Modeling Thankful

On my ride home from work, I often listen to Focus on the Family at 4pm. I remember a speaker stated something along the lines of, “Grateful people, seem to be more satisfied in life.” So, it got me to thinking. I know you’re thinking…. dangerous. Right? So, I began to make a list of the things that I was grateful for. The length of my list in my head was lengthy. As I finished my thankful list, I was quickly bombarded by my ungrateful list. One thing being, I wish my children were more appreciative of my struggle to give them a decent life. I had to stop myself because I knew that my ungrateful list would eventually take away the joy for the things for which I am genuinely thankful for. So, before I rushed home to remove all items from my perceived ungrateful spawn and give them one piece back including an outfit every week until they learned to be grateful, I decided that my children should know that I am so blessed to have had them and for the other things that I am thankful for. As a teacher, I know a good way to teach something is by model it. 

What are you thankful for?

4 of the Best Back to School Hacks

With the best of summer now firmly in the rearview mirror, it is time for students to look forward to another year in school. In most regions, the approaching fall is marked by the opening of schools and the inception of the academic year.

It may feel like it was only yesterday that you gave your last exam and were anticipating a chock-a-bloc summer season brimming with a vacation and the creation of new memories. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. As students head back to school, we will suggest some tips and tricks for them to follow.

Sleep Pattern

One of the most important back to school hacks for students is to adjust their sleeping cycle in advance. This will serve them well once they begin classes.

Falling back into a routine represents possibly the hardest aspect of returning to school. Gone are the long nights without a care in the world. They are replaced by setting an alarm and trying desperately to fall asleep.

A useful tip for parents is to give their children a helping hand so that they can acclimatize appropriately. They may begin monitoring their kid’s sleeping schedules a week or so before school is scheduled to begin. It should only take a matter of nights before the children are up to speed and ready to rise early for school.

Therefore, adjusting your sleeping pattern is a useful technique that makes the first weeks of school much more facile.

Packing Lunch

Another hack that proves useful for students is to simplify their school lunches. This applies to kids who are accustomed to carrying their lunch from home. Parents can stay ahead of the task by arranging different components ahead of schedule.

Once this is done, they can let their children take over and pack their own lunch. This hack is effective since it enables the children to share responsibility and learn to manage themselves better as well. Additionally, it saves the parent’s time too.

Organizing Attire

The process of deciding what to wear each day can also be streamlined. Selecting what articles and apparel to wear on a daily basis can be tough for some children. This is where parents can step in and keep their kid’s clothes for the next day separately the night before.

This saves time for both parties and the children will not be late if they are still choosing what to wear to school in the morning. If students manage their wardrobe by using this simple tip, they will be much better off as a result.

Promote Healthy Snacks

Yet another hack is to tailor the children’s eating habits to ensure that they consume healthier items. For example, when their children return home from school in the afternoon, parents should feed their kids healthy options, so that they are not tempted to eat less nutritious food.

If snacks are kept separately for kids, they can simply eat what is front and center without having to resort to ordering food from restaurants and consuming unhealthy food in the process.

If They Would Just Do What I'd Say, EveryThing Would Be All Right !

One of the biggest struggles as a parent is letting our children make decisions of their own. This is difficult because we can the see the disasters waiting to devour them around the corner. Sometimes, I wish they would just let me make their decisions for them, and everything would be ok. There is a problem with my wishes as you may already know. There is a couple of reasons why what I want may not be the best approach in my parenting skills category. After all, this blog is about my not so excellent parenting experiences in hopes that you can learn from them.

About six months ago my oldest daughter's car broke down again. This was very frustrating to me because that meant I would have to drive her around. It also meant a possibility of her losing work opportunities and me having to sponsor her living experiences. Luckily, it was close to income tax return time, so I would only have to dip into our own income reserves for a short amount of time. While I was playing chauffeur to my daughter and granddaughter, my husband kept busy internet stalking for the best bargain for the less money for the most car. My daughter kept insisting that she wanted to find her own car when her money came in. But we knew what was best for her, so we made the decisions concerning her next vehicle for her.

We finally found a great looking car. The mileage was great and everything. The car drove out of the seller's yard purring like a kitten. We were all proud of our great find even my daughter. Until it broke down after a couple of weeks. We sunk another 1500 dollars into that car just so it could catch fire while my daughter was driving it on the highway. My daughter faulted us her parents for wasting her money on a horrible car. You think I would have learned my lesson from that, but I didn't.

