Preparing for a New Job...

As I said last night this post is going to be written to those who commented back in June concerning my previous writings on child training. But, my prayer is that others will find some wisdom also.

What is it about the term "child training" that makes people cringe? I remember one time talking with someone and saying I was training one of my children and all the person could say was "Is your child a dog?". I was flabbergasted by such a response. Last I checked none of my children have fleas or scratch behind their ears. So they obviously are not dogs but, I hear this so many times.

I think part of the problem with this comparison is that so many well-meaning people use this observation as a way to show how child training works. Even the book "Getting Your Children to Obey" which I HIGHLY recommend uses this comparison. I understand the usage and I agree with it but yet find it lacking in many ways.

For me; child training is the same as any adult preparing for a new job. Even if you have worked the same type of job for 10 years you still need training when you go work for a new company. Just as my children who are have been a part of this family for the last 14 years still need training in each new job they take on in our family.

Even the little ones go through "job training" in our family. It is a job to learn how to be obedient, to speak with kindness, to not be slothful, to not lie, etc... Each of these is a new job that none of them were born knowing how to perform successfully. So as their "boss" I train them to do each new job with a deep desire to glorify the Lord.

Is that training sometimes painful and hard? Of course it is. What would happen if you went to work and told your boss you didn't feel like working today? Or, you have a deadline but chose to be slothful and not finish on the required date? What if you were to go steal company information and share it with a competitor? Don't think that these compare to the jobs I listed above for children? Lets see....the first is disobedience, the next is slothfulness, and the last is lying and stealing. Even if they are different scenarios they are all the same sins and all worthy of discipline and training to make sure they do not happen again.

So please ladies do not fool yourselves into thinking that your sweet child will just know how to do all the new jobs that are going to come their way. Prepare them for each and every new job by training them to do it for the Lord. And, to those ladies that are already walking this walk...STAND STRONG!! It can be so hard when it seems that the training never ends some days but as we all know it sure pays well when they have learned to do the job well.

A Post and a Story...

Yea, yea, yea....I know. I say that I am going to post more often and then 3 months later here I am. LOL!!! Hey, life happens and I am so thankful for it.

I have to tell you all a story about a crazy thing that happened here on BWV. I have this cool little widget on the blog that keeps track of how many people come to the site. It also keeps track of what page they came from and what page they go to when the leave. It is kinda fun seeing how many come and read.

Well anyways, back in June after my last blog post I received a very hateful comment (which of course I did not approve for posting) then I received another. Not knowing what was going on I went and looked at the stats and saw that I had had over 600 hits in a day. Which of course is crazy for this blog as you can tell by my lack of posting. Since the stats counter keeps track of the website the person comes from I went and checked it out.

The website was a forum of moms who for the most part are living a life contrary to my own. I expected that they found my blog based on my abortion post but actually they came in on the postings I had done on child training. After reading through the postings these women had sent me personally as well as the ones that they posted on their forum I knew that this was not something I needed to battle at that time.

But, now I am ready to cross that bridge. Some of the comments are not even worth my time but there were a couple that even though I could not approve them due to language are still worthy of answering. Which is what I plan on doing tomorrow.

But, just in case any of those ladies are still reading I have one question for you to prepare for my next post.

How do you prepare for a new job?

Also, if any of them should read my posts...know that I pray that each of you will come to know the Lord in a deep and passionate way.

God Restores What the Locusts Have Eaten....

There are many verses in the Bible that I am so thankful that God chose to include. Some are helpful in every day life on being a wife, mother, and friend. Others remind me of what I should or should not be doing. Then there are those that allow me to remember not only where I came from but where I am going and the work (AMAZING WORK!!!) the Lord has chosen to do in my life.

Joel 2: 25 - 27 just happens to be one of those passages.

" And I will restore to you the years that the locust hatfh eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you. And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed. And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God, and none else: and my people shall never be ashamed. "

This passage has come to mind quite a bit over the last few weeks. After a few lively discussions over at another blog that I love as well as the murder of Dr. Tiller it seems that I have been reminded quite a bit lately of what the Lord has done for me.

Fifteen years ago I had a partial birth abortion at sometime in the 5th or 6th month of pregnancy. I do not remember exactly how far along I was. I do remember very clearly having to have my cervix dilated on Day 1 and go home knowing the next I was going to murder my unborn child. The next day is still so ingrained in my memory that I will never forget. I remember laying on the table and having the doctor perform the abortion. I remember how much it hurt not only emotionally but how much it hurt physically. I remember feeling the suction of my baby being pulled from my womb. I remember the nurse asking me if it hurt and that it would be over soon. I remember then being sent into a room full of other women who had also murdered their unborn child and laying in a chair sobbing uncontrollably.

