Why is it that some of the youth of this age live more and more in a complete state of dulision?

Daily I see so many of the young adults that are becoming wonderful functioning contributing members of our society.  They come from families that are encompass broad range, from dysfunctional to loving and supportive, but in spite of all of the ups and downs of their up bringing they succeed and become adults looking forward to a fulfilling life. They are the product of kids growing into adults with all the pitfalls and family squabbles that brings. I think this has happened backward in time to the beginning of time.  It is what young adults are supposed to do, they rise above and become the future of our nation, our world and our society.  But what of the ones that are falling through the cracks of society?  What of the ones who live their lives blaming all of their problems on someone else.  More and more we see the children of the baby boom generation, you know, the one who are the product of the world of helicopter mommas, a society that thinks all should get a ribbon just for showing up or are never taught the defeat is a part of reality.  The ones that bring their momma's to the job interviews so she can fix it all up nice for them so they can get a job.  These kids are failing in huge numbers.  These kids live in such a delusion that it is more and more hard to not say "what?"

I was never guilty of giving my children hollow praise, just to praise them. I loved them enough to teach them that failure is a big part of growing, rarely do children succeed at anything right out of the box. I gave them praise for their successes and the over coming for their failures and taught them failing lead to succeeding. Potty training is a success that a child earns for themselves, you did not earn it for them, they worked hard to know to go.  Yes, you worked hard to teach them but it was their success, they had to remember to run there and go.  Your child struggles to tie his shoes, but his joy is wondrous when he does it, but his success is his, not yours.   On, it goes, you can only teach you can not accomplish their success.  You can only teach you can not lighten or endure their failures, they have to learn what failure is and how to make it work for them.  Taking away their failures makes them never know how to learn from them. 

I, like most of my generation made mistakes daily, some bigger than others.  I did give my daughter a second chance at being a mom and young adult, I wouldn't in ways change what I did because I did get the greatest gift from God, my daughters, my two littles, but did I not let my older daughter learn from her mistakes, not that the girls were the mistake, but the mistakes that caused the failures that brought the girls to live with me and Poppie.  She went on to make more mistakes, and more children have had to pay for her mistakes.  I will never know that right answer to a past problem, but I do know that in the end lives were effected in unchangeable ways because my daughter got a pass, for a situation I had tried to fix it for her.  I should have let her fix it for herself. I will never know what would have come from my having allowed her, her failure..... well maybe I do as she replicated the situation and was allowed the failure in the end.

Yesterday, I stumbled on a conversation where a daughter, a young adult, that had parents like me they helped their granddaughter in spite of their daughter's failure to be a mother to her child.  They are now to their granddaughter, momma an daddy, as Poppie and I are to our lovely daughters.  Their daughter has not learned anything from their help, and let me tell you stepping in and becoming new parents at an age when all of your own children are adults is not an easy decision to make. I have been there.  It takes soul searching, a total change of your life, and love.  I would do it all over in a heartbeat but pray I never have to.  I digress.  Anyway my friends did the same as I for the good of the child.  Now their daughter has gone on and had another baby, secretly without telling them anything until her child was 5 months old and she is pregnant again, seems like I have heard this tale before,  what will the future for those children bring, I pray that it brings good.  But anyway, she is now lambasting her parents for all sorts of vile things.  The least of which is that they didn't send her baby a gift? in a very public forum.  What is she thinking?  I am thinking she is not, and blaming her past mistake on the wrong people.  When does the adult stand up and say, I am the owner of my mistakes?  Why is it that her parents, who didn't nothing more than literally save their granddaughters life, become the bad guys?  I pray that this young adult gets her head on right and finally actually take care of a child in her trust, especially now that their are to be two.  Those children's lives will depend on it. 

I don't think these cases are that isolated.  I think more and more young adults expect a pass in growing up.  They are being raised in a world that says they are the most important person in their lives and all should cater to their wants, whims, and it is some ones else's fault they failed and that they don't have to ever own it. More and more children in this society and age are being raised by grandparents daily.  Climbing down and off my soapbox now. 

I pray that the Lord brings some sense, finally in to this young adults life, I pray for the safety of her children.  I know that there is hope, my daughter finally got her life all together and is now a wonderful mother to two lovely little ones.  God does answer prays and change lives, I pray he give this young woman some sense before her children pay for her mistakes.  Funny how she is more worried about raking her folks of the coals for "their" mistakes when her mistakes are what is really the problem, but alas that is more and more today's norm..... tomorrow.

Graduation, Birthday wishes and Zootown..... a whirl wind to be sure.

We had a nice day yesterday, nice Church family communing.  I like that you can get a renewing of love and faith to start your week off right.  We had a full house, almost as full as we get with out new people, all but two of our regulars were there.  It was nice to see every one and share the love of God, and share in worshipping him.  The Lord be praised.

We had a graduation to go to afterword.  Poppie had overdone it so badly on Saturday that we didn't get to go to the graduation but we got to go to the party for her afterwards.  I think that she was glad to have us there to enjoy her accomplishment.  It was a nice family event, not all of the extended family was there but a good portion.  It was nice that all the ones there wanted to be there, no squabbles, just the joy of getting to be there together. Our graduate finished her evening locked down with the rest of the seniors in the gym for one last night of being together.  The lock down is a traditions that goes back many a year designed to keep the kids safe.  Sadly most of them don't understand that in many ways this will be there last time together ever.  Congrats to one and all of the graduating seniors.

