Welcome to Thinking About Home I am Kathy Matthews. 00:00:31.33\00:00:33.94 Today we are going to be talking about women as 00:00:34.54\00:00:37.03 mothers and the surrender that they go through 00:00:37.35\00:00:39.99 Again our guest is Arlita Winston and she has 00:00:41.53\00:00:45.64 grown up in the Jungles of Sumatra and went 00:00:45.67\00:00:50.68 through many bouts of turmoil in her years as her 00:00:50.71\00:00:56.56 parents were missionaries and they were in the 00:00:56.59\00:00:59.05 Orient and now she lives in New Jersey 00:00:59.08\00:01:01.77 with her husband Joe. Thank You Arlita 00:01:01.80\00:01:03.95 for being with us. Thank You for having me. 00:01:03.98\00:01:06.10 You Know Arlita you've been talking so much 00:01:06.32\00:01:08.63 about women as wives and the surrender that 00:01:08.66\00:01:12.12 wives especially go through and now we're 00:01:12.15\00:01:14.74 going to address women as mothers and 00:01:14.77\00:01:18.07 you have five children. Did you ever feel yourself 00:01:18.29\00:01:22.92 deprived because of the things that you gave 00:01:22.95\00:01:26.06 up in your life? No actually I feel like 00:01:26.09\00:01:29.26 it's the best thing that ever happened to me, but 00:01:29.29\00:01:31.59 I know that one person I had a conversation with 00:01:31.62\00:01:35.77 friend years ago all the children were at home 00:01:35.80\00:01:39.97 that time I can remember the day as clear as it was 00:01:40.00\00:01:43.20 yesterday, the children were cheerfully doing 00:01:43.23\00:01:47.21 their jobs, music was playing through out the 00:01:47.24\00:01:49.97 house and this friend and I were washing the dishes 00:01:50.00\00:01:53.53 and doing them up and she was engaged to be 00:01:53.72\00:01:57.09 married to another friend of ours, so she stood there 00:01:57.12\00:01:59.87 and I said tell me about your family and she 00:02:00.60\00:02:04.44 ignored my question altogether and she turned 00:02:04.47\00:02:06.60 to me and she said Arlita, don't you feel that your 00:02:06.63\00:02:10.19 body has been insulted by having to bear children? 00:02:10.22\00:02:14.00 Oh! My! Don't you feel that motherhood is an 00:02:14.03\00:02:18.01 insult that you've been taking advantage of? 00:02:18.04\00:02:21.28 How did you feel about that? 00:02:22.14\00:02:23.14 I nearly dropped the plate at the time. And I told her 00:02:23.17\00:02:29.13 a story, I didn't know what else to do except 00:02:30.35\00:02:35.60 to tell her the story of the incredible joy that was 00:02:35.63\00:02:40.91 to be a mother. Good girl. And she knew that I had 00:02:41.52\00:02:45.44 given up going into medicine to be a wife and 00:02:45.47\00:02:48.97 a mother and so she knew that much but she didn't 00:02:49.00\00:02:52.85 know that I was glad that I had done it. 00:02:52.88\00:02:55.33 So, I took her back to those days when I was in 00:02:56.11\00:02:58.45 Shanghai, I was 12-years-old and. 00:02:58.48\00:03:02.12 Beautiful story I love this. Well the communists 00:03:02.15\00:03:05.68 were just coming in to Shanghai, Peking had 00:03:05.71\00:03:08.32 already fallen. My sister and I were coming home 00:03:08.35\00:03:11.29 from school one day and we passed by the long 00:03:11.32\00:03:15.57 rows of soldiers, they were the nationalist 00:03:15.60\00:03:18.49 soldiers at that point and we burst into our home 00:03:18.52\00:03:22.93 glad to be in safety in our own home and mother 00:03:22.96\00:03:26.91 met us at the door and her eyes were just shining 00:03:26.94\00:03:29.46 and she said I have a surprise for you girls, 00:03:30.82\00:03:33.29 and we looked at each other and said what is it, 00:03:34.13\00:03:36.23 and she said you're just going to have to go and 00:03:36.26\00:03:38.61 look for it. And she just waved anywhere here on 00:03:38.64\00:03:43.58 the first floor, just look for it, well Andrea was 00:03:43.61\00:03:46.93 the first to find it behind the heavy drapes there