{"id":302576,"date":"2012-08-20T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2012-08-20T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/%series%\/embracing-motherhood\/"},"modified":"2012-08-20T11:00:00","modified_gmt":"2012-08-20T15:00:00","slug":"embracing-motherhood","status":"publish","type":"podcast","link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/embracing-motherhood\/","title":{"rendered":"Embracing Motherhood"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Children are a blessing from the Lord. Do you really believe that?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":91,"featured_media":294104,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","inline_featured_image":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"https:\/\/web.familylifetoday.com\/fl2012-08-20.mp3","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"00:","filesize":"23.54M","filesize_raw":"24685182","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":""},"categories":[2838],"tags":[4126,5220],"podcast_series":[7894],"cwp_profile":[3200],"series":[2101],"class_list":["post-302576","podcast","type-podcast","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mothers","tag-ministry","tag-pregnant","podcast_series-beyond-bath-time","cwp_profile-erin-davis","series-familylife-today"],"acf":[],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2024\/09\/FLT-Podcast-Cover-2-508x508-3.jpg?w=508","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2023\/02\/image-scaled.jpg","download_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast-download\/302576\/embracing-motherhood","player_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast-player\/302576\/embracing-motherhood","audio_player":null,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"light","subscribeUrls":{"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/familylife-today\/id212174303?mt=2&app=podcast","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/0j5UaKdQOHQCuo1bt0ebEm","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"},"youtube":{"key":"youtube","url":"","label":"YouTube","class":"youtube","icon":"youtube.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/feed\/podcast\/familylife-today","embedCode":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"REqgLDj3DL\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/embracing-motherhood\/\">Embracing Motherhood<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/embracing-motherhood\/embed\/#?secret=REqgLDj3DL\" width=\"500\" height=\"350\" title=\"&#8220;Embracing Motherhood&#8221; &#8212; FamilyLife\u00ae - A Cru Ministry\" data-secret=\"REqgLDj3DL\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script>\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/\/# sourceURL=https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-includes\/js\/wp-embed.min.js\n<\/script>\n"},"spectra_custom_meta":{"_wp_page_template":["default"],"transcript_url":["https:\/\/transcript.familylifetoday.com\/fl2012-08-20.pdf"],"audio_file":["https:\/\/web.familylifetoday.com\/fl2012-08-20.mp3"],"transcript_content":["<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 A lot of young girls used to grow up playing with baby dolls, dreaming perhaps of the day when they would be a mommy.\u00a0 Erin Davis says that dream doesn\u2019t happen so much anymore.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 Do you know why young women, middle school girls, don\u2019t want to be moms?\u00a0 Same reason they don\u2019t want to be married\u2014because they haven\u2019t seen it work.\u00a0 They don\u2019t hear women with small kids saying that it\u2019s a mission field and that it\u2019s something they\u2019re doing for God\u2019s glory.\u00a0 They hear those moms complaining, and yelling at their kids, and being stressed to the max.\u00a0 The majority of young women that I interact with\u2014through speaking, and teaching, and through my church\u2014say, \u201cI don\u2019t want to be a mom.\u201d \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 This is <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> for Monday, August 20<sup>th<\/sup>.\u00a0 Our host is the President of FamilyLife<sup>\u00ae<\/sup>, Dennis Rainey, and I'm Bob Lepine.\u00a0\u00a0 Whatever happened to the idea that children are a blessing from the Lord?\u00a0 We\u2019ll explore that today with Erin Davis.\u00a0 Stay tuned.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAnd welcome to <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>.\u00a0 Thanks for joining us.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know that you know this about me, but I\u2019m something of an expert on young\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes, I do know that!\u00a0 [Laughter]\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 I\u2019m anything I want to be; right?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 A self-proclaimed expert!\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 That\u2019s right.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Why do you even need to tell our listeners that?\u00a0 They already know!\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Let me get to the subject that I\u2019m an expert on.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Okay\u2014this week!\u00a0 [Laughter]\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 It is\u2014it is young children\u2019s literature.\u00a0 I am something of an expert on\u2014I have read\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 <em>Goodnight Moon<\/em>?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Well, I\u2019m going a little beyond <em>Goodnight Moon<\/em>.\u00a0 I have read just about everything written by Louisa May Alcott\u2014the <em>Little Men, Little <\/em>Women\u2014all of that.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 I have read all of the Laura Ingalls Wilder series.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Has all this been recently, Bob?\u00a0 [Laughter]\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 No.\u00a0 No, it\u2019s been years ago; and it was a chapter a day\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 [Laughing] I\u2019m concerned about you.\u00a0 Is what I\u2019m\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 \u2014and it was at bedtime.\u00a0 I have to tell you my favorite\u2014and probably my daughter, Amy\u2019s, favorite, too.\u00a0 The favorite would be <em>The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe<\/em>\u2014the whole <em>Chronicles<\/em> series; right? \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Of course.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 But Amy really loved the <em>Betsy-Tacy and Tib<\/em> series of stories, which I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve never heard of\u2014but wonderful stories about a girl growing up in Minnesota, at the turn of the last century.\u00a0 It\u2019s a great series of books.\u00a0 I could converse for hours with you about Maud Hart Lovelace, the author, in Mankato, Minnesota.\u00a0 If you\u2019d like to have the conversation, we can do that.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 I want to see if our guest, Erin Davis\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 If she\u2019s heard of any of these.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Any of them.\u00a0 Erin, welcome to the broadcast.\u00a0 Have you heard of all these series that Bob\u2019s rattling off about?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 Thank you for having me.\u00a0 I\u2019ve heard of <em>The Little House on the Prairie<\/em>.\u00a0 I aspire to be Ma, but she makes it looks so easy\u2014all the canning and the prairie life\u2014and it is not that easy.\u00a0 But I don\u2019t know about\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 Any of the rest of these?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 No, I don\u2019t!\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 I need to give you a list.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 But <em>Goodnight Moon<\/em> I know.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 There you go.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 <em>The Very Hungry Caterpillar<\/em> I know.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 There you go.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 How about <em>The Red Ripe Strawberry and the Big Hungry Bear? <\/em>Do you know that one?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes, I do!\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Oh, now we\u2019re getting down\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 And <em>If You Give a Moose a Muffin<\/em>.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0 And <em>The No-Good<\/em>\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 And <em>A Horse, a <\/em>Cookie\u2014I don\u2019t know how they go, but there are several of those.\u00a0 [Laughter]\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Well, Erin is a mom of two.