It Is Not Good That Man Should Be Alone: Lisa’s Wedding

This is my one hundredth post. I don’t know how much of a difference this blog has made in my world, and in fact, I may never know, but I’ve enjoyed the journey, and at least I have everything written down in case I develop some kind of memory loss.

Saturday we witnessed our eldest daughter’s re-marriage, in my seventh gig as Mother-of-the-Bride. It was a good wedding and James and Lisa are off on their honeymoon now, which gives me a chance to reminisce. 

I thought about writing something on your Facebook page, Lisa, but I would have more room here. You were our first to be married and now you are our last. Sounds like “the first shall be last.” May it stay that way.

Being pro-life from the get-go, Lisa was the daughter who stretched and challenged me to have more kids. When I did, she eventually found herself surrounded by cute but noisy and messy small people, who made it difficult to concentrate on her high school assignments. Sharing her living space with sisters was tough until she decided to move to the attic. She was willing to sweat or partially freeze, depending upon the season, in order to have a room of her own. After she married, that was the end of the room of her own, and several kids of her own came along, lickety-split.

But after a divorce, the room of her own was back. It should not have been, but it was. And Lisa found out that occupying a room by yourself is not all that it’s cracked up to be. 

Lisa’s first wedding, at age 17, took place in our front yard. We didn’t have much, but we had good friends. Two people took pictures for us at no charge, a grandma made the cake, and we planted flowers all over the yard, cut down our big mulberry tree, borrowed chairs, and prayed it would stop raining. Lisa’s little brothers and sisters found themselves with jobs at the wedding, and it was as short as possible because the groom was really nervous.

Six kids later, the “till death do us part” part of the vow was broken by her husband. We won’t go into all the pain that caused, but thankfully, Lisa had the better job, so she got the kids and the house, and she dealt with the rejection by praying through her fiery trial. She painted the room she had shared with her ex-husband pink and cute, and then ended up selling the property anyway and moving closer to the church (a good move).

Then she met James Sparks. Then Saturday, she was married again, nearly 27 years later. 

One of the biggest smiles I’ve seen in a long time, as Lisa’s eldest 

daughter Joy, her matron of honor, pins on her veil.

James was overwhelmed and honored by the privilege of marrying Lisa. Lisa had, by far, the longer composition for the personal vows time. But both were very sincere. James has a resounding belly laugh, but it was a good thing he wasn’t wearing mascara, for he shed many a tear, beginning at the rehearsal the night before. 

James, feeling overwhelmed by the moment.  Part of his own vows was 

about how everything he had been through had been worth it, to prepare him for this moment.

All I have wanted for our daughters is the same I have always wanted for myself—a man who will, like our Lord Jesus Christ, never fail nor forsake them. I believe James will fit that bill, and I think they’re going to have a fun honeymoon.

Before the Big Weekend, I sent Lisa this piece that I found “just layin’ around,” which she totally understood and enjoyed, not because she’s necessarily “old,” but because she is older and wiser now than she was at 17. Read this very slowly and understand it.

 

When People Marry

© 2022 Michael L. Porter 

 

When young people marry, they have very little experience, but are looking forward to a long future filled with kids and careers.

 

When old people marry, they have long pasts and realize that they have short futures.

 

When young people face the challenges of marriage bravely, they do so confident in the good that the future holds for them.

 

When old people face the challenges of marriage, they know what horrors life can hold, but carry on bravely anyway.

 

When young people marry, they make vows without really understanding what a vow is.

 

When old people marry, they understand vows and the importance of keeping them—even when it hurts.

 

When young people marry, the most important word in their vocabulary is “tomorrow.”

 

When old people marry, the most important word in their vocabulary is “today.”

 

When young people marry, it’s a party and a celebration.

 

When old people marry, it’s a tearful fulfillment.

 

Those vows do mean something. People are not video game characters, so that if you shoot them, they resurrect and have three more lives. But James and Lisa have another crack at this marriage thing, and when these vows they made before God and man Saturday are kept, it will be so much more than tears at a wedding—it will be lifetime companionship, even if their lifetimes are closer to the end now.

The first time Lisa was married, her sisters and brothers were in the wedding

and I was pregnant with her little brother. 

