When They Have a Mind of Their Own

Parenting was a heck of a lot easier and less stressful before my kids developed their own minds. Maybe not less stressful  but stressful in a different way. Will the baby choke on that cookie? Is he warm enough? Why won't he stop crying!   versus Why is my kid hiding in his room? Should I let her go to the dance with that boy? I really don't want him to drive my car, what if he wrecks it and gets hurt?

Worries are worried, no matter the age. And I didn't even include the worries and fears when kids leave home and start making their own way through life. That's when you really question your parenting skills and spend countless hours reviewing all the times you were too easy or now see that decision you made wasn't a good one. Hindsight: always there when you don't want to hear it, right? 

I gotta be real here: I'm not really enjoying this parenting thing right now. It's hard and it hurts and I don't wanna anymore. 

But I will and as my mother always told me when the baby wouldn't stop crying or threw tantrums, This too will pass. 

I did the best I knew how and now the little babies God entrusted me with are venturing out into the world and making their own decisions. 

Two out and three to go. I figure by the time the last one is grown I'll have figured out this parenting thing.

But probably not.

The Robin Sings Anyway

Complaining. We all do it, especially about the weather. "It's too cold/hot/rainy/whatever." Like the Israelites   wandering in the desert, we are never happy. Nothing is ever good enough. 

I'm as guilty as the next person. I actually complain about the weather a lot--I don't like to be cold and warm weather has been proving to be elusive this year which is as it always is up hear near Lake Michigan. 

That is wrong. I've asked forgiveness for that and have purposed in my heart not to complain about the weather any more. After all, look what Christ did for me and here I am miffed that it's cold and rainy. Pretty lame and petty and whatever else you want to call it. 

It's easy to fall into the habit of complaining--it starts with the weather and grows from there. It's a habit and a bad one.  

I saw a robin today, hopping around looking for food for its young. Even when the sun doesn't shine, the robin still sings. 

I need to be like that. 

Moloch and the God of Convenience

            There is no subject more emotional and potentially violent that of abortion. Whether you consider it a matter of ‘choice’ or ‘life’ depends on where you fall on the line of right and wrong. And be certain that it is a matter of right and wrong, black or white, life or death.  There are few things more divisive than abortion. It will separate families, it will even separate Christians, which to me is absolutely mind-boggling. I know I shouldn’t be surprised when people who claim to ‘love God’ also support abortion. Make no mistake, even if you say you’d never have an abortion yourself but you can’t tell others what to do, you are for abortion. You are for killing the unborn. You are for destroying a life God considers precious.

The other day I had an exasperating conversation with someone on Facebook. Exasperating because this person refused to even consider that the Planned Parenthood expose videos were not fraudulently edited in such a way as to portray the baby killing medical center as breaking the law. I don’t want to get into the authenticity of said videos right here, that’s an argument for another day. I don’t believe most people have even watched the videos, whether the ‘edited’ versions or the unedited version, both of which are available for viewing. I mean, even our president hasn’t watched them and that’s not surprising since he asked God to ‘bless Planned Parenthood.’ I find it hard to believe that anyone who watches those videos and listens to the disgusting conversations can remain hard-hearted. And that’s the point: those who are the most virulently against the expose videos most likely haven’t watched themselves. Although if they have, then they are simply part of the vast delusion covering the world today. Yes, I said you are deluded with a seared conscience if you watched those videos and your heart wasn’t hurt by the cavalier attitudes and the bloody little bodies shown.

God isn’t going to bless Planned Parenthood. He doesn’t bless the murder of innocents. He certainly doesn’t bless when the unborn are sacrificed to Moloch, otherwise known as the God of Convenience.  By the way, Moloch refers to child sacrifice, a form of idolatry forbidden by God in Leviticus 18:21:  Do not give any of your children to Moloch, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.

I firmly believe a lack of reverence for life has led to the deterioration of our society.   It didn’t start 43 years ago, but that certainly accelerated it. I have read anecdote after anecdote about women who have had abortions, and in every single one of them, their reason for termination boils down to one thing: convenience. This isn’t all on the woman’s shoulders by any means. It takes two to tango, of course. Men aren’t really allowed to have an opinion if it is not pro-choice.

