Thursday, March 5, 2015

De Nile

When I first came to this town I couldn't walk and I was bald--
You've really recovered...what did you have?
Have? I was born here...

Life: It comes when we are most unprepared for it.
It isn't the birth date, nor the day you die that matters--it's the dash in between. 
 How many cliches are there about life and the living thereof?
One that comes to mind, and has done so for quite a few years is Psalms 37:25
          "I have been young, and now am old;"
I began muttering this quote quite early in my later life--about forty years old, I believe. It often came at times when I was struggling with something. It Could have been tiredness, or something foolish my children did or said. It could have been something I observed in society around me.

When I go to Face Book many of my aquaintances will post sayings. Some are by famous people I do know, some are by famous people I don't know, and some are by virtual unknowns. Wisdom doesn't always come from the places we expect.

Matthew 21:16  "and said unto him, Hearest thou what these are saying? And Jesus saith unto them, Yea: did ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou has perfected praise?"

As in the  story of the semi-truck that got caught under a low bridge. There were police, and all sorts of people trying to figure out what to do. A child watching the goings on piped up--"Why don't they just let the air out of the tires?"

At times the solution may be just that simple, however, the farther away from morality we go the more we are like a top at the end of its rotation, the more we wobble.

I like to laugh. I like to be peaceful, and encouraging, yet like the phrase from Patrick Henry's speech that goes, "Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace– but there is no peace." My spirit within me is troubled. It can't rest because of issues buffeting my mind.

I was told quite a number of years ago that my children should do quite well on logical thinking tests. I questioned that opinion having witnessed some of their--happenings that they happened to do. Howbeit, on these type of tests they did score quite well, and perhaps some of the results from their happenings may have helped their quality of logical thinking.

Recently a problem was brought to the front of a discussion on the difference between a 'fact, and an opinion', and the teaching thereof to children. The crux of the matter under discussion is that in our schools children are being taught that there are no moral absolutes. I was surprised when I came across this article on a website, and there is a link to it:




http://mobile.nytimes.com/blogs/opinionator/2015/03/02/why-our-children-dont-think-there-are-moral-facts/

 ***
 This is just the beginning of a medium length article that shows how we as parents have been lulled into sleep. For years we have turned our children over to 'experts' to give them a good education, only to find that the good education we thought they were receiving--they didn't and aren't. Where did we go wrong? And further, what can we do to change this problem?

In perusing history there are many factors to the problem. It may be any one component, but most likely is several of them rolled together.
  • parents gave up (either willingly or were forced to give up) part of their responsibility.
  • became too busy and let the experts take over their primary job
  • believed the lie that they should let someone else teach their children, because they weren't smart enough
  • lost most of their local control through consolidations ie. one room school houses went to town schools, town schools went to several towns together, schools, and so forth (now we're looking at large districts)
  • parents got lost in the shuffle, and don't know what to do next
History will tell us that at one time this nation was built upon individual strong families.  These families overwhelmingly exemplified strong moral character and convictions. Now our families are falling apart, our society is falling apart, and our nation is perched on the edge of sliding into the drain.  It began with the idea that the father wasn't a necessary component in a family. It has ended with the idea that all that is really necessary is for a woman to be impregnated, give birth, then drop the offspring off at a care center.

Here is an aside, I have the best family there ever could be. My boys married beautiful talented girls--who smile at their mother-in-law, and humor me. After repeating directions to one of my lovely girls, as how to prepare a certain meal she told me I had already passed that information along. She had tried and enjoyed it. Some people would have been embarrassed to have repeated them self, but not me. I told her most people don't listen the first time I tell them something--matter of fact most people don't listen the first ten times I tell them something.

Yes, for years I've been telling people--women mostly--you're going the wrong way. Turn around, and turn to the way God tells you to do things. It used to be a pet peeve when people would say things such as, well the Bible really doesn't say I can't do it my way/this way. Even amongst people who should be disciples of Jesus, they are so determined to do it their own way.

Why have I become so much more vocal? Because I see a great evil. Parents who want to rear their own families in their own Godly way, and a government that is determined to take and teach our children to be godless, immoral pawns of a godless antichrist organization.  If adults don't stop acting like spoiled children, spoiled adults who WILL do what they want instead of following Christ—it may already be to late. Of course we know God wins in the end, but we are not God. Individuals can still lose, and those who have inadvertently sold themselves to the devil will garner his wages.

Is there any encouragement here? Well, God does win, and it is always right to do the right thing.

Revelation 20:12  "And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne; and books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of the things which were written in the books, according to their works. 13)  And the sea gave up the dead that were in it; and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works."
Hallelujah. What a Savior.