This time, her daughters and James’s daughter (far right) were her bridesmaids, 

she’s a grandma, and I am a great grandma.

Human beings need each other. We found that out during Covid, and the lesson will likely never be forgotten, at least by those who lived through 2020. Long term isolation is solitary confinement, a spirit-breaking punishment.

The Lord God said, “It is not good that Man should be alone.” That was just before He invented Marriage. In His perfect plan, life on earth was intended to be a partnership between a man and a woman, the two genders of the species called “Man.” 

It was not good that Lisa should have a room of her own for very long. It is worth any clothing messes, snoring, or even occasional smacks from your partner while they’re wildly rolling over, to have that God-ordained companionship, to share that room with a special, sanctified spouse.

Lisa and James sharing the cake and the juice, as we celebrated the Lord’s Supper with them.

This picture was pretty special. Lisa asked her dad to officiate Communion at the reception, which was originally what the cake and wine in an American wedding were supposed to symbolize. Eric stressed the part of the Galilean wedding to which Jesus was alluding when He was in the Upper Room observing the Passover with His disciples.  

When Jesus said He was going to His Father’s house to prepare a place for us, He also promised to return, just like a Galilean groom, and receive His Bride the Church to Himself when the rooms were ready. Lisa and James are a picture of that great event to come, when He comes back. The cake is like Jesus’ body, broken for us, and the juice is like Jesus’ blood, shed for the remission of sins.  

It’s not about a food fight, it’s about His faithfulness.

“For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes.” 

~1 Corinthians 11:26

Maranatha! Even so, Lord Jesus, quickly come!

11 (Eleven) Helpful Hints on How to Keep Your House Clean When You Have Several Small Kids

Yes, Resurrection Sunday was a winner this year! Before the kids sang, I told them about my butterfly dream (See last week's post.) and gave them all butterfly pins to remind them of Jesus' transformation -- and eventually ours.

Disclaimer: This week's post is tongue-in-cheek. It is not the same as an article on housekeeping life hacks, but you might find something useful. As you read, remember: I love my kids!

When we became empty nesters finally, there were a few of our kids who wondered how we would ever be able to handle it. Seriously! They were afraid that without on-hand live-in servants, we wouldn’t be able to keep up with things, so what would become of us?

In a way, they had a point. We had to take over such jobs as cleaning the shower and feeding the dog. But we had previously shown that we were capable of keeping a house with up to seven kids in it, right? So what was there to fear?

Here are my helpful hints. I will put them in backwards order because it is cool to do that.

11. The Cover-Up Method. This is not to be confused with Modesty in Swimming Attire. It’s actually criminal, but taking a cue from the Clintons and the Bidens, you can use it if you are careful not to get caught.

• Put something on top, such as a large pan lid. Here I have demonstrated dirty dishes covered by my electric roaster lid. Trust me, nobody will ever see all the stuff under it.

Before cover-up

After cover-up

• You can literally sweep dirt under the rug, but after a while, the sheer lumpiness of the dirt could attract attention.

10. The Narrative Method. This is also known as the Mainstream Media approach. If you just say something is so, often enough, it becomes the truth.

• This is where your house identifies as “clean.” It will hurt your house’s feelings to call it otherwise. Remember that the Scriptures teach that you must not call unclean that which the Lord has cleansed—or something like that.

9.  White Privilege. Are you white, or mostly white? Or do you at least look white or think white? Well, it’s all good then—you can own slaves! You can get a lot more work done if you own a few, and they’ll sing you some songs. Actually some kids do believe they were stolen from their real parents at birth and turned into domestic slaves. Take advantage of it. Here’s a song they can sing, or parts of it. You might recognize it as “Old Man River.” Regarding the parts about picking cotton, you can apply that to doing laundry.

Here we all work 'long the Mississippi

Here we all work while the white folk play

Pullin' them boats from the dawn till sunset

Gettin' no rest till the judgment day

You and me, we sweat and strain

Bodies all achin' and wracked with pain

Tote that barge and lift that bale

Ya get a little drunk and ya lands in ja-ail

8. Rewards. It is good to offer carrots to draw the child’s thinking into the proper frame of mind. If it doesn’t work, try violence, or at least “carrying a big stick.”

