Go forth and multiply

I was going through some family photos yesterday and it brought back a lot of memories. One thing in particular made me think. In my younger days there were lots more babies than now.

Over here, there aren't a lot of pregnant women or babies. In fact, a lot of people are fascinated and stare at someone carrying an infant in arms.

Bringing an infant anywhere creates a lot of attention. For the most part, people are fixated on the tiny fingers and rosebud mouths and eyes are on it most of the time. 

For the other part, particularly if the infant is being fussy, people can get annoyed, as if its crying is just to annoy them. They are the ones through whom motherhood is under attack. 

So rare is it to see a baby these days, older women are experiencing baby hunger. It is real and distressing.

As I looked at a photo my then husband had taken of me breast feeding my first child, I was sad to realise that most children don't know that a baby can be fed by its mother. They are quite surprised if they see a child being fed without using a bottle.

Such is the distaste for all things maternal in our society today, some nursing mothers have been asked to leave restaurants and so on for feeding them. 

Like everything else God has said is good, motherhood has been denigrated to a low job that has to be fit into the work schedule and if possible avoided except for the one or two times strictly necessary to procreate and give a woman a sense of accomplishment. Something to be ticked off the To Do List before she finishes her maternity leave.

Having children is a life long commitment and in today's society thanks to feminism, most women either don't want to commit or hand over the reins to child care to  bring up their child.

Without seeing the beauty of motherhood and biblical womanhood, we are doomed to resent pregnancy and training of our children. Feminism's lies have succeeded in blinding women to this and having them prefer to pursue career paths that are outside the home and nursery. Abortion has enabled this as well.

God is pleased when Christian women accept the arrival and nurturing of children and acknowledge that they are indeed a blessing from the LORD.  He created womankind to be a part of His creation and has created us to go forth and multiply.

© Glenys Robyn Hicks

Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb: Genesis 49 25

Baby hunger and old ladies.

As a woman who is now a great-grandmother, I have come to realise that for most of us women, there is a deep desire to one day becoming a mother. It is how God created us.

Indeed, one sees this inherent virtue in young girls from the time they tenderly place blankets around their dollies or clasp a dolly to their breast in the first bloom of maternal love.

As is natural, after this first blooming, other factors come into play as they learn about the world, books and life. But the seed of maternal desire has been sowed and will spring up in later years.

Nurture of new life is a characteristic of womanhood and that nurturing endures for a lifetime. Ask any aged woman who has reared a family and she will tell you that it still presents itself. It presents itself in memories of her own children now grown, and later in her children's children. And if she is fortunate, in her grandchildren's children.

The ache for a baby to hold is still strong, even though the years for becoming a mother are well and truly gone. Each baby will be scrutinised, exclaimed over and rocked and the wonder of new life and a baby's sweet smell will transport a woman to earlier years and the time she first welcomed each new child of her own into her arms and life.

I remember once when we were at a wedding, my aged aunt begged me to allow her to hold my baby daughter, eagerly holding her arms out to receive her. At the time, I didn't realise how strong baby hunger is, until the last grandchild was born and my arms became empty.

There seem to be less babies these days, in part to feminism trying to tell us that a career is better than wiping little noses and bottoms and advise control of our fertility by having abortions. However, wherever there is a baby, you can be sure of two things- there will be other children and old ladies.

For the young ones, it brings a fascination born of that same inbuilt desire to love and nurture. But why old ladies? you ask. Because most times the God created desire to nurture and the love of new life remains long after the ability to beget children. A newborn brings back the memories of younger fertile years and the children born in that time. It makes her feel young again. Reborn. 

Enjoy your children and grandchildren and always get plenty of cuddles. Baby hunger will be easier to cope with if you get a full diet of infant cuddles while you are still young.... 

I promise, you will feel that longing to fill your empty arms with a baby one day as baby hunger is very real. 

© Glenys Robyn Hicks

He maketh the barren woman to keep house, [and to be] a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the LORD. Psalm 113:9

Any age is precious in God's sight.

So my husband, Chris has been in Emergency at our local hospital a few days ago. Nothing major, just getting his insulin sorted. A registrar who was looking after him popped her head in and asked him a question that floored us.

"In light of your age, we need to know if something happened to you, God forbid, do you want us to perform CPR? Yes? well then I need to inform you of possible side effects of that!.... if your heart stops and we have to do CPR, there's a possibility that you could have fractured ribs or sternum. If your brain has been starved of oxygen for any length of time, you could end up a vegetable..."  "At which point, you can then pull the plug!" I interjected.... "Very well, that has been noted!" and then she exited with her paperwork that Chris had signed....

