pdf of Issacharian Daughters – ID054 – click on link below for correct layout and photos

id054-sisters-what-is-our-vision.pdf

Dear Girls,

I’ve had some more great correspondence this week:

Announcement!

The Return of the Daughters film documentary being produced by Anna and Elizabeth Botkin, authors of So Much More has been completed and will be released shortly. To view a trailer for the film go to the first link and to see some of the footage which couldn’t be included in the documentary (but which is fantastic!) visit the second link:

http://visionarydaughters.com/return-of-the-daughters/

http://visionarydaughters.com/2007/08/return-of-the-daughters-update-1

Introduction
Dear Genevieve,

Thank you for your encouraging words on being a help and support for our fathers while we are at home.

My father works a government office job, so helping him at home by tending to the garden or taking care of our farm animals is often the best way to free him up to rest or do something else that he enjoys. Lately, I’ve been looking for more ways to help him in the little things – things like changing his shoe laces or polishing his shoes – and by doing this I feel that it is one more way to show him how much I appreciate the hard work he puts into his job. Often when Dad is at home working on a project, he may not need my help at the moment, but I’ve found that by just being there with him and chatting with him is what he wants even more. I am blessed that God has placed me in a family where my parents have encouraged me to stay at home and focus my time and talents on family and serving others.May God bless you Genevieve as you embark on this courtship. I’ll be keeping you both in my prayers. In Christ,Heather

Waverly Hall, Georgia, USA

Helping Father Testimony
Hi there! My name is Narelle. I’m 31 years old, the second of six children, all homeschooled.I’m the only one home now.My dad and I have done four Operation Christmas Child presentations together this month, with other bookings to local churches/schools/clubs flooding in. I am so enjoying working with my dad. It’s more than decade since I was involved in any family ministry (I have a chronic illness). When Mum and I help with these presentations, I give the closing comments and sing “My Child,” accompanied by Mum.I treasure a comment Dad made when we got homeafter one such presentation.He said that the last time he gave a presentation by himself,he got to the closing comments and he realized he hadn’t figured out how to draw it to a conclusion because I usually do that. He missed me! And he said he really likes the way I sing.Those comments coming from my dad meant a huge amount to me.To know that he values me, that I’m useful to him, and the joy of working together in harmony is a priceless blessing.

Narelle really does have a lovely voice. If you want to hear a clip of her singing visit Songuine at www.songuine.blogspot.com .

More Book Recommendations!

Genevieve,

Thank you for another encouraging newsletter. I am excited to have new book recommendations. Here are a few other titles that I think are also the cream of the crop and excellent books.

12 The Hope Chest: A Legacy of Love by Rebekah Wilson

24 Letters to a Daughter by W.B. Sprague

24 Fathers and Daughters by David and Elysse Barrett

24, 31 Before you Meet Prince Charming by Sarah Mally

29 Daughters of Destiny by Noelle Wheeler Goforth

Books by Nancy Leigh DeMoss are excellent. I would highly, highly reccommend these four books:

4, 5 Surrender by Nancy Leigh DeMoss

4, 5 Holiness by Nancy Leigh DeMoss

4, 5 Brokenness by Nancy Leigh DeMoss

4, 5 Choosing Forgiveness by Nancy Leigh DeMoss

I am always looking for good books. Thank you for publishing Issacharian Daughters.Serving Christ,Emily Prouty

Dear Genevieve,Thanks for the awesome newsletters about books! I have a few that you couldadd to the list, all of them are full of Godly morals and they are greatreads.

20 Viking Quest: Raiders from the Sea by Lois Walfrid Johnson

20 Viking Quest: Mystery of the Silver Coins by Lois Walfrid Johnson

20 Viking Quest: The Invisible Friend by Lois Walfrid Johnson

20 Viking Quest: Heart of Courage by Lois Walfrid Johnson

20 Viking Quest: Raider’s Promise by Lois Walfrid Johnson

All the Viking Quest books are a story about a girl who gets kidnapped by Viking raiders and she must learn to love her captors and to trust God with her future, these are brilliant historical fiction adventure books that are great for kids, young ladies, and young men, the whole family will enjoy them. Once I started reading them I just couldn’t put them down!

