Change Your Mealtime Paradigm

Mothers, do you ever find that your most frustrating times of the day are meal times? Many of us try to facilitate a sit-down meal at least once per day where the whole family is gathered--and we envision well-behaved and happy children sharing their day with us, lots of encouragement and laughter, and prayer and Bible reading around the table. Hello reality: demanding toddlers, siblings fighting over the color of their bowl, babies squirming out of their high chairs and crawling all over the table, hungry growly husbands sitting down and ready to eat while you are still running around dripping dish water, your hair all askew, trying to remember the forks, water, bibs, serving spoons, salad dressing, and the other hundred things that will be needed at the table. Right? Hah!

I recently realized that there is one main problem that is causing all the frustration, and no, it is not your hungry husband's failure to see that you need help! The problem, for me, is my expectation. The expectation that this is the time when I get to sit down and have a relaxing "break" while eating something tasty and nourishing. We have come to see mealtimes as such from our single days, and our days before children, and now this. Every day the reality beats us over the head again, and every day the frustration builds, simply because we refuse to let go of our old paradigm! Here are five tips that have changed my attitude, and I am ENJOYING our meal times. I have three children five and under, and am 8 months pregnant, so if it works for me, it can work for you!

1) Remember that Christ Himself came to be a servant. When you feel like nobody is noticing your hard work and that you are under appreciated, being treated as a servant, rejoice! Christ became obedient unto death. Motherhood is one of the best opportunities to practice Christ-likeness. Embrace it!

2) Think of meal times as your exercise time, not your time to relax. Seriously!! I have spent too much time lamenting not only my inability to get a sit-down meal, but also my inability to find a consistent time to work out. Hello! The two issues solve each other! Now that I am realizing that sit-down meals are NOT going to include me until my children are older, I happily do laps the entire meal if I have to, just thankful that my buns and thighs are getting much needed exercise!

3) Find another time to sit down and relax. No, it will not happen every day, but I find the best time is after the children are in bed. Then I veg out for a few hours, hang out with my husband, have a special tea or dessert, etc. This is also why I like having an early-ish dinner and getting the children to bed in a timely manner. And it is much more plausible than the idea of having your break at meals!

4) Eat healthy snacks between meals, and eat while you are preparing the food. That way you won't be so desperate for food that you add your own hunger mood swings to everything else that's going on. I like to eat my salad while I am preparing the rest of the dinner, so I am sure to get something healthy. Add nuts or beans to it so you get some protein. having a bowl of nuts and an apple handy on the counter is a good thing anyway.

5) For the sake of your morning sanity--and your electricity bill--invest in a really good coffee cup with a lid that will keep your coffee hot for hours. Don't you just love it when you have to microwave your coffee eight times before you even take the first sip? When my old precious travel mug--a gift from my husband--broke into two pieces after seven years, I was rather heartbroken. But after several days of mourning and denial--and unpleasant morning coffee--I bit the bullet and invested in a good new travel mug: In the $20 range, not the $10. (I got this one in fuschia--at Target) It is stainless steel inside, not plastic...that can't be a bad thing! And it keeps my coffee really nicely warm until noon if I need it to. It is worth it, ladies!

I LOVE what a perspective-change can do for your life. There is a reason the Bible calls us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. God knows that many of the frustrations and problems we face are due to our own incorrect thinking. Be blessed as you make your husband and children happy at meal times--while keeping a smile on your face! It will be so worth it in the end.

One day, three encounters

When you are pregnant or have multiple little children, you often get comments from strangers on the state and size of your family. For me, being the mother of three under six with one on the way, the most common reaction is "you've got your hands full!" which is funny in two ways. One, every mother has her hands full, starting with child #1! And two, four children is really not that many, considering the many families in history and presently who have eight, ten, fifteen children... ok, maybe there are not that many of them in this area, but they do exist in our country and abroad. So I don't know where all the awe comes from, unless it is from the adoption of too many psychology-based parenting methods, which make the parents feel overwhelmed and unable to imagine how they would cope with one more demanding little monarch running their lives. But I kind of like it. I welcome the comments because it encourages me that much more to do a good job raising them, and also because it gives me a voice for a moment, an opportunity to reflect positivity about parenting that just doesn't happen very much. It tends to be a complaining field, doesn't it? I know it was for me, for a number of years...

