The Paradoxical Commandments

People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.

Love them anyway.

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.

Do good anyway.

If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies.

Succeed anyway.

The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.

Do good anyway.

Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.

Be honest and frank anyway.

The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds.

Think big anyway.

People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.

Fight for a few underdogs anyway.

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.

Build anyway.

People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.

Help people anyway.

Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in the teeth.

Give the world the best you have anyway.

by Kent M. Keith

It's the Sex, Stupid

I recently read a long Canadian opinion piece called It's the Demography, Stupid: The Real Reason the West is in Danger of Extinction. It's a fascinating secular take on why Islam is the fastest growing religion...and how the Western World is going extinct. In the article, Mark Steyn states, ''the hard data on babies around the Western world is that they're running out a lot faster than the oil is. 'Replacement' fertility rate--i.e., the number you need for merely a stable population, not getting any bigger, not getting any smaller--is 2.1 babies per woman." The author quotes statistics from many different countries, demonstrating that the countries well above this replacement rate tend to be Islamic, and many western nations fall below the replacement rate.

Steyn throws in the following numbers in an attempt to scare the liberal left about the growth of not only the Islamic nations but also conservative Americans -- his words should greatly encourage those of us on the conservative side of the fence: "In America, demographic trends suggest that the blue states ought to apply for honorary membership of the EU: In the 2004 election, John Kerry won the 16 with the lowest birthrates; George W. Bush took 25 of the 26 states with the highest. By 2050, there will be 100 million fewer Europeans, 100 million more Americans--and mostly red-state Americans."

Jennifer Roback Morse, Ph.D, wrote an incredible response to It's the Demography, Stupid entitled, It's the Sex, Stupid: A Response to Mark Steyn. If you don't have time to read the original article, I hope you'll find the time to read this response. Dr. Morse feels that the way western culture views sexuality has "created the demographic collapse of the West, and the human void into which Islamic fertility is rapidly flooding."

Speaking from a secular, naturalist viewpoint, Dr. Morse says that "the modern world has completely lost sight of the social purposes of sex. We now regard sex as a private recreational activity, with no moral or social significance. Unlimited sexual activity without a live baby resulting is the quintessential modern entitlement."

Dr. Morse goes on to describe consumer sex (what she often refers to as Wal-Mart Sex): Sex is a consumer good and our sex partners are objects that please us more or less well. Morse submits that this view of sex is "at the root of the West's demographic death spiral...Consumer sex inverts the whole natural order of sexuality. Instead of drawing us out of ourselves and into relationship with others, we turn sex inward, on ourselves and our own individual pleasure."

Dr. Morse states that demographic collapse is hardly surprising. She observes the risky business of having children without a permanent bond between parents. As we as a country move toward indifference as to whether a child has parents who are married to each other, or even whether the parents are of different or the same sex, we create a culture that is "hardly conducive to having a higher than replacement level of fertility."

As a woman who waited until reaching tenure to have a child, she recognizes that she is "part of the problem of the well-educated, high-income women who can't bring themselves to replace themselves" and ends her article with these challenging words:

"What women do and want will be decisive in determining whether the West survives the demographic clash with Islam. If intelligent, educated women believe children are an unacceptable distraction from their careers, we won't have many kids. If women regard flash cards as beneath their dignity, educating the next generation will be left to hired help. If women think raising a child alone is less trouble than dealing with a pesky man, we'll have a lot of stressed out single mothers and poorly raised kids.

"So, stay at home moms, don't let anyone tell you that you are wasting your talents. Without your contribution of a healthy, functioning next generation, all the strength of the U.S. military won't be enough to protect us from the primal force of Islam that believes in itself enough to replace itself. Your actions show that you believe in your civilization enough to invest in its future. "

As Dr. Morse points out, few have noticed the short, direct line between seeing sex as a commodity, to seeing a sex partner as a commodity, to seeing a baby as a commodity. If we in conservative Christian circles can grasp the depth, spirituality, and significance to these gifts from God -- sex, spouses, and children -- we will well be on our way to making a lasting mark on our world.