I would also like to recommend these books:

20 Hinds Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard

20 Mountains of Spices by Hannah Hurnard

These two are biblical allegories that encourage and challenge to have virtues such as longsuffering with joy and other good things. The first one is about a young woman who decides to embark on the journey to the high places and kingdom of love in the service of the shepherd. The second one is about how she goes back to her homeland and shares the good news of the shepherd, king, and everlasting love to her relatives and friends.

I love reading all these books and have read them many times over.

With Love,From Bethany

Dear Genevieve,

A few books I would recommend are as follows:

10 Rejuvenate Your Life by Serene Allison

10 Daniel’s Diet by Phillip Bridgeman

26 Above Rubies – edited by Nancy Campbell (magazine for mothers, but very inspiring, none the less)

Thanks, Kedesh xox

Book Categories
You will notice that the books above have numbers in front of them. These are the category numbers so you can get a general idea of the sort of book that is being recommended. Feel free to send in your book recommendations. I may be able to use them and email out more lists in the future. 1 Theology, 2 History, 3 Child Training, 4 Christian living, 5 Relationship with God, 6 Christian Devotion, 7 Worldviews, 8 Creation, 9 Church History, 10 Homemaking, 11 Home education, 12 Marriage, 13 Reconstruction, 14 Theonomy, 15 Dominion, 16 Social commentary, 17 Public speaking/conversation, 18 Skill Building, 19 Logic, 20 Wholesome fiction, 21 Poetry, 22 Bible, Commentary/Helps/Aids/Hermeneutics, 23 Law, 24 Daughterhood, 25 Women’s Role/Womanhood, 26 Motherhood/Wifehood, 27 Man’s Role/Manhood, 28 Children’s Books, 29 Biography, 30 Doctrine, 31 Courtship.

Thanks so much girls for your emails! The next newsletter is attached as a pdf and the text from the newsletter follows this note.

Regards,GenevieveMonday, 3 September 2007Dear Girls,

SisterS, What is our Vision?

An Issacharian Daughter kindly agreed that I could share her testimony with you all. She tells a little about herself and then gives her testimony.

My name is Mary Daniels. I am 21 years old, and the youngest of my parents’ six children. I have three older sisters and two older brothers. I live in Beechgrove, Tennesee, with my sister and her wonderful family. I moved here from Texas at the beginning of February 2007. The Lord has blessed me richly with the opportunity to help my sister while learning homemaking skills at the same time. We stay busy being keepers of our home. It has been my pleasure to help her homeschool her two boys, go grocery shopping, clean house, cook tasty meals from our garden, go for walks and discuss topics from the Word of God.

I enjoy greatly the blessing of being able to invest time into my precious nephews as well as my new niece who was born June 4, 2007. There are constantly opportunities at my home to swing a little boy, jump on a trampoline, make up a fairy-tale, read a story, throw a baseball, hit a golf ball or rock a lovely little girl while singing her a song. I even find it hard at times to get away to have some time to read; but I’m not complaining, I’m blessed, so blessed! I wouldn’t trade this season of life God has me in right now for anything. I value every moment, I cherish every second! These children are valuable, their lives are eternal; it is my pleasure to invest time into them each day.

The Lord has blessed me with a different ministry through the month of August 2007. I have had the opportunity to stay with Nancy Campbell to help with her encouraging ministry to women: Above Rubies. It has been so wonderful getting to meet other like-minded girls who have also come to help. It has been a pleasure getting to know Mrs. Campbell and how she runs her ministry.

I look forward to seeing what the Lord has in store for my life as He trains me for the journey of being a Titus 2 woman:??to love my husband, to love my children, to be discreet, chaste, homemaker, good, obedient to my own husband, that the word of God may not be blasphemed ?? (Titus 2:4-5).