• Chore charts with star stickers. When completed, the child should get something you were wanting them to have anyway. Try not to use Oreo cookies. That will contribute toward obesity, and then they’ll get too lazy to clean the house.

• Allowance payable on Friday if all cleanup chores have been cheerfully completed on time for the week. It’s like taking home a paycheck.

7. Competition. This works for highly competitive children.

• Compare and contrast your child’s room with those of their siblings, using white gloves to discover all the dirt. Give them a sense that they can never get it right. Make sure they’re in tears after every one of your tirades so that they will beg for the privilege of helping you clean the house. Mercifully, let them. (I know, this sounds like gaslighting, but it’s helpful.)

6. Make It a Game, Mary Poppins. Then every task you undertake becomes a piece of cake.

• When children fold laundry, one can do the folding and the other one can do the entertaining, such as acting out Amy March in Little Women: “Rodrigo, Rodrigo, Save me, save me … Aaaaaaaaaaah“

• Wear soapy sponges strapped to feet and sing “Old Man River” (the long version) while skating around in the kitchen.

• Make an assembly line between the sink and the cabinets with several children passing off the dish to the others. Be sure your cabinets are bolted firmly because they make a real mess when they fall off the wall.

5. Last Minute Madness. 

Yell and scream and get anxious because company will be there in 20 minutes and the house is a WRECK! 

• At that point, there may be, of necessity, some Coverup going on, but as long as the house looks reasonable when the guests arrive, it will have served its purpose.

• The kids will become anxious too, but why should you be alone in your anxiety?

4. Throw Away Everything Still on the Floor. Throwing away stuff gives you a good feeling inside, especially if it’s not your own. 

• Sweep up a dustpan full of floor items. 

• If the children know it’s all going in the trash but they see a favorite doll or toy, they can rescue it, but only if they immediately put it away. Then the remaining items, such as yesterday’s fish sticks, can be safely deposited in the trash.

• This can be used in bedrooms, but use a trash bag to collect everything, since most of their belongings won’t fit on a dustpan. It’s okay to collect the children’s homework and even text books, as long as they see you doing it. Their teacher will never believe them if they say, “Mom threw away my homework.” They just won’t.

3. Tromp On It. Wear heavy duty boots and come through the living room without watching where you are walking. 

• When enough of your child’s belongings have been muddied by your boot tread or broken under the sheer weight of you, they will absolutely run to pick them up whenever they see you coming. 

• As my mother always used to say, “Anything on the floor gets stepped on.” That usually included children. It is generally not a good idea to throw away your children, nor to break their legs with your boots.

2. Move Down a Space. This is a table management idea based on Alice in Wonderland. It works when you don’t want to do the dishes, but you have a small family and a large table. 

• It saves time to just move down to the next group of place settings like the Mad Hatter and the March Hare. 

• It also teaches your children the classics.

1. Hose it Off. If it gets really, really bad… hose it off. 

• This idea was a brainstorm of my husband’s. I was pregnant that year and overcome with all the dirty dishes, which had become not one or two sinks worth, but three or four large piles on every square inch of available counter space. I was depressed, but I knew if I put off the dishes any longer… there would be another meal, and even more dishes to do. Moreover, there were hardly any dishes left in the cabinets to eat the next meal, and the piles were covered with ants. My reaction to the mountains? Go take a nap. This is a safe and effective method for a pregnant woman.

• Meanwhile Eric, while I was relaxing, enlisted the aid of all the slaves. They transported all the piles to the front yard, donned bathing suits, and hosed off all the dishes in front of God and all the neighbors. Although in some cases the dishes weren’t properly stowed, and maybe they weren’t as sanitary as they could have been, they were at least mostly clean. And the kids had a fun time too.

Ah, I perceive that you are wondering if any of this is really serious. Here’s where I get serious finally.

If you are the mom of a passel of Jesus’ little lambs, you must not despair over the condition of your house. I’ve seen versions of this sign all my life, including at our house (trailer), growing up:

This says “Proof” because you should buy this sign from the artist at Etsy, RhodesArtCreations. You’ll need one!