in 00:03:46.96\00:03:49.94 the living room she found a little pair of hand 00:03:49.97\00:03:53.88 crocheted booties. We took one look at those 00:03:53.91\00:03:58.29 booties we already had three little brothers and 00:03:58.32\00:04:01.69 we said mother are we going to have another 00:04:01.72\00:04:04.05 baby? She said yes. And then just hugged the 00:04:04.08\00:04:08.66 two of us. Well in those next months Shanghai did 00:04:08.69\00:04:13.65 fall to the communists and we were routed out 00:04:13.68\00:04:16.79 of our house and placed under house arrest and 00:04:16.82\00:04:20.84 mother was very near to giving birth to number 00:04:20.87\00:04:23.87 six. And she wasn't sure that she wanted to go in a 00:04:23.90\00:04:28.74 rickshaw in labor, so she decided and definitely not 00:04:28.77\00:04:33.42 a petty cab, so she decided to check-in to the 00:04:33.45\00:04:38.28 mission hospital early. Well nearly the whole 00:04:38.31\00:04:43.21 family had already checked-in, dad was in 00:04:43.24\00:04:45.65 there with a severe case of asthma. 00:04:45.68\00:04:47.85 Two of my little brothers who were in for 00:04:49.19\00:04:51.06 Tonsillectomies and so mother might as well be 00:04:51.09\00:04:54.58 there, that left my little brother five and some 00:04:54.61\00:04:59.19 missionaries took him into their home and that 00:04:59.22\00:05:02.02 left Andrea and me at the home with the Cook 00:05:02.05\00:05:03.94 Alma. We continued going to school and 00:05:03.97\00:05:08.16 Shanghai John was born. Shanghai John. 00:05:08.19\00:05:11.22 Shanghai John. What a name. 00:05:11.25\00:05:12.79 Well, his name is really John Robert. But, we 00:05:13.05\00:05:16.59 loving called him Shanghai John and he is 00:05:16.62\00:05:19.16 admittedly the favorite of the whole family. 00:05:19.19\00:05:21.69 This is not the one that's the attorney is it? Yes. 00:05:21.72\00:05:24.47 It is? And so there John was born and Andrea 00:05:24.50\00:05:29.00 I could hardly wait until that day when the whole 00:05:29.03\00:05:31.60 family came home from the hospital and I came 00:05:31.63\00:05:35.33 running in, taking the steps two in time where 00:05:35.36\00:05:38.79 as Andrea walked rather sedately behind me. 00:05:38.82\00:05:41.41 And I bust into the room and suddenly just a hush 00:05:41.93\00:05:47.20 and awe fell over me. And I closed the door on 00:05:47.23\00:05:52.35 all the chaos of Shanghai and I looked in that 00:05:52.38\00:05:57.73 bedroom room. With mother dressed in a satin 00:05:57.76\00:06:02.84 robe that women in America had given to her 00:06:02.87\00:06:06.68 for the last baby. And roses were spilling all 00:06:06.71\00:06:10.12 over it and this lovely afternoon sunlight was 00:06:10.15\00:06:14.82 pouring in through the curtains and I just walked 00:06:14.85\00:06:18.66 in to peace and there was mother holding the baby 00:06:18.69\00:06:23.04 and daddy sitting next to her and we came in and 00:06:24.08\00:06:28.68 mother lifted the baby up and said here don't you 00:06:28.71\00:06:31.51 want to hold him, and I just cradled that baby in 00:06:31.54\00:06:35.94 my arms, and I just looked down into his face 00:06:35.97\00:06:39.94 and I knew it was foolish to say it, 'cause as soon as 00:06:40.69\00:06:43.70 I said it, but I said mother could he belong to me? 00:06:43.73\00:06:50.95 And she said yes. He could belong to you, 00:06:54.39\00:06:56.94 I figured she had five of her own, this one could 00:06:56.97\00:07:00.68 be mine and she said yes he could belong to all of 00:07:00.71\00:07:04.70 us and you could take care of him whenever you 00:07:04.73\00:07:07.14 like. Well the years passed and that dear 00:07:07.17\00:07:13.52 brother of mine I feel very special, special 00:07:13.55\00:07:17.70 attachment to you because of that, but that, 00:07:17.73\00:07:20.63 at that moment, that's why it's so vivid in my 00:07:20.66\00:07:24.91 mind, 'cause at that moment. 