Preparing for the Miracle

CHANGING PEOPLE’S LIVES!

It was during our weekly coffee date in February 2009, when Christo broke the news! One of our suppliers of whom we are the Franchisee in the Northern suburbs of the Cape Peninsula -  was running a competition for the ‘Franchisee of the year’. The Franchisee of the year would be chosen not only on sales but also on the testimonies of life change in the people who benefitted from using their products!  And the price? A holiday to Mauritius! 

I remember looking at him and saying: “Mauritius here we come!” and promise to diligently pray that God would give him all the wisdom and insight to help every client the Lord send into our shop!

At Eirene Health Shop we have state of the art products, and it is daily changing people's quality of life. Thus it wasn't difficult to pray that God would send more people for blood analysis and favour Christo to help seriously ill people. 

Christo has a passion to teach people to take responsibility for and take care of their bodies themselves. 

Live Blood Analysis is our main tool in helping people to do so. We believe God appointed us to redirect people to treat their bodies as the temple of God, to stop stuffing it with bad food and chemical medicines and help them recognise heathy food and using God's natural medicine to treat it.  So often Christians’ bodies are in a terrible state when they reach the age of 40 to 50 years (heart diseases, diabetes, using anti-depression drugs, cancer etc). This is supposed to be the peak of their ministry, but due to their bad physical state they are then not able to fulfill their God given calling!

It was soon evident that God was answering my prayers. Christo was sending in amazing testimonies. But as soon as I realized Mauritius was actually in reach, I had to change my prayer. We wanted to change peoples live, but God must please keep us from being the Franchisee of the year! There was no way I could go on a holiday to Mauritius and leave my seven precious children at home  -oldest 15years old and youngest a mere 15 months old!  On top of it, I was pregnant again and we would have a newborn baby by the time the Franchisee of the year had to claim their prize.

Throughout the year, Christo stayed at the top of the franchisee list and I was on a roller coaster of emotions. I desperately longed for the opportunity to win the holiday in Mauritius, but what about my children? 

Daniel was still very small, I would have a newborn baby and we didn't know anyone who would be able to take care of 7 children for a week.

During December we discussed it with the older children and I admitted to them that we would not be able to accept it. They where very upset and insisted that we must take it if our health shop won! They even started to make suggestions of what could work.

TWO FIRST PRICES ON ONE DAY

On the 29th of January we not only became the proud parents of a healthy sixth son and eight child, we also received an e-mail announcing Christo as The Franchisee for 2009!  Clearly God wanted to bless us more than we could think or imagine and allowed us to win the holiday to Mauritius, 

but I had no idea as to how it would be possible to pull it off.  So, I diligently started praying again, asking the Lord to show us exactly how it would be possible to leave our children for seven days, and go on a Mauritius holiday with an almost newborn baby!

GOD SEND PEOPLE LOOKING AFTER OUR CHILDREN

We preferred that the children all stayed together and in their familiar environment.  It would be far to unsettling for them to be moved to someone else’s home, and the older children had extramural activities to attend, while we would be away. 

The older children preferred that we only get someone to stay with them during night times.  They knew the daily routines of the little ones and only needed help with supper, putting the little ones to bed and be there during the night. 

It had to be someone who didn’t have a family of her own and for whom it would not be too much of a sacrifice to come and sleep in our house. This was a tough call and I couldn’t think of anyone who would fit the above description!

Only 3 weeks after we got the e-mail, I ran into the mother of a young woman who babysat our children three years ago, after which she committed herself to a year of missionary work to young adults in the Silver Ring Thing program. 

She was now a working lady and would get married in December.  While I was talking to her mother, I heard the soft voice of the Lord - “She is the one you are looking for.” I almost loudly shouted out with joy! I called her the moment I arrived home. She was her bubbling self and full of excitement. 

She agreed to take care of the children after working hours. 


With great anticipation the arrangements for our holiday started, but a part of me just couldn’t be totally at peace.  Would my children really be okay during the day?  Would the older children be able to handle difficult situations with their siblings all day long, without the help and strong hand of an adult? 

