Life

 Almost six years since my last post.  Wow.  I have popped on this site several times intending to delete it.  I am not really sure why I have not.  But I decided to give it a try, once again.

Life within the castle walls has changed.  Dramatically.  Maybe that is why I don't write.  Our warriors and maidens have grown.  No longer children.  All grown up, some having their own warriors and maidens.  Some trying to figure out what their next step is.  Some are fighting battles.  Some have fled from the battle and surrendered to the enemy.  Some seem like the enemy.  Wow.....that is real life, not dramatic.  

I decided to have a theme for the new year.  HE IS FAITHFUL.  In the messiness of life sometimes I forget just how faithful God is.  

I was reading an email this morning.  A verse that the sender used was Psalm 119:75. "I know, O LORD, that thy judgments are right, and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me."  I am not saying that the trials that Hubby and I have faced are afflictions from God.  I know, as the sender said, that nothing good or bad comes into our life without God allowing it.  She followed up with Romans 8:28, "...all things work together for good to them that love God, to them that are the called according to His purpose."

The sender went on to remind us that God's faithfulness is to all generations (Ps. 119:90).  God does not pick and choose generations to receive His faithfulness.  God's faithfulness is limitless (Ps. 36:5). He is faithful despite our unfaithfulness (Lam 3:23, 2 Tim. 2:13).

For today that is all.  I am going to reflect on His faithfulness.

It is almost time for Hubby to pull up from work.  I need to get dinner on the table.

A long Time.....

It  has been a very long time since I have written on this blog.  Not sure if anyone ever pops by it or not.  But that is okay.  I don't always blog for others.  I blog for other reasons.  If someone comes by and is encouraged well, Praise the Lord!

I guess life got busy and this blog was neglected.  Not to mention, I started to think of myself as a failure.  How easy it is to get blinded....how Satan just loves to gain victory.  Yes, he knows how to bring me down.  Hit me with my offspring and I go down.  

When I look at the date of my last post...almost four years ago...I remember the low place I was at during that time.  It was not my lowest point, but low indeed.  I had so much on my plate, that if one more thing was added I would surely break.  So I did what I should not have done...built myself a wall to support me.  Or at least that is what I thought at the time.  

I started playing the blame game...but I was the one I always was blaming.  I mean, really, I am the keeper of the home, the home educator, if something or someone went wrong it had to be my fault.  I am the one who is always home, twenty-four/seven.  Boy...Satan loved where he had me.

Over the next several months things started to spiral downward...I knew we needed a break from some things we were doing.  We, I, needed to readjust...we, I, were dry  spiritually.  We took a step of faith for five weeks of letting go of some things so we could be nourished.  Little did we know that we were in for a journey.

That journey came with a price, but it has been worth it.  My warriors and maidens have grown in the process of it...but some have turned from the journey we set out on.  I want to blame myself....if I would have done this or that different...but I have been reminded that we have choices...our choices come with consequences...good and bad.  We are not cookies cut from the exact same cookie cutter.  Do I wish my warriors and maidens were all like me...NO!  I am probably the biggest goof up of all!

When the day comes to an end, I can honestly say that I had done my best to raise my offspring for the Lord and teach them His ways.  They are responsible for what they do with the teaching.  Most are adults...(ten of the fourteen are adults!!!  Wow!  When did that happen??)  I am not on this raising journey alone...I have a wonderful hubby of almost 35 years that has been the leader of our home.  I am writing this from my side.

I came across a quote that I had written down in my "quote" notebook;

"Homegrown children take a lot of hard work and sometimes 'it ain't pretty'.  Other times its breathtaking." 

I have no idea where that quote came from...but it was a quote I needed to revisit.  

So, to the hard work, the 'ain't pretty', and the breathtaking of raising warriors and maidens, "Lord, keep me humble and teachable".

"If I Could Write a Letter..."

There are many things that I would love to write in a letter to my mother.  But it has been a little over two years since she made her grand entrance into heaven.  From a daughter to a mom there are many heartaches, tears, fears and joys I would love to share.  And tonight is not different.  But I have a quick letter that I would love to write her...if I could.

Dearest Mom,

My heart is bursting with joy tonight!  The power of pray is so amazing!  You taught your four children to be prayer warriors.  You were the best prayer warrior! 

For over five years I have been praying for Son-in-love to accept Jesus as his Savior.  I must admit at times I wondered if my prayers reached only my ceiling and not the ears of God.  But that is just what Satan would want me think!  Shame on me!  Guess what????  Tonight he received Christ as his Savior!  Oh Momma!  He is part of the family of God! 

I miss you!  I love you so much and I can not wait to see  you again and give you a big hug!
Thanks for you and Daddy never giving up in teaching me and my siblings!   

