SEPTEMBER 2008
“Mobilizing Families for God’s Kingdom Worldwide”
Dear Friends in the Lord,
Family!
Rachel Elizabeth Beall arrived on August 13 at 8:03am. Many of you received Bernie’s e-mail with the good news.
“Behold, children are a gift of the Lord,
The fruit of the womb is a reward.” ~ Psalm 127:3
Josh & Kerin, with Abbi & Rachel
on Rachel’s birth day.
Rachel Elizabeth means ewe/lamb, consecrated to God, and we pray she gives her life to be one of God's ewes at a young age, and lives a life consecrated to Him!
Kerin was a champ, most of her hardest labor took place on the way to the hospital. Rachel arrived within a half hour of their arrival! Everyone is doing just great. Rachel is growing and thriving, and Abbi just loves her sister! Rachel has the most beautiful eyes. Just like her Mama!
It is easy to receive the message the world tells us that children hinder us from reaching our full potential, are a liability and a burden. We are told that the menial work of keeping a household running is insignificant. We rejoice that Josh and Kerin have rejected that idea! Choosing to embrace children as God brings them, they are viewing children as a blessing from God, an asset for the family rather than a liability to the individual.
In that spirit, although we could give you an update on seven more family-friendly evangelistic outings, church retreats and conferences the Lord has taken us to since our last letter, I think I will save that for later! More important things are at hand that desire to be highlighted without distraction! :-)
Instead of our usual letter, I have asked Josh if this month he would give us a peek into how he is seeking to view his children as a blessing and to bless them by writing encouraging letters of love and affirmation and vision to them. This concept is so foundational, so pivotal, it needs to be highlighted in its own newsletter. May you be blessed by the vision of this young father!
Two week old
Rachel Elizabeth
It is a bit long, but worth the read. May it inspire you, no matter what the ages of your children to consider the gift of the writing of such a letter to your children, spouse or even parents this year for Christmas or some other special occasion, instead of or even in addition to the normal material gifts we use to celebrate. These kinds of letters can serve as anchors for an individual to trust God and keep walking with Him. What if the Lord would take you home early, and you would never have another chance to say these things? What do you want to say to the ones you love to encourage them to be grateful for how God has made them, and trust Him to do great things with their life, when fully yielded to Him? How would you bless, encourage and appreciate them if you knew this was your last chance? Take some time and just do it! We hope you are blessed and encouraged by Joshua’s letter like we are. What a letter! Enjoy!
Much love in Christ, who knits us in our personal families, the family of families that is our nation, and ultimately the family of God!
~ Linda for the Bealls
Joshua Beall’s Recent Letter to His First Daughter, Abbi
My Dear, Precious Abbi,
As I write this, you are napping quietly in your bed. We spent the morning playing together, and what a joy it has been!
We named you Abigail Renee. Abigail means “joy of the father,” and you truly are a joy to me, my daughter!
Renee means “reborn,” and we do pray that you will be born again. For as the Bible says, “I have no greater
joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.” (1 John 3:4)
You are very special to us, Abbi, as you are not only our firstborn daughter, but the firstborn of all our children.
You will be the first to mature, and as you grow older, we will depend on your assistance more and more to
help our home run smoothly. Already we are delighted to see your interest in helping out Mommy and Daddy.
When Daddy's working in the yard, or Mommy's sweeping the floor, you want to be there “doing your part,” and
we rejoice to see your enthusiasm and energy. We love you so, Abbi!
Even before we were married, your mother and I knew that we were called to love each other, and to embrace parenthood. That meant having children! We did not know when God would bless us with our first child, but we looked forward with anticipation to that day. When we first found out that Mommy was pregnant, we were both excited and a bit nervous. We hadn't been parents before this! Mommy had never delivered a baby before! And it had been a long time since Daddy had held a little newborn!
We did what we could to prepare for your birth, but nothing could have prepared me completely for the joy and excitement of holding you in my arms for the first time. And my love for you has only grown as you have grown. You were born nearly two years ago, and over the last two years I've seen you grow, mature, expand your understanding of the world around, laugh, cry, and learn. It's been a true delight.
