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When Is Your Family Complete?
A woman posed this request: “I was just wondering how others decided that their family was complete and you finished having any more babies.” After having three babies in less than four years (no twins!) I felt pretty “complete” and was not at all interested in being pregnant again any time soon. I was also in a season of struggle, fighting depression, failing in my roles as wife and mother, thoughts of suicide, life in a new area far from friends, family, or support systems, overweight and unhealthy. I also had a list of other things that I felt were more important that I couldn’t do while pregnant or dragging infants and small children around all the time. In a way, I felt like I was compromising my health and wasting my life away by being pregnant and nursing all the time. What about Quality vs. Quantity? I approached the marriage bed with panic for fear of getting pregnant again. We tried barrier contraception but it caused me a lot of pain. Other methods were not an option, especially since I was still nursing and hadn’t had my return of cycles yet. In lieu of abstinence I cried out to God for a solution, “Lord! Please help us! What contraception should we use!?” He answered, “Trust Me.” That was not the answer I wanted. The last time I trusted God I got pregnant right away, and I wasn’t interested in being tricked into that again. I griped back to the Lord, “Aren’t my reasons good enough for You?” But who am I to argue with God? After some deliberation I decided to trust Him again and do nothing to prevent a pregnancy. After my first two babies were born I got my cycles back when they were three months old. Imagine my delight when five months had passed and I still wasn’t menstruating or pregnant! My period came back at six months and seven months and I was rejoicing! It sure was worth it to trust the Lord! I celebrated by taking a late Spring excursion to an amusement park to ride roller coasters all day while I still had the chance. I was supposed to get my period that day, but it never came. Two days later I took a home test and found out I was pregnant again. I was so mad! Shaking my fist at the Lord I yelled, "You told me to trust You, and I DID! Now look what You've done! Why do You insist on keeping me down and miserable? You are NOT the God I thought You were!" No He wasn't! So tell me, who's problem is that? As evil as it sounds, and as evil as it truly is, deep down inside I was half hoping for a miscarriage. I felt horrible, my life was a mess, I hated everything and everyone, I was seeing a counselor, my circumstances only got worse, and I just wanted to end it all! But as I went along I accepted my pregnancy and dealt with it, holding on to the only shred of truth that I could: that God told me to trust Him, and I obeyed. Somehow He is going to work it out. He has to! There’s no other hope! As the months progressed I pondered all that I had learned but not yet accepted. It says in the Bible, "Like arrows in the hands of a warrior so are the children of one's youth. Happy is he who's quiver is full of them." I was sitting with a group of ladies one day discussing birth control--one with a vasectomized husband, no family size larger than three children. The agreement was that their quiver was full for them.
"Six children might be a full quiver for you. My fill line is at three!"
I piped up and said, "Well, if I were out in the woods when suddenly surrounded by a violent grizzly bear four times my size ready to eat me up in one gulp, I would want more than three arrows in my quiver to fight him off. In fact, I'd want as many as I could get!" I know many older families who stopped at three children because they decided their family was complete with that many. Three beautiful young adults, all in a row, praising the Lord, standing up against abortion, encouraging youth, and doing mighty things for Jesus. If they hadn't stopped at three there could have been twice, or maybe even three times the amount of children in their family added to the Army of God. When the next generation of children rises up to run my country and make decisions on my behalf, and on behalf of my children, grandchildren, and so on—a generation of God-less, self- indulgent, misdirected, unloved, spoiled rotten, traumatized, numb, lazy, video-gaming, immature, fatherless children with little sense of moral obligation—how many God-fearing, Christian young adults would I want to balance it out? Should I contribute only three, stop there, and then carry on with my life of vanity and grasping for the wind? Or should I look beyond my limited, present view, and make an investment into the future of generations that will follow after me? The Lord said: Lean not on your own understanding. Once I finally laid aside what I thought was right for me, He had opportunity to put in what was right according to Him! Now I hug my tummy and bless the Lord for this pregnancy. I sure wasn't thanking Him the first four months! But I was obedient. And in the end I'm so thankful I didn't make the mistake of ending it all (not just my life, but the lives of future children). In the heat of hopelessness, we make very unwise choices. They that wait on the Lord will renew their strength! Did the United States only train up 1,000 soldiers? Or did we not become the strongest military in the world, with hundreds of thousands of able men? As a military family I see where our military is going from an insider's perspective. Even the military is buying in to “Sangerism” by scrapping ships, shutting down military bases, selling off their military housing to private management, and even paying some servicemen to leave to downsize areas that seem too full. All this in the name of “saving money.” But the military is birth-controlling and aborting itself into weakness. And so is God's church. After sharing my testimony with the woman who asked for personal experience, in closing I said: So that's my story about me deciding when my family was complete! Probably not exactly what you were hoping to hear. Join the club! ANGELA SUNDARAMURTHY
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Rivers Of Joy
When I was born, my parents gave me the middle name Anandi which means joy in one of India's many languages. This name has proven to be prophetic in my life. I have always been naturally cheerful and I began to know true joy when I gave my life to Jesus Christ at age 15. I grew up with a wonderful dad and a loving and devoted mom. I knew from a young age that I wanted to be a wife and mother. However, I had an extreme fear of the pain of childbirth. I don't really know where I picked that up since my mom gave birth to me at home and always told me it was the best day of her life. She hoped that one day my sister and I would also have homebirths. I used to upset her by telling her I wanted to be completely knocked out when I gave birth. I was so afraid of childbirth, I even tossed around the idea of never having any birth children but only adopting.. However, as I grew in my relationship with God, my thinking began to change. I learned what the Bible had to say about children being a blessing and about God not wanting us to live in fear. When I was 19, I traveled on a missionary trip to India where I had the privilege of serving in a orphanage and performing dramas about Jesus on the streets. I had given up dating in high school after a painful breakup and vowed to wait for God to bring the man I was to marry into my life. I had even made a list of things I wanted in a husband and prayed over it. I wasn't looking to find him on this mission trip (romantic relationships were not allowed since we were almost all teenagers.) But three days into the trip I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with this blond guy from Colorado who loved God and children as much as I did. I also knew it was going to be a long wait since he was only 16. Wow! Two amazing years of friendship and one beautiful year of courtship later, we were married. During our courtship I began to research different kinds of birth control. Even though I knew I wanted to have children, I was sure I didn't want them right away. Was I shocked when I found out that the birth control pills I had planned to take had the potential to cause early abortions. I was pro-life; therefore these pills were no longer an option for me. When I shared my concerns with my fiancé, he was amazingly supportive. He always knew he wanted a big family as well. We took a few classes on Natural Family Planning, but ultimately decided to trust God to plan our family. We were scolded by well meaning family who were afraid we were too young and too poor to have a baby right away. We held our ground. Lo and behold, a year passed and no baby. We weren't too concerned about it at that point. We enjoyed our first year of marriage and I busied myself caring for babies at a daycare. A year and 1/2 passed. I was sure I would get pregnant soon. We took Bible College classes and went on our second missionary trip to India. Two and a half years passed and still no baby! Now, family and friends were concerned for a different reason. I politely told people, that yes, we were trying, and no, we didn't feel we were to see a doctor about it. We were simply trusting God. I began to learn more about nutrition and we both started taking better care of ourselves. We took a job as assistant house parents at a Christian ranch for troubled teen girls. I loved living with "my girls" and home schooling them. More than ever that I wanted to be a mom. Three years passed. Now I was starting to get a little concerned. It was during this time I had a dream I will never forget. I was holding an adorable baby I had never seen before. The baby looked me in the eyes and said (even though it should have been too young to talk) that I was soon going to have a baby named Joy. I woke up and wrote the dream in my journal thinking it was possibly from the Lord. I also began to pray specifically for the Lord to bless us with a baby the following September. Three and 1/2 years passed. We were two weeks away from traveling to Australia to take music classes and play in a missionary band when I found out I was pregnant! I spent my pregnancy traveling in Australia, singing and talking about Jesus in everything from bars to schools to churches. We then came back to the States to prepare for the birth. On August 16th, after four years of marriage, our first son was born at home! He was perfectly healthy and had lots of red hair. We named him Rivers Chairo which means rivers full of joy--Chairo is Greek for "full of joy, delight, or gladness". He is now eight months old and lives up to his name everyday! He is the joy of our lives. We are now starting the process to adopt a brother for Rivers from Liberia.