Then two weeks before we would leave, the Lord sent more people across our way who offered to keep an eye on the children.  A very special friend of Christo, who is in full time ministry, offered that either he or his wife would visit the children every morning, check on them and play with the little ones. 

A home school friend ‘gave’ us her 13year old daughter (this mother has little ones and her daughter is her right hand during the day!) to come help my older children with their younger siblings.  They also drove every day of the weekend and alternative days during the week (once got stuck in traffic for an hour, due to rain) 50 km, from Fish Hoek to come and check/play with the children!

Our neighbours promised to check on them every morning and the grandparents, 

my sister-in-law and another friend took turns to take CJ and Josua to horse riding lessons and Heidi-Mari and Danika to ballet classes.

WORKED OUT DAILY ROUTINES, -CHORES AND A MENU

The few weeks before we left, I prepared extra meals alongside our supper and put it in the freezer.  I worked out a detailed menu, telling them exactly what they must have for breakfast, lunch and supper, when to take frozen meals out of the freezer, when to put a bread in the bread machine and when to do laundry. 

I also worked out a detailed daily routine for every day.  Giving every child specific chores for the day and made use of the buddy system, assigning an older child to a younger sibling to take care of during craft projects, mealtimes and bath times.

The children obviously didn’t stay on these routines 100%, but it guided them through the day. It helped them to feed the little ones nutritious meals, like they are used to and keep the little ones in their sleeping pattern.

PRAYING FOR OUR CHILDREN’S SAFETY

The week before we left, we almost thought our holiday was doomed.  I got in contact with measles, while being out the morning and only realized it hours later, after I got home and kissed and hugged my children.  

We could only depend on the Lord for our family’s safety and protection and decided to use communion every evening, for the next 7 nights during supper - calling on the Lord for His divine healing.  It was an awesome time with every supper and strengthened our faith to trust the Lord with our children’s and our own health and safety while separated.  

Needless to say, nobody got seriously hurt or ill while we were away.

COMPASSION AND UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN OUR CHILDREN

While we were away we were pleasantly surprised by the sacrifices the older children went through for their younger siblings.

Heidi-Mari was responsible for little Daniel (21 months old at that stage).  The weeks before we left, we deliberately simulated situations during which she would came to his rescue and strengthen the already strong relationship between them, so he would experience as little as possible insecurity, while we are away.

Daniel isn’t a good sleeper at night and he was even worse while we were away, but still Heidi-Mari stayed patient and understanding and took care of her baby brother (he is only a bigger baby) every night, despite her deprived sleep. 

Every night she put him in the African Carrier and rocked him asleep! 

The African Carrier is 99% the same as the Ergo. 

CJ again was taking on the over all responsibility of looking out for his siblings.  We knew Danika would loose a baby tooth, while we were away.  Only two days after we left, the tooth was painfully loose.  

Big brother CJ, remembered how Dad did it, and with little formalities pulled her tooth.  

The special part was when he took into consideration his little sister’s heart and on his own initiative, made sure the Tooth Fairy paid her a visit...

After returning from Mauritius, I observed a stronger union between my children.  Josua especially used his ability to entertain his younger siblings and became more confident in himself.

In the next posting I will share Experiencing the Miracle.

Do You Celebrate Life or Death on Mothersday?

This mothersday, ironically falls on the 50 year celebration of the contraceptive pill. How shocked I was when I read all the 'amazing attributes' of the pill. 

Over the past few years I'm intrigued by the bad attitude and sad emotional state of women. Christo and I often debates why women become more and more bitter and depressed, the older they get.

A few months ago I ran into a woman whom we've met about 10 years ago while presenting a marriage enriching seminar. We met a few times over the past years during which she got divorced and remarried. The last time we met, was a few weeks before Michael's birth.  Within minutes after we said our hello's, her eyes became damped with unshed tears as she shared her deep desire to have another baby. But her new husband refused to have a baby.   She's in her late thirties and her children is moving into their teenage years now.  The reason she wanted another baby, was to feel needed again! Her children is growing up and her one daughter moved in with her dad, who also remarried and since had a new baby. She felt she didn't have purpose anymore, although she has a successful career and a new husband who deeply love her and who is at the peak of his career.    

