Teaching Children Respect; If this don't work spank the crap out of them...

Respect is an amazing thing. I believe that respect is something that has to be earned, but I also believe that in order to be respected you have to show respect to others. If you take a look at our youth of today you can’t help but notice that they are the most disrespectful group of children this world has ever seen. Before you start pointing fingers or offering up excuses as to why children are this way I want you to stop and look in the mirror. What are you doing to teach your child/children respect?

I ask this because one of my favorite pastimes is people watching. I don’t mean that in some sick sort of way, I simply mean paying attention to the way people interact with one another and towards one another. This includes children and adults. I believe one problem is that parents do not respect their children and therefore children not only don’t respect their parents, they have no respect for anyone including themselves. Wait, before you get upset, I am not saying that you don’t love your children or that you are a bad parent. I simply saying that maybe parents aren’t paying attention to the way they interact with their kids and that is leading to a severe lack of respect. I am far from a perfect parent, and many times find myself guilty of this also. What is important in my opinion, is that we think more about how we interact with our children, and how our children interact with us and others.

Teaching respect is one of the most important jobs we have as parents. The best way to teach children respect is show respect, not just to other adults but to your children. Don’t confuse obedience with respect, fear also instills obedience. Know this; if a child is not respectful at home, they are not going to be respectful outside of the home. Let’s take a look at ways to help teach your child respect.

Listen to Them and They Will Listen to You

When your child is talking to you are you listening or are you busy doing five other things? I am not saying multi-tasking is bad, but listen to what your child is saying. Pay attention to what they are doing. Everything else can wait a minute or two. Make eye contact with them. Ask yourself, how many times you have had to say, “Look at me when I am talking to you,” and then think about how often you look at them when they are talking. Let them know they are important to you and worth taking a time to pay attention to, and then they will do the same to you and others.

Honesty is the Best Policy

Is it possible to respect a liar? Would you lie to someone that you respect? I don’t think so. If you do something wrong, admit it and apologize for it. While it may change the perception that our younger children have of us that we are perfect, it will show them that even mom and dad make mistakes and when they do they are able to admit it and apologize for it.

You Catch More Flies with Honey than Vinegar

If your child does something wrong, or doesn’t achieve the success you feel they should’ve don’t belittle them. Don’t embarrass or insult them. I am not saying to never tease your child, but tease during play time in a fun way, not after a defeat or disappointment. Compliment your child for what they have accomplished. Compliment them for being your child. Don’t overdo it so that it becomes false, compliments should be realistic. If you want to see a change in your child’s behavior focus on the positive things they are doing so that they will do more of those positive things.

Do Unto Others as You Would Have Them Do Unto You

You limit or restrict the way your children use your things, enter into your space such as your room. Do you show them that you have the same limits on yourself when it comes to their space and their things? In our house our children are to knock on a closed door before opening it and they are not to go into our bedroom unless they ask or are invited. So we do the same for them. If they are behind a closed door at home we knock before open the door and we don’t just barge in their rooms. I also don’t go through their things in their rooms when they aren’t there. I don’t need to, I trust and respect them. If you want your child to respect the boundaries you have set, then you have to respect those same boundaries when it comes to them.

Personal Value = Respect

Your child has to know that they have value as a human being, and that they should cherish who they are as people. This teaches self respect, because if they don’t respect themselves they can’t respect others. Encourage your child to take care of themselves properly, make sure they get enough rest, wear decent clean clothes, that they eat that they have pride in who they are. They will believe this is you believe it.

Build Their Independence

There are always age appropriate responsibilities a child can take on to foster independence and respect. If mom or dad trusts that they can handle a task then they must be able to.

Let Them Know You Love Them

“Oh my kids know I love them.” I am sure they do, but think about how good it feels to get a hug and a smooch for no reason at all. Don’t be afraid to show your kids how much you love them. You don’t have to smoother them with affection, but a kiss goodnight, a kiss goodbye and a hug when they come home can go a long way. 