We just looked at each other with open mouths, quite incredulous at what she implied. "In light of your age.." Chris is 69 nearly 70, which is certainly not that old in my book. The implications were that as we are closer to 70 than 60, we are ready to fall off our perch and are not considered of enough value to fight to save.

With recent hospitalisations of my family- aged 67 and over- the reports have been that compassion is lacking. There is a distinct lack of compassionate care which is starkly obvious when compared to past years as a younger patient. Even my (then) 80 year old aunt always said that they let the old ones die. I considered that a gross exaggeration: now I am not so sure.

Our younger generation are being brought up on the idea that the older people in society are a blight on their economy and are easily disposable. Seventy years of age is the cut off point for their tolerance and forbearance. The inference is just go on and die and get it over with!

The government in Australia is phasing in the aged pension only to workers of seventy years of age. In fact, instead of the previous 65 year retirement age, I was made to wait until I was 65.5! Others will have to wait until they are 67 to retire and get a pension: a pension to which they have contributed all their working life. They are aiming to eventually make retirement age 70!

It is interesting that we Australians are considered able to work till 70 but are classified as old and at risk of dying from complications of Corona Virus at over 60!  Maybe the young ones would prefer we start dying off at 60? We can't encumber them with more expense or taxing of the health services!

It seems to me that the most vulnerable of society: the unborn and the aged, are getting phased out of their right to live. This just leaves us a window of acceptable longevity from birth to 60 if we are lucky.

There is no delight in a baby's impending birth or compassion for the ill retiree: we are worthless in society and therefore totally disposable.

From the womb to the grave, our worth in the world is based on someone's warped opinion of us. If we don't measure up to standard, we are terminated or encouraged to roll over and die.

Prophecy is unfolding just as foretold: the love of many has grown cold as the love of money has increased. The unborn and aged are precious only in God's sight. 

His judgement of us is that we are valuable from conception to death..... Maranatha, Lord Jesus! We are precious in God's sight at any age! 

© Glenys Robyn Hicks

Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honour the face of the old man, and fear thy God: I am the LORD. Leviticus 19:32 and The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness Proverbs 16:31

Letter to a feminist

Dear Sister, 

This letter is a difficult one to write, for it is not intended that you should be left with the impression that I write out of spite or hatred to you. Although there is sadness and some anger that so many women have been deceived by feminism, there is also compassion and a degree of understanding.

You see, ever since time began and our sister Eve was deceived by the serpent and ate of the forbidden fruit- a fruit which God Himself had told her and her husband, Adam not to eat, she has handed down to us the desire to rule and control. Not content that God Himself has decreed that women shall bear children in pain yet crave the affection of our husbands, she and all her fellow feminist sisters have sought to not only control their own God-given role as women but have sought to deceive and usurp men. For Eve knew full well that she was sinning when she beguiled Adam to partake of the fruit too- and he, so infatuated by her womanly ways, willingly partook also and bore his punishment as well. In sweat, he would toil in the earth all his days to eat from the ground which bore thistles, until he died and returned unto the dust from which he was formed.

Sin and death entered into the human equation for the first time. Yet God in His compassion, clothed this couple with animal skins and did not separate them- for it was He Himself Who said that it was not good for the man to be alone. Together, they fled the Garden of Eden wherein was the Tree of Life, lest they should eat of that and live forever. Yet God blessed them. What greater blessing could there be for a couple than to have a child born of their own loins? And so with the birth of Cain, the first baby on earth, began the natural cycle of companionship and intimate marriage producing children who produced children of their own to carry on the genes of their parents and grandparents- yet all destined to return to dust from which we came.

As women, there has been suffering. We know the pains of womanhood, the broken heart of romance, the joy-and pain of marriage and bearing and raising children. Yet in the main, womankind has not only accepted this as her purpose in life but as her God-given right. Indeed, most of us would not wish to tamper with it.

It is a wise woman who accepts the role in creation that God has ordained for her. It is natural for us to fall in love, become engaged, marry and bear and raise children. We thrive on making a happy home and marriage and count it all joy by and large. Our fulfillment comes in being helpmeets to our husbands, mothers to our children, and homemakers. Because we have accepted our role as a partner in God’s creation, we do not see the need to compete with men nor do we try to usurp their authority. We see the value of godly submission and enjoy the boundaries that God has appointed for us in our given tasks as wife and mother.