KRIYA HERZOG Helena, Montana, USA
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I’d Have to be Crazy!
I turned on the news the other day and a book flashed onto the screen, “Better to be Single than Sorry”. The author, a thirty year old woman, told the reporter that now that she is no longer in her twenties, she has “wizened up”. She doesn't need a man to be happy. So far she has turned down three marriage proposals. When asked why, she responded that she'd rather be single than start a family with Mr. Okay instead of Mr. Right. More and more women are delaying marriage or deciding against it altogether. Fifty one percent of women in the United States are now single. This is a record high. Why are women less anxious to get married these days? The author thinks it is largely because women are more educated. Right now, women outnumber men in colleges by 1.3 to one. They can provide for themselves just as well as a man can and this independence often pushes marriage out of their plans. Men are simply not living up to their standards. The news item then flashed to footage of the author talking and laughing with her single girlfriends at a restaurant. The underlying message was that she had chosen the right path. I felt very sorry for this woman and for all those who will read her book. The sweet memory of my husband's kiss goodbye that morning as he left for work still lingered with me. I remembered how safe and warm our home felt the night before when he arrived home and the children rushed to climb all over him. It felt wonderful to snuggle on the couch together after the children were in bed and laugh as we talked about their antics during the day. The aforementioned author will be waiting a long time for Mr. Perfect and it is more likely he will never show. Will she still be smiling so much when she is forty and childless? What about when she is fifty and all alone? Will she regret her decision to be single when she is sixty and wonders what might have been had she accepted one of those marriage proposals? Every man has his flaws, as we all do. Even a “Mr. Right” can appear to turn into “Mr. Okay” after a few years of marriage. The divorce rate reflects this. God's plan is the only one that works. If we learn to do as Ephesians chapter five outlines and 'honor our husbands' rather than putting them on a measuring stick, we enable the Mr. Right inside them to stick around. Of course we shouldn't jump into marriage. It is a prayerful decision and there are exceptions like Mother Theresa who devoted her life to nurturing orphans. This doesn't change God's plan for us from the very beginning. God told us in Genesis, chapter one that a man and woman would become one flesh. He knows what's best for us. Our bodies were designed to bear children. With more women staying single, there are a record number of women in this country who are childless. According to a recent census, women with higher incomes have the highest childless rates. Bearing children, especially before the age of 24 offers long term protection against many reproductive diseases. Uh-Oh, the average age for first time childbirth is now above 25. This average has jumped up three years in a little over a decade alone. The results are starting to come in--reproductive cancers are rising and ovarian cancer is soaring to alarming rates. The failure to experience lactation and childbirth appears to cause malfunctions which frequently result in health problems for women later in life. The U.S. Health Department declares childbirth as the most important known factor in preventing ovarian cancer. Women who have never had children are twice as likely to develop ovarian cancer. The more full term births a woman has, the lower her risk for this disease. This is also true for breast cancer. Women who are more likely to delay childbirth by pursuing careers have higher breast cancer risks than their counterparts. Women who breast feed for at least two years cut their breast cancer risks by about half. Their risks go down for every following birth and year of breast feeding. Any woman who has breastfed for seven years out of her life decreases her risk for breast cancer by more than ninety percent. Studies also reveal that having few or no children is a risk for endometrial cancer. Women in underdeveloped nations who frequently have six or seven children rarely get this disease. A recent study at Harvard School of Public Health has found that women who have had three or more children have nearly 40 percent less risk of lung cancer, whether they smoke or not. The risk for lung cancer also declines with the increasing number of births a woman has. 1 Timothy 2 15 makes more sense than ever before when it says, “Women shall be saved in childbearing.” Once again, science proves God's Word true. Childbirth has also been shown to have a positive impact on women's mental health. A 1992 Canadian study that examined more than a thousand women found that married women with children had the highest levels of psychological well being compared to women who did not have children. The researcher concluded that “Childless women don't really get much out of giving up having children.” With all the voices out there saying marriage isn't worth it, I'd like to offer my own. “Oh, yes it is,” I say. Sure, there are times when it is challenging, but anything good requires some work. Why would anyone want to give up such a precious gift? Not only does it make sense, it is truly rewarding. Here are five things I love about being married. 1. Being loved. I think we take this one too lightly. Let's give it the respect it deserves. When someone chooses to love you above all others and cling to you for the rest of your life, this is no small thing. In a sense, it is a miracle in itself. To think my husband chose to love me out of every other woman in the world! I could have happy thoughts all day dwelling on this point alone. To think he would even lay his life down for me! That is a God-given love from a man to his wife. It is something to be grateful for and handle with care.
2. Having a Protector.
I'll admit that sometimes I feel like my husband is a little too protecting. He can't stand for me to be home late if I have to go out in the evening. The frown on his face when I get home says it all. He doesn't like not being there to physically protect me from danger. This protective instinct is another God-given gift that husbands offer their wives. The security a husband gives to his wife and children is the perfect buffer from the perils of this world. I know I should accept this instinct with a little more grace..
3. Having a Warm Bed Partner.
There is nothing I love more than going to sleep and feeling my husband’s arms around me. I pity any woman who values drinks with friends more than this. I can't say my husband is my only bed partner though. We still have a couple of little ones who like to join us in the middle of the night. But when we are alone, our bed can be a pretty exciting place. The passing years have only made this better.
4. Having a Provider.
While I may be capable of providing for myself and my children, I am glad my husband is willing to assume this important role. I have the freedom to stay home and answer only to him. I know some men love their job. Many others, like my husband, commit themselves day after day for the sake of their families. My husband drives well over an hour each way to and from work. I'm thankful he loves us enough to do this so I can be home with the children. If not for us, he would simply go back to being a road musician. We know we are worth a lot to him for that sort of sacrifice.
5. Having a Best Friend.
I was one of the many who presumed having a best friend in a husband would be something quite different to what it is. I imagined many hours of soul talk where we would share our deepest emotions. We would shop happily together and discuss in dreamy detail the way we would decorate our home. It makes me giggle now to remember my dreams. Aside from expressing his love for me, I don't believe my husband has ever talked about his emotions in our thirteen years of marriage. Sometimes I wonder if he has any. But then, I probably have enough for both of us. Still, I would rather spend my time with him than anybody else, even if we don't talk about shades of taupe on walls. As a best friend, my husband is a wise counselor, a listener, a comforter, a source of encouragement, and he still makes me laugh.
Would I give all this up to be single? I'd have to be crazy!
PEARL BARRETT
Primm Springs, Tennessee, USA
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Born at 28 Weeks!
