the village idiot

it takes a church. it takes a body of believers. it takes all the parts working together for the glory of God. that is what it takes to raise a child, or a family. i see it every day at my job as a first grade teacher. i watch parents bring their children to school and drop them off to be educated. that is a very scary thought if i am the teacher and they are dropping their child off to be with me (a village member) for 7 hours a day. what if i am the village idiot? fortunately, i am a member of the body of Christ. empowered by the Holy Spirit to do the job that i have been called to do. i cant imagine entrusting my 6 year old to a woman empowered by her own self. when i think about the village analogy i think of ant colonies. you might think this is just a symantics thing but i really think there is more to it than just the wording. it is all about a world view that identifies who we are and the purpose and goals of the village. after all we have clear instructions on the goals of the body of Christ, to bring glory to our Heavenly Father. who defines the purpose of a villlage? once again what if it is defined by the village idiot or worse a power hungry leader. i fully understand that a child is very seldom only raised by 2 parents, nor do i think that is always the best option. i am and will be eternally grateful for the influence and assistance that i have received in the raising of my 3 children. my boys have been the recipient of some great mentoring by some very Godly men who dont happen to be their father. these honorable men also happen to be a part of the family of God, not just the local village. my daughter is being influenced and molded by many Godly role models. dont get the impression that i am boasting on my own children, that really is not the case, although i am proud of each one of them. the point that i am making is: when these children are raised and that job is completed if there are any positive productive traits among them it will be because of a sovereign God that brought the right parts of the Body together at the right time. it will not be because of the success of some village. i must clarify that i do not believe that we will only have fully functioning members of society if they are only raised by the traditional family. what i am saying is we live in a fallen world with fallen people and the responsibility of raising a family spreads wide these days. so my hats are off to grandparents, aunts, uncles, sunday school teachers, and many others for pitching in to help with the burden. but lets give the glory to whom it belongs, its the church, the corporate body of Christ not a village.

back from the east

this week is full of musing last week was full of snoozing. after returning from a visit with my elderly aunts the thought has accurd to me that when this generation of elderly die off there will be no one left to tell the stories of the great depression. what a tragedy. the youngsters being born today will only know of that term through history books and hearsay. they will have never sat at a dinner table across from one who suffered through the reality of a nation in poverty, wall street crashes, falling asleep hungry or not owning a pair of shoes. simple things like butter on bread for these children will always be expected. even though we (middle agers) have not experienced it we have at least heard the tales from real live people who have experienced the drudges of this event. as sad as these stories have made me feel over the years i have to say it is sadder to know they will not be available to the next generation to glean from. their is just some authenticity missing when events in history are merely recorded on the page rather than verbally comunicated and validated by the living. on this note i am sure i will continue to explore the many effects this loss will have on a society but for now i will just be thankful for the rich heritage of story after story that was reiterated over my years as a youth. yes, thankful for the influence that this event has had on my family and the effect i hope it has had on me. gratitude is taught and who will teach the next ones with such intensity as we have been taught. these folks have earned the title of the greatest generation by living through an era that our generation would probably turn into a reality show for entertainment. i have said enough on this subject for now. i would only ask that we pray to always be a grateful people and for ever be thankful for what we have.

ok here we go

ok here we go. i have embarked on the blogger's road. this is the most techno task i have journied into. unfortunatly i am leaving town and don't have time to write much. while away i will have time to think about what i want to say. now i have to figure out how to get spell check on this. i actually enjoy writing more when i can write like i talk instead of trying to proove that i graduated from college. i am pretty random in my thoughts but when writing like that the trail might be hard to follow. see here i go rambling already. well i will sign off for now as i get ready to go and visit my dear sweet 90 and 92 year old aunts for the week. even though they have already informed me that i have gained much to much weight i will just apply another layer of duck feathers and let the comments roll. i think when you get to be 90 God gives you permission to speak your mind. now that i am 50 i am secure enough in my Father's love that those things don't seem to stick like they used to. happy new year and i will look forward to getting back in the swing when i get back.