Teaching our Children

As many of you know, Robbie and I are foster parents. This is not something we ever thought we would be doing. It was a long process that we went into kicking and screaming, but it was led by God. We went into it wanting to adopt. But along the way we have helped families, that ultimately led to reunification and the healing of families. It is one of the toughest things that I have ever done personally. I have poured my life into these children and then they are taken away. Along with the heartache that I have felt, I have also had to hold my grieving children as they cried because of the loss, which only magnifies my heartache.

I have had many people say they could never do that, because of the "damage" it would cause their own children. I have listened to this and questioned myself many times on the negative impact this may have on our children as it relates to this mission.

Then I saw this on ESPN the other day on Rennie Curran. It is a small biography of his life. He talks about poverty in his family because of his parents responsibility to family members. But because of this struggle it has made him stronger. If this struggle has made him into a better person, then why are we so bent on protecting our children from everything?

And then I had this thought maybe our children (as in children as a whole) have it way too easy! Because I know in our house this "struggle" has been a wonderful learning opportunity. We talk about the fact that we really miss this child, but we pray for this child and give them to God asking God to bless and protect. We also have learned that helping people is incredibly hard and requires sacrifice. We also have learned that pain should never stop us from helping the next person. My children are not just learning this, they are living it! Because even through the loss they still understand the mission. Yes, they complain because of this or that inconvenience. But if I were to tell them that another child needs our help, they would say with all their heart, Let's go get 'em!

And so I go back to my question, why do we as a society feel the need to insulate our children from everything painful? Could it be that we as parents are afraid of our pain and do not understand how to deal with our own emotions? Now here is my disclaimer, I am in NO WAY advocating causing or inflicting pain on the innocent. I am not saying we should be seeking to find some agony to "teach" our children. What I am saying is that when pain is presented, use it to teach them about becoming a man/woman. Use it to teach them about the healing power of our sovereign God. Use it to make them into better humans. Use it to teach them that avoiding discomfort at the expense of another's torture is selfish.

And never let your children's "comfort" be an excuse in not doing good!

So much to say.

SO...MUCH...TO...SAY..IN...THE...POLITCAL ARENA...
MUST...BITE..MY...TONGUE...
DON'T...THINK..I...CAN...HOLD...IT...MUCH...LONGER

Football Season is upon us

SO now you know why my blogs are few and far between.

My boys are playing football this season. Thankfully, Trey and Shane are on the same team. So they have practice Tuesdays and Thursdays. Robbie is coaching Riley's team and they have practice on Mondays and Fridays. And of course we have church on Wednesday and Saturday nights. So that leaves us with Sunday nights, but of course Sunday's involve football as well.

And I keep thinking what is going to happen when the girls have dance or softball or whatever? Is it possible to squeeze another day in the week?

But I really love it! I love to see my boys come in from football all muddy and tired from playing! (I could do without the tracks of dirt left on my floor from their cleats!)

Growing Up

I am not sure how the conversation started. I think it started when I said to the boys something like this, "C'mon, babies, let's go!" In that tone of playfulness that a mom uses, not in a high pitched sweet way, just a c'mon let's go way. (Wish I could attach audio here.) To which one said, "Mom we are not babies!" To which I said,"I know you are not babies, but it does not matter how old you are, you will always be my baby." To which another said, "Mom, you don't want us to ever grow up, do you?" So then the conversation started.

I explained to them that being a parent was the most difficult thing. Because my job, as a parent, is for them to become strong, independent men, but when that happens they will go away... to a new house... with a wife ...and their own family...and they will not want me around anymore. But on the other hand, I would not want it any other way. I want them to take care of themselves. I want them to be independent. I want them to be self-sufficient! I want them to be strong! But I want them to be my babies forever! I want to be able to cradle them in my arms! But when they are all those manly things, I won't be able to protect them. I might not know where they are every second of the day or if they are safe! But I sure as heck don't want to raise wimps! So, you see my dilemma? OK, now I am starting to tear up just thinking about it!

And then I thought, "Wow, I am so glad our heavenly father does not kick us out of the nest!" We can still be His precious babies until we are 119 years old! WE are never to old to crawl up in His lap!

Miscellaneous

It has been incredibly hard to blog as of late! I have been incredibly busy with homeschooling. Not sure we are learning anything yet! What has been neat is the people at church who are always asking me, "How is it going?". Many people have been incredibly encouraging. Always telling me to keep going! That is so an answer to prayer!!!

Also, keeping me from the bloggy world is the political stuff going on. Yes I am a political enthusiast! I just love this time of year, between the conventions and the elections! But because I do not want to cause dissension, I can not voice my opinion on my candidate of choice. So, I can not blog about that!

There are so many thoughts that I want to say sometimes but can not find the right words to ....

And then there is so much I want to say, but because of the position we are in, it is not appropriate.

So that is the reason there have not been many posts!

Shaneisms

Shane, as I have mentioned in earlier posts, has quite a knack for words. For some reason the other day I had a saying for everything. One of the boys would say or do something and I would say,"There is a saying about that. It goes you can't teach an old dog new tricks or curiosity killed the cat or other such words of wisdom I have inherited. Finally right before bed Shane said there is a saying for everything. I know I'll make one up my self. So everyone, I introduce to you the first Shaneism:

"You can't walk your dog if it's dead."

I thought it was rather brilliant myself. But then again I am his mom!