My husband, Justin, and I have now been married for 13 years. We did not start out "the perfect Christian couple" in any way shape or form. I brought to our marriage my son, whom I had when I was 17 and my husband adopted him. I decided to use Depo-Provera as my choice of birth control which caused suicidal thoughts and depression. It was a huge mistake. We both agreed to have a baby and our first was born two years later. From there it became, “pick my birth control” until God put it on my heart to have another baby. This was the process until we had our sixth. Justin said he thought we had enough children. Six was a lot! We started attending a new church and learned that a cousin of Justin's also went there. In conversation one night with his wife, she told me how she had gotten her tubes tied and it was the biggest mistake of her life. She talked of living a life governed by God and having as many children as God gave you. I was blown away! I had never heard anyone say such things! Justin and I went home and talked about it and agreed that we were not living our lives to the fullest. My next pregnancy, which came only a couple months after getting off birth control, ended at eight weeks. During my grief, the Lord encouraged me that He would restore my joy, but I did not think He could because the pain was too great. Then Alyssa was born. I looked at her and I exclaimed, "You did it! You did just as you said. You have restored my joy!" There was no stopping my faith! When Alyssa was 11 months old I became pregnant again. I couldn't have been happier! At 12 weeks I started bleeding. The hospital staff had no idea what was going on and sent me home. I was physically and emotionally exhausted and went to bed early. Justin came in with a fire in his eyes I hadn't seen in awhile. He said he'd been praying and God told him that the enemy was trying to take our baby, but he would be okay." I slept better than I had in a long time. My husband and my God had it taken care of. A few days later out of the blue, the name Isaiah came to my mind. It means "saved by God". Justin liked it too. I knew that was his name, but we hadn't yet see the worst. Isaiah was born three months early at 28 weeks. I barely made it back to the hospital after being sent home only two hours earlier. It was the most painful, terrifying birth I've had. He was transferred immediately to a bigger hospital where, after several hours of waiting, a doctor told us, "He is in respiratory failure; his heart beat is over 220 beats per minute. We think he is going to die. You need to come back now." As we approached his bedside, I first noticed that he looked gray. Thoughts flashed through my mind, “How am I going to tell the children? They barely handled it when we lost the baby. I don't know if they can handle this. I don't even know how to bury a baby. I guess we could bury him next to Grandma Great.” Then it was as if God smacked me with a 2x4. I looked at Justin, who had tears streaming down his face, and told him, "Go and tell our parents to start praying." I started praying over this baby like I had never prayed before. Hebrews 11:1 came to my mind, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” What happened next was nothing less than a miracle. I watched our son go from gray to pink. His lifeless body began to work with the ventilator and his heartbeat slowed. After 10 longs weeks at the NICU, while my children were passed from here to there, we came home. He was on a monitor and oxygen because of pulmonary hypertension. On December 13th, 2006 we got to call Tim (our oxygen guy!) and tell him to come get his tanks, it was nice knowing him, but hoped to never see him again under those circumstances! As his birthday approached I began to have panic attacks as vivid accounts came rushing back to me. I threw the biggest party I could; just to have the celebration out-weigh my inner pain. Isaiah is now 15 months old and, aside from his size, you'd never guess he was a micro-preemie. He still doesn't walk yet or even pull himself up to stand. But I know this isn't because there is something wrong, it is because he doesn't want to. He never learned to crawl, but he butt-scoots! He can go unbelievably fast. Trying to stand up and walk is just way too slow! I look at him and can't stop thanking God for His mercy, His greatness, and His faithfulness. I would like to put together stories from others who have been through similar experiences and can testify to God’s greatness and love! I would like to put a copy of each book in every NICU so that other parents can gain hope and encouragement. If you have a story, please feel free to email me! HEATHER POWELL Fostoria, Ohio, USA
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Justin and Heather’s children are Britton (15), Devon (11), Trinity (10), Kilian (8), Arianna (6), Ceara (4), Alyssa (2), Isaiah (15 months) and baby due December 2007.
ABOVE RUBIES NEWSLETTER, #7, Nov 2007
HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO YOU! Dear precious Above Rubies reader, May God give you His heart-peace and fill your home with His love. And of course, HAPPY THANKSGIVING to you and your whole family. We are looking forward to a big family gathering. There will be over 50 of us with just our immediate family, even though one family will not be with us! Here comes another newsletter to keep you going until the next Above Rubies comes your way. I hope to get it edited before the end of the year and send it out in the New Year. If you live in the USA, I am sure you have received your new Above Rubies, #72 by now. The last packages were sent out on the 19 October. It is a wonderful issue and I know it is bringing great encouragement to you. I know you will have enjoyed the feature article on managing to live in a small house with a large family. I couldn’t fit them all in the magazine, so am posting a few more at the end of this newsletter. Make sure you get to the end to read them. I also have to mention a couple more things… FINANCING AN ADOPTION There is an article about this on page 23. However, when I received the magazine from the printers, I was sad to see that they had omitted to print the contact information at the end of the article. It was all there on the proofs but didn’t come out in the printing. Instead there was a green space. I was very sorry about this. For those who are interested I will now give you the full information. If you need help with grants for your adoption from anywhere in the world, contact: Donna Barber or Jeanette TurbevilleW6126 Hraban Road, Tony, WI 54563 Phone 715.415.4401 or 715.749.3607
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BREAKFAST FOR THE BRAIN Evangeline, our daughter, wrote an article about preparing steel cut oats for breakfast, page 20. She didn’t state how long to cook it, and because it was last minute, I decided I would put 35 – 40 minutes! She nearly had a fit when she read it. “Mum,” she cried out, “You only have to cook it for two to three minutes!” Forgive me. My mistake! You need to cook it this long if you don’t soak it, but the secret of preparing steel cut oats is to soak it overnight! Then you only have to cook it for a few minutes. I hope that helps! WHOLESOME MOVIES My husband, Colin and I do not have time for TV, therefore we do not have it connected in our home. When our older children were young, we allowed them to watch certain programs. However, they are now in their forties, and this is a different era of TV. I don’t believe that any God-fearing family could allow their children to watch TV today. But now we face another problem. We have recently adopted four teenagers from Liberia, West Africa. If they had their own way, they would love to watch TV all day. Just as well it is not connected! However, they do need some form of entertainment, and so we allow them to watch some wholesome movies on the weekend. But the next problem is. Where do we find wholesome movies? Fortunately, we have been able to find some very wonderful movies that were very positive and we were most happy about, but they are running out. I am certainly not an expert on movies (and don’t even know the names of any movie stars), so I need help. Maybe you do too. I was thinking that it would be so good to have a list of positive, wholesome, and yet exciting movies for teens. When it is time to have a family movie night together, instead of going to the video store and spending two hours to find something wholesome and coming home with nothing, we could go with the list and choose one from the list that we know is going to be good. Could you help me compile this list? I need it for myself, but once I put it together, I will post it for you too. Is that a good idea? I think it would be good to all glean from one another, don’t you? Therefore, if you have watched a good movie that is suitable for young people (I am not talking about little children’s movies at this moment – there are many little children’s movies that are good, the problem is finding them for the middling and teen children), could you please email the title or titles to me. Please type MOVIES in the subject heading. Otherwise I may miss the email. I have so many hundreds of emails that I usually only pick up the ones with a subject heading that looks important. Now there’s a hint to get me to read your email! DINNER TIME CONVERSATION An Above Rubies reader recently wrote to me, “Both coming from families with poor conversational skills, my husband and I sometimes find ourselves at a loss to initiate meaningful and interesting conversation at dinner with our six children from ages 6 through 17. The children and I are together most of the day, hence we already KNOW most of what has gone on with each other that day. Can you suggest some good conversational starters to help us get going?” This is a really good question. I also find that if I don’t think of some ideas before the mealtime, the conversation goes nowhere or is non-existent. By the way, when we put out a question at the table, we start with one person and go around the table, allowing everyone to have a turn. Here are some ideas… If you were given a million dollars, how would you spend it? (I have to admit that this was one of the favorite questions our children growing up, and they never tired of it! No wonder one of our sons decided he wanted to be a millionaire by the time he was 30 years. He didn’t quite make by 30, but he is one now! Of course, that didn’t happen with all the family. Our daughter, Evangeline, lives with their nine children in a little tiny cabin with no bedrooms and no beds! But she has such an amazing positive attitude that she lives like a millionaire!) If you were able to travel to another country, which one would you choose, and why? What is your favorite room in the house, and why? What is your favorite movie, and why? What is the most interesting show, entertainment or tourist place you have been to? Why did you like it the best? What are you most thankful for in life? What new thing would you like to learn to do? What is the funniest thing that has happened to you in your life? What is the best thing that has happened to you in your life? What is the worst thing that has happened to you in your life? What is your dream and vision for your life? Who is the nicest person you know, and why? What was the kindest thing that someone ever did for you? What was the nicest thing someone ever said to you? How did it make you feel? How do you think our words can affect other people? What is the best Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, Passover etc. you have ever enjoyed. Choose which one is appropriate for your family. What was the most interesting thing that happened to you today? Tell us something new that you learned today. Did you learn a new word today? Can you tell us what it is and what it means? What is your favorite story, and why? If you were given a day that you could do anything you like to do, what would you like to do? What is your favorite Bible verse, and why? Who is your favorite character in the Bible, and why? Tell us what you think is special about older people. Tell us what you love about babies. Share with us the character of the man or lady that you would like to marry when you grow up., What kind of a house would you like to live in when you get married? What kind of wedding would you like to have when you get married? What is your favorite tree, and why? What is your favorite flower, and why? If you could have whatever you wanted for dinner, what would you choose? In what way would you like to serve the Lord when you grow older? If you were going to be a missionary, to which country would you like to go to serve the Lord?