Our fulfillment does not come from a personal bank account, freedom from male ‘domination’, childlessness by choice and an aversion to all things matrimonial and domestic. We do not see children as an occupational hazard of being a wife but a blessing from the LORD. Nor do we sacrifice our children to abortion on the altar of job promotions, freedom of choice/fertility, ambition, prestige and competitiveness with men. Rather, we welcome our God ordained role as women, for in that we can find true freedom.

Freedom that allows us to be gentle, kind, nurturing and domestic. Freedom that rejoices in cooking, cleaning, birth and the marital bed. We do not see our husbands as beasts who exploit us for their personal pleasure, but we delight in their affection and embrace.

Our freedom comes in the keeping of our homes and in the provision of our husbands. In freedom and lack of fear we bring forth our children and we raise them with the love and authority of their fathers. In freedom, we express our concerns and fears to our husbands and in that same freedom we give opinions and insight. The freedom of godly femininity allows us to be equal and not inferior to our husbands. That freedom liberates us from the need to be aggressive, masculine, dictatorial and harsh women. For our freedom in God allows us to be uniquely suited to our husband. There is no need to strive to compete or usurp the authority of men. For a godly woman is of great value.

I can understand a feminist’s view to a point- she has not seen the blessing of femininity or the beauty and challenge of marriage, motherhood and servant hood. She is to be pitied for she has brought upon herself the misery of usurping the God-given natural order by refusing to be a partner in God’s plan of creation. God can open your eyes, dear Sister and He can release you into His wonderful plan of godly womanhood.

There is freedom in His ways. There is peace and fulfillment. God will not force His Will in your life, but He will give you joy unimaginable if you repent and become the woman He created you to be. He has a wonderful purpose for your life- if you will accept it. The struggle can end with your choice to be a true woman and complete not compete with men. God’s Word is very clear on this- His Word is true and good. Will you not reconsider and come home? You will be so glad you made that choice for there you will find the freedom you so desire.

© Glenys Robyn Hicks

From Genesis 2-5

They know!

I just read an article today written by a female abortion doctor who felt no qualms doing terminations when she herself was pregnant. To be honest, I believe this woman is unhinged and has a conscience that is seared. It's not like she didn't know what she was doing to the unborn fetus at the same stage of gestation as her own.

Likewise, the pro abortion fools aren't ill informed like women of years ago! These days we have the scientific evidence that a fetus is alive and human. They know it, and still they murder them or encourage others to. 

And whilst we pity the poor women faced with an unplanned pregnancy who aborted and suffer intensely for their decision, and who seek God's forgiveness (and receive it), we can't even pray "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do!" for those who perform abortions.  They know!

These days, with the lack of babies to adopt, they know that there are thousands of couples who long to fill the empty cribs waiting in an empty nursery, who would open their hearts and homes to bring their child up. 

Even if there were no longer those who are waiting to adopt a child, there would be no shortage of older women who would still take on a child rather than see it aborted.

No longer do people have the excuse of seeing a fetus as "human like" "baby like" etc as this woman in the above article stated: they are human babies. Period. And each time they destroy a fetus, their consciences are seared further, because- they know! 

© Glenys Robyn Hicks

Thus saith the LORD that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, which will help thee;  Isaiah 44: 2

Motherhood is under attack

I believe that there is an attack on motherhood today.  Children generally aren't highly regarded in our society, especially infants.  In the past motherhood has been elevated to almost a Madonna type worship, but todays' society shows that there is a decline in our view of mothers and children...

Whilst waiting to see a doctor today, a young mother came in with a baby girl about 3 months old. Baby was obviously unwell and was crying loudly. Mother sat down with Baby over her shoulder, patting her back, but Baby was not going to be consoled. Soon Mother was as flushed looking as her crying infant, and I couldn't help but feel sorry for her.

As I looked around me, I noticed that several patients were glaring at the poor mother. From the receptionists to a man who was reading a paper.  He kept looking over the top of the paper with a look of annoyance, and now and then tutted...sensing their disapproval, the mother got up and walked around the waiting room a bit... but Baby still cried.

I understand that the patients waiting to see their doctor were probably ill and the weather was extremely hot: 40C or 104F but to be so obviously upset at a sick infant and her poor mother is not right!  Children aren't valued by some and neither is motherhood!

A friend of ours went to England with his little toddler son.  Going on the Tube railway with his sons' stroller, he was shocked at the lack of manners and inconsiderate reactions of fellow passengers.... after all our friend had as much of a right to use the Tube as they did.  But again, the obvious resentment of children was there.

When I was first married to Chris, I used to work outside of the home for a bit to save a deposit for a home. I had to travel to Melbourne by train and tram each day and once again I saw the inconsiderate attitude fellow travelers had to pregnant women and women with prams.