\u00a0 That\u2019s part of what we\u2019re talking about here today.\u00a0 She is founder of Graffiti Ministries, and has written a number of books, and lives back near my hometown of Ozark, Missouri\u2014lives in Springfield, Missouri.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 In fact, isn\u2019t there a Laura Ingalls Wilder connection in that part of the country?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 There is.\u00a0 It\u2019s right there in\u2014her childhood home is very close to where I live.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 That\u2019s what I thought.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 She has just completed a book called <em>Beyond Bath Time<\/em>.\u00a0 It\u2019s a book about motherhood.\u00a0 One of the statistics that you had in the book that really was alarming to me\u2014it was a survey done of Christians.\u00a0 It said that 47 percent of Christian women said that marriage and motherhood should not be talked about or explained among women.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 And that they should not be emphasized in the church.\u00a0 That\u2019s right.\u00a0 I think that opinion has been listened to.\u00a0 I don\u2019t think that we\u2019re talking about it in the church, women-to-women, from the pulpit, and all the ways that the church communicates in the ways that would really be helpful to moms.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Why don\u2019t women want people talking in church about motherhood; do you think?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 Well, I think the concept\u2014the basic core concept about motherhood being a really wonderful use of a woman\u2019s life, of her talents, of her abilities, of her dreams\u2014seems so old-fashioned right now.\u00a0 That even those of us who are moms, and we love our kids, and we love being moms, we think, \u201cWell, yes; but should we really be emphasizing that?\u00a0 Really, is that where our efforts should be focused?\u00a0 Should we really be spending our time talking about that or should we be talking about something that seems more important?\u201d\u00a0 I think there\u2019s just a fear to really emphasize the roles of wife and mother in our current cultural climate.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 You were in the 12<sup>th<\/sup> week of pregnancy when you found out there was a problem.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 Right.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 And you, of course, had embraced being a mom, and this child, and you were all excited about it; right?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 Well, I wasn\u2019t!\u00a0 The way that I broke the news to my husband that we were having our first child was by sitting on the edge of our bed and sobbing.\u00a0 Poor man, he was just trying to get dressed and go to work.\u00a0 His crazy wife comes in and says [distressed], \u201cWe\u2019re having a baby!\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Was he surprised at your response?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 He went to work very quickly after that.\u00a0 [Laughter]\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 \u201cI gotta go!\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 \u201cI think I have a meeting.\u201d\u00a0 [Laughter]\u00a0 I think he was shocked by the news.\u00a0 Also, we were really reeling.\u00a0 We had spent many years saying that we were not going to be parents\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 At all.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 At all.\u00a0 It\u2019s funny.\u00a0 Since this book has come out, I can\u2019t tell you how many old friends have called me and said, \u201cI told you so!\u00a0 How many times did I tell you motherhood was important?\u201d\u00a0 It took us a little while to catch on to that notion.\u00a0 The reason why we said we weren\u2019t going to be parents was because we wanted to have a ministry.\u00a0 We wanted to pour our whole lives into student ministry, into teenagers.\u00a0 We couldn\u2019t fathom that God could work out the logistics of us doing both, which seems silly now, in hindsight.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 So here\u2019s what I want to ask you, \u201cHere you are\u2014you\u2019re evidently both very serious followers of Jesus Christ\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 We are.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 \u2014You have the same Bible I\u2019ve got\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 Right.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 \u2014and there\u2019s a verse in Psalm 127 that says, \u2018Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one\u2019s youth.\u00a0 Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them.\u2019\u00a0 Now did you believe the Scriptures?\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 I\u2019m not sure that I\u2014I don\u2019t have any recollection of reading that verse.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Oh, you sound like you\u2019re taking the Fifth on this.\u00a0 [Laughter]\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 I have no memory of anyone preaching on that verse.\u00a0 I grew up in the church\u2014in Bible-preaching churches\u2014but I understand that pastors are preaching to congregations that are all not married couples.\u00a0 They\u2019re trying to teach to the common denominator.\u00a0 Maybe I had heard it, but it certainly had never sunk in.\u00a0\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI think I had this, \u201cYes, children are a blessing\u2014and warrior and quiver, and other people\u2019s children are a blessing.\u00a0 We like kids.\u00a0 Everybody likes kids\u2014they\u2019re cute,\u201d but I\u2019m not sure I applied the deeper message that children are always a blessing.\u00a0 That\u2019s so clear in Scripture.\u00a0 When I went looking for it, it became so clear to me that children were a blessing; but I guess I thought that life according to my schedule was a bigger blessing. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 This is not a multiple choice quiz, but had you not also ever heard of\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Genesis 1?\u00a0 I\u2019m not trying to put you down, at this point\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 Sure.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 \u2014I\u2019m really wanting to understand\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 \u201cI want you to get to the bottom of it.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Genesis 1:28, \u201cAnd God blessed them, and God said to them, \u2018Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it,\u2019\u201d and so forth.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 I was on a mission trip to Jamaica, with my husband.\u00a0 We brought a group of about 30 students.\u00a0 We also brought some friends of ours, who were also in youth ministry, and yet had four children.\u00a0 I remember the husband saying\u2014we were having this discussion, you know, \u201cWhen are you going to have kids?\u201d \u2014which everyone starts asking right after the rice is thrown; right?\u00a0\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAt this point, months and years had gone by; and we still didn\u2019t have kids.\u00a0 We were doing that conversation, \u201cWhen are you going to have kids?\u201d\u00a0 I\u2019m doing my, \u201cWe\u2019re not going to have kids because we\u2019re going to have a ministry.\u201d\u00a0 He cites that verse to me, \u201cWhat about the \u2018be fruitful and multiply\u2019?\u2019\u201d\u00a0 I said, \u201cThat is not a mandate to all people.\u00a0 That\u2019s what God said to Adam and Eve because, if Adam and Eve had not been fruitful and multiplied, it would have been a very short human race.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThat was my logic for that verse\u2014was that that was not something that applied to my life.\u00a0 That was the story of Adam and Eve.\u00a0 Of course, Adam and Eve had to be fruitful and multiply; but I could be fruitful and multiply in other ways, without having children.\u00a0 It\u2019s so clear now, as we\u2019re talking about it, the holes in that thinking.\u00a0 It\u2019s very clear to me, looking back.\u00a0 Unfortunately, I don\u2019t think it is clear to a lot of non-moms.\u00a0 I\u2019m not sure if you\u2019re aware, but by and large, most Christian young women have zero desire to be married and are very vocal about it; but even the women\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Whoa, whoa, whoa.\u00a0 Most Christian young women have zero desire to be married and are vocal about it?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 The desires of Christian young women to be married and have children are absolutely in the toilet.