Showing posts with label parenting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label parenting. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Job's Answer To The "Pro-Choice" Folks


For 35 years, masses of men and women have sought to appease their consciences with faulty conjecture, namely that an unborn child does not constitute human life. One need look no further than their flaccid attempts at re-defining terms. The unborn boy or girl has become "pregnancy tissue."

Some say the child is not "human" until the second trimester of a mother's pregnancy; others insist this change takes place some time in the third trimester. Still others are adamant in their belief that a child is not fully human until it has been delivered and taken his or her first breath.

But why stop there? Some "ethicists" have been known to say killing a living, breathing infant outside the mother's womb is not immoral or unethical. Peter Singer, the well-known professor of bioethics at Princeton University made a sickening statement in a 1999 lecture. The following is an excerpt from Paul Zielbauer's article that appeared in the October 13, 1999 edition of The New York Times:


''I do not think it is always wrong to kill an innocent human being,'' Professor Singer told the rapt audience in Harold Helm Auditorium. ''Simply killing an infant is never equivalent to killing a person.''


A statement like this may surprise you...but it shouldn't. Mt. Singer's extreme views on this issue are merely the logical end to that which many of our neighbors, friends, and family have been convinced -- namely that it is the mark of compassion to support "a woman's right to choose."

Now that we have heard from Peter Singer, perhaps we should allow the Lord our God (the Creator and Judge of all mankind) to have a word:

Did not he [God] who made me in the womb make him [servant]? And did not one [God] fashion us in the womb?
Job 31:15, ESV


God uses the pen of Job to assure us that he [God] makes us in his own image by placing a living spirit within us as he shapes us in our mothers' wombs!

Friend, it's past time to let the politicians and judges who are leading our morally decaying nation into the abyss that we will no longer stand by and watch millions of innocent infant boys and girls be legally butchered (literally)! When we stand in judgment before the same God who hates the shedding of innocent blood (Proverbs 6:16-17), how will we rationalize casting our votes for men and women we knew would perpetuate this brutal and heartless sin?

r2

Friday, December 7, 2007

It's The Thought That Counts

Having trouble deciding what to get the friends and family on your gift list? Here's an idea: Animal feces?? Hey, like they say, "It's the thought that counts." Aye, but who in the world thought of this?!?!

Sure enough, as further proof you can purchase virtually anything on the internet auction giant, eBay, an organization has placed Rhino dung up for sale.

The International Rhino Foundation is auctioning seperately on four pieces of dung from endagered species of Rhino. The proceeds will help fund conservation efforts.

Each piece is dried, mounted in a clear trophy case, and labeled with the kind of rare Rhino that produced it. How fancy!

At the time of this writing, there had been 43 bid between all four......um.......items. The high bids thus far range from $510 to $560. Shipping costs $16, which makes me wonder how the ones shipping these items will respond to the question, "Does this package contain anything fragile, liquid, perishable, or potentially hazardous?"

For the record, close-up photos of the Rhino droppings were available, but I refuse to gross our loyal Food For Thought readers out with that sort of imagery.

So, if you are one who participates in the tradition of gift giving during the holiday season, what are you giving? The kids want the latest and greatest toy, the teenagers want the slimmest, coolest cell phones and mp3 players, and the adults want gadgets, cash, and stuff to lay around the house. This certainly is not intended to discourage such a tradition -- I enjoy gift giving myself.

However, when all the kids' toys have been donated to Goodwill, when the teenagers' cell phones and iPods have been replaced by ones with newer technology, when all that stuff laying around the house has been sold for unbelievably low prices at yard sales, what will be left?

Yes, when all is said and done, all that expensive "stuff" will have the same end as the Rhino dung!
But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.
2 Peter 3:10, NKJV
The phrase "burned up" in the New King James version could more literally be rendered, "laid bare." The English Standard Version translates that phrase with one word: "exposed." For, on that day, even that which was our pride and joy will be exposed for what it truly was: a temporary treasure.
Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness...?
2 Peter 3:11, NKJV
So amid all the gift giving this holiday season, remember to give what really counts. Your love toward your fellow man, your righteous example and counsel to your children or grandchildren, and the gift of eternal life to any who would know the gospel.

r2

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

'Twas A Sheep, Not A Lamb

I will be the first to tell you that I am not a poet. Poetry can be an effective teaching tool. I sometimes wish I had such a talent, but I have always been convinced it is wise to recognize one's own limitations.

