The Wasted Friday Post

Shoot. I did it again. I waited around and didn't post and now it's going to be Friday and no one reads on Fridays. Well, a few do. But hardly anyone comments. I guess you all lead pretty exciting lives on Fridays. What do you do anyway? My Fridays must be lacking.

Garbage In...

When I was in high school, our youth minister was really big into talking about what music we listened to. And what books we read and what movies we watched. He told us we should guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus. He told us, garbage in...garbage out. I heard it a lot.

I still listened to "secular" music sometimes, but mostly I tried to listen to contemporary Christian music.

I grew up listening to country music. That's what my parents listened to. And by the way, I read once that children in the 40s listened to whatever kind of music their parents listened to. There was not separate music for different ages. It was during the 50s when "teenager" became a marketable notion, that music began to be sold and made and marketed just to them. Suddenly, children thought their parent's music was no good, and insisted on listening to "their" music. The divide remains.

Anyway, looking at the whole thing from a wise old 39 year old viewpoint, I can see what a racket it all is. Justin B. is a good example of this. You may have never heard any of his music, but by golly, you've heard of him. Most children know about him. He is well marketed. And he seems to be a clean teeny-bopper kind of kid. What could be wrong with his music? Lay you ten to one most parents have never even checked it out. There may not be anything wrong at all with his music, but it is being produced by adults. Who know what they are doing.

I do not have children who are interested in music just yet. Sweetheart got a little MP3 player for her birthday and S loaded it with some Christian music we had on our computer. It's not exactly a hip play list from a worldly point of view. She hardly ever listens to it. She just isn't "into" listening to music. Whatever I put on in the car is fine with them. And my kids still don't know who Justin B is. I know because I overheard a 1st grade boy ask Sweetheart if she knew Justin B. and she said no. He was shocked. I wonder, how does HE know?

I'm thinking about all this today because my nephew listens to some bands I've never heard of and when I look up the lyrics I am not really happy. A teen at our church told me a name of a band recently and I looked them up. Yeah, not impressed. It isn't really even what they are saying wrong but that the lyrics make really no sense. Throw in a few cuss words and I'm really not impressed.

Now I know I sound old saying the lyrics make no sense but really...I am literate. I minored in English. I am left reading the song and thinking, "WHAT is this song even about?" Sometimes it's quite obvious what the songs are about and that Christians should not be listening.

When I was a teenager, I differentiated between songs...not singers or bands. I might say, "Well, this one song they sing has bad words, but most of their stuff is OK." I really didn't buy CDs (OK OK---cassette tapes) of groups or singers that much so I was pretty much left with what was being played on the radio or MTV. And no, we weren't supposed to watch MTV but we did when my parents were gone.

I want to get a grip on all this before my children start caring about music. It's funny to be thinking about a topic from a parent's point of view, FULLY remembering how I felt about the topic from the other side.

As Christian parents, what should we say and do about music in our children's lives?

Tell them "Christian only" and enforce that at home?
Buy them itunes cards for Christmas and choose to not listen to their ipod to see what they downloaded?
Tell them it's up to them but don't make the rest of us have to listen to it also?
Look up the lyrics to every single song and read over them with our children before putting a band on the good or bad list?
Make them listen to classical music until they leave home? :)

What do you think?

Schedule FAIL

It's kind of like "If you give a mouse a cookie..."

If you hear a sermon about spending time with God each day...

Your husband might start thinking AGAIN about that comment he made a few weeks ago about getting up early to read his Bible

And you might start twitching a bit because didn't you JUST learn to get up with him and make his lunch and you might also think about how happy you've been that he's been sleeping in just a little bit later because you still have plenty of time to make his lunch and breakfast

But now he's talking about getting up crazy early

So he might dig out an old alarm clock so he can get up at 5:00AM and you can set the other alarm for 6:15 or so

Then your 7 year old might come in to your room at 2AM complaining of pain

And she might squish in between you and might not fit so good anymore

And so your husband might go sleep on the couch with his little alarm clock (which is battery operated)

And it might not go off

Which is plenty fine with you as you only fell back asleep at 4:24AM and 5:00AM was going to come REALLY soon

36 minutes too soon, to be exact

So all the plans you had about dadgumit we are GOING to start school at 8:30 this morning and not be so late like we were last week

might go down the drain

Along with husband's plans to read the Bible

But you might not notice because you will be busy dreaming that your dad told you to go pick up Annette's M's mail. (Annette M lived around the corner when we were in 2nd grade)

And when you wake up you will not know if it was a dream or if you are really supposed to go get her parent's mail

Until you remember that Annette M's parents haven't lived there in about 25 years

And that Tinkerbell flew out of your car when you got to her house in the dream

Then you might be pretty sure you aren't supposed to go get that mail

And that school was not going to start on time either.

