Parenting and Religion

I just read this tragic story of the accidental death of a 10 year old boy.
It seems he and his friends saw a cartoon where someone was buried head first in sand, and escaped… a cartoon!
He wasn’t as lucky as the cartoon character, and now his friends have to live their lives knowing they killed a friend.
His parents have to live their lives knowing they lost their son, because of a stupid cartoon.
How awful!
There have always been stunts that could seriously harm or kill real people on cartoons. But from what I remember, most of the things were so outrageous, that no kid could really try them,
successfully.
Being the parents, it is our responsibilty to know what they are watching, and explain things that may be hurt them or someone else.
Also, as parents, we can’t have our eyes on them every moment, so we need to constantly be holding them up in prayer.
We will never understand why some things happen, and we may not be able to prevent some of the things that may come our way- but we can be wise by keeping on top of what is going on in our kids lives. And we can be graceful and compassionate with others who are going through the pain of something such as this, without passing judgement.
Every parent who reads of this tragedy will feel the pain of these parents. And maybe someof us will take stock of our own family lives; making it a priority to hug our kids, pray for them, love them, and maybe make them stop waching such stupid things on television.

accidental death, caartoon behavior, compassion, death of children

I was reading Romans 7 and 8 today, and something stood out to me. In the Amplified Bible, Rom. 8:3, it says “For God has done what the Law could not do, [its power] being weakened by the flesh [[a]the entire nature of man without the Holy Spirit].”
Imagine, the flesh being defined as “the entire nature of man without the Holy Spirit”.
I am amazed at how awesome it is to get revelation (clarity) on this.
As Christians (people who have been reconciled to God by the sacrifice of His son, and our acceptance of Him as our Lord and Savior), we don’t have to walk according to our entire nature without the Holy Spirit.
We can walk according to the Spirit, which brings life;rather than walking according to the flesh, which brings death.
As Christian parents, it is up to us to teach our kids how to do this.
It is our job to teach them not only how to believe, and how to live a Christian life- but also how to make the decision to walk according to the Spirit, rather than giving in to the flesh.
This means we don’t have to go by what we feel, or what we want- but we can be strengthened by the Holy Spirit, and walk in the faith that God will work in us to will and to do according to His good pleasure.
Walking in the flesh is easy. All you have to do is whatever you want to, and whatever feels right.
Relying on the Holy Spirit may not come so easy or natural, but it is well worth doing. It will help us stay out of trouble, do what is right even when we don’t want to, and enjoy living a life of integrity.
Let’s teach our kids that living a life of walking in the Spirit, fullfills.
Living a life of walking in the flesh (without the Holy Spirit), kills.

Changes occur every day, whether we are ready for them or not, and whether we want them or not. It is a fact of life.
If you are like me, expected changes are easier to accept than unexpected ones.
For instance, I know my kids are going to grow up and move away- hopefully not too soon, and hopefully some of them will live close to us. But the fact is, they will all grow up and leave home.
This is one thing I can prepare myself for, one kid at a time. I am working on accepting the second leaving, and I think I am ready.
It is, however, harder to think of the third one leaving.
He has wander lust….wanting to move away for summer, and find a job. He will only be 17.
That is my hard thing to think about right now.
The thing is, I was out of my parents house at 17, married to Dan.
Shawn isn’t getting married (he definitely isn’t ready for that, and there is no girl that I am aware of), but he is one constant in our home. He is dependable, helpful, encouraging, and just plain nice to have around.
He hasn’t seriously talked to us about finding a way to go this summmer, he has only hinted to me, loudly at times. I think I need to prepare myself. My mommy emotions can so easily get in the way, and I really want to be sensitive to what God wants for this kid.
He does too. His desire is to be doing what the Lord wants, and in the right timing.
Change- inevitable and at times difficult, but worth preparing for.

I wrote a few weeks ago, about a man who has been the stay home dad for his kids. His name is John, and he is struggling with some disease that causes his blood vessels to burst. Please visit his wife’s blog, “How’s John Doing Anyway?”
He is once again in the hospital, with a huge blood clot.
The need for prayer support is great, and we can agree in the name of Jesus for God to show up strong for them.

