Of Mandates and Men

Hi, I'm Elizabeth, and I'm a blog stalker. I know. Dang it. But, man, do I feel better now that I've confessed to those whom it concerns. You know, those invisible, faceless, unknown to me moms who don't know anything about my blog either. It's the conscience, people. There are loose connections to these bloggers: friends of friends of, well, you get the idea. I come across a lot of delightful ladies. Moms doing the same thing as I am, but some are homeschooling their kiddos, some are the completely organic, non paper plate types. Seriously. And then there are some that talk about adoption and birth control. I come away from these blogs with a lot to think about, personally. And there are times that I bring these things to my husband; like last night. Let me preface, please, by saying that I think adoption is a truly wonderful thing. I find it an amazing ministry to a child who is otherwise parentless. I do, however, believe that it takes a special family to work in this way. Am I using that as a crutch? "Whew! Guess I'm off the hook!" Not at all. Rich and I just feel like our plate is plenty full right now. Right now. Who knows what the future holds? We all have our own views on birth control, and the Bible doesn't have anything to say about this topic. We are told to be fruitful and multiply; to fill the earth and subdue it. And for the Duggars that means 19, and counting. And for the Saadehs that means 3. When we over-share our views it tends to take on a preachy, my-way-or-the-highway tone, and I am trying to avoid that daily. Welcome to my struggle numero uno. Just because I don't think my boys should drink lighter fluid and Rich does, why is my way right? Totally kidding. But Jack did spray Will with Formula 409 once, without asking first. The nerve.
We all have beautiful minds that think in different ways, but the Gospel, as my husband reminds me, is everywhere. He gave me the example: "Say you're talking with a friend about Jack's wonderful teacher and she asks you 'What about his Bible class?' 'How can his education be complete without Bible class?'" Jesus and His Gospel are everywhere. And his Bible class is at home, just like this ficticious friends' would be.
I knew a family back in LA who would cut the tags out of their clothes when they bought them because it was too "wordly." So, let me get this straight. It's okay for your clothes to come from Gap and not Goodwill, but you have to remove the tag? I guess the reminder in the form of the shirt is okay? Where is the Gospel?
We so easily get caught up in out-doing each other that we lose sight of the fact that we are chasing the same prize. Jesus is making all things new.
Am I any less "righteous" since I don't homeschool my children and we don't eat organically? No. I love my children, but I love time away from my children as well. I also love me some artificial sweetner in the form of Diet Coke. Besides, I think that Rich might die BECAUSE of eating all organic. The boy doesn't think a whole lot of it. His opinion, and he ain't gonna force it on anyone.
He has cautioned me against reading some of these blogs because I come away from them feeling like a big, fat, crappy failure as a person. Jack thinks I'm fat, so that's taken care of. I labored 14 hours for that little pipsqueak... and I love him.
These are the exception and not the rule. The Gospel is for all of us. Jesus came to cover our sin and failure with His blood. And if I think about that, these mandates suddenly seem to fade...