That 180 Movie you have heard about

Here is the link to it on youtube. I guess you know it is about abortion. It's only 33 minutes and it's well worth watching.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7y2KsU_dhwI&feature=player_embedded


bless you


and I promise I'll be back soon with a proper blog post : )

Lynn

One profound quote for today

We have adopted the convenient theory that the Bible is a Book to be explained, whereas first and foremost it is a Book to be believed; and after that to be obeyed! ~Leonard Ravenhill (1907–1994)

blessings to you all

with love

Lynn xx

 

 

Bonnie Grace Gadd has joined my family : ) 9th April 2011

My darling daughter Josie and her husband Phil welcomed their first child, Bonnie Grace Gadd (I love her name) into the world on Saturday morning 9th of April, unexpectedly, at home in Southport, Queensland.

As you can see by the photographs, she is perfect!

The girls and I flew up to Queensland the next day and spent 12 days in an apartment nearby. Big sister Zoe currently lives around the corner from Josie and Phil and baby Bonnie and was waiting outside to take the couple to the nearby Birth Centre when Bonnie made her arrival. 

Bonnie Grace is my third beautiful grand daughter. She joins my son Toby's children, Caitlin who is nine and Mia who is two plus my only grandson (so far) Jake who is six. They all live here in Canberra.

I am so thankful for this precious little blessing who has joined my family. I delighted in adding her to my family tree and creating a special one just for her.

Josie is a wonderful mother, as I knew she would be! I am so proud of her. Phil is a loving Daddy and husband and is so proud of both his girls. 

You can be sure I will share more photographs of Bonnie with you, she is such a sweet adorable little girl. (just like her mummy)

What a wonderful early Easter gift!! Bonnie Grace, welcome and God bless you always little one!

I hope and pray you all had such a wonderful Easter too

with love always
Lynn

Babies and Culture

I have been thinking about the pressure put on mothers by our culture, especially in regard to newborns and babies under a year old. There seem to be so many unrealistic expectations floating around that seem to over look the nature of babies and the heart of a mother.

It begins before the birth, with all and sundry wanting to know what gender the new baby will be, with expectant mothers being regaled with every horror birth story known (why do women do that to one another?) and advice being offered about everything from where the baby should sleep, what injections the baby "must" have and how to make sure you get "me" time once the little one has arrived!!!

Everyone seems to have an opinion, often people without children seem to have the loudest ones ; )

Whoever said a baby should do anything? So called "experts" from the 50's? I think they started a wind that grew into a cyclone of misinformation and pressure on women to conform, to have a "good" baby, to be seen to be a "super mum". Isn't it beyond time for women to take back what has been stolen from them?

They could start by listening to their instincts, surrounding themselves with voices of experience and women who imbue them with confidence in themselves, "secret women's business" some might call it and it's been lost for too long. If younger women don't have an older experienced mother to guide them and encourage them, they need to find at least one! Top priority. Essential. Look at their relationship with their older children and the behaviour of those children. If you like what you see, are impressed, listen and observe their mothering, ask questions. They can share their wisdom with you.

A new baby is a unique blessing. No book has been written about him or her yet. The mother is the "expert". She's been learning and growing with the baby for around nine months before it's in her arms. Of course Dad's are important too, but they don't have the honour of carrying that little one under their heart, so uncomfortably in the later stages, for all that time, not to mention the birth itself.

Babies belong in their mother's arms most of the time. To be fed from her breast, to hear her heartbeat, that beautiful familiar sound they love, to be secure and warm and ever so well loved. They will naturally sleep best there, be comforted there, drink the liquid love right there.

What kind of culture do mothers and babies do battle with every day? The kind that says babies should be fed on schedule, sleep at times convenient for the parents, make as little noise as possible and sleep in their own cot in their own room from day 1. This is the culture that also says women are only worthwhile beings if they are in the paid work force, so artificial feeding and child care/school is inevitable. What a lie that is! and who perpetuates that lie, women! How ironic. How sad.

