{"id":302577,"date":"2012-08-21T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2012-08-21T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/%series%\/our-children-as-our-mission-field\/"},"modified":"2012-08-21T11:00:00","modified_gmt":"2012-08-21T15:00:00","slug":"our-children-as-our-mission-field","status":"publish","type":"podcast","link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/our-children-as-our-mission-field\/","title":{"rendered":"Our Children as Our Mission Field"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Erin was excited to impact the youth of her culture.<\/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\/fl2012-08-21.mp3","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"00:","filesize":"23.41M","filesize_raw":"24549471","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":""},"categories":[2838],"tags":[5221,4126],"podcast_series":[7894],"cwp_profile":[3200],"series":[2101],"class_list":["post-302577","podcast","type-podcast","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mothers","tag-gods-will","tag-ministry","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\/302577\/our-children-as-our-mission-field","player_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast-player\/302577\/our-children-as-our-mission-field","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=\"J5yfUG28eS\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/our-children-as-our-mission-field\/\">Our Children as Our Mission Field<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/our-children-as-our-mission-field\/embed\/#?secret=J5yfUG28eS\" width=\"500\" height=\"350\" title=\"&#8220;Our Children as Our Mission Field&#8221; &#8212; FamilyLife\u00ae - A Cru Ministry\" data-secret=\"J5yfUG28eS\" 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\/fl2012-08-21.pdf"],"audio_file":["https:\/\/web.familylifetoday.com\/fl2012-08-21.mp3"],"transcript_content":["<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 When Erin Davis graduated from college, what she wanted more than anything else was to be involved in full-time Christian work.\u00a0 She thought becoming a mom would interfere with that.\u00a0 What she found, though, was God put her in a very special mission field.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 My son recently told me that he thought Ironman was God.\u00a0 [Laughter]\u00a0 So I am the missionary called to deal with that false god!\u00a0 Certainly, I\u2019m the missionary called to deal with that; but you know what?\u00a0 I am my children\u2019s mission field.\u00a0 They reveal so much to me about God\u2019s love for me and about my selfish heart.\u00a0 There\u2019s this synergy in that I\u2019m pointing them to God but\u2014woo whee! \u2014are they\u2019re pointing me to God in ways that I would not have experienced any other way.\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 Tuesday, August 21<sup>st<\/sup>.\u00a0 Our host is the President of FamilyLife<sup>\u00ae<\/sup>, Dennis Rainey, and I'm Bob Lepine.\u00a0 Do you see being a mom as full-time Christian work?\u00a0 Erin Davis says you ought to.\u00a0 Stay tuned.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 And welcome to <em>FamilyLife Today.<\/em><em>\u00a0 <\/em>Thanks for joining us.\u00a0 You know, sometimes when we are talking about things like we are talking about this week, I will think, \u201cHmmm; I wonder what letters we\u2019re going to get from our listeners?\u201d\u00a0 [Laughter]\u00a0 Have you thought about that?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 I have.\u00a0 I have.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Because\u2014a couple of things we\u2019re talking about this week\u2014we\u2019re talking about the value and importance of motherhood.\u00a0 We have some folks who are listening who are pretty passionate about their career involvement.\u00a0 They may be mothers, or not, and they may feel like you\u2019re picking on them.\u00a0 Do you want to speak to them first?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes, I do.\u00a0 First of all, earlier, we talked about how, within the church, among Christian women, 47 percent didn\u2019t feel like motherhood ought to be emphasized to Christian women.\u00a0 I go, \u201cReally, really?\u00a0 Like we need to rip those pages out of our Bibles and just kind of ignore them?\u201d \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI\u2019m not talking about some absolute standard of saying, \u201cIf you\u2019re a mom, you can\u2019t work.\u201d\u00a0 You know what?\u00a0 You work <em>if <\/em>you\u2019re a mom!\u00a0 Barbara, as a mom raising six, went to speak at our <em>Weekend to Remember<\/em><sup>\u00ae <\/sup>marriage getaways\u2014so she worked.\u00a0 She helped me with a book in the midst of raising kids\u2014so she worked; okay.\u00a0 It\u2019s not some kind of absolute standard where we\u2019re trying to shame someone; but what I would appeal to\u2014especially on the younger adults who listen to our broadcast who may\u2014 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWell, I love what Mary Kassian says.\u00a0 She endorses the book we\u2019re about to talk about here today.\u00a0 She says, \u201cIf you have swallowed the pop culture Kool-Aid, you need to read this book and consider if the hand that rocks the cradle does, in fact, rule the world.\u201d\u00a0 Mary Kassian knows what she\u2019s talking about.\u00a0 She embraces the Bible.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI do think, Bob, we have a number of younger adults, who listen to this broadcast, who really don\u2019t want to be mothers\u2014who don\u2019t want that agenda for their lives.\u00a0 You know what?\u00a0 That\u2019s okay.\u00a0 That\u2019s okay for right now, but listen to the broadcast, pray about this, read the Bible, and give thought to this.\u00a0 If you\u2019re married, talk with your husband.\u00a0 If you\u2019re a husband and this is\u2014you\u2019ve been the one drinking the Kool-Aid and, \u201cChildren are going to get in the way,\u201d then let\u2019s reason together.\u00a0 Let\u2019s talk together.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 That\u2019s what I was getting to here because on one hand you\u2019ve got the folks who are career-oriented and are saying, \u201cCareer is where I\u2019m going\u2014that\u2019s what\u2019s really important.\u201d\u00a0 They may have children or not have children, but career is pretty high value for them.\u00a0 They hear us saying motherhood should be as high or higher, and they take offense at that; but there\u2019s another group.\u00a0 That\u2019s the group of young couples who are able to have kids and have chosen not to.\u00a0 Our guest was in that group for a while.\u00a0 We\u2019re not talking about those who aren\u2019t able to have children.\u00a0 I mean, our hearts go out to those who want to have kids and can\u2019t.\u00a0 \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><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Right; about 12 percent are permanently infertile.\u00a0 Those couples come to our <em>Weekend to Remember<\/em><sup>\u00ae<\/sup> marriage getaways.\u00a0 There are serious challenges that they face in their marriage as they have to deal with the loss and the disappointment.\u00a0 We want them to know we really do have some understanding, and we\u2019re compassionate about where you are.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 But the question I have for you and for our guest is, \u201cIf you are married and able, are you obligated to have children?\u201d\u00a0 That\u2019s really the question.\u00a0 If you\u2019re married and able to have children, does the Bible mandate\u2014obligate you?\u00a0 You\u2019re supposed to do that, or you are being disobedient, or in sin if you don\u2019t? \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Wow!\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Do you want to?