Today I got to have three such little moments with other parents, all different. I love seeing what will happen, and if there is going to be an opportunity to encourage!

Scenario #1: I was swinging Silas in the baby swing at the park next to a nice grandpa who was also pushing his 2-yr-old grandson. This time it was actually I who started the conversation.

me: "Is he about 2 1/2?"
man: "About 2 and 3 months, so yeah... yup, the terrible twos!"
me: "You mean the terrific twos!"
man: "That too, yeah, most of the time, I guess, but he definitely has his tantrum moments."
me: "Well, yeah, they all have those, but I welcome those tantrums, they are one of the best opportunities to teach!" (and to WIN a battle before something becomes a nasty ingrained habit!)

man: "We do do that a little bit too, but we get to hand him back off to his mother; grandparents are supposed to spoil their grandchildren."
me: "True, true, well, I'm not at the handing off stage yet, so I have to work through those times, but I am looking forward to being a grandparent too; that will be a fun stage."
man: "yeah, when my kids were growing up, it was always just work, work, work for me, so it seemed like they grew up way too fast and I missed so much. It's nice to get to experience it from retirement."


"It's nice to be a stay-at-home mom!" I thought.


Scenario #2:
I was at the hospital for my initial appointment for prenatal care here in the new town, and the person they sent in to examine me was a bald man in his 50's who was filling in for the OB. The great thing was, this man was not a doctor at all, but a certified nurse midwife! Now THAT is unusual, but I decided not to comment; he probably gets enough grief for his career choice from anyone and everyone... The midwife-man was asking all kinds of general questions.


mw man: "so this is your... fourth child. you're gonna have your hands full in a little bit here!"
me, chuckling: "well, we'll see! one child takes up all your time, so four can't really take up any more!"
mw man: "heh, that's true. I had four, and it always seemed to work out somehow."


He was super, super nice and helpful, and pulled some extra strings after the appointment to get me into the midwifery center instead of the regular OB care, (yaaaaaaaaaay!) as the midwives hadn't wanted to take me at first, since I was too far along for their regular cutoff date for a first time patient. AND he let me do my own strep B test, and didn't do a vag. exam at all, so I didn't have to expose myself to a stranger today. Always nice!


Scenario #3:
I had to get a TB skin prick and the lady who was administering them at the lab said to me that it looked like I was having a boy.
me: "I don't know what I'm having."
lady: "Well it looks like a boy."
me: "They all look the same on me."
lady: "Oh you have kids?"
me: "This is my 4th."
lady: "Lucky!"

me, laughing: "Now that's an unusual response."
lady: "Really?"
me: "Yeah, people usually think I'm either crazy supermom, or that I'm selfishly destroying the planet."
lady: "Really, why?"
me: "Because my carbon footprint is getting too big for my own good, something like that. Global warming, I'm killing all the polar bears. ...Do you have children?"
lady: "I have two. I wish I could have more, but that would be just too complicated for me. Mine are ten years apart, so at that rate, I would be having the next one in my 40s."

"Well some people start in their 40's!" I said with a twinkle.I really liked this woman. She was open and sincere and didn't put on any airs. It was actually quite refreshing to be downtown, somehow the people seemed more genuine. The point is, I had a really interesting day discussing parenting with various people! It is the funnest topic--try to encourage someone in their parenting today!

Psalm 63: 7

"For You have been my help,
And in the shadow of Your wings I sing for joy. "

This verse excited me greatly this morning: we can SING for JOY in ANY circumstance, provided we are in the shadow of God's wings! What comfort! In fact, who are those who would take refuge in the shadow of the wings of the Almighty? Are they the ones who have all the right circumstances, feel taken care of and secure, are self-sufficient, in need of mothing? NO, it is the hunted: those who are weary, parched, out of options; those who need safety and are being battered by life's cruelties. And it says right here that they are the ones who sing for joy. Have their circumstances changed? No, but their spiritual position has been changed! They have moved under the shadow of His wings. And now, whatever situation they are in, they can SING for joy.  They know who is their help. He is the Helper who helps them to sing. And knows also their circumstances, yes, is working all things together for good. But primarily, He covers them over, and they sing! It is where all the change begins. Let me sing for joy today as I make my husband's sandwich, wipe dirty faces, sweep food off floors, try to stretch the money for the bills, and train the toddlers in the same things over and over again. I simply come under the shadow of the wings.