Testimony: Sisters, What Is Our Vision? ??So where will you be attending college? ????What are your plans for this fall? ????Have you enrolled in classes yet? ????When are you moving out on your own? ?? Do these questions sound familiar? I used to be bothered by these questions all throughout my senior year of high school. I would scream inside,??Stop asking me that! I can’t stand the idea of going off to college, and when you ask me that, it makes me feel horrible. ?? I had little to no hope. I didn’t know what to do with my life. I didn’t know where to picture myself even one year in the future. What was I supposed to do? What would happen to me? I was so scared; I desperately needed vision and I had none.

I grew up in a small town in Texas the youngest of my parent’s six children. We attended a Southern Baptist church nearly every Sunday morning. I love my parents greatly, and I know it was and is important to them that their children know the Lord. However, I was not raised with the same Biblical mindset that I believe God has recently, in His grace, taught me and caused me to embrace.

I attended public school from kindergarten through twelfth grade. Even so, I absolutely could not stand the thought of going off to college after graduation, but I felt pressure coming from everywhere. I often got the message that I needed to??do something with my life and make something successful of myself, ?? so I tried to think of??noble ?? things I could do besides go to college. I wanted to be used as God’s vessel; I wanted to bring Him glory, but how? After a few short-term mission trips and prayer, I truly felt God giving me a burden for orphans and to become a mother to the motherless. I looked into doing long-term mission work after high school, but the Lord did not allow me to go down this path, I didn’t understand why at the time; I just knew He was sovereign and I needed to trust Him. Confused about what God wanted with my life, I moved in with my great-grandmother and got a job as a teller at a local bank. After working there for ten months, the pressure that I felt was coming from family, friends, co-workers and even acquaintances to??go to college, become successful and make money, ?? was too much for me to bear. I felt worthless, like I would never be anything great without a college degree and a successful career. I felt like I would die a poor homeless woman if I didn’t have the??security ?? of a college degree. So, I went to college. I thought I would become a registered nurse.??At least then I could help people, and it would be of great use if the Lord ever did allow me to be a missionary, ?? I would think. I was glad, at least, that the people in my life seemed pleased with my decision. However, I can honestly say that the four months (one semester) I attended college were, by far, the most miserable four months of my life. I knew that??all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose ?? (Romans 8:28), but at the time I had no peace whatsoever; I was so anxious and worried. I would cry out to God:??Please help me; I’m desperate, I’m scared, I don’t know what to do Father! I need you to rescue me; there must be some other way! ?? I began to confide in my older sisters. They shared with me all that the Holy Spirit had been revealing to them. We spent hours upon hours discussing what the Word of God had to say about God’s calling for women verses what our culture, and even many churches, say is wisest. I felt like the million-pound brick I had been pulling around was lifted off of me. Indeed, His??yoke is easy, ?? and His??burden is light ?? (Matthew 11:30).

Over the Christmas holiday my sister, Tess, gave me several of Doug Phillips’ sermons on CD and the book, So Much More, by Anna Sofia and Elizabeth Botkin. This was such a refreshing time that just confirmed everything the Lord had been teaching me. I was so thankful that God used His children to show me at such a crucial time in my life that it was okay not to chase after the world’s standards for success. I had never been told this before. I knew in my mind that the Word of God said,??And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God ?? (Romans 12:2). However, before I was told not going to college was okay, it was very hard to put behind me what I had always been taught was??true success. ?? What freedom truth brings!

So now what? I wanted out of college, and I desired greatly to live with family, like-minded family, where I could help and learn. Proverbs 31:12 says, speaking of how a wife can bless her husband,??She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life. ?? Living with a family who had the same vision as mine would help me to learn how to be a Proverbs 31 woman now to be better prepared to help my husband, God willing, in the future. It makes more sense for a young lady to invest her time into learning this instead of investing time into a college degree. Even though I had this vision in mind (by the grace of God, nothing from myself), I still needed to bring my heart and concerns to my parents. God has taught me the importance of honoring them (Exodus 20:12) and as a result, I desired the blessing of my wonderful father. However, being the shy and quiet person that I have a tendency to be, I thought I would be able to explain everything the Lord had been teaching me best if I wrote him a letter. I was up until the wee-hours of the morning on New Year’s Eve (2006) writing my Dad a several page letter pouring everything out before him, explaining to him my burdens, my heart and my God-given desire to be a Titus 2 woman and simply follow what Christ has called me to as a young woman and not what my culture says I must be. I asked him if he would give me his blessing not to return to college and instead move in with my like-minded sister and her family. She was homeschooling her two boys and due to have a little girl in just a few short months. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to help and learn. By the hand of God, and my father being the understanding and loving person that he is, I received his blessing. After I went and stayed with him for a few days to talk with him in person, he helped move me to Tennessee to live with my sister, Charisa, at the beginning of February 2007. I have been here filled with peace and totally content ever since. I feel so blessed, oh so blessed! Jesus has done exceedingly abundantly above all that I asked or thought (Ephesians 3:20).