\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 pulled out the sin card!\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 You pulled out the sin card.\u00a0 Well, let\u2019s ask Erin Davis who wrote the book\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 I like that!\u00a0 He\u2019s tossing it right to you!\u00a0 [Laughter]\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 Let\u2019s defer to the expert!\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 I would answer the question!\u00a0 [Laughter]\u00a0 I\u2019m going to ask Erin who wrote the book <em>Beyond Bathtime.<\/em>\u00a0 She is a mom of two and founder of Graffiti Ministries.\u00a0 She speaks all around the country and lives in Springfield, Missouri. Erin, welcome back to the broadcast.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 Thank you for having me.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 How would you answer Bob\u2019s question?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 Well, first, let me see if I can save you some letters because I think this is part of why that 40-some percent would say we shouldn\u2019t emphasize motherhood because these roadblocks come up:\u00a0 \u201cWhat about those who are infertile?\u00a0 Here you are talking about being a mother as a sacred role and all that does is make these women feel less-than!\u201d\u00a0 Well, Isaiah 54:1 has a word for you:\u00a0 \u201c\u2018Sing, o barren one who did not bear.\u00a0 Break forth into singing and cry aloud, you who have not been in labor; for the children of the desolate one will be more than the children of her who is married,\u2019 says the Lord.\u201d\u00a0 There\u2019s this opportunity for spiritual mothering that is there and an encouragement from the Word.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u201cWell, what about those who want to have a career; and they feel infringed upon when we talk about motherhood?\u201d\u00a0 Well, I happen to be here today because I wrote a book, and someone paid me to do it!\u00a0 I work!\u00a0 One of the lies that I address in the book is that, \u201cThe ultimate conversation we need to be having about motherhood is whether or not to work\u2014that really defines what kind of mother you are.\u201d\u00a0 I\u2019d like to have us get off of that dead horse\u2014it\u2019s been dead for quite a while\u2014and move on to a new conversation because I don\u2019t believe there\u2019s a mandate either way.\u00a0 There are lots of factors to consider.\u00a0 Nobody is saying you have to be a stay-at-home mom to be a great mom.\u00a0 Nobody is saying that you have to be a working mom to be a great mom.\u00a0 That\u2019s not the conversation we\u2019re having.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThe conversation <em>is, <\/em>\u201cIs choosing childlessness biblical?\u201d\u00a0 I decided to address it in my book because I wanted to put myself in the cross-hairs, I think, because it\u2019s a controversial question.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes, it is.\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 And one that\u2019s controversial in my own heart.\u00a0 So, I searched the Scripture; and I asked a lot of wise people.\u00a0 I really spent a lot of time thinking, \u201cOkay, Lord, what does Your Word say about choosing childlessness?\u201d\u00a0 I do not find a biblical mandate that all couples must have children immediately and as many children as they can have.\u00a0 However, I would say that this is an area where many of us set our faith aside\u2014where many of us want to make our own decisions.\u00a0 That is not biblical!\u00a0 Making choices based on preservation of comfort, making choices based in fear, making choices based on what <em>you <\/em>want for <em>your <\/em>life\u2014I don\u2019t think that\u2019s going to pass through the grid of Scripture.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tFor example, I prayed for years about who to marry\u2014really sought the Lord!\u00a0 \u201cIs this your choice for me?\u201d and it was.\u00a0\u00a0 I prayed often about the right major in college.\u00a0 I still pray about what work assignments to take and what not to take, and what house to buy; but I never prayed about if I should have children, when I should have children\u2014those kinds of things.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWhat I see is that couples begin praying about that\u2014often now\u2014when it\u2019s a little too late because we decide, \u201cI\u2019m going to have children once I get the college gig done,\u201d then, \u201c...the marriage gig,\u201d then, \u201cYou know, we need five years of alone time in order to create a solid marriage,\u201d then, \u201c....we get the career gig.\u201d\u00a0 There is a window of time in which a woman can conceive easily.\u00a0 Then, when she can\u2019t, then couples are praying like crazy!\u00a0 [Ticking sound]\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 That\u2019s the biological clock, ticking in the background.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 That\u2019s a real deal, that biological clock.\u00a0 God can do whatever He wants, as we know; but the question is, \u201cIs God good if He gives you kids on <em>your <\/em>timetable or is God good when He does it on His timetable?\u201d\u00a0 Are children a blessing only if you have 2.5 in your ten-year plan, exactly when you wanted them; or are children always a blessing, no matter when they come?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThose are the bigger questions.\u00a0 I can\u2019t answer those for anybody.\u00a0 I still have to wrestle through a lot of them in my own heart.\u00a0 I think that if you\u2019re making the choice to be childless, based on selfishness\u2014and that\u2019s going to take some soul-searching to figure out\u2014on fear, on preservation of comfort, on building a life that is really the life you want instead of a surrendered life\u2014then you\u2019ve got some issues.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Were you\u2014because early in your marriage, you were making the choice to be childless?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 Seven years.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 You had declared that that was your desire.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 We were childless seven years.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Was it because of selfishness?\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>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 No, you said it was because of ministry!\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 You said it was because of a spiritual mission.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 It was <em>my<\/em> vision of how I thought ministry had to work.\u00a0 It was <em>me <\/em>wanting to be used by God in a really specific box.\u00a0 I was not going to have children so that I could really pour into these teenagers.\u00a0 Well, guess what?\u00a0 My ministry to teenagers has only been enriched since I had kids.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI was doing another radio program recently.\u00a0 A man called in and said, \u201cI really feel like my wife and children should be my first ministry; but I feel called to music ministry, and God\u2019s going to give me a platform.\u00a0 I\u2019m not going to have kids because I couldn\u2019t father well if I had a music platform.\u201d\u00a0 I said, \u201cWhy not?!\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI\u2019ve adopted a ministry mantra\/ mindset since I had kids, which is, simply, \u201cNever grocery shop alone.\u201d\u00a0 I always call a teenage girl, \u201cI\u2019m going to the grocery store.\u00a0 Will you come with me?\u201d\u00a0 It\u2019s a huge help to me\u2014I have two squirmy little boys\u2014<em>and<\/em> we\u2019re doing life together as we\u2019re picking out stuff in the grocery store.