00:07:24.94\00:07:27.33 Something happened. Something happened, and 00:07:27.36\00:07:30.35 I knew that the scripture Psalm 127 verse 3, 00:07:30.38\00:07:36.86 "Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and 00:07:37.62\00:07:43.14 the fruit of the womb is his reward." So, I knew this 00:07:43.17\00:07:49.94 is what I wanted more than anything else in the 00:07:49.97\00:07:52.17 world. Here I was looking at my mother in the midst 00:07:52.20\00:07:54.79 of all the confusion of Shanghai, the bombings, 00:07:55.13\00:07:58.54 the takeover, wondering if we would live for one 00:07:58.57\00:08:01.49 day to the next and yet she was sitting there 00:08:01.52\00:08:03.47 radiant holding this gift from the Lord. 00:08:03.50\00:08:06.99 What a miracle. And I said yes Lord that's 00:08:07.02\00:08:09.60 what I want, I want to say yes Lord to your plan for 00:08:09.63\00:08:12.85 families, knowing that we cannot depend on a 00:08:12.88\00:08:16.01 security of our times. We can not depend on 00:08:16.04\00:08:18.82 anything except the Lord and I was saying yes Lord 00:08:18.85\00:08:23.08 to families, yes Lord to leading me into 00:08:23.85\00:08:27.24 dangerous places, if it was he that was leading 00:08:27.27\00:08:30.59 me that was alright, but I just wanted to say yes 00:08:30.62\00:08:33.95 and so really the longing to be a mother was born 00:08:33.98\00:08:37.56 that day in that room holding baby John. 00:08:37.59\00:08:41.26 That's beautiful. So, I related this story, 00:08:41.29\00:08:43.95 this retelling of when I was 12 to this friend at 00:08:44.68\00:08:48.56 the kitchen sink and then I told her I said you know 00:08:48.59\00:08:53.07 I know that a lot of women today have that 00:08:53.10\00:08:55.88 great fear and I can understand it because 00:08:55.91\00:08:59.30 I think it's part of the whole curse that we 00:08:59.33\00:09:02.65 brought on ourselves when we sinned. 00:09:02.68\00:09:04.64 And in Genesis it talks about when God came to 00:09:05.38\00:09:11.78 Eve and told her that because of her taking the 00:09:11.81\00:09:17.23 fruit and deciding that she wanted to be God of her 00:09:17.26\00:09:21.33 life and she wanted to be as wise as God that as a 00:09:21.36\00:09:25.08 result she would have great pain in child 00:09:25.11\00:09:30.49 bearing. But, to the woman he said I will 00:09:30.52\00:09:35.48 greatly increase your chains, your pains in 00:09:35.51\00:09:39.39 childbearing. Now in fact I feel that when we give 00:09:39.42\00:09:46.07 birth to children, yes we go through that pain but 00:09:46.10\00:09:49.37 we're also saved in childbearing because we 00:09:49.40\00:09:52.34 die to ourselves. And that whole self fulfillment has 00:09:52.37\00:09:57.94 to be set aside in favor of getting up to feed a 00:09:57.97\00:10:02.53 helpless baby. Right. Of nursing, of nurturing. 00:10:02.56\00:10:06.76 Constant caring. Of constant 24 hours a 00:10:06.79\00:10:09.90 day but a woman does have to lose her life in 00:10:09.93\00:10:14.13 bearing another child and giving herself to that child. 00:10:14.16\00:10:19.03 And it's a joy so. It's a joy. 00:10:19.06\00:10:21.47 I don't have better memories when I do of 00:10:21.50\00:10:25.61 taking care of my children. 00:10:25.64\00:10:26.81 Well it's one of the deepest fulfillments 00:10:26.84\00:10:29.17 I have ever had. It is. And the most challenging 00:10:29.20\00:10:32.96 there is no question. Oh! Yes. 00:10:33.36\00:10:35.01 The most challenging. Developing that character 00:10:35.04\00:10:37.75 is a heavy thought, it's a very heavy thought. 