Extremely pregnant women weren't offered a seat and people almost hissed at women struggling to get in a tram or train with a pram or children.  And little children clung for dear life on the trams seats, almost falling over with every rock of a changed track..... no one offered a seat or a hand to hang on to...

I know I am showing my age when I say, "In my day....." but truly, in my day, when I was having children, people were more considerate of those with young- either unborn or in tow. There was a different attitude towards the pregnant woman, and she was generally considered worthy of enough respect to be offered a seat on a train or tram...

It shouldn't come as any surprise really, because motherhood is under attack today.  And the effects of that attack are more far-reaching than just not getting a seat on public transport. The effects start at conception with often derogatory remarks on the announcement of another pregnancy and filter through to aid a decision or "choice" to abort that pregnancy.

Instead of congratulations, the new parents-to-be are often bombarded with concerned people asking how this pregnancy will affect their lifestyle or career chances. And thereby they cast a pall over what should be a happy time. One should not have to defend the decision to have a child, but most of us find we are doing just that when we announce our pregnancy...

Motherhood is under attack by a society that has lost the joy of procreation and child rearing. Our babies are inconveniences, our children are pests. There is a shocking increase worldwide of child abuse- and in a world of materialism, hedonism and godlessness, we need not be surprised.... We are becoming very adept at attacking and eradicating all things that God has said are good!

 © Glenys Robyn Hicks

'Lo children are an heritage from the LORD and the fruit of the womb is His reward.' Psalm 127:3 

Feminism has burst our bubble

When I was a young woman feminism was just rearing its ugly head. It swept through womankind in the Western world and excited them as they plowed through piles of ironing and household chores. It promised liberation from drudgery and new freedom in the world outside the home.

No longer was it acceptable to be a home maker, serving our husband and family, but it denigrated us women, making us appear as mindless creatures who couldn't think for ourselves. We women, happy to bear and raise our children,  were despised and even pitied.

It became easier to have an abortion and with the advent of The Pill, the reproductive cycle of womankind was controlled. Fornication, adultery and promiscuity became the norm with women often becoming the more sexually aggressive of the sexes. With these changes and with the ensuing disrespect for their husbands, no fault divorce was made law and many many marriages failed.

Young girls were not shown home making skills but were taught to study hard and go to university and have a career. Many found to their dismay later in life, that they didn't know how to run a home or cook. The newest generation became latch key children and often came home to an empty house.

Feminism was touted as a woman's right, along with having a career and not having children later on if they even married. And like many feminists, many found that by the time they were ready for children, that they were unable to conceive. 

Feminism for the most part, has been successful. The woman who longs to be a wife and mother and not work outside the home is treated contemptuously by society in general, even in church circles. She often is made to feel inferior every time the question is asked as to what she does for a living. Apparently, being a woman who works hard in her home is nothing warranting praise. 

For the woman who wants to have a lot of children, there is nothing but raised eyebrows and smart comments when they find out another child is expected. It is a common thing today to be ousted from society because one does not follow the world's way but delights in being a Proverbs 31 wife.

However, there is now a draw back to feminism, with many women wanting to be stay at home wives and mothers, but such is the thrust of feminism that many husbands do not want their wives to give up work. Women are therefore stuck in the rut that feminism has created for them.

Pregnancy is often something that women are made to curtail or postpone because of their career, and the longing to have a child is often suppressed with a great burden of guilt to boot.

Feminism goes against God's Divine Order and His plan for biblical womanhood. It has done a lot of harm to women, marriage and families and has made women ill from trying to keep it all together.

Far from the freedom that they strove for, feminism has created a bondage for women and actually limits their potential. There is no way back for society generally and there's no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Feminism has burst our bubble.

 © Glenys Robyn Hicks

Isaiah 3:11-13 Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands shall be given him. As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths. The LORD standeth up to plead, and standeth to judge the people.

Blessed beyond measure!

Time goes by so fast: I have just held my first newborn great-grandchild Evie, and she took me back to when I first held her mother Sarah, my first grandchild. She looked so like her that it took my breath away in a sigh of delight, sadness, nostalgia and love.

I was there beside my Sarah's mother when she gave birth to her. Indeed, she owes her life to me being interested in midwifery, for I was her mother's advocate when she started bleeding at ten weeks. In the hospital, the doctors concluded that Sarah was miscarried without even doing an ultrasound. They planned a D & C for the next morning.

Asking if there was much dilatation, they said no so I asked if they had done an ultrasound. They replied there was no need as they were sure there was no baby there. I asked them to do one before the scheduled surgery just to be sure. And sure enough, there was a healthy ten week old fetus!

