing it is to know that God has plunked me down right here, in this home, at this time, with these people to be the hub of our family.
Father, thank you for your unfailing word. Help me to always cling to your truth. As the Psalmist in 119 says repeately, "give me understanding, clinging to your testimonies, lead me, I will meditate on your precepts, I will delight in your statutes, open my eyes...." It's a continuous process, Lord, plant in me a desire to always begin my day at your feet, resting quietly, soaking up your precious words. And Father, thank you that you are a good Father that we can confidently turn our children over to every day. They were yours before they were ever ours. Amen!
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