A Woman's Place is in the Office

Are you a competent, educated woman? Then according to Linda Hirschman, a prominent feminist thinker, you are above being "just a mom."
Apparently irritated at the large numbers of highly educated women who are intending to forgo careers over being "just" wives and mommas, Hirchman has spent quite a bit of time and energy arguing that "feminism has largely failed in its goals." Here's to more failure of this brand of feminism.
You can read all about Hirschman's recent appearance on Good Morning America here.
Al Mohler's take on it all? "These women [stay-at-home moms] not 'letting down the team.' To the contrary, they are holding civilization together where civilization begins--in the home."

Teens Rock!

I was visiting The Rebelution site this morning, in eager anticipation of the conference coming up next weekend (which is SOLD OUT by the way -- I hope you already purchased your tickets!) and came across this awesome site:

REGENERATE OUR CULTURE

This new movement, largely directed by those of the teenage-persuasion, has this as part of its vision statement:

Regenerate Our Culture is an organization with the goal of regenerating our nation's worldview away from the post-modernism holding it and back to the Christian worldview it was first built on.

Ah, yes. This is the answer to the questions posed by the emerging church movement, I believe. While I do believe it is time for Modernism to get the right foot of fellowship out of the doors of our churches, I just don't see embracing post-modernism as the answer. Reformation, going back to the scriptures, learning from historical Christianity, transforming our lives so they are lived out through a Christian Worldview -- this is the direction we ought to be headed.

The "kids" over at Regenerating Our Culture seem to have this very idea in mind. And the fact that they are so young means their message should be vibrant, full of life and EDGY... kinda like the Bible, actually :)

I hope you check them out!

The Beggar is Back, I hope!

We have spent the past month in our garage.

Well, not exactly, but it sure has felt like it. My incredible husband decided that we needed extra space. He took to converting 2/3 of our garage into a family room -- and the result is amazing. We have a large room that really serves as two rooms: a craft room with craft and homeschool supplies, a desk, a laptop, and cute little table, and a reading/play room which consists of comfy reading chairs, bookshelves full of living books, a chest of toys, and a closet full of board games and Legos and such.

My husband is the most inventive, enterprising man you will ever meet. If something around our house needs to be done, Ron will "get a book on it" and see that it's done. From garbage disposals to dimmer switches to track lighting to installing hardwood flooring to building playground equipment, he will figure it out and get it done.

When we were first married, I used to refer demurely to Ron's enterprising ways as jury-rigging (actually, until about a week ago, I would have misused this term by calling it "jimmy-rigging." Fortunately, I have a super-smart mother who let me know that "jury-rigging" is the correct phrase. However you say it, the phrase gives the connotation of "though it'll work in a pinch, it's improvised, and not done correctly.")

Gone are my days of not giving proper reverence to my husband's craft. He has proven himself, beyond measure, to handle all sorts of household projects. He is a jack of all trades, and a master of the ones we appreciate the most (like being a wonderful husband and father).

To give you just a taste of some of the current re-model project Ron's been working on:
He created a second ceiling frame and wall frame as a skeleton for the room, made a large built-in closet, a large enclosure with folding doors to hide the laundry room, brought electricity to the room, hung beautiful lights, installed Pergo flooring and carpet, cut trim, and painted walls. Luckily, he had my dad's construction expertise to help with drywall, mudding, and texturizing (not to mention the muscles and time dad lent us -- thank you so much, dad!).

As you can guess, I haven't had much time for blogging lately. But after a month of de-cluttering almost our entire house and helping hubby with the new room, I am ready to declutter my head by getting some random and crazy thoughts out of it and onto my blog. With a nicely organized house (it's almost where I want it to be, I need a little push to finish up the task at hand) and extra space for the boys' books and projects, I feel rested and at a peace.

I'm ready to get back to my daily regimen of reading lots and writing a little!

God is from Mars and Venus

Off with the skirt, On with the Pants is an article sure to make you either clench your fists in anger or laugh out loud as R.C. Sproul, Jr. (son of the well-known Christian theologian R.C. Sproul) brings you face-to-face with the issue of men's leadership in our churches.