\u00a0 We\u2019re talking about what\u2019s going on in school.\u00a0 \u201cOh, you broke up with your boyfriend?\u201d\u00a0 <em>And<\/em> she gets to see life work.\u00a0 I don\u2019t sugarcoat it.\u00a0\u00a0 She also catches a vision for the fact that, \u201cWhat does Christianity really look like in real life?\u201d\u00a0 I think we give young people, especially, this vision of Christianity\u2014and then real life hits.\u00a0 It\u2019s messy\u2014the lines are blurry\u2014 \u201cHow do I be a Christian in this not-so-neat way?\u201d\u00a0 The other side of the coin is that it\u2019s better for my kids!\u00a0 My kids are watching ministry happen\u2014they\u2019re growing.\u00a0 It\u2019s really enriching.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAbsolutely, yes!\u00a0 I chose childlessness for selfish reasons\u2014now, I stamped a feel-good Christian stamp on it\u2014but it was really about me creating the life that I wanted to have. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Okay, so what about a mom like the mom I knew\u2014when she and her husband got married\u2014shortly after they got married, he got a vasectomy.\u00a0 He did it; and I asked them, \u201cWhy have you decided to be childless?\u201d\u00a0 She said, \u201cGiven my background, given what I\u2019m been through in life, I would be a terrible mom.\u00a0 I just know that if I brought kids in, I would do more harm than good.\u201d\u00a0 In her mind, not having kids was a sacrifice she was making because she just knew she wouldn\u2019t be a good mom.\u00a0 What would you say to her?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 I would read her Romans 8:28, which says that God is able to redeem all things to her good.\u00a0 He is certainly able to redeem the painful parts of her past to her good.\u00a0 That\u2019s not\u2014she doesn\u2019t have to be that way.\u00a0 Christ came to set us free!\u00a0 That\u2019s why He came.\u00a0 We don\u2019t have to be those things, and we don\u2019t have to pass on things.\u00a0 Through the help of the body [of Christ] and by surrounding herself with wise people, I just don\u2019t agree that there\u2019s no hope for her to be a great mom.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI spoke to a mom recently who came from a horrible home situation.\u00a0 She was adopted into an abusive home\u2014 because of that, said, \u201cI will never have kids.\u201d\u00a0 Well, whoops!\u00a0 They got pregnant with twins and then got pregnant a few years later with another baby.\u00a0 Those children are now young adults.\u00a0 She said, \u201cI just can\u2019t believe what I would have missed out on!\u00a0 I can\u2019t believe the impact and the ways that God used mothering to redeem a lot of those wounds.\u201d\u00a0 Now, motherhood is not the balm for everything that might ail you; but you could just hear her light up about these kids.\u00a0 She was like, \u201cI would have missed so much out of fear!\u201d\u00a0 That mother was afraid\u2014who you were talking about.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 And I have to tell you the rest of that story because in their early 40s, the husband went back to try to get a vasectomy reversal because in her early 40s\u2014now, the longing was so strong.\u00a0 They were never able to conceive but had regret over the decision that they made.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThe other story I have to tell you is when we told my mom that we were expecting number five.\u00a0 I will never forget the look on her face\u2014like, \u201cDon\u2019t you kids <em>know<\/em>?\u00a0 You\u2019re having a <em>fifth<\/em> child?\u00a0 Are you out of your mind?!\u201d\u00a0 I will also tell you that Grandma, who is still alive, just had lunch with our fifth child\u2014her fifth grandchild\u2014and said, \u201cHe is\u2014I can\u2019t imagine what life would be like without David!\u201d \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 I must have said a 150 times after Eli was born, \u201cI didn\u2019t know how much I needed him!\u00a0 I didn\u2019t know how much I missed him!\u201d\u00a0 He\u2019s four.\u00a0 The other day, he said, \u201cMama, were you lonely before I was born?\u201d\u00a0 I said, \u201cI didn\u2019t know it but I sure was lonesome for you, pallie!\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe have such limited perspective.\u00a0 When we plan our own lives, we get in a train wreck really, really quickly; but God sees it from the beginning to the end.\u00a0 He can handle it!\u00a0 He can so handle it.\u00a0 I think there\u2019s an area of fear in many women\u2019s lives\u2014and maybe Christian men\u2019s lives\u2014I can\u2019t speak to that\u2014that, \u201cIf I give control of this area of my life, I will have a show on TLC.\u201c\u00a0 You know, because that\u2019s what we do with large families in our culture\u2014we treat them like freak-show acts.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes; yes.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 \u201cI cannot let go of the reins on this.\u00a0 I cannot trust God with this because it will not work out well.\u201d\u00a0 Well, is God good or is He not?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI spoke to a man recently\u2014his name was Tom.\u00a0 He had two children, and then came to know the Lord\u2014he and his wife both came to know the Lord.\u00a0 His wife said, \u201cMaybe we should have another child, now that we know the Lord.\u201d\u00a0 He said, \u201cOkay.\u201d\u00a0 Well, five more children later\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Wow.\u00a0 Wow!\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 \u2014He said, \u201cThere would be times when I would be out of work; and, literally, bags of clothes and food would just show up on our porch.\u201d\u00a0 Nobody, if they had sat down and crunched the numbers with that family and had budgeted, would have said, \u201cYou can afford all of those kids.\u00a0 Go ahead and have them.\u201d\u00a0 But God was good and God was sovereign.\u00a0 God was just as able to provide for that <em>big<\/em> group of kids as He would be for a very controlled number of kids.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI think the real heart, as we start peeling back the layers\u2014there are some pretty serious heart issues that the Lord is still dealing with me on; but I think He\u2019s dealing with a lot of other people on, too. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 I\u2019ve got news for you.\u00a0 There is more peeling of the onion of the heart as you go forward and raise your children.\u00a0 You don\u2019t know how many you\u2019re going to have at this point or whether God is going to bless you with more, but as they get older, and I mean, after they leave the nest, there are still heart issues and surgery that God has to perform on a parent.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tYou used the word several times a few moments ago when you said, \u201cChildren redeem us.\u201d\u00a0 They are redemptive.\u00a0 They save us from ourselves.\u00a0 I think God knows something about children that we don\u2019t.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 Well, the heart of this book is that our children are our mission field.\u00a0 My son recently told me that he thought Ironman was God.\u00a0 [Laughter]\u00a0 So, I am the missionary called to deal with that false god!\u00a0 Certainly, I\u2019m the missionary called to deal with that; but you know what?\u00a0 I am my children\u2019s mission field.\u00a0 They reveal so much to me about God\u2019s love for me, and about my selfish heart, and about my lack of patience, and my need for the fruit of the Spirit.\u00a0 They press me into prayer.\u00a0 There\u2019s this synergy in that I\u2019m pointing them to God but\u2014woo whee! \u2014are they\u2019re pointing me to God in ways that I would not have experienced any other way.