Why we don't shrink during pregnancy

There is a good metaphorical reason why pregnancy makes us EXPAND. Many Christians blindly follow the feminists in thinking that embracing our womb, our home, and our mothering is a reduction of our value. God sees it differently. One of the Biblical Hebrew words for child even means "fullness" (as used in eccl. 11:15) ...none of the words used for children in the Bible mean empty, limited, tied down, or reduced! If we could only see the impact we could have on generations and nations for God by the way that we love our children, sacrifice for them, and embrace the work in the home, we would wake up excited every morning about a new day with our children! I do!

It's Not Law, It's Logic

Sometimes people can be so afraid of legalism that they embrace the opinions of unbelievers without a second thought. My aim in rejecting birth control and discussing it is not to be legalistic. It is to be a thinking person who "examines all things." And I think that the average Christian (at least the average Evangelical) does not examine the issue of birth control because it has become such a normal part of our culture. Because the society has done such a good job of making large families look unattractive, shabby, faceless, stupid, and deprived, many Christians unknowingly absorb the same attitude. It makes so much sense, doesn't it? To want to put off having children for a few years until you have more money or are more "ready" for children, until you've gotten to know each other better... Society has also done a good job of spreading the general impression that it is laughably easy to get pregnant whenever and wherever one chooses. Christians tend to fend off discussions of this type by declaring that Jesus said nothing about the issue; giving the family planning rights to God was never a command in the Bible, therefore we should also not concern ourselves whether it is right or wrong and just let the "Spirit" lead. Closer examination might reveal that many people are listening to the wrong spirit.

Today I noticed in our family reading Solomon asserting that his father David had "walked before [God] in truth and righteousness and uprightness of heart toward [God]." (1 Kings 3:6) It is true he sought the heart of the Lord. He made a big mistake with Bathsheba and was rebuked for it and repented. But what about all the many wives he had? Would we today consider that walking in uprightness of heart toward God? Well, the truth is that it is not actually written in Levitical law or as a direct command from God's mouth to stick with only one wife. What then? Should we see the example of all the polygamist kings and faith blazers as good examples of family formation? Examples that bring about God's desire for families? Let's see... Abraham, Jacob, David, Solomon... of course not!!! We have only to glance one generation down in each case to see that the multiple wives thing didn't work out so well. But not only looking down the line is it clear that one wife is best, it is also important to look at God's intent in creation--"up" the line.  And up the line we see Adam--and Eve. Not Adam and Eve and Nieve and Ella and Stella and Bella. That is why it's so important to study Genesis and origins. It tells us a lot about God's intentions and desires for mankind.

So also is God's creating man and woman to receive the children that He creates in them for the duration of woman's fertility... it's not law, it's logic. it's a logical conclusion of getting into beginnings, intention, purpose. The Bible does make it very clear that God Himself is involved in every single conception, causing the womb to open or close. That topic can be further explored by studying births and barrenness in the Bible, or on the fast track by reading a number of books that put the Bible's comments on conception succinctly in one place, such as A Full Quiver, by Rick and Jan Hess. the point is: are we trying to hinder God's intention? Are we afraid of God's intention? Or are we surrendered to God's intention? Of course God has grace for those that have never given thought to the subject or are trying to be good stewards and don't know any better, or those that believe that their ministry must come first and are therefore preventing God's creation of their own blessed offspring. I have seen God work in mighty, amazing ways in people who have held a completely different viewpoint than I on the subject. As He indeed worked mightily through Abraham, Jacob, David, Solomon. But that doesn't mean we should ignore it, either. If there is a way that we can walk on the high road when it comes to our attention, let us do so with submission! There is power and joy in submission. When dealing with people of the opposite opinion on this matter in the future, I won't allow myself to become legal and graceless. God has a different journey for everyone. I will remember: it's not law, it's logic.