00:10:37.78\00:10:40.73 Your mother went through this with sounds 00:10:41.25\00:10:45.29 like full of grace and her words about herself 00:10:45.32\00:10:49.23 talking to you as you were 12-years-old, 00:10:50.13\00:10:52.28 when you burst into that room. It's a beautiful 00:10:52.31\00:10:56.28 memory. But, what you do with women who don't 00:10:56.31\00:10:58.34 have children. They didn't you know, 00:10:58.37\00:11:01.23 they're suffering. What you do? 00:11:02.59\00:11:05.00 I stumbled the more of course, but what about 00:11:05.03\00:11:08.78 somebody like Hannah? Yes I, you know she, 00:11:08.81\00:11:11.84 I was just thinking of Hannah, here she was 00:11:11.87\00:11:14.48 dearly beloved by her husband, dearly beloved 00:11:14.51\00:11:18.28 but she couldn't bear children. What made it 00:11:18.31\00:11:20.75 even more grievous is that he was also married 00:11:20.78\00:11:25.70 to Peninnah and she was giving birth right and left 00:11:25.73\00:11:29.38 to children. And dear Elkanah says to Hannah 00:11:29.41\00:11:33.49 aren't I as wonderful as of 10 sons to you. 00:11:33.93\00:11:39.27 He's trying to, trying take the place. 00:11:39.74\00:11:41.51 Why is not my love enough for you and She 00:11:41.54\00:11:44.98 says I want a child, I want a child and so when they 00:11:45.01\00:11:49.43 go down for their yearly sacrifice, because 00:11:49.46\00:11:52.07 Elkanah was a very God fearing man, they 00:11:52.10\00:11:54.93 went down yearly. She understandably was not 00:11:54.96\00:11:57.85 going down to rejoice like everybody else was and 00:11:57.88\00:12:01.52 when she got to the temple she just poured 00:12:01.55\00:12:05.69 out her soul, so much so that Eli the priest thought 00:12:05.72\00:12:09.70 she was drunk. And there was something 00:12:09.73\00:12:12.27 I would like to say about that desire for a child 00:12:12.30\00:12:15.47 because all the women of Israel were taught that the 00:12:16.10\00:12:19.33 Messiah would come. That's right. They wanted 00:12:19.36\00:12:21.97 a child, they wanted a boy. 00:12:22.00\00:12:23.51 That's right. And there was such deep 00:12:23.93\00:12:26.77 spiritual connection with having children. 00:12:26.80\00:12:28.80 That's right, that's right and I think Hannah 00:12:28.83\00:12:33.48 certainly longed for that child in that same way, 00:12:34.18\00:12:38.24 but it's interesting to me how she very quickly 00:12:38.27\00:12:41.44 when she pours out her soul to God, that she 00:12:41.86\00:12:46.21 pours out even the bitterness, it says in. 00:12:46.24\00:12:51.25 You can find the story in First Samuel 1 and in 00:12:51.28\00:12:56.15 verses 10 and 11 it says, In bitterness of soul 00:12:56.18\00:12:59.48 Hannah wept much and prayed to the Lord, 00:12:59.51\00:13:02.26 remember me, give me a son, I will give him to the Lord. 00:13:02.89\00:13:08.94 She decided if you give that gift to me I am going 00:13:10.46\00:13:14.77 to just give him right back to you Lord and 00:13:14.80\00:13:19.30 when I think of this bitter soul, bitterness starts with 00:13:21.86\00:13:27.82 hurts, she's been hurt by the other wife, she's been 00:13:27.85\00:13:33.66 hurt by probably other women looking to see 00:13:33.69\00:13:37.71 that she was barren and she had been hurt for 00:13:37.74\00:13:41.32 really no fault of her own. And because that hurt 00:13:41.35\00:13:45.46 wasn't fully dealt with it, it turns to self pity and 00:13:45.49\00:13:50.44 I see a progression, it goes from hurts that we 00:13:50.47\00:13:53.17 receive of no fault of our own if they're not dealt 00:13:53.20\00:13:56.81 with, they develop into self pity and that self pity 00:13:56.84\00:14:00.70 goes rancid and it turns into bitterness, then if 00:14:00.73\00:14:05.75 that's not dealt with it turns into anger. 00:14:05.78\00:14:08.57 Anger turns into hatred and from what Jesus tells 00:14:10.50\00:14:15.16 us, hatred turns into. Murder. Murder, 00:14:15.19\00:14:17.43 so here you see this chain that all started way back 00:14:17.46\00:14:21.86 here from a hurt that we didn't even cause. 