Parenting and Religion

Keeping your kids close while in a crowd can be a challenge. We have lost a child more than once while in a crowd of people, and there is nothing more scary than not knowing where your child is.
Next week we are going to Kingdom Bound, and keeping track of my kids will be one big challenge. Dan and I have worked at training them to stay with us, and letting them know there will be consequences if they intentionally walk away from us.
However, this will be the first year we won’t have a stroller with us, and we have a 4 year old who is not used to this stuff yet. What to do?
Practice this week. Drill the safety rules. Use a wrist leash.
Yes, I am a parent who leashes her kids when in a crowd of 80,000.
I have done it before, and I will do it again.
Yes, people stare at me, and think “Oh, that poor child!”…
but you know what?
I DON”T CARE WHAT THEY THINK!!!
My kid will be safe, and I will have control of the situation.
I will also pray a lot…Psalm 91 comes in handy at these events.
Kingdom Bound, here we come….all 10 of us and our leash.

The cute statements below are said to have been written by actual
students and are genuine, authentic and not retouched or corrected:

In the first book of the Bible, Guinessis, God got tired of creating the
world, so he took the Sabbath off.

Adam and Eve were created from an apple tree.

Noah’s wife was called Joan of Ark.

Noah built an ark, which the animals come on to in pears.

Lot’s wife was a pillar of salt by day, but a ball of fire by night.

The Jews were a proud people and throughout history they had trouble
with
the unsympathetic Genitals.

Samson was a strongman who let himself be led astray by a Jezebel like
Delilah.

Samson slayed the Philistines with the axe of the Apostles.

Moses led the Hebrews to the Red Sea, where they made unleavened bread
which is bread without any ingredients.

The Egyptians were all drowned in the dessert.Afterwards, Moses went up
on Mount Cyanide to get the ten ammendments.

The first commandment was when Eve told Adam to eat the apple.

The fifth commandment is to humor thy father and mother.

The seventh commandment is thou shalt not admit adultery.

Moses died before he ever reached Canada.

Then Joshua led the Hebrews in the battle of Geritol.

The greatest miracle in the Bible is when Joshua told his son to stand
still and he obeyed him.

David was a Hebrew king skilled at playing the liar.

He fought with the Finklesteins, a race of people who lived in Biblical
times.

Solomon, one of David’s sons, had 300 wives and 700 porcupines.

When Mary heard that she was the mother of Jesus, she sang the Magna
Carta.

When the three wise guys from the east side arrived, they found Jesus in
the manager.

Jesus was born because Mary had an immaculate contraption.

St. John, the blacksmith, dumped water on his head.

Jesus enunciated the Golden Rule, which says to do one to others before
they do one to you.

He also explained, “a man doth not live by sweat alone.”

It was a miracle when Jesus rose from the dead and managed to get the
tombstone off the entrance.

The people who followed the Lord were called the 12 decibels.

The epistles were the wives of the apostles.

One of the opossums was St. Matthew who was also a taximan.

St. Paul cavorted to Christianity. He preached holy acrimony, which is
another name for marriage.

A Christian should have only one spouse. This is called monotony.

(http://parents.berkeley.edu/jokes/bible.html)

Teens in worship….what a beautiful sight. It is especially wonderful when your kids are there, they are worshipping, and they are there because they WANT to be - to worship the Lord because they love Him.

