Hey guys, guess what? Aletheianna Mercy approached me about doing a blog tour with her, which I said yes too (’cause this girl rocks and working with her is so much fun XD). We decided on a guest post of hers on the pros and cons of living in a large family.
Y’all. Alea has 12 siblings.
Twelve.
So if anyone knows what they’re talking about, it’s Aletheianna. Join me in welcoming her to the Penmaiden! *round of applause*
The Harmony of Chaos
Living in a large Christian family has its pros and cons.
You have the love of your family and Christ surrounding you, very close relationships, you learn team-work from the day you breathe creations’ air, have those close best-friend-siblings, being able to share things and help on-another, and so much more, I could go on. Living on a farm definitely adds to this as well, learning to work hard and dedicated, working with animals everyday is a very healthy thing, hand-milking three (used to be five)cows every morning and evening, feeding and watering chickens, dogs, cats, sheep, and goats. Learning how to clean well and efficiently, and washing a counterful of dishes every meal.
But of course, homeschooling has to be added to this, can’t leave that out!
Everyone knows that school/education is important to a degree, some lean more towards Science, and Math, some more towards Writing/English, and History, I believe the majority of this audience is the latter option.
I know a lot of people have different views on public-schooling, and home-schooling; as you know I am homeschooled, I think it is the healthiest and best kind of schooling ever—probably because that’s how God intended it, and perhaps a slightly bias opinion.
BUT–I am not here to talk about public-schooling vs. home-schooling.
So a–Large (wonderful) Family, Medium-size (awesome) Farm, and (terrific) Homeschooling.
The three main things that outline my life (besides our Church/Community.)
“No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”
-1 Corinthians 10:13 NKJV
It’s so amazing, God has truly blessed me but as I said before, living in a large family has its cons.
It’s a lot of work, it’s a lot of money/people to feed, it’s a lot of time, it’s a lot of relying on God (<–that’s not a con), it’s a lot of taking all your thoughts captive when you’re really frustrated and angry at someone(s) and you’re stuck with them for the next however long, (<–of course that frustration wears off)… I could go on about the cons as I can about the pros, but realize this:
Life is is precious.
Life is valuable.
Life only last so long.
Life is a gift.
Life is worth living when you’re living it for Christ.
So, yes, it can get very chaotic, very frustrating, but really– that means we have another opportunity to just trust God with ALL your heart, and know that He is in control, and that He didn’t give you an un-walkable mountain (or mole hill.)
“Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.”
-Luke 10:19 NKJV
Living in the midst of hard times really can test you, and your faith, and it’s a really good thing! It draws things out of you that you didn’t notice, that you needed to work on, and it shows you what things are better, and worse.
Also, when you get really mad at someone or it provokes a past problem, or whatever the issue is, instead of saying hurtful, and spiteful things—the things that immediately come into your head—quote Scripture; so whether you have a big family, whether you’re homeschooled, or have a farm/animals, it really doesn’t matter, we still all need to live our lives the same by principle.
Quoting Scripture either out loud (even if they think you’re really weird or not) or in your head (though quoting it aloud does help sometimes), it’s better than saying something really bad, even if it’s in your head, because it will come back, and we must take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.
“casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,”
-2 Corinthians 10:5
I hope I didn’t monologue, and I hope this spoke to you! ❤ 😉
God gives us things to test us and our faith sometimes, and our reaction determines our future.
God bless you friend, ‘til next time if Joelle ever wants me to do another guest post for ya’ll!
Meet Aletheianna, a 13-year-old committed Christian writer. She loves multiple genres of writing, but she mostly writes non-fiction medieval fantasy, and some contemporary. She believes in writing to make a difference. She’s a homeschooler, tenth child of thirteen, and lives on a farm with a huge garden and lots of cows, chickens, dogs, cats, a sheep, and goats in Stevens County, Washington. You can find her at her blog, Chosen for Christ.
Ok, wasn’t that amazing?!?! TELL ME THAT WASN’T AMAZING!!!! Thank you SO MUCH Alea, for joining me and writing that spectacular post. ^_^
Your turn! How many siblings do you have? Are you from a large, medium, small, or single-child family? What are the pros and cons of living in the family size God gave you? Do you agree with Alea? Disagree? Why?
Until next time,
Take courage, pursue God, and smile while you still have teeth!!
(P.S. Interested in following the rest of the blog tour? Check out this post to find out where to stop next!)
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