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<CENTER><FONT SIZE=+3>What the WORD Says<BR> and What the<BR> WORLD Says</FONT><BR>
by Mrs. Pebbles Smith</CENTER>

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<I>Dear Young Women in Christ,</I>
<BR><IMG vspace=0 hspace=8 SRC="images/dot_clear.gif"> It is a thrill to be called “Mommy” 
	by my four lovely blessings! I love 
	it when they all give me “group hugs”! I love it when my 9 and 7 year olds come up to me needing help with math problems! I love when Megan (my 3 year old) draws a picture using a body and legs, when the dishes need washing, or the room needs picking up, or when the 10 month old needs a diaper changed (and she HATES being changed!) and wants to be picked up to nurse!  Being a mom means all of these and more...

<BR><IMG vspace=0 hspace=8 SRC="images/dot_clear.gif"> I was reading Mary Pride’s book “The Way Home” (Please get it and read it!) on the section about ‘Back to Babies’, and she describes the differences on how the world sees motherhood and how the Bible describes what motherhood is. The world’s-eye view on being a mom is they view motherhood as a mere hobby or a boring chore. They say that a woman can be better fulfilled is if she didn’t have children in the first place. The world scares husbands and wives into unfounded fears like “You’ll be poor, get sick, be in bondage, make the world more crowded than it already is, and be criticized if you have a big family.”

<BR><IMG vspace=0 hspace=8 SRC="images/dot_clear.gif"> Sisters, what does the Bible say about motherhood? A lot! Psalm 128 portrays the wife as being a “fruitful vine in the home and the children as olive plants around the table.  The Bible has a clear command to married couples: Be fruitful and multiply, replenish the earth and subdue it. (Genesis 1:28)  In God’s will, motherhood is described as: Painful (Gen.3:16), Sometimes dangerous (Gen.35:16-20 - Rachel’s difficult birth), Yet joyful (John16:21), An object of prayer (Gen. 25:21 - Isaac praying for Rebekah to have a baby), Makes the barren joyous (Psalm 113:9), Moms are protected by God (Isaiah 40:11), and motherhood is a result of a woman’s “salvation” (I Timothy 2:15).

<BR><IMG vspace=0 hspace=8 SRC="images/dot_clear.gif"> Young sisters, being a mom is not meant to be hard, but joyous. Surely there is work involved, and we have to carry them inside our wombs for nine months and then go through birthing, but each time I have a baby, I learn so much through that sweet life that God gave my husband and I.

<BR><IMG vspace=0 hspace=8 SRC="images/dot_clear.gif"> Do not deliberately cut yourself off of having children! Look at your own mom and what she does. Appreciate all that she has done. Learn from her joys and mistakes.=) I can only give so much to encourage and bless you. May the Lord bless and keep you!
<CENTER>In Christ, <BR>Mrs Pebbles Smith</CENTER>
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<BR><IMG vspace=0 hspace=8 SRC="images/dot_clear.gif"><I>“Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD, and the fruit of the womb is his reward.” -Psalm 127:3
<BR><IMG vspace=0 hspace=8 SRC="images/dot_clear.gif">“He makes the barren woman abide in the house as a joyful mother of children. Praise the Lord.” - Psalm 113:9</I>





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