We went to a Youth Conference last night, and it was amazing!
Joyce Meyer was there and spoke to everyone…not only the teens.
My teens and 21 year old,(all 5 of them), thought it was the best night yet…and my 13 year old daughter, Rachel, was surprised she liked Joyce Meyer so much. I think she didn’t expect to get much out of her, because I listen to her almost every day on TV. She had an opinion of her as being for “older people” to listen to.
Dan and I sat in the back of the Auditorium with our younger boys, and had a great view of the whole place. The worship music was very good, and had the ability to draw people in.
The most exciting thing to me was to spot my kids, with their hands raised in worship….
That is until the alter call.
There must have been a couple of hundred people respond to the call for salvation through acceptance of Christ.
What a wonderful night.
Tonight the speaker will be Ed Young. My husband will be going, and I am looking forward to hearing how it goes.
Teens in worship- a beginning of new leaders in the body of Christ.

teens, worship, Joyce Meyer, youth conference, salvation

As nerve wracking as it may seem to some, I look forward to my kids driving.
My son, Shawn, just got his driver’s permit. YIPPEE!!!!!!!
We went driving on some seldom used roads to let him get a feel for the van and the road. He did pretty good for the first time.
One rule for our kids, and this has NO exceptions- is that they MUST have their driver’s licence
by the time they graduate from high-school.
Dan and I believe that as parents, it is our responsibility to equip our kids for the adult world- and one thing that means is that they be able to drive.
So now begins another driving adventure…
Please pray fo us…for safety, the ability to remain calm, self-control with our words as we correct and try not to yell too much when going around curves too fast, and that Shawn learns quickly how to not be afraid of the brakes.
Life is a learning experience….
Teaching someone how to drive is …..

Enough said.

teens, driving lessons, driver’s permit, learning to drive

Today is Wednesday, the day I have set aside to do something fun with my kids. Last week we went to the free movie at our local theatre, and bought a large popcorn with a free refill.
This week I think we will do that agin, and maybe go to a free small beach nearby. I am really looking forward to it.
I love being out with my kids, and I really enjoy seeing movies made for kids- a good excuse for me to go is to take them.
The Book/Bible study I did today was about doing things we enjoyed as childen, and hearing God speak to us through those things.
Sometimes life can get so loud that we don’t listen to the simple small voice that calls us to greater intimacy with the Father.
Very similar to our kids getting so caught up in TV, or video games- that they don’t hear us when we softly call to them to come and join us.
Spending time with my kids enables me to pay attention to the things that I sometimes don’t give my full attention to.
Things like- looking at the cloud formations; listening to airplanes and birds overhead; noticing the baby geese have grown; walking barefoot through the sand, and letting the little waves from the lake wash over my feet.
God will speak to me through these things, if I listen with an open heart.
Today will be full of fun for us.
I hope you have a fun day too.

I hurt the feelings of my 11 year old niece today.
I was told that her and one of my boys was trying to leave the other boy out, and tell secrets in front of him- excluding him from their games.
I told all the kids that telling secrets and letting someone know they can’t be a part of it is wrong and hurtful.
I was right, but I also did not know the whole story…yet.
When I asked my son who was being told the secret what had happened, he told me that she was just telling him that she has to move.
I felt horrible, because the reason she has to move is that her parents are getting a divorce. The reason she was telling secrets was because she needed someone to talk to about what is going on and how she is feeling.
When I called her into my office and apologized, she almost broke down.
I hugged her and told her an acceptable way to talk to someone without hurting another’s feelings. I also told her she can talk about anything she wants to with me or Uncle Dan, or one of her older cousins.
Then, when she left to go an play with the boys, I prayed for her.
I am at a loss as to how to help this little sweetheart, whose world is now being turned upside-down.
Divorce is such a difficult thing, especially for kids.
As adults we can rationalize and sort of understand why and how- but kids only see their families breaking and they don’t know what will happen to them or their parents.
It is a scary thing for kids, and they need to know they can talk about it if they need or want to.
I hope her world will be made stable again… soon.

divorce, kids, talking, sadness

My kids are growing me up!
At least that is what it seems like sometimes.
My oldest is just turned 21, an adult in the real world, a baby in my heart.
I wonder how it feels to my parents sometimes, having all their kids grown up.
Hey Mom and Dad….
Do we still seem like kids to you?
Do you ever have flashbacks of when we younger?

Having adult children is a new thing for me, and I find myself in denial every once in a while.
I also find myself seeing the past, like it was yesterday.
Is this normal?

