What Kind of Farmer Are You?

Do not be deceived. God will not be made a fool. For a person will reap what he sows, because the person who sows to his own flesh will reap corruption from the flesh, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit. 

Galatians 6:7-8

I have a confession to make, I do NOT enjoy gardening in the least.  If I were the only farmer left on earth, we'd starve....that's how much I do NOT enjoy gardening.  I know there are some who find it extremely relaxing to dig in the dirt, swat the gnats, mosquitoes, and whatever other annoying bugs decide to descend upon you, and I am glad for those....I applaud them.....I thank God for these people with every salad I eat!  

Here's a rule of thumb for those who like planting and all that goes with it: "If you want oranges, plant oranges; if you want weeds, do not plant anything."  While, on the surface, this is self explanatory, but if you look beyond the surface, you will see the true meaning: 

          *     Study = Good Grades

          *     Job = paycheck

          *     Teach children respect & boundaries = Respectful & Respectable Adults

          *     Teach children responsibility = responsible adults

You see, if we choose (and YES we do choose by our actions or inaction) to do nothing, should we be surprised when we have a generation who thinks everything is owed to them?

Honestly, I take umbrage with the Halo Orange advertisements that seem to encourage parents to fear their children, while it teaches the children that THEY, not their parents, are in charge.  We've seen it for years, children are smarter than parents.  Children know better than parents.  And parents are too busy, too tired, too career focused, or to apathetic to teach their children the way they should GO!

We get what we plant! And here's another consideration, it's never too late to clear your fields and replant your garden.  

  

Tough Decisions Start Early!

Teach children how they should live, 

and they will remember it all their life.

Proverbs 22:6

Did you know that our children learn their behaviors from us whether we consciously teach them or not?  Don't think so?  Look around!  How many times do we see children who seem to believe their actions have no consequences?  They do what they want, hurt who they want, disrespect, and even kill others but are not held responsible or accountable because the parents will raise a ruckus and file countless frivolous lawsuits, stage marches and protests.....instead of teaching their children that if they want respect, they must be respectful and respectable.

We have a generation of children who are having children because they have been taught that "someone else" (the taxpayers) will pay for them.  We have children with no respect because the parents are "too busy" or "too tired" or "just don't care" to teach children how to be respectable.  We have a generation of parents who want to coddle and worship their children instead of actually taking on the responsibility of teaching their children to be productive members of society.

We have parents who want someone else (school, government, church) to teach their children but never instill any discipline in them.  I admit it, I never did like being disciplined.  I have the unfortunate circumstance of attending an elementary school where my Mom was a substitute teacher.  If I got disciplined at school, my Mom knew about it BEFORE I got home.  When I got home, I got disciplined by Mom.  And guess what?  When Dad got home, I got disciplined again!  No, I didn't get a toy taken away or get grounded for an hour or sent to time out....I got DISCIPLINED!  And you know what? It didn't take me long to get the point to not do that act again.  But today, discipline is not taught or enforced or even considered, because a child acting up is never the child's responsibility to face it's always "someone else's" fault.

A child is disruptive at school and the teachers aren't allowed to discipline the child, they are expected to coddle and ignore the disruptive behavior.  Administrators are not allowed to discipline the child because the parent or parents will be up in arms with lawyers and "activists" shouting, marching and protesting (and suing).  

So when does the spiral stop?  When are we going to step up and say "ENOUGH"! When are we going to hold the parents responsible for not teaching the child and hold the child responsible for their actions?  If you truly LOVE your children as much as you claim, then teach them that they are PART of this world, not the center of the universe.  Teach them to respect themselves by respecting others!

It's not an easy job being a parent.  It's far beyond time for parents to BE parents and stop coddling and worshiping their children.  Remember, these same children who have not been taught discipline will be the people taking care of us sooner than we expect.

Treat Me Like A Child

I love the Lord because he hears my voice
    and my prayer for mercy.
Because he bends down to listen,
    I will pray as long as I have breath!

~Psalm 116:1-2

When my daughter was a toddler, she was quite the social butterfly.  She would talk with anyone and everyone as if she had known them for years.  But I noticed that her conversations would be fairly brief when she had to look up because the adult was standing over her.  But if the adult would talk to her face to face, she was in her element and the conversation would flow.  I've noticed this about people in general as well.  When there's a barrier or some obstruction, the conversation is rather formal, relatively short, and pretty much very formal.

Sadly, when we talk with God we put barriers between us as well.  We think of God as some old geezer sitting piously on His throne holding His rod of smiting ready to smite us with it.  Doesn't make for a very good conversation, does it?  But here's what I want you to understand about God, when He hears us, He comes face to face with us as a loving parent who WANTS to talk with us.  God wants us to see the love in His eyes.  God wants us to hear the caring in His voice.  God wants us to feel His protection.  God wants us to talk WITH Him, not at Him.  God created us so we can have a relationship WITH Him!