For some, they will give ever reason for why I made the right "CHOICE". I was a young. I was single. I had already had one child that I had given up for adoption. I was trying to make it through school. I was told I would have no home to live in. I was told I would be shunned by my own family. The child was a burden and I could always have another later when I was married.

But, not one of those choices is true in the sense that my child was worth dying over.

• Yes, I was young. But, so are some of the best moms I have ever met.
• Yes, I was single. But, obviously I have done a pretty good job with the next child I gave birth to as a single mom.
• Yes, I had given one up for adoption. I should have at least given this child the chance at life with another family.
• Yes, my parents may have kicked me out of the house but I am sure I could have found someone to take me and my unborn child in and love us.
• Yes, my family probably would have shunned me but who cares.
• Yes, the child may have made things harder but a burden? Children are never a burden. They are a blessing from the Lord no matter what circumstance you find yourself in at the time.

I am so sick of the lies that the "pro-choice" camp is feeding women who find themselves in situations they feel they have no control over. They feed on these lady's fear. But, what makes me even angrier is knowing that if people knew the full truth of Maragret Sanger and Planned Parenthood then they would know that there is nothing about her that is about choice. She was out to create a supreme race and her way of doing that was through the murder of unborn children.

But, my real reason for writing this post and confessing to such a horrible sin is I want to give women hope. I want them to know that God loves them no matter what has happened in their life. He truly does "restore what the locusts have eaten". My family and life are a true testimony of that verse. I have a wonderful husband who not only loves me and our children but he loves the Lord. Even though I took the life of a child that the Lord loved and considered His own he still continued to give me children. Not only did He give us children but He gave us a "love for children". He opened our hearts to His truth concerning children and the fact that they are a blessing. The Lord also restored the relationship between myself and my parents.

I can stand and praise the name of the Lord because he has dealt wondrously with me and I shall NEVER be ashamed to be called His people!!!! Am I ashamed of what I did? Yes! I can never repay for taking a life. But, I know that the Lord has forgiven me and I will continue to stand and shout His truth!!!!

Ladies, if you have something in your life that continues to hold you with guilt or fear you MUST remember that you are a new creature in Christ. You must also remember..."As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us." Psalm 103:12

I don't know if I am done writing about this topic or not. I have so much more I can say on this as I want the lies the horrible, horrible lies reveled and told. If telling my story saves one child from being murdered then it is worth every bit of hurt that may rekindled. But, through it all I can rest in the fact that the Lord is merciful and loving and will continue to pour His grace upon me undeservingly (is that a word? :) ).

Blessing Our Husbands & Missing You...

It has been awhile since I have posted. I actually had the blog set as private for these last few weeks as I needed to spend my time focusing on the things that were of utmost importance. I needed to reevaluate our homeschool, spend more time talking with my children and giving all my evening time to my husband when he was home. What a sweet time it has been for all of us and a much needed time of refocusing.

Now, I look forward to posting again but be forewarned there may be a time of not alot of posting as we are in the process of moving to the house next door in the next few weeks. It has alot of work that needs to be done not only on the inside but also on the out. So, I ask for your patience and prayers that we and the landlords are able to get done what the Lord wants us to do each day.

So, how do you bless your husband? I know many times it can be so hard to remember to find ways to bless our husbands. We get so caught up in the day to day with keeping the house clean, training and teaching the children, having dinner ready when he gets home that we forget to find ways to bless our husbands. Yes, I know that the above are also blessings to our husbands, but these are things that we should be doing no matter what as they are required of us from God's word as part of being the "keeper" of the home.

We need to be looking for ways to bless our husbands that go beyond our daily duties. The blessings are going to be different for each family depending on your situation. These things can also change due to family dynamics, seasons in weather and seasons in our lives.

Here is a suggestion to help find a way to bless your husband. If yours is like mine he takes the Lord's commandment of "6 days of work" seriously. So he spends quite a bit of time working on things around the home on Saturday. During the week I ask my husband what his plans are for the week. What are some things he would like to accomplish? I then take those and see which ones I can fit into my schedule and do for him before Saturday get here. Now, mind you many times this does not mean we will have more free time on Saturday. It just means that he has more time to work on other tasks. But, without me taking the initiative to do those jobs for him it would take him 2 weeks to do what he can do in one.