I think you will have enough here to keep you going for a good while. If you can think of others, you can email them to me. Another good idea is to ask each of the children to bring a poem to the table, read it and share why they like this particular poem. Or you could ask one child each night to have a turn and the next child another night. CALIFORNIAN ABOVE RUBIES EGROUP The new yahoo group for CA is active if anyone is interested. You might want to post it in the magazine.
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to subscribe. Thank you! Rhonda Gordon,
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ONE HOT, ONE COLD “When you sent out the letter asking for nursing stories for the magazine, I didn't have any; but a few weeks later, I got a good one! I was nursing our six-month old son Joey while Davey (almost 5) and Willie (just turned 3)were playing nearby. When I switched Joey to the other side to finish nursing, Davey suddenly stood up and asked, "Why did you put him on the other side?" I replied, "So he can drink the milk on this side. There's milk on both sides." With a look that said he had just solved the mystery he exclaimed, "Oh! Is one the hot milk and one the cold milk?" Children's thoughts are so precious!” Jenny Luibrand,
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Novi Sad, Serbia Blessed to be married to Steve and mother to Davey, Willie, and Joey CANDLE LOVERS CAN HELP ORPHANS “We adopted a little boy from Acres of Hope in the winter of 2005/2006. After our experience with Acres of Hope, we wanted to contribute to their ministry on a regular basis. We turned our candlemaking hobby into a fundraiser for Acres of Hope called "A Flicker of Hope". We have already been able to send nearly $4,000 in cash and products, a laptop computer and a digital camera to Acres of Hope over the course of the last year. If you are a candle lover, we certainly hope you will consider "A Flicker of Hope" for your personal purchases. Our candles also make wonderful gifts and help spread the word about the work of Acres of Hope and Liberia. Our candles are of highest quality. They are made from all natural soy/cottonseed blend wax. We use a cotton core wick that doesn't require trimming. The combination of natural wax and cotton core wick produces a much cleaner burning candle. his means little to no soot on your jar, wall, furniture and in the air. Our prices are low and the quality of our fragrances ranks right up there with the more expensive, high end candles. Best of all, 100% of the profits goes to the programs of Acres of Hope. Please visit our new website at www.aflickerofhope.org for more of our story, complete product descriptions and ordering information. You can learn more about the work of Acres of Hope in Liberia by visiting their website at www.acresofhope.com. Missy Hickman and Cheryl Blankenship CHRISTMAS CARDS TO RECOVERING SOLDIERS I received this through my email and don’t usually pass things on, but I do feel this is something positive we can do, or our children can do. I don’t get time to send Christmas cards, but I think I should send one of these. The note says… “When doing your Christmas cards this year, take one card and send it to this address. When you are making out your Christmas card list this year, please include the following: A Recovering American soldier
C/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center
6900 Georgia Ave NW
Washington D.C. 20307-5001
DOWN SYNDROME CHILDREN My lovely niece, Melissa, is mothering her eight children, ten years and under, while her husband is in Iraq. Two of the children are little ones they adopted from Liberia recently, one is her baby who was born the day before her husband left for Iraq, and she also has a little Down Syndrome daughter. She wrote to me, “I don't know if you saw or heard about the recent report on the conditions for special needs people in Serbia? If you didn't, it was, and is terrible. Children with Down Syndrome are tied to their beds for years at a time, adults with handicaps are kept in empty cold rooms... It is hard to imagine that people don't realize that these fellow humans have worth, they have thoughts and feelings, hopes and desires, like the rest of us do. To think that some people could look at our daughter Jahna and think that she is useless, valueless... tie her to a bed for the rest of her life, barely feed and clean her. It would be better to just outright kill these poor souls, but that would be morally offensive wouldn't it?! All sarcasm and emotion aside, all I can do is send you this link (which will hopefully work), in the hopes of moving you to take some action, for maybe just one child, to have a family to love them. http://www.onetruemedia.com/otm_site/view_shared?p=43584ff9c987f96c0f042 (this link did not work) Melissa Calhoon,
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NEW COORDINATOR FOR GULF COAST RETREAT Darlene Barnett writes, “My husband (Melvin) has accepted the pastorate in Neeses, SC. So, where does this leave Gulf Coast Rubies? It has been my privilege to be your Gulf Coast Event Coordinator for the past five years. Your new Gulf Coast Event Coordinator will be Misty Potter. Misty has attended all the Gulf Coast retreats. She can usually be found pitching in at the book table, cleaning up or pouring a cup of coffee for the ladies She made the gorgeous name tags for the past two years, and she also coordinated a retreat in Tennessee several years ago. Most importantly, she is a godly wife and mother who loves her family, loves her Lord and has a servant's heart. She accepted this leadership position after much prayer and with her husband's blessing and encouragement. Second in Command will be Rosanne Van Cleave. The retreat for 2008 will be February 29 - March 2. Check the website: www.gulfcoastrubies.com. By the way, it is Rosanne Van Cleave’s husband who is on the front cover of the current Above Rubies, with their precious little daughter, Melody. CHRISTIAN MIDWIVES’ CONFERENCE Doran Richards, who wrote CELEBRATING PREGNANCY, page 10 in the current issue of Above Rubies sent information for a coming conference for midwives in the spring of 2008. There is such a need for Christian midwives. There are too many new age midwives and not enough Christian midwives around. If you are interested, here is the information: Christian Midwives International 4th Annual Conference The Joy of the Lord! April 30 – May 3, 2008 - Indiana www.christianmidwives.org For women, doulas, childbirth educators, midwives, pregnancy center workers, students, young ladies, etc. Register online, advertise or have a table/booth CEU’s available through MEAC Why is this conference different than all the rest? Spiritual Uplifting Biblical Instruction Godly Fellowship
MORE STORIES ABOUT A LARGE FAMILY IN SMALL SPACE I know that you will have enjoyed all the testimonies in this current magazine about fitting a large family in a small space. I received far more than I could ever fit in the magazine, and some also arrived too late. I will print a few more for you here… MATTRESS FROM CORNER TO CORNER
We live in the mountains in Mexico in a very small canyon…well the canyon is not so small but it is not very highly populated. My husband pastors a church here and we publish a home school magazine in Spanish and organize home school conferences. We lived in a small log cabin with six of our 9 children for 7 years. Our three older children live in the United States now, two of which are married. While we have now moved into a larger home (about 800 square feet), we lived in a 400 square feet cabin that also had two lofts that we used for bedrooms. It has been an adventure similar to Little House on the Prairie. My daughter Anna climbed a homemade ladder and crawled into her room. (At six years old, she could barely standup in the center of the room.) The boys had the larger loft. They climbed a steep set of stairs to get into it. There is a saying in Spanish—rincón a rincón puro colchon. That means from corner to corner it is all mattress. With five boys in one loft, that saying certainly fit in our house! The children loved their cozy rooms. We had no living room, so the small kitchen (10’ x 12’) served as an all purpose room. My husband built a bench from an old church pew that was wall to wall. We stacked school books on both ends. After meals that was our place for school work. The first two years we did not have electricity but were later blessed with some solar equipment people had purchased to prepare for Y2K. Many days we had to gather rain water or bring it from a nearby spring. Our youngest child was born in this cabin with out any electricity! As the boys grew and did not fit well in the little beds in their room, they often slept out side in sleeping bags. We found we could always make room for a few more. We often had to set up tents out side and some times people even slept in the van. With one bathroom you made