00:14:21.89\00:14:25.22 And so here is Hannah she gets to the point 00:14:27.09\00:14:31.49 where she is bitter and she just pours it out to 00:14:31.52\00:14:35.69 her God with all that she can and she prays 00:14:35.72\00:14:41.08 earnestly and then she just relinquishes, but she 00:14:41.11\00:14:46.43 knew, she had a very definite prayer that she 00:14:46.46\00:14:49.65 asked of God, I think some of us don't pray 00:14:49.68\00:14:52.19 definitely enough. Not specifically enough. 00:14:52.22\00:14:54.37 So, that I don't know that we would recognize the 00:14:54.40\00:14:56.74 answer if we saw it. But, she prayed, she 00:14:56.77\00:15:01.33 poured it all out to the Lord, she prayed with 00:15:01.36\00:15:04.96 deep conviction of what she wanted and she 00:15:04.99\00:15:08.73 relinquished it and it says that she went, got up off 00:15:08.76\00:15:14.66 her knees and she went and began to eat, 'cause 00:15:14.69\00:15:17.01 up until that point she has been weeping so hard she 00:15:17.04\00:15:19.14 couldn't even eat and she went home her 00:15:19.17\00:15:22.68 burden completely gone, and it says that when they 00:15:22.71\00:15:26.42 went home she conceived a child. 00:15:26.45\00:15:29.63 I don't. That kind of an answer to immediately 00:15:32.47\00:15:39.20 remove all that burden must have been a 00:15:39.23\00:15:41.98 wonderful peace from God that she felt. 00:15:42.01\00:15:44.20 And what do you think that Hannah did the most 00:15:45.71\00:15:51.00 in her family, that would help Samuel. 00:15:51.44\00:15:56.65 You know before we get to that I think you've 00:15:56.68\00:16:00.29 touched on something, this bitterness area that 00:16:00.32\00:16:04.58 maybe would be helpful because I think Hannah 00:16:04.61\00:16:09.51 had to do this first. Okay. Before she really raised 00:16:09.54\00:16:13.88 that child but how do you deal with bitterness, aside 00:16:13.91\00:16:18.97 from just pouring it out to God. I think number one 00:16:19.00\00:16:23.74 we can't do anything about what somebody 00:16:23.77\00:16:26.38 does to us but we can do something about 00:16:26.41\00:16:29.91 our reaction. Now if we see where our reaction is, 00:16:29.94\00:16:35.58 where we are in that chain, self pity, bitterness 00:16:35.61\00:16:40.21 anger, hatred, murder, we may be already at this end 00:16:40.24\00:16:43.61 of the murder but if we can recognize it for what 00:16:43.64\00:16:47.06 it is and say Oh! God, I need your forgiveness 00:16:47.09\00:16:51.38 as much as that person who hurt me. I need your 00:16:51.41\00:16:57.08 blood to forgive, to cleanse me from my sins. 00:16:57.11\00:17:00.24 So, I think I call it the Balm of Gillard there are 00:17:00.27\00:17:03.47 four ingredients to this wonderful ointment that 00:17:03.50\00:17:06.33 you can just carry in your pocket all day long. 00:17:06.36\00:17:08.53 So, that you can use over and over and over and 00:17:08.56\00:17:11.20 over again. Good. Seventy times seven. 00:17:11.23\00:17:13.50 Okay. And that is number one, I repent of my sin of 00:17:14.43\00:17:21.72 self pity or whether it's anger or whatever. 00:17:21.75\00:17:24.89 Number two please forgive me and wash me. 00:17:26.34\00:17:29.39 Number three, please forgive the person who 00:17:30.47\00:17:35.19 hurt. Number four, bless that person, bless that 00:17:35.22\00:17:40.75 person. Love your enemies. Yes, you see I don't think 00:17:40.78\00:17:44.02 for a minute that Hannah went back to her home 00:17:44.05\00:17:46.77 and gloated. To the other wife. 00:17:46.80\00:17:49.63 And when she conceived I really don't think that 00:17:49.66\00:17:52.60 she gloated before Peninnah. And we can learn from that. 00:17:52.63\00:17:55.40 Yes, and I think she was so taken up with the fact 00:17:55.43\00:17:59.86 that God had given her a gift and now she was 00:17:59.89\00:18:03.19 preparing to give this gift right back. 00:18:03.22\00:18:05.56 She wasn't going to let the hatred or the 00:18:05.59\00:18:07.63 bitterness ruin her moment. Right, right. 