CONVENIENT PARENTING

The Busy Mom (google)

     I was listening to some Youtube conspiracy theory video about how the Occult has worked its way into the fibers of our society. The one that stuck with me was that when the first boxed cake mix came out for the convenience of a home on the move, it sat on the shelves. The company went to "marketing specialist" to see how to make it more appealing. The box  mix required the woman to add water only. The specialist said, "Require them to add an egg." They did, and the boxed cake mix flew off the shelves. I don't need to tell anyone what the egg stands for...Christians believe, "Oh it means new life so we can have Easter Egg hunts at our church." However, in the Pagan religions, it stands for fertility.
      There is nothing wrong with a cake mix. Honestly, I've made cakes from a recipe in a cookbook and from a box, in both instances, the result is a cake. I don't even care that they are different tasting, or that one might take 3 minutes more to assemble. What I care about, is "the hook," the thing that appealed to the hearts of mothers that previously, was appalling. I want to honor woman in their intelligence...I will not believe that an egg hooked them. This is a heart issue, and will always be a heart issue. Stick with me, I'm not judging, trying to show something here. In Matthew 23:25 and further, Jesus is having a conversation with the Pharisees and Sadducees who believed that the letter of law could earn them a place in God's Kingdom, but worse than that, they believed they were flawless in their observance of the law. He says, "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean."
      This instruction aims right for the heart, and takes the life out of the argument. It is soooooo perfect. I'm sure all of us have done dishes at some point in time. Think about it, how hard would you have to work to clean a cup or a dish without ever getting the inside wet and soapy? It's impossible! The only way to get a dish "clean" that way, would be to....um, I don't know, polish it? Well, then, there you have it, and frankly, as far as I know, you don't eat off of polished dishes...they aren't clean, they are pretty! Let's see it from the other perspective. If you aim for the center and the sides of the dish, the outside also gets clean by the constant dipping in and out of the water as you scrub the center. I'm swooning here...He's so perfect :)

Convenient Foods (google)

      Back in the 1800's, in Europe, when woman began to work toward a voice, they couldn't own property, they always stayed at home, choices were few and far between. It would have been great if the heart of the matter was, "I don't believe woman should be beaten, raped, or mistreated by their husbands, nor should children suffer at the hands of their parents. But, you and I both know, that was not the heart then, nor is it now. Woman have been fighting for generations to be =, or should I say, to have = benefits, respect and glory. Here we are, in 2015, with men leaving the workplace in order to stay home with the kids because the wife makes the most money and childcare, outside the home, is not an option. One more step, please, I'm getting there.
        I love hearing my neighbor talk about how she grew up in Bentonville without any Fast Food, and a 5 and Dime. My home town had a Post Office, a Newspaper, one grocery store, a Hardware store, Ottasco, one gas station, and Pinkerton's Body Shop. We were good to go. My Mama cooked 3 meals every day, never rested, cleaned the house daily, did laundry daily, and took care of children til she went to work, full-time at Lincoln School as a lunchroom lady. We got fast food, literally, twice monthly...when we went to pick up Grandma Ryan. She took us to the A&W in Springdale. Such awesome memories. Fast Food was a treat, not something one did on any kind of normal basis. I told myself a lie, "Trudy, rich people do this every time they want. You are poor." Where did I get that?

Food For Thought (google)

       It wasn't that far fetched. I never played sports, but my friend's dad was the coach of her team. They went to a fast food joint on the way to a game. I was in band. Mama had to send us $ every time we went to a competition. Those people who lived fast moving,money required lives, got the benefit of convenient eating. I wanted that, but I hadn't...earned it? This same thinking, as old as history, has finally come to a place of full revelation. When the heart believes that it has "earned" a reward, and it is willing to demand it and fight for it, what can you do but "adore" the cup, or throw it off it's shelf, busting it open to reveal the black tar within.
      When it comes to parenting, it is not something you do, it is who you are, right now, on your journey of growing love. When children arrive, some are still children. You can't give what ya ain't got! No matter where you are, there you are. As long as you're growing, you are good. Unfortunately, children can not see life from your viewpoint, so don't ever try to make "friends" with them. You are ahead of them; albeit, maybe only 12 years, you still have value. There is no shame in being a mother. Such a high calling has never been topped by any war hero....why....a mother has always preceded any and all of our heroes. Women, here is a simple truth: Make a name for yourself here, you better enjoy it, because you won't have one in Heaven. Take Rahab, Deborah, Ruth, etc.....we think they had names among their people. No they didn't. We have the Bible, they didn't. They had the Septuagint, Torah, and Jewish Oral Tradition. Women had nothing, and were nothing if they were single without children...male children, that is.
        Parents, who at the heart level, want nothing more or less than, "My Will Be Done," are bowing down to convenient parenting. All rules and actions are meant to mold the child into a trophy for the Glory Shelf. Sure, the children have the benefit of doing a lot of fun, busy things, have the latest electronic devices, have connections with some of the most important people who are dedicated to excellence, but what they are missing, will take them a lifetime to get over. Why? Because, nothing can take the place of a good cry with a pubescent child who is having a hormone surge. The busy life will not allow for slow, unpredictable, inconvenience. It is so difficult to believe and understand that all a child wants is for you to believe and embrace them as the center of YOUR universe....when you were raised with, "Children should be seen and not heard." If today, you realize truth, repent, and ask God to began the tedious work of cleansing the inside of the cup....the outside will be cleaned in the process.