Legislate Me

I struggle with politics.  I mean, I don't think that government will ever save us.  It's understandable to think that a non-Christian will look for the government to legislate peace and happiness, but Christians understand where true peace and happiness originate.

Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. John 14:27

And yet I feel surrounded by Christian activists who have no message for non-Christians because they're so busy ranting about DOMA or the price of oil. 

We are in a no-win situation.  I came across a quote by St. Augustine the other day.

If, therefore, we wish either to declare or to recognize the truth, there is a persecution of unrighteousness, which the impious inflict upon the church of Christ; and there is a righteous persecution, which the church of Christ inflicts upon the impious.

I don't think that St. Augustine is specifically discussing political life in this quote, but it got me to thinking...if Christians rule in government, non-Christians are going to feel as if the laws the Christians pass are intolerant of their worldview.  If non-Christians rule in government, Christians will feel as if the laws that are passed are intolerant of their worldview.  And isn't that what we have now?  Both groups screaming "Intolerance!" at each other?  And how does this accomplish what should be the ultimate end of a Christian life, which is to lead others to Christ?  I think of 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12:

...that you also aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you, that you may walk properly toward those who are outside, and that you may lack nothing.

And if we are following the Great Commission found in Matthew 28:19-20:

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you...

...wouldn't we very possibly end up with the Christian society that most of us hope to gain by legislation?

Longing for Home

Back when I was in junior high, my parents became foster parents for two or three years.  Over that time, we had three foster kids live with us.  All three came from really iffy situtations at home, but as my Mom observed, "Seems that no matter what goes on back at their homes, no matter how bad it is, they always long to go back."

I thought of what she said all those years ago the other day.  A lot of times when we clean the kitchen we like to get some "cleaning music" going.  Every time our son, Jack, chooses the music, he picks the CD my husband made for me that has all the music from our wedding, as well as a few other "special to us" songs on it.  He loves listening to those gooey love songs, and he loves it when Darin and I belt them out as they play.  He loves that we are a family and that Darin and I are his Mom and Dad, that we aren't going anywhere, that he is safe with us, and he celebrates that by listening to that CD.

What a great responsibility we parents have.  I really doubt the foster kids that came and went at our house when I was growing up missed the abuse and struggle.  They missed the "idea" of what home could and should be.  They longed for the real thing with their Moms and Dads.  I didn't get that back then, but now, as I watch Jack, I do. 

Copywork

I love Charlotte Mason, and I love Copywork and Dictation. My biggest frustration, though, is choosing copywork and dictation passages. That's just one more thing that I don't have time to do. My daughter, Lydia, loves Shakespeare's plays, so I thought some lines from his plays would make great copywork for her. I went online to look for something and found a great site called enotes.com  Quotes abound, as well as literature study guides, lesson plans, discussion, and on and on.  The great thing about the quotes is that they come with a recap of what's going on at that particular point in the play.  Love that.  You can also look up the quotes by play, the person speaking and theme.

It's All About Me

Before Darin and I felt led to allow God to decide the size of our family, I would look at those large families and imagine the parents of all those kids in some sort of mindless bliss, cranking out kid after kid. Now I am one of those parents, and understand there is no "mindless bliss." As with anything that God leads in, there are tough decisions to make, and many prayers and petitions to be said. It is not always easy to hold on to the vision that God gives because life has a way of hijacking the vision before we realize it.

Darin and I were recently hijacked. We have been struggling. Parenting a large crew is not easy. I don't know if we were trying to recover from the busier holiday season and not doing a very good job of it or what, but we have felt completely unable to do the job that God has given us with our kids and we wondered if we should even leave it open for God to give more. We felt ineffective as parents. Unequipped, over-worked, worn out. The phrase "no rest for the weary" was playing itself over and over in our minds.

What a crossroads-kinda-place to be. We have never struggled like this before and this was new territory for us. So we agreed to pray about it. As I was praying about it one morning while waiting my turn in the shower, God reminded me that it is, indeed, all about me. I knew it all along. ;-)

It's all about my response to the kids when they're bickering.
It's all about my response to the chores that never end.
It's all about my response to the school planning I want to get to but never can.
It's all about my response to the kid's when they choose to disobey.
It's all about my response to a tight budget.
It's all about my response to zero "me-time."
It's all about my response to Darin having to work late.

It's all about me. It's all about my response. It's all about me remembering that when I take all of the hassle personally, and truly make it all about me, I become miserable. I've got Kathy Troccoli's song, "My Life is in Your Hands" going through my head and it really resonates with truth for me these days.

First verse:
Life can be so good
Life can be so hard
Never knowing what each day
Will bring to where you are
Sometimes I forget
And sometimes I can't see
That whatever comes my way
You'll be with me

Second verse:
Nothing is for sure
Nothing is for keeps
All I know is that your love
Will live eternally
So I will find my way, yes
And I will find my peace
Knowing that you'll meet my every need

The whole song.  :-)

A Big “duh” Moment

Something has finally become clear to me.  An acquaintance of mine told me that she and her husband had decided to put their son in public school next year.  Her only real reason was that when she saw the work her son did in his local co-op class, compared to the work he did at home, there was a huge difference.  He made really good grades in the co-op classes, which were challenging.  His work at home....not so good.  So she decided that since her son did so much better in his co-op class compared to the school he did at home that he obviously "responded better" to others.  "Somehow," she said, "he just doesn't put out the effort for me that he does for his other teachers outside the home."

I'm a thinker, and I've been mulling this over and over in the weeks since I chatted with this friend.  There was a time in my thinking process when I thought I also needed to be alarmed because I too, have noticed that my son seems to put out a little more effort for his Biology class at co-op than for some of his work at home. 

I've also been talking with Darin about it.  We've come to the conclusion that the work attitude reflects the heart attitude.  It boils down to whether or not our son is truly honoring his mom and dad as God asks him to do. 

Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you...Dueteronomy 5:16

When Darin and I put work down in front of our son, he should do the work with all his best efforts as a result of his desire to be obedient to God by honoring his dad and me.

It would be nice to be able to lay all the problem at Ben's feet, but that's just not the way it works with parenthood.  Darin and I also realized in the same conversation that it is our job to make sure Ben knows what his proper response to our requests should be.

Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.  Ephesians 6:4

It's a two-way street.  If we are being clear as day about God's expectations, then we have every right to expect honor in return.  So once again, we're humbled.  Of course Ben has heard us repeat Ephesians 6:1 and Exodus 20:12 about a million times, but I don't know how much we had ever practically applied it to his life.  Ya know, things that seem crystal clear to us, the adults, are not so clear to the kids.  It's our job to teach it and live it.