 Let’s talk about this choice thing. During the FB conversation, this person stated that he supports a woman’s God-given choice and the government’s legalizing of abortion (or something similar).  I said that God didn’t give anyone the right to take away life, but you know what? He actually did. We do have that right because God has given us a free will which means we have the right to do as we see fit.  We are free to twist Scripture and cherry-pick it to suit our worldview, our wants, our desires, everything.  The only thing is, there are consequences to exercising our right to free will. Everything we do, say, even think has consequences, some in this life, some in the next.

Should more be done for all the foster children in the system? Of course. Do too many ‘unwanted’ children justify abortion? No, it does not. Should mothers and their newborns receive help and support? Of course.  Does convenience trump life? Apparently it does, although it shouldn’t.

Abortion is a holocaust, perpetuated not only by the likes of Planned Parenthood and those who desire to be free of responsibility, but by Christians and others who sit on their hands and do nothing while millions of babies are sent through the fire of Moloch.  We can’t sacrifice our children to the god of convenience and expect God to bless America.

Je Suis Juif (I am Jew)

Most are familiar with the slogan Je Suis Charlie of a few months ago regarding the cartoonists who were murdered in France because they disrespected the prophet Mohammed.  That was a terrible thing, and nearly incomprehensible to us here in the United States, where Jesus and God are mocked and blasphemed on a regular basis, yet it doesn't result in violent murder. It's a different way of thinking, and I don't believe non-Muslims will ever truly be able to comprehend it.  It's hard to understand such a revenge-based religion, at least for me.

I recently read an article on The Atlantic Monthly by Jeffery Goldberg, a Jewish journalist who has spent the last year travelling around the world,. It's a disturbing read, particularly when the Anne Frank House in the Netherlands does not  nor do they plan to, employ Jews, the reason given that Otto Frank stated that his daughter's diary was not about being Jewish, and so the emphasis of the museum is based on more general themes, such as inclusion and tolerance. Having some Jewish tendencies in your background is fine.  I have to admit that kind of took me aback. I mean, Anne Frank and her family were hiding because they were Jewish. They were found and sent to Bergen-Belsen because they were Jewish, and her diary is not about being Jewish?  Okay, Mr. Frank, whatever you say. I'm not sure how you can separate the two things, but again, whatever you say.

I also found Mr. Goldberg's findings about the anti-Semitism in Europe, particularly in France, disturbing as well.  Despite the Holocaust, or Shoah, being a mere 70 years ago, apparently that's long enough for it not to matter any longer. How else to explain the week-long 'celebration' of anti-Semitism in South Africa; the resurgence of the Heil Hitler salute, inverted,  called the quenelle, courtesy  Dieudonné M’bala M’bala, a comedian of French Cameroonian descent who specializes in Holocaust revisionism and gas-chamber humor, because we all know those things are hilarious; and the anti-Semitism disguised as anti-Zionism.

Even more disturbing is the violence against the Jews, which is pretty much ignored, because after all, it's only the Jews, and their to blame for everything wrong in the world, right? 

"Everyone is saying 'Je suis Charlie' today, but this has been happening to the Jews for years and no one cares."  Another student commented, "It would be nice is someone would say, 'Je suis Juif.'"

I certainly didn't see any such support when those Jews were killed in the supermarket, or when Jews were attacked while worshipping in their synagogue. Why not? What is it about the Jews that incites such hatred?  Is it because they are God's chosen people? Maybe so. I don't claim to understand all of that in light of Jesus Christ and the salvation offered, but I don't have to understand it or explain it. All I have to do is  love the Jewish people because God loves them. 

So I will say, Je suis Juif.

