Generation Innocence Taken

Being a parent in this day and age is a challenge that I don't think any of us are prepared for. And if you are a Believer, a Christian, it is even harder. I do remember a time in my life when I said I would not have children; that the world was crazy insane and it wasn't worth it. 

Now, that being said, being a parent is 100% worth it! I love my children. And you can call me a mama bear, you can call me a tiger mom, I would like to think I'm somewhere in between.

I'm going to go with a lion mom who is protecting her cubs. In my connection group we've recently read "In the Middle of the Mess" by Sheila Walsh. Near the end of the book, Sheila talks about how somebody described her as a lioness, with the loyalty the, fierceness, the passion. And she couldn't handle that for a long while. That description, it was too strong to describe her Christian walk/life.

But that is what we need to be as mothers and if you're a guy who's reading this, you need to be a lion, be in charge of your pride: protect them, fight for them. There is a battle going on and our children are in the middle of it. The battle is for them, for their hearts, their minds, their bodies, but oh so more crucially it's for their souls. Jesus said the kingdom of God will be the children's, you have to have a childlike Faith to be in heaven and therefore Satan is going after our children.

Matthew 18 (NASB)

Rank in the Kingdom

18 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” 2 And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, 3 and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me; 6 but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.

Stumbling Blocks

7 “Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes!

8 “If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame, than to have two hands or two feet and be cast into the eternal fire. 9 If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than to have two eyes and be cast into the [h]fiery hell.

10 “See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven. 11 [For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.]

I have a hard time understanding how those that are not believers do not see the attacks that are happening to our children. Now there are actual literal attacks. In the Houston area there have been numerous children who have been murdered. Straight up, no question about it: a little girl was cut apart by her mother's boyfriend and that entire situation, while it united the city, the details though they are heartbreaking. Then another little boy was gunned down in the middle of a home invasion robbery. From there there's the drag queen story time issue (I have previously written about it: The Battle Line Has Been Drawn) that is going on nationwide and many of these individuals are sexual predators. And within the past few weeks there was a teenage sponsored drag queen event and a parent tried to remove their child and the parent was arrested.

And then there's the TV shows and movies pushing the LGBTQ "lifestyle".

• My Little Pony:
• My Little Pony Introduces Its First Lesbian Charters with Same-Sex Couple Making Cartoon Debut
• My Little Pony brings lesbians to Equestria - just in time for pride week
• Arthur
• 'Arthur' Creator Defends Gay Marriage episode Following Backlash
• 'Arthur' Opens Season With a Same-Sex Wedding and a Cake
• Toy Story 4
• There's an LGBTQ Moment Lurking in "Toy Story 4"
• Toy story 4 Promotes LGBTQ Agenda
• One Million Moms Protest 'Toy STory 4' Over 'Dangerous' Lesbian Scene

The entertainment industry is doing everything it can to make it seem normal. In regards to Toy Story 4, I took my kids to see the movie; I never heard a peep about the scene. I will say it was very discreet, nothing flashy or over the top, but that is how they're doing it. They're not always dressing up as demonic drag queens with glitter and paint. They're just making it look so normal as a couple dropping their child off for kindergarten and then picking that child up.

I want to say not everybody who is lesbian or gay is demonic or deranged. I've read the studies, a lot of people who fall into the LGBTQ lifestyle/movement have had a trauma or an abuse and my heart breaks for them it really does. And what I will also say is Jesus loves everyone, salvation is for everyone and Jesus does not want anyone to sin and He doesn't want anyone to perish. 

Now back to the children. Moms and dads we have got to stand up, enough is enough! We are the parents, we have a say in what our children are exposed to. My Little Pony is not a cartoon that will be allowed in my house anymore and I will not spend my money on the items. Now we already have items in the house: toys, books and pajamas but we are not going to buy more. And because My Little Pony decided to introduce a lesbian couple getting married I had to explain it to my six and a half year old what is same-sex marriages. I will say having a child whose as is as inquisitive as my six and a half year old is has definitely taught me how to have conversations about the deep spiritual things at a childlike level. 

So say a prayer for your preschool and Elementary ministers right now because kudos to them. They do this on a semi-regular basis and wow. 