I guess I need to believe it is, even if it isn’t.
It is a normal part of life for kids to grow up and be adults.
It is an exciting and very normal thing for them to build lives of their own.
I am happy for them, and for me to be able to witness their maturity and their growth.
But I miss holding them, and hearing them shout “MOM! Watch This!!!”
That is all a part of life, and it is wonderful.
Adapting can be the hard part.
I need to begin adapting faster….they are all growing faster than I can keep up with.

I didn’t write this, and am not sure who the author is, but I thought it was worth passing on.

——————————————————————————————

For those who have sons & those of us who are happy that we don’t!

And you also find out interesting things when you have sons, like …

1.) A king size waterbed holds enough water to fill a 2000 sq. Ft.
House 4 inches deep.

2.) If you spray hair spray on dust bunnies and run over them with
Roller blades, they can ignite.

3.) A 3-year old Boy’s voice is louder than 200 adults in a
crowded restaurant.

4.) If you hook a dog leash over a ceiling fan, the motor is not
Strong enough to rotate a 42 pound Boy wearing Batman underwear and a Superman cape. It is strong enough, however, if tied to a paint can, to spread paint on all four walls of a 20×20 ft. Room.

5.) You should not throw baseballs up when the ceiling fan is on.
When using a ceiling fan as a bat, you have to throw the ball up a
few times before you get a hit. A ceiling fan can hit a baseball a
long way.

6.) The glass in windows (even double-pane) doesn’t stop a
baseball hit by a ceiling fan.

7.) When you hear the toilet flush and the words “uh oh”, it’s
already too late.

8.) Brake fluid mixed with Clorox makes smoke, and lots of it.

9.) A six-year old Boy can start a fire with a flint rock even
Though a 36-year old Man says they can only do it in the movies.

10.) Certain Lego’s will pass, intact, through the digestive tract of a 4-
Year old Boy.

11.) Play dough and microwave should not be used in the same sentence.

12.) Super glue is forever.

13.) No matter how much Jell-O you put in a swimming pool you
still can’t walk on water.

14.) Pool filters do not like Jell-O.

15.) VCR’s do not eject “PB & J” sandwiches even though TV
Commercials show they do.

16.) Garbage bags do not make good parachutes.

17.) Marbles in gas tanks make lots of noise when driving.

18.) You probably do NOT want to know what that odor is.

19.) Always look in the oven before you turn it on; plastic toys
do not like ovens.

20.) The fire department in Austin , TX has a 5-minute response time.

21.) The spin cycle on the washing machine does not make
earthworms dizzy.

22.) It will, however, make cats dizzy.

23.) Cats throw up twice their body weight when dizzy.

24.) 80% of Women will pass this on to almost all of their
friends, with or without kids.

25.) 80% of Men who read this will try mixing the Clorox and brake fluid.

——————————————————————————————

That is a list I sent ot some friends a few days ago. Here is a reply I got from my friend Liz:

“I am not a son. I don’t have a son, but i am related to one. Here’s a few not
on the list. 1. You CAN light a fart on fire. 2. Do NOT pee on an electric
fence. It WILL hurt. 3. You CAN jump a 4ft. fence on a bicycle while doing
40mph. 4. You can blow the doors off an iroc z28 while driving a 76 dodge aspen.
5. You can bleed the brakes on a vehicle in a matter of hours, but you need a
little sister to do it. God Bless Love, Liz.”

I hope you all enjoy your sons and daughters for their individual gifts and trials they offer.

sons, cat, brakes, marbles, jell-o, funny, humor, dust bunnies

Yesterday I was talking to my mom, and we talked a little about churches softening the Gospel message for people who are new Christians and don’t want to hear the whole truth yet…it might convict them of their lifestyle, or of things they enjoy doing.
It reminded me of my husband’s message on Sunday morning.
He made the point that just because sin is abounding in the world, doesn’t mean we have to grow accustumed to it, or accepting of it as “normal” living. We should be telling our kids what is right and what is wrong according to what the Bible teaches us, not according to what the trends of the day are.

