The End of Summer

I look ahead and see that summer is coming to an end.  I can't say I'm sad, but there is a melancholiness to the end of things.  Having two college students home for fall semester is fun.  Of course, Nate is here (age 10).  We're all getting re-aquainted and used to living together.  These two kids of ours are breaking away.  Our conversations center around challenging them to live Biblically, business entrepreneurship, relationships, future plans, marriage.  Conversations with Nate are all about honoring Christ in his deeds, small jobs he can do to earn a buck, how to treat others respectfully, what he needs to accomplish today, and friends.  Hmmmm...not so different are they?  I am always getting this feeling that things don't ever really change.  Marriage (loving and serving my soul mate), mothering (getting each child through the in's and out's of life,  homemaking (creating a clean, comfortable environment to do all the above), and desiring to do it all in a way that glorifies God and not me, is what my life is made of.  Things don't change much over time.  The process starts over again with the grandchildren....yes Lord, this makes me happy.  This is contentment to me. Summer coming to an end? That's nice.

Nate and Lisa at The Battleship of Texas, Houston, Texas

Katherine Von Bora

Two years after Luther helped the twelve nuns escape the cloister, all were safely tucked away in marriages or positions except one.  Her name was Katherine Von Bora.  A match had been made for Katherine, but her partner went and married someone else.  Poor Katherine!  Then, Luther made another selection for her.  His name was Dr. Glatz.  Katherine defied Luther's choice, and said she would marry Luther instead!  It was meant as a good humored rebuff because Luther was past marrying age at forty two.

Luther did not respond seriously to Katy's suggestion until he went home to visit his parents.  His father it seems, loved the idea!  Luther began to think that perhaps it would be good to marry.  He could give Katherine the status as a married woman she needed and give a testimony to his faith.  Luther wrote,
"...  I believe in marriage, and I intend to get married before I die, even though it should be only a betrothal like Joseph's".

Well, Ok Luther.  It was a good thing to do... to take care of Katy.  It makes the more romantically inclined  wonder at his frankness.  But, the story gets better.

Delivered in a Herring Barrel

Luther had no thought of marriage whatsoever.  His was a life of controversy  which would very likely end in certain death by the hands of the papacy.  During the reformation however, monks began to marry.  "Good heavens! They won't give me a wife," he boldly proclaimed.

In a short time a situation arose which would challenge his stand.  Monks and nuns were leaving the cloisters.  Some sisters nearby asked Luther what they should do now that they didn't agree with the church and their chosen profession.  He arranged for their escape.  On the eve of the Resurrection 1523, twelve bundled nuns were taken from the cloister in empty herring barrels packed in the back of a wagon. Three of the nuns returned to their homes.  The other nine came to see Luther!  

Luther took it on himself to find homes, husbands, or positions for all nine women.  He stated that he would not marry one because he expected daily the death of a heretic.

Luther At Home

Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther has a chapter on the building of Luther's character.  It is an inside look at Luther's home life. I found this humorous because I would tend to think that our Martin Luther's character was constantly being put to a test with the controversy surrounding him because of his arguing against the papist abuses and heretical teaching.   The author Roland H. Bainton  points out that after Luther's wedding he begin to feel that marriage was a school for character.  It displaced the monastery which up until then was thought of as the training ground of virtue and a sure ticket to heaven.

Luther's children were the same as yours and mine.  Darling to him, but full of mischief.  It seems that the babies cries were particularly hard on Luther. In the middle of one child's crying experience Luther said, "Child, what have you done that I should love you so?  You have disturbed the whole household with your bawling."  Another time when a baby cried for an hour, he remarked, "This is the sort of thing that has caused the Church fathers to vilify marriage.  But God before the last day has brought back marriage and the magistracy to their proper esteem."

My favorite quote about babies was declared after being the brunt of his neighbors' amusement when hanging out the diapers to dry.  "Let them laugh.  God and the angels smile in heaven."  LOVE THAT!!!

Psalm 90: Reflecting On My Children

This picture was taken in 2004 in Billings, MT.  Since then, only one remains a child.  Nate is now 10, and looks much like Joseph did in this picture.  Somehow it seems like yesterday and it seems like eons ago all at the same time.  Joseph's mind swirls with math calculations and Computer Science. How fast it is all lived out.  Ana is a young woman soon to be married.  How speedily the days roll over and over. Charity is a vibrant student asking hard questions of others and herself.  How quickly they become parents.  The beautiful teenager Mary Beth is now a mother of 4.  Kip and I change too.  At this time, we couldn't have imagined there was anything more to learn about parenting.  Now, there are days we feel we know nothing of raising children. God ordains these changes, uses them for His glory and our good, and yet...He doesn't change.  My heart cries out..."So teach us to number our days, that we may get a heart of wisdom"..."Satisfy us in the morning with Your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days"....Let Your work be shown to Your servants, and Your glorious power to their children.  Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands!"  Psalm 90:14, 16,17

God is . . .

"God is everything: goodness, loveness, kindness . . . ." - 7 year old Caleb yesterday when telling me about his Bible lesson from Sunday school.

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day Mommy!

I love you sooooooo much!

Thank you for
Making us breakfast, lunch, and dinner
Folding 5-15 loads of laundry for us each week!
Teaching us school
Cleaning up our house
Reminding us to take our shoes off at the door
Washing our sheets
Giving tons of kisses and hugs
Sewing our duvet covers
Reading us books
Mopping the floor
Unpacking zillions of boxes and making all of our "junk" into a beautiful home!
Modeling a God fearing woman for all of us to look up to and copy