I'm beginning to see

Now that I'm a parent, I'm starting to understand the emotions of a parent.
Like, I watch other more experienced parents, with children who wander from what they have been taught, and how they handle their kids. Some kids go to extremes. And it hurts, the parents hurt, because they know the ultimate outcome for that child. It hurts even more, when they say, "I love you" right after an act (whether small or big) that would never have been appropriate when they were small.
Do they really love their parents... really? When they purposely love themselves and other things more? They must not understand what it is to be a parent. I don't think that love is comprehended. In a way, they are still small children, out on their own. There is no describing the depth, width, and length of a parents love. A child without that expericence, just doesn't comprehend it.
In a kids mind, all they know how to do is think about "me". Caring about other people, is something that is learned along the way. I guess it's just the nature of human beings. We all struggle with it. On the flip side, a parent may want a child to do something, not for the child, but for themselves. Usually, there is praise envolved for both parties.
Back to my point though; being a parent brings the greatest joy and the greatest pain to individuals who experience it. God made it that way on purpose. My guess, is that it's His way of teaching us what it feels like to be Him, in some very tiny way. How often, does He have a child purposely do something that hurts him, and then turn around right after and say, almost laughingly, "I love you." I love what God does with those children. He loves them enough to be patient, and let them face the natural consequences of those actions. He's there for advise, if the child is ready to listen, but ultimately, that child is left to themselves to learn for themselves.
I personally, havn't gone through that yet. My kids are to young. I am, however, grateful for my parents who can guide me through it, when my kids do hit the age of accountablilty. Even if they are not there, I'm grateful for the examples they are now.
Strong families, strong marriages, and strong faith are needed now more than ever. I'm glad that I'm a parent; and I'm glad for the experiences of others who teach me how to be a good one.

The World We Live In

I'm worried about our country, and other countries around the world. Do we really think that we are exempt from the mistakes of the past? I don't think the people of Egypt, or Rome, or the Monorchies, or the times of Ancient Biblical Governments ever thought they would fall. Nebacadnezzar thought that was so in his case, and he did not believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But, God still saw fit to dethrown him, because of his unbelief- even after the miricals of the prophets shown him.
We, in this age, have forgotten so many important things pertaining to how we live. We are nulled away by entertainment, and the enticements of modern technology, that we are losing our freedoms that our forefathers fought so hard to preserve for us.
The adversary doesn't take a break because we are tired after the day. The adversary doesn't get tired. After all these generations he is still full force at work. He wants us to implode on ourselves, and tear down our own freedoms for the sake of our own agendas. "A House Divided Can not Stand" is still as true today as it was centuries past. So why are we tearing ourselves apart and giving away what is most precious for a thing of naught? Because we truely don't believe that would happened in the past can happen to us.
For some reason we, in general, think that nothing bad can happen to us that someone else can't fix for us. Our constitution, which is still inspired today, is basically anulled and shredded into pieces for the sake of everyone's personal agenda. We can't unite like this. We can't fight back like this. I hope for all our sakes that we overcome the feeling that we can't do anything to get what we've lost back.
Take a look at what is happening to the checks and balances in the USA. There is none. Not anymore. The leaders of this country are driving us into a third world country. And yet, we still believe the allusion that our leaders know what they are doing, and they are concerned for the welfare of the future. They are... Their future. Not ours.
I'll tell you what I'm going to do. I'm going to keep my family strong, under God. I'm going to try my best to keep my community strong, under God. I don't care what specific Christian religion. If we don't stop the chaos in our personal lives and family, how are we to stop the chaos in the Governments that dictates us? I pray that we will turn ourselves around for the better, so we can have the same thing happen with our surroundings.
I pray that we forget our personal differences. Our differences don't make us strong. What we have in common does. I hope that we can put away our offences, our stubborness, our love for money and social standing, our degrading habbits and lifestyles, and rise to something better. If we don't, individually and by ourselves, we can't expect other people to get better. We have to believe in God, we have to hold strong to His commandments. We have to overcome ourselves. Otherwise.. we will fall. We will repeat history. We will see it in our generation.

Peaches

I've had a hard time getting Gideon to keep down any solid foods. He's finally getting teeth in, so I decided to see how he would do with peaches. The only other thing I've found to feed him is saltine crackers, cream of wheat, and mashed potatos.
I was so excited when he slurped them all up, and didn't have any reverse effects. Little milestones are wonderful! :)