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 No doubt about it.\u00a0 I mean, just about the time another layer would come off the heart, and I didn\u2019t think there was any deeper surgery to perform, the scalpel came back out.\u00a0 I mean, it\u2019s still occurring, now as we are parents of adult children and a whole bunch of grandkids.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI\u2019m going to go back to the question you asked at the beginning of the broadcast.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Oh, yes.\u00a0 We never heard you weigh in on this, \u201cIs it sin for couples who are able to have children to choose not to?\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Here\u2019s the thing\u2014I\u2019m such a \u201cblack and white\u201d person that I love drawing boxes.\u00a0 I love to make absolute statements.\u00a0 Absolutism makes it easy!\u00a0 When it comes to murder, stealing, cheating, all of that\u2014those absolutes are real easy to look at as the Ten Commandments.\u00a0 There is no tenth commandment about, \u201cThou shalt have children.\u201d\u00a0 There is, however\u2014in Genesis 1\u2014a very clear statement that we were put here by God and we were commanded by God, \u201cBe fruitful and multiply.\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 That\u2019s not just for Adam and Eve?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 I don\u2019t think it\u2019s just for Adam and Eve.\u00a0 I know it was before the Fall.\u00a0 It\u2019s like, \u201cDid God rescind that after the Fall?\u00a0 Was there ever a command on the other side to not have children or an exclusion to not have children?\u201d\u00a0 There is for marriage\u2014there is an exclusion in the New Testament, where Paul speaks to single people and said, \u201cIf God\u2019s called you to be celibate for a higher purpose of serving Him, maybe it\u2019s best to be single.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Right.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 And where did Eve\u2014where do we first hear her name, Eve?\u00a0 It\u2019s immediately after the Fall\u2014where, \u201cShe will be a mother to all the living.\u201d\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>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 There is some redemption in the Adam and Eve story that comes through their children.\u00a0 Every time she has a baby, she says, \u201cWith the help of the Lord, I\u2019ve brought forth a man.\u00a0 With the help of the Lord, I\u2019ve brought forth a man.\u201d\u00a0 After Seth\u2019s birth, it says, \u201cAt that time, the people of the earth began to call on the name of the Lord.\u201d\u00a0 There were no VBS\u2019s\u2014no outreach events.\u00a0 Adam and Eve were doing the discipling of their own children.\u00a0 There\u2019s some redemption there. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 There really is.\u00a0 Here\u2019s where I come down on it.\u00a0 I want to be careful about saying it is sin because that statement is not made in the Bible.\u00a0 However, James does say, \u201cTo him who knows what to do and what is right\u2014if you don\u2019t do it, it is sin.\u201d\u00a0 I would say this, \u201cDo you believe the Bible\u2014that God commanded the human race to be fruitful and multiply, and do you believe what God said\u2014that children are a blessing, or are you viewing them as the culture views them?\u201d\u00a0 I think the culture views children as a weight\u2014as, at points, a curse. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Inconvenience.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 No doubt about it.\u00a0 I mean, they\u2019re going to cost you\u2014how many tens of thousands of dollars to raise them through high school or college.\u00a0 On, and on, and on it goes.\u00a0 To me, you\u2019ve got to go back to the Bible and say, \u201cWhat\u2019s the weight of Scripture?\u201d\u00a0 The weight of Scripture is, \u201cHave kids.\u00a0 Have kids.\u201d \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAm I ready to say that somebody who chooses not to have kids is in sin?\u00a0 First of all, you don\u2019t answer to me.\u00a0 You answer to God.\u00a0 He\u2019s the One who made the commands of Scripture.\u00a0 If it was one of my own children, and they chose not to have kids, I\u2019d say, \u201cLet\u2019s have a talk around the campfire some night,\u201d \u2014not to create shame or guilt.\u00a0 \u201cLet\u2019s just reason together.\u00a0 Let\u2019s talk about what\u2019s behind this.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe\u2019ve talked about some honest reasons why some people choose not to have kids.\u00a0 I\u2019m not ready to say it is sin, but I\u2019m saying you better know you\u2019re being obedient to Almighty God because, in the end, that\u2019s what matters anyway.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 You might want to read your Bible and read a copy of Erin\u2019s book, at the same time, as you wrestle through it.\u00a0 Just say, \u201cOkay, if I\u2019m going to have a defense for choosing not to have children, I want to make sure I\u2019ve heard all of the arguments in the opposite direction.\u201d\u00a0 Of course, we\u2019ve got copies of Erin\u2019s book in our <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> Resource Center.\u00a0 It\u2019s called <em>Beyond Bath Time<\/em>.\u00a0 You can go to FamilyLifeToday.com for more information about the book.\u00a0 Again, our website is FamilyLifeToday.com.\u00a0 You can also call us, toll-free, at 1-800-FL-TODAY for more information.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe wanted to make you aware FamilyLife has a blog for moms.\u00a0 It is called <em>MomLife Today<\/em><sup>\u2122<\/sup>.\u00a0 If you go to FamilyLifeToday.com, there\u2019s a link there to the <em>MomLifeToday<\/em> blog.\u00a0 The editor of that blog, Tracey Eyster, has a brand-new book out called <em>Be the Mom. <\/em>\u00a0There\u2019s information about Tracey\u2019s book on our website, as well.\u00a0 Again, the website is FamilyLifeToday.com.\u00a0 Call, toll-free, if you have any questions or if you\u2019d like to order by phone:\u00a0 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\tYou know, it is always nice to meet new friends, especially new friends who you\u2019ve gotten to know from a distance.\u00a0 Some of you fit that qualification.\u00a0 We\u2019ve got some of you who\u2019ve been listening to <em>FamilyLife Today <\/em>for a long time\u2014months or even years\u2014but we have just met you because you got in touch with us this month and made a donation to <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>.\u00a0 We appreciate your financial support of this ministry.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe\u2019re listener-supported, and we couldn\u2019t do what we do without you.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe\u2019ve set a goal for ourselves this month.\u00a0 We\u2019d like to hear from 2,500 <em>FamilyLife Today <\/em>friends, whom we\u2019ve not heard from before.\u00a0 You can go to our website, FamilyLifeToday.com, for the thermometer on how we\u2019re doing toward that goal.\u00a0 This month, we are saying, \u201cThank you,\u201d to our new friends by sending out a copy of\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tthe DVD, <em>October Baby, <\/em>to everyone who gets in touch with us, as a new donor to <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>,and makes a donation of any amount.\u00a0 <em>October Baby <\/em>is not out in stores yet\u2014it\u2019s coming out in a couple of weeks.\u00a0 We have some advance copies.\u00a0 We\u2019ll send those out to you if you are a first-time donor to <em>FamilyLife Today <\/em>and you make a donation this month. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tIf that donation is $100 or more, we\u2019d like to send you, as a \u201cThank you,\u201d a certificate so that you and your spouse can attend an upcoming <em>Weekend to Remember<\/em> <sup>\u00ae <\/sup>marriage getaway, as our guests.