Rock Around the Clock With Me

My day. On the hours. Give or take 15 minutes or so.

7:00ish I got up. I made a lunch for S. I ironed his pants.

There was no picture taking that early in the morning.

8:00 Sweetheart made pancakes. This is the aftermath.

I really can't complain because I didn't feel like making pancakes.

9:00 Girls tell me they are finished cleaning their room. Let's see, shall we?

Hmmm....

Uh......

No.

Call girls back to finish job.

10:00 History lesson. Women of the Renaissance and Reformation.

11:00 Play break for the girls. I must conquer this. I always do the dishes during our first break of school.

12:00 Science lesson on birds.

1:00 Lunch in front of the TV because the dining room table is full of boxes and paperwork I'm going through. A little Lion, Witch, and Wardrobe with lunch.

2:00 Turn movie off. Drive to Carrie's Mom's house.

Send Sweetheart to front porch to get math game Carrie is letting us borrow.

3:00 Sweetheart is absorbed in Math Blaster.

4:00 Bake cookies for Sweetheart's karate teachers. It's her last class tonight before Christmas.

5:00 I made P.W.'s Comfort Meatballs. There is no picture of the process because I was up to my elbows in meat and barbecue sauce.

6:00 Time for supper.

7:00 Karate class. I'm bored. And I forgot my camera so here is a picture from a few weeks ago when she got her green belt.

8:00 and 9:00 Bible study with 2 ladies from church. Ephesians 4. My allergies are acting up too. Thus, the toilet paper.

10:00ish Blog. Zyrtec....winning....must...finish...tomorrow....

Goodnight.


I did other things too. These are just the things I was doing on the hour. Give or take 15 minutes. So, did we do any of the same things?

Little Bit is Sick Today...

...and I cannot imagine her being sick and having no one to comfort her. I've been thinking about these things a lot lately.

We live in a fallen world.

Several months ago I found Adeye's blog. I found her blog when she was still in the Ukraine gone to rescue her precious Hailee and Harper. I spent hours one weekend in her archives reading the back story on these two little girls. (And her other two girls!) I have greatly enjoyed reading her blog since then. I rejoice with every new pictures of Hailee and Harper and how their lives are so very different now and the joy they have brought with them. 

From Adeye's blog, I found other blogs of parents who have adopted or are adopting other special needs children. I have seen other sights. I have visited Reece's Rainbow. So many children are waiting. It's sort of overwhelming.

There are so many wonderful stories.

There is so much that is hard to hear about.

There is so much that is happening RIGHT NOW. 

There is a vote that will be taking place soon in one of the countries that could end all adoptions. Family busy filling out paperwork to get a child? Stopped. Family making travel plans to go pick up their new son or daughter? Stopped. Family ALREADY THERE to get child? Stopped.

I do not know all the details about this country or about the vote. But I have been praying for God to grant this one victory for these children. That they would be able to be adopted. That godly families would pound down the door of any country where there are children waiting. That the church would get serious about "taking care of widows and orphans."

 There are so many waiting. So many.

It's because we live in a fallen world. They wouldn't be there if their parents had been perfect people living perfect lives in perfect situations. There would not be special needs children cast aside from birth. It just would not be.

I know the care takers at Hailee's baby house have taken notice of what is going on. In a matter of months THREE of the 6 children from her old room are being adopted. The most severe from that baby house are being scooped up and wanted. They are taking notice I'm sure. I know someone else who is taking notice also....the Enemy.

Perhaps Satan thought it was no big deal if a few special needs kids that no one has ever heard of get adopted. What power do they hold? How will they ever advance the Gospel? I'll tell you how. Because in every situation, God is getting the Glory.

I've been praying for the Lord to fight and win this battle for these children. For the families who long for them and are working hard to get to them.

It doesn't make any sense, you know. Why would a king want for his kingdom the weak, the feeble, the simple-minded, the sickly? How would that make his kingdom look powerful? How would that show his strength?

Wouldn't a king rather gather for himself the strongest, the most powerful, the smartest, the best trained? Wouldn't that make his kingdom seem the best? What king wouldn't want the best warriors that were to be had?

But our Lord does not work that way, folks. The least of these are the greatest in His Kingdom. Praise the Lord! His power is made PERFECT in weakness.

I pray that the Lord will show his power now more than ever. The weak we have....His power is what we need.

Will you pray with me?