If you care about those kids like no one else ever could, you are surely doing a good job at what you do. There’s no way your house can be spic and span right now. Your mother-in-law’s house may be much nicer and neater, but she doesn’t have her grandkids living with her.

Besides doing a good job, this is also a “good work.” Never be persuaded that if you didn’t have to watch the kids all day, you could do great things for the Kingdom of God. Nay, young mother, the King has given you a very special task. You are an undershepherd under The Good Shepherd. Feed His little lambs and do it for the Kingdom. You will be rewarded. The children are far more important than the chores.

One more thing. A Focus on the Family broadcast a long time ago about “Messies” told me that if you live with family members who are not clean freaks, you can save your sanity by picking out one small corner of the house and keeping up with it, that if you persist in straightening it if it gets messy, people will finally learn to respect your sacred place and let you own it. That must have been my spice rack. I honestly can’t think of any other place that I pampered like that. Yes, I alphabetized them and ordered them according to height. And to this day, I still have my sanity, though some may believe that is debatable.

You will get through this. It does get easier. I commend you and Jesus does. 

Carry on!

Dear Father, you see Your children laboring in the field with the little ones. Encourage their spirits and help them realize that the upside-down peanut butter and jelly sandwich is not the end of the world -- but the real end of the world is actually drawing closer. Help these wonderful moms to make a big difference in the lives of their children while there’s still time to do it.

In Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen

Reflections on a Busy Week and Anticipating Sunday: Christ Is Risen!

I had a dream last night, a very beautiful dream.  I awoke from my dream nearly in tears for its majesty.  It was about butterflies.  But you’ll have to read on to find out about it …

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Yesterday morning, I sent a QuickBooks message to our office staff that went something like this:

FYI:  Eric and I will be at the bank this afternoon.  Someone forged a check on our business account for $2,500, and although the bank caught it and put the money back in our account, they want us to close that account and open a new one.  It is, of course, a lot of hassle, but since the ever-increasing need for security is grooming the whole world to eventually accept a perfect solution like a one-world government and the Mark of the Beast, … well, the time we’re living in is pretty exciting, right?

Amid the extra cost of new checks and the time we’ll spend inputting our new account information on dozens of different websites, the perspective above is comforting.  The more lawless the world becomes, the more accepting it will be of the Capital L “Lawless One.”  The time is short and God is Good!

How did I totally miss that someone had attempted to rob us of $2,500 on Tuesday until our bank called on Friday?  It had something to do with the really busy schedule last week: 

 

• Praying without ceasing for a good friend arrested on false charges

• Doing as much work as possible for the business so we didn’t have to do it on the weekend

• Keeping an appointment with an accountant to hand over our company file

• Trying to fit in getting our taxes done and trying to figure out why it wasn’t working

• Attending and buying a gift for a baby shower for our “crown prince” on Saturday, an hour away, sharing a ride with three daughters

• Making a hotel reservation for a family wedding in less than two weeks, while making sure the hotel is dog-friendly so we can bring our geriatric canine with us

• Entertaining overnight guests on Saturday, but mostly doing financial stuff and cooking the whole time

• Planning and hosting our church’s (early) Passover Seder Sunday night

• Conducting the final rehearsal for the Sunday School kids’ song for Easter Sunday and making sure our sound guy has the flash drive with the music

How much of that surprised you?  It actually isn’t everything.  For one thing, in the evenings, I tried to make sure I had set aside some time to read our bedtime story so Eric could sleep better.  That didn’t work a couple of nights because he was already asleep.

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I considered the arrest of my friend eerily coincidental since I had recently posted a meme on Facebook, along with “Are you ready to go to prison for your faith?”

The coming Lawless One will use the existing criminal justice system to commit gross injustice.  How do I know?  Because it’s already happening.  And yet, we know the outcomes of several of these -- Peter had the help of a Jailbreak Angel.  Paul (not listed) had the help of an earthquake that rattled everyone’s cage.  Joseph was promoted to the second highest position in the land of Egypt.  Jesus was promoted even higher than that.

Test question:  

Where is God when we go through trials?