\u00a0 I could cite you some numbers; but they wouldn\u2019t be as interesting as the stories of the young women that I encounter, who love the Lord, passionately love the Lord.\u00a0 I\u2019ll say, \u201cWhat do you want to do with your life?\u201d\u00a0 <br><br>\u201cI want to have a ministry!\u201d which to them, looks like something very official\u2014in some sort of ministry box.\u00a0 I\u2019ll say, \u201cDo you want to be married?\u201d\u00a0 They\u2019ll say, \u201cWell, if God brings me a husband, I\u2019d be open to that,\u201d \u2014which you guys know\u2014you talk about marriage numbers all the time.\u00a0 Those of us who are married\u2014as adults, we are very close to becoming the minority for the first time in history.\u00a0 Imagine that trajectory, just ten years down the road, when the teenagers at my church are of marrying age; and the number of married adults just continues to go down.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBut the number that continues to go up is married couples who choose childlessness\u2014not couples whose childlessness chooses them, not people who are not yet married\u2014but Christian couples, who assume can get pregnant, but choose not to get pregnant.\u00a0 I would say the majority of young women that I interact with\u2014through speaking, and teaching, and through my church\u2014say, \u201cI don\u2019t want to be a mom.\u00a0 I don\u2019t want to be a mom, ever.\u201d\u00a0 The number one rival for that is that they want to have a career.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 I want to rewind a statement.\u00a0 I want to be careful about placing all the blame on the church and on preachers for not preaching messages about children being a blessing.\u00a0 I want to go all the way back to the moms and dads, and the singles, and those who aspire to be married or someday think they will be married\u2014and just talk straight with them and say, \u201cYou know what?\u00a0 The place where there ought to be the genesis of the concept of children being a privilege and a blessing ought to be in the home,\u201d \u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 Absolutely.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 \u2014 \u201cought to be in the family that you\u2019re establishing.\u00a0 The value of human life\u2014the value of sending a message to the next generation through a child who you imprint with the Scriptures and with the life of Jesus Christ, and you share with them the truth of God\u2019s Word, and you share with them the idea that they\u2019re to be on a mission.\u201d\u00a0 You talk about it in your book.\u00a0 The Muslims are producing like mad.\u00a0 The Mormons are growing 40 percent a year, just through their families alone.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 The Muslims are projected to be one-fourth of the world\u2019s population very soon.\u00a0 The Population Reference Bureau, which is a secular\u2014it\u2019s just a monitoring organization\u2014when they are pressed on why Muslims will soon be one-fourth of the world\u2019s population, they said, \u201cBecause of higher fertility rates.\u201d\u00a0 In other words, Muslims are having children and non-Muslims are not having as many children. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tMormonism is the same way.\u00a0 It\u2019s growing leaps and bounds due to their large families.\u00a0 I\u2019m so glad you called me on that because the blame doesn\u2019t rest on pastors.\u00a0 You know why young women, middle school girls, don\u2019t want to be moms?\u00a0 Same reason they don\u2019t want to be married\u2014because they haven\u2019t seen it work.\u00a0 They haven\u2019t seen it in the examples of either in their own home or people that they really appreciate.\u00a0\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThey don\u2019t hear women with small kids saying that it\u2019s a mission field and that it\u2019s something they\u2019re doing for God\u2019s glory.\u00a0 They hear those moms complaining, and being stressed to the max, and yelling at their kids, and all of those kinds of things.\u00a0 Absolutely, the responsibility rests with those of us who are parents to show an example of parenthood as ministry\u2014that others can really latch onto.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 I\u2019m flashing back, as you\u2019re talking about this, to the first years of my marriage.\u00a0 Mary Ann grew up in a tough family situation\u2014some tough family dynamics going on there.\u00a0 If there had been somebody who might have been predisposed, by example, to not want to get married and not want to have kids, she would have been a candidate for that; but after we got married, she was ready.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI remember being on a trip with her one time.\u00a0 It had been about a year, and we had not conceived.\u00a0 She was weeping in the car, wondering aloud, \u201cWhy would God give me this desire and not give me children?\u201d\u00a0 I\u2019m a young husband who doesn\u2019t have a good answer for that one; you know? \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 But I\u2019m thinking to myself, \u201cSo isn\u2019t that something that\u2019s birthed in the heart of most girls?\u201d\u00a0 Where was it\u2014why wasn\u2019t that in your heart?\u00a0 Why didn\u2019t you want to make babies as soon as you got married?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 I grew up with very loving parents who divorced when I was ten.\u00a0 Any of us who know children of divorce know that causes a fracture in a worldview.\u00a0 That probably played a role.\u00a0 But I have a twin sister; and while she was playing house, I think I was probably playing with a briefcase.\u00a0 I just always\u2014some people are Type A.\u00a0 I think I was born Type Double-A, maybe Type-Triple-A.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tTeachers would see that from very young\u2014counselors, people of influence in my life\u2014and say, \u201cYou\u2019ve got something, Erin.\u00a0 You need to go to college.\u00a0 You need to go to graduate school.\u00a0 You need to pursue a career.\u201d\u00a0 Very few people\u2014I don\u2019t remember anyone saying to me, \u201cA great use of your creativity, a great use of your energy, would be to raise a family for the Lord.\u201d\u00a0 I don\u2019t remember ever hearing that.\u00a0 That\u2019s really the game-changer\u2014is to believe that God can really use it for Kingdom work. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 I just want to unpack this just a little more.\u00a0 When you say that being a mom is engaging in a mission field\u2014it really is one of the most powerful missions efforts that a woman can invest herself\u2014and a father, as well.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 The impact is huge.\u00a0 Now, my husband and I have done student ministry for 12 years.\u00a0 I believe that there\u2019s been some good fruit, and I believe that that ministry mattered.\u00a0 So those of you who are listening, who are in student ministry, or children\u2019s ministry, or any kind of ministry, don\u2019t mis-hear what I\u2019m about to say next.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWhat we did in student ministry pales in comparison to raising a family of children who love the Lord, who go on to raise children who love the Lord, who go on to raise children who love the Lord.\u00a0 Equipping these children, who have different spiritual gifts than I, and helping them figure out how God is going to use that\u2014that really excites me.\u00a0 I can catch the bigger vision for loaves and fishes, and how the Lord can really divide that in really, really exciting ways.\u00a0 It\u2019s not just about raising good kids who get good grades. It\u2019s about so much more than that.\u00a0 That makes kind of the mundane things of motherhood a lot more bearable.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 It\u2019s about raising children who have a sense of mission, too\u2014that they were put here for a purpose\u2014to honor God, to glorify Him, but to also be a part of His work on this planet.\u00a0 One of the things I fear, Erin\u2014you don\u2019t know this about me, but Bob has heard me get on my soapbox more than once on this broadcast and begin to pound the table.\u00a0 I am really concerned about Christian families today and the way they\u2019re raising their children to be more consumers rather than on a journey\u2014on a mission, in a war, a fellow warrior\u2014to have a mindset that they\u2019re raising their kids to go into battle.\u00a0 There\u2019s a reason why, in Psalm 127, it talks about \u201clike arrows in the hands of a warrior\u201d. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 Because they\u2019re the ammo for the battle.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 They are!\u00a0 If Christian families don\u2019t own that, then Korea is going to be sending missionaries to America.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 Right.