Sproul Junior has a silly sense of humor sprinkled with a bit of sarcasm and large doses of truth. He writes with passion that is a bit over the top...but I do think God will use this dynamic man to get a few good messages across.

Enjoy!

Where Have All the Young Men Gone?

I was perusing The Rebelution Blog this morning, and was struck by this post called If Boys Would Be Men, Would Girls Be Ladies? I can't say how impressed I am by the young male authors of this blog.

This post strikes me for a few reasons. The first is that feminism has been on my brain for the past few weeks, even though I have yet to finish posting my thoughts. Then, just yesterday, my sister mentioned a discussion she had in the high school teacher's lounge of a recent article in Newsweek on schools failing boys. The topic of "boys in education" is one very near and dear to my soul, and the idea that institutional schools aren't set up for boys to succeed was the first thing that drew my husband and me to consider homeschooling. And, over the past few years, I have had a paradigm-shift in my way of viewing men -- I now see how important it is to us as The Church and as a country to have REAL, godly, strong men leading us to victorious moral living. (I am so honored that God put three little men into our home, not because boys are any better than girls -- I am not swinging clear to the other side of the spectrum -- but because our society has an absolute lack of godly men and the thought that God could use our seed to replenish this lack excites me. Godly women just seem easier to find than godly men, and I am of the opinion that godly men will only make life more wonderful for women in general. I only ask the Lord to lead Ron and I in raising these little guys to be true men of faith -- manly and godly world-changers -- :) that's all I ask, Lord!)

I hope you'll take a moment to read the Rebelution post - and remember, these boys are only 17 years old!!

A few excerpts from the posting:

"The problem is not that women have risen, that's not even an issue here. The problem is that men have fallen."

"The truth is that young men today possess little incentive, whether archaic or otherwise, to pursue excellence in career, marriage or family. True men are not only disapearing from our universities, they're disapearing from society's most fundamental institution, the family. Unless men, as the heads of their families, return to the historic call of biblical manhood, the family will continue to decay. This is a battle our generation must fight."

Join the Rebelution!

My husband and I have always had an interest in young people. We met while on volunteer staff with Young Life and spent the first 10 years of our marriage in youth ministry together. One of the reasons we felt drawn to youth ministry was the idea that young people aren't as "messed up yet" or as set in their ways as their adult counterparts, and that it is therefore easier to get them started on the right path toward a healthy, successful life of deep, abiding relationship with Christ.

We just didn't realize quite how much young people are capable of...we set our sights too low.

And we didn't realize what an important role parents play in their children's future well-being -- not only whether children come to Christ but how richly the children will end up living for Christ and how well they will be able to sustain healthy friendships and marriages and reach others for Christ. (How could we have missed the importance of parents? Uh, I'm really not sure.)

One thing leads to another, and the birth of our first child brought the first stirrings of change in our minds and hearts. These stirrings led to several years of slow change, which in turn led to a paradigm-shift of thinking regarding young people.

The Rebelution Tour is coming to the Sacramento area (north of Auburn), this March 11th, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The teen boy speakers and their father truly epitomize the standard of teen living we have come to see as normal Christianity. (Ahem, that's "normal" according to scripture, not "normal" meaning what is average today).

I highly recommend this tour to teens, parents of teens, grandparents of teens, single adults, and parents of someday-teens.

I am praying and hoping, and praying and hoping, and praying and hoping for Reformation in The Church, and it tickles me pink that God could use teens as part of this movement!

From the Rebelution Tour's Website:

What is the Rebelution?

--It's a movement among Christian youth from around the world to throw off the shackles of low cultural expectations.
--It's a cry for young people to return to historic levels of Christian character and competence.
--It's a network of young men and women who are mutually committed to glorifying God by "doing hard things" in their teen years.
--It's a reformation by those who recognize the biblical commandment to use the teen years, not as a vacation from responsibility, but as the launching pad for all of life.

Check out the Harris boys' blog!

