Our grandchildren are now out of
school ready to enjoy the summer vacation.
Each one is moving to the next grade and all are above grade level in
many classes – I credit my genes.
AND more importantly the genes
that made me choose Carla and my bride – now HER genes have combined nicely with
the spouses of my children to give them a leg up on intelligence.
I have no doubt they will all do
well – because they are also being raised with a strong moral compass and a
desire to do their best.
I remember talking to one of my
children’s teachers – he told me that I would never have problems with that
child. The Reason? Because they choose their friends well.
Thus far, so have my
grandchildren – of course in their case, their parents did too!
Still trying to shore up for
Wanda. I have never been around a dog
like her – she is as inquisitive as a cat – she had to explore everything she
could get her nose to – she was checking out the bathroom and walked inside the
shower, then came back out with her head held up looking at us, I guess it met
with her approval.
We have some barriers in various
parts of our house that will allow the cats to come and go as they like, but
restrict her from certain areas.
We have enlarged the fenced
portion of the yard by about a half in hopes to give both her and Blaze some
breathing room. It won’t be a good thing
for the cats, though since the area we brought in has chairs that the cats have
claimed as their own – Carla calls it ‘the cat’s living room.’
I am hoping that her lengthy
stay will help Blaze come a little farther out of his shell.
I had him groomed the other day
and his groomer said that instead of standing there like a statue as he has done
in the past, he actually licked her face – THAT for HIM is a huge
improvement.
Luke
11:13 If ye then, being evil, know how to give
good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the
Holy Spirit to them that ask him?
As I was reading this passage,
this morning, I reflected on my life as a father – oh the mistakes I have made,
the challenges I have caused my children to deal with; but I love them, and they
know that. They have grown into strong
responsible adults.
I was/am not perfect as a father
and I still lack in some of the areas I know I could do better in – I look at my
sons and their relationships with their children and I see a stronger father
than I was. They have learned from my
mistakes and, among other things, are much more involved with their
children.
The way my children were raised
speaks well for their mother. She chose
not to work so she could be home. She is
a strong person with solid values and work ethics and our children take after
her.
The best thing I did though was
to accept Christ and together Carla and I gave them a Christian base. Not perfect, but they know who God is and
they know who Jesus is and the values we all shared have done them well.
There is much in the news today
about the frustrations black youth face as they live in the inner-cities of
America.
They do not have the same
opportunities that others have, they don’t have parents active in their life,
they are discriminated against when applying for a job – among other things and
it is true, but why?
Where are the fathers? We have many children roaming the streets in
gangs and growing into violent adults, why?
The Government subsidizes this
activity. They do not hold the fathers’
responsible for the upbringing of the child.
They don’t even force them to help in the financial costs of raising a
child, instead taxing others to compensate for their abandonment.
With the exception of God being
cast out of our society, the move away from the family has caused more damage
than anything else.
We can find enough people to
point the finger at, including Christians.
WE have buried our heads while this is going on – I can’t begin to count
the number of Christians I have encountered that aren’t even registered to
vote.
We have not spoken up against
the atrocities, even to the point where we have condoned bigotry and policies
aimed at other races.
We have allowed the government
to take over the responsibilities of our Churches. Churches used to care for the sick, elderly,
widows and orphans – now we exclude them from our lives and expect government to
do the job.
For the most part the government
has – and in the process has condemned Christians as they strive to instill
Biblical based values on their own families, not to mention those that they try
to help.
I was at a conference when an
Oregon Attorney General gave a speech.
He told us that churches were going to have to step up to the plate and
get back to the care of those less fortunate – then he said, but they cannot
impart religion on those that come to the church for help.
AND he believed that.
He basically felt that the state
was more responsible than parents in raising children and should have much more
involvement in their care – again downplaying the role a family holds in society
and how that impacts the children.
We spend more money per student
than any other country in the world, yet our school systems are in a mess – and
we are far behind many other countries in producing highly qualified
adults. Adults that can make a
difference in the world.
More and more families are
choosing to remove their children from public schools and place them in either
private schools or teach them at home.
The public schools must take all
children, and a lot of the problem comes from having to deal with out of control
children whose parents – particularly the father – are either not present or
don’t care about the quality of education their child receives and get upset if
their child is disciplined for their behavior.
Behavior, that starts and is
allowed at home.
Our society glamorizes the rebel
that abuses alcohol and other drugs, that bully other people; a person that has
the morals of an alley cat. Just look at
the movies, magazines, TV programs, games these kids watch and play and see why
they are moving in this direction.
At the same time we decry the
violence of our cities and blame it on everything except those that created and
foster the environment that these kids grow up in.
The real key for our country is
to realize that we have sinned against God and turn back to Him.
The moral compass of this nation
has taken a dive – and even more so this past decade than the rest of our
history combined.
We are rapidly descending into a
moral morass that is not only destroying the families, but this nation.
I realize I have painted broad
strokes here; not everyone has turned away from God. But those of us who haven’t, need to stand up
for His Word and not wring our hands in anguish.
One of the ways of doing this is
to insist that we stop giving fathers free rein. If they are old enough to create a child,
they are old enough to be responsible for its upbringing.
Even if the mother and father do
not reside together it is no excuse for him not to be an active part in the
raising of the child both physically and financially.
But these young men have been
given a free pass – all the ‘fun’ and none of the responsibilities of a man, let
alone a father.
It is so aggravating to hear
those that blame society and want to pour more money into a system designed to
make people fail, and not change the design.
It isn’t the money; it is the
value placed on an individual, placed on the need to be accountable and used to
strengthen families instead of destroying it.
Government, indeed, has taken on
the self-appointed role of being a parent and has been failing miserably at
it.
God needs to be more active in
their lives.
Reaching the people for God is
OUR responsibility, as difficult as it may be.
Explaining to a child who has no
father, or whose father has abused them, that God the Father is important in
their lives may be difficult for them to comprehend.
But the love of the Father is
not. They can be shown through our love
that God does love them. He loves them
so much that He gave HIS Son to die for them.
Is America going to be
completely destroyed in the near future as many of us fear? Could be.
Is it beyond redemption as we also fear? Again, could be.
But there are still those out
there that need the Father. Need the
Salvation He offers them in Christ and needs the guidance of the Holy Spirit as
they live their life.
As I contemplate on the value of
a Father this next week, may we show the Father’s love to all those I come into
contact with. May God send men into the
lives of these fatherless children so they can see what a real man is all
about.
A man who loves God and wants to
proclaim and show the benefits of having such a Father.
Later, Art :-)
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