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 China is going to be\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 Well, countries already are.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0 They\u2019re going to be evangelizing America because those of us in the church don\u2019t own the generational mandate to raise children:\u00a0 A) who know Jesus Christ and who embrace Him; but secondly) engage their lives in a mission of serving Him.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 Right.\u00a0 If we continue reading in Psalm 128, it talks about like children are olive shoots around the table.\u00a0 Well, most of us get our olives from cans, right?\u00a0\u00a0 So that word picture might get lost on us; but I looked it up, and olive trees are often surrounded by a band\u2014a grouping of immature olive trees surround that mother olive tree.\u00a0 Do they take the mother\u2019s nutrients from the soil?\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0 Does she have to share her water and her sunlight?\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0 But ultimately those olive trees become a healthy band of successors.\u00a0 When that mother olive tree dies, the growth that she started continues on. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI think a lot of us really want to do important things for the Lord.\u00a0 That\u2019s great, and we do it; but if I invested my life for 30 years in student ministry and never had children of my own, they would have given me a plaque, they would have thrown me a lovely luncheon, and I would have gone on my way.\u00a0 But now, I\u2019m raising children who I can pass the baton on to and can continue the mission.\u00a0 I can only assume that God is going to give us a mission as a family and a passion to minister as a family.\u00a0 Yes, they do require much of me, but they\u2019re really the only way that battle can continue to go on.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 You have two, right now?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 Two, right now.\u00a0 Yes.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Any more on\u2014?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0 Not immediately on the way, but yes.\u00a0 You\u2019ll never hear me say a number because I feel like those people who say a number didn\u2019t make it\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 They\u2019re just setting themselves up for\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes, they are just setting themselves up.\u00a0 [Laughter]\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Well, I\u2019ve read two passages or three of Scripture here today.\u00a0 I want to read another one.\u00a0 Proverbs, Chapter 31, verse 28\u2014actually 27 and 28, \u201cShe looks well to the ways of her household.\u201d\u00a0 This is speaking of the Proverbs 31 woman.\u00a0 \u201cShe does not eat the bread of idleness.\u00a0 Her children rise up and call her blessed.\u00a0 Her husband also, and he praises her.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tYou know, not that you just don\u2019t want the praises of your husband\u2014but if God gives you the privilege, as a woman, of not only being married, but of being fertile\u2014and I know there is a number of listeners, about 12 percent, I understand, who are permanently infertile\u2014but if God does give you that great, great privilege to hear the words of children, \u201cI praise you, Mom, for giving your life and investing in me,\u201d \u2014that\u2019s got to be music to the soul.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 I\u2019d say that\u2019s as good as it gets.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0\u00a0 And it\u2019s not that it\u2019s not challenging.\u00a0 It\u2019s not that there aren\u2019t nights when you\u2019d like a little more sleep, or days when you\u2019d like a little more peace and quiet; but the investment\u2014is a noble investment.\u00a0 As you start to look at the long-term, it\u2019s a significant investment; and one that ought to be celebrated.\u00a0 You really do celebrate it well in the book, <em>Beyond Bath Time<\/em>, which we have in our <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> Resource Center.\u00a0 The subtitle: <em>Embracing Motherhood as a Sacred Role. <\/em>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<em>\u00a0<\/em>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tIt may be that you know somebody who just had a baby.\u00a0 This would be a great gift to pass on to them, Erin Davis\u2019 book, <em>Beyond Bath Time<\/em>.\u00a0 Go to FamilyLifeToday.com for more information on how to get a copy.\u00a0 FamilyLifeToday.com is our website; or call, toll-free, 1-800-358-6329; that\u2019s 1-800-\u201cF\u201d as in family, \u201cL\u201d as in life, and then the word, \u201cTODAY\u201d.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe also have here, at FamilyLife, a blog for moms, called <em>MomLife Today<\/em><sup>\u2122<\/sup>.\u00a0 There\u2019s a link on our website at FamilyLifeToday.com if you\u2019d like to get on the blog list and be alerted when there are new blog posts.\u00a0 The person who heads up that blog, Tracey Eyster, has a brand-new book out called <em>Be the Mom<\/em>.\u00a0 There\u2019s more information about Tracey\u2019s book at FamilyLifeToday.com, as well.\u00a0 Again, the website, FamilyLifeToday.com; or call us, toll-free, if you have any questions.\u00a0 1-800-FL-TODAY is our toll-free number.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tNow, this month, we have been asking those of you who are regular listeners to <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>\u2014but we just don\u2019t know you\u2019re out there\u2014we\u2019ve never been in touch with one another.\u00a0 We\u2019re asking you if you would consider making a donation to <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> for the first time.\u00a0 Go online to FamilyLifeToday.com; or call us, toll-free, at 1-800-FL-TODAY and make a first-time donation.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tOur goal is to hear from 2,500 brand-new supporters of the ministry.\u00a0 That\u2019s about two families in each of the cities where <em>FamilyLife Today <\/em>is heard.\u00a0 We\u2019ve already heard from many of you.\u00a0 Thank you for getting in touch with us and for your first-time donation.\u00a0 In fact, you can see, on our website at FamilyLifeToday.com, we\u2019re keeping a little thermometer of how many first-time donors we\u2019ve heard from this month.\u00a0 Every person who has contacted us and made a first-time donation, we\u2019ve been sending you the new movie, <em>October Baby<\/em>, which is not yet out on DVD in stores; but we have some pre-release copies\u2014we\u2019ve been sending those out to first-time donors to <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAnd those of you who have been able to make a $100 or more donation to <em>FamilyLife <\/em>Today\u2014we\u2019ve been sending you a certificate so that you and your spouse can attend a <em>Weekend to Remember<\/em><em><sup>\u00ae<\/sup><\/em>marriage getaway, as our guests; or you can pass that certificate along to your son or your daughter, or someone else you know who might benefit from going to a <em>Weekend to Remember<\/em>.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe just want to say, \u201cThank you,\u201d to those of you who have already gotten in touch with us and ask those of you who haven\u2019t yet, \u201cWould you consider making a first-time donation to <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>?\u201d\u00a0 Again, we\u2019ll send you the movie, <em>October Baby.<\/em><em>\u00a0 <\/em>If your donation is $100 or more, we\u2019ll send you a <em>Weekend to Remember<\/em> gift certificate.\u00a0 We\u2019re grateful for your support\u2014always nice to hear from new friends.\u00a0 I know some of you have been long-time listeners\u2014so thanks for getting in touch with us and letting us know you\u2019re out there. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAnd we hope you\u2019ll be back with us again tomorrow.\u00a0 Erin Davis is going to be here again.\u00a0 We\u2019re going to continue talking about the joys and the challenges of being a mom.\u00a0 Hope you\u2019ll be back with us for that.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI want to thank our engineer today, Keith Lynch, and our entire broadcast production team.\u00a0 On behalf of our host, Dennis Rainey, I'm Bob Lepine.\u00a0 We will see you back next time for another edition of <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> is a production of FamilyLife of Little Rock, Arkansas.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tHelp for today.\u00a0 Hope for tomorrow.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe are so happy to provide these transcripts to you.\u00a0 However, there is a cost to produce them for our website.