00:18:07.66\00:18:10.82 So, now back to your other question. Yes, what 00:18:11.29\00:18:14.19 do you think that Hannah did most in that family, 00:18:14.22\00:18:17.04 for little Samuel? I think she brought him 00:18:17.39\00:18:22.97 up in the fear for the Lord and when I try to translate 00:18:23.00\00:18:26.84 that into today, I feel that we need to take a page 00:18:26.87\00:18:32.89 out of Hannah's book and we need to take that 00:18:32.92\00:18:36.81 scripture where she says I prayed for this child, 00:18:36.84\00:18:40.84 now I give him to the Lord, for his whole life he 00:18:40.87\00:18:46.27 will be given over to the Lord. Now, I think are we 00:18:46.30\00:18:50.98 raising our children for ourselves, are we raising 00:18:51.01\00:18:55.08 them for their sakes? Or we are raising them for 00:18:55.11\00:18:58.58 Christ's sake? We want to raise them for 00:18:58.61\00:19:02.07 Christ's sake. But, generally we're raising 00:19:02.10\00:19:04.75 them for ourselves. I know. We want to 00:19:04.78\00:19:06.57 realize and fulfill all our own dreams in that child, 00:19:06.60\00:19:10.43 right. And Hannah straight off says and 00:19:10.46\00:19:15.63 I give him back to you. So, I think that was 00:19:15.66\00:19:19.77 number one, her first sin but then I think as soon as 00:19:19.80\00:19:23.45 he could even understand, he began understanding 00:19:23.48\00:19:26.77 what it was to talk to God and I think in their 00:19:26.80\00:19:30.04 normal daily life, she talked with him while 00:19:30.07\00:19:33.80 they sat down, while they walked, while they read, 00:19:33.83\00:19:36.91 while they ate, while they played, I think she talked 00:19:36.94\00:19:40.62 about the Lord. Amen. I agree with you. That he was 00:19:40.65\00:19:42.91 going to serve, because she had to prepare him to 00:19:42.94\00:19:46.24 be ready at a very early age to go and listen to 00:19:46.27\00:19:49.99 this, she had to prepare him to go and serve with 00:19:50.02\00:19:54.91 a priest whose own sons were defying God. 00:19:54.94\00:20:00.21 Were disobedient and defying. And were being rebellious. 00:20:00.24\00:20:02.33 Yes. Can you imagine how Hannah felt knowing 00:20:02.36\00:20:04.77 she was relinquishing her child. 00:20:04.80\00:20:06.43 Oh! that would bother me a great deal. And putting 00:20:06.46\00:20:09.18 him in the hands of the priest but whose own 00:20:09.21\00:20:13.42 sons did not regard God. So, I can imagine those 00:20:13.45\00:20:17.63 early days were spent particularly preparing him 00:20:17.66\00:20:21.41 to know the fear of the Lord and how to worship 00:20:21.89\00:20:24.99 him and I think of our own families, how do we 00:20:25.02\00:20:30.52 do it. I think we need to do it from the very start. 00:20:30.55\00:20:33.47 I agree with you, because that early preparation, 00:20:33.50\00:20:35.84 that's just what I was thinking. If you have 00:20:35.87\00:20:37.72 done a great deal of preparation, God can 00:20:38.21\00:20:40.32 honor that. But, you can't just say well I have done 00:20:40.35\00:20:43.78 the best that I can do, you better be sure that you've 00:20:43.81\00:20:46.81 done all that you can do. And followed what the 00:20:46.84\00:20:50.39 Lord has for us to do, you know seek out the Lord's 00:20:50.42\00:20:53.86 Will in raising your family. But, I think you have to 00:20:53.89\00:20:56.82 do something more, I think you do need to 00:20:56.85\00:20:58.98 establish in actual time, what I would call a 00:20:59.01\00:21:03.31 family altar, she offered him up to the work of 00:21:03.34\00:21:10.67 the temple. As a living sacrifice. As a living 00:21:10.70\00:21:12.65 sacrifice, and we as families need to have a 00:21:12.68\00:21:15.87 daily family altar where we as husbands and wives 00:21:15.90\00:21:19.34 with our children in the most natural of ways have 00:21:19.79\00:21:24.32 a family altar. Now in our family. Some may not 00:21:24.35\00:21:28.15 really understand what the family altar would be? 00:21:28.18\00:21:30.50 I think one way to describe it would be, 00:21:32.41\00:21:35.87 it needs to become very