Homosexuality and The Emerging Church

This just snagged from the A-Team's blog:

"The Mark Driscoll-Brian McLaren Throwdown, Round 1"

"If you thought this blog was rough, you ain't seen nothin' yet! Emergent leader Brian "The Godfather" McLaren recently posted this article about homosexuality, to which Mark "The Pistol" Driscoll fired back with a very unrestrained comment, which was posted here. Various reactions to the Driscoll-McLaren Throwdown have sprung up around the blogosphere, with Andrew Jones and Steve McCoy leading the way. So, who wants to get in on the betting action? I got ten bucks that says Driscoll knocks McLaren out in the eleventh round. Boo-yah."

Also found this link to Douglas Wilson's response to McLaren.

It is nice to see people reacting to this and disscusing the topic with some spunk...
There is still life in The Body -- I was worried we were all asleep!

Calling All Dads!

I received an email notice today that Family Life did 2 radio programs on daddies leading family worship. I'm listening to them right now, and they sound great so far!
Ron and I have come across many statistics lately revealing the number one factor in having kids that follow Christ is dad leading his children in some type of family worship. Back in the Pilgrim or Puritan days, a father could be whipped for not leading his family in daily devotions -- yikes! All whips put aside, I sure hope God moves in the hearts of men to turn their hearts back to Him and back to their wives and children.
We wives and children hunger for spiritual food from our men.

Theology From A Bunch of Dead Guys!

---
I stumbled onto this site of Phil Johnson's today, and it is a hoot!

From the introductory page:

A FRIEND who noticed my reading habits asked, "Why would anyone want to study theology by reading A Bunch of Dead Guys? Shouldn't you focus mostly on current works, or risk becoming an irrelevant theological fossil?"My answer: the truth about God is timeless. The last infallible book of theology was written nearly two thousand years ago. In theology, if it's new, it probably isn't true.The best of the men featured here knew that. Though they are dead, they still speak (cf. Heb. 11:4). Scripture was their supreme rule of faith. Their theological line of descent is clearly traceable from the Reformers, to Augustine, to the Apostle Paul, to Isaiah, to Abraham—all the way back to the first promise God made to Adam in the Garden (Gen. 3:15).

This site is informative and fun, especially for a light intro into Church History (Warning -- the information is from a Calvinist point of view). The site owner provides a little map with caricatures or pictures of specific dead guys. You can navigate your way down the map -- but be careful! Too far to the left or the right and you'll find yourself in theological trouble! The site also provides links to follow under each of these people groups, for further study or enlightenment :) You may explore a page of links to different creeds, catechisms, and confessions.

Phil Johnson makes learning theology from a bunch of dead guys feel like browsing howstuffworks.com!

Resources on Figuring out Feminism

Oh. If only I didn't have a husband and kids to minister to, perhaps I would have more time and a less-cluttered brain to sit down and do something really important -- like blog about feminism in the church! :)
Really, I am working on Parts 2 through at-least-4 of the Unwitting Feminism series. I keep jumping around between them -- and none of them is able to stand alone as a post at this point. Hopefully I won't end up posting them all at once!
Besides, it is amusing to just check back and read everyone's incredible comments. Dad and Danielle have already stolen my thunder on a few words of wisdom. And George, though I agree with a lot of your assessment of things, I think "feminism" and its spread throughout society and the church is more men's fault than women's! And I think that feminism has done nothing but harm to both sexes.
It's been fun to think about everything you ALL had to say so far -- thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Before I get to the next controversial "real" post, here are some resources for you. All of these books or websites come from a pretty conservative, but very biblical standpoint. I would challenge you to look at any of these sources (with a Bible on your lap) and see what you think!

Books I have yet to Read that Look Great:
The Feminist Mistake by Mary Kassian
Review of The Feminist Mistake by Tim Challies (this review is worth the read)
Roger of The A Team interviews Mary Kassian (includes a link to read the first chapter
of this book online)
The Exemplary Husband by Stuart Scott

Websites with lots of articles:
Patriarch Magazine
Ladies Against Feminism
The Council for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood
Family Ministries

Books I have found helpful over the past few years:

Reforming Marriage by Douglas Wilson
Family Man, Family Leader by Philip Lancaster
The Way Home and All The Way Home (the 2nd is "way" better) by Mary Pride
Created to Be His Help-Meet by Debi Pearl
The Fruit of Her Hands: Respect and the Christian Woman by Nancy Wilson
On the Other Side of the Garden: Biblical Womanhood for Today's World by Virginia Fugate