thinking

She's sitting on the couch, the broken-down, 10 year-old couch obtained second hand, thinking she ought to get up and do something, maybe go to the bathroom because she just had a cup of coffee and several sips of water and her bladder is beginning to protest but she doesn't want to leave the comfort of hte space heater even though she's not cold now and probably won't be when it's off and she glances up at the clock that is an hour behind because it hasn't been adjusted for daylight savings time and her head is beginning to feel weird it's because she only got 4hrs and 54 minutes of sleep last night thank you activity band it's kind of cool to know how many steps she takes a day which has been 10-13k every day this week no wonder she's tired and she'd like to go on a run but it's hard when she's so tired from getting up in the middle of the night that's what it feels like it's dark and the dog is snoring instead of dancing in his cage his too-long nails clattering on the plastic liner she thinks again she needs to go to Goodwill and buy a couple of blankets for the two dogs who won't eat it like the puppy will eat anything she's not really a puppy anymore but that's what she's called and really she's a sweet dog cute and submissive if a little gross like all dogs are and now she thinks she'd like to have a cat sometime or a gerbil like the ones she used to have as a kid their little brown and white and black and white bodies and long tails and the noises they made chewing up kleenex boxes and cereal boxes to make their nests and that one time when there were babies and they were so cute but one day she went to look at them and the babies were all dead the male had chewed their legs off and killed them and that was rather horrifying and she still would like a gerbil or two but not a hamster those things have bitten her too many times even though they are cute and what about a guinea pig she could call it Olga da Polga or Boris if it's black with swirly fur and she's been seeing that book at the library and maybe she ought to read it it's been too many years to count since her third grade teacher read it to the class complete with voices and why is it so many books she remembers reading in grade school are so horrible now like the Boxcar Children she tried reading it to the boys and it was too awful for words and that reminds her of Scooby Doo that is awful too and she used to like that show so much like all kids and now wonders why and now the heater is off and it's time to get up or maybe close her eyes because it is 4:47 in the morning and everyone else in the house and beyond is still sleeping and she wishes she was but it probably isn't going to happen and at least she wrote something this morning it's been too long and this is probably annoying to read or to hard to read but who cares?

The Crux of the Matter

And he said to them all, "If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me."  Luke 9:23 (KJV)

Deny myself? Say what?   Deny myself that second cup of coffee? Turn off the tv instead of watching that show on cable that's a little racy but so good? Push away from the table instead of taking a second or third helping?  Sounds a little unpleasant, doesn't it? 

That's the physical, but what about spiritual?  Stay after church services and put away the tables and chairs used for a fellowship? But I want to get home! Let someone else do it. Invite my neighbor to church? Oh, they wouldn't want to go anyway, so why bother? Besides, they might start looking at me funny and not be as friendly. And whose business is it if I watch those cable shows with the high rating? There's a good storyline and great acting! Who's gonna know, anyway?  And you just stay right out of my computer usage. It's no one's business but mine what I look at.  God knows my heart/intentions and you're not supposed to judge, Jesus said so.

 And what about the last part of that verse, about taking up a cross daily and following Jesus? Take up your cross? That doesn't sound like very much fun. Following Jesus, sure, if it doesn't cost me anything.

That's the crux of the matter, really. We don't want anything to inconvenience us. It's not that we only  think about Jesus on Sunday, we think about Him during the week, too, and sometimes even pray. And read the Bible.  That should count for something, don't you think?

It's time to ask hard questions, and nothing but commitment--true commitment--to Christ counts for something. There's a saying, 'The road to Hell is paved with good intentions'.  That is so true. Jesus Himself said that the way to destruction was broad and the path to salvation narrow. To me, this says that the herd mentality so prevalent in the world today is wrong.  What herd mentality? Why, the one that says there are many ways to God, because just believing that Jesus is the only way is so discriminatory and intolerant; the mentality that one should look at God through the lens of one's own sexuality, rather than the other way around (think about it), and many more examples abound.

Hive minds are good for bees, not so much for humans. God gave us free will--we're free to believe or not believe whatever we want. But there are consequences for this free will, and some of them are terrible.

Following Jesus isn't easy. You have to count the cost.

 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, "If any  man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whosover will save his life shall lose it; and whosover will lose his life for My sake shall find it.   Matthew 16:24,25

 I don't want to be a fan of Jesus; I want to be His follower.

the emptying nest

It is very quiet at my house. There's only one child at home this week. As a mom to five kids, noise and chaos is the norm, along with mountains of laundry, a dishwasher that runs at least twice a day, piles of dirty dishes that don't fit in the dishwasher, and constant crumbs on the floor. Not to mention being barely able to leave the kitchen because someone is 'starving'. 

You know what? I love it.  I love being a mom and doing all the things related to it. But...things are changing. My oldest daughter is preparing to leave the house, and my youngest daughter has only one year left in school and then she will be gone. 

The whole house demographic will change. The pecking order, long established, will be up for grabs. Who will come out on top? The 12yr old who likes to have alone time? The 9 yr old who likes to cook and read? Or will it be the youngest boy, a joker who likes to get his own way? (who doesn't, right?)  It will be an interesting time.

I don't know if it's better when your kids leave all at once, like for those whose children are close together, or if they leave in a dribble is better.  Maybe a swift cut is the best, although it hurts. I suppose that really doesn't matter because it won't be that way for me.

When the girls are out of the house, it will be different. And different isn't always bad, but sometimes it isn't good. It will take some getting used to, I know that for sure.