\u00a0 If you\u2019ve benefited from the broadcast transcripts, would you consider <a href=\"http:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/donate\">donating today<\/a> to help defray the costs?\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tCopyright <sup>\u00a9<\/sup> 2012 FamilyLife.\u00a0 All rights reserved. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"http:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/\">www.FamilyLife.com<\/a>\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t1\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>"],"_seopress_titles_title":[""],"_seopress_titles_desc":[""],"_seopress_robots_index":[""],"duration":["00:"],"show_notes":[""],"_thumbnail_id":["294104"],"filesize":["23.54M"],"filesize_raw":["24685182"],"_uag_css_file_name":["uag-css-302576.css"],"_uag_js_file_name":["uag-js-302576.js"],"_uag_page_assets":["a:9:{s:3:\"css\";s:82560:\".wp-block-uagb-container.uagb-block-e11dbe9f .uagb-container__shape-top svg{width: calc( 100% + 1.3px );}.wp-block-uagb-container.uagb-block-e11dbe9f .uagb-container__shape.uagb-container__shape-top .uagb-container__shape-fill{fill: rgba(51,51,51,1);}.wp-block-uagb-container.uagb-block-e11dbe9f .uagb-container__shape-bottom svg{width: calc( 100% + 1.3px );}.wp-block-uagb-container.uagb-block-e11dbe9f .uagb-container__shape.uagb-container__shape-bottom .uagb-container__shape-fill{fill: rgba(51,51,51,1);}.wp-block-uagb-container.uagb-block-e11dbe9f .uagb-container__video-wrap video{opacity: 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are a blessing from the Lord. Do you really believe that?","meta_box":{"show_notes":"","transcript_url":"https:\/\/transcript.familylifetoday.com\/fl2012-08-20.pdf","transcript_content":"<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 A lot of young girls used to grow up playing with baby dolls, dreaming perhaps of the day when they would be a mommy.\u00a0 Erin Davis says that dream doesn\u2019t happen so much anymore.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 Do you know why young women, middle school girls, don\u2019t want to be moms?\u00a0 Same reason they don\u2019t want to be married\u2014because they haven\u2019t seen it work.\u00a0 They don\u2019t hear women with small kids saying that it\u2019s a mission field and that it\u2019s something they\u2019re doing for God\u2019s glory.\u00a0 They hear those moms complaining, and yelling at their kids, and being stressed to the max.\u00a0 The majority of young women that I interact with\u2014through speaking, and teaching, and through my church\u2014say, \u201cI don\u2019t want to be a mom.\u201d \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 This is <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> for Monday, August 20<sup>th<\/sup>.\u00a0 Our host is the President of FamilyLife<sup>\u00ae<\/sup>, Dennis Rainey, and I'm Bob Lepine.\u00a0\u00a0 Whatever happened to the idea that children are a blessing from the Lord?\u00a0 We\u2019ll explore that today with Erin Davis.\u00a0 Stay tuned.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAnd welcome to <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>.\u00a0 Thanks for joining us.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know that you know this about me, but I\u2019m something of an expert on young\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes, I do know that!\u00a0 [Laughter]\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 I\u2019m anything I want to be; right?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 A self-proclaimed expert!\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 That\u2019s right.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Why do you even need to tell our listeners that?\u00a0 They already know!\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Let me get to the subject that I\u2019m an expert on.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Okay\u2014this week!\u00a0 [Laughter]\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 It is\u2014it is young children\u2019s literature.\u00a0 I am something of an expert on\u2014I have read\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 <em>Goodnight Moon<\/em>?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Well, I\u2019m going a little beyond <em>Goodnight Moon<\/em>.\u00a0 I have read just about everything written by Louisa May Alcott\u2014the <em>Little Men, Little <\/em>Women\u2014all of that.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 I have read all of the Laura Ingalls Wilder series.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Has all this been recently, Bob?\u00a0 [Laughter]\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 No.\u00a0 No, it\u2019s been years ago; and it was a chapter a day\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 [Laughing] I\u2019m concerned about you.\u00a0 Is what I\u2019m\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 \u2014and it was at bedtime.\u00a0 I have to tell you my favorite\u2014and probably my daughter, Amy\u2019s, favorite, too.\u00a0 The favorite would be <em>The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe<\/em>\u2014the whole <em>Chronicles<\/em> series; right? \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Of course.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 But Amy really loved the <em>Betsy-Tacy and Tib<\/em> series of stories, which I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve never heard of\u2014but wonderful stories about a girl growing up in Minnesota, at the turn of the last century.\u00a0 It\u2019s a great series of books.\u00a0 I could converse for hours with you about Maud Hart Lovelace, the author, in Mankato, Minnesota.\u00a0 If you\u2019d like to have the conversation, we can do that.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 I want to see if our guest, Erin Davis\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 If she\u2019s heard of any of these.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Any of them.\u00a0 Erin, welcome to the broadcast.\u00a0 Have you heard of all these series that Bob\u2019s rattling off about?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 Thank you for having me.\u00a0 I\u2019ve heard of <em>The Little House on the Prairie<\/em>.\u00a0 I aspire to be Ma, but she makes it looks so easy\u2014all the canning and the prairie life\u2014and it is not that easy.\u00a0 But I don\u2019t know about\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 Any of the rest of these?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 No, I don\u2019t!\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 I need to give you a list.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 But <em>Goodnight Moon<\/em> I know.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 There you go.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 <em>The Very Hungry Caterpillar<\/em> I know.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 There you go.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 How about <em>The Red Ripe Strawberry and the Big Hungry Bear? <\/em>Do you know that one?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes, I do!\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Oh, now we\u2019re getting down\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 And <em>If You Give a Moose a Muffin<\/em>.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0 And <em>The No-Good<\/em>\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 And <em>A Horse, a <\/em>Cookie\u2014I don\u2019t know how they go, but there are several of those.\u00a0 [Laughter]\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Well, Erin is a mom of two.\u00a0 That\u2019s part of what we\u2019re talking about here today.\u00a0 She is founder of Graffiti Ministries, and has written a number of books, and lives back near my hometown of Ozark, Missouri\u2014lives in Springfield, Missouri.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 In fact, isn\u2019t there a Laura Ingalls Wilder connection in that part of the country?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 There is.\u00a0 It\u2019s right there in\u2014her childhood home is very close to where I live.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 That\u2019s what I thought.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 She has just completed a book called <em>Beyond Bath Time<\/em>.\u00a0 It\u2019s a book about motherhood.\u00a0 One of the statistics that you had in the book that really was alarming to me\u2014it was a survey done of Christians.\u00a0 It said that 47 percent of Christian women said that marriage and motherhood should not be talked about or explained among women.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 And that they should not be emphasized in the church.\u00a0 That\u2019s right.\u00a0 I think that opinion has been listened to.\u00a0 I don\u2019t think that we\u2019re talking about it in the church, women-to-women, from the pulpit, and all the ways that the church communicates in the ways that would really be helpful to moms.