\u00a0 Again, you can make a donation online at FamilyLifeToday.com, or call 1-800-FL-TODAY to make a donation.\u00a0 Again, if it\u2019s a first-time gift to <em>FamilyLife Today, <\/em>we\u2019ll send you the <em>October Baby <\/em>DVD or the certificate for a <em>Weekend to Remember<\/em> marriage getaway, if your donation is $100 or more.\u00a0 Thanks, again, for getting in touch with us.\u00a0 It\u2019s nice to get connected. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe hope you\u2019ll be back with us again tomorrow when we\u2019re going to continue talking about the joys of motherhood with our guest, Erin Davis.\u00a0 I hope you can tune in.\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 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was excited to impact the youth of her culture.","meta_box":{"show_notes":"","transcript_url":"https:\/\/transcript.familylifetoday.com\/fl2012-08-21.pdf","transcript_content":"<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 When Erin Davis graduated from college, what she wanted more than anything else was to be involved in full-time Christian work.\u00a0 She thought becoming a mom would interfere with that.\u00a0 What she found, though, was God put her in a very special mission field.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 My son recently told me that he thought Ironman was God.\u00a0 [Laughter]\u00a0 So I am the missionary called to deal with that false god!\u00a0 Certainly, I\u2019m the missionary called to deal with that; but you know what?\u00a0 I am my children\u2019s mission field.\u00a0 They reveal so much to me about God\u2019s love for me and about my selfish heart.\u00a0 There\u2019s this synergy in that I\u2019m pointing them to God but\u2014woo whee! \u2014are they\u2019re pointing me to God in ways that I would not have experienced any other way.\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 Tuesday, August 21<sup>st<\/sup>.\u00a0 Our host is the President of FamilyLife<sup>\u00ae<\/sup>, Dennis Rainey, and I'm Bob Lepine.\u00a0 Do you see being a mom as full-time Christian work?\u00a0 Erin Davis says you ought to.\u00a0 Stay tuned.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 And welcome to <em>FamilyLife Today.<\/em><em>\u00a0 <\/em>Thanks for joining us.\u00a0 You know, sometimes when we are talking about things like we are talking about this week, I will think, \u201cHmmm; I wonder what letters we\u2019re going to get from our listeners?\u201d\u00a0 [Laughter]\u00a0 Have you thought about that?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 I have.\u00a0 I have.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Because\u2014a couple of things we\u2019re talking about this week\u2014we\u2019re talking about the value and importance of motherhood.\u00a0 We have some folks who are listening who are pretty passionate about their career involvement.\u00a0 They may be mothers, or not, and they may feel like you\u2019re picking on them.\u00a0 Do you want to speak to them first?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes, I do.\u00a0 First of all, earlier, we talked about how, within the church, among Christian women, 47 percent didn\u2019t feel like motherhood ought to be emphasized to Christian women.\u00a0 I go, \u201cReally, really?\u00a0 Like we need to rip those pages out of our Bibles and just kind of ignore them?\u201d \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI\u2019m not talking about some absolute standard of saying, \u201cIf you\u2019re a mom, you can\u2019t work.\u201d\u00a0 You know what?\u00a0 You work <em>if <\/em>you\u2019re a mom!\u00a0 Barbara, as a mom raising six, went to speak at our <em>Weekend to Remember<\/em><sup>\u00ae <\/sup>marriage getaways\u2014so she worked.\u00a0 She helped me with a book in the midst of raising kids\u2014so she worked; okay.\u00a0 It\u2019s not some kind of absolute standard where we\u2019re trying to shame someone; but what I would appeal to\u2014especially on the younger adults who listen to our broadcast who may\u2014 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWell, I love what Mary Kassian says.\u00a0 She endorses the book we\u2019re about to talk about here today.\u00a0 She says, \u201cIf you have swallowed the pop culture Kool-Aid, you need to read this book and consider if the hand that rocks the cradle does, in fact, rule the world.\u201d\u00a0 Mary Kassian knows what she\u2019s talking about.\u00a0 She embraces the Bible.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI do think, Bob, we have a number of younger adults, who listen to this broadcast, who really don\u2019t want to be mothers\u2014who don\u2019t want that agenda for their lives.\u00a0 You know what?\u00a0 That\u2019s okay.\u00a0 That\u2019s okay for right now, but listen to the broadcast, pray about this, read the Bible, and give thought to this.\u00a0 If you\u2019re married, talk with your husband.\u00a0 If you\u2019re a husband and this is\u2014you\u2019ve been the one drinking the Kool-Aid and, \u201cChildren are going to get in the way,\u201d then let\u2019s reason together.\u00a0 Let\u2019s talk together.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 That\u2019s what I was getting to here because on one hand you\u2019ve got the folks who are career-oriented and are saying, \u201cCareer is where I\u2019m going\u2014that\u2019s what\u2019s really important.\u201d\u00a0 They may have children or not have children, but career is pretty high value for them.\u00a0 They hear us saying motherhood should be as high or higher, and they take offense at that; but there\u2019s another group.\u00a0 That\u2019s the group of young couples who are able to have kids and have chosen not to.\u00a0 Our guest was in that group for a while.\u00a0 We\u2019re not talking about those who aren\u2019t able to have children.\u00a0 I mean, our hearts go out to those who want to have kids and can\u2019t.\u00a0 \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><strong>\u00a0 <\/strong>Right; about 12 percent are permanently infertile.\u00a0 Those couples come to our <em>Weekend to Remember<\/em><sup>\u00ae<\/sup> marriage getaways.\u00a0 There are serious challenges that they face in their marriage as they have to deal with the loss and the disappointment.\u00a0 We want them to know we really do have some understanding, and we\u2019re compassionate about where you are.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 But the question I have for you and for our guest is, \u201cIf you are married and able, are you obligated to have children?\u201d\u00a0 That\u2019s really the question.\u00a0 If you\u2019re married and able to have children, does the Bible mandate\u2014obligate you?\u00a0 You\u2019re supposed to do that, or you are being disobedient, or in sin if you don\u2019t? \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Wow!\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Do you want to?\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 pulled out the sin card!\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 You pulled out the sin card.\u00a0 Well, let\u2019s ask Erin Davis who wrote the book\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 I like that!\u00a0 He\u2019s tossing it right to you!\u00a0 [Laughter]\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 Let\u2019s defer to the expert!\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 I would answer the question!\u00a0 [Laughter]\u00a0 I\u2019m going to ask Erin who wrote the book <em>Beyond Bathtime.<\/em>\u00a0 She is a mom of two and founder of Graffiti Ministries.\u00a0 She speaks all around the country and lives in Springfield, Missouri. Erin, welcome back to the broadcast.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 Thank you for having me.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 How would you answer Bob\u2019s question?