I just saw a comment on Facebook today that said something along the lines of the following: Let kids be kids. They'll have plenty of time to make adult decisions and deal with the consequences of those decisions.
Now while I agree with part of this statement the logic in the end is faulty. Allow me to explain. The above sentiment allows kids to be kids without limitations or repercussions. Now in most cases you're thinking "How could this be bad?" It's the without limitations or repercussions part that is bad. Kids should be allowed to play and learn and grow, yes, but they should also be taught how to act. They should be taught that their actions have consequences and that when you do something you have to pay those consequences.
Friday, September 19, 2014
God's Not Dead!
The other day I watched this movie for the first time and I have to say that I loved it! If you ask me this is so spot on that it's crazy. I know, I know, everyone's thinking that it's "Bible thumping" time. Well, yes and no.
I have been a Christian for my whole life, but I was given a choice. I chose to be Christian willingly and in my own time. I was raised going to church but was given the information to make my own decisions. Life has proven to me that God exists. I don't just live off of blind faith, I have seen God work in my life and in other people's lives. He doesn't always work the ways that we want him to and he teaches us lessons we think we already know or that we don't need to know, but he's always working on us.
I have been a Christian for my whole life, but I was given a choice. I chose to be Christian willingly and in my own time. I was raised going to church but was given the information to make my own decisions. Life has proven to me that God exists. I don't just live off of blind faith, I have seen God work in my life and in other people's lives. He doesn't always work the ways that we want him to and he teaches us lessons we think we already know or that we don't need to know, but he's always working on us.
USDA, Mind Your Own Business!
I found an article today about the newest 'revelation' by the USDA. A spokesman from the USDA, Kevin Concannon, stated that "Obesity is not just a health issue. It is an economic and national security issue." Now, I'm sure that this leaves several of you scratching your heads just like I was. Obesity is a national security issue? They've got to be kidding!
The Whole Me
For the longest time I've been trying to figure out how to best show my ideas online. My expertise and the information that I can provide is extremely varied and I've always felt like I needed to have it in more than one place. I had created this blog, a blog about my views on society and politics, a blog about my health struggles, a blog about the books that I love, etc. What I realized today is that I was trying to split myself into tiny pieces on the web and it's not working.
Why Letting Kids be Kids Can be Wrong
I just saw a comment on Facebook today that said something along the lines of the following: Let kids be kids. They'll have plenty of time to make adult decisions and deal with the consequences of those decisions.
Now while I agree with part of this statement the logic in the end is faulty. Allow me to explain. The above sentiment allows kids to be kids without limitations or repercussions. Now in most cases you're thinking "How could this be bad?" It's the without limitations or repercussions part that is bad. Kids should be allowed to play and learn and grow, yes, but they should also be taught how to act. They should be taught that their actions have consequences and that when you do something you have to pay those consequences.
Let me give you an example from my family recently. I have recently gotten a new job. In this new position I am once again working second shift and am at work from before my kids get home until it's almost bedtime. Now my kids aren't being left home alone, but they're with dad and well they know that if they're quiet they can get away with just about anything.
I've recently been getting messages from my kids teachers that they haven't been doing their homework. With schools anymore it is viewed that a kid not doing their homework is a failure on the parent, and while it is partly my fault (yes, I cannot supervise my children from work) it is ultimately their responsibility to get their homework done. This is where the kids being kids part is being taken too far.
Our kids are told that unless they are being pressured by an adult to do something that they don't have to do it. That it's a lacking in the parent that is holding them back. This is simply not true. True motivation only comes from within yourself. This is something that cannot be taught by force. So, the question is how do people learn this lesson? Through consequences.
My consequences for my kids are that their computers are going to be locked, that the TV will be off limits and that they will either be bored or do homework. If that doesn't work then there will be punishments on top of the restrictions. If I have to wake them all up in the middle of the night and force them to go through their homework then eventually they will get the hint and have it done earlier so that they won't get woken up in the middle of the night.
This is called teaching our kids responsibility. It's a big thing that has been lacking in our society for a long time. Don't get mad at the parents, get mad at the students. We're living in an age where there are a lot of parents out there that might not know what the kids are being taught in school. It requires motivation from the kids themselves to get things done. Not only that, but learning how to do things that you don't want to do is a big lesson that many adults have not gotten yet.