normal in the way you 00:21:35.94\00:21:39.24 talk, so that with us we brought it up at dinner 00:21:39.27\00:21:42.61 time and we made our dinner times very 00:21:42.64\00:21:46.20 sacrosanct, my husband is a busy physician, but all 00:21:46.23\00:21:51.77 the time the children were growing up, he made 00:21:51.80\00:21:53.61 meal times very important to be home 00:21:53.64\00:21:55.98 with the children. And during that time we 00:21:56.01\00:21:59.29 would talk about all sorts of things everything from 00:21:59.32\00:22:02.33 why you don't punch your brother in the nose when 00:22:02.77\00:22:05.68 he's offended you or why you have to honor your 00:22:05.71\00:22:09.17 sister, even though she is just a scamp, you can't 00:22:09.20\00:22:13.07 stand her. And things like this is were 00:22:13.10\00:22:15.22 like the First Corinthians 13 would come in, love is 00:22:15.25\00:22:17.75 not rude young man. That's right and you can't 00:22:17.78\00:22:21.35 say First Corinthians 13, the love chapter is an 00:22:21.38\00:22:24.23 easy thing to do, that's a very. 00:22:24.26\00:22:27.16 A divine sacrifice or rather grace a work of 00:22:27.19\00:22:32.07 grace in the heart to be able to that? 00:22:32.10\00:22:33.90 But, in order to work that out you have to talk about 00:22:33.93\00:22:36.84 it and live it with you children. Yes. So, that 00:22:36.87\00:22:39.48 I love that scripture that says hide not thyself from 00:22:39.51\00:22:42.80 thy own flesh. And it was during those times around 00:22:42.83\00:22:46.76 the dinner table that we often talked about our 00:22:46.79\00:22:49.55 own difficulties and how God helped us and how 00:22:49.58\00:22:53.46 we were able to relate with the children, so that 00:22:53.49\00:22:56.73 our family prayers we kept them very simple, 00:22:56.76\00:22:59.16 very short to the point and always made it 00:23:00.49\00:23:07.58 pertinent to what the children were going 00:23:07.61\00:23:09.85 through. It may be a math test that day, it maybe the 00:23:09.88\00:23:13.43 fact that a neighborhood child had punched my 00:23:13.46\00:23:17.92 child in the nose and I needed to go and talk 00:23:17.95\00:23:20.24 to the mother about it and find out what really did 00:23:20.27\00:23:22.82 happen. So, all these things were discussed 00:23:22.85\00:23:25.68 around the dinner table. And that would build 00:23:26.26\00:23:28.03 their faith wouldn't it, as you're working those 00:23:28.06\00:23:30.25 things out. And then would talk to the Lord 00:23:30.28\00:23:31.25 about it, we would have games together around, 00:23:31.26\00:23:33.94 Joe would read the scriptures, usually a Bible 00:23:35.40\00:23:38.51 story appropriate to the ages that the children 00:23:38.54\00:23:41.10 were, as they grew older they were the ones who 00:23:41.13\00:23:44.21 helped to lead it and would initiate it and then 00:23:44.24\00:23:49.10 we would have what we call the M&M games and 00:23:49.13\00:23:52.18 Joe would have a stack of M&Ms and then he 00:23:52.44\00:23:54.73 would ask questions of the children about what 00:23:54.76\00:23:57.69 were you talked about and he would slide one 00:23:57.72\00:24:00.46 down the table to you if you got the answer right 00:24:00.49\00:24:04.25 and they stacked up their M&Ms at the end of the 00:24:04.28\00:24:06.80 meal. As we nipped together, the truths of 00:24:06.83\00:24:11.34 God with where we were living and this means of a 00:24:11.37\00:24:16.06 family altar. Doing it day after day after day. 00:24:16.09\00:24:20.19 And never making it just one time of the day, but 00:24:20.50\00:24:23.94 incorporating it, the sacred with the secular. 00:24:23.97\00:24:27.74 So, that it was not two separate things. 