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 Well, first, let me see if I can save you some letters because I think this is part of why that 40-some percent would say we shouldn\u2019t emphasize motherhood because these roadblocks come up:\u00a0 \u201cWhat about those who are infertile?\u00a0 Here you are talking about being a mother as a sacred role and all that does is make these women feel less-than!\u201d\u00a0 Well, Isaiah 54:1 has a word for you:\u00a0 \u201c\u2018Sing, o barren one who did not bear.\u00a0 Break forth into singing and cry aloud, you who have not been in labor; for the children of the desolate one will be more than the children of her who is married,\u2019 says the Lord.\u201d\u00a0 There\u2019s this opportunity for spiritual mothering that is there and an encouragement from the Word.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\u201cWell, what about those who want to have a career; and they feel infringed upon when we talk about motherhood?\u201d\u00a0 Well, I happen to be here today because I wrote a book, and someone paid me to do it!\u00a0 I work!\u00a0 One of the lies that I address in the book is that, \u201cThe ultimate conversation we need to be having about motherhood is whether or not to work\u2014that really defines what kind of mother you are.\u201d\u00a0 I\u2019d like to have us get off of that dead horse\u2014it\u2019s been dead for quite a while\u2014and move on to a new conversation because I don\u2019t believe there\u2019s a mandate either way.\u00a0 There are lots of factors to consider.\u00a0 Nobody is saying you have to be a stay-at-home mom to be a great mom.\u00a0 Nobody is saying that you have to be a working mom to be a great mom.\u00a0 That\u2019s not the conversation we\u2019re having.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThe conversation <em>is, <\/em>\u201cIs choosing childlessness biblical?\u201d\u00a0 I decided to address it in my book because I wanted to put myself in the cross-hairs, I think, because it\u2019s a controversial question.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes, it is.\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 And one that\u2019s controversial in my own heart.\u00a0 So, I searched the Scripture; and I asked a lot of wise people.\u00a0 I really spent a lot of time thinking, \u201cOkay, Lord, what does Your Word say about choosing childlessness?\u201d\u00a0 I do not find a biblical mandate that all couples must have children immediately and as many children as they can have.\u00a0 However, I would say that this is an area where many of us set our faith aside\u2014where many of us want to make our own decisions.\u00a0 That is not biblical!\u00a0 Making choices based on preservation of comfort, making choices based in fear, making choices based on what <em>you <\/em>want for <em>your <\/em>life\u2014I don\u2019t think that\u2019s going to pass through the grid of Scripture.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tFor example, I prayed for years about who to marry\u2014really sought the Lord!\u00a0 \u201cIs this your choice for me?\u201d and it was.\u00a0\u00a0 I prayed often about the right major in college.\u00a0 I still pray about what work assignments to take and what not to take, and what house to buy; but I never prayed about if I should have children, when I should have children\u2014those kinds of things.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWhat I see is that couples begin praying about that\u2014often now\u2014when it\u2019s a little too late because we decide, \u201cI\u2019m going to have children once I get the college gig done,\u201d then, \u201c...the marriage gig,\u201d then, \u201cYou know, we need five years of alone time in order to create a solid marriage,\u201d then, \u201c....we get the career gig.\u201d\u00a0 There is a window of time in which a woman can conceive easily.\u00a0 Then, when she can\u2019t, then couples are praying like crazy!\u00a0 [Ticking sound]\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 That\u2019s the biological clock, ticking in the background.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 That\u2019s a real deal, that biological clock.\u00a0 God can do whatever He wants, as we know; but the question is, \u201cIs God good if He gives you kids on <em>your <\/em>timetable or is God good when He does it on His timetable?\u201d\u00a0 Are children a blessing only if you have 2.5 in your ten-year plan, exactly when you wanted them; or are children always a blessing, no matter when they come?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThose are the bigger questions.\u00a0 I can\u2019t answer those for anybody.\u00a0 I still have to wrestle through a lot of them in my own heart.\u00a0 I think that if you\u2019re making the choice to be childless, based on selfishness\u2014and that\u2019s going to take some soul-searching to figure out\u2014on fear, on preservation of comfort, on building a life that is really the life you want instead of a surrendered life\u2014then you\u2019ve got some issues.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Were you\u2014because early in your marriage, you were making the choice to be childless?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 Seven years.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 You had declared that that was your desire.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 We were childless seven years.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Was it because of selfishness?\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>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 No, you said it was because of ministry!\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 You said it was because of a spiritual mission.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 It was <em>my<\/em> vision of how I thought ministry had to work.\u00a0 It was <em>me <\/em>wanting to be used by God in a really specific box.\u00a0 I was not going to have children so that I could really pour into these teenagers.\u00a0 Well, guess what?\u00a0 My ministry to teenagers has only been enriched since I had kids.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI was doing another radio program recently.\u00a0 A man called in and said, \u201cI really feel like my wife and children should be my first ministry; but I feel called to music ministry, and God\u2019s going to give me a platform.\u00a0 I\u2019m not going to have kids because I couldn\u2019t father well if I had a music platform.\u201d\u00a0 I said, \u201cWhy not?!\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI\u2019ve adopted a ministry mantra\/ mindset since I had kids, which is, simply, \u201cNever grocery shop alone.\u201d\u00a0 I always call a teenage girl, \u201cI\u2019m going to the grocery store.\u00a0 Will you come with me?\u201d\u00a0 It\u2019s a huge help to me\u2014I have two squirmy little boys\u2014<em>and<\/em> we\u2019re doing life together as we\u2019re picking out stuff in the grocery store.\u00a0 We\u2019re talking about what\u2019s going on in school.\u00a0 \u201cOh, you broke up with your boyfriend?\u201d\u00a0 <em>And<\/em> she gets to see life work.\u00a0 I don\u2019t sugarcoat it.\u00a0\u00a0 She also catches a vision for the fact that, \u201cWhat does Christianity really look like in real life?\u201d\u00a0 I think we give young people, especially, this vision of Christianity\u2014and then real life hits.\u00a0 It\u2019s messy\u2014the lines are blurry\u2014 \u201cHow do I be a Christian in this not-so-neat way?\u201d\u00a0 The other side of the coin is that it\u2019s better for my kids!\u00a0 My kids are watching ministry happen\u2014they\u2019re growing.\u00a0 It\u2019s really enriching.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAbsolutely, yes!\u00a0 I chose childlessness for selfish reasons\u2014now, I stamped a feel-good Christian stamp on it\u2014but it was really about me creating the life that I wanted to have. