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.