To this day, we believe my first grandchild was a twin which was miscarried, as I am a twin, I had still-born twins and twins were in both sides of the family. But sad as potentially losing a twin was, we rejoice that we have Sarah and that I demanded they check with an ultrasound. They were so cavalier about it and would have technically aborted her.

A few months later I had the joy of acting as doula to her mother and my granddaughter's little features were etched permanently in my mind. Sarah was after all, a female carbon copy of my own first child, her father.

Seeing little Evie's face for the first time was a total spin out! A mixture of delight, sadness, nostalgia and love, as I said. Delight too that I was at last a great-grandmother after two years of infertility for Sarah, sadness that the time has gone so quickly, and love for this baby who shared a comic resemblance to those other sweet babies of my past.

As I lifted Evie up onto my shoulder, I whispered a prayer of thanks to God and of welcome to our family, in her ear, just as I had done for my own babies and theirs. God is so wonderful! I am blessed beyond measure! 

© Glenys Robyn Hicks

Children's children are the crown of old men; and the glory of children are their fathers. Proverbs 17:6 

A bitter pill swallowed in sadness

First the General Practitioner’s was sold. It had been a house that was revamped for him. We waited eagerly to see if a medical service would take its place…we sorely need dental surgeries and physiotherapy, rehabilitation centres or pain management clinics in our area.

There were months of extensions and electrical works. Concretors made ramps for the front entrance and a car park was enlarged from a small parking area to room for about 20 cars. Over the next few months, we saw medical equipment and treatment couches and trolleys brought in. Our excitement and curiosity mounted.

What was this wonderful service for us? The sign post had long been stripped of its sold sign but no new sign was forthcoming. Finally, the place was finished! But no news in the local paper or no new sign gave us a clue to our new service! During the week the place was not busy at all…sometimes deserted. Very strange. Saturdays were extremely busy with the carpark full. Still there was no word what the building was.

I did a google search of the area….you guessed it. Our taxes are funding an abortion clinic! I am so upset! I know that abortion will always be a sad fact of life- but it is vexing that one should be built so close to our home! A service that will line the pockets of the abortionists, funded by tax payers money and serving only one small facet of the community!It is so very sad and disappointing!

I will always feel a sense of sadness for the little innocents’ lives that are taken and the lives messed up for women who will have to live with their decision for the rest of their lives! As I wait for a place in a pain management clinic, I swallow the bitter pill of anger and disappointment in the spiraling sin of our hedonistic society. And I shed a tear for the little ones sucked viciously from the warmth of their mother’s womb. And I pray “Maranatha, Lord Jesus!”…and shiver as I pass.

© Glenys Robyn Hicks

"Lo, children [are] an heritage of the LORD: [and] the fruit of the womb [is his] reward". Psalm 127:3

Jezebel lives here

We lived in a low income housing estate owned by the Housing Department. The Navy bought a lot of these homes to house the Naval families and it was there that I met Jezebel.

She was a young wife, quite pretty and she knew it! Most of her day was spent outside sunbathing or shopping. She had two young children who she treated with indifference. They were often playing with my children when we visited my mother who lived next door to her.

We sometimes had to call on her to bring our children back to Mum's and her house was immaculate. As far as these concrete houses went, hers was well furnished with expensive drapes, couches and lamps- and something unheard of in the day- with wall to wall carpet. She was not one to have a conversation with, unless it was about herself or her children, who she considered pests. Or occasionally she would talk of her absent husband, who we were told was a complete boring pig!

That was an enigma to us as he obviously was supporting her and the children very well. In fact, whenever he was on shore leave, we would find him at the clothesline pegging out loads of washing and sheets. Jezebel didn't believe in working when her husband was home. She was a true feminist.

One day, I called on her to pick up my children and she confided in me that she was pregnant to her pig of a husband! (Her words) She had just come home from the doctor and she told me she had informed him that she would notify him if she decided not to go through with the pregnancy. Not after a discussion with her husband. Maybe he wouldn't even be informed, I thought.

I know she had the child, her third son, because I bought her pram for my coming baby. She was wondering how she was going to offload it, she said. It certainly wouldn't be needed again. The Pig had had a vasectomy! 

To this day, I don't know what became of this family as Jezebel's husband was deployed elsewhere, and she went with him. But I do wonder if they are still married and if so, how happy are they. Was The Pig ever valued as a good husband and father, or did he only have Jezebel's scowling and barked orders to look forward to whenever he got home?  