Nonetheless, when I come across an especially outstanding poem, I like to share it with others. The following is from the pen of a man named James Smith, whom I know nothing about other than the fact that he wrote this thought-provoking poem:



'Twas A Sheep, Not A Lamb

It was a sheep, not a lamb that strayed away,
In the parable we are told;
A grown-up sheep that had gone astray...
From the ninety and nine in the fold.

Out in the meadows, out in the cold,
'Twas a sheep the Good Shepherd sought:
Back to the flock and into the fold,
'Twas a sheep the Good Shepherd brought.

And why for the sheep should we earnestly long
And so earnestly hope and pray?
Because there is danger, if they go wrong,
They will lead the young lambs astray!

For the lambs follow the sheep, you know,
Wherever the sheep may stray;
If the sheep go wrong, it will not be long
Till the lambs are as wrong as they.

So, with the sheep we earnestly plead,
For the sake of the lambs today,
If the lambs are lost, what a terrible cost
Some sheep may have to pay.


Paul's God-breathed admonition to Timothy was to, "be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity" (1 Timothy 4:12, NKJV). Never underestimate the impact your faithful service to the King of Kings (or lack thereof) has on those around you.

r2

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

20 Ways To Simplify

Most of us think we are pretty busy. Most of us are right. While busy can mean productivity, busy can also mean a life that is “out-of-whack” in terms of priority.

Yes, work begets more work, hobbies beget more hobbies, stuff begets more stuff until the point where we step back in the one free moment we might have during a week and realize…. “It’s time to simplify!!"

Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other” (Matthew 6:24). The more “stuff” we have crowding our lives, the more danger we put ourselves in of dividing our loyalty that rightly belongs to the Lord.

Here is an excellent list of 20 ways to simplify, compiled by Dr. Steve Stephens:

1. Eliminate ten things from your life.
2. Cut back on T.V.
3. Escape to a quiet spot.
4. Set your own pace.
5. Get rid of clutter.
6. When you bring in something new, throw out something old.
7. Do only one thing at a time.
8. Say “no” at least once a day.
9. Enjoy the little things.
10. Take at least four breaks per day.
11. Determine what really matters.
12. Make peace with all people.
13. Tell the truth.
14. Appreciate beauty.
15. If you don’t need it, don’t buy it.
16. If you don’t have time, don’t do it.
17. Have a plan for everything and put everything in its place.
18. Share your thoughts, feelings, and opinions with a friend every day.
19. Allow time to pray.
20. Thank God for what you have.

r2

Friday, September 14, 2007

Procreating For Prizes!

Here is a story you may have heard about out of Russia.

A Russian region of Ulyanovsk has found a novel way to fight the nation's birth-rate crisis: It declared September 12th the "Day of Conception," and for the third year running gave couples time off from work to procreate.

The hope is for a brood of babies exactly nine months later on Russia's national day. Couples who "give birth to a patriot" during the June 12th festivities win money, cars, refrigerators, and other prizes.

Ulyanovsk, about 550 miles east of Moscow, has held similar contests since 2005. Since then, the number of competitors, and the number of babies born to them, has been on the rise.

Russia, with one-seventh of Earth's land surface, has just 141.4 million citizens, making it one of the most sparsely settled countries in the world. With a low birth rate and a high death rate, the population has been shrinking since the early 1990s.

In his state-of-the-nation address last year, President Vladimir Putin called the demographic crisis the most acute problem facing Russia and announced a broad effort to boost Russia's birth rate, including cash incentives to families that have more than one child.

Ulyanovsk Gov. Sergei Morozov has added an element of fun to the national campaign.

The 2007 grand prize went to Irina and Andrei Kartuzov, who received a UAZ-Patriot, a sport utility vehicle. Other contestants won video cameras, TVs, refrigerators and washing machines.

So, it amounts to procreating for prizes. Is there anything morally wrong here? Not so far as I can tell. One would simply hope these Russian parents will be even more interested in a proper upbringing of these children than they are in the prizes that may result. If God has blessed you with children, take this moment to remember His counsel regarding the priceless treasure that is yours:

Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.
Psalm 127:3-5, ESV

r2