Deuteronomy 4:8-10 (Amplified Bible)

8And what large and important nation has statutes and ordinances so upright and just as all this law which I set before you today?

9Only take heed, and guard your life diligently, lest you forget the things which your eyes have seen and lest they depart from your [mind and] heart all the days of your life. Teach them to your children and your children’s children–

10Especially how on the day that you stood before the Lord your God in Horeb, the Lord said to me, Gather the people together to Me and I will make them hear My words, that they may learn [reverently] to fear Me all the days they live upon the earth and that they may teach their children.

We are instructed to teach our children right from wrong. We are told to remind them of the good we have seen God do, and that He is the author of salvation.
We are not to raise our kids thinking that anything they or anyone else decides to do, or any way they decide to live is ok.
It isn’t!
As Christians, it is our job to point out and call sin what it is- sin.
If we are to teach our children these things, then how much more are we to be honest and up front about the Gospel message in our churches?
Yes there is sin.
Yes, people who go to church sin.
Yes, I sin.
But there is also grace and forgiveness available when there is true repentence.
Repentence is doing a complete turn-around, admittiing we have sinned, and accepting the forgiveness offered to us by God, through Jesus Christ. This is also a part of the Gospel message, and needs to be taught inour churches.
How can we sit back and let people continue to think they are ok, when they are really not?
It is time to raise up the standard that God set before us, and say it like it is…sin is sin!
It is time to not be ashamed…IN OUR CHURCHES… and tell the truth.
It is also time to teach our kids God’s heart on sin. You can find it in your Bible, on more than one page.
The same pages will show the way out of sin, and the way to our Savior.
Remember, God didn’t send Jesus to take away our fun, but to take away our pain.

sin, church, preach, gospel, forgiveness, pain, teach children, repent, grace, forgiveness

Do you ever just feel like being creative?
Does the desire to color or paint ever creep up out of nowhere?
Do you have the idea in your mind that since you are an adult, you must act like one and only be creative in “adult” ways, such as gardening, or scrapbooking?

I have a confession to make…
I love to color.
One benefit here, is that since I have a lot of kids, I have a lot of reasons to color- and that can be my defense against critical teens and other adults who see me while partaking of this secret passion.
Tonight I got caught- by my 13 yr. old.
I bought myself some colored pencils a couple of days ago, and told everyone they were for me to highlight in my new Bible with- they won’t bleed through the pages. I do use some of them for that, but I bought a 24 pack of colors and they all were screaming at me to use them.
This afternoon I went online and found some beautiful coloring pages of flowers and butterflies, and printed some out for myself. When my daughter saw me coloring, she just rolled her eyes, and went in another room. It isn’t often that I color by myself, but I had the itch- the creative itch.
My sunflower picture is about half done, and I feel better now.
Even though teens may not appreciate that their mom likes to color, someday they will understand the need to do something childishly creative.
Maybe tomorrow I will make some play-dough.

coloring, create, creative, artistic, childish fun

I have been reading different translations of the Bible to see the many ways of wording certain scriptures. The Message Bible explains love in a rather unique way. I also added the first few verses of ch. 14, as they also deal with love. I can see from reading this again that I have a lot of work to do on myself.

1 Corinthians 13 (The Message)
The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson

1 Corinthians 13
The Way of Love
1 If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don’t love, I’m nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate. 2If I speak God’s Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, “Jump,” and it jumps, but I don’t love, I’m nothing. 3-7If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love.

Love never gives up.
Love cares more for others than for self.
Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have.
Love doesn’t strut,
Doesn’t have a swelled head,
Doesn’t force itself on others,
Isn’t always “me first,”
Doesn’t fly off the handle,
Doesn’t keep score of the sins of others,
Doesn’t revel when others grovel,
Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
Puts up with anything,
Trusts God always,
Always looks for the best,
Never looks back,
But keeps going to the end.
8-10Love never dies. Inspired speech will be over some day; praying in tongues will end; understanding will reach its limit. We know only a portion of the truth, and what we say about God is always incomplete. But when the Complete arrives, our incompletes will be canceled.

