- Today my two year old and I went out to the swimming pool in our backyard. We haven’t been out there in a while with the rain and cooler weather. It’s only been about a week since we last swam, but it seems that was enough time for the water to get cloudy. Sometime in this past week of idle use, it was neglected that the filter system was not working properly. The chlorine I had loaded in the filter was not being disseminated into the water, and therefore a stagnate mess awaited us. I glimpsed pieces of “I don’t know what,” algae maybe, floating in the water. After tinkering with the pump, and hopefully fixing it, I realized I needed to get in the water with the net and get busy cleaning it if we were going to be able to use it for the remainder of the summer. I also decided, that while I was getting in, there was no way I’d let Chloe get inside. This left a little girl in her swim suit standing on the sidelines, and very disappointed. It was at this point that I recalled the incredibly, nasty pond behind our house that I swam in as a child. It was a glorified mud hole really, originally dug by my grandpa for his cows to drink out of on a hot day. I smirked a bit at my protectiveness for my baby. I also winced.
- It occurs to me often, that what I have in mind for my children is different from the life I lived or even how I was raised. This is to say nothing negatively about my upbringing. I was indeed loved immensely, and can find no fault in that blessing. I think if we’re all honest, though, we’ll admit there are a few things, at least, that we plan on doing differently with our children. If this hasn’t occurred to you, then perhaps it should. Raising future generations is a mighty task. I am confronted with a world that is far different from the one I grew up in. Technology is just a scratch on the surface of how things have progressed. Ideals that once held importance, have taken a back burner on the stove top of life’s agenda. I see small children being taught that the brand of their clothing is far more important than remembering to say “yes ma’am”. I personally had a teacher that only responded to “yes ma’am” and if we neglected to use it, a wood paddle would find our behinds. I’m amazed that a seven year old has to be disappointed when they can’t have a closet full of Under Armour shirts. I am guilty of passing my child my phone to play with before taking her outside. Are you? What of chores? And I’m not talking about “clean your room or no allowance!” I’m talking about teaching responsibility, like, “if you want to be able to play, you have to feed the dog and do the dishes first.”
- My oldest child is only two, and I’m a little concerned. I don’t know all the answers. I’m just trying to figure out what happened. I can’t understand why I look at the world around me, and it seems to be falling apart. I actually cried today when I saw stories of my tax dollars funding the murder of innocent babies. I can’t understand why people can’t find employment, but we keep making programs to satisfy the jobless and keep them appeased. If you didn’t have assistance, would you try harder to find something? I’m just taking a shot in the dark here. Why are we not praying at school, but shooting in them? Since when is it common place to take the Lord’s name in vain on regular television that my kids can walk in on, but the same kid could get suspended from school for using any term that might offend someone’s sexual gender preference. What is going on when my small home town experiences a rape and shooting in a week’s time? Today I had to put a baby gate up to prevent my 8 month old from crawling into her sister’s room. It’s dangerous in there for a baby who puts everything in her mouth. The thing is, I can’t put up a gate from the world. It’s dangerous out there folks, and our kids are going to want to figuratively “put everything in their mouth.” It comes down to you and me, trying our best to raise up that next generation, but is our hardest even good enough? We can’t do it alone. It’s gotta be Christ-centered parenting, or we will fail. I’ll say that again. WE WILL FAIL. Today I cried to God, “Please forgive us Lord. Deliver us from evil. There’s still good folks here who love your ways!” A good friend told me earlier, “I think God will protect those who follow Him, but that doesn’t mean we’ll be without struggle in a Nation that has turned its back on Him.” I believe she’s right, and I take comfort in knowing He will protect my family as we follow Him. I can only pray for this Nation. Well, that, and prepare the next generation. How grand it would be to raise prayer warriors, Godly men and women, ready and eager to do battle for God’s will. How wonderful to raise a generation that will bring revival to our land. I cannot keep my child out of the murky water forever. She will eventually venture into the depths. My prayer is that I’ve helped prepare her, and her siblings, for the dangers seen and unseen, so they may hold firm in Jesus and emerge from this world victorious, and having left it better than when they came.
That is all 🙂