A lot of these resources will seem odd and extreme in light of most of the other stuff out there these days.
At first, I even threw Reforming Marriage to the floor -- it made me so mad! But I can't get past the biblical wisdom from many of these authors. Not that I agree with EVERYTHING each of them has to say, either. I am just so tired of explaining away scripture verses -- it has been refreshing to read books written by those who take the Bible for what it plainly says. These authors and people who live this way have drawn me into investigating Reform Theology (although they are not ALL Reform, Debi Pearl and Reb Bradley of Family Ministries are assuredly NOT Reform).
If you've read any of these books/articles, I'd love to hear what you think.

Post-Christian America

Do you know who Albert Mohler is? I didn't until today.

While checking some of my favorite blogs today, Mohler showed up on two of them -- one remarked that he would be on Larry King Live to discuss the gay cowboy movie, Brokeback Mountain, and the other to a link where Mohler discusses a recent inspiring and empowering sermon of John Piper's.

Poking around his website, I found an article entitled Transforming Culture: Christian Truth Confronts Post-Christian America that puts into words some of the reasons I have felt frustrated with society and helpless to change it. Our society has changed as much as an entire "civilization" in the past 50-60 years.

Mohler's message is one of stating the facts and encouraging Christians to do what they are called to do.

A few passages from the article:

---
Looking within, Americans have adopted a therapeutic worldview which has transformed all issues of right and wrong into newly created categories of authenticity, self esteem, codependencies, and various psychological fads which basically tell us that we are victims, not responsible moral agents. A cult of self-worship has developed, substituting a search for the inner child in place of the worship of the transcendent God.

Isn't this the truth! And it is so difficult for me to know how to respond to people who think this way. When you bring up sin, you feel as though you are guilty of picking on someone for being sick. And in a way, you are -- but the Bible clearly states that men are gulity of this sickness of sin and must repent. There are ways to soften the truth, sometimes, but as my 7 year old is fond of saying, "Truth Hurts."

---
The displacement of the Church is characteristic of the process of secularization, which has now so thoroughly altered the landscape of American culture. Though sociologists point to continuing high levels of religious activity and statements of belief--both of these in sharp contrast to other western nations--the truth is that very little of this activity translates into authentic discipleship, active church membership, and bold Christian witness.

An interesting comment on where we as Christians stand in America.
Religious, but not authentic, active, and bold.

---
The truths of God's Word reveal the Gospel of spiritual transformation, and the proclamation of the truths of God's Word is the only means available to us of cultural transformation. From beginning to end, it is all in God's hands. We are called to faithful witness and compassionate ministry. In the context of post-Christian America, our task is to preach the Gospel and to proclaim the truths of God's Word. As the Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian church, the Gospel is foolishness to those seeking wisdom and a scandal to those looking for power. To the redeemed, however, the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation. Here is found the only genuine transformation. Therein is found our charge.

Mmm. Good reminders. The rest of the article is worth a read.
I think I'll be back for more of Albert Mohler's writings. It seems like he has good stuff to say!

Unwitting Feminisim, Part I

Feminism by Any Other Name -- Still Doesn't Smell Sweet

I'm beginning to re-think many current "Christian" ideas concerning the role of women.

I'm re-thinking them because they just don't seem to hold up to biblical precedent. How I could have been reading this same Bible for years, content to gloss over verses concerning my life as a woman? Usually, I used the excuse of the Bible being written so very long ago, during a different time period, a different culture. These verses needed to be carefully interpreted in light of these differences, and then thoughtfully dismissed. They simply couldn't apply to my life in the straightforward way they were written, could they? And besides, compared to my friends outside the church, I was practically old-fashioned. I shared a bank account with my husband, took his last name when we married, didn't make any major decisions without him, and decided to not work outside of the home once we had children. Heck, I even submitted to him the two times we needed a "tie-breaker!" Feminist? Not me!