We live in a world that has coddled kids so badly that they don't learn how to be adults. It's not something that you can learn when you become an adult, you need to start learning responsibility when you are a kid. This is why prisons are so overcrowded. They're full of adults who are just now learning that actions have consequences. If you really want to stop prison overcrowding and fix our justice system teach a kid that there are consequences for their actions. If you successfully teach a kid that then they are far less likely to become an inmate in the future. If you worry more about your kids learning life skills than if they get a B instead of an A on their take home project because mom and dad didn't do it for them this country would be a much better place for us all in the future.
Now while I agree with part of this statement the logic in the end is faulty. Allow me to explain. The above sentiment allows kids to be kids without limitations or repercussions. Now in most cases you're thinking "How could this be bad?" It's the without limitations or repercussions part that is bad. Kids should be allowed to play and learn and grow, yes, but they should also be taught how to act. They should be taught that their actions have consequences and that when you do something you have to pay those consequences.
Let me give you an example from my family recently. I have recently gotten a new job. In this new position I am once again working second shift and am at work from before my kids get home until it's almost bedtime. Now my kids aren't being left home alone, but they're with dad and well they know that if they're quiet they can get away with just about anything.
I've recently been getting messages from my kids teachers that they haven't been doing their homework. With schools anymore it is viewed that a kid not doing their homework is a failure on the parent, and while it is partly my fault (yes, I cannot supervise my children from work) it is ultimately their responsibility to get their homework done. This is where the kids being kids part is being taken too far.
Our kids are told that unless they are being pressured by an adult to do something that they don't have to do it. That it's a lacking in the parent that is holding them back. This is simply not true. True motivation only comes from within yourself. This is something that cannot be taught by force. So, the question is how do people learn this lesson? Through consequences.
My consequences for my kids are that their computers are going to be locked, that the TV will be off limits and that they will either be bored or do homework. If that doesn't work then there will be punishments on top of the restrictions. If I have to wake them all up in the middle of the night and force them to go through their homework then eventually they will get the hint and have it done earlier so that they won't get woken up in the middle of the night.
This is called teaching our kids responsibility. It's a big thing that has been lacking in our society for a long time. Don't get mad at the parents, get mad at the students. We're living in an age where there are a lot of parents out there that might not know what the kids are being taught in school. It requires motivation from the kids themselves to get things done. Not only that, but learning how to do things that you don't want to do is a big lesson that many adults have not gotten yet.
We live in a world that has coddled kids so badly that they don't learn how to be adults. It's not something that you can learn when you become an adult, you need to start learning responsibility when you are a kid. This is why prisons are so overcrowded. They're full of adults who are just now learning that actions have consequences. If you really want to stop prison overcrowding and fix our justice system teach a kid that there are consequences for their actions. If you successfully teach a kid that then they are far less likely to become an inmate in the future. If you worry more about your kids learning life skills than if they get a B instead of an A on their take home project because mom and dad didn't do it for them this country would be a much better place for us all in the future.
God's Not Dead!
The other day I watched this movie for the first time and I have to say that I loved it! If you ask me this is so spot on that it's crazy. I know, I know, everyone's thinking that it's "Bible thumping" time. Well, yes and no.
I have been a Christian for my whole life, but I was given a choice. I chose to be Christian willingly and in my own time. I was raised going to church but was given the information to make my own decisions. Life has proven to me that God exists. I don't just live off of blind faith, I have seen God work in my life and in other people's lives. He doesn't always work the ways that we want him to and he teaches us lessons we think we already know or that we don't need to know, but he's always working on us.
The movie "God's Not Dead" highlights some of the arguments that I've had with atheists over time. There are some atheists that are really anti-Christian, they want to take away your right to choose to believe. There are some who are really believers but they don't really know in what yet. I have yet to run into a true atheist. Atheist seems to be a cover for other things. They call themselves atheist, but it's not true that they don't believe in God. They either haven't found a religion that fits the God that they know in their lives or they are mad at God for allowing evil to exist.