it quick and the boys often used to hide behind a cactus outside. Although the house was small, we had many guests who loved the rustic setting. Whether it is guests spending the might or picking people up for church in our van, my husband’s favorite saying is, “There’s always room for one more.” We have had more than thirty people in our van and more than twenty guests at a time. Each child had a small plastic box for school supplies. We found it most helpful to throw away extra papers rather than keep them. We had one drawer per person so clothes were kept to a minimum. When things were worn, we got rid of them if they could not be repaired. We found that even though we had small children, we really did not need a lot of toys. I kept a box of blocks put up for special occasions and lots of books. Since I had five boys and one girl at home, we found rocks and sticks were great toys and they loved catching lizards. They would make arrows and sling shot from things that they found outside. I preferred that the home toys (and lizards) stayed outside, but on occasion they would find their way in the house. It is such a relief not to have toys that get scattered around the house and the children hardly miss them. We have moved to a larger home this year. The extra room is nice but on occasion we miss the quaintness of our small mountain cabin. Quality of life is definitely not dependent on the space you have in your home… but the space you have in your heart for those the Lord sends to your life. PAM RICHARDSON Baratillo, Coahuila México Mike’
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Mike and Pam are blessed with 9 children Jeremy-30, Michael-28, Misty-27, Samuel-12, Isaac-11, Anna-10, Joshua-8, Timothy-7, Benjamin-5. A TEENAGER’S POINT OF VIEW
Living in a small home with a large family is not a foreign subject to me. We’ve always lived in small homes and have had to be creative with space, storage, and sleeping arrangements. Being the eldest of ten children and currently living in a 29’ travel trailer with my family while we wait for our home to be built, I understand tight living quarters. Above every thing I’ve learned about storage, conserving space, and creative sleeping arrangements, nothing compares to keeping an attitude of peace and order in the home. You could be living in a palace, but without peace, cheerfulness, and love in the home – the abundance of space is worth nothing. Keeping short accounts with others, being thankful for every little thing (no matter how insignificant), maintaining a cheerful attitude, having a willing heart to serve (no matter how mundane the task), are all ways to have peace and order within your own heart, therefore maintaining peace throughout your home. How you act affects others whether you are the eldest, youngest, Mom, or Dad, attitude is everything! You can make your season of living in small quarters a joy or drudgery just by your attitude. I encourage you to take a look inside your heart and turn you frown into a smile when you see the laundry pile up in your tiny laundry room (if you have one!) and find 10 things to be thankful for. I’m sure that you’ll see a change in the atmosphere of your home (no matter how small) once you have chosen to change the attitude of your heart. JIMELLA CALLIS (17) North Fork, California, USA
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Daughter to Brian & Charity Callis and big sister to Eden (16), Philip (15), David (13), Mark (8), Abigail (6), Meorah (4), Merry (3), Titus (2), Hope (8 months) Coconut Oil, Red Palm Oil or even an Ergo Baby Carrier
Jimella is Charity Callis’ daughter. If you need coconut oil, red palm oil or even an Ergo Baby Carrier, she is the one to contact: www.TheHomeGrownFamily.com Toll Free 1 (877) 841-2861 ERGO Baby Carriers ~ Organic Coconut & Palm oil Products ~ Mixers, Dehydrators & Grain Mills ~ All Natural Sunscreen BOSCH, Vita-Mix, Electrolux, WonderMill, Nutrimill & Excalibur
ONE LONG CAMPING TRIP
My husband and I are Baptist missionaries in Greenland. We have four small children from ages three months to six years. Currently, we are living in a very small apartment. When we moved to Greenland four months ago, we shipped all our belongings in a 20 ft. container never dreaming that we would be living in a place too small to unload it. After several days of cleaning the apartment, we were ready to move in. My husband laid some carpet on the old floors to make it more friendly for little feet. We have one room that consists of a shower, a sink, and a large cupboard that holds all of our clothes. We refer to this as the “dressing room.” The toilet is in a room of its own because it is what the Greenlander’s call, “an earth closet.” This has taken us Americans a little getting used to! The kitchen is very small with minimal cupboard space and only a two burner stove top. We have one table for eating and another table which holds our small kitchen appliances (i.e. toaster, crock pot, etc.). On and under the table, I use plastic containers that serve as my pantry. I use uniform plastic containers because they stack well while helping to conserve space and avoid clutter. This leaves the remaining room as our “multi-purpose” room. In the interest of conserving space, we have a fold out couch, a pack-n-play, sleeping bags and mats for the kids. Every morning we fold up the couch, roll up the sleeping bags and mats and place them in the pack-n-play in the corner. A built-in book shelf in the room holds all of our school books. My husband’s desk is used for studying languages, preparing messages, and keeping in touch with the outside world via the Internet. The last piece of furniture is our school table which is used for school, crafts, coloring, and snacks! For the children’s toys, I have again resorted to plastic containers which stack neatly along the wall. We have found that furniture is overrated! We find ourselves using the floor more often than the couch and we don’t need all the extra amenities such as coffee tables, easy chairs, etc. We prefer the extra space for the children to have more room to play, yet we are still able to entertain guests in our home. If you follow the mantra, “A place for everything and everything in its place,” you can have a small, but peaceful, uncluttered home. Is this my dream home? No. Is it where I want our family to live indefinitely? No. I look forward to the day when my kitchen will have cupboards instead of containers and my children will have beds instead of sleeping bags. Yet, “I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.” If I am happy and content, then my family will be happy and content. Right now our children love our new home and they view it as one long camping trip! We have learned to embrace each new adventure with smiles and optimism. Now we are settling in for the long winter ahead, our first winter North of the Arctic Circle. CAROLE SHULL
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ALL IT TAKES IS ORGANIZATION
Our three boys, ages 11, 10 and 8, share a room together in our basement. They each have either a shelf or headboard for their current reads, framed pictures, and favorite toys. There is one 5 drawer dresser in the room, where they put their socks, underwear and pajamas. In the adjacent back hallway (usually used for storage), they each have a wide open bookshelf to keep more toys and the rest of their clothes. Their better clothes and all their shoes are in the small closet in the room. They also each have a designated shelf on a bookshelf next to their room where they put the books that have been given specifically to them. The games and larger toys (i.e., Lincoln Logs, marble game, Rescue Heroes, costume box) are stacked on the bookshelf and in the back hallway. Nails/ hooks on the walls hold their coats, hats and backpacks. In the laundry room, I have a shelving unit which is on top of a table. Each child has a cubby hole where their clothes go. They know to check their cubby hole 6 days/ week and put those clothes away. Even my husband and I have a place. This gives us room to fold 2 or even 3 loads of laundry if we're behind, and still have the room to put their clothes. JANE CARTER Gresham, Oregon, USA
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Jane & Eric are blessed with their dear children: Joshua (11), Nathan (10), Jonathan (8), and Hannah (5). I MISS THE CRAMPED LIVING
My family and I moved from Northern Virginia to the Piedmont Area of Culpeper. What was supposed to be a short term home turned into an eight month home in two small campers. My husband Alan and I had 5 children, ages 2, 4, 7, 10, & 15. The children shared the smaller camper (15 foot) and Alan and I in the 17 foot. We stored all the belongings in two 40 foot freight containers. The children made their beds daily, and had assigned cubbies for a few pieces of clothing. They were allowed one toy inside the campers, and other outside toys that stayed outside. Also a favorite book. We homeschool and did most of our schooling in the library. At home during the day we took walks on our property, had picnics in the woods or by the pond. I had one trash bag to collect dirty laundry, went to the laundry weekly. I cooked outside at the campfire, and we mainly ate from paper plates. In a nutshell we tried not to collect stuff and kept our belongings to a limited number. Now that we are in a big house we have more than we know what to do with. I sometimes miss the cramped living! LORRAINE BRETZIN