Respect is an attitude. Being respectful helps a child succeed in life. If your children don’t have respect for peers, authority, or themselves, it’s almost impossible for them to succeed. A respectful child takes care of belongings and responsibilities, and a respectful child gets along with peers. Schools teach children about respect, but it is really you that has the most influence on how respectful your children become.

LITTLE THINGS

I was sitting out back a few moments ago listening to the rain and watching it hit the water in our backyard. I realized the we to often forget the little things in life and take way to many things for granted like a soft breeze on a sunny summer's day, the serenity of a park or forest with tall trees and wildflowers, the crashing waves of the ocean and crying gulls, the company of animals both in nature and domesticated, making a difference in someone's life, brisk Autumn days, sipping coffee in the early morning hours, smiles and laughter, being creative, listening to music, reading an awesome book, the company and conversation of family and friends, living my life with compassion, kindness and love, these are some of the little things in life that matter most. Enjoy your little things and just be a peace every once and awhile.

Removing God and Prayer in Public Schools Has Led to America's Demise and the path to Socialism

America has plummeted from righteous living, prosperity and success in the last quarter century.

America’s moral decline rapidly accelerated following one event – the U.S. Supreme Court’s removal of prayer from our nation’s schools. On June 25, l962, 39 million students were forbidden to do what they and their predecessors had been doing since the founding of our nation – publicly calling upon the name of the Lord at the beginning of each school day.

The New York school children which prompted the Engel vs. Vitale ruling had simply prayed: “Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence on Thee and beg Thy blessing over us, our parents, our teachers and our nation.”

America has experienced radical decline in each of the four areas which the children’s prayer touched upon: youth, family, education, national life. Minor recovery has occurred only since 1980 when the election of President Reagan brought forth a renewed emphasis on “traditional” values.

The removal of prayer from our schools was a violation of the third commandment which commands us “not to take the name of the Lord in vain.” By the judicial act of forbidding invocation, the Court audaciously elevated a secularized system of education beyond the authority, reach and blessing of God Himself. Worse than taking the Lord’s sacred name in vain is treating it with contempt, denying it rightful place and stripping it from public use and even from the lips of children. Jesus’ own expressed desire, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them” was also violated by these judges, many of whom were raised in Christian homes.

But there was actually a gross violation of the third commandment by the U.S. Supreme Court a year earlier. A ruling in 1961, I believe, paved the way for stripping the Lord’s name from our children’s lips. In Torcaso vs. Watkins, the court overruled a provision of the Maryland Constitution which made “a declaration of belief in the existence of God” mandatory for holding public office.

Roy R. Torcaso, a Maryland resident and an avowed atheist, was refused a notary public commission when he would not subscribe to the required oath. His case was brought before the U.S. Supreme Court. The Court ruled to sanction atheism and overruled the Maryland Constitution.

Rev. T. Robert Ingram records columnist Felix Morley’s shrewd observations on this 1961 ruling in his study, The World Under God’s Law. Mr. Morley, writing in the Nation’s Business September 1961, pointed out “the absurdity of having an official administer to others oaths in the sanctity of which he does not himself believe.”

The effect of this ruling is not just to eat away at the sacredness of the name of God, but to eliminate the sacredness and thereby the substance of the oath itself. With solemn oaths and binding contracts between individuals removed, the state eventually sits where God ought, and only the state’s cause is held valid. There is no longer an absolute and just legal basis for judging “between a man and his brother,” much less a man and his neighbor (Deuteronomy 1:16, 17). All affairs of life become subject to state, rather than individual control.

Rev. Ingram documents and points out that “a broad, organized attack reaching into high places is under way to remove the third commandment from legal standing in the United States and throughout the world.” He points out that, “the World Court, for example, presumably the new fountain of justice, or a prototype of the socialist dream of world government, has no provision for’taking the name of God’ – no oath.” The Socialist agenda of world domination makes no place for solemn “swearing” between individuals.

Jesus’ teaching on oath-taking recorded in Matthew 5:33-37, while often misinterpreted, is actually a strong affirmation of the third commandment and a clear warning that “the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain” (Exodus 20:7).