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Why don\u2019t women want people talking in church about motherhood; do you think?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 Well, I think the concept\u2014the basic core concept about motherhood being a really wonderful use of a woman\u2019s life, of her talents, of her abilities, of her dreams\u2014seems so old-fashioned right now.\u00a0 That even those of us who are moms, and we love our kids, and we love being moms, we think, \u201cWell, yes; but should we really be emphasizing that?\u00a0 Really, is that where our efforts should be focused?\u00a0 Should we really be spending our time talking about that or should we be talking about something that seems more important?\u201d\u00a0 I think there\u2019s just a fear to really emphasize the roles of wife and mother in our current cultural climate.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 You were in the 12<sup>th<\/sup> week of pregnancy when you found out there was a problem.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 Right.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 And you, of course, had embraced being a mom, and this child, and you were all excited about it; right?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 Well, I wasn\u2019t!\u00a0 The way that I broke the news to my husband that we were having our first child was by sitting on the edge of our bed and sobbing.\u00a0 Poor man, he was just trying to get dressed and go to work.\u00a0 His crazy wife comes in and says [distressed], \u201cWe\u2019re having a baby!\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Was he surprised at your response?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 He went to work very quickly after that.\u00a0 [Laughter]\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 \u201cI gotta go!\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 \u201cI think I have a meeting.\u201d\u00a0 [Laughter]\u00a0 I think he was shocked by the news.\u00a0 Also, we were really reeling.\u00a0 We had spent many years saying that we were not going to be parents\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 At all.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 At all.\u00a0 It\u2019s funny.\u00a0 Since this book has come out, I can\u2019t tell you how many old friends have called me and said, \u201cI told you so!\u00a0 How many times did I tell you motherhood was important?\u201d\u00a0 It took us a little while to catch on to that notion.\u00a0 The reason why we said we weren\u2019t going to be parents was because we wanted to have a ministry.\u00a0 We wanted to pour our whole lives into student ministry, into teenagers.\u00a0 We couldn\u2019t fathom that God could work out the logistics of us doing both, which seems silly now, in hindsight.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 So here\u2019s what I want to ask you, \u201cHere you are\u2014you\u2019re evidently both very serious followers of Jesus Christ\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 We are.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 \u2014You have the same Bible I\u2019ve got\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 Right.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 \u2014and there\u2019s a verse in Psalm 127 that says, \u2018Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one\u2019s youth.\u00a0 Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them.\u2019\u00a0 Now did you believe the Scriptures?\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 I\u2019m not sure that I\u2014I don\u2019t have any recollection of reading that verse.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Oh, you sound like you\u2019re taking the Fifth on this.\u00a0 [Laughter]\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 I have no memory of anyone preaching on that verse.\u00a0 I grew up in the church\u2014in Bible-preaching churches\u2014but I understand that pastors are preaching to congregations that are all not married couples.\u00a0 They\u2019re trying to teach to the common denominator.\u00a0 Maybe I had heard it, but it certainly had never sunk in.\u00a0\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI think I had this, \u201cYes, children are a blessing\u2014and warrior and quiver, and other people\u2019s children are a blessing.\u00a0 We like kids.\u00a0 Everybody likes kids\u2014they\u2019re cute,\u201d but I\u2019m not sure I applied the deeper message that children are always a blessing.\u00a0 That\u2019s so clear in Scripture.\u00a0 When I went looking for it, it became so clear to me that children were a blessing; but I guess I thought that life according to my schedule was a bigger blessing. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 This is not a multiple choice quiz, but had you not also ever heard of\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Genesis 1?\u00a0 I\u2019m not trying to put you down, at this point\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 Sure.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 \u2014I\u2019m really wanting to understand\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 \u201cI want you to get to the bottom of it.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Genesis 1:28, \u201cAnd God blessed them, and God said to them, \u2018Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it,\u2019\u201d and so forth.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 I was on a mission trip to Jamaica, with my husband.\u00a0 We brought a group of about 30 students.\u00a0 We also brought some friends of ours, who were also in youth ministry, and yet had four children.\u00a0 I remember the husband saying\u2014we were having this discussion, you know, \u201cWhen are you going to have kids?\u201d \u2014which everyone starts asking right after the rice is thrown; right?\u00a0\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAt this point, months and years had gone by; and we still didn\u2019t have kids.\u00a0 We were doing that conversation, \u201cWhen are you going to have kids?\u201d\u00a0 I\u2019m doing my, \u201cWe\u2019re not going to have kids because we\u2019re going to have a ministry.\u201d\u00a0 He cites that verse to me, \u201cWhat about the \u2018be fruitful and multiply\u2019?\u2019\u201d\u00a0 I said, \u201cThat is not a mandate to all people.\u00a0 That\u2019s what God said to Adam and Eve because, if Adam and Eve had not been fruitful and multiplied, it would have been a very short human race.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThat was my logic for that verse\u2014was that that was not something that applied to my life.\u00a0 That was the story of Adam and Eve.\u00a0 Of course, Adam and Eve had to be fruitful and multiply; but I could be fruitful and multiply in other ways, without having children.\u00a0 It\u2019s so clear now, as we\u2019re talking about it, the holes in that thinking.\u00a0 It\u2019s very clear to me, looking back.\u00a0 Unfortunately, I don\u2019t think it is clear to a lot of non-moms.\u00a0 I\u2019m not sure if you\u2019re aware, but by and large, most Christian young women have zero desire to be married and are very vocal about it; but even the women\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Whoa, whoa, whoa.\u00a0 Most Christian young women have zero desire to be married and are vocal about it?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 The desires of Christian young women to be married and have children are absolutely in the toilet.\u00a0 I could cite you some numbers; but they wouldn\u2019t be as interesting as the stories of the young women that I encounter, who love the Lord, passionately love the Lord.\u00a0 I\u2019ll say, \u201cWhat do you want to do with your life?\u201d\u00a0 <br><br>\u201cI want to have a ministry!\u201d which to them, looks like something very official\u2014in some sort of ministry box.\u00a0 I\u2019ll say, \u201cDo you want to be married?\u201d\u00a0 They\u2019ll say, \u201cWell, if God brings me a husband, I\u2019d be open to that,\u201d \u2014which you guys know\u2014you talk about marriage numbers all the time.\u00a0 Those of us who are married\u2014as adults, we are very close to becoming the minority for the first time in history.\u00a0 Imagine that trajectory, just ten years down the road, when the teenagers at my church are of marrying age; and the number of married adults just continues to go down.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBut the number that continues to go up is married couples who choose childlessness\u2014not couples whose childlessness chooses them, not people who are not yet married\u2014but Christian couples, who assume can get pregnant, but choose not to get pregnant.\u00a0 I would say the majority of young women that I interact with\u2014through speaking, and teaching, and through my church\u2014say, \u201cI don\u2019t want to be a mom.\u00a0 I don\u2019t want to be a mom, ever.\u201d\u00a0 The number one rival for that is that they want to have a career.