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PLEASANTLY SURPRIZED
We live in a 1280 square foot home and just had our sixth child. When people see where we live one of the first questions they ask is, "How do you all fit?". Once they come inside, I think they are pleasantly surprised to see it's not as bad as they had imagined! It is a tight squeeze at times, especially when we have guests, but we have found several ways to keep organized and save space. We are blessed to have 4 bedrooms. We do not keep toys in the bedrooms. It helps to keep the bedrooms neater and easier to clean if the toys are stored elsewhere. We keep most of our toys in a front hall closet that we modified. We removed the rod on which you hang coats and put in several shelves. The toys are organized in bins. For example, we have a storage bin for blocks, legos, toys cars, and trains. In general, we don't have a lot of toys. Our family only keeps the toys that are made to last and entertain the best, the rest is given away. Our couch has a storage bin under each cushion where we store toys that are rotated out every few weeks. This helps keep the clutter in the living room down while keeping the toys interesting. We don't have a lot of large toys. Those we do have are kept in the basement or for outside play.
Right now we have four boys, five and under, in one room. The room is of average size, about ten feet by ten feet. We have one twin size bed, two toddler beds, and a crib in their room. All the boys share one dresser and the closet. We have an additional rod to hang clothes below the original for extra hanging room. The closet is deeper than most so behind the hanging clothes are shelves that can be used to store clothes that don't fit in the dresser or out of season clothing. In the future, we plan on using bunk beds, but for safety reasons we decided against this right now. One great feature of living in an older home is a laundry chute. Our clothes go straight from the bathroom to the basement laundry area without having to sit around in baskets or hampers.
Our oldest daughter's room has a built in dresser/desk that is a great space saver. The dresser portion has six very large drawers, three on each end. The desk portion has two small drawers in the center where the chair, or even two, pushes in. This built in is the length of the room which is about ten feet so there is plenty of room for displaying special items and for doing schoolwork. The landing where our stairs go from the first floor to the second is a little wider than a normal hallway so we lined one wall with bookshelves for book storage. I keep some books for the children in the living area but most are kept on shelves. We rotate those as well to keep the little ones from getting bored with the same old books.
The area of our home where we feel most cramped is the kitchen. We have a small eat-in style kitchen. Our table seats six but since the kitchen is small we lose one seat having the table up against the wall. We bought a bench that matches our table, this holds three of our little ones at meal time. It has worked out great for our family. We will have to do some rearranging as the new baby grows and needs the high chair. Living in a colder climate means snowy shoes and coats need a place to go when you walk in the door. Unfortunately, we don't have a mud room or even a closet by our back entrance. Instead, we have a row of hooks behind the door where we hang our coats and a bench with an open bottom storage area where we put our shoes. The bench has a lid that opens as well, which is great for storing mittens and hats.
We keep only what we need and use on a regular basis in the living areas. All extras (toilet paper, diapers, out of season clothes, bulk foods) are kept in the basement where we can get to it but it isn't taking up precious space where we are most from day to day. I also think it helps to keep things picked up. We have several clean up times throughout the day and everyone helps. While our house may not always be perfectly clean, at least most of the time it is picked up. Before I go to bed each night I do one last check to make sure the living room, kitchen, and our only bathroom are straightened so we don't wake up in the morning to yesterday's mess. Every few months, we all work together as a family to get rid of the things we don't need and use. For our family, less clutter means more space.
SHELLY SHOWN
DePere, Wisconsin, USA
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Jerry and Shelly Shown are blessed with Rosalynn (15), Wesley (5), Elihu (3), Justus (3), Hayden (21 months), and Jeremy (newborn). Many blessings. I’ll send some more next newsletter.Nancy Campbell
Tags:
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A Garden Home, No. 183
Jeremiah 29:5, “Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them.”
The first home was built by God. The predominant thing about this home is that it was a garden. It was called the garden of Eden. ( Genesis 2:7, 15) The word Eden means delight. The first home was a prototype of all homes to come. Consequently, God wants our homes today to also be places of delight. We should seek to make our homes lovely, whether small or big. Of course we know that there is more to a home than the beautiful architecture and the décor. A beautiful looking home can have a cold and hateful atmosphere. A little hut can be filled with the atmosphere of heaven. But there is something we must take notice of. The first home was a garden. God wants our home to be more than brick and timber. He wants it to be a garden, too. The garden was part of God’s plan for the home. It adds beauty to the home, but it also supports the home. The Knox translation of the above Scripture states it clear, “I would have you… plant yourselves gardens of your own to support you.” We often forget about gardens today because every kind of food we need from anywhere in the world is available at the local supermarket. We don’t really need a garden, or do we? I am a great believer in keeping to the plan that God established in the beginning. I believe that part of our homemaking ministry is to help feed our family from the home garden. It provides for the family. It saves money. The nutritional benefit far surpasses any vegetables or fruit you can purchase at the supermarket. Most of them are sprayed with chemicals, and even if you could afford to buy organic vegetables, how long have they been sitting on the shelf? There is nothing more wonderful than to go to the home garden, harvest vegetables straight from the plants and prepare them for the meal immediately. This is the ultimate plan. “Just a minute,” you exclaim. I can’t have a garden. I live in an apartment. This doesn’t relate to me.” Or maybe you live in a high rise. How can you have a garden? Even if you do have room for a garden, there are still challenges to face. When we moved to our land over seven years ago, we had plenty of room for a garden, but we still couldn’t grow anything. Our soil consisted of clay and stones. We had to purchase dirt which we protect by keeping it in raised beds. I keep replenishing my earth with compost and manure. I have a compost bucket under my counter where I save all peelings and raw scraps. If you don’t have room to grow a garden outside, you can still grow herbs and vegetables in pots on your verandah or deck. You can grow herbs in pots on your windowsill. And if, for some impossible reason, you can’t do this, grow some sprouts! Grow something. Bring greenery into your home. Make it a garden. Make it a delight. There are many Scriptures relating God with gardens. Where did God fellowship with Adam and Eve at the end of each day? In the garden! ( Genesis 3:8-10) Song of Solomon 8:13 tells us that our Heavenly Bridegroom dwells in the garden. It was in a garden that Jesus was crucified, laid in the tomb and rose from the dead! ( John 19:41; 20:15-16) Isaiah 51:3, says, “For the Lord shall comfort Zion... and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving and the voice of melody.” (cf. Genesis 13; 10) This is talking about God’s garden! We should also have Nancy’s garden, Susie’s garden, Debbie’s garden and so on. What about your garden? Love from NANCY CAMPBELLPRAYER:“Thank you, Lord, for showing me that a garden is part of the home. Please show me the best way to grow a garden in my situation. Amen.””AFFIRMATION:Gardening is God-like.
