First original Sati joke

Sati: "Knock-knock"
Me: "Who's there"
Sati: "Marleigh"
Me: "Marleigh, who?"
Sati: "Marleigh Karai"
Me: "Marleigh Karai, who?"
Sati: "Marleigh's Karai'n in the kitchen"

not bad for a 3 year old.

Parenting...

Parenting has been on my mind for the last few months.  I wonder if we're doing it right, if we're inflicting some kind of damage to our kids, if you can over train a child till their will breaks and they loose their spirt, and uniqueness in the process.  I wonder if our girls are truly happy and care free.  Or if they should be.  Is it more important to teach them to obey without question, or to learn how to reason and inquire?  Is it more important to love on them or be consistent in discipline?  Should they be allowed to argue their side or should they do first and ask why later?  

My current parenting philosophy lies somewhere between To Train up a Child and Why not train a Child.  As you can see these Ideas are pretty conflicting.  

-Overall I would say I don't agree with the Pearls'. They have some great thoughts... for example: The Church (as in Churches, not the actual body of believers) is for the sick.  Go in, do your ministry, and get your kids out. I know for a fact that many children have been abused in church, so I see that as sound advise. As far as some of their discipline tactics, though, they seem borderline torturous. They also talk about parenting as the most important role which I don't think you can support biblically. -I really haven't read much by them, though, so feel free to comment your thoughts.

-The other side. *sigh* I really like the idea of parenting gently. The idea of guiding with words and not punishment. I love the idea of it, but I'm unsure about the application. I know that people have argued that well behaved kids shouldn't be our goal (we should be "Teaching kids how to think, no merely what to think"...quote from Hippie Housewife), but good behavior does have it's place, doesn't it, shouldn't there be some type of consequence to trowing a fit over not being able to have candy in the store? - for those of you practicing this type of parenting please help me out!

I'm at a loss and I see many great parents that parent many different ways.  I just want to do what God would have us to do, but there is so little instruction in the bible that I find myself totally, and utterly confused.  Not only that, but, it's not like I can stop parenting until I figure it out, right?

*praying*

How do you parent?

Why We Don't....

Note: This is an attempt to let you in on our beliefs regarding the celebration of Christmas and why they are.  My hope is only to explain myself in a way that would be fully informative and respectful.  It is not, in any way a judgment on your traditions, beliefs, or practices. 

Biblically: I'm unaware of any instance in the Bible were Jesus's Birth was celebrated on a specific day. There is little doubt that December 25th has nothing to do with the timeline of Jesus's actual birth.  It would seem from the bible that during the time of Jesus's birth the weather was warm and dry because the shepherds were still out in the field with their sheep (probably sometime in September).  So why is December 25th so special?

Traditionally: There are many pagan holidays that were/are celebrated during this time of year.  Most of them having to do with the sun starting to come back to life after the solstice (the days beginning to get longer).  In fact many of the traditions that Christian families practice during their celebrations came from these earlier pagan celebrations.  Including:

• Gifting of presents
• Gluttonous eating and drinking
• Lighting candles
• Kissing under mistletoe
• Bringing cut trees indoors
• Caroling -though at the time they were obviously different tunes having nothing to do with the Christ child.

Socially: This holiday seems to put exclamation marks between the "haves" and the "have-nots".  While the children in Africa get a little shoebox of trinkets our children are opening hundreds of dollars worth of stuff that will probably break in a few hours/weeks/months.  Not to mention those kids working 12-18 hours a day for next to nothing (and often times in abuse-full situations) to make all of the stuff that is bought.

Environmentally: Every year I see hundreds of beautiful trees leave our area to live in somebody's house for a month and then get taken to a landfill.  Houses are lit up as much as possible skyrocketing energy consumption.  Tons of new toys, clothes, and shoes are made causing more environmental pollution and waste. And anyone can see the overflowing trash bins the week following a Christmas celebration.

So what do we celebrate? We celebrate Jesus's birth, life, and sacrificial death.  We celebrate the anticipation of his return. We celebrate the changing seasons of the year and of our lives. We celebrate growing older and the love that Jesus has brought to us through friends, family, and community.

Mostly we celebrate with our everyday lives.  When we do celebrate with food and gifts (or treats and one of my good friends calls them) we try our best to make sure they are environmentally friendly, socially conscious, and typically home made.