Parenting can be hard, especially when going through illness, or grief. It is so important for us to remain strong in the Lord, and be in the Word daily. God gives us grace to go through whatever we have to go through, being in fellowship with Him, and with other believers, not only feeds our faith, it strengthens us and enables us to go on- trusting Him, and looking for the best. With our eyes of faith being opened to the point of knowing and trusting Him to see us through. With our understanding that He really does know the end from the beginning, and He will cause all things to work together for our good, if we know Him and are called according to His purposes ( doing what we know He wants us to be doing).
Life can be hard, here and now. But this is not all there is. Please pray for it to become easier for John and ‘K’ (his wife). Please pray for their kids to be protected from fear. And please, keep in fellowship, and pray for your own familly…be walking in the grace God gives, and you will make it through whatever comes your way, with Him.

For many of us, becoming parents was once a dream that we thought we might never have as our reality. We struggled with infertility or other problems that made it look like we may never have our own biological children. The tears, heartache and stress of trying to conceive, making their mark on our marriages, our bodies, and our faith.
I have been there. And I remember it well.
That’s why I thought I would suggest reading this story.
Our plans are not always God’s plans. No matter how we think we want things, He always knows best.
For all of you struggling with this now, I offer you my prayers.
There are many avenues we can take on our way to parenthood, this story presents one of them.

Sometimes when we know one of our kids has a consequece coming, whether it was their fault or not, we want to interfere. It is our desire to protect them, and keep them from anything that might hurt them, embarrass them, or cause them to be sad, angry or humiliated.
But is it in their best interest that we protect them from consequences?
Not usually. I can’t say never, because there are always exceptions.
As hard as it is to see them face up to a consequence, it is omportant that they learn to take responsibility for their own actions and attitudes.
If they don’t begin to take responsibility for themselves as children, the adults they become will be irrisponsible, blaming all their problems on others, and think everyone is out to get them.
As hard as consequences can be, they are what makes us into honest people, full of integrity and with hearts that are compassionate to others.

Now, any parent can tell of cute or funny things their kids have said or done, but how many keep a record?
I started when my oldest kids were about 4 and 6, keeping a journal type of book, writing down the things they do and say that make me laugh, cry, or say “Why didn’t I think of that??!!”
My kids love to hear stories about when they were little. Even Andy, who is only 5, loves to hear me tell funny things about him.
Yesterday he did a funny that will go in the book.
I took my three youngest boys to our local Walmart. Troy had somemoney, and wanted to buy some sneakers. After he picked out what he wanted, I saw the clearance rack of shoes. I found a pair of brown slip on loafers, almost Andy’s size…a little roomy though. He tried them on and walked around in them, and seemed happy about getting them (and I was happy too…they were only $6.00!).
A while after we got home, he came into my office wearing them, and said “I don’t like these shoes mom, they don’t fit me.”
I said “They’re just a little big, you will grow into them.”
He took them off, headed toward the door, then he turned around and said “I think those might come up missing soon!”
What nerve!
Oh well, at least if they come up missing, I will know why.

I have been noticing more and more often, how short lived cute talking is. My son, Andy (5) has begun saying words the right way, most of the time now. He still has a problem with the ‘L’ sound, but says ‘R’ right almost all the time. In some ways this makes me sad, but I know he would sound awfully funny as an adult if it never happened.
My great nephew, Caleb, says a lot of words with his own little accent and the wrong sounds.
He says his name, Caleb Andrew Elliott, “Cawub Andwew Eowiot”.
He says “I don’t hab baby teef, I hab big boy teef.”
He says “Da Twain is widing fast.”
How cute!!
He reminded me of how fast kids grow up, and how precious it is to hear the messed up words they say.
And how we need to enjoy the innocence and joy they have.
Kids grow up so fast. Enjoy them while they are little.