The second group mentioned above is the ones that yell the loudest. They tell you that evil is proof that God doesn't exist and since he doesn't exist they are the only ones who can tell you what is best. They tell you when a baby is really a baby. They tell you that having more than someone else because you worked to get it is wrong. They tell you that all the poor in the world are your fault because you aren't poor. They tell you that using a descriptive term to identify another human being is wrong. But they are the rule makers, they are God, so it doesn't apply to them.
The Bible had a term for such people which has stuck with us since then. They are hypocrites. They tell you that you have to live by rules that they don't live by themselves. And why? Well, because we keep reminding them of those pesky facts that they don't want to believe in. Those pesky truths that are hard wired into human beings by God. They say that we're horrible because we can't help everyone, but who do they help? We're horrible because we live what we believe and therefore are "shoving it down their throats".
It all boils down to what was said in the movie, "How can you hate someone who doesn't exist?" There is so much hate for God going around that it isn't funny. It's not enough for atheists to not believe in God, they want to force everyone else to not believe in Him as well. They want to take away our right to choose what we believe because it's "for our own good".
They've socialized medicine and made the system worse than it was. They've legalized the killing of unborn babies, but only if the mother does it. They've tried to suppress our right to believe as we see fit all the while quoting the freedom of religion. They don't want freedom of religion they want freedom FROM religion. They want to silence that nagging little voice of conscience that they keep being reminded of when they're confronted with believers. Considering how loudly they're complaining I'd say we're doing something right!
As for me I will say it loudly and proudly, "God's Not Dead"! If you want to debate it with me feel free, but for those who vehemently oppose religion, your own hatred for God is pretty damning of your own argument. For how can you hate someone who doesn't exist?
I have been a Christian for my whole life, but I was given a choice. I chose to be Christian willingly and in my own time. I was raised going to church but was given the information to make my own decisions. Life has proven to me that God exists. I don't just live off of blind faith, I have seen God work in my life and in other people's lives. He doesn't always work the ways that we want him to and he teaches us lessons we think we already know or that we don't need to know, but he's always working on us.
The movie "God's Not Dead" highlights some of the arguments that I've had with atheists over time. There are some atheists that are really anti-Christian, they want to take away your right to choose to believe. There are some who are really believers but they don't really know in what yet. I have yet to run into a true atheist. Atheist seems to be a cover for other things. They call themselves atheist, but it's not true that they don't believe in God. They either haven't found a religion that fits the God that they know in their lives or they are mad at God for allowing evil to exist.
The second group mentioned above is the ones that yell the loudest. They tell you that evil is proof that God doesn't exist and since he doesn't exist they are the only ones who can tell you what is best. They tell you when a baby is really a baby. They tell you that having more than someone else because you worked to get it is wrong. They tell you that all the poor in the world are your fault because you aren't poor. They tell you that using a descriptive term to identify another human being is wrong. But they are the rule makers, they are God, so it doesn't apply to them.
The Bible had a term for such people which has stuck with us since then. They are hypocrites. They tell you that you have to live by rules that they don't live by themselves. And why? Well, because we keep reminding them of those pesky facts that they don't want to believe in. Those pesky truths that are hard wired into human beings by God. They say that we're horrible because we can't help everyone, but who do they help? We're horrible because we live what we believe and therefore are "shoving it down their throats".
It all boils down to what was said in the movie, "How can you hate someone who doesn't exist?" There is so much hate for God going around that it isn't funny. It's not enough for atheists to not believe in God, they want to force everyone else to not believe in Him as well. They want to take away our right to choose what we believe because it's "for our own good".
They've socialized medicine and made the system worse than it was. They've legalized the killing of unborn babies, but only if the mother does it. They've tried to suppress our right to believe as we see fit all the while quoting the freedom of religion. They don't want freedom of religion they want freedom FROM religion. They want to silence that nagging little voice of conscience that they keep being reminded of when they're confronted with believers. Considering how loudly they're complaining I'd say we're doing something right!
As for me I will say it loudly and proudly, "God's Not Dead"! If you want to debate it with me feel free, but for those who vehemently oppose religion, your own hatred for God is pretty damning of your own argument. For how can you hate someone who doesn't exist?
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