Josiah Matthew Cowperthwaite

Josiah Matthew Cowperthwaite was born at 606pm on July 14th, 2012. This was a long, arduous labor but definitely worth the work! Josiah is our earliest baby yet, at 23 days prior to "due date", but all in God's perfect timing. Lots of stories to tell in this labor and delivery, but the important parts is he is here, everyone is healthy, and God has richly blessed our family yet again.

1 Unless the LORD builds the house, They labor in vain who build it; Unless the LORD guards the city, The watchman keeps awake in vain.

2 It is vain for you to rise up early, To retire late, To eat the bread of painful labors; For He gives to His beloved even in his sleep.

3 Behold, children are a gift of the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward.

4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one's youth.

5 How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them; They will not be ashamed When they speak with their enemies in the gate.

Psalm 127

"Children are a blessing" video FREE viewing in April

We have heard about a video produced by the Moore family called "Children are a Blessing" for some time now. We finally got to watch the video tonight, a 30 minute film that is available until April 30th free online.

Following the lives of this God honoring and faithful Christian family, the film concentrates on the contrast between the modern views of family planning and child bearing. Preventing pregnancy through contraception along with chemical and surgical abortion is challenged in light of God's Word which states without exception that children are a blessing from God. Families like the Moores leave the results of how few or how many children they will have entirely up to the Lord.

You can watch the film online HERE until April 30th. The DVD version of Children are a Blessing
includes much more footage and extras about the family, and is available at the link below through Amazon. As always, your purchases through our links support our family and ministry.

Sara and I enjoyed the film and look forward to seeing more films like these that speak of the sanctity of human life and the blessing that children are. We hope this film challenges folks to consider that God has given us a charge to be fruitful not only in producing children for His glory, but to train those children to be ambassadors for Jesus Christ, to raise them in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. This is not about having as many children as possible, but rather trusting God with the planning of our families. 

Baby News!

Some families choose not to find out the gender of their baby during pregnancy, others use the modern technologies available to find out. Our family is not terrible patient and we love to share good news. With all that in mind, Sara had her 20 week ultrasound (actually 19 weeks) yesterday and we found out we are expecting a boy. Yes, just one from all we can tell. Sara is finally "showing" in mid pregnancy, and is happy that people ask her if she is pregnant. You see, until she was pregnant with Samuel, nobody had asked, as she is so tall that babies tend to hide in all the vertical room available.

We gathered around the ultrasound room to find the verdict with the other 4 children, and realized again that the technology we take for granted in this day and age is truly amazing. More amazing still is the fact that God can open the womb and bless the union of a man and his wife with a child. We understand the biological process of this, but how God creates a human being with thoughts, a soul, and a functioning body inside a mother's womb is still amazing to me. It causes us to worship God even more, to understand His creative nature and love for His people. I am brought again to bow low before the Lord of glory that He would trust us with another child to raise for His glory. This is both a great privilege and responsibility, and we appreciate your prayers for us as we seek to do all things for the glory of Him who made us.

Mark and Sara
Nathaniel, Virginia, Naomi, Samuel, and "baby boy" Cowperthwaite

Why is this offensive?

Since the death of Jubilee Shalom Duggar at 20 weeks gestation, the internet has been buzzing about how the family would handle the death, how the kids were doing, and whether or not Michelle and Jim Bob Duggar should stop having children. I have some strong opinions on a lot of this, but an article I recently read shed light on something that I had previously missed in the whole scenario. Last week, at the memorial service for the baby who died, there was a post mortem picture of Michelle holding the baby's perfectly developed hand. People freaked out, called for intervention, and spread hateful remarks all over the internet in what is truly a very private issue for most people, but because of celebrity status the Duggar family has been raked over the coals. Here is a quote that woke me up to what was going on:

"Of the hundreds of comments I read, nobody suggested that this was not a full-fledged child. The cause of contention was the issue of whether they had respected their daughter’s dignity, not whether she had dignity in the first place. Her worthiness of respect was taken for granted"

The author of this article feels that the tide has turned, and that people are now thinking of a 20 week gestational baby as a baby rather than a clump of cells. Sadly, I believe that people often keep the mental disconnect intact. That is, when someone wants to have an abortion, it is still a fetus, but when they can sensationalize a family's grieving process and exploit it for money, they call it a baby. Maybe I am too skeptical, but I do hope that people are waking up to the fact that from conception, a human baby is there.

Updated pictures

It has been a while since we got the camera out, and Nathaniel did a great job at hiding from the camera today. Nevertheless, we got some pics of Hamuel, I mean, Samuel. Also the girls took some pics of things around the house and even snuck one of Daddy! Click the picture link below for more from today's shots around the house. Just a few days from Christmas, and just over a month before we head for Maine. 

December 19, 2011

Remembering Joshua: Duggar kids miss their sister

In this post, we share a story link concerning the Duggar family and how they are coping with the loss of a sibling. We also share some of our story of loss, grieving, and hope that our experiences will give you understanding of how to help others going through great loss.

Remembering Joshua: Duggar kids miss their sister: In the heartbreaking aftermath of the loss of Jubilee Shalom Duggar, it seems the hardest hit among the family is Jill. At 20 years old, st...

Remembering Joshua: Capturing the moment

Remembering Joshua: Capturing the moment: When our son Joshua died in 2009, we had to make very fast paced decisions: would we want to hold him after his death, would we want pictur...

News on the home front

Just a quick email to let everyone know that our time in McDonough, Georgia has been such a blessing to us. A time of learning together, encouragement, and blessing in many ways. With so rich blessings this past few months, it is going to be hard to leave. Yet, the Lord is calling us again to leave some of the comforts and leave behind many friends who we will miss greatly.

We have prayerfully considered for some time going back to Maine to work with the Christians in the Mid Coast area. We will be laboring for the Lord with Grace Fellowship Bible Chapel in Union. We do not yet have a date specified, but it looks like we will be moving the end of January and heading towards Maine. We will be looking for a place to rent, and appreciate your prayers as we have much left to do in our time in Georgia. The Christians gathering in McDonough are such a great blessing to us, but the Lord has confirmed that this is indeed His plan for our ministry in the near future.

Even more exciting is another little tidbit of news. We found out yesterday that we will be welcoming another child into our family, with a due date of August 6th, 2012. With our already anticipated move to Maine coupled with the need of prenatal care, we hope to leave our current rental home the end of January and should arrive in Maine early in February. Short update this time, but we wanted folks to know.

For the Cowperthwaite family (slightly larger than it used to be) ~ Mark