God has been teaching me so much about homeschooling, adoption, children, homemaking, waiting patiently on His best for a husband; and the best part is that it is all for His glory! He has shown me how corrupt and godless our public schools are and how much He has been involved in the homeschooling of His children. I can’t imagine sending my children off to a godless, government run public school system for eight hours a day to be raised and educated by complete strangers. It is God’s heart for parents to walk with their children, invest time into their children and constantly be speaking the Word of God to their children all day long (Deuteronomy 6:6-9). This is not possible when children are dropped off at school while their mother spends eight hours a day investing her time into her career and not her children. Nor can we be the helpmeets God created us for (Genesis 2:18) to our husbands if we do not focus our time and energy on helping him and serving him as Proverbs 31 women. God has already revealed to us, as women, what is pleasing to Him to consume our time. We are called to bear children, raise children, serve and help our husbands in whatever God has called him to, and make our home a welcoming place for all who enter it. This, if done on the behalf on God, blesses His heart. And as His children, it is our blessing, pleasure and joy to please Christ!

One Bible verse that I find so encouraging is Genesis 24:60 which says, “And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them.” I know this was spoken to a woman who actually did become “the mother of thousands of millions” by God birthing the great nation and people of Israel through her descendants. However, I think it is still very significant to us today (even if a nation isn’t birthed through our descendants) to see that they blessed Rebekah by declaring motherhood over her; it is, indeed, a blessing. I hope that God would bless us, today,to become mothersof many, for His glory. I find much encouragement through this verse; it thrills me actually. Even if we don’t literally become the mothers of thousands of millions, we still see a glimpse of the heart of God through this verse; my prayer is that until the return of Christ we, His children, would have descendants in every generation that would stand up for righteousness! Who knows how many descendants this would be, possibly several thousands. My prayer is that the Bride of Christ would begin to think generational and not, out of selfishness, of just their own short life on earth. Children/people are eternal, and any present struggle is only temporary.God is the creator of life. May the Lord be the Lord over our wombs, and our minds, for His glory. If everything is not for His glory, everything is in vain (Ecclesiastes).

So now I ask, sisters, what is our vision? God’s vision for His people is much greater than us blindly walking down the path our culture has laid out before us. We don’t have to conform!??God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise ?? ?? (1 Corinthians 1:27). By the grace of God I have been blessed with vision, vision from the Scriptures, vision of older women admonishing the younger women??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 ?? (Titus 2:4-5). For the glory of His name, Jesus has given me this vision for family, children, homemaking and being a helpmeet to my future husband so??he will have no lack of gain ?? (Proverbs 31:11).

“Where there is no vision, the people perish… ?? Proverbs 29:18 (KJV)

Mary welcomes your emails. You can contact her at marydaniels14@hotmail.com.

For the Greater Glory of God through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,Genevieve SmithIssacharian Daughter

Notes:

I have sent this email to girls who have embraced a vision of victorious daughterhood as well as those who may be thinking about doing so (and even to some girls who may just like some encouragement regarding different areas of home life). Some of the girls are in the USA, UK, Australia and other parts of the world. Most are in New Zealand. You are welcome to forward this email on to others so long as you do so in its entirety. If you do not want to receive these emails please just send a return email to me stating that fact. If you know of other girls who would be encouraged by receiving these emails, feel free to forward the email to them or send me their email address.