Hello all,
Recently I have become aware of a very disturbing trend in American society. The attitude towards large families. I guess the way I was raised, I thought large families were normal, I thought they were just a choice the parents had made. I didn't realize the hate that exists towards those of us who have/come from large families.
I started asking myself, what is wrong with this picture? Why are large families not appreciated? Why the hatred and blame? Then the Lord brought a verse to mind...
"Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb are his reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are the children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them. They shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies at the gate." (Psalm 127: 3-5)
As I contemplated this verse, I noticed some things, first of all, Children are the heritage of the Lord. When I looked up the word heritage means: 'something that comes or belongs to one by reason of birth; an inherited lot or portion: a heritage of poverty and suffering; a national heritage of honor, pride, and courage.' Children are litterally the inheritance of the Lord, and he rewards us with them. What a great blessing! We are given children to teach them up in the ways of the Lord, and then they will be the light to the next generation! Why would you not want several? The next part of the verse says that children are like arrows in the hand of a warrior. I wondered why God compared children to a wepon. Then I was thinking about an article I read. It was written by a very hateful man who used profanity and slurs to try to get his point across. He was quite upset about Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar's seventeenth child. He asked the question, where are the liberal atheists to having 17 children to balance out the "hyper-christians" and all their kids. I think he is onto something. The world is not having more than 1 or 2 children, due many times I think to selfishness. Those children are raised in the liberal views, and generally will follow in their footsteps. Think of the inpact then, if Christian families averaged 6 children, every 1 Christian family would equal 3 families of 2 children. How God could work in our nation if our Children followed his way! They are a lethal wepon against the devils advances in our evil world. The Lord goes on to tell us that "they shall not be ashamed" The world is trying to pour shame on large families. Most parents of more than 4 children have heard sneers and jeers in public, and people generally giving them a hard time.. ("Dont you know how to use birth control? There is no way you can love that many kids.. Your kids will grow up unscocialized.. Dont you know you are being selfish having so many? You are irresponsible!) But the Bible tells us that those with children will not be ashamed. In my mind this is yet again another place where the world sees God, and does the opposite.
Please don't take these observations to mean that it is a sin not to have a large family, just that large families are a blessing from God. Each child is. I can not wait to bring our little blessing into this world!
Well, I need to go to bed.. After I finish studying for Sunday School tomorrow.
Jennie
Saturday, January 31
Wednesday, January 28
Vaccinations, and other random child issues I am researching
Hello all,
I am again stuck in bed sick, so I thought I would go ahead and put my thoughts on some very controversial topics on here. (Funny, it seems everything I am passionate about, has some sort of controversy attached)
As I mentioned in my post yesterday I have been doing a lot of research on Vaccines. A lot of people vaccinate their kids when the doctor says that they should, and do not think about what they are putting in their kids bodies. I have done some research, and have been rather scared by what I have found. Their are many studies out there that show that the vaccines that we give out kids, may in fact be the reason why SIDS, and Autism, as well as a number of learning disabilities have become so commen in the last 50 or 60 years. On website that I went to, called "ThinkTwice" even has a place for parents to write in with stories about how the vaccines affected their kids! I found the stories to be very frightening. In some cases, the baby is fine, but screams bloody murder for hours. In most of the cases that they have posted on the website, the children either died, or had physical or mental problems that they had never seen before in their child. To be fair to both sides however, I also spent quite a bit of time on the FDA's website dedicated to vaccines, and immunizations, as well as CDC's website.
I found some key points from both sides, and tried to weigh the risk of both vaccinating, and not vaccinating.
Pros to vaccinations:
*They have cut way down on the number of people who die from the diseases that they are used for.
*They work more effectively if most or all of the population is vaccinated to produce what is known as the community immunity idea.
*They make it much easier to put you child in school, as vaccine records are requested, and there is some paperwork to go through if you opt out.
*It fosters a "safe" feeling in the community as a whole.
*By preventing the diseases through the vaccines, we save more lives than we lose in the process.
Cons to Vaccines:
*Parents are not really told what the risk is when they take their child in for the shots.
*Many children to experience adverse reactions, even if they are not long term or severe.
*There are many apparent links to vaccines and illnesses and abnormalities, such as autism, physical disabilities, mental problems, and SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome)
*While vaccines have done a good job cutting down on the illnesses they are here to prevent, they have also opened up many new illnesses, such as Autism.
*Several vaccines given at one time ultimately end up weakening, instead of strengthening an infant or young child's immune system.
*These problems seem to be happening more and more, instead of levelling off.
I have read both sides, and have personally decided against vaccinating Judah. But I am willing to admit it may be an emotional decision that I use the facts to support. A couple of years ago, my friend Heather had a baby, and a few days after his 3 month vaccine, she found him in his crib, dead. The doctors ruled it SIDS, but refused to even acknowledge that the vaccines might be responsible. They told Heather that adverse reactions are"extremely rare" but that isn't much comfort on your way home from your 3 month old son's funeral.