What this woman is experiencing isn't an isolated incident. Since I have a baby every 18 months I constantly hear women's desires, similar to this woman.  The longing to have a baby again!  

But often they don’t see a way to having another baby. It is a universal desire - something God has put inside every women - the desire to have and hold babies!

This brings me to the 'celebration' of the contraceptive pill! The above story and stories of many more women I know, receives e-mails from and talk to, just confirm that over the last 50 years the contraceptive pill has left behind a blood trail of death and destruction. Not only is it killing thousands of babies every year through it's abortion effect, it also kills women in the essence of their creation! 

Woman are created to be Life-givers! We are created in the image of God as nurturers. But the feminist movement of the 1960's has come to make woman believe they've been freed by the contraceptive pill to become whatever they want to and what their sisters before them, could not. Over the past 50 years, due to the contraceptive pill, women have had control over their fertility and very often against their deepest desire prevented pregnancy. They lived the ‘Feminist dream’, leaving them bitter and unfulfilled!

On Thursday night Christo showed me an article on Health24. According to this article "the contraceptive pill gave women the freedom to choose when to have children and how many to have, and those simple choices profoundly changed their lives. Women could now follow a career, have advanced degrees, have equalities in the workplace, in the family, in education, in the sexual relationship itself and women have the legal right to choose to be a mom!”

But if it was true that the contraceptive pill gave women so much more freedom, why are these women so bitter and depressed and 'unhappy'!  I have yet to meet a mother of six or more children who is bitter, depressed and 'unhappy'.  These mothers flourish! They go through even more hardships than their sisters with one or two children. They work 24 hours a day, taking care of and nourishing their many little children, at night they fall exhausted into bed next to their beloved. Still, there is something else when you look into their eyes.  There is life! These mothers are living life, experiencing life, enjoying life!

Reminding me of 1 Tim 2:15

“Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety.”

According to the article “Beyond women dying in childbirth, the physical health of a woman who has two, three, four children as opposed to eight, nine, 10 kids - her physical health throughout her entire life is going to be much better as a result of being able to control her fertility," I would like to see the scientific proof for such a grossly, inaccurate assumption!  Except for God’s Word that says we will be preserved through embracing motherhood and the bearing of children, a woman’s body is created for this task and her womanly functions undergoes atrophy when they are no longer used, thus our physical health decrease tremendously when we ‘control our fertility’!

I like to quote some ideas from Nancy Campbell’s article in Above Rubies #77 - Preserved through Motherhood:

Preserved Physically:

“Ovarian cancer is on the increase today.  One of the reasons is that women are cutting off childbearing.  Pregnancy and breastfeeding provide a crucial resting period for the ovaries.  Because of limiting their families, most women today are ovulating about 450 times during their life time instead of only about 150 times.”  Since I, Linnie, have given my fertility to the Lord in June 2004, I’ve only ovulated 6 times!  That is 6 times in comparison with more or less 75 times if I haven’t had babies over the past 6 years. An article called, Timing of Pregnancy and the Risk of Epithelial Ovarian Cancer, states: “The accumulated evidence from epidemiological studies suggests that the risk of epithelial cancer of the ovary is strongly related to the number of ovulations throughout a woman’s reproductive life.”  Read more in Above Rubies #77 on the case studies on ovarian cancer and childbearing.

Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in women.  With every menstrual cycle, cells in the breast grow and divide and therefore have the possibility of accumulating mutations which could lead to breast cancer.  Therefore, the longer a mother breastfeeds, the less likelihood of breast cancer.   

The level of Estriol, a protective estrogen hormone, is 1,000 times higher during pregnancy to protect the mother and developing baby.  This wonderful pregnancy hormone not only decrease the incidence of breast cancer with 58%, but also has anti-aging properties - just another proof of God’s way is always the best way - we are preserved through motherhood.