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Okay, so what about a mom like the mom I knew\u2014when she and her husband got married\u2014shortly after they got married, he got a vasectomy.\u00a0 He did it; and I asked them, \u201cWhy have you decided to be childless?\u201d\u00a0 She said, \u201cGiven my background, given what I\u2019m been through in life, I would be a terrible mom.\u00a0 I just know that if I brought kids in, I would do more harm than good.\u201d\u00a0 In her mind, not having kids was a sacrifice she was making because she just knew she wouldn\u2019t be a good mom.\u00a0 What would you say to her?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 I would read her Romans 8:28, which says that God is able to redeem all things to her good.\u00a0 He is certainly able to redeem the painful parts of her past to her good.\u00a0 That\u2019s not\u2014she doesn\u2019t have to be that way.\u00a0 Christ came to set us free!\u00a0 That\u2019s why He came.\u00a0 We don\u2019t have to be those things, and we don\u2019t have to pass on things.\u00a0 Through the help of the body [of Christ] and by surrounding herself with wise people, I just don\u2019t agree that there\u2019s no hope for her to be a great mom.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI spoke to a mom recently who came from a horrible home situation.\u00a0 She was adopted into an abusive home\u2014 because of that, said, \u201cI will never have kids.\u201d\u00a0 Well, whoops!\u00a0 They got pregnant with twins and then got pregnant a few years later with another baby.\u00a0 Those children are now young adults.\u00a0 She said, \u201cI just can\u2019t believe what I would have missed out on!\u00a0 I can\u2019t believe the impact and the ways that God used mothering to redeem a lot of those wounds.\u201d\u00a0 Now, motherhood is not the balm for everything that might ail you; but you could just hear her light up about these kids.\u00a0 She was like, \u201cI would have missed so much out of fear!\u201d\u00a0 That mother was afraid\u2014who you were talking about.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 And I have to tell you the rest of that story because in their early 40s, the husband went back to try to get a vasectomy reversal because in her early 40s\u2014now, the longing was so strong.\u00a0 They were never able to conceive but had regret over the decision that they made.\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThe other story I have to tell you is when we told my mom that we were expecting number five.\u00a0 I will never forget the look on her face\u2014like, \u201cDon\u2019t you kids <em>know<\/em>?\u00a0 You\u2019re having a <em>fifth<\/em> child?\u00a0 Are you out of your mind?!\u201d\u00a0 I will also tell you that Grandma, who is still alive, just had lunch with our fifth child\u2014her fifth grandchild\u2014and said, \u201cHe is\u2014I can\u2019t imagine what life would be like without David!\u201d \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 I must have said a 150 times after Eli was born, \u201cI didn\u2019t know how much I needed him!\u00a0 I didn\u2019t know how much I missed him!\u201d\u00a0 He\u2019s four.\u00a0 The other day, he said, \u201cMama, were you lonely before I was born?\u201d\u00a0 I said, \u201cI didn\u2019t know it but I sure was lonesome for you, pallie!\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe have such limited perspective.\u00a0 When we plan our own lives, we get in a train wreck really, really quickly; but God sees it from the beginning to the end.\u00a0 He can handle it!\u00a0 He can so handle it.\u00a0 I think there\u2019s an area of fear in many women\u2019s lives\u2014and maybe Christian men\u2019s lives\u2014I can\u2019t speak to that\u2014that, \u201cIf I give control of this area of my life, I will have a show on TLC.\u201c\u00a0 You know, because that\u2019s what we do with large families in our culture\u2014we treat them like freak-show acts.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Yes; yes.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 \u201cI cannot let go of the reins on this.\u00a0 I cannot trust God with this because it will not work out well.\u201d\u00a0 Well, is God good or is He not?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI spoke to a man recently\u2014his name was Tom.\u00a0 He had two children, and then came to know the Lord\u2014he and his wife both came to know the Lord.\u00a0 His wife said, \u201cMaybe we should have another child, now that we know the Lord.\u201d\u00a0 He said, \u201cOkay.\u201d\u00a0 Well, five more children later\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Wow.\u00a0 Wow!\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 \u2014He said, \u201cThere would be times when I would be out of work; and, literally, bags of clothes and food would just show up on our porch.\u201d\u00a0 Nobody, if they had sat down and crunched the numbers with that family and had budgeted, would have said, \u201cYou can afford all of those kids.\u00a0 Go ahead and have them.\u201d\u00a0 But God was good and God was sovereign.\u00a0 God was just as able to provide for that <em>big<\/em> group of kids as He would be for a very controlled number of kids.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI think the real heart, as we start peeling back the layers\u2014there are some pretty serious heart issues that the Lord is still dealing with me on; but I think He\u2019s dealing with a lot of other people on, too. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 I\u2019ve got news for you.\u00a0 There is more peeling of the onion of the heart as you go forward and raise your children.\u00a0 You don\u2019t know how many you\u2019re going to have at this point or whether God is going to bless you with more, but as they get older, and I mean, after they leave the nest, there are still heart issues and surgery that God has to perform on a parent.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tYou used the word several times a few moments ago when you said, \u201cChildren redeem us.\u201d\u00a0 They are redemptive.\u00a0 They save us from ourselves.\u00a0 I think God knows something about children that we don\u2019t.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 Well, the heart of this book is that our children are our mission field.\u00a0 My son recently told me that he thought Ironman was God.\u00a0 [Laughter]\u00a0 So, I am the missionary called to deal with that false god!\u00a0 Certainly, I\u2019m the missionary called to deal with that; but you know what?\u00a0 I am my children\u2019s mission field.\u00a0 They reveal so much to me about God\u2019s love for me, and about my selfish heart, and about my lack of patience, and my need for the fruit of the Spirit.\u00a0 They press me into prayer.\u00a0 There\u2019s this synergy in that I\u2019m pointing them to God but\u2014woo whee! \u2014are they\u2019re pointing me to God in ways that I would not have experienced any other way.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 No doubt about it.\u00a0 I mean, just about the time another layer would come off the heart, and I didn\u2019t think there was any deeper surgery to perform, the scalpel came back out.\u00a0 I mean, it\u2019s still occurring, now as we are parents of adult children and a whole bunch of grandkids.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI\u2019m going to go back to the question you asked at the beginning of the broadcast.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Oh, yes.\u00a0 We never heard you weigh in on this, \u201cIs it sin for couples who are able to have children to choose not to?\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 Here\u2019s the thing\u2014I\u2019m such a \u201cblack and white\u201d person that I love drawing boxes.\u00a0 I love to make absolute statements.\u00a0 Absolutism makes it easy!