The Purpose for Homeschooling

One of my friends pointed out in a discussion about homeschooling that God was the perfect parent, and even He had rebellious children. This is true. But the purpose for home schooling is not to merely prevent rebellion, nor to keep one's children corralled so that they might never do anything wrong or be exposed to the evil in the world.

I am a homeschooling mom because I believe in the workability of God's command: He tells parents in the Bible to talk to their children all day long about His ways (Deut. 11:19). How can I talk to my children about anything all day long if I only see them at dinner time? And how can I turn them over to a humanistic and usually atheistic system for the better part of the day and then expect them to still live by the teaching they are getting in the evenings?

I am a homeschooling mom because I believe in a long training period, then LAUNCH! Even Jesus didn't start His ministry til age 30. He was taking care of family stuff, and learning, learning, learning from God the Father. Some would expect their child to begin evangelizing to his little atheistic peers at the age of five in kindergarten. The Bible favors more of a long training period in order to get intensely trained up before being released like a weapon! Note that priests were not allowed to serve as such until age 25 (Num. 8:24). And the story of St. Patrick also confirms the value of long preparation times. He spent 12 years preparing/training for his ministry after God had called him to go back to Ireland! Why should we  adult Christians put our charge to evangelize the world on our little ones before they are even at the "age of accountability?" God does want us to evangelize the world in part through our children, but it is a sad and widespread deception that causes us to want to be hasty in that aim. Of course many children can be sincere and fervent in their faith from a young age. But it seems that most children from Christian homes lose their faith (around 75%) unless strongly and constantly discipled through their teen years.  Isn't it better to launch a powerful, strong evangelist though it take more time to prepare, than to launch an early but unripe evangelist who will only fizzle and fade?

I am a homeschooling mom because i am a sheep mother, not a goat mother. God likens His people to--of all things--sheep! He doesn't want them to be like goats. Did you know that goat mothers will go off and forage alone all day, leaving their kids to fend for themselves? Ewes, on the other hand, never let their lambs get out of earshot. They keep their babies close! (This knowledge also makes me think twice before calling my children "kids!")

I am a homeschooling mom because God Himself put mothers in the heart of the home (ps. 128:3). I believe He did this in order to allow them to invest in the spiritual training of their children. Why would it be important for me to be in the recesses of my home if I were all by myself, with my children off at school? Naturally, if my children were gone, I would go out and work or get involved in big things outside the home. But that is not God's model. He wants the mothers in the home, to train up their children. He calls a woman the "mistress" of the home. When my children are about me, I have something to rule over. I am indeed the mistress of my home.

I am a homeschooling mom because I believe I can give my children a better education than most school options out there. Not only am I most attuned to my own child's needs, aspirations, learning style, and interests, but at home they will have opportunity to develop their God-given passions at their own pace. Not to mention the principle of redeeming the time, making the most of time. At home, one can learn the same thing in three hours that takes public school all day to teach. Consider the time traveling to and from school, lunch hour, time between classes, recess, and just plain crowd control. The more people there are, the harder it is to settle everyone and get their attention.

I am a homeschooling mom because I believe it is important to protect young minds from being plagued by unwholesome thoughts as absorbed through peers, worldly magazines, TV, etc. YES, there IS a protective element to home schooling, and that is nothing to be ashamed of... anyway, with a clean mind and good conscience, our youngsters will have less baggage to deal with later on in life/ministry/marriage.

I am a homeschooling mom because I believe that society has lost a major part of God's vision for healthy nations: instilling in our youngsters a love for home and family. The family is the basic building block of the nation. When the family is under-emphasized, society begins to lose its focus, to slide into confusion and all manner of ill health. It takes a LOT of home time to really cultivate in your children a love for home. Public schools couldn't care less about this value. American society tends to emphasize individualism/independence. God emphasizes service and mutual submission. Which education to choose for my children is really no contest.

embracing motherhood

to embrace motherhood is to acknowledge that we cannot have it all. it is to make a willing choice for family, consciously and and joyfully sacrificing the other promises of a free adult life in our modern age, to fully invest in what we know to be most important before the Lord. it is to stop inventing new compromises between home, work, and entertainment, and give ourselves fully to the labor of building people--generations--one small child at a time. In the business of child rearing, the modern age has set up an impossible ideal of balancing everything with a perfect image maintained. to embrace motherhood is to realize that truth and worth comes from God and not from "experts." We know the truth: that at least one thing will suffer; either our family, our work, or our pleasures. I choose to cut off work and entertainment, to be the sufferer. for the vision of a family that rises up to love God and build His kingdom: i am a suffragette!