Reflecting on this feminist's treatment of a good man, I felt sorry for her husband and children. I can only hope that Jezebel, so nick named for her horrid feminist ways, has found the LORD and that her children have grown up with some self-confidence and feelings of having been loved. For I am sure  that as hungry as The Pig was for love and respect, he would have made sure the children would have been loved.  

I do pray for them all, and for "The Captain", not "The Pig".  I salute you, Sir for staying with  your Jezebel. Probably for the children.

© Glenys Robyn Hicks

Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband. Ephesians 5:22:33

What God thinks of children: a study

How many times have we heard disbelief and dismay of relatives and friends when it is discovered that a new life is on the way? And worse still, how many people have (hopefully only for a moment), thought  or worse still,  actually voiced  that they may very well terminate it?  It’s a fact that quite a large  percentage of  babies weren’t actually planned, but that  is only in  our thinking.  There are no accidents or unwanted children in God’s sight. Do you know that God blesses us with conception and withholds conception as a punishment?

Genesis 49:25 [Even] by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb:  That is not to say that women trying to conceive are being punished, of course. But in scripture, God encourages us to be fruitful vines and says we will be saved in childbearing.

Exodus 1:7 And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them. Leviticus 26:9 For I will have respect unto you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, and establish my covenant with you Psalm 128:3 Thy wife [shall be] as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table. 1Timothy 2:15 Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety. 

And again when the house of Abimelech had Sarah, Abraham’s wife in his harem posing as Abraham’s sister, God closed all the wombs in the palace. That was how Abimelech knew something was amiss in his house! Why? Because the blessing of conception was withheld!

Genesis 20:2 And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She [is] my sister: and Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah. Genesis 20:3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, thou [art but] a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken; for she [is] a man's wife. Genesis 20:4 But Abimelech had not come near her: and he said, Lord, wilt thou slay also a righteous nation? Genesis 20:8 Therefore Abimelech rose early in the morning, and called all his servants, and told all these things in their ears: and the men were sore afraid. Genesis 20:9Then Abimelech called Abraham, and said unto him, What hast thou done unto us? and what have I offended thee, that thou hast brought on me and on my kingdom a great sin? thou hast done deeds unto me that ought not to be done. Genesis 20:10 And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What sawest thou, that thou hast done this thing? Genesis 20:14 And Abimelech took sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and womenservants, and gave [them] unto Abraham, and restored him Sarah his wife. Genesis 20:15 And Abimelech said, Behold, my land [is] before thee: dwell where it pleaseth thee. Genesis 20:17 So Abraham prayed unto God: and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and his maidservants; and they bare [children]. Genesis 20:18 For the LORD had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah Abraham's wife.

God has formed us in the secret place and knits our bodies together.

Isaiah 44:2 Thus saith the LORD that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, [which] will help thee; Fear not, O Jacob, my servant; and thou, Jesurun, whom I have chosen. Isaiah 44:24 Thus saith the LORD, thy redeemer, and he that formed thee from the womb, I [am] the LORD that maketh all [things]; that stretcheth forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth by myself; He saw our form before we had one- He knows us before we are born! Genesis 25:23 And the LORD said unto her, Two nations [are] in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and [the one] people shall be stronger than [the other] people; and the elder shall serve the younger. Genesis 25:24 And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, [there were] twins in her womb. Jeremiah 1:5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, [and] I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.

We are all unique- even identical twins are not identical in every sense. I know that with a certainty, for I am a mirror image twin. Yet we are different. Each person conceived is special in the LORD’S sight! How it must grieve Him when we express shock and dismay at His wonderful gift of conception! The godly woman will understand that she is being blessed when she discovers a new life is coming- she will welcome children as a gift from the LORD.

Psalms 127:3 Lo, children [are] an heritage of the LORD: [and] the fruit of the womb [is his] reward. And again we see a blessing! Genesis 29:31 And when the LORD saw that Leah [was] hated, he opened her womb: but Rachel [was] barren.

But the ungodly often will react quite differently, spurning the blessing and often taking means to reject it! My heart grieves for those blessings disposed of heartlessly when many a woman desperate for a child would be more than willing to bring it up. God has a purpose and plan for our lives- even known before we are born. To reject the great gift of conception is to reject one of the greatest gifts and blessings that God can bestow on us. For although a child may not fit in with our plans, God can undertake to provide both materially and emotionally for that child. There are absolutely no accidents, no mistakes in timing, no inconveniences in God’s plan!