What if babies were a blessing? (of course, they are!) What if women could develop the self confidence and understanding they need while learning how to be a mother, on the job training so to speak. What if that sweet little baby could teach the woman how to be a mother, if she would only listen and watch and respond as her heart tells her. As her aching breasts tell her. As her heart full of unconditional love tells her. Maybe then this "culture" would fade into the background, with the countless opinions of people who don't know YOUR baby, and you could be the mother you were destined to be? Dare you risk it? I pray you do.

There is a path that leads to freedom, freedom from the expectations of others, from culture, from being someone you don't want to be with children you don't actually like. You CAN follow your heart, feed your baby when he/she needs to feed, (you cannot over feed a fully breastfed baby) sleep with your baby without fear of smothering them (anyone who is not under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol can safely co-sleep) use disposable nappies guilt free (research has proven cloth nappies have a similar environmental impact to disposables) and skip the PKU blood test, the Hepatitis injection and all the immunisations without criminal charges being laid. You can stay at home forever and do the most important job in the world, be a mother.

You can take back your right to mother as you please, no apologies to anyone.

Look carefully at where our "culture" has taken us over the last 60 years. Rampant functional illiteracy, 36,000 children in out of home care across Australia, an obscene rate of abortion, scary promiscuity in younger and younger children, a terrible rate of drug and alcohol abuse, so many children with no respect for authority, parental or otherwise, criminal activity in younger and younger children, more and more parents giving up trying to parent in despair.

We can make different choices for our babies. They depend on us for everything! What an honour it is!

We can ensure they have the best start and the best future! Why follow a culture/system in disarray? Why not choose a different path? Not the most popular path but just maybe the best one for you and your child. Maybe a path that was destined before you were even born.

You won't be alone. Some of us are already here, with our children and grandchildren. My love to you whatever path you choose.

Lynn

My Friend Ray 1941-2011

Life often unexpectedly changes and since that Blog on January 21st I have not only gained a daughter but lost a dear friend.

Here is the piece I wrote on Facebook about Ray, I will never forget him or the gift his friendship was to me.

The Winds of Change.........

I last wrote to you on January 21st, about the gift of people with intellectual disabilities. It was also around that time that I thought about my hearts desire from a very young age, to welcome a disabled child into my family. I figured at almost 55 years of age that dream would never be realised and I was content with that. I trust God to know me and know what's best for me and He has never failed me!

I had always wondered why people were so distraught (some to the point of murdering their unborn child) at finding they were expecting a child with Down Syndrome, or in fact a child with any kind of disability that can be detected by prenatal testing (don't get me started on the dubious practice of prenatal testing, that's another blog altogether!!) when I had always found them to be so delightful, so affectionate, such lovers of music and so easy to love.

Maybe the Lord has prepared me for this ministry since my birth? I have a disabled aunt only nine years older than me and a disabled cousin just a little younger, and I believe I have a God-given gift of understanding and enabling those so often labelled "disabled". I worked with disabled children in residential care (10 children per house, an effort to replicate a normal family but as I see it now, far, far from it) for three years after I finished my nursing training way back in 1977. I loved the children but chose to return to nursing in an effort to become a midwife. Shortly afterward I found I was expecting my first baby and my days of being in the paid workforce gladly came to an end ; )

Fast forward to Monday, January 31st 2011, ten days after my last post.

I had a routine visit from my case worker (I have been a foster carer of one 16 year old girl for the last two and a half years) and at the end of this visit she tentatively mentioned a child who needed a home desperately. She told me she was only eight years old,  had multiple disabilities caused by a chromosome problem (not Down Syndrome but there are some similarities) and that her previous carer was not able to care for her any longer, after a six year placement.

Whoa, an eight year old? At my age? Me, Panic? Yep : ) Does the Lord know your hearts desire? Definitely yes! Does He give it to you in YOUR perfect timing, maybe not ; ) He knows best, always. No exceptions.