Goodness, Righteousness, and Truth

"But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints;
and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks.
For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.
Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them; for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them;for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light.
For this reason it says,
"Awake, sleeper,
And arise from the dead,
And Christ will shine on you."
Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord;
always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father" (Eph. 5:3-20)

Wow, I know this passage is long, but I couldn't leave any of it out, it's so good! I was thinking how much differently I have come to understand many passages of the Bible since becoming a mother, how much more relevant they sometimes seem than before.

As mothers and wives, isn't it easy to let our talk just... run away? In my German Bible that first verse says that we must not even make these things (immorality, impurity, greed) the topic of our conversations. How that spoke to me! It means, among other things, that I will not, when with my fellow moms, center conversation on things I might wish I had (greed). When we see other moms, isn't it easy to start doing this?" ("I wish the grocery store had a day care!" "I wish my children would not whine," "I wish I had a bigger car"...) Why don't we go into mom-group settings ready to speak gratitude, ready to be the light. Silly talk, now there's an interesting topic for moms! LOL! But I think I understand what that means: We fight the temptation to speak of a lot of worthless things by verbally giving thanks! How hard is that?!

I also love that the scripture exhorts us to "let no one deceive you with empty words"--I would recommend to this end throwing out all "professional" non-Biblical parenting advice, including all popular parenting magazines, websites, and things which are derived from this humanistic, man-made system, and replace our thinking with truths derived from the perfect word of God. (I can personally testify that I was a lot more confused in my parenting (and UNHAPPY in my womanhood) when I was reading worldly magazines. Now things are becoming so much clearer and smoother in my house. And I am a joyful mother of children!)

Another thing that is interesting here is that the Lord calls the deeds of darkness "unfruitful," the opposite of what God wants us to be: fruitful! We have been so blessed to be physically fruitful. It is an invigorating thing to accept one's God-given fruitfulness, and even revel in it, love it, enjoy it! I try never to speak anything negative about my womb or fertility or any of the things that go with it! Even though it can be difficult to remember this in later pregnancy or during certain hormonal cycles, it has brought such joy and peace to me to deliberately do this.

I love that the Word of God doesn't just give us "don'ts," but always gives us the antidote (the way to combat the enemy!) as well. don't get drunk, DO be filled with the Holy Spirit. How? "Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord;
always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father." Being filled with the Holy Spirit is not something that comes to just a few special people. We are commanded to be filled with Him in specific ways, which always includes giving thanks! It is such a good thing to realize that the Holy Spirit waits for our invitation before coming in. He will not simply come upon a select few, uncontrollably. He comes when we welcome Him with a thankful, joyous, song-filled attitude! Now wouldn't it be sad if all the "experts" were right that we--and our children--cannot control our emotions, but that we must give free reign to all of our feelings in order to be whole and happy?

What does this passage speak to YOU as a mother?

extracting precious words

     ^"Why has my pain been perpetual
         And my wound incurable, refusing to be healed?
         Will You indeed be to me like a deceptive stream
         With water that is unreliable?
      Therefore, thus says the LORD,
         'If you return, then I will restore you--
         Before Me you will stand;
         And if you extract the precious from the worthless,
         You will become My spokesman.
         They for their part may turn to you,
         But as for you, you must not turn to them.
         Then I will make you to this people
         A fortified wall of bronze;
         And though they fight against you,
         They will not prevail over you;
         For I am with you to save you
         And deliver you,' declares the LORD."(Jeremiah 15: 18-19) 