I'm dubbing my children's generation as innocence taken because that is what the enemy is trying to do. If he can steel their innocence, in a sense he's gotten them. If our children are no longer innocent at a young age they become hard, they they grow up too fast. 

And I am so grateful that this summer that I have been able to keep my children at home. They are spending one to two hours a day outside in the sunshine: playing with chalk, trucks, bubbles; collecting lizards, flowers, snails, and frogs. It's beautiful and they're watching way too many movies, eating way too many snacks, taking naps. I love it. They are getting to have a childhood, one that is reminiscent of mine which is fabulous, but also they are getting to spend time with your grandmother and that is time, that is precious. And not only have they been at home, they went to Vacation Bible School (now called Kids Camp). They've had swim lessons, we had a family reunion. And next week my Nugget is going to spend time with his dad for a few days: swimming, fishing going to  the movies. And then my daughter is going to go to an amazing week-long camp at our church. She will have the time of her life and I'm so excited she gets to experience it and then before you know it schools going to start and back to life like that but I really am grateful that I have been able to give my children an innocent childhood summer experience. 

Here is what we need to do to ensure that this summer of innocence carries over into the school year. 

• We need to be praying.
• We need to be not spending money on items, toys, movies that promote ideas/beliefs that go against God's word.
• We need to explain to our children why will not be spending money on such things. It's okay to let them know that while the show might be funny, pretty, awesome (pick your adjective,), anything that goes against God's word is not okay.
• We need to make sure that our children understand God's word, that they know God's word.
• It needs to go beyond just the simple Bible story knowledge. They need to know what Jesus tells his Believers, how they're supposed to live, who the apostles were and how they spread the gospel
• Don't put it past your children, they can learn scripture. Plant those seeds. I am so grateful that my husband and I have managed to send our children to a Christian private school. It has been a sacrifice, but it is one that is well worth it. Last year our daughter (in kindergarten) learned 26 versus, one for each letter of the alphabet, additionally Psalm 100 and 23 along with John 3:16 and 17. She is working on her scripture memory for this upcoming school year: she has ten sets of scriptures to learn about 6-8 versus long each. She is already memorized month 1 and has month 2 about 45% of the way done. She is 6.5 and her 4.5 year old brother, he's picking up pieces of it. And the other great thing about it, since I'm working with her to get her to memorize the scriptures, I'm learning the scriptures also.

Investing in God's word planting the seeds in your mind will not return void and it's a great way to help keep your children innocent. Friends be mindful of the movies, the music, the games, the books. Be mindful of everything. We have to be super vigilant, we cannot be lazy. God put the word "intentional" on my heart this year.

I need to be intentional in:

• my marriage 
• my parenting 
• my friendships
• my relationships.

And when it comes to parenting it's knowing what my children are being exposed to if we want to keep our children innocent and not have their innocence stolen. It is time to step up.

A Hurricane Named Harvey

I was born in 1985, and mainly lived in the Corpus Christi area all of my life, minus 11 months in Austin. Then in 2008 I moved to the Houston area. Three months later, almost to the day,  I experienced my first hurricane. Ike.

It truly is astounding that in 23 years living in Corpus Christi I didn't experience any hurricanes. I remember Ike very well. The time without power, how rude people were when it came to getting supplies and necessities leading to Ike's landfall. Luckily a cool front came through after and kept the temperatures bearable. People came together afterward, helped each other, you saw a true sense of community. Every year since, I have been mindful of hurricane season. I watch the news, I keep water on hand, and dry goods that area easily prepared.

When Harvey developed last week, I was mindful once again. Before any schools were cancelled I took a trip to the store for more water, snacks, dog food, and things of that nature.

And then on Thursday when schools started closing (mine included) I went back to the store. I remember us having to cook everything on the bbq pit due to losing power, and my husband was mindful of that too (we didn't know each other during Ike, but had similar experiences). So I went back to the store for charcoal and a few fun snacks for the kids. The lines were long, but people were being nice, helping each other, and no one was frustrated. People patiently waited. Then I picked up dinner, and again long lines, but again patience. And even more impressive - the people working, with no clue of when they would go home - they had patience, and smiles.