The other thing that caught my attention is that the government insists that the vaccinations are safe, and yet they have set up a fund for parents who lose their children to the vaccine. The name of the system is VAERS. (Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System) And if you go to the actual site, you can search by age, type of vaccine, if the child actually died, and all that. There are thousands of entries. Some died, some had serious illness, and hospitalization. If they are so safe, like the doctors tell us, why the system? Why is their a fund to reimburse these families? (as is money can really fill the hole) Also, why are parents who receive money from the fund told not to talk about their story?
So this is where I have fallen on this issue.
One other thing I am still looking into is circumcision, so if any of you have any information on that, I would LOVE to look into it.
And one more thing I have been looking into is something they call "Orgasmic Birth" It is a home birth, where the mom is completely relaxed, and actually, instead of a painful labor has what some have described as a "blissful" labor and delivery. I would love to know if it is legitimate.. because I like "bliss" way better than "agony" I never even knew this stuff would matter to me so much before I found out I was pregnant. Chris told me he wants me to have the first baby in the hospital, and after that he is open to home birth. I am very excited about that. I think it will be much more relaxed. I have heard horror stories about hospital stays and labor, and everyone that I know who gave birth at home said it was much easier to just do what their body told them to do, instead of having doctors peering at you every 10 minutes.
Anyways, I guess this is enough of all that, I am tired, and still feeling sick, so I am going to get some sleep! *yawn*
Signing off-
Jennie
I am again stuck in bed sick, so I thought I would go ahead and put my thoughts on some very controversial topics on here. (Funny, it seems everything I am passionate about, has some sort of controversy attached)
As I mentioned in my post yesterday I have been doing a lot of research on Vaccines. A lot of people vaccinate their kids when the doctor says that they should, and do not think about what they are putting in their kids bodies. I have done some research, and have been rather scared by what I have found. Their are many studies out there that show that the vaccines that we give out kids, may in fact be the reason why SIDS, and Autism, as well as a number of learning disabilities have become so commen in the last 50 or 60 years. On website that I went to, called "ThinkTwice" even has a place for parents to write in with stories about how the vaccines affected their kids! I found the stories to be very frightening. In some cases, the baby is fine, but screams bloody murder for hours. In most of the cases that they have posted on the website, the children either died, or had physical or mental problems that they had never seen before in their child. To be fair to both sides however, I also spent quite a bit of time on the FDA's website dedicated to vaccines, and immunizations, as well as CDC's website.
I found some key points from both sides, and tried to weigh the risk of both vaccinating, and not vaccinating.
Pros to vaccinations:
*They have cut way down on the number of people who die from the diseases that they are used for.
*They work more effectively if most or all of the population is vaccinated to produce what is known as the community immunity idea.
*They make it much easier to put you child in school, as vaccine records are requested, and there is some paperwork to go through if you opt out.
*It fosters a "safe" feeling in the community as a whole.
*By preventing the diseases through the vaccines, we save more lives than we lose in the process.
Cons to Vaccines:
*Parents are not really told what the risk is when they take their child in for the shots.
*Many children to experience adverse reactions, even if they are not long term or severe.
*There are many apparent links to vaccines and illnesses and abnormalities, such as autism, physical disabilities, mental problems, and SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome)
*While vaccines have done a good job cutting down on the illnesses they are here to prevent, they have also opened up many new illnesses, such as Autism.
*Several vaccines given at one time ultimately end up weakening, instead of strengthening an infant or young child's immune system.
*These problems seem to be happening more and more, instead of levelling off.
I have read both sides, and have personally decided against vaccinating Judah. But I am willing to admit it may be an emotional decision that I use the facts to support. A couple of years ago, my friend Heather had a baby, and a few days after his 3 month vaccine, she found him in his crib, dead. The doctors ruled it SIDS, but refused to even acknowledge that the vaccines might be responsible. They told Heather that adverse reactions are"extremely rare" but that isn't much comfort on your way home from your 3 month old son's funeral.
The other thing that caught my attention is that the government insists that the vaccinations are safe, and yet they have set up a fund for parents who lose their children to the vaccine. The name of the system is VAERS. (Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System) And if you go to the actual site, you can search by age, type of vaccine, if the child actually died, and all that. There are thousands of entries. Some died, some had serious illness, and hospitalization. If they are so safe, like the doctors tell us, why the system? Why is their a fund to reimburse these families? (as is money can really fill the hole) Also, why are parents who receive money from the fund told not to talk about their story?
So this is where I have fallen on this issue.
One other thing I am still looking into is circumcision, so if any of you have any information on that, I would LOVE to look into it.