Now, I say all this with a bit of trepidation. There have been times that I have asked my husband what he would like to do and then I went ahead and worked on those things for him only to find out later that he was really looking forward to doing that particular job himself. So, it is important to listen and know your husband to see if this job is something you should take on or not. If you are not sure then the best way to know is to ask him and see how he responds.

There is nothing sweeter than sitting in my chair or lying in bed at night and my husband leaning over and telling me "thank you" for mowing the lawn for him. Not only does it bring tears to my eyes to know that my husband's heart rests safely with me but that I was able to lift his burden of providing for us just a little bit.

Now, I am off to mow 4 acres today. How are you going to bless your husband today?

We Are Having a Party!!!

In the past it has been very hard to for me find like-minded women to fellowship with and learn from. Or, just finding the time in my very busy life to have time for fellowship. That is one of the reasons I have come to love the internet and blogs in particular.

The blog world is a great place to find encouragement, advice, and fellowship during these seasons in our lives when it is not possible to find it in our communities. Or, when you do not have Titus 2 women who you can glean from in person.

So here is your chance to find some great blogs as well as share you blog. Please join me and many other wonderful blogging Titus 2 women (trust me I am not saying that I am a Titus 2 woman even though I deeply desire that title) as we throw a Titus 2 Blog Party.

Michelle over at She Looketh Well... who is hosting the party asked that we post an introduction about us and our blog so here goes.

Welcome to Becoming a Woman of Virtue

I have had this site for over a year waiting for the Lord to show me the right time to begin blogging the journey He has placed before me. I hope that through this blog I can share my struggles all the while showing God's grace and mercy in my life.

I do not claim to be a perfect person because only my Saviour is perfect. I do not claim to know all the answers but I can point you to the One who does.

I am Shanna Hinrichs; a sinner saved only by the pure and perfect grace of God. I am also the wife to my wonderful husband Jarret for 10 years this past October and the mother of 6 wonderful children. We live in North Texas where my husband works for a roofing company as their Senior Systems Administrator and we homeshcool our children.

My desire for this blog is that I can be an encouragement to you as well as help guide those who are seeking to glorify God in their marriage, families and life. I am sure that my posts will be a wide range of topics since becoming a woman of virtue (BWV...for short) touches on every aspect of our lives.

My prayer for each of you will be that you will seek God's design for your life and that you will follow it with passion.

Living Under Grace...

How are you all doing? I love to write so you would think I would post more often. But, so often the duties of being a wife, mother, and teacher of my children takes away that time of escape for me. But, I am trying to remind myself that it is actually good for me to write as it allows me time to think through my thoughts and feelings but also it makes me reflect on God's love for me as I search His word and His will on what to write about.

I have found that most of my writing comes from what is going on in my day to day life. I mean really if I tried to write about things that I have no clue about then I would speaking of unknowns. I also find that many times the Lord allows things to happen in my life in order to use them as a means for me to write and to be an encouragement to others.

Such is the post today. I am sinner!! I know that is a shock to many. Not only am I a sinner presently but I have always been a sinner.

"Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. Psalm 51:5"

Because, of being a sinner things have happened in my life that I wish would not have happened. I have been known for saying that I regret nothing in my life because, if I regret a previous mistake then I am saying that God is not in control of every aspect in my life.

Do I believe that God wanted me to experience the hurtful or harmful situations? Of course not! His love for me is so great that it hurt Him to see me suffer. But, He did allow it to happen in order to use it for His glory!! His glory is revealed through us because of the suffering He allows to happen in our lives.

"For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. Romans 8:18 "

I am having to remember this today more than ever. I love the internet and all that it allows for us in our lives. I love that it gives me the chance to write and share. I love that it allows me to meet people who I would never have the opportunity to meet. But, with the openness of the internet comes the chance that you will be reminded of your past when you least expect it. Just like last night, I received a message on Facebook from an anonymous person but they obviously know me and some things about me that I wish noone else to know.

But, then I go back and reflect on Romans 8:18 and remember that even though my past is riddled with sin He will be and is glorified because of it. But, you know what is even better than that?

"According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Ephesians 1:4 "

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God Ephesians 2:8 "

Praise the Lord!!!! Because of God's love for me He chosen to save me. Because of His grace I can stand before Him blameless. I have no reason to allow someone or something from my past to disrupt my life. Those people or those events were used or will be used for His glory.

Ladies, if you have a past that you wish you could sweep under the rug please do not allow it to control your life.