Many women like to save these devotions. They print them out and keep them in a folder to read over and over again. Some print them out and pin them on the fridge with a magnet to read through the week. If you know others who would be blessed by these devotions, you are welcome to forward them or let them know they can subscribe by sending a blank email to
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ABOVE RUBIES NEWSLETTER, No. 01, 2007
Newsletter No. 1, published Feb 4, 2007 Dear precious Above Rubies readers, Happy New Year to you! And yet it is already February. I cannot believe where this year is going. At the beginning of this year I returned to New Zealand for 10 days to visit my dear 90 year old father. It was such a joy to spend some time with him. I arrived home to an overload of work and to prepare the new edition of Above Rubies, #70, which I have nearly completed. We are now working on the design and hope to send it out to you in America at the end of this month. I still haven’t decided on the front cover. I think I need to look at a few more pictures before I decide. That means you can be part of it! If you have a special picture—of your baby, your children, father and child, mother and child or anything to do with family—why don’t you email it to me? The picture must be vertical. It must be very sharp and clear and good quality. It also must have something special about it. Email it to me at no less than 300 dpi (dots per inch). This is necessary to get the quality. Email it to me as an attachment There are certain factors that I have to take into consideration for a front cover, so please don’t be offended if I do not choose your picture. But also, please don’t hesitate to send whatever you think may be good. Every picture of babies and children are delightful and I love to see every one. I also love to have them on file for the right time to choose. Then again, you may just have the one I am looking for for this front cover. Send them immediately. Thanks so much. DESPERATE NEED FOR TENNESSEE ADOPTION – URGENT SITUATION! PLEASE READ IN CASE YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHO CAN HELP!I received a call from Heather telling me this most concerning situation. Maybe you know someone who can help. We have to do something to save this little boy from this terrible situation. “We have an adorable four year old foster boy who needs to be adopted. His adoption worker told us on Monday that she found a home for him with two GAY men. She said she has done six GAY adoptions in the last 2 1/2 years. The reason is that his siblings are being adopted by a family in Tennessee and these men are from Tennessee. There are several families wanting to adopt Johnny and she has made up her mind. I thought, Okay, perhaps we can find him a family in TENNESSEE who has already had their home study completed. Please pass this on for people to pray and to find anyone who knows a family in TENNESSEE! This family will have to have already completed their homestudy. Please contact Heather Dowell, Olalla, Washington. Ph: 253-857-3384 Email:
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FOR SERENE’S FANS“My daughter uses Serene's recipe book, REJUVENATE YOUR LIFE, RECIPES FOR ENERGY all the time, but often chuckles at the 'unique' measurements Serene uses. We have had many a laugh at the stories that Serene includes, especially about tasty treats disappearing from her dehydrator, (when nobody but her can reach the dehydrator). We just love how Serene's beautiful personality comes through in her explanations. All these things prompted my daughter, Rachel to write this poem. An Ode to Rejuvenation Recipes Oh how much is a taddle, a dabble or a dash? And please can you show me what is a good splash? How do you dash a dabble and give a tender tossle? What size is a large lemon, I've had one that's colossal? Oh why do you drown eggplant with vinegar in a bowl; And to get those small handfuls, do you use your daughter's doll? Of making 'FAT BOY' I despair because my hand is thin, To cure thieving fingers wear upon your nose a clothes pin. Oh I love the zesty zing and the lemony lick taste. Your 'Berry Crunch Cheese Cake' I have never let waste. Thanks for the DVD you've spent time to produce, In answering these questions I'm sure it'll be of use.
Love from ALI COOMBE Melbourne, Australia
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HUSBAND/CHILDREN ENCOURAGEMENTI know that you were blessed by these wonderful encouragements in the last issue of Above Rubies, # 69. I promised in my last newsletter that I would send out more of these wonderful encouragements that I received—far too many to print in Above Rubies. However, I now realize that there are still too many for this newsletter, or even the next newsletter. I am thinking now that I will put them all in a book to make available for you. That is my plan. In fact, I would love to have them ready for you to be advertised in this issue of Above Rubies? Can I do it? Why do I always give myself such deadlines? Why do I always give myself so much work? But I would love to do this for you so I’ll see how I go. Actually, this newsletter will be shorter than usual as I want to send it out tonight, to let you know about the cover photo, and also about the little boy needing a proper family in Tennessee. RED PALM OIL FOR AUSTRALIAN READERS ”The red palm oil featured in Above Rubies, #66 is available in Australia. It is imported by Sierra Afrique International, 219 Burwood Rd, Belmore, NSW, Ph: 02 97033973. It is also available in Tasmania at Culture 2 Culture, Elizabeth St, Launceston, Tasmania, for around AU $23 a litre.
HANNAH RUBENACH
----------------------------------------------------------------------- IS YOUR HOME FILLED WITH CHEMICALS?“I looked on your website, and noticed that you touched upon the nutrition side of health. You are missing one huge area of health that many people often forget--household chemicals. I have attached some very important and interesting studies that have been done (article below). I am trying to get the word out as much as possible about how household products can cause many health problems.”