Do I trust Him, you bet!! I took a few minutes to get my head around the concept. A child with nowhere to call home? No one to love and accept her? No one to guide her and enable her? Unthinkable. There was only one answer. When is she coming? The answer surprised me, it was "this afternoon after school".

And so Tish arrived. Bouncy, happy, full of life, like a cheerful cyclone in our lives ; ) A beautiful, delightful, wonderful, engaging, clever ball of endless energy and such a blessing. Perfect timing in so many ways, a dream fulfilled when it was least expected. His grace abounds, when we are willing to trust Him.

It's been six weeks and I would be lying if I said it had all been easy. Adjusting is rarely easy, but oh so rewarding. She has settled in exceptionally well. It's been like living with a new born baby in so many ways, and I did feel as I did after I had my babies, that the world looked different, brighter, changed by her little presence. I am honoured to have been chosen for her, I am thankful the Lord graciously provides for all my needs so I can be the best mummy for her.

I believe this little girl was chosen for my family long before she was born, in fact, long before I was born. God's idea of time is nothing like ours. He sees the big picture and lovingly controls it all, for His glory and for our benefit, in this life and the next. I am so blessed to have the opportunity I was content to live without, if it was God's will.


So stay tuned for the exciting adventures of Tish, my greatly loved fifth daughter and sixth child and an absolute blessing to my whole extended family, and you know who you are ; )

Love and blessings to you all
Lynn xxxx

The gift of people with intellectual disabilities

Written in reference to the Blog here

http://disabledchristianity.blogspot.com/2011/01/differences-called-disabilities.html

The topic was whether disabled people are a result of the fall or designed by God to be just as they are.

Here is my response to Jeff:

Hi Jeff, what an interesting can of worms you have opened up here. I guess we could debate who is right and who is wrong, but that wouldn't achieve anything. The fact is, intellectually disabled people just ARE. How they came to be that way is almost irrelevant, while their lives and the impact of their lives on those around them is huge.

I am blessed to have some people with intellectual disabilities in my family and others are much loved friends. Their life journeys have been anything but easy. What has been their greatest difficulty? Dare I say, sadly, a lack of acceptance, a lack of respect.

So many people are scared of these people. (the lesser of this list of evils) Others are repulsed by them. Still others see them as vulnerable and take advantage of them. Others speak to them like they are nothing and nobody.

Yet some treat them with the love, dignity and respect they deserve as God's handiwork, a reflection of His glory, put here on earth for His Holy purposes. Too few, sadly.

I was involved in a discussion related to this myself only yesterday. One woman was telling me about her precious three year old grand daughter with Down Syndrome.

Her sister in law was (at the same time, without listening, obviously) sharing about how her daughter had had prenatal testing, aged 35, because she didn't want a baby with disabilities.

She was talking about someone close to me. I was quietly horrified. I said calmly that I would hate to think any babies would get to heaven prematurely because they were deemed to be "imperfect". I asked who of us were without imperfections and weaknesses, and did we deserve to have our lives taken from us due to these conditions?

One had a heart complaint, another diabetes, another cancer. None perfect. Some might have suffering ahead of them. Reason to kill? Of course not!

I believe every baby created by God is a blessing and a reward from Him, no exceptions, no returns.

I believe that inside every person with an intellectual disability is a healthy living soul and spirit in perfect condition, just as there is in every other human being; be they blind, physically disabled, suffering diseases or deformities, living with cancer or any other medical conditions or mental illnesses, and yes, even the able bodied people who reject Christ and all He stands for.

All here for a reason, all valuable to the God who made them, all loved beyond measure unconditionally, all precious in His sight.

Our God does not discriminate. He loves each and every one of us the same, sacrificially and not because of anything we have done or can do to please Him.

I can see God's sovereignty in each intellectually disabled person, just because they ARE, not because of anything they can do or achieve or not. Because God is God and He made them. Just like He made us. Because His grace is enough. For us and them.

Be blessed and be a blessing Jeff. Be the voice of reason in this age of self and the search for perfection at any price. To God be the glory.