(1) Unless the Lord builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the Lord guards the city, The watchman stays awake in vain.
2 It is vain for you to rise up early, To sit up late, To eat the bread of sorrows; For so He gives His beloved sleep.
3 Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, The fruit of the womb is a reward.
These verses can be applied to our homes and our families, reinforcing the concept of centering our home lives around the principles of Scripture. We can seek to build and leave a legacy of a strong family, training children in the truths of God's Word, so that the truth of Christ is lived out for generations to come. Each family has a story - and for Christian families, we can relate the story of God's faithfulness, through triumph and tragedy - and I believe that those stories can be used to strengthen our own faith and to tell to others.
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We have been born into a family, and while the institution of the family is facing stress fractures these days, and some families are on the brink of disintegration, there is opportunity for God to work. There may be room for restoration in broken family situations. Psalm 68 gives some insight into the value of this institution:
4 Sing to God, sing praises to His name; Extol Him who rides on the clouds, By His name Yah, And rejoice before Him.
5 A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows, Is God in His holy habitation.
6 God sets the solitary in families; He brings out those who are bound into prosperity; But the rebellious dwell in a dry land.
Yesterday on The Meeting House, I featured a conversation with Christian musical artist John Waller, whose family almost doubled in size through adoption and childbirth - from 5 kids to a total of 9. In the midst of the adoption process, their faith was challenged and stretched, and the song title, Crazy Faith, certainly describes some elements of John's journey in trusting God.
So, the Waller household has 11 members. The Willis household from Tennessee, well, they have 14. And, they have a TLC series. Forbes suggested that they might be a modern-day Von Trapp family. They were featured on the reality show America's Got Talent. In a profile on the Crosswalk.com website, we learn that they are homeschooled and want to travel the country in a sort of Partridge Family way.
And, while they are a God- and music-loving family, a tragedy in 1994 has shaped the life of father Toby Willis. According to a Crosswalk.com piece from WORLD News Service, he is "the son of Rev. Scott and Janet Willis, who lost six of their children in an infamous 1994 car accident in Illinois. Toby Willis wasn’t in the van that day and so survived. But the incident left a deep mark on him and his children. Toby’s commitment to his family is one result, according to his children."
“It’s a lesson that stays with you,” said eldest daugher Jessica, crying as she recounted details of the tragedy. “That not just things, but people can be gone like that,” she observed as she snapped her fingers.
Charisma News quotes a statement that Toby made to the Washington Times: "We had faith before, and we had faith afterwards; there's nobody else to turn to. People of faith [in the Bible] went through hard times, even worse than we went through. Just because you have faith in God, it doesn't mean bad things won't happen." The Times reported that around a decade ago, the family home burned to the ground. Mom Brenda Willis is quoted as saying: "It was a total loss. I just held my kids and said, ‘Thank you, God.’ It gave me a different perspective on life, in comparison to my in-law’s tragedy. When you go through hard things like that it strengthens you.”
And, then you have the family of 19, the Bates family, that are also featured on a reality show, on the UP network. Mom Kelly Jo is quoted on the Hope for Women website:
I believe the Wallers, the Willises, and the Bates all have platforms that God has given to them. John is passionate about the adoption issue, the Willises see their music as a tool to point to their personal stories, in which faith is incorporated. The Bates believe that they can send teachable messages and moments into the culture. As families, we have the opportunity to export what God is doing within the four walls of our homes to communicate His truth. You could say our homes are incubators or laboratories, where God is doing His work, bonding us together in His love, a place of hope, of security, of accountability. We can then take what He has taught and share it with the world.
4 Sing to God, sing praises to His name; Extol Him who rides on the clouds, By His name Yah, And rejoice before Him.
5 A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows, Is God in His holy habitation.
6 God sets the solitary in families; He brings out those who are bound into prosperity; But the rebellious dwell in a dry land.
Yesterday on The Meeting House, I featured a conversation with Christian musical artist John Waller, whose family almost doubled in size through adoption and childbirth - from 5 kids to a total of 9. In the midst of the adoption process, their faith was challenged and stretched, and the song title, Crazy Faith, certainly describes some elements of John's journey in trusting God.
So, the Waller household has 11 members. The Willis household from Tennessee, well, they have 14. And, they have a TLC series. Forbes suggested that they might be a modern-day Von Trapp family. They were featured on the reality show America's Got Talent. In a profile on the Crosswalk.com website, we learn that they are homeschooled and want to travel the country in a sort of Partridge Family way.
And, while they are a God- and music-loving family, a tragedy in 1994 has shaped the life of father Toby Willis. According to a Crosswalk.com piece from WORLD News Service, he is "the son of Rev. Scott and Janet Willis, who lost six of their children in an infamous 1994 car accident in Illinois. Toby Willis wasn’t in the van that day and so survived. But the incident left a deep mark on him and his children. Toby’s commitment to his family is one result, according to his children."
“It’s a lesson that stays with you,” said eldest daugher Jessica, crying as she recounted details of the tragedy. “That not just things, but people can be gone like that,” she observed as she snapped her fingers.
Charisma News quotes a statement that Toby made to the Washington Times: "We had faith before, and we had faith afterwards; there's nobody else to turn to. People of faith [in the Bible] went through hard times, even worse than we went through. Just because you have faith in God, it doesn't mean bad things won't happen." The Times reported that around a decade ago, the family home burned to the ground. Mom Brenda Willis is quoted as saying: "It was a total loss. I just held my kids and said, ‘Thank you, God.’ It gave me a different perspective on life, in comparison to my in-law’s tragedy. When you go through hard things like that it strengthens you.”
And, then you have the family of 19, the Bates family, that are also featured on a reality show, on the UP network. Mom Kelly Jo is quoted on the Hope for Women website:
“Parenting is rewarding, but at the same time it is very challenging. We know how much we have been helped by other people. So we felt like if we could somehow be an encouragement to other families and help them focus on their priorities and relationships with each other and their relationship with the Lord, then we felt like it would be worth doing the show in spite of what [often] comes along with doing a show.”And, the family has known its own unique set of struggles. The article says:
Over the course of 27 years, Gil and Kelly Jo Bates have enjoyed the births of their 19 children, given three away in marriage, and welcomed one grandchild into the world. The family has seen its fair share of happiness as well as indescribable sadness, especially with the miscarriage of four children. However, it’s the joys of family and the promises of God that far outweigh even the darkest days and nights.So what's your family's story? There may have been triumphs, maybe some trials and tragedies along the way. You may not have cameras invading your home, but the story of how God has worked in your family could be transmitted in a variety of ways. And, in this day in which what it means to be a family is being transformed, we can still be challenged as Christian families to demonstrate His light and love to a culture that needs to see our example.
I believe the Wallers, the Willises, and the Bates all have platforms that God has given to them. John is passionate about the adoption issue, the Willises see their music as a tool to point to their personal stories, in which faith is incorporated. The Bates believe that they can send teachable messages and moments into the culture. As families, we have the opportunity to export what God is doing within the four walls of our homes to communicate His truth. You could say our homes are incubators or laboratories, where God is doing His work, bonding us together in His love, a place of hope, of security, of accountability. We can then take what He has taught and share it with the world.
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