Our usual tradition fell through this year, but the results were wonderful. What I mean is…I didn’t make dinner or dessert….DAN DID!!!
He made a wonderful, delicious dinner or stuffed shells. I came home from work, and the table was completely set, candles lit, and dinner was ready. Then, as if that wasn’t enough, out came a beautiful, yummy dessert.
(He made all of it himself, with a little help from our three youngest.)
I really enjoyed it, especially the fact that he did it all.
Now, I do enjoy making dinner for my family myself, but I was feeling overwhelmed with the idea of doing all of that, and working from 3-7. I was very thankful when he offered, and even more so when I saw and experienced the results.
Dan is not a cook, but what he does make, he does very well. He learned to make all the dinners he knows how to, by calling someone such as his mom (before she died), or one of his sisters or a sister-in-law. They have given him step by step instructions, and he has surprised me many times with making something I would not expect.
I know I am blessed, and I am thankful.
Now, for the bad part of being so blessed:
with all the hoopla over dinner, dessert, watching a show with the kids, etc… we forgot to hand out Valentines and candy to everyone. SO…today will be another valentines day.
I am sure the kids don’t mind. But when I was putting the kidsto bed last night, I felt bad about it. That is until Andy (5) said, “I forgot to give out my giveaways!”, and he was ready to cry. (I have no idea where he got that word from… but it is cute!)
I told him “I forgot mine too, so I guess we get to do it tomorrow!”
He smiled and said “Ok mom! We can both do our giveaways tomorrow!”
Then I didn’t feel so bad, because I thought it must have worked out that way for his benefit, so he would not feel bad.
All things really do work together for our good, if we love God and are called according to His purposes. (even forgotten giveaways).

Please pray for this family. John is a stay home dad, takes care of three kids while his wife works. He is going through some very serious health issues right now. To read their story, click on the highlighted text.

Tonight a fight broke out in my house. It was over a video game, and ended up with Danny having a bloody lip. An accident according to Troy, who made a fist but didn’t mean to use it.
I was taking a nice relaxing bath, and heard a little of what went on…after the fact.
Joe (21) took charge of the situatio. By the time I came downstairs, he had both boys laughing at how silly the whole thing was, and they told me he made them shake hands and make-up with each other.
I am impressed. My son, the one who liked to fight, made his little brothers make up with each other. And they were willing!
They look up to him so much, that whatever he says must be right. Thank God he said the right things to help them make it right.
I am blessed. Not only did I see one of my kids in action with the others, being a good leader…
I didn’t have to interfere….I was off the hook.
(Until next time anyhow!)
I guess when kids grow up, they will have a few surprises up their sleeves, like Joe does.
He is a peace maker. Who would’ve thought it?

Please take the time to check out this website. It is really important that as many people as possible join this campaign by signing their petition. ParentalRights.org brings together everyone who agrees that the vital role of parents in the lives of children should not be undermined by government action or policy. I’m standing with them and I hope you will too. Visit the site and sign the petition if you agree.

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SO, yesterday was the Presidential Primary in NY state. I voted, and my person did not win NY, but still has a chance.
Why am I talking about it?
Because as a Christian parent, I think it is important that I set an example for my kids in doing what I can to help improve things in America (and the world). I know a lot of people who don’t vote, have never voted, and plan on never voting.
It is their right not to take the right to vote and use it, but what if that right was taken away because so many people don’t use it?
I know, you are probably thinking I am nuts to even consider such a thing.
Well, maybe I am- but there are many countries where there is no right to vote. Then there are a few where it is the law that people must vote- and MUCH pressure to vote a certain way.
I like it here- maybe not as much as I would if every vote counted instead of using delegates- but it is a lot better than not having the option, and better than being forced or coerced to vote a certain way.
So, I will participate. I have even gone as far as allowing political signs to be put in my yard before.
I will even wear the little sticker that says, “I Voted Today!”, proudly.
If it comes right down to two people I am not crazy about in the final election, then I will still vote-
BECAUSE I STILL CAN!