It is now Monday, and the rain has not stopped. It started heavily Friday evening, rained all day Saturday and Sunday (some spells of no rain, but those were few), and here we are almost done with the morning this Monday, and it is still raining. Not only have we had rain, we have had wind, and tornadoes. Night and day phone's are going off with warnings and watches. The emergency alert system breaks through every show telling people to seek cover, don't drive, hunker down. To say that the Houston metropolitan area has been devastated would be an understatement.

For people who are not familiar with Houston here is something information I have found:

For my non-Houston friends the below details may help you understand the devastation:

The Houston area is huge. The greater metropolitan area is circled by the Grand Parkway - which is 170 miles long. That makes the area of the circle inside the Grand Parkway over 2200 sq. miles.

2200 square miles of densely inhabited, urban and suburban, areas is flooded.

Imagine if the entire state of Delaware, with twice the population of Manhattan, was under water.

That's Houston.

It's still raining.

The pictures...they are sad but encouraging. Throughout this ordeal people have lost everything. Houses have flooded, cars have been washed away. I have read the accounts of friends who were dry and a minute later water was rushing into their homes before they had a chance to get stuff put up and way. Friends have shared images of the water in their houses, water covering their vehicles. Areas that have never flooded, well, did. But this is Texas. A beautiful, wonderful state that defies odds.

People are coming to Texas from all over the country to help. But even better, is that Texas is helping Texas. Communities near and far (Texas is a big state) are sending resources, and people to help. And its not just first responders, or those trained, but every day people, the average Joe's are loading up and heading our way. People with boats are driving to Houston (and just south of here, all the way down to Corpus Christi) to help people who are trapped on roofs. There was a nursing home with water in it, with residence still in it. And people posted about it, it got to the news, and they were rescued. 

Here is a great link by the NYTimes that shows how much water Houston has received: before-and-after-harvey

I sometimes bemoan social media, but I have seen it used wonderfully to help people in need. Anything can be a tool for good and for evil. And lately it seems like social media has been a big stick stirring the pot of discontent and discord in our country. But over the past 4 days I have seen it used to aide people in need, bring people together, unite communities in prayer. And even today, it is being used to encourage people that if you are at home, no water in your home - use your time to clean out your closets so you can help those who have lost everything. I have seen it used to update people on which grocery stores are open so people can replenish their supplies.

Projected rain still to come as of Monday 8/28/2017

Harvey isn't done yet. More rain is expected over the next SEVERAL days. A friend lives just a handful of miles away and she has recorded over 36" of rain at her house since this all started on Friday. Please continue to pray. Texas is showing the nation what community is about. We are helping each other, we are supportive, and we are mindful. 

Personally, we are well. We were able to get out and about Friday and Saturday and had dinner both evenings with my in-love's. There was food, fellowship, and games. It was a good distraction from being in our house for so long. The ditch behind our house yesterday was the highest I have ever seen

Ditch behind our house on 8/27/2017

it. And that was looking from our back door (part of our fence fell Friday). Here's the thing - Houston was built on bayou's. There is water all around. We expect flooding to happen with rain events. But this is unprecedented. Today, the ditch is so far down, we cannot see it from the back door, and I have no desire to put my rain boots on and go look where it is at. One of our local grocers did open this morning, and I saw a friend post about it. She grabbed us some milk and banana's - Brock drove up to meet her in the parking lot. We have food, and now having milk we can cook a few more things other than soup. We have power, there hasn't been flooding on our immediate street, and the drainage system we have is pretty spectacular. Neighbors are checking on neighbors. We might be bored somewhat in our house - the kids do have some cabin fever - but we are well. It could be so much worse - as it is for many that we know. And through the days ahead, I will place my hope in the One who created the storm. The One who has numbered days, and knows the steps I will take.

Isaiah 25:4 For you have been a stronghold to the poor, a stronghold to the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat; for the breath of the ruthless is like a storm against a wall,

Psalm 57:1 Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me, for in you my soul takes refuge; in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge, till the storms of destruction pass by.

Nahum 1:7 The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him.

Deuteronomy 31:6 Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”

Philippians 4:19 And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

Pray for Houston, Pray for ALL who have been impacted