Besides forbidding perjury, (calling God to witness a lie) and false swearing, this passage also forbids all rash and unnecessary swearing, and especially warns against promissory oaths – that require a performance. Our “Yes” should be “Yes,” and our “No” should mean “No.” If understood, our word uttered in integrity should of itself be a sufficient and proper bond.

The “evangelical prophet,” Oswald Chambers (1874 – 1917), saw that the empty promises made by so many Christians actually result in great “spiritual leakage.” He admonished his followers: “Always beware of vowing, it is a risky thing. If you promise to do a thing and don’t do it, it means the weakening of your moral nature. We are all so glib in the way we promise and don’t perform and never realize that it is sapping our moral energy.“

Think then, what happens to a nation rife with perjury, broken marriage covenants, unforgiveness, cults with demonic covenants, extortion, bribery, libel, slander, profanity, hypocrisy, idle talk, and lawsuits initiated solely for revenge and personal gain. We are living witnesses that truly “the Lord does not hold such a nation guiltless.”

Regardless of how the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled, we must each, as Oswald Chambers declared, realize that “God’s laws are not watered down to suit anyone; if God did that He would cease to be God. The moral law never alters for the noblest or the weakest; it remains abidingly and eternally the same.”

After more than 40 years of severe moral decline is it not time to repent, reverence the name of the Lord, reinstitute and keep the third commandment?

What is the Military-Industrial Complex?

The Military-Industrial Complex is a phrase used to signify a comfortable relationship between parties that are charged to manage wars (the military, the presidential administration and congress) and companies that produce weapons and equipment for war (industry). To put it simply, the Military-Industrial Complex is described as an all-too friendly relationship that may develop between defense contractors and government forces, where both sides receive what they are perceivably looking for: a successful military engagement for warplanners and financial profit for those manning the corporate boardrooms. It can be viewed as a “war for profit” theory.

The idea of war for profit is nothing new in the realm of human history and can be traced back centuries earlier where arms races and the power of navy ships ruled an empire’s reach. The arms race between the European powers of France, Spain and Britain could arguably be a primal version of today’s modern so-called military-industrial complex.  The idea was that a country must build up and maintain a ready military - the largest in the world at that - to remain a world power.  Centuries ago, such a military was necessitated to protect aggression from neighboring countries.  These days, an invasion of the American homeland may seem ridiculous and contrary to the building of a global community founded in trust and respect. Others might argue differently.

In any case, the theory of a mutually beneficial relationship may not appear to be so far-fetched. It is no secret that the defense industry profits most when a nation commits to a lengthy war overseas. As any military will spare no expense for victory, it only makes sense to tap the resources of the defense industry to accomplish the mission. A sort of pseudo-world dominance through the basic form of imperialism can be seen to be just as important to a military force as is protecting one's homeland.  The bottom line: war is good business for those invested in it - manufacturing, production, servicing, etc..  To the war-minded industry, a wartime economy is just as profitable as a solid growing one, where shells and ammunition take precedence over the production of peacetime light bulbs or pencils. One need only to peruse the list of manufacturers participating in production during the Second World War to see just how a wartime economy can alter a single factory.

The phrase Military-Industrial Complex was first utilized in an American report at the turn of the 20th Century. “Military-Industrial Complex” was later immortalized by outgoing United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower in his January 17, 1961 farewell address to the nation. In his speech, he cites the Military-Industrial Complex as a warning to the American people – to not let this establishment begin to dictate America’s actions at home or abroad. The original usage appeared in the form of Military-Industrial Congressional Complex but later removed.

If you do believe in the Military-Industrial Complex, the sheer significance of such a relationship between our government and business is overwhelming.

Is Obama Legally in Office?

Nothing but FACT in this 6 minute film. All the evidence is catalogued for you here in this brief film. PLEASE, PLEASE...follow the instructions at the end of the film. The Future of our Nation depends on YOU! You will hear audio clips of Kenyan Ambassador Orego declaring that B.H.Obama was "born in Kenya" and clips of Gov. Bill Richardson, an Obama Cabinet Appointee declaring that "Obama is an immigrant" and much, much more...you must see this and pass it on - if our nation is to survive this Constitutional crisis!