Category Archives: Children
Monster Theology
“Daaaadddaaaaa!” She screamed at the top of her lungs. “Come here Daddy! I need you!”
It was 4 AM this morning. My precious 2 1/2-year-old daughter Amira was crying in desperation. So, what’s a good dad to do? Down to her room I went.
At first sight of me she seemed relieved, and immediately she exclaimed, “I need some milk.” We talked some, quenched her thirst, and the conversation quickly went from her dry throat to more pressing issues.
“I need to sleep with you in Mommy’s bed” (funny how that works, isn’t it?). “No dear,” I replied, “you can stay in your bed. Just a couple more hours until the sun comes up. Your bed is nice and comfortable!”
“But there are monsters on my wall.”
She said it in such a matter-of-fact manner that I had to try to keep from chuckling.
Turns out, the monsters were not just on her wall, but also in the closet, under the bed, and on the ceiling, she told me. Honestly, I don’t know where she got that idea, but she was fully convinced of the infestation.
I showed her how safe her room was, that monsters weren’t real, then I assured her that God is in our house and he keeps the monsters and other scary things away. She got tucked in and slept for a few more hours, and woke up nice and cheerful as if nothing had ever happened. Thank goodness.
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How many times do we act the same way? All around us there are “monsters” out to gobble us up. Maybe not the big, hairy, green ones, but our fear manifests itself in other ways.
- I can’t try anything new because I might fail
- I can’t witness because people might reject me
- I can’t give to the church or missions because I might not have enough for other bills
- I can’t speak to anybody about God because I might make them angry, and I might even be persecuted
It shows up in missions all around the world. May I be bold to say, Fear-based Christianity and fear-based missions is sin.
Why is it that the most frequent command in Scripture is to fear not? I believe that there are 2 prominent reasons:
1. Fear causes us to magnify a lie instead of Jesus
What is fear? It is worrying about something that hasn’t even happened yet! Satan whispers a doubt, a lie, an unfounded anxiety, and we swallow it. That’s why we find the following in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5:
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: 4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;”
Anything that makes itself greater than my God is an idol and must be torn down. Tear down your fear. Bring your thoughts into captivity. Trust Christ.
2. Fear causes us to miss God’s will
When fear controls your life, the Devil gets the victory because you’ve already given up. “There’s no use in trying.” many might say. When we think of reaching the world with the Gospel, what is the greatest hinderance? We have missed it because we’re dominated by fear. Paul told one of the young men he mentored in 2 Timothy 1:6-9:
“6 Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. 7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. 8 Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God; 9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,”
He had to remind Timothy of something that was forgotten. Fear doesn’t have to own you. God has something greater for you. The power to defeat that fear is already in you. If you don’t squash that fear, you will miss God’s plan for your life!
Christian, What’s your fear? What’s the “Monster on the wall?” What’s lifting itself up above Jesus in your life? What’s holding you back from doing God’s will? It’s time to lay it aside and trust Christ. It’s time to live boldly for the ONE who gave all for us.
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Welcome To The Family, Anabel!
Well it has been a crazy day!
Last night (Friday 5-25-12) Aubrie started having contractions that were slightly harder than she’d been having for the past month. For those that have been following our story, you know we’ve been expecting our second daughter and were already overdue by a couple days. In fact, a month ago we spent the night in the hospital in which they tried to stop pre-term labor. They did a pretty good job! We spent another night in the hospital 3 weeks ago and they were sure we’d be leaving with our child in our arms then. Nope. It wasn’t time…
And, for 3 weeks she had regular contractions and was walking around at about 5 cm dilated.
Well, last night turned into early morning, and the contractions were getting so painful that we decided to go to the hospital as soon as we could.
We got there just after 2 AM and by 2:54 AM we heard the first cries of baby Anabel May Vance! Aubrie went so fast into hard labor that the doctor on call couldn’t get there in time for the delivery! In fact, though Aubrie was in extreme pain, they didn’t have time to get her meds or an epidural to relieve the pain. she went from 6 cm dilated to 10 in a matter of 3 or 4 minutes and only pushed for 2 minutes before Anabel made her grand entry. This baby was ready to be seen!
She weighed in at 7 lb 8 oz, measured 20 1/4 inches long and has been extremely healthy so far.
We decided to name her Anabel, which means Beautiful Grace of God. Her middle name is May, which was my grandmother’s name and is a part of my wife’s grandmothers name.
Amira came in later this afternoon and was thrilled to see her baby sister. She was all smiles. I think they’re going to make a good pair!
We appreciate your prayers. God has been so good to us and has been with us through it all.
Enjoy some pictures from the day….
Bed Rest? What’s That?!
It has been an interesting week, to say the least. Not exactly what we planned, but God knows 🙂
We got home late Monday night from a missions conference about 9 hours away (BTW, thanks to the good folks of Grace Baptist Church in Newport NC for an awesome week!). Tuesday was our only free day before leaving for another two conferences starting on Wednesday. Well, since we’re hardly in town these days, we scheduled an appointment with Aubrie’s doctor. With one month to go on our pregnancy, we found out that Aubrie was having contractions every 7-8 minutes, was 4 cm dilated and 50% effaced! Basically, she was way ahead of schedule and at risk to go into preterm labor. Soooo, off to the hospital we went. Aubrie’s doctor wanted to get her hooked up to an IV to get lots of fluids in her and continue to watch her contractions and the baby.