00:24:27.77\00:24:30.48 We have because of the scripture, we have 00:24:30.51\00:24:35.04 Morning and Evening worship like that. 00:24:35.07\00:24:36.82 And you had more that you would share on 00:24:39.23\00:24:43.43 Hannah or shall we move into. 00:24:43.79\00:24:46.83 Well, I was thinking more of a woman who. 00:24:46.86\00:24:49.90 Susanna? Yes. Susanna Wesley. I was thinking 00:24:49.93\00:24:52.68 actually of a woman who was not in the Bible 00:24:52.71\00:24:57.53 times, but a woman who had a great many 00:24:57.56\00:25:00.65 children, whom most of our listeners will have 00:25:00.68\00:25:05.43 heard of and that's Susanna Wesley, the 00:25:05.90\00:25:07.73 mother of John and Charles Wesley. 00:25:07.76\00:25:09.64 She had 19, didn't she? 19 children. 00:25:09.67\00:25:12.78 I don't think all of them lived? 00:25:12.81\00:25:14.37 No, they didn't, I think nine of them died and she 00:25:14.40\00:25:18.60 was a firm minded mother. But, she had a big 00:25:18.63\00:25:23.20 household nevertheless to take care of. She did well 00:25:23.23\00:25:26.19 from the what the history I read about her. 00:25:26.22\00:25:28.70 In fact one thing I love about her is that before 00:25:28.73\00:25:33.59 her husband came home at night, she always made 00:25:33.62\00:25:35.83 sure that she had her hair combed pretty and a new 00:25:35.86\00:25:39.99 fresh hair ribbon. Really? So, that she was lovely 00:25:40.02\00:25:44.00 before he came home. Another thing I love 00:25:44.03\00:25:46.87 about her is that every night she took turns and 00:25:46.90\00:25:52.03 laid down with a different child and had a time just 00:25:52.06\00:25:56.63 alone talking with that child. I like that. 00:25:56.66\00:25:58.93 And I came across a letter that she wrote to her 00:25:58.96\00:26:03.05 husband, that's in the journal that I would like 00:26:03.08\00:26:06.38 to just read, where she is talking to him about her 00:26:06.41\00:26:13.01 ideals. Though I am not a man nor a minister, yet if 00:26:13.04\00:26:18.49 my heart was sincerely devoted to God and I was 00:26:18.52\00:26:21.06 inspired with the true zeal for his glory, I might do 00:26:21.09\00:26:24.89 somewhat more than I do. I thought I might pray 00:26:24.92\00:26:28.59 more for them and might speak to those with who 00:26:28.62\00:26:31.78 I converse, with more warmth than affection 00:26:31.81\00:26:34.30 and so I resolved to begin with my own children, 00:26:34.70\00:26:37.77 in which I observed the following method, I take 00:26:38.27\00:26:40.83 such proportion of time as I can spare every night to 00:26:40.86\00:26:44.48 discourse with each child a part, as I am a woman, 00:26:44.51\00:26:48.64 so I am also mistress of a large family and though 00:26:48.98\00:26:51.93 the superior charge of the souls contained in it lies 00:26:51.96\00:26:55.06 upon you, yet in your absence I can't but look 00:26:55.09\00:26:59.86 upon every soul you leave under my care as a talent 00:26:59.89\00:27:03.26 committed to me under a trust by the Great Lord of 00:27:03.29\00:27:06.62 all the families both of heaven and earth, and if 00:27:06.65\00:27:09.79 I am unfaithful to him or you in neglecting to 00:27:09.82\00:27:14.02 improve then I have failed. 00:27:14.05\00:27:16.93 What a wonderful model as a mother. 00:27:17.51\00:27:20.00 A marvelous model and I think of Eunice and Lois, 00:27:20.56\00:27:23.90 in the New Testament, how Paul commended 00:27:23.93\00:27:26.03 them and they had brought up Timothy and 00:27:26.06\00:27:30.69 Second Timothy 3:15 says how from infancy 00:27:31.50\00:27:34.55 you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able 00:27:34.58\00:27:37.64 to make you wise for Salvation through faith in 00:27:37.67\00:27:40.20 Christ Jesus they will also models for us to model after. 00:27:40.23\00:27:45.31 Oh! Amen. You are going to be back with us on 00:27:45.34\00:27:47.82 mothers aren't you? Yes. Good, I am glad, 00:27:47.85\00:27:50.67 we will be looking forward. Thank You. 00:27:50.70\00:27:52.38 And I want to invite you to be back with us again 00:27:52.41\00:27:55.64 until next time on Thinking About Home. 00:27:56.22\00:27:59.42