School Shootings: A Problem with Guns or a Problem with Families

School Shootings: A Problem with Guns or a Problem with Families

The recent shooting at the Santa Fe High School in Texas is another unfortunate event that falls into what many are calling a ‘school shooting epidemic'. The fact that events like these keep happening should be a cause for every American to reflect on the country’s decaying moral values. However, the mainstream media has hoisted it up as a talking point to attack the Second Amendment and the rights of gun owners in America. It’s clear that there are malicious and powerful forces in the country that want to disarm every American of their right to defend themselves, their loved ones and their property. 

Having sensible conversations about making schools safe has been twisted into talk about gun reform. Gun owners, who are legally entitled to firearms under the Second Amendment, are being demonized by being called perpetrators of gun culture. What these social justice warriors on their moral high ground don’t understand is that gun violence can happen with or without their so-called gun reform. The guns that they call instruments of death are the same ‘instruments’ that will ensure they will make it alive out of a hostile situation. They don’t realize that when the terrorists attack us on our home soil, it will be our guns that will ensure the survival of our liberty.

All this talk about gun reform is a red herring that stops a conversation about how family values taking a backseat have led us to frequent shootings in our communities. Most of those who perpetuate this violence are young, disturbed individuals who are deprived of a good upbringing and healthy values. Respect and discipline, once the cornerstone of American households are no longer values parents feel necessary to teach their children. Instead, these parents have abdicated their responsibility and left their kids to be raised by morally bankrupt TV, video games, the public-school system, and music. Add to that an environment that normalizes divorce, unwed mothers, godlessness, promiscuity and drug abuse and we have a recipe for disaster. Now, understand I was once an unwed mother. So, I am not demoralizing myself or other hard working single parents. It’s just hard to play two roles and sometimes the kids act out.

In the absence of good morals, American youth have embraced hedonism. The value of hard work has been replaced by instant gratification on social media. Young people have been taught that they can and should be as outlandish as possible. Attention is their currency. So it comes as no surprise that when these tragedies are given a closer look, hunger for attention comes out as the motivation.

Instead of practicing the virtue of patience and hard work, today’s American youth want everything now. When they face any difficulty, they act up and take rash actions like throwing tantrums and at their worst, go on a shooting spree in their school. Guns don’t kill people, entitled kids who don’t know any better do.  They are not the responsible gun owners of America who follow proper protocol and gun safety laws of their country. Taking away the rights of gun owners is another way America is being stripped of its identity and values. It infringes on America’s ability to live up to the ideals of a free nation.

In the interest of the safety of our kids and communities, we need to take a close look at our communities and our culture. When we no longer honor God’s word and seek false gods, we cause the decay of America’s soul. This violence is only an escalation of this decay. We have to shun the media that promotes ungodliness and raise our children with respect for America and its values. It’s only a return to the wholesome values of our forefathers that will give us the strength to steer this country away from a state of decline. 

It’s Time to Fight for Our Stars and Stripes

A trucker by the name of Dave Moore recently came across a Pilot Truck Stop at Amarillo, Texas where the American flag was disrespectfully removed. It seems the folks at Pilot just can’t respect the flag of the country that lets them carry out their business and make money. In fact, it seems like disrespecting our country’s cherished legacy is the fastest way to get attention. Just look at the way football players have been kneeling during the national anthem and how the mainstream media picked it up as a heroic act. It’s shameful to see our country’s values in such decline.

When we were kids, we were taught by our folks to pay the flag and the anthem its proper due. The American flag was more than just a decoration. It was a reminder of the countless sacrifices that were made to keep this country safe and free. The American soldiers who raised it at Iwo Jima knew this. The American astronauts who landed on the moon knew this. The firefighters at Ground Zero saving lives during the country’s darkest hour knew this. 

On the other hand, kids these days are being prepared to attack our Second Amendment rights and disrespect our country’s leadership. They are being corrupted by the mainstream media with movies, music and TV shows full of filth. The Pledge of Allegiance has been taken out of classrooms so that the new generation forgets that we are One Nation under God. If we take away our country’s values and symbols, we face a very real threat of losing our American identity.

What Pilot and other businesses like them are doing is an insult to the countless veterans who fought and died while keeping our country safe and its citizens free. It is an insult to servicemen who fly the flag to show the solemn promise to care for their fellow countrymen. We can’t let the new generation forget that America is the land of the free and the home of the brave. We can’t let corporations and their globalist agenda erase our Old Glory.