\u00a0 When it comes to murder, stealing, cheating, all of that\u2014those absolutes are real easy to look at as the Ten Commandments.\u00a0 There is no tenth commandment about, \u201cThou shalt have children.\u201d\u00a0 There is, however\u2014in Genesis 1\u2014a very clear statement that we were put here by God and we were commanded by God, \u201cBe fruitful and multiply.\u201d\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 That\u2019s not just for Adam and Eve?\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 I don\u2019t think it\u2019s just for Adam and Eve.\u00a0 I know it was before the Fall.\u00a0 It\u2019s like, \u201cDid God rescind that after the Fall?\u00a0 Was there ever a command on the other side to not have children or an exclusion to not have children?\u201d\u00a0 There is for marriage\u2014there is an exclusion in the New Testament, where Paul speaks to single people and said, \u201cIf God\u2019s called you to be celibate for a higher purpose of serving Him, maybe it\u2019s best to be single.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Right.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 And where did Eve\u2014where do we first hear her name, Eve?\u00a0 It\u2019s immediately after the Fall\u2014where, \u201cShe will be a mother to all the living.\u201d\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>Erin:<\/strong>\u00a0 There is some redemption in the Adam and Eve story that comes through their children.\u00a0 Every time she has a baby, she says, \u201cWith the help of the Lord, I\u2019ve brought forth a man.\u00a0 With the help of the Lord, I\u2019ve brought forth a man.\u201d\u00a0 After Seth\u2019s birth, it says, \u201cAt that time, the people of the earth began to call on the name of the Lord.\u201d\u00a0 There were no VBS\u2019s\u2014no outreach events.\u00a0 Adam and Eve were doing the discipling of their own children.\u00a0 There\u2019s some redemption there. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 There really is.\u00a0 Here\u2019s where I come down on it.\u00a0 I want to be careful about saying it is sin because that statement is not made in the Bible.\u00a0 However, James does say, \u201cTo him who knows what to do and what is right\u2014if you don\u2019t do it, it is sin.\u201d\u00a0 I would say this, \u201cDo you believe the Bible\u2014that God commanded the human race to be fruitful and multiply, and do you believe what God said\u2014that children are a blessing, or are you viewing them as the culture views them?\u201d\u00a0 I think the culture views children as a weight\u2014as, at points, a curse. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 Inconvenience.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dennis:<\/strong>\u00a0 No doubt about it.\u00a0 I mean, they\u2019re going to cost you\u2014how many tens of thousands of dollars to raise them through high school or college.\u00a0 On, and on, and on it goes.\u00a0 To me, you\u2019ve got to go back to the Bible and say, \u201cWhat\u2019s the weight of Scripture?\u201d\u00a0 The weight of Scripture is, \u201cHave kids.\u00a0 Have kids.\u201d \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAm I ready to say that somebody who chooses not to have kids is in sin?\u00a0 First of all, you don\u2019t answer to me.\u00a0 You answer to God.\u00a0 He\u2019s the One who made the commands of Scripture.\u00a0 If it was one of my own children, and they chose not to have kids, I\u2019d say, \u201cLet\u2019s have a talk around the campfire some night,\u201d \u2014not to create shame or guilt.\u00a0 \u201cLet\u2019s just reason together.\u00a0 Let\u2019s talk about what\u2019s behind this.\u201d\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe\u2019ve talked about some honest reasons why some people choose not to have kids.\u00a0 I\u2019m not ready to say it is sin, but I\u2019m saying you better know you\u2019re being obedient to Almighty God because, in the end, that\u2019s what matters anyway.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong>\u00a0 You might want to read your Bible and read a copy of Erin\u2019s book, at the same time, as you wrestle through it.\u00a0 Just say, \u201cOkay, if I\u2019m going to have a defense for choosing not to have children, I want to make sure I\u2019ve heard all of the arguments in the opposite direction.\u201d\u00a0 Of course, we\u2019ve got copies of Erin\u2019s book in our <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> Resource Center.\u00a0 It\u2019s called <em>Beyond Bath Time<\/em>.\u00a0 You can go to FamilyLifeToday.com for more information about the book.\u00a0 Again, our website is FamilyLifeToday.com.\u00a0 You can also call us, toll-free, at 1-800-FL-TODAY for more information.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe wanted to make you aware FamilyLife has a blog for moms.\u00a0 It is called <em>MomLife Today<\/em><sup>\u2122<\/sup>.\u00a0 If you go to FamilyLifeToday.com, there\u2019s a link there to the <em>MomLifeToday<\/em> blog.\u00a0 The editor of that blog, Tracey Eyster, has a brand-new book out called <em>Be the Mom. <\/em>\u00a0There\u2019s information about Tracey\u2019s book on our website, as well.\u00a0 Again, the website is FamilyLifeToday.com.\u00a0 Call, toll-free, if you have any questions or if you\u2019d like to order by phone:\u00a0 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\tYou know, it is always nice to meet new friends, especially new friends who you\u2019ve gotten to know from a distance.\u00a0 Some of you fit that qualification.\u00a0 We\u2019ve got some of you who\u2019ve been listening to <em>FamilyLife Today <\/em>for a long time\u2014months or even years\u2014but we have just met you because you got in touch with us this month and made a donation to <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>.\u00a0 We appreciate your financial support of this ministry.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe\u2019re listener-supported, and we couldn\u2019t do what we do without you.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe\u2019ve set a goal for ourselves this month.\u00a0 We\u2019d like to hear from 2,500 <em>FamilyLife Today <\/em>friends, whom we\u2019ve not heard from before.\u00a0 You can go to our website, FamilyLifeToday.com, for the thermometer on how we\u2019re doing toward that goal.\u00a0 This month, we are saying, \u201cThank you,\u201d to our new friends by sending out a copy of\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tthe DVD, <em>October Baby, <\/em>to everyone who gets in touch with us, as a new donor to <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>,and makes a donation of any amount.\u00a0 <em>October Baby <\/em>is not out in stores yet\u2014it\u2019s coming out in a couple of weeks.\u00a0 We have some advance copies.\u00a0 We\u2019ll send those out to you if you are a first-time donor to <em>FamilyLife Today <\/em>and you make a donation this month. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tIf that donation is $100 or more, we\u2019d like to send you, as a \u201cThank you,\u201d a certificate so that you and your spouse can attend an upcoming <em>Weekend to Remember<\/em> <sup>\u00ae <\/sup>marriage getaway, as our guests.\u00a0 Again, you can make a donation online at FamilyLifeToday.com, or call 1-800-FL-TODAY to make a donation.\u00a0 Again, if it\u2019s a first-time gift to <em>FamilyLife Today, <\/em>we\u2019ll send you the <em>October Baby <\/em>DVD or the certificate for a <em>Weekend to Remember<\/em> marriage getaway, if your donation is $100 or more.\u00a0 Thanks, again, for getting in touch with us.\u00a0 It\u2019s nice to get connected. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe hope you\u2019ll be back with us again tomorrow when we\u2019re going to continue talking about the joys of motherhood with our guest, Erin Davis.\u00a0 I hope you can tune in.\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 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