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The tax return was much harder this year than last year, and I thought last year was bad!  My Quickbooks files are a bit messy in places, and I know that.  There needs to be some cleanup done after all these years, and I haven’t even balanced the savings account in a few years.  Like many Americans, checking online to find out the balance usually works just fine for that one.  

But bringing an accountant who is also a busy mom into the picture two weeks before the dread “Ides of April” (Tax Day) is a bit futile for purposes of the LLC business taxes, so I need to spend more time on it this week and try to do it before 2:00 in the morning, while my eyes are still open.  Ah, remember the days when Presidential candidates were promising that they would make taxes so simple they would be on a form the size of a 3” X 5” card?  Pretty sure that wasn’t talking about limited liability corporations, but oh well, it ain’t happened yet.

Tax Day is even more painful when you don’t know how “they” will actually spend your particular nickels.  In some areas of life in 21st Century America, it is best not to ask, but to do what is required.  It is only our discretionary spending that we should be held accountable for.  What entertainment, what hobbies, what pots and pans and jewelry?  Who’s benefiting from my purchases?  But we can’t just not pay taxes because we don’t like where the money’s going.  We can, however, be certain to not overpay taxes.

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I have mentioned the coming “Lawless One” above.  But thankfully, as Christians, we are not looking for him.  The Crown Prince?  We are expectantly waiting for him, for sure (especially his mom!)  Amos James Haley will be the very first Haley grandson among our descendants.  We have other grandsons and even great-grandsons, but this one can carry on the family name, so we’re pretty excited about him.  The shower game was the one about Don’t Say ‘Baby,’ so in order to not lose the game, we had to use other synonyms for the term, such as rug rat, fetus, young one, newby, or in this case, The Crown Prince.

We actually have three grandchildren due in 2022.  Is that cool or what?

One of our sons-in-law mentioned this week that some of his friends have said the world is too messed up to have children.  The question:  How could anybody intentionally bring more kids into this mess-of-a-world?  But we know that after God commanded righteous Noah’s family to be fruitful and multiply,  there was never a command to stop.  And Jesus Himself promised that He would be with us till the end of the age, so what could we fear? 

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; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.

~Matthew 28:19-20

Did you get the test question right?  The answer's underlined for ya’!

We have a Blessed Hope, and children are still a blessing!

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The Passover Seder was really wonderful, in person after two Covid years.  I mean, I may be a Mean Old Mom, but I really enjoyed telling the story of the Plagues of Egypt to the kids, and I wore my “boils” -- the red dot stickers -- with pride the rest of the evening.  The food was good, too, and I had a chance to bond with brothers and sisters in Christ who love coming alongside you to serve in Jesus’ Name.  Calvary Chapel of Lafayette is an exceptional church, or at least it feels that way.  

Teaching the children about the plagues in Egypt.  This was the frog plague.  

For extra credit, see how many grandkids you can spot!

Me with painful boils.

No, we are not waiting for the “Lawless One” -- we are waiting for the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.  Jesus (Yeshua) is God’s Lamb, the ultimate sacrifice for our sins, and John the Baptist said so.  We see Him again in Revelation, and those in Heaven proclaiming the Lamb of God to be the rightful owner of the earth, which He will come to claim as His own.  We’re on the lookout for Jesus!

As the Four Cups in The Passover signify, Jesus is the one who:

1. Sanctifies Us

2. Delivers Us

3. Redeems Us

4. Is Worthy of our Praise

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The Sunday School kids are ready to sing a five-verse song for Easter, and they know what to do with their streamers, rather than hitting one another.  They know the Paschal Greeting and will shout the answer on cue as follows:

Me:  “Christ is Risen!”

Children:  “HE IS RISEN INDEED!”

And now I will tell you about my dream.  

The dream was long and I don’t remember most of it, only that we were practicing for the abovementioned song for Sunday.  Some of the kids weren’t getting the song right and I was a little frustrated and tired.  I was also teaching music theory, but even the concept of “this is a note” was going over their heads.  So since I was tired and the kids had to leave for a while (recess?) I took a break and slept, thinking my nap would be brief.  

But apparently it was longer than I thought. For when I awoke from my sleep break (still in my dream), I was shocked because I had been asleep so long that the kids had come and gone.  They and their parents had quietly sneaked into my room and left me a gift.