Business owners like Jimmy Haslam wouldn’t have tasted success if it weren’t for this land of opportunities. Besides the incident with the flag at his Pilot and Flying J stores, he has allowed his football team the Cleveland Brown to kneel during the national anthem. These incidents are those of malice and cowardice. If these corporations can’t respect our flag, we don’t have to give them our business. Boycott businesses that don’t know how to show respect, drive down their sales and hit them where it hurts until they learn their lesson.

The Onset of Liberalist Socialism and the Free Speech Embargo in our Schools

The United States of America is one of the most, if not the most ‘progressive’ nation in existence. It is the culmination of many cultures and belief systems, all falling under the banner of unity and national pride, and built upon a solid foundation of Christian ideals. These very ideals are the benchmark in progressive living, and are perfect in nature; and when combined with the US constitution, create a recipe for national success.

It is the duty of every American, be they of any religion or school of thought, to at least uphold the constitutional foundation that the country was built upon. Unfortunately though, in recent times, these very ideals have come under question and are being challenged on a widespread scale in our society.

Liberalism and the Current Liberal Ideology: The Contradictory Conundrum

The liberal movement, which has always been a thorn in the side of good, God-fearing Americans and American culture in general, has, in this day and age, advanced to a point when its prevalence can be seen everywhere, in all centers of society.

Under the guise of ‘tolerance’ and ‘acceptance’, this movement has sought to establish a belief system which is based on socialist ideas and a supposed ‘free-for-all’ society. However, the very same liberal vision that seeks to accept and appreciate all, now wants to enforce its own set of ideals, which condemns any and all voices that are raised against them and in the favor of the principles of free speech upon which our country was built.

Liberalist Socialism in our Schools

The school is a center of education; a haven for all those who seek knowledge and free themselves from the fetters of ignorance. Such an institution absolutely must foster an environment of free speech, since that is the main medium for the expression of ideas, and the sharing of knowledge.

Unfortunately, today, if one is to exercise free speech in an academic institution, which is their constitutional right, they are labeled as racist, sexist, homophobic, close/narrow-minded, Nazi, fascist, regressive and generally repulsive. And all of this in the favor of deviation, hedonism, and rampant socialist values – in favor of a society where Godlessness would prevail. This is, in essence as well as practice, completely against what the constitution permits and our national integrity commands.

The liberal mindset has meticulously worked to have traditional free speech abolished from our centers of education, in order to pave the way for its own version of free speech. According to this mindset, it is free speech only when it comes from a liberal. God forbid if someone of a conservative mindset were to express themselves, as that would be the ultimate violation of the liberal code!

The traditional and constitutional version of free speech is now met with protest and disruption by individual groups in schools and colleges, as well as larger groups such as Antifa.

All of this leads to a question that we must ask ourselves; which is, to what extent do we allow these destructive, negative, Marxist and outright militant tactics to succeed? The answer to that, my fellow Americans, is no more!

It is time to stand up as one and take back our basic rights, so that our future generations can emerge and prosper in a positive, constructive and prosperous society.

Keeping God, Family, and Politics Together: A Good Christian’s Ethos

A nation is driven by its leaders for better or worse. And yet, the leaders are born out of the nation. They represent their people, their aspirations, and their collective wisdom in what they want to achieve together. Without a collective goal, people are lost! How will they develop a noble goal for themselves if those in authority do not follow the commandments of God?

Every Christian is a shepherd in his or her own right. A father leads a family, a mother educates her children, and a businessman is accountable for his employees. This is the way of the world and the law of nature that God has ordained in our world. If we keep shying away from taking responsibility or taking part in the affairs of our neighborhood, our city, our state, and our country, how can we blame anybody for not taking what we want seriously?

If people who say they believe in God do not stand up and work to build their nation as God wants to see it, do they have any right to complain when a godless group of ruffians finds their way into the halls of power? Do they have any right to talk about how the country is going away from God?

Jesus Christ was the first example of who a Christian should be. He was born in a society of culture, art, and politics. Some call it a golden era for western civilization and knowledge, much like the world we see around us today. Even with all the rapport, that system was wrong. It denounced the true God and challenged His law, and Jesus rose to fight this injustice with his peaceful movement. A movement which was, in every sense of the word, a political one - though much more too.

If Jesus was the best Christian and he saw the need of political leadership to right the ways of his nation, will we not follow in his footsteps?

As a responsible citizen of this society and nation, it is your duty - it is my duty - to do our part before we put blame on others.