In an article entitled Many Evangelicals Unwittingly Live as Feminists, Russell D. Moore is quoted as saying:

"Evangelicals maintain headship in the sphere of ideas, but practical decisions are made in most evangelical homes through a process of negotiation, mutual submission, and consensus. That's what our forefathers would have called feminism -- and our foremothers, too."

I'd agree with Moore. Today's typical books on Christian marriage promote a contemporary way of looking at submission and many other issues having to do with a woman's role in life, marriage, the church.

In the introduction to The Way Home: Beyond Feminism, Back to Reality, Mary Pride sounds a wake-up call to Christian women about the feminist ideas we have picked up and made our own:

"Christians have accepted feminists 'moderate' demands for family planning and careers while rejecting the 'radical' side of feminism -- meaning lesbianism and abortion. What most do not see is that one demand leads to the other. Feminism is a totally self-consistent system aimed at rejecting God's role for women. Those who adopt any part of its lifestyle can't help picking up its philosophy. And those who pick up its philosophy are buying themselves a one-way ticket to social anarchy."

Pride's words certainly were true of me -- I had rejected radical feminism but had fully embraced moderate feminism. A few generations of moderate feminism, and we end up with a church that not only is hardly distinguishable from the world, but one that is bent on self-destruction. (In fact, I wonder how many church issues could be fixed by a re-wiring of our brains when it comes to reading scripture? A Reformation of thought where we return to the ideas of sola scriptura?)

What parts of feminism have we as Christians unwittingly picked up? What parts of scripture have we closed our eyes to? How have these thought patterns affected the church? How in the world did these changes come about? And how did I come to see my own patterns of thought had strayed so far from the biblical ideal?

Stay tuned for more thoughts on this controversial issue. . .

New Age Practices in the Church?

---
I just read an interesting book review over on the A-Team's Blog about a new book entitled Running Against the Wind by Brian Flynn. Flynn describes his life as an anti-Christian, first looking for hope in sex, drugs and rock 'n roll and later looking for it in Nirvana, meditation, and conferring with the spirits. When he met Jesus Christ, he found the Truth and he found his Hope. Next Flynn goes into his journey as a Christian, and his surprising encounters with New Age beliefs INSIDE the church. He says that New Age practices have slipped into the church, mostly without us being aware of them.
This subject fascinates me as I often wonder how much of our culture affects our Christian Worldview. In my own life, I have discovered so many ways of thinking that seemed unquestionable until I found scripture saying the opposite (my version of feminism, for example).
It is very hard to lift our heads up above our culture to really analyze what parts of our current lifestyles are biblical and which parts need to be thrown out.
I will be getting ahold of this book soon. It will be exciting to challenge another area of thinking and hold up common practices to scripture.

Black Widow Scare!

It is nearly midnight. I just found a black widow spider. My husband is out of town.
Not only am I deathly afraid of any scary-looking spiders, but a black widow takes the cake. And she is in a really hard to reach spot, under my sink. I was down there to get out the bread maker (we were going to have fresh bread for breakfast tomorrow -- not now!) when I saw her scurry back in there. It is pretty dark in there, so maybe I am wrong about her being a huge, black poisonous spider!
If only it wasn't so late, I'd go over to the college boys next door, or call my uncle or brother-in-law who both live nearby. My boys aren't big enough for this job, I don't think! I just don't think I have it in me to kill or trap her tonight.
Thank goodness I just had a swig of NyQuil -- maybe I can get some sleep even though my skin is crawling and itching with dozens of imaginary spiders!!! Eeek!
Honey, my Protector Extraordinaire, come home soon!!

"Stupid in America"

---
On 20/20 this evening, John Stossel aired a special report called "Stupid in America."
I admit it, we are John Stossel fans in our home. Not that we agree with every opinion he has, but we admire his sensibility and the fact that he calls things as he sees them.
The program was very interesting, and seemed to reveal a debate of larger proportions going on in our country -- over deeper worldview issues, perhaps the ideas of Socialism v. Capitalism? Hmm. Well, this show may have been the kick in the pants I needed to finally get around to reading John Taylor Gatto's Underground History of American Education.
At the end of the program, Stossel said something along the lines of, "Well, this was our show on education. We hope it sparks a debate." Boy did it. If you missed the program, you can catch a few video clips here.