I am off to have belated birthday breakfast with Lady this morning.  Her birthday was last week but today was the easiest day to get together to share it;  after, we have breakfast and chatting until she has to go to work, I am off to Zootown with Mokie and the little girls.  Poppie has a line to fix on a pickup, if the rain lets up.  We in Montana really need the rain but I am so greedy that I wish it could be like in Camelot and only rain after sun down.  Okay back to reality, it is going to rain most of the day but 80 degree weather is forecast for the end off the week, yay. 

I hope the Lord blesses your day, he already has mine.  I hope he calls you in a way that your heart responds to his invitation of salvation.  Today is the day of salvation, maybe for you, open a Bible to read how is the first step to acceptance of his gift.... tomorrow.

Why is Sunday now the new Saturday? Do we really live in a post-Christian America?.......Why?

I was watching a preacher on the TV and he said that he had heard someone say that Sunday was the new Saturday.  His statement spoke to me, I didn't actually listen to all of the rest of his sermon, his question made me think.  I think that maybe it was supposed to but maybe not so much I wasn't supposed to stop listening to him but.... What does that mean?  What does that mean to you?  Less than a hundred years ago a store could not legally be opened on Sunday because it would interfere with Church services.  Now every thing is open on Sunday and who cares about those people going to Church is the current attitude.  Church used to be the important event that took place on Sunday, now Sunday is more than just a day to rest and worshiping the Lord; it is a day to rest and do your own thing.  We are too busy gratifying ourselves to take any time to worship the Lord.  It is a day to get the stuff we couldn't fit into our Saturday done.  Is it really just a day to enjoy sports,  movies,  running,  camping, sleeping late and any number of things that we want to do with "our" time?  What about the time we are supposed to give to our Lord, what about communing with fellow Christians and giving them support.  What about taking a minute to give of yourself to someone else who needs some support from their brother or sister in Christ.  Why do we not take time to give time to others that might be floundering but for our encouragement and brotherly love in their lives?   Why is it so hard to take time away from our social networks and really stay connected with people, people who might really need our physical presence in their lives?  What of the 80 year old lady who sits alone in her home, day in and day out and only gets to see people on Sunday, because all of her young people have "lives to live".  Your spending time with her on a pew might be the only human contact she has in her life.  Worshipping with her could be of real importance to her.  The Lord has a job for you on this earth or you would have already been called home.  Have you ever thought of that, why am I still here?  Really if our only job in this earthly life is to be saved, and it is only about our own salvation, we would have been called home soon after our salvation, but most of us are not so what does that mean?  Are we here for God's purpose, do we have a job to do?  God designed us with a purpose in this life and it is not all about self.  Yes, salvation is number one, but what then?  What is our purpose?  God knows, he made us with a purpose in mind for us, we just have to find our purpose. 

How do we find our purpose in this life?  How do we determine what God made us to do in this life? What makes your passion come out?  What makes you angry?  Really what does make you anger?  Quite often what stirs your emotions is a clue to what God wants you do in this life.  Does seeing a starving child make you want to help him? Does that make you angry? Maybe that is where you calling lies.  Some of us find our calling as a young person and some wander for years until we find our earthly purpose, what God designed us to do in this life.  Some never find their salvation or their purpose on earth, sadly.  Do you like what you are doing? Do you like your life and job? if not you probably haven't found the passion God gave you.  Maybe your passion is sitting next to an 80 year old lady at Church and spending time with her, but you will never know because sleeping late was more important on Sunday.  Maybe spending time with children? maybe giving service to others? have you ever thought that your happiness maybe doesn't live in what you can acquire, what you can get for you and what you can do for yourself but maybe in what you can give of yourself to others?  Maybe assembling with others to praise God is what Sundays are all about?  Maybe spending time praising that Lord would give you solace you have not yet found.  Maybe Sundays are........

Do we really live in a post-Christian America?  Do less and less people feel the need to seek God on Sunday,   maybe it is true, maybe that loss of worship is more and more apparent in our society.  Maybe the destruction of our moral fiber as American has an easy fix, maybe it is as simple as worshipping our Lord on Sunday, wouldn't it be wondrous if we could try something so simple to fix our crumbling society?

I heard a joke from one of the preachers this morning in one of their sermons, I think the same one that said that Sunday was the new Saturday.  He said some one had emailed him a joke comparing sporting events to Church attendance.

I don't got to Sporting events anymore because they are always asking me for money, the seats are too hard, I have to sit next to people I don't like, I could be doing something else, I don't want to influence my kids opinions about what team they should be on, I was made to go to too many sporting events as a kids when I didn't want to so I am not doing that to my kids....... Sound familiar, yes, I have heard all of these as reasons not to go to Church but they do sound much funnier when we think of them as reasons not to go to sporting events rather than reasons not to worship our Lord on Sunday........ tomorrow.