And one more thing I have been looking into is something they call "Orgasmic Birth" It is a home birth, where the mom is completely relaxed, and actually, instead of a painful labor has what some have described as a "blissful" labor and delivery. I would love to know if it is legitimate.. because I like "bliss" way better than "agony" I never even knew this stuff would matter to me so much before I found out I was pregnant. Chris told me he wants me to have the first baby in the hospital, and after that he is open to home birth. I am very excited about that. I think it will be much more relaxed. I have heard horror stories about hospital stays and labor, and everyone that I know who gave birth at home said it was much easier to just do what their body told them to do, instead of having doctors peering at you every 10 minutes.
Anyways, I guess this is enough of all that, I am tired, and still feeling sick, so I am going to get some sleep! *yawn*
Signing off-
Jennie
Tuesday, January 27
More from the Hall's
Hello all,
I have to apologize for the long time it has been since I have written on here. Things have been so busy!!
We did get an ultrasound done on Jan 9, but still have not been able to scan the pics into the computer. So we have not been able to get them on-line. As most of you already know, it appears that we are having a baby BOY!! So far we have been able to agree on the name Christopher Judah. We are so excited about Judah coming to live with us, but I am starting to get really scared. Mostly about the whole labour and delivery thing.
Chris tells me that I am already an overprotective mommy. I make such a fuss over what I eat, and how much I drink. Its hard to believe I am going to be 24 weeks on Friday. Its wonderful. Thats 6 months! I am almost in my last trimester! The excitement sure is building.
One of the things that has had me preoccupied is the issue of Vaccines. I have been doing a lot of research on them, and I found a lot of interesting things. I talked with my doctor some time back about my consideration of not vaccinating Judah. I was rather surprised at the strong reaction that I got from her. That made me do some more research. I am sure however, you are not nearly as interested as I am, so I will leave it at that. I have learned quite a bit.
My grandpa sent me season 1 of Perry Mason, an old mystery TV show. I have been really enjoying them. Today I am stayed home from work, because I am sick, and I am finishing them up now.
I am not sure what else to say about the last couple of months. One of these days I am going to take pictures of things here in Bismarck and post them, but ever since I got married I have not carried my camera as faithfully as I did before.
God has been really good to us, It is amazing to watch Him work through our lives. I am still working on memorizing Romans, but I was pretty lazy about it for the last month, so I am redoing a lot now. I want to teach it to Judah when he is young, and in order to do that, I need to become more faithful. Its funny all the things that seem more inportant now that the baby is almost here.
I hope you all have a great week.
-Jennie
I have to apologize for the long time it has been since I have written on here. Things have been so busy!!
We did get an ultrasound done on Jan 9, but still have not been able to scan the pics into the computer. So we have not been able to get them on-line. As most of you already know, it appears that we are having a baby BOY!! So far we have been able to agree on the name Christopher Judah. We are so excited about Judah coming to live with us, but I am starting to get really scared. Mostly about the whole labour and delivery thing.
Chris tells me that I am already an overprotective mommy. I make such a fuss over what I eat, and how much I drink. Its hard to believe I am going to be 24 weeks on Friday. Its wonderful. Thats 6 months! I am almost in my last trimester! The excitement sure is building.
One of the things that has had me preoccupied is the issue of Vaccines. I have been doing a lot of research on them, and I found a lot of interesting things. I talked with my doctor some time back about my consideration of not vaccinating Judah. I was rather surprised at the strong reaction that I got from her. That made me do some more research. I am sure however, you are not nearly as interested as I am, so I will leave it at that. I have learned quite a bit.
My grandpa sent me season 1 of Perry Mason, an old mystery TV show. I have been really enjoying them. Today I am stayed home from work, because I am sick, and I am finishing them up now.
I am not sure what else to say about the last couple of months. One of these days I am going to take pictures of things here in Bismarck and post them, but ever since I got married I have not carried my camera as faithfully as I did before.
God has been really good to us, It is amazing to watch Him work through our lives. I am still working on memorizing Romans, but I was pretty lazy about it for the last month, so I am redoing a lot now. I want to teach it to Judah when he is young, and in order to do that, I need to become more faithful. Its funny all the things that seem more inportant now that the baby is almost here.
I hope you all have a great week.
-Jennie
Thursday, January 1
First Belly Picture!!
Well, my aunt insisted on taking a side shot of me at Christmas, and so I thought I would put the picture up. My little baby must be growing, because I have gained 13 pounds!! I have not done that since I was 13 or 14.. So its a little weird for me.
Chris and I spent from 9 o'clock this morning till almost 5 cleaning house. We did our spring cleaning early, and got everything dusted and washed, and actually caught up on laundry for the first time since.. Well, we got married I think.
Last night we went to Valerie and Chandler's, (friends from Church) and rang in the New Year. We were the only couple to last till midnight, and we had a lot of fun. Their first baby was born in November, and is a big cutie, and I got to hold her last night. She is very content, so I told her to rub that off on my baby!
God had been so good to us in 2008, and looking forward, it can only get better in 2009. I hope you all have a very blessed New Year, and remember to put God first in your lives!!
Jennie
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