Interview from Molly at Three Pennies

Molly is one of my bestest online buddies. I kindly granted her an interview... (KIDDING, people! KIDDING!)

1. What book (in the last year) has most impacted your relationship with God (excluding the Bible)?

Er...wow. I used to read a lot of books, and now it seems that I mostly read the Bible and the internet. This year I've read John Taylor Gatto's A Different Kind of Teacher and want to start his Underground History of American Education soon. I discovered his writing while in grad school (I was training to be an English teacher) and absolutely fell in love. I also liked reading Mary Griffith's Unschooling Handbook, and Mary Pride's The Way Home. Those books had such an impact on the way I view marriage, mothering and education. But I digress, because I read them several years ago.

I also keep coming back to The Excellent Wife, Martha Peace's book on being a godly wife. It's never really been a book I read cover to cover. I have read the whole thing, but I digest it in chunks and keep coming back, especially to the first few chapters, to remind myself of what the Lord desires me to be. It's kind of a kick in the rear, which I REALLY appreciate from anything I read.

Fiction has really fallen by the wayside since I started studying the Bible more intensively...I just don't have time, and if I do have time, I like to focus on things I deem important (like this blog, hehe). I did read Pride and Prejudice this year, though. For the millionth time. And I think I read Persuasion again.

2. How is your relationship with your in-laws?

Great!! They are awesome! My in-laws are such giving, GIVING people. My FIL is a detective for a DA, and my MIL is a nurse. Their whole lives have been dedicated to serving others. (I am not saying that because they read this, either...I don't think they've ever seen it.) They say I am the daughter they never had, which touches my heart--they have three grown boys (I mean, MEN).

3. You have talked in the past about wanting to be a mother but struggling with apparent infertility, and I know that's been a tough one (I wish I could help!). How are you dealing with this now?

Thanks, Molly. :) I posted regarding that in January. Kelly S. on Ladies Against Feminism really said it all for me there.

We have not been given a medical diagnosis of infertility; I'll give everyone here some background to understand our situation. Shortly after we married, Ryan and I were convicted regarding birth control. It was a very sudden thing: I had been on the Pill for eleven years, and I just accepted it as part of my life. A month or two after marrying, though, I was gripped by a certainty that the Pill was not something God wanted me to take. We searched the scriptures with open minds, looking for answers as we prayed. What we found in the Word blew our minds: children are blessings from God, not burdens. God says so. The Bible teaches that God opens and closes the womb. We decided then to give our fertility to God, asking Him to bring a child in His timing.

We thought that would mean baby after baby, right away...and so did our worried parents, who told us outright that we were crazy. We felt certain about our decision, though, and believed that the Word of God backed us up.

In the four-plus years we've been married, I have never been pregnant. We've thought about getting medical attention, but quite honestly, whenever we've gotten near that, God has let us both know that it's not His will at this time. We don't think it's wrong to go to doctors, or anything like that. But we know He doesn't want us to pursue that avenue, at least not now. I am hoping it's because He wants every bit of the glory when He does a miracle! (And every conception is an incredible miracle. Don't get me started.)

4. What toppings go on your icecream sundae?

A whole lotta hot fudge, ideally. I am a big fan of banana splits.

I had one recently with CARMELIZED bananas...ohboy. That was good.

5. When you think of the nations (and missions), what country is heaviest on your heart?

Cameroon, which is in West Africa, next to Nigeria. Ryan and Robert, Ryan's father in the faith and our brother in Christ, went there for three weeks before Ryan and I were married. We're affiliated with Bread for Life, an organization run by native Cameroonian Ernest Ehabe. You can see Robert and Ryan in Africa here. Note: it looks like Ryan has a long ponytail in that picture...he doesn't, I can assure you!

I forgot to add...I'll interview the first person to ask me, like Molly did. :) It's a game that, I think, Carmon started. You get interviewed, then you interview someone else.