Friday, November 25, 2011

No Munchkins Allowed

My husband and I have made a permanent decision to not have children. How freeing! I even tried to talk myself out of our permanent solution to make sure that this is the right decision. The ONLY reason I could think of for having kids is to have someone to take care of us when we're old. But what's to say that our children will outlive us or be available when we need them? To me, that reason in itself is not strong enough to merit a new life!

We are/I am not the "normal" childfree couple. I was looking online to see if others felt like me, and came across some sites that were critical of (bordering on hateful to) parents, Christians, breastfeeding moms, and more. I am not against any of that!!! I think parents are great, and love to see a mom in my office reading a book to her child, or encouraging a mom to breastfeed for her and her baby's health. Heck, I even love to watch 19 Kids and Counting. Their commitment to their family and their faith is admirable. But should we have a child....because they're cute? because everyone else is doing it? it's what we're "supposed" to do? Nah. Some people just cannot fathom why we want to stay childfree, so here is a summary.

  • Environmental - the Earth's population is exploding and we are using up our resources too quickly. Babies need diapers and stuff and food for their whole lives. I could use cloth diapers, but if I never have to change diapers, even better!
  • Occupational - I love my job. I've never met a mom who wasn't torn between her job and her kids. Why put myself in that situation if I don't have to?
  • Emotional - Children are a blessing, but they can also be very stressful!
  • Marital - My husband and I can agree to disagree on certain issues that won't ever affect us since we won't have kids. Working out agreements is a good thing, but there are just certain things we won't ever have to worry about (like video games/TV, curfew/bedtime, etc).
  • Physical - I never have to be pregnant. Enough said.
  • Helpful - As a wife, there is a lot of work to do at home (children or not!). As a Christian, there is a lot of work to do for God's Kingdom. I am seriously not perfect and still improving in this area, but being childfree really is freeing to help other children who are already here and do the other things that God wants me to.
As you can hopefully see, this was not a hasty decision, but a prayed-over, thought-out decision. This is not just a matter of trying to take the easy way out. I do not judge those who have children or want to have children. We all have our own lives. I do wish that people would more carefully consider the decision to have children (or not!) before taking on this monumental, life-long challenge. It is the child who suffers when the parents are not prepared for the responsibility.

There will always be those who say, "You'll change your mind." Well, I know that God is the only one who knows the plans for my life, and the only one with the power to change minds. If He tells us something different in the future, I'll do my best to follow. But for now, I am free.

Monday, May 16, 2011

El Inmortal

Watch this video. Especially if you speak Spanish. It's one of my new favorites by Manny Montes, a Christian Reggaeton artist. His music is as good if not better than mainstream Reggaeton, plus the message is awesome. This particular song is about Jesus's death - how he gave up his life for ALL of us. It's unfortunate how some of the people mentioned in this song are judged by Christians instead of loved as Jesus loves them. Here's part of the song translated (though it flows better in Spanish!)

He died for Pentecostals and for Catholics
He died for addicts, for prostitutes and for alcoholics
He died for believers and for athiests
He died for Americans, Africans, and Europeans

He died for Michael Jordan, Ricky Martin, and for Tyson
He died for Eminem, Jennifer Lopez, Michael Jackson
He died for Madonna, Christina Aguilera, and Britney
He died for Fidel Castro, Hugo Chavez, and for Hitler

He died for Picasso, for Diana the Princess
He died for Albert Einstein and for the Mother Teresa
He died for Tego, for Hector, for Don Omar, Daddy Yankee
He died for Saddam Hussin, and for Osama Bin Laden

He died for the Pope, for Bush and for Don King
He died for Tito Trinidad, Bill Gates, and for Benny Hinn
He died for homosexuals and for evangelists
He died for missionaries and he died for terrorists

He died for murderers, crooks, and governors
He died for the mafia, pastors, and for rapists
He died for those who reject him and for those who receive him
I accept him, and you? Tell me your decision.

Acts 11:17 And since God gave these Gentiles the same gift he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to stand in God’s way?

Sunday, March 20, 2011

40 Days of Prayer

...otherwise sometimes known as Lent. I decided instead of fasting in the literal sense that I would give up caffeine for 40 days.
The whole point is that I'm sacrificing something to dedicate myself to God, and relying on him to get me through. Have I been tempted? Yep. Have I been exhausted? Yep. Have I cheated? Nope. But it's definitely not through my own power. I'm not that strong. I know it sounds dumb, but caffeine is a drug, and I was "using " it every day. It's been harder than I thought to give it up.

At a Bible study the other night, the leader said something that I can't get out of my mind. How often do I "cheat" when it comes to things God wants me to do? When I should rely on him? How often does He give me a thought and I think "that's a good idea" and never do it? How often do I use things - caffeine, TV, internet, eating, facebook (the list goes on) to distract myself from what I am missing out on? While it's good that I haven't given in to caffeine for 11 days, that's nothing compared to what I can do through Christ who strengthens me. By not relying on God in ALL things, I'm really cheating myself and others out of the full life that God has for me.

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." -Romans 12:1-2

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

The New Inklings

The New Inklings is a blog about religion, or the lack thereof. Each week, one of the Inklings will post about a particular topic from their perspective, be it Christian or Agnostic. Later in the week, the other will post their viewpoint on the same topic.

Discussion and learning without judgement and arguing - love it!

Sunday, January 30, 2011

New Year, New Posts

I stopped blogging for a while because I had nothing to say. Good thing the blog doesn't erase from inactivity, because now I have some things to say again. I was reading old posts and I listed some highlights of 2009 looking forward to 2010. I'm a month late, but whatever, here it is...

*My first nephew, Maddox, was born
*Cleaned and organized all the closets in my house
*Switched jobs from Office Services Specialist to Nutritionist
*Learned more than I ever thought I would about breastfeeding and babies
*Started to learn Arabic, then kinda crapped out because it is HARD. Maybe in 2011 I'll get motivated again with that.
*My best friend, Carissa, moved back here
*Trip to Puerto Rico to celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary
*Decided for sure we're happy without our own kids
*Got involved with the Spanish Church of the Nazarene which has been amazing all around

Wow, that was more than I expected! Of course not everything was perfect, but those are some majorly awesome things...

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Reflection

"Thank you God for using a broken, sometimes rotten, sometimes horrible situation to somehow glorify You. You make everything beautiful and glorious." - My friend Laura S.

Wow. So true. Plenty of examples in my life and situations I've seen or been through. Sometimes God even uses stuff that's not rotten or horrible, but unexpected. Hanging out with my Muslim friends and seeing their dedication to God and their faith has challenged and encouraged me in my own. Reber and I are part of a Spanish-speaking church and God helps us to understand everything that he wants us to - even when the words fail, we get the message. Because of this church, he has surrounded us with friends right here in our community that live and work close to us.

I appreciate all my church experiences in the past - from Mennonite to modern to house church. God has shown me many things in each situation, through both good and not so good experiences. But we're all a work in progress, right?!

Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. - James 1:4