      ^{My Lord came to me in a flutter of realization: the beautiful, powerful truth about Jeremiah and his heart-to-heart with God. Is that what I had been missing in my prayer life, oozing to my everyday life, all these years?  My melancholy, my cynicism, my oft-repeated sorrows...was this the life I had built because I had refused to notice the heart of God saying, "extract the precious from the worthless, then you will become my spokesman?" Suddenly it all became clear: I, the complainer, had got it all wrong. God does listen, He does want to hear my heart, my troubles. But He is blessed--sing-out-loud, dance-for-joy blessed--when I choose to cling to the good words, even to speak the good words in His Book back to Him, for lack of nothing else sometimes. He doesn't require it, but He whispers it: "extract the precious from the worthless." So many words are worthless. So many, many of mine, worthless. And for me to speak them was self-administered poison; they hung in the air and clung to the pages, dripping self-pity, spinning a habit. Now extract the precious, "speak good words rather than worthless ones," and you will be His spokesman. To make leaders for the Kingdom of our children, we must teach them to speak the good words, declaring God's eternal virtues rather than their individual sorrows. The high road of words applies even to prayers. God is good. God loves to hear goodness!}


 

breastfeeding "rights" activism

     Recently, in one of my Facebook forums, there was a discussion about the "censorship" of breastfeeding pictures. Apparently there is a group on Facebook called "The Leaky B@@b," for "breastfeeding support."There was some discussion as to whether they should be allowed to continue posting pictures that in other circumstances would be censored due to inappropriate content. Here is my take: 

     To me, "the leaky boob" seems like a name that exists merely for shock value and... not very complementary to mothers or the lovely, intimate, nurturing miracle that is breastfeeding. as for breastfeeding photos in general, i don't see a reason that they should be on FB. Wouldn't it be nice if mothers stopped lobbying so hard to have the "right" to put up pictures of their breastfeeding babies and instead focused on changing the culture from the onside out--from the HOME? each of us have at least one, and many of us have more, little malleable minds in our home, and whether we have boys or girls, we can train them up into a better standard of modesty and respect than what the current culture has going. our children WILL be the next generation's leaders, ESPECIALLY if we pray for them, and train them NOT TO SIMPLY FOLLOW what is society's current norm. by that, i mean not to lash out disrespectfully, but to have the courage to live by God's standard. yes, it is unfair that people can have nappy mini skirt and see-through-shirt pictures up and nobody complains, BUT i think more than react to what is going on in the culture, we should seek God's eternal principles on how to behave, and take it from there with a joyful attitude. 

     If people are ostracizing breastfeeding women in society, that is something to perhaps attack with a bit more vigor, i.e. if women are getting kicked out of restaurants when they were modestly breastfeeding, but i don't see it worth it to fight for pictures on the internet so that we can have the same rights as people whose lifestyle we don't desire anyway... having a picture up that would cause some lude person to drool over your parts is really not something to be desired. consider this quote from joseph sobran in 'national review:' "the real problem is that sexual freedom has meant, for millions of people, a cluster of debasing addictions. we are offering human beings the kind of freedom appropriate to dogs." The fact is that we live in a fallen world, and we cannot eliminate the perversity in people's minds by feeding ourselves to them. 

     Secondly, i don't think that most men even feel turned on by looking at breastfeeding women. in my observation, it seems to make most men uncomfortable. they feel fine when a scantily clad woman walks into the restaurant and may be "all over" her, but will stammer and not make eye contact around a woman who is nursing a baby under full cover. this shows the perversity of what human nature has made breasts into. they are now seen primarily as men's "fun bags;" and breastfeeding has become secondary, even weird, when just by looking at the apparatus it is obvious that God made them primarily to feed babies. If we can start the revolution at home, educating our offspring to have a healthy perspective on the original purpose for sex, breasts, etc., we will do a lot better than to spend time arguing and elbowing for a spot in the display case with the rest of the world. 

     That being said, if you are in a country where women have always breast fed in public with no covering, i say go for it. that society probably will not do to you what this society will, because it still retains more of the perspective of original purpose. also, i think it necessary to have some websites up that show breastfeeding pics/ videos simply for the sake of tutoring other mothers, but they could probably be animated or at least show as little as possible of the rest of the breast!