Long story short, we only stayed a few hours before they sent us home with very specific instructions for Aubrie to be on bed rest, mainly to keep this baby from coming too early. The goal is to get us until May 3rd when she’ll be a full 37 weeks. That’s still 3 weeks early, but it will be far enough along that the baby shouldn’t have any complications.
Wait… bed rest? What’s that??
Like I said, it’s been an interesting week! I cancelled our other two conferences and decided to stay home to take care of Aubrie and Amira. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve occasionally cooked meals, washed clothes, washed dishes, changed diapers, cleaned the house and kept up some with our 2-year-old before… but this has been a whole new ball game. Taking care of these things exclusively while Aubrie rests has been an eye opener to how awesome of a wife and mother she is! To think she does this stuff all the time, without complaining and still keeping up with me as we travel… well, it’s amazing! And some people say that housewives don’t have real jobs… ha.
I know you’ll read this Aubrie… Thank you. I love you and appreciate all you do. You’re the best.
Now, if we can keep this child cooking for just a little longer that would be great. Only a few more days left until we can reach 37 weeks. Aubrie is still having plenty of contractions, even with rest. But we know our next little princess will come when she’s ready, and God will give strength and grace to bring her into this world.
I’ll let you all know when our girl arrives. As the day approaches I’ll be posting pictures and micro updates on our Twitter and Facebook accounts if you’d like to stay even more up-to-date. Thanks for your prayers. We love y’all!
Here’s a video of Amira getting ready for her little sister’s arrival. She and her mommy have made a book to read to her. It is adorable.
Raising A Child On The Road (Video)
This is how Amira likes to travel!
A few years ago I had all the answers. If you asked, I could probably give some [pretty good] advice on being a great spouse, raising practically perfect children, preaching fantastic sermons, and whatever else you’d like to throw my way. I even had Bible verses for all that!
But the old saying I’ve heard said a thousand times now rings true in my life…
“The older I get, the less I know!”
Marriage, ministry, raising children and life in general takes hard work, tireless determination and God’s grace. It is easy to talk about and hard to do.
I remember countless times seeing THAT child at Walmart (you know who I’m talking about!) and thinking… “That will never happen with my kids.” You know, the boy who whines, screams and openly rebels against his parents. The girl who gets what she wants, when she wants, and how she wants it… or else. The kid that is nothing less than a brat.
Well, guess what… God has blessed me with a wife and a munchkin of my own! Suddenly, I realized things really aren’t as easy as I had supposed. Just this week we were at the store and in a moment which snuck up on me like a tiger on its prey, I was that parent with that kid.
And you know what? The more I am blessed to lead a family, the more I realize something… we desperately need God’s presence in each of our lives! You see, no matter how much discipline, structure, schedule and consistency we have in our parenting, it is human nature to rebel. We are born in iniquity and foolishness, and without God’s grace we will continue in that same rebellion until our last breath.
Aubrie and I hope to raise children that fear the Lord, respect his Word, and enjoy serving him. But above all else we want to see them individually submit themselves to God’s loving hand when they understand their need of his salvation. That is why we try our best to have family devotion time. This has been one of the hardest things to keep regular and consistent in while traveling on the road, but the need for us all to meditate on God’s Word and commune with him in prayer is paramount. They need the Word of God. I need the Word of God.
Raising a child while on the road has its challenges. We’re blessed that [as of right now] Amira loves to travel. Going “bye-bye” is one of her favorite things to do! Spending hours in the car going from one meeting to the next is still something fun for her. It’s hard to believe she’ll be two this month, and it’s hard to believe that in just over 2 months we’ll meet her baby sister (who is still unnamed, by the way). With the Lord’s help we hope to live by the principle found in Proverbs 22:6
“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”
How do you and your family do devotion time together? What advice do you have and what challenges do you face? Leave your answer in the comments… I’d love to hear from you!
Here’s a recent video of us reading through a chapter in proverbs together as a family. Amira likes to repeat the phrases sometimes, it really is cute. We love you guys! Thanks for following us and for your prayers.
The Big Announcement
Yesterday I posted on Twitter and Facebook that we would be announcing something big. Last time we did that, it turned out to be our survey trip to Colombia which preceded deputation. Well yesterday after posting the teaser, there ensued a great swarm of speculation… from “congrats on the twins” to “baby?” to “boys, girls, or both?” to…. wait, everybody really guessed that we’re having a baby? Could it be that simple? Was it that obvious? Hmmm
Actually, all of the guessers was at least partially right. Yes, we are expecting our second child!!
So now, questions fill our thoughts…. What will we name him (I’m pretty sure it’s a boy lol) … or her? What will he or she look like? How will we fit it all into our schedule? But really, we’re so thrilled that God would be so gracious to us in entrusting another precious child into our care. Looks like we’ll get to know the newest Vance in late May or early June.
It will be interesting to see how our little Amira reacts to not being the little baby anymore. If you have multiple kids, how did your older one react when they got a new sibling? Feel free to respond in the comments.
Thank you all for your prayers. Be praying for Aubrie especially as we will be travelling for some far-from-home meetings coming up this fall and into next year as we present our ministry in Colombia.
The Vance Family 