11When I was an infant at my mother’s breast, I gurgled and cooed like any infant. When I grew up, I left those infant ways for good.

12We don’t yet see things clearly. We’re squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won’t be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We’ll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!

13But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love.

1 Corinthians 14

1-3Go after a life of love as if your life depended on it—because it does. Give yourselves to the gifts God gives you. Most of all, try to proclaim his truth. If you praise him in the private language of tongues, God understands you but no one else does, for you are sharing intimacies just between you and him. But when you proclaim his truth in everyday speech, you’re letting others in on the truth so that they can grow and be strong and experience his presence with you.

love, God, life, truth, tongues, walk in love

As I was talking to my daughter Rachel last night, I was once again made aware of the double standard we hold as parents when it comes to daughters and sons.
We may think we are fair, and that we are justified in our differing between them- but to them it appears that we are NOT fair, and that we should treat them all alike. I am not talking about disciplinary things here, I am talking about our expectations and rules for life.
It especially becomes clear when they are teenagers- we really do have a double standard. I know in our house we do.
For instance- when our oldest was 12, he had a girlfriend. They even kissed!
I thought he was too young, my husband said “No he isn’t!”
Now we have Rachel, 13, liking a boy. (who is, by the way, older than her).
Dan and I decided together that we think she is too young to have a boyfriend, holding hands- anything physical- is out of the question.
We have decided to let her have a friendship with this boy, under our supervision, and for us to get to know him too.
When I talked to Rachel about this, she agreed that she is too young to have any kind of physical relationship with a boy. But when she found out her older brother, Joe, had his dad’s “ok” to have a girlfriend at 12, who was older than him, she flipped!
It doesn’t seem fair, but that’s the way it is.
I told her that generally, father’s are much more protective of their daughters than they are of their sons.
Then I used my standby reason for anything to do with Joe, “Parents make most of their mistakes on their firstborn!”
Then we learn what to do and what not to do with the others…funny, but true in a lot of ways.
Rachel is alright with the rules we have established, but she honestly is more worried about Joe meeting her friend than she is about her dad meeting him.
Since Joe is her older brother, and has seen what boys can be like by being one, and by having experience with defending his friends who are girls…. she thinks Joe will give this boy a hard time.
I told her that is a guaruntee!
I believe we do hold a double standard, in may ways.
But this is NOT bad.
We are different from eachother, and men and women are not the same as eachother…no matter what the world tries to tell us.
It is time we stopped trying to pretend we are the same.
Our kids need to know we aren’t, and they need to be taught to appreciate our differences…even if it means some rules seem like they are not fair.

teenagers, rules for teens, teen dating, double standard, differences between sexes, rules for dating

Mark 10:13-16 (Amplified)

13And they kept bringing young children to Him that He might touch them, and the disciples were reproving them [for it].

14But when Jesus saw [it], He was indignant and [a]pained and said to them, Allow the children to come to Me–do not forbid or prevent or hinder them–for to such belongs the kingdom of God.

15Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive and accept and welcome the kingdom of God like a little child [does] positively shall not enter it at all.

16And He took them the children up one by one in His arms and fervently invoked a blessing, placing His hands upon them.