I have seen women who vowed to reject the gift of conception by terminating it, bond so intensely with the child when it is in their arms, that they give praise to God for the “inconvenience” and bless Him for their child. I also have known countless couples reject their gift of conception by submitting to sterilisation- only to regret it at a later date. Often a reversal does not repair that which was “fixed” when it was not broken.

They pay a high price often, for trying to play a role of life-giver or rejecter- a role that is God’s alone! How precious indeed is the gift of a child, and indeed the gift of conception. May we never take this gift lightly, or reject it or be dismayed! God’s plans and thoughts are so much higher than ours!

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

How our rejection of Gods' greatest gift to us after salvation, must hurt Him! For God, there are no unwanted children. If only all people would understand that!

© Glenys Robyn Hicks

But Jesus called them [unto him], and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.Luke 18:16

Guard your heart

I really hate hypocrisy. The world is full of it and it really gets to me. In particular I hate that a person can be the worst person alive, but when she or he pass, suddenly everyone cries crocodile tears and says what a great person they were at their funeral! In my thinking, it's hypocritical. 

Another thing that gets me upset is people who gush all over you, then talk evil of you behind your back. We all know someone like this. Our love should be true-our friendship real and sincere. 

I have learned to get over the hurt of people who say they love us and don't bother to keep in touch or visit us. I saw this with my own father and step-father who were both housebound with heart and lung problems for years before they passed. Everyone of their friends didn't bother not only to visit them, but even phone them- yet there were copious tears and utterances of regret and undying love at their funerals.. and I find the same thing is happening to me. 

In 1969 I found myself pregnant to my fiance at 16 and decided to resist my parents' offer to get an abortion for me or bring up my child as their own, and I married. But my grandmother who was pregnant before her own hasty marriage, refused to attend mine because I was with child..it hurt. 

People, even Christians are notoriously hypocritical at times, which is not only distasteful to me, but smacks of dishonesty and deceit. May we be women of integrity in our living and our living starts with attitude. Let us guard our hearts from hypocrisy at all times.

© Glenys Robyn Hicks


Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. Romans 12:9

Even Jesus served meals!

All of us Christian wives who are seeking to live life according to God’s Word, are bombarded by feminist teaching and other unscriptural advice. We are further alienated from our sisters who work part-time because society sees them as contributing whereas it portrays us as parasitic!

So great is the attack on us, that often we sit scratching our heads and wondering if they could be right. As in all things, we would do well to seek what the Word of God says.

I have compiled some feminist and ungodly views and I have answered them with the Word. As always, we see the Truth of a housewife’s value in God’s sight is revealed in His Word. I am sure you can find other verses such as Proverbs 31 and Titus 2 that show how God feels about our work in the home.

Feminist and worldly view

“A parasite sucking out the living strength of another organism…the housewife’s labor does not even tend toward the creation of anything durable…. Woman’s work within the home is not directly useful to society, produces nothing. The housewife is subordinate, secondary, and parasitic. It is for their common welfare that the situation must be altered by prohibiting marriage as a ‘career’ for woman.” The Second Sex, 1949 by Simone de Beauvoir
Isaiah 3:11-13 Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands shall be given him. As for my people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O my people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths. The LORD standeth up to plead, and standeth to judge the people.

“[The] housewife is a nobody, and [housework] is a dead-end job. It may actually have a deteriorating effect on her mind…rendering her incapable of prolonged concentration on any single task. [She] comes to seem dumb as well as dull. [B]eing a housewife makes women sick.” — Sociologist Jessie Bernard in The Future of Marriage, 1982.
Proverbs 31:27 “She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat of the bread of idleness.”

“[As long as the woman] is the primary caretaker of childhood, she is prevented from being a free human being.” — Kate Millett, Sexual Politics, 1969.
Proverbs 31:28 “Her children arise and call her blessed…”

“[Housewives] are dependent creatures who are still children…parasites.” — Gloria Steinham, “What It Would Be Like If Women Win,” Time, August 31, 1970.
Proverbs 12:15 The way of a fool is right in his own eyes

“[Housewives] are mindless and thing-hungry…not people. [Housework] is peculiarly suited to the capacities of feeble-minded girls. [It] arrests their development at an infantile level, short of personal identity with an inevitably weak core of self…. [Housewives] are in as much danger as the millions who walked to their own death in the concentration camps. [The] conditions which destroyed the human identity of so many prisoners were not the torture and brutality, but conditions similar to those which destroy the identity of the American housewife.” — Betty Frieden, The Feminine Mystique, 1963.
Psalm 127: 3-5 Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.