"There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Romans 8:1"

I am not saying that we should flaunt our sinful pasts but I am saying that we need to make sure we allowing God to be glorified because of our past.

I will be praying for you.

BTW, I am going to go back and finish my series on child training. With that there will be a contest so make sure you are here and ready to enter.

God's Will In Our Lives...

As many of you know we just moved back from Virginia to Texas in October. Well, we finally moved into our home January 1st. The Lord was faithful even when I did not have faith. I am so thankful that I have a husband who can see pass the difficult times and continue to push me. I was at my limit on trying to find the home that the Lord had chosen for us. On a Sunday while at church I said that I was ready to give up and if we didn't find something that day I was done looking until after the first of the year. Praise the Lord, He felt my pain and brought us to our new home that evening. We are on 10 acres with a beautiful view!! I would love to show it to you but Dalton deleted ALL (600) pictures off my camera the other night and I just haven't had the heart to go take any new ones just yet.

Anyways, thank you to those that have stayed with me during this lull in blogging and thank you to the ones who emailed me wanting to know where I was or how I was doing. But, my deepest thanks is to those that have prayed for us during this transition in our lives. We are thankful to be back in Texas which is actually part of what my post is about. I do hope that we can get to know each other better during this next year and that I can be more faithful in blogging now that we are settled.

So, tell me...Am I the only one that is comepletely oblivious to seeing God's will in my life even when it is smaking me in the face? Moving back to Texas was really not my first choice. I loved Virginia!! Well, except for the liberals and high taxes. Other than that I loved Virginia. So moving back to Texas was with quite a bit of sorrow. But, the Lord always knows better than I do and He has yet again shown me that I need to remember Luke 22:42 "Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done." Because, I am known for many times wanting my will not His but I always end up thankful that He has my best interest at heart.

Back in August of 2006 Jarret had a major knee surgery such that the doctors had to cut his femur and place a plate and screws in his leg. He recoverd from the surgery wonderfully and was actually better off after the surgery than he had been for years priror. Unfortunately, last Februry (the day before Asher was born) Jarret fell at work and caused major damage to that leg which would require another major surgery this time requiring the tibia to be cut and have screws placed. This surgery did not go anywhere near as well. Jarret was plagued with infection after infection due to the doctor using sutures that Jarret has an allergic reaction to and not having a good physical therapist to help aid in his recovery.

So when the chance to move back arose we were thankful in the respect that he would be able to go back to his original doctor and physical therapist. But, over these 4 months we have gone through many trials and he has not seen much if any improvement in his leg. Jarret's leg stays incredibly swollen all the time and stays a pretty shade of blue.

We finally found a doctor who would oversee Jarret's case and coordinate all the different doctors that would be needed to determine what is wrong with his leg. Three weeks ago Jarret had an EMG (nerve damage test) and CTA (vascular/bone x-ray). We had learned that the nerve damage in Jarret's leg is permanent but since it doesn't cause him any pain then there is nothing that will be done. We are fine with that since it is really more of an annoyance not being able to have feeling on part of his leg. The CTA showed no vascular issues which is good but doesn't explain the extreme swelling and blueness of his leg.

The scan did show that there is something wrong. We just don't know what as of yet. There is a black spot in the cortex of the tibia itself. This can mean that there is a non-union (meaning that the bone has not healed) or that he has a bone infection. So the radiologist recommended that Jarret have a nuclear bone scan done to determine which of the above scenarios is the cause of Jarret's leg problems. Should it be a non-union then he will most likely end up with a bone growth stimulator to help the bone finish the healing process. If it is an infection then he will be looking at 6 weeks of out-patient IV antibiotic treatments. We find out on Wednesday what exactly we are dealing with and how we will deal with it from this point.

See God had a reason for us being back in Texas. He knew we needed doctors who would look beyond the symptoms and get to the bottom of the issue. He knew we needed support from family and friends as we deal with the changes in our lives and coming to terms with the fact that Jarret will never have full function of his leg and that he will never be able to play football with his boys again. He knew that Jarret would not be able to handle the frigid cold winters in Virgina since the cold winter days in Texas have been extremely hard on him and they in no way compare to Virginia.

So what is my point in telling you all this? Well of course we covet your prayers as we find out what is the next path that the Lord desires for us to travel. But, I also want it to be a reminder to all of us that even when we do not understand why God is choosing to do certain things in our lives we need to remember that not only does He love us but His plan is ALWAYS so much better than our own.