Jesus told his disciples to allow the children to come to Him, and not to prevent or hinder them from coming. (vs.14)
I have been thinking about this and what it means. Children have a natural tendency to seek God. They are curious and able to step out in faith for God easier than adults because their minds haven’t been indoctrinated against God to the same degree yet.
We are to allow, and not hinder them coming to Him.
When we make laws governing where and when prayer can take place, or speech can be geared toward God, we are hindering.
I know it is true that a lot of people don’t raise their children to know God, but those children still have a natural desire to know God, they were made in His image and likeness.
Even before Dan and I had children, we prayed for our children. We also had a desire to see our children happily married one day to believing spouses, so we began to pray for their future spouses.
I remember the day our daughter’s husband asked Dan if he could marry Katie. After their conversation, I told Andy that we had been praying for him since before he was born. He looked puzzled, and asked “How could you have prayed for me, you didn’t even know me?”
I told him that we began praying for the future husband of Katie before Katie was ever here, and that God knew who that was.
Andy was not raised in a Christian home. He was raised in a very worldly home, and NOT taught about God.
I believe that at least in part, because of our prayers, Andy came to know and love the Lord.
He was touched and said very quietly “Thank you”.
We need to be praying for the children we know and even some we don’t know to come to know the Lord, despite the hinderences they may face in life.
We need to tell our kids we are praying for them, and for their spouses. We should also encourage them to pray for their own future spouse- that they know, love, and grow strong in their own relationships with God through His son, Jesus.

We also need to not let any laws be passed that will enable the government to determine what is and is not ok as far as prayer, talking, and reading scripture go.
It is time for Christian parents to take the stand that we will not let the government hinder us from teaching our children about God.
Pray, teach, and be an example to them of how to love and serve our Lord.
The reward will be great.

prayer, children praying, teaching children, Jesus and children, praying for children

My post this morning is mainly for women. They will appreciate this more than men, I think.

Yesterday I went for the dreaded annual mammogram. There were only about 6 people in the waiting room including me.
When the nurse came to the door and called “Jean”, I saw an older lady get up. I thought “Maybe I better go just in case they mean me”, so I went in a little behind them.
When I reached the nurse and the other Jean, the nurse was telling her to take off her blouse and her bra, and to put some little bandaids over her nipples. The woman was nodding her head, and looked shocked but was agreeing to do as told. I butted into their conversation and said, “What was the last name for Jean? My name is Jean too”. The nurse looked at her slip of paper and said “Lockwood”. I said “That’s me!”
The look of relief on the other woman’s face was hilarious.
She told the nurse “I wondered why I had to take everything off for a thyroid check!”

My question, and I wish I had asked her:
Would she have done as told without asking why??

People seem to be in such a hurry to trust their doctor or any medical person.
When will we begin asking more questions, even if we think they are stupid?
When will we begin to trust our gut instincts, which I believe are given to us by God?
When will be begin using common sense when it comes to letting them perscribe for the symptoms instead of finding out why we are having the symptoms?
When will we consult the great physician before the human physicians?
God has a lot to say in the Bible about healing and being healthy- let’s begin to look there first.
Let’s begin to question the so called “experts”, and make them be accountable to us for the answers to our questions.
I am not against Doctors or medicine. I am against people being in worse shape because their problems are not taken seriously enough for doctors to try to cure them. Instead they usually try to treat the symptoms, which can cause more symptoms and side effects.
Let’s be smarter than they think we are.

mammogram, woman’s medical humor,

The title of my post today is “Dates”. I don’t mean the kind you eat, I mean the kind you need to have together with your spouse- just the two of you, alone, having fun.
A date can also be the two of you going out with another couple, or more than one couple. A date does not include anything in which you bring your kids along.
A date is usually fun and possibly romantic.
If you are on a date, you should try not to let conversation focus on the kids, this can ruin a good thing.
When you go on a date, your kids may ask, “Why can’t we come?”, and they may act sad…
don’t be fooled!!!
I tell my kids that going on dates makes mom and dad be better parents. Plus they get to have fun without us..and that can be a lot of fun!
I also tell them that if we bring them, it isn’t a date.

Now for my question:
Tomorrow night we are going on a date. We are going to my daughter and son-in-laws house to watch a movie and eat take-out.
Since one of my rules is “no kids”, is it really going to be a date?
I guess we will know tomorrow.