Oxytocin and Prolactin are hormones produced in the pregnant and nursing mother.  Oxytocin is a ‘calming’ hormone.  When the mother puts the baby to the breast and the milk lets down, she experiences a calming feeling that comes over her.  Often she will fall to sleep on the job!  I know of very few other jobs in the market place that have that effect on women - quite the contrary!  Prolactin also has a calming and sedating affect upon the mother.  This hormone binds the mother to the baby and cases her to be very motherly and protective.  I, Linnie, experience being a ‘better’, more loving mother with every new baby!

Here are just a few more plusses you receive from progesterone which jumps up 100 times when you are pregnant.  Not only does it guard you from breast cancer, but it protects you from cardiac-related health problems and also promotes the function and maintenance of the brain.  Progesterone helps alleviate anxiety and depression by increasing your production of GABA (Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid), the neurotransmitter that causes you to feel calm and relaxed.  GABA is often called the ‘sleep inducer’!  I, Linnie, can testify for this too. I never mind for being awake so often with a new baby, I fall asleep very easily again, because of this hormone! 

If all this is not enough, progesterone also improves the immune system, builds bones, improves hearing, protect from seizures and decreases allergies, irritable bowel syndrome, interstitial cystitis and water retention.

Preserved Emotionally:

As we have already learned, God gives calming hormones to nursing mothers that help her stress levels - no need for Prozac and all its terrible side-effects!

Having children delivers us from a self-centered life!  Before we have children, we have time to dote on ourselves.  We are prone to self-pity and selfishness but children take our mind off of ourselves as we minister to their needs.  We are much better, emotionally, when we care for others and especially for babies and little ones!

We can rejoice that motherhood deliver us from emotional weakness.  For the sake of children we must not give into emotional stress.  We have to be strong and take courage, exercising self-control and a disciplined life.  Again I, Linnie, can testify to this truth!  I don’t have time to indulge in emotional weakness and depression.  Looking into the innocent face of my baby or hearing my toddlers play and laugh together is the best medicine for feeling down!

We come back again to the eternal law that Jesus gave, “Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.” (Luke 17:33)

Preserved Spiritually:

Due to the contraceptive pill, thousands of women have been lured from the home to “follow a career, have advanced degrees, have equalities in the workplace”.  Women have been deceived to think that childbearing is an inferior task when all along it is the greatest mission given to them. Women came to believe they can only find status in doing what a man does, whereas a woman doesn’t have to do what a man does to find her worth.  She finds her worth in who God created her to be - a Woman!  She has been given the wondrous gift to conceive life, to nurture it in her womb and to nourish, mother and train this life!  

How deceived has our generation become, to believe that we can celebrate motherhood and the pill, together! To believe woman have the legal right to choose to be a mom?

May the Lord have mercy on us and bring us back to His will for Mothers.  May we come to our senses and acknowledge Him as the Life-giver, giving back to Him the right to choose for us whether we are a mother and of how many!

I'm Back Again!

I was so touched by everyone’s e-mails of concerns that everything was all right at the Lues household, since I didn’t do a posting for two weeks!  Thank you for your prayers!

Yes, everything is fine in the Lues-household. Coming back to normality after two very interesting weeks!  Christo, Michael and I have just arrived back from an amazing 7 days in Mauritius! 

In January, Christo was chosen as the Franchisee of the Year for Sevenpointfive and we won a holiday in Mauritius.  After hours of prayer and planning we pulled it off and God blessed my husband and me (and little Michael too) more than I could ever have imagined!

This week in Mauritius was not only a week in which my husband and I could talk and talk for hours, 

enjoy the island of love, 

and have excellent food (which I didn’t need to prepare myself - what a blessing!), 

but a testimony of God’s love and faithfulness.  

I cannot wait to share it with you, so it can be an encouragement for you too, of the greatness of the God we serve! 

But, for now I’m going to wrap my beautiful children in love and enjoy upcoming Mothersday!

This morning - I'm somewhere between my children and the blankets!

Blessed Mothersday to you all!

The 'Coffee-holic' in my home!

There is a little boy in my home who absolutely love to clean my cappuccino cup!

It isn’t his fault his oldest brother makes the best cappuccino in the Cape.  

And after he finished my cup, there is still Daddy’s espresso cup to clean.

“Now this was a real good one!”

“Now I can start my day!”

Goat Mother or Sheep Mother?