Love,

Sam (Kritty Pooh)





 

"Lord, Who am I?"

That is a question I ask myself almost daily as I look in the mirror.  Just taking a  quick look many things come to my mind.  Then I take a longer look,  "Eww, you really DON'T want to color your hair?"  "Man, you could have used more sleep."  "Mmmm, a Mary Kay make over is way over due."  "Umm, how about a new wardrobe?"

Then I look deeper, no, not at the wrinkles, sagging skin, imperfections of the skin, but beyond that..."Lord, who am I?"  I am a child of THE Holy God, a wife, a mother,  a mammi, an aunt, a daughter, a sister,  a friend, most of all a sinner.  

The last one, a sinner, is what really gets me.  I AM A SINNER!  Why would a Holy God want to bother with me?  Maybe because I am worth loving? 

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

What can I say?  I can't argue with scripture.  Amazing how one verse can hold so much power.  God loved, so I am worth being loved.

But still, "Lord, who am I?"  I take an even deeper look.  "Lord, who am I?"  I am a fallen woman trying to walk a life that is pleasing to my Savior.  I like the blog header that Sarah Mae has on her blog, "fitting perfect into fallen".  Yes, I like that.  I am not perfect, never will be this side of heaven.  I can not measure up to what God wants me to be, because I will always fall short of it.  But God knew that when His Spirit drew me to Him.  He knew that I could not be a wife, a mother, a mammi, an aunt, a daughter, a sister, a friend without Him. 

So I ask again, "Lord, who am I?"  And He whispers that I am His child and no matter what comes my way I am His.  I will lean on His everlasting arm and let Him guide me through this life until I see His face in Glory.

I am probably not going to color my hair...I am trying to age gracefully.  I probably will not get much more sleep, the Mary Kay make over will never be possible, and the wardrobe will always be lacking.  But I know who I am and will rely on Him to walk me step by step.

Just three of the reasons why I am
 Leaning on the Everlasting Arm.

A Peek of the Warriors and Maidens

Yes, it is a real post.  A post with pictures!  I have a couple of post in drafts that never were completed, but maybe one day I will get to get them finished.

 

Today I would like to introduce you to the Warriors and Maidens that still live in our castle.  They are suppose to be in birth order but the computer has a mind of its own!

 

 

 

Daughter #3 (child 7)
18 Years Old
March 7, 2013



Son #7 (child 13)
10 Years Old
February 11, 2013

 



Daughter #2 (child 6)
21 Years Old
September 19, 2013

 

Son # 5 (child 8)
 17 Years Old
October 24, 2013

Son #6 and Daughter #4 (children 9 and 10)
15 Years Old
November 3, 2013

Daughter #5 (child 11)
13 Years Old
July 28, 2013

Daughter #6 (child 12)
12 Years Old
September 8, 2013

Daughter #7 (child 14)
9 Years Old
December 21, 2013



These precious faces are just a few of the precious memories that fill my life each and every day.  They are the reason that Hubby and I work hard to bring them up in the way of the Lord.  It is a hard job, but one that is so rewarding!  It is a life that is given to prayer early in the morning to late in the evening.  It is a life that has many bumps in the road, a life that requires us to totally lean on our Lord and Savior.  It is a life that brings tears of happiness and sorrow, but a life that I would not trade for anything!  

I'm Here!

I am not hiding, I have been busy raising the warriors and maidens!  Life seems so full of school right now.  There are so many things that need to be done.  Not only school work, but chores that need to be checked on, and plain ol' child-rearing!   

If the Lord allows, I will be back to post this week! 

Hello!

If you typed in Momma Chilson into your browser expecting Chilson Family and ended up here at Raising Warriors and Maidens it is because I have a second blog! 

I have been wanting to write a blog about raising my children, but have been afraid to write one.  Why?  Because I am a chicken!  Chit-chat is fun, but sometimes I want to write a little more on the "serious" side, or maybe I should rephrase that as encouraging instead of serious.

I am not quite ready to do a "real" post on the warriors and maidens, but I felt if I at least created the blog I would actually do something with it.

You may wonder why I chose warrior and maidens.  It is because that is what I am raising!  I want my young men to be warriors for the Lord and my young ladies to be maidens for Him as well!  If that is what I want them to be for Him, then I need to raise them in that way for Him!

I am not coming across as an expert in rearing children, but I have a biblical responsibility in raising them.  The Bible is my guide in training and Deuteronomy chapter six states it well...

⁵ And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
⁶ And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
⁷ And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
⁸ And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.
⁹ And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.

 I even have plans to hopefully have some guest postings!