Love Stinks - or What Goes Around Comes Around

---
Lately I've been thinking about how void the public squares are of children and old people -- especially during the daytime "work hours." Our society tends to lock these types of people away all day, behind closed doors with other people their same age -- in the places that are "natural" and "better for them."
When the kids and I do meet an elderly person at the grocery store or park, I make certain to stop and chat for as long as I can -- exposing my children to this generation of people, their wisdom, their fragility, their love for friendship and companionship, their delight in little children. How can it be normal to disregard, at least in action and attention, such a valuable portion of our society?
We recently went with our eldest son's Cub Scout Troop to sing Christmas Carols at an old folks' home. My three-year old asked me (hopefully everyone there was too deaf to hear him), "Mama, why everybody here dead?"
Oh my goodness! After a quick reminder to him that we will all die some day, I explained that the people there were very old, but were not dead. But, to tell you the truth, the place felt pretty dead. It wasn't a place I would look forward living any time soon. Though I am sure Bingo or Bible Study with senior gals my age will be a blast, being locked up with them in an institution doesn't look like fun.
It got me thinking about how many people begin to live like they are dead way before the Angel of Death comes a-knocking. I made a NOTE TO SELF: If at all possible, live in such a way that I will not flicker out like an old candle -- I want to go out in a blaze of glory!
How have old folks' homes become so typical? I UNDERSTAND that homes for the elderly are an absolute need for some people, especially for medical reasons. But we have taken what should be a last resort and made it average, inevitable, and desirable. We've all seen the bumper sticker, "Be Nice to Your Children; They'll Choose Your Nursing Home."
My mantra instead is, "Value and enjoy your time with your young and simple-minded children now, for if you do, they will value and enjoy time with you when you are old and feeble-minded."
One of my family members mentioned that he would prefer to be in a nursing home so that the people he loves won't have to bathe and feed him, should he deteriorate to such a level. Of course, wiping faces and bottoms isn't Number One on most people's entertainment list, but guess what? Love stinks! I am willing to take care of my mom and dad in any way they need. They did it for me, and I can do it for them.
I once had a neighbor, dear old Bertha, who had 6 children -- five of them sons. Even though her husband died at a young age, Bertha never had to worry about money. She never had to mow her lawn or hire a lawn service. If the plumbing needed fixing or the roof leaked, one of those boys was over in a jiffy.
What happened to old-fashioned retirement plan of having children and raising them well? It worked for Bertha, and I hope it will work for me.

Marriage Has Its Rewards

---
When my eldest son Christian was only 3 1/2, he let us know that he would not be getting married one day as he wanted to have "more time to serve God." (Apparently he caught wind of I Corinthians 7:32-35).
Since that time, whenever I say, "Look at the way you helped your brother -- you'll be such a good daddy someday!" or "Thank you for killing that spider. Your wife will love it when you do that," he patiently reminds me that there is a good chance he just may never get married.
Christian has also stated that marriage would be rough -- because you would "have" to kiss, and because you just may end up having to go to the store with your wife to buy a bra or girl underwear.
Today, as we were sailing down the freeway toward my parents' house, with a sudden and dramatic sigh Christian exclaimed, "Oh no! I just thought of something! If I don't get married, I won't be able to use the CARPOOL LANE. Ohhhh...then I'd end up just SITTING in traffic."

Any single men out there need a good reason to get married?
Christian just came up with a fine one for your list!

Best of the Blogosphere

Just when I think I can break away from blog reading, I stumble onto delicious blogs!

Here's a few for you to check out!

Important things going on in Christianity:
Tim Challies
The A Team
Best of the God Blogs

Blogs for Gals:
Holy Experience
Girl Talk
Rebecca Writes (her post on Rick Warren is interesting)
Choosing Home
Amy's Humble Musings
Solo Femininity

Links to award-winning blogs:
Blogs of Beauty

Family and Friends' Blogs:
My Sister - She's Adorable
My Unicycle-Riding Father
My First-Born Son
Micah-in-the-Middle
My Brother-in-Law
George Mimmen
Classical Families
Anne of Green Curtains