WHAT’S IN A NAME?   by Nancy Campbell

Recently I was reading a booklet entitled, “Train Up A Child” by Doug Duncan.  He tells the story of a New Zealand sheep farmer who diversified into raising goats.  This farmer noticed a difference in the way the sheep and goat mothered their young.  The ewes would stay in close proximity to their lambs, always ready to protect.  The goats, however, would invariably herd their young together into one spot on a knoll and leave them while they went off to forage for the day.

I checked this out with my father.  Considering he has been a world champion sheep shearer and shorn well over a million sheep in his lifetime, I thought he would know a bit about sheep!  He confirmed that ewes will never wander away any further than earshot form their lambs.

As I thought about this, I wondered if this is the reason we now call our children ‘kids’.  Is it because we have become a society of ‘goat mothers’, who are quite prepared to leave our little ones and go off for the day?  Of course, you’ll remember how often God talks about separating the sheep from the goats!

Are we ‘goat mother’ of ‘sheep mothers’?  A challenging question.

As I have talked about this with some young mothers, they have decided to call their little ones, ‘lambs’ instead of ‘kids’.  They immediately noticed a different attitude toward their children.  They feel more motherly and gentle.  It’s easy to scream at ‘kids’, but not so easy at ‘little lambs’.  In fact, a generation ago, it was common to hear parents call their children ‘my little lambs’ or even pray, ‘keep my little lamb safe through this night.’

I have also decided to stop using the word ‘kids’ and call my children what God says they are.  I still forget, but I’m gradually learning.  I notice that nowhere in the Bible are children referred to as ‘kids’ or even ‘teenagers’.

What shall we call them?  Apart from ‘children’ and ‘sons and daughters;, there are other names we can use.  These will make us realize how precious and wonderful our children are in God’s eyes.  Let’s have a look at what God calls them…

A heritage from the Lord

The fruit of the womb

Arrows

Rewards

Blessings

Gifts

Olive plants

Corner stones

Lambs

Sighs and wonders

The work of God’s hands

Our children will become what we call them.  In fact even the word ‘children’ is a powerful word when we understand its true meaning.  It comes from the Hebrew word ‘banah’ which means ‘to build’.  A child is ‘a builder of the family name’.  This is what God is interested in - building godly generations.

NANCY CAMPBELL

References to what God call our children:

Gen. 33:5; 48:9; Joshua 24:3; 1 Chron. 25:5-6; 26:4-5; Ps. 127:3-5; 128:3-4; 144:12; Is. 8:18; 29:23-24; 40:11.

Since a read this article by Nancy Campbell, about 6 years ago, I could never call my children kids.  The word just got stuck in my throat every time I wanted to say it, but I also couldn’t call them my little lambs, although I wanted to!  It sounded strange and unnatural. Still, the idea of my children being my lambs, were always upfront in my thoughts.

This year as autumn hit South Africa and the nights become colder, I discovered that Daniel and David had outgrown their pajamas.  I had just finished Danika’s princess dress and my sewing machines wasn’t put away yet, so I decided to make them new pajamas. Last winter I bought thick pajama material, but only made CJ a warm top.  I had enough left to make Daniel and David’s pajamas.  

They absolutely loved their pajamas!  

David couldn’t stop telling me how nice and warm it felt on his skin the first few nights he put it on.  And then as I took them in my arms, I all of a sudden could say it!  They felt just like little lambs and every time I called them my lambs the love in my heart for them just grew! It was so liberating to call them by the name I had for them in my heart for all these years! 

They are my lambs, and I am their sheep mother, keeping them near to me, so I can train them.

I just came from a children’s party this morning.  The birthday child (who turned four), his brother and all the other children, except my children, are in playgroups and state schools every day of their life, while the mothers are pursuing their careers and hobbies.  I couldn’t help but notice how obstinate and far astray these kids where and they were only between 4 and 8 years old!

As I was putting my little lambs in bed tonight I thanked the Lord that I’m a sheep mother, raising little lambs under the guidance of the Good Shepherd! Without the Good Shepherd’s guidance I would never be able to do this!

Dear mother, what are you raising?  Lambs or kids?