Arranged neatly all over the room were at least two dozen glass bowls containing butterflies, exotically colored and sparkly bright.  It was impossibly beautiful, and I was delighted.  

The children, ohhh, the children!  They did get it!  They understood that the Resurrection was about New Life in Jesus.  As the caterpillar’s metamorphosis transforms him from a multi-footed creeping thing to a tomb-like cocoon, and then he breaks out as a six-legged gorgeous flying creature, so the death, resurrection, and glorification of our Savior promises the resurrection and glorification of our own bodies, for the purpose of that higher promotion -- to live with Christ for eternity.

It has been an overall glorious week.  The occupant of the White House is predicting a ridiculously burdensome inflation rate and worldwide famine, which he blames on Putin. (Of course!)  We may not get a leg of lamb next year, and that’s okay.  Even some Orthodox Jews believe a bit of chicken with a neck bone is okay to put on your Seder plate, and if need be, we’ll go with that.  But always, always, we will look forward to tomorrow without fear because 

CHRIST IS RISEN!

(Now what do you say?)

Mean Old Mom

 Do you ever hear your kids grumbling and complaining about how their mom is the meanest mom in the whole world?

Well, first of all you can dig up this verse, which we used in easily remembered song format, stopping halfway through the sentence, for convenience’ sake:

“Do all things without complaining and disputing…"

~Philippians 2:14

It is very handy as a standalone solution when you need to get on with life. But behind it all, there are great truths to uncover.

I was a mean old mom when my kids were growing up. Here are just a few examples of policies we had that reflect upon my meanness:

We didn’t watch network TV, which is pretty much all we had back then. This even included Saturday morning cartoons. However, in the case of an Olympics, or a general election, or a national catastrophe such as 9/11, we would plug in the TV to the large antenna that loomed over our house, and turn to the clearest news station. 

We always went to church, and nobody even brought up a child’s right to Freedom of Religion. It’s just what we did on Sunday.

We never giggled at a child’s sass or cute lying. We actually greatly discouraged (punished) both disrespect and dishonesty.

We avoided McDonald’s and Disney and Holiday Inn for their evil corporate policies.

We never allowed Harry Potter in the house, and never sent our kids around trick-or-treating. 

There were always times when these mean policies would be challenged. 

“Isn’t this (or that) a gray area?” 

“There’s a birthday party at McDonald’s—you won’t make me stay home, will you?”

When it came to Disney, this was a tightrope walk. Nobody likes being told that cute children’s movies are evil. But look at the progression. 

Disney produced animated films that glorified sorcery from the get-go. They scared kids with their very darkness. At times, the “bad guys” were overwhelming in their badness. As you undoubtedly guessed from my short list above, Harry Potter was also not allowed in our house because of the sorcery. (Duh!)

We have known for at least thirty years that every children’s movie produced by Disney had at least one inappropriate gem that was a bone for the homosexual lobby. It was first noticeable by us in “E.T.” It was a cute movie with a rude comment. So we only watched those Disney movies that had been family-friendly filtered by VidAngel, until Disney was able to win the court challenges and protect all of their content from filtering.

That progressed to controversies over whether Elsa in Frozen was a lesbian and whether she should have a girlfriend, and about how significant or insignificant the homosexual moment in Beauty in the Beast was. These controversies were both significant, in that they caused people to talk about the controversy and then flock to the theaters.

Now all the kids’ shows, not just Disney, from Blues Clues to Arthur to Sesame Street, are teeming with openly homosexual characters, or even heroes. Kellogg’s is also on our black list. Even Legos had to come out with the accursed rainbow flag colors.

And Disney, with a rich heiress named Abigail, is leading the charge by openly defying Florida’s new anti-grooming law banning inappropriate discussions of sexual perversion with little children, and it is all-in to glorify homosexuality, injecting as much of it into all the Disney children’s products as possible. It is war, and the nation’s children are the casualties.

Was I right to deny our children the privilege of watching Disney? Now can we all delete the Disney+ app from our phones? (Hopefully the Netflix app is already gone.)