STEFANI SELLERS
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Create a Safer and Healthy Homeby Dr. Joyce M. Woods Begin by thinking of your home as a toxic waste dump. The average home today contains 62 toxic chemicals - more than a chemistry lab at the turn of the century. More than 72,000 synthetic chemicals have been produced since WW II. Less than 2% of synthetic chemicals have been tested for toxicity, mutagenic and carcinogenic effects, or birth defects. The majority of chemicals have never been tested for long-term effects. a. An EPA survey concluded that indoor air was 3 to 70 times more polluted than outdoor air. b. Another EPA study stated that the toxic chemicals in household cleaners are 3 times more likely to cause cancer than outdoor air. c. CMHC reports that houses today are so energy efficient that "out-gassing" of chemicals has no where to go, so it builds up inside the home. d. We spend 90% of our time indoors, and 65% of that time at home. Moms, infants and the elderly spend 90% of their time in the home. e. National Cancer Association released results of a 15-year study concluding that women who work in the home are at a 54% higher risk of developing cancer than women who work outside the home. f. Cancer rates have almost doubled since 1960. g. Cancer is the Number ONE cause of death for children. h. There has been a 26% increase in breast cancer since 1982. Breast cancer is the Number ONE killer of women between the ages of 35 and 54. Primary suspects are laundry detergents, household cleaners and pesticides. i. There has been a call from the U.S./Canadian Commission to ban bleach in North America. Bleach is being linked to the rising rates of breast cancer in women, reproductive problems in men and learning and behavioral problems in children. j. Chemicals get into our body through inhalation, ingestion and absorption. We breathe 10 to 20 thousand liters of air per day. k. There are more than 3 million poisonings every year. Household cleaners are the Number ONE cause of poisoning of children. l. Since 1980, asthma has increased by 600%. The Canadian Lung Association and the Asthma Society of Canada identify common household cleaners and cosmetics as triggers. m. ADD/ADHD are epidemic in schools today. Behavioral problems have long been linked to exposure to toxic chemicals and molds. n. Chemical and environmental sensitivities are known to cause all types of headaches. o. Labeling laws do not protect the consumer - they protect big business. The New York Poison Control Center reports that 85% of product warning labels were either inadequate or incorrect for identifying a poison, and for first aid instructions. p. Formaldehyde, phenol, benzene, toluene, xylene are found in common household cleaners, cosmetics, beverages, fabrics and cigarette smoke. These chemicals are cancer causing and toxic to the immune system. q. Chemicals are attracted to, and stored in fatty tissue. The brain is a prime target for these destructive organics because of its high fat content and very rich blood supply. r. The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health has found more than 2500 chemicals in cosmetics that are toxic, cause tumors, reproductive complications, biological mutations and skin and eye irritations. s. Fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, arthritis, lupus, multiple sclerosis, circulatory disorders, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's disease, irritable bowel syndrome, depression, and hormonal problems are diseases commonly related to chemical exposure. t. Pesticides only have to include active ingredients on the labels, even though the inert (inactive) ingredients may account for 99%, many of which are toxic and poisons.
There are solutions, alternatives and ways that we can make a difference. Get more info today and we can share with you our mission, our belief and help you make a difference in your life. Health and Wealth. SOME CANCER FOODSSent in by one of our Chinese Above Rubies readers. INSTANT NOODLES Dear instant noodle lovers, Make sure you break for at least three days after one session of instant noodles before you eat your next packet! Please read the info shared to me by a doctor. My family stopped eating instant noodles more than five years ago after hearing about wax coating the noodles - the wax is not just in the Styrofoam containers but it coats the noodles. This is why the instant noodles do not stick to each other when cooking. There was an SBC (now TCS) actor some years ago, who at a busy time of his career had no time to cook, resorted to eating instant noodles everyday. He got cancer later on. His doctor told him about the wax in instant noodles. The doctor told him that our body will need up to 2 days to clear the wax. There was also an SIA steward who after moving out from his mother's house into his own house, did not cook but ate instant noodles almost every meal. He had cancer, and has since died from it. Nowadays the instant noodles are referred as " cancer noodles ". PORK AWARENESS Try this and see whether the pork you bought has worms. If you pour Coke (yes, the soda) on a slab of pork, wait a little while, you will SEE WORMS crawl out of it. A message from the Health Corporation of Singapore about the bad effects of pork consumption. Pig's bodies contain MANY TOXINS, WORM and LATENT DISEASES. Although some of these infestations are harboured in other animals, modern veterinarians say that pigs are far MORE PREDISPOSED to these illnesses than other animals. This could be because PIGS like to SCAVENGE and will eat ANY kind of food, INCLUDING dead insects, worms, rotting carcasses, excreta including their own, garbage, and other pigs. INFLUENZA (flu) is one of the MOST famous illnesses which pigs share with humans. This illness is harboured in the LUNGS of pigs during the summer months and tends to affect pigs and human in the cooler months. Sausage contains bits of pigs' lungs, so those who EAT pork sausage tend to SUFFER MORE during EPIDEMICS of INFLUENZA. Pig meat contains EXCESSIVE quantities of HISTAMINE and IMIDAZOLE compounds, which can lead to ITCHING and INFLAMMATION; GROWTH HORMONE which PROMOTES INFLAMMATION and growth; sulphur containing mesenchymal mucus which leads to SWELLING and deposits of MUCUS in tendons and cartilage, resulting in ATHRITIS, RHEUMATISM, etc. Sulphur helps cause FIRM human tendons and ligaments to be replaced by the pig's soft mesenchymal tissues, and degeneration of human cartilage. Eating pork can also lead to GALLSTONES and OBESITY, probably due to its HIGH CHOLESTEROL and SATURATED FAT content. The pig is the MAIN CARRIER of the TAENIE SOLIUM WORM, which is found in its flesh. These tapeworms are found in human intestines with greater frequency in nations where pigs are eaten. This type of tapeworm can pass through the intestines and affect many other organs, and is incurable once it reaches beyond a certain stage. One in six people in the US and Canada has RICHINOSIS from eating trichina worms, which are found in pork. Many people have NO SYMPTOMS to warm them of this, and when they do, they resemble symptoms of many other illnesses. These worms are NOT noticed during meat inspections. SHAMPOO Check your shampoo. Change before it's too late... Check the ingredients listed on your shampoo bottle, and see they have a substance by the name of Sodium Laureth Sulfate, or simply SLS. This substance is found in most shampoos; manufacturers use it because it produces a lot of foam and it is cheap. BUT the fact is, SLS is used to scrub garage floors, and it is very strong! It is also proven that it can cause cancer in the long run. Shampoos that contains SLS: Vo5, Palmolive, Paul Mitchell, L'Oreal, the new Hemp Shampoo from Body Shop etc. contain this substance. The first ingredient listed (which means it is the single most prevalent ingredient) in Clairol's Herbal Essences is Sodium Laureth Sulfate. Therefore, I called one company, and I told them their product contains a substance that will cause people to have cancer. They said, Yeah we knew about it but there is nothing we can do about it because we need that substance to produce foam. By the way Colgate toothpaste also contains the same substance to produce the "bubbles". They said they are going to send me some information. All for now. Hopefully you won’t have to wait too long for you next Above Rubies. Love from NANCY CAMPBELL
Double Blessings Keep Happening
I would like to introduce to you my friend, Patty Kohl. We have been friends for 18 years or so. We both lived in Illinois. About 15 years ago she and her husband, Barry, moved to Kentucky and finally settled in Tennessee. We missed them dearly and our phone bills showed it. I believe the Lord puts special friends in our path for reasons far beyond our understanding.
Why Do Babies Suck?
Why does my baby want to Suck all the Time? I was full of great intentions as I set out to nurse my first baby—well over forty years ago! My mother was by my side to encourage me in the way she thought best—to feed my baby on a four-hourly schedule. But sadly, this way brought me heartache and frustration. Every time my baby woke before the four hours were up, I paced the floor in agony waiting to feed him. My heart ached while my baby cried. I was a desperate mother. And I ran out of milk! With such a little amount of sucking, there was no way to keep up a good milk supply. By the time my baby was three months, I was well on the way to weaning, plus feeding him as many solids as I could to fill him up. I felt a failure!
Through Faith AND Patience
Our two children were born March 13, 1981 and December 26, 1982. They were very ill from the day they were born, causing us to resent them just a little. We had never really known a family that truly nurtured their children; thus we had no example to follow. The world taught us to just "make it"' until they were grown. We were even having a hard time with that. Therefore in the summer of 1983, my husband chose to have a vasectomy. We had an elder son and then a daughter; what the world deemed as the perfect family. What more could we ask for? Our family was complete and we would have no more worry about more children coming along.
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