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 I want to rewind a statement.\u00a0 I want to be careful about placing all the blame on the church and on preachers for not preaching messages about children being a blessing.\u00a0 I want to go all the way back to the moms and dads, and the singles, and those who aspire to be married or someday think they will be married\u2014and just talk straight with them and say, \u201cYou know what?\u00a0 The place where there ought to be the genesis of the concept of children being a privilege and a blessing ought to be in the home,\u201d \u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 Absolutely.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 \u2014 \u201cought to be in the family that you\u2019re establishing.\u00a0 The value of human life\u2014the value of sending a message to the next generation through a child who you imprint with the Scriptures and with the life of Jesus Christ, and you share with them the truth of God\u2019s Word, and you share with them the idea that they\u2019re to be on a mission.\u201d\u00a0 You talk about it in your book.\u00a0 The Muslims are producing like mad.\u00a0 The Mormons are growing 40 percent a year, just through their families alone.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 The Muslims are projected to be one-fourth of the world\u2019s population very soon.\u00a0 The Population Reference Bureau, which is a secular\u2014it\u2019s just a monitoring organization\u2014when they are pressed on why Muslims will soon be one-fourth of the world\u2019s population, they said, \u201cBecause of higher fertility rates.\u201d\u00a0 In other words, Muslims are having children and non-Muslims are not having as many children. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tMormonism is the same way.\u00a0 It\u2019s growing leaps and bounds due to their large families.\u00a0 I\u2019m so glad you called me on that because the blame doesn\u2019t rest on pastors.\u00a0 You know why young women, middle school girls, don\u2019t want to be moms?\u00a0 Same reason they don\u2019t want to be married\u2014because they haven\u2019t seen it work.\u00a0 They haven\u2019t seen it in the examples of either in their own home or people that they really appreciate.\u00a0\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThey don\u2019t hear women with small kids saying that it\u2019s a mission field and that it\u2019s something they\u2019re doing for God\u2019s glory.\u00a0 They hear those moms complaining, and being stressed to the max, and yelling at their kids, and all of those kinds of things.\u00a0 Absolutely, the responsibility rests with those of us who are parents to show an example of parenthood as ministry\u2014that others can really latch onto.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 I\u2019m flashing back, as you\u2019re talking about this, to the first years of my marriage.\u00a0 Mary Ann grew up in a tough family situation\u2014some tough family dynamics going on there.\u00a0 If there had been somebody who might have been predisposed, by example, to not want to get married and not want to have kids, she would have been a candidate for that; but after we got married, she was ready.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI remember being on a trip with her one time.\u00a0 It had been about a year, and we had not conceived.\u00a0 She was weeping in the car, wondering aloud, \u201cWhy would God give me this desire and not give me children?\u201d\u00a0 I\u2019m a young husband who doesn\u2019t have a good answer for that one; you know? \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 But I\u2019m thinking to myself, \u201cSo isn\u2019t that something that\u2019s birthed in the heart of most girls?\u201d\u00a0 Where was it\u2014why wasn\u2019t that in your heart?\u00a0 Why didn\u2019t you want to make babies as soon as you got married?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 I grew up with very loving parents who divorced when I was ten.\u00a0 Any of us who know children of divorce know that causes a fracture in a worldview.\u00a0 That probably played a role.\u00a0 But I have a twin sister; and while she was playing house, I think I was probably playing with a briefcase.\u00a0 I just always\u2014some people are Type A.\u00a0 I think I was born Type Double-A, maybe Type-Triple-A.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tTeachers would see that from very young\u2014counselors, people of influence in my life\u2014and say, \u201cYou\u2019ve got something, Erin.\u00a0 You need to go to college.\u00a0 You need to go to graduate school.\u00a0 You need to pursue a career.\u201d\u00a0 Very few people\u2014I don\u2019t remember anyone saying to me, \u201cA great use of your creativity, a great use of your energy, would be to raise a family for the Lord.\u201d\u00a0 I don\u2019t remember ever hearing that.\u00a0 That\u2019s really the game-changer\u2014is to believe that God can really use it for Kingdom work. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 I just want to unpack this just a little more.\u00a0 When you say that being a mom is engaging in a mission field\u2014it really is one of the most powerful missions efforts that a woman can invest herself\u2014and a father, as well.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 The impact is huge.\u00a0 Now, my husband and I have done student ministry for 12 years.\u00a0 I believe that there\u2019s been some good fruit, and I believe that that ministry mattered.\u00a0 So those of you who are listening, who are in student ministry, or children\u2019s ministry, or any kind of ministry, don\u2019t mis-hear what I\u2019m about to say next.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWhat we did in student ministry pales in comparison to raising a family of children who love the Lord, who go on to raise children who love the Lord, who go on to raise children who love the Lord.\u00a0 Equipping these children, who have different spiritual gifts than I, and helping them figure out how God is going to use that\u2014that really excites me.\u00a0 I can catch the bigger vision for loaves and fishes, and how the Lord can really divide that in really, really exciting ways.\u00a0 It\u2019s not just about raising good kids who get good grades. It\u2019s about so much more than that.\u00a0 That makes kind of the mundane things of motherhood a lot more bearable.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 It\u2019s about raising children who have a sense of mission, too\u2014that they were put here for a purpose\u2014to honor God, to glorify Him, but to also be a part of His work on this planet.\u00a0 One of the things I fear, Erin\u2014you don\u2019t know this about me, but Bob has heard me get on my soapbox more than once on this broadcast and begin to pound the table.\u00a0 I am really concerned about Christian families today and the way they\u2019re raising their children to be more consumers rather than on a journey\u2014on a mission, in a war, a fellow warrior\u2014to have a mindset that they\u2019re raising their kids to go into battle.\u00a0 There\u2019s a reason why, in Psalm 127, it talks about \u201clike arrows in the hands of a warrior\u201d. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 Because they\u2019re the ammo for the battle.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 They are!\u00a0 If Christian families don\u2019t own that, then Korea is going to be sending missionaries to America.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 Right.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 China is going to be\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 Well, countries already are.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0 They\u2019re going to be evangelizing America because those of us in the church don\u2019t own the generational mandate to raise children:\u00a0 A) who know Jesus Christ and who embrace Him; but secondly) engage their lives in a mission of serving Him.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 Right.\u00a0 If we continue reading in Psalm 128, it talks about like children are olive shoots around the table.\u00a0 Well, most of us get our olives from cans, right?\u00a0\u00a0 So that word picture might get lost on us; but I looked it up, and olive trees are often surrounded by a band\u2014a grouping of immature olive trees surround that mother olive tree.\u00a0 Do they take the mother\u2019s nutrients from the soil?\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0 Does she have to share her water and her sunlight?\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0 But ultimately those olive trees become a healthy band of successors.\u00a0 When that mother olive tree dies, the growth that she started continues on. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI think a lot of us really want to do important things for the Lord.\u00a0 That\u2019s great, and we do it; but if I invested my life for 30 years in student ministry and never had children of my own, they would have given me a plaque, they would have thrown me a lovely luncheon, and I would have gone on my way.