We always went to church and all our kids went with us. There was never a question about that.  Our kids went to Sunday School, learned the lessons, sang the songs, sang in all the Christmas and Easter programs, and they were all saved early and baptized once or twice. Church camp was a given, or else homeschool camp, where we knew and trusted the leadership.

But we wouldn’t let our children even sit in on classes in the government schools. We were very careful about who taught our children besides ourselves, so classes at the homeschool co-ops were pre-screened. All the parents were like that. Once a proposed music class I offered to teach was canned because I told the group of parents that I would be teaching various rhythms, including my plans to bring my African drum, the djembe, to class. Some parents didn’t approve of African drum beats. 

Now parents have to fight against the Emotional Social Learning and Critical Race Theory (Marxism) that is frighteningly prevalent in the government schools. It crept in uninvited and unwittingly through the teacher colleges, and parents only discovered it when their children had to stay home during the Covid lockdowns.

The fight is real. Our Republican supermajority in Indiana sat on its hands and allowed an anti-CRT bill to be amended (gutted) so that the legality of CRT is now unquestionable. The Republican governor of our state vetoed a bill protecting women’s sports from male competitors. The evil teachers unions are turning the nation’s children into little morally confused Marxists who are convinced that their parents are too old-fashioned at best, or racist at worst, and so they must keep their new values secret from those parents and reject the teachings of their church.

Was I right? Now will massive numbers of concerned parents finally understand and homeschool their children, and bring them to church, and resist their sass?

Here’s the rest of the passage I quoted out of context above:

Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.

~Philippians 2:14-16

This, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, is a crooked and perverse generation, if there ever was one. When the Occupant of the White House tells the world that his administration is in favor of mutilating children’s genitalia, that is perverse. When what used to be a conservative cable network (Fox News) tells the world they are hiring gender-confused Bruce Jenner as a contributor, that is perverse. When the Time Magazine Woman of the Year is actually a man, and the Babylon Bee is banned from saying it on Twitter even in satire, that is perverse.

It was about twenty-five years ago that we informed a friend that the schools were all teaching perverted sex education. He pooh-poohed that, and said not in his daughter’s school. Then to prove his point, he called his daughter over to question her about what we’d told him.

“Hey, J--, did you ever hear anything inappropriate in your sex ed classes?”

“No … ”

“There, you see?”

“Except we did have to put a condom on a banana … “

He was shocked, but by that time, she had already graduated. It is too late if you find out after your daughter has already been exposed to the perversion. As you can imagine, this has only gotten much, much worse.

I knew someone who was directly involved in the beginnings of the Title IX legislation, which established fairness in women’s sports and allowed women to receive college scholarships for their achievements. Fortunately for her, she passed away very early last year—before mediocre men began to grow their hair long and infiltrated women’s sports, winning so many trophies and scholarships. I say fortunately because she will never know how all her efforts are now wasted because of militant perversion, and she was spared that anguish before she passed.

If there ever was a time to stand firm against the powers of darkness in the world and be a “mean mom,” otherwise known as a “Mama Bear,” it is now. Will you fight the influences of the world and hold fast the Word of Life? More importantly, will you teach your children how to hold fast to it as well, to be markedly different from their peers and not ashamed of it, and to be God’s lights shining in the darkness?

If your children are grown and you are a grandma now, can you be a Grandma Bear on their behalf?

And if you don’t have any children or grandchildren in the home, can you “adopt” a neighbor kid or a kid in church being raised in a single-parent home and think of them as your own?  Could you be a Sunday School teacher who can help offset the public school brainwashing at least once a week with the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ?

If you do stand up to evil, then you can rejoice in the day of Christ that you have not run in vain or labored in vain. Make a difference in the life of a child! They will not always be small. 

“Our dear Heavenly Father, You care about the little ones and what they are taught.  You ask us as believers to teach our children at all times during the day. You want us to delegate responsibly when necessary, to only qualified teachers.  And you want us to protect our children from content and people they should not be exposed to.

“Give us the endurance to teach our children for the long haul, to hold forth the Word of Life, to stick to our guns about Biblical values, and to not shrink back in fear. Let us always hear the voice of the Holy Spirit speaking into our lives so that we may speak it clearly to our children.

“These things we ask in the powerful Name of Jesus, Amen.”