Right now, I like to grab you up in my arms and race around the house, as you scream with delight. Then when we come to a stop, you say excitedly “again!?” It brings a smile to my face just thinking about it. When we're not “flying” around the house, we're jumping on the bed, playing in the “sandbox” we have for you (more like an enormous bucket filled with sand), making chalk drawings on the sidewalk, reading books, singing hymns, playing in water (any water we can find!), or just running around the back yard for no reason at all. We recently discovered that you like to climb ladders—now we have to keep an eye on you when we go over to Grammi & Grandpa's, that you don't climb up the ladder on their swingset without someone to catch you if you come crashing down! I'm delighted by your desire to adventure and try something new, although you do seem to have inherited some of your mother’s common sense. You didn't get it from me! I was several times more reckless when I was your age!
As the years wear on you will eventually grow too old and grown up for me to pick you up and carry you around on my shoulders, “fly” around the house with you, and tickle you all over. But you'll always be my precious little Abbi-doll, and my beloved firstborn daughter. As you do get older, you'll be more and more of a help to Mommy & Daddy. As the Lord blesses us with other little children, you'll help the family run smoothly, by helping take care of the other children, by helping Mommy & Daddy keep the house clean and organized, and by helping to make our house a better home. Our family will probably never be rich from the world's perspective, but we will be rich in our love towards one another, and the hard work we put into whatever property and resources that God gives us stewardship of will allow us to make it a warm, loving, safe home. There is a richness to such a home that is better than all the expensive things that a fancy new house could offer. And it is more rewarding, too!
All the skills you will learn and the hard work you will experience growing up in our family will be to prepare
you for the future you will someday have outside our home. Someday, God will bring to us a young man
that wants to take your hand in marriage and start a new family. We will rejoice when that day comes! But until
then, your help is both a huge blessing and an integral part of making our family successful. Work hard, love
Jesus, honor your parents, cherish your siblings, and the Lord will take care of the rest.
Faith in Jesus is the most important thing of all, my precious daughter! I know not what the future holds for all of us, but I do know this: There shall be difficult times. Whether great or small, you must hold fast to faith in Jesus, my daughter! He shall see you through even the most trying of times, and one day, we shall see each other once again, in a world such as God intended. In a new heaven and a new earth, where God wipes away every tear, where all things are made new, and where we can all worship God in peace, without fear of persecution.
Here are two passages that are I think are good to remember:
2 Timothy 3:12-17 - “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. But continue you in the things which you have learned and have been assured of, knowing of whom you have learned them; And that from a child you have known the holy scriptures, which are able to make you wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”
Hebrews 10:23-25 - “Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”
Hold fast to Jesus, my dear Abbi. Study the Bible diligently—it is the very Word of God, sent to us. Jesus speaks to us through the Bible, my precious Abbi—and He loves you more than anyone else ever has or ever will. And that's truly amazing, because Mommy & Daddy do love you so very, very much!
With love and great anticipation of the Lord's work in your life,
Daddy
Note for our readers from Josh: I wrote this letter a few months ago, and it's one of many that I've written and will write to my wife, children, and family. Writing a letter is as much about expressing your love, hopes, dreams, vision, and goals for your family, as it is about making them clear in your own mind. Your wife and children are not the only ones that will think back on the words you have penned over the years—you will look back on them as well, and you may find them as motivational to yourself as you intended them to be for the rest of your family. I know I have.
When it comes to the mechanics of writing letters, there are many aids available. Some may find them helpful—I did better simply writing down what I was thinking. In fact, I found that trying to follow a specific pattern made letter writing all that much more difficult for me. Once I decided to just write down whatever I was thinking about, it flowed much more smoothly. If you're like me, and you want to try a letter but aren't sure what to say—just don't worry about what to say, and write down whatever is on your heart. If you need to go back and refine it later, you can—but you may just find that whatever is on your heart, is all that your family needs!