“[A]s long as the family and the myth of the family and the myth of maternity and the maternal instinct are not destroyed, women will still be oppressed…. No woman should be authorized to stay at home and raise her children. Society should be totally different. Women should not have that choice, precisely because if there is such a choice, too many women will make that one. It is a way of forcing women in a certain direction.” — Simone de Beauvoir, “Sex, Society, and the Female Dilemma,” Saturday Review, June 14, 1975
Titus 2:4-5 “That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children. To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.”

[I]f even 10 percent of American women remain full-time homemakers, this will reinforce traditional views of what women ought to do and encourage other women to become full-time homemakers at least while their children are very young…. If women disproportionately take time off from their careers to have children, or if they work less hard than men at their careers while their children are young, this will put them at a competitive disadvantage vis-a-vis men, particularly men whose wives do all the homemaking and child care…. This means that no matter how any individual feminist might feel about child care and housework, the movement as a whole had reasons to discourage full-time homemaking.” — Jane J. Mansbridge, Why We Lost the ERA, 1986.
1 Timothy 5:14 I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully.

We who make marriage and home our career usually do so at great personal expense. It is much more difficult to make ends meet on one wage and it is often made more difficult because of society’s general view of the stay at home wife and mother.  We become unwise when we look at our life's work in service to God and family through the world's eyes, not God's.  We must bring our thoughts into captivity of Christ.... Who not only came to die, but came to serve. Even in the miracles of the fish and later in cooking breakfast for the disciples. Jesus saw meal making and feeding hungry people as service of great price!

In order to grasp the freedom and beauty of being a full time homemaker, we must come back periodically to the Word. Only in doing so will we see the true value of our calling in Christ, Who Himself came as a Servant to redeem us...


© Glenys Robyn Hicks

But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: Philippians 2: 7

A heinous crime against humanity and God

heinous

/ˈheɪnəs,ˈhiːnəs/

adjective

1. (of a person or wrongful act, especially a crime) utterly odious or wicked.

   
   

   "a battery of heinous crimes"

   
   

   synonyms:

   odious, wicked, evil, atrocious, monstrous, disgraceful, abominable, detestable, contemptible, reprehensible, despicable, horrible, horrific, horrifying, terrible, awful, abhorrent, loathsome, outrageous,  shocking, shameful, hateful, hideous, unspeakable, unpardonable, unforgivable,  inexcusable, execrable, ghastly, iniquitous, villainous, nefarious, beneath contempt, beyond the pale;

With the advent of the latest abortion law passed today in New York which allows abortion of a baby for any reason until its due date, I thought this word heinous described it to a tee.

To wilfully kill a child that is viable and days away from being full-term is murder, pure and simple. I cannot fathom the depth of depravity of the carrier of the fetus- I refuse to call her a mother,  that she could nurture the life within her only to terminate it just before it comes to see the light of day. 

Not that the length of gestation matters because a person is a person from conception. But to feel that life within, to endure any hardship socially, physically or financially until the final hours of that pregnancy and then to kill that child beggars belief. I simply can't fathom it. The darkness of the mind of that "mother" is perplexing to me.

Furthermore, the very act of abortion at any stage not only brings death to the baby, but potential death to its carrier, and a very real grief in most women at some stage later in their lives. There is also an increased risk of breast cancer in women who have had abortions..At a late stage like the third trimester terminations, surely it would be better medically if the woman just gave birth and relinquished the baby?

Surely having endured a pregnancy with or without social or financial pressures and having felt the child's movements and steady growth, there would be some interest in the baby's future, and well being? Sufficient to birth it and give it up for adoption?  There are so many people longing to have a baby or adopt one, but sadly there are not enough children given the chance of life to meet that need.

I am flummoxed to understand how medical people can inflict such violence on innocents. Human life to them must be so cheap! And as they hold a new family member in their own arms, I wonder if the faces of suffering children they have destroyed come to mind, and if so, does it not move them? I suspect not.

I know I am not alone in feeling sadness, anger and dismay at the destruction of so many babies, and I also know that it strikes at the heart of most people, both saved and unsaved. But I cry for how Father God must grieve for each lost child and for their lost "mothers",  for a woman who can destroy her child on a whim is lost until or unless she repents and seeks God's forgiveness. 

I truly am in despair for the world right now. It has sunk to an all time low as the fires of Moloch on which innocent children were sacrificed reach an all time high.

Let us all pray for this law to be repealed and for the saving of the innocents. Let us pray for women tempted to utilise this heinous law that they are given a heart of flesh instead of stone. For make no mistake, this heinous law is a crime against humanity and God. Maranatha! 

© Glenys Robyn Hicks

Thus saith the LORD that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, which will help thee;  Isaiah 44: 2