\u00a0 But now, I\u2019m raising children who I can pass the baton on to and can continue the mission.\u00a0 I can only assume that God is going to give us a mission as a family and a passion to minister as a family.\u00a0 Yes, they do require much of me, but they\u2019re really the only way that battle can continue to go on.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 You have two, right now?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 Two, right now.\u00a0 Yes.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Any more on\u2014?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0 Not immediately on the way, but yes.\u00a0 You\u2019ll never hear me say a number because I feel like those people who say a number didn\u2019t make it\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 They\u2019re just setting themselves up for\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes, they are just setting themselves up.\u00a0 [Laughter]\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Well, I\u2019ve read two passages or three of Scripture here today.\u00a0 I want to read another one.\u00a0 Proverbs, Chapter 31, verse 28\u2014actually 27 and 28, \u201cShe looks well to the ways of her household.\u201d\u00a0 This is speaking of the Proverbs 31 woman.\u00a0 \u201cShe does not eat the bread of idleness.\u00a0 Her children rise up and call her blessed.\u00a0 Her husband also, and he praises her.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tYou know, not that you just don\u2019t want the praises of your husband\u2014but if God gives you the privilege, as a woman, of not only being married, but of being fertile\u2014and I know there is a number of listeners, about 12 percent, I understand, who are permanently infertile\u2014but if God does give you that great, great privilege to hear the words of children, \u201cI praise you, Mom, for giving your life and investing in me,\u201d \u2014that\u2019s got to be music to the soul.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 I\u2019d say that\u2019s as good as it gets.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0\u00a0 And it\u2019s not that it\u2019s not challenging.\u00a0 It\u2019s not that there aren\u2019t nights when you\u2019d like a little more sleep, or days when you\u2019d like a little more peace and quiet; but the investment\u2014is a noble investment.\u00a0 As you start to look at the long-term, it\u2019s a significant investment; and one that ought to be celebrated.\u00a0 You really do celebrate it well in the book, <em>Beyond Bath Time<\/em>, which we have in our <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> Resource Center.\u00a0 The subtitle: <em>Embracing Motherhood as a Sacred Role. <\/em>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<em>\u00a0<\/em>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tIt may be that you know somebody who just had a baby.\u00a0 This would be a great gift to pass on to them, Erin Davis\u2019 book, <em>Beyond Bath Time<\/em>.\u00a0 Go to FamilyLifeToday.com for more information on how to get a copy.\u00a0 FamilyLifeToday.com is our website; or call, toll-free, 1-800-358-6329; that\u2019s 1-800-\u201cF\u201d as in family, \u201cL\u201d as in life, and then the word, \u201cTODAY\u201d.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe also have here, at FamilyLife, a blog for moms, called <em>MomLife Today<\/em><sup>\u2122<\/sup>.\u00a0 There\u2019s a link on our website at FamilyLifeToday.com if you\u2019d like to get on the blog list and be alerted when there are new blog posts.\u00a0 The person who heads up that blog, Tracey Eyster, has a brand-new book out called <em>Be the Mom<\/em>.\u00a0 There\u2019s more information about Tracey\u2019s book at FamilyLifeToday.com, as well.\u00a0 Again, the website, FamilyLifeToday.com; or call us, toll-free, if you have any questions.\u00a0 1-800-FL-TODAY is our toll-free number.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tNow, this month, we have been asking those of you who are regular listeners to <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>\u2014but we just don\u2019t know you\u2019re out there\u2014we\u2019ve never been in touch with one another.\u00a0 We\u2019re asking you if you would consider making a donation to <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> for the first time.\u00a0 Go online to FamilyLifeToday.com; or call us, toll-free, at 1-800-FL-TODAY and make a first-time donation.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tOur goal is to hear from 2,500 brand-new supporters of the ministry.\u00a0 That\u2019s about two families in each of the cities where <em>FamilyLife Today <\/em>is heard.\u00a0 We\u2019ve already heard from many of you.\u00a0 Thank you for getting in touch with us and for your first-time donation.\u00a0 In fact, you can see, on our website at FamilyLifeToday.com, we\u2019re keeping a little thermometer of how many first-time donors we\u2019ve heard from this month.\u00a0 Every person who has contacted us and made a first-time donation, we\u2019ve been sending you the new movie, <em>October Baby<\/em>, which is not yet out on DVD in stores; but we have some pre-release copies\u2014we\u2019ve been sending those out to first-time donors to <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAnd those of you who have been able to make a $100 or more donation to <em>FamilyLife <\/em>Today\u2014we\u2019ve been sending you a certificate so that you and your spouse can attend a <em>Weekend to Remember<\/em><em><sup>\u00ae<\/sup><\/em>marriage getaway, as our guests; or you can pass that certificate along to your son or your daughter, or someone else you know who might benefit from going to a <em>Weekend to Remember<\/em>.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe just want to say, \u201cThank you,\u201d to those of you who have already gotten in touch with us and ask those of you who haven\u2019t yet, \u201cWould you consider making a first-time donation to <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>?\u201d\u00a0 Again, we\u2019ll send you the movie, <em>October Baby.<\/em><em>\u00a0 <\/em>If your donation is $100 or more, we\u2019ll send you a <em>Weekend to Remember<\/em> gift certificate.\u00a0 We\u2019re grateful for your support\u2014always nice to hear from new friends.\u00a0 I know some of you have been long-time listeners\u2014so thanks for getting in touch with us and letting us know you\u2019re out there. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAnd we hope you\u2019ll be back with us again tomorrow.\u00a0 Erin Davis is going to be here again.\u00a0 We\u2019re going to continue talking about the joys and the challenges of being a mom.\u00a0 Hope you\u2019ll be back with us for that.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI want to thank our engineer today, Keith Lynch, and our entire broadcast production team.\u00a0 On behalf of our host, Dennis Rainey, I'm Bob Lepine.\u00a0 We will see you back next time for another edition of <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> is a production of FamilyLife of Little Rock, Arkansas.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tHelp for today.\u00a0 Hope for tomorrow.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe are so happy to provide these transcripts to you.\u00a0 However, there is a cost to produce them for our website.\u00a0 If you\u2019ve benefited from the broadcast transcripts, would you consider <a href=\"http:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/donate\">donating today<\/a> to help defray the costs?\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tCopyright <sup>\u00a9<\/sup> 2012 FamilyLife.\u00a0 All rights reserved. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"http:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/\">www.FamilyLife.com<\/a>\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t1\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>","theme_header_position":"","post_header_is_sticky":"","is_header_overlay":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/podcast\/302576","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/podcast"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/podcast"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/91"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=302576"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/294104"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=302576"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=302576"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=302576"},{"taxonomy":"podcast_series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/podcast_series?post=302576"},{"taxonomy":"cwp_profile","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cwp_profile?post=302576"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=302576"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}