Stinking Thinking

We are all guilty of it, and we do it every day. It's vicious cycle that we get into and it eats at us and eventually we believe it. It's a little voice in your head that talks to you, and for some reason we let it continue and it festers and grows and it becomes something we don't even really recognize. It is stinking thinking. I heard this phrase in church today and it stuck with me and I realized, I do this...we all do.

Today as I sat in church I listened to the pastor, I prayed, I gave my concerns to God and I sang. As I was taking my notes and listening to the pastor, his words really hit home, but not as much as the phrase stinking thinking. A feeling of peace always comes over me as I sit in church and today was no exception. However, when I got home that feeling left. As I entered the door, this feeling of dread and hopelessness hit me and then the irritation took over and as words I would not be able to take back, almost flew out of my mouth, I heard the phrase stinking thinking.

Living with someone who is always negative is no easy task and today for the first time, I realized that no only has this negative feeling affected my way of thinking and even behaving, it has done the same thing to my children. I am quick to get angry and slow to forgive and God does not want this for us. It is hard to take a good hard look at ourselves, especially if we are wrong.

As I walked into the house today, I felt the negativity like a weighted blanket falling over me. I realized that stinking thinking is weighing my family down. Snide remarks and evil thoughts are not what we are suppose to hold on to. So what do we do? Can we change our stinking thinking?

The first thing I plan to do tonight, is pray. Pray for God to change my thoughts and help me to realize that there are things I need to change so I can change our address. I have been thinking this move is hopeless and the truth is that it is not, if I change my way of thinking. All the impossibilities of this move are possible if I let God be in control. I know there are many people who think that I am running away, and maybe part of me is, but in reality I am moving for my children. Today it is even clearer to me that we need to move. While I want nothing more than to be away from this house, it was never the reason to move to Maine. It is all about the children getting to be closer to their dad.

I need to let go and let God. Sounds simple, but seriously this is the hardest thing for me to do. I want to be in control, always. If I am in control then I control the outcome, but I learned today that if I let go, God controls the outcome much better than I ever could on my own. Luke 19:10 says, "for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." How perfect is this? I have lost sight of God, in my need to be the one in control of my life. My stinking thinking had me so off the path of following God that it seemed like such a long hard climb back.

I am not perfect and I will never claim to be. I am going to make mistakes, and I am going to mess up. Who cares? The people around you? Your family? Guess what, God knows you are going to mess up and He loves you anyway. He will never let you go, even when your stinking thinking has got you so far from Him, you don't think there is away back. He still has you and He will never let you go.

So my challenge is to you all, take a look at what your stinking thinking is costing you and then change it. Take the negative thought that is preventing you from your goal (or whatever it is), and change that thinking to focus on God. When you do, I promise you things will start to happen. One of the things my stinking thinking tells me daily, is that I am not worthy of God's love and since I can't be perfect, He can't and won't love me. Guess what, He loved me (and you) even before our parents knew we were going to exist. He knew who we would grow up to be and what we would accomplish and what we wouldn't. He has gone before us and seen it all and regardless of all the mistakes we were going to make, He loves us unconditionally, stinking thinking and all.

Until the next Scribble.......

Children Left in the Car....STOP!

Imagine felling dizzy, tired, having difficulty breathing and sitting in temperatures 30 to 40 degrees hotter than it is outside on a 100 degree day. Your sweaty, tired, your lungs feeling like they are on fire with every breath you take and your heart is beating so fast and there is nothing you can do to stop any of the symptoms. As an adult, you can get out of the car, as an infant or a toddler strapped into a car, you can't. You are helpless and alone and dying.

Sounds horrible, right? Well this is what happens to many children left in the car while their parents run into the store for a "quick second" . Anyone who watches, listens to or reads the news has read or heard about children dying by being left in the car.

Grabbing a gallon of milk, cigarettes, alcohol, getting your hair done, or any other errand is certainly not worth the life of your child. Nothing is worth risking the life of your child, and I do mean NOTHING!

A mother in Texas went into get her hair cut and left her two small children in the car. A passerby had to smash the window with a hammer in order to try and get the kids out. Even this was proving to be difficult as the mother had not only locked the car, but put the child safety lock on, virtually making it impossible to get the kids out, or even for the kids to get out. A woman had to climb through the window to get them out. Let me just say, that if your hair is so important that you are willing to risk the lives of your children, you don't deserve your children. A broken window is probably going to be the least of her worries.

This is probably the number one preventable death in children every year. It does not have to happen. Take your children with you. As a parent, I do realize that none of us are perfect and getting children in and out of car seats is a pain the butt, but when your child is dead because you didn't want to take a few seconds to undo the car seat or hear the child asking for candy in the store, you will realize how easy it really is to get them in and out. When your beloved child is dead, you will miss that "Mom I want candy. Can I have this? I want that!" Your child will no longer have a voice.

We have all lost our children in a store and panicked that we wouldn't be able to find them. We have all made mistakes, because Guess What?! We are not perfect! Leaving your child alone in a hot car for 7 hours is not a mistake. Leaving your children in the car to get a hair cut is bad judgment, and not a mistake, because you know better.

Are some of these deaths accidental? Probably. There is one case that I recall a few years back, where the dad had the baby, went into work and forgot he had the baby. He was not used to having the baby, it was rare for him to be the one to drop him off at daycare. I know that I run on automatic pilot most mornings, getting back packs together, grabbing coffee, getting 4 kids out the door in a timely manner and then to get to the stuff I have to do. I can see this being an accident, a tragic and useless accident that could have been prevented. A fatal case of distraction and running on auto pilot.

All of these cases are preventable, but they are not all murder. Murder means there was intent behind the action and I don't think the majority of these people meant to kill their children. To the mom who left her children in the car to get a haircut, had your children died, you should definitely have gotten murder charges, your hair is not that important. To those who broke the window, way to go you saved those children. To all parents, please, please, please don't leave your children in the car. To everyone, if you see babies or small children locked in a car, get them out! Break the window, do whatever it takes to get them out!

Older children can get out, even I have ran into the convenience store leaving my 16 year old in the car, but she can get out...and I leave the air conditioner on for her or her siblings, all of whom are old enough to get out of the car on their own. My 7 year old is never left in the car alone. Ever!

Parents, we are not perfect and we live in an imperfect world, but leaving your infants and small children in the car is careless and could have devastating, fatal results that will be hard for you to live with. The death of your precious child or children.

Until the Next Scribble.....

My Little Rant...Caution...Read at Own Risk

            Every day we hear in the news about people illegally crossing the border into the United States, and staying. We hear about illegal immigrants taking our jobs, costing our country a lot of money every day. Now we hear about the plane loads of immigrants that are being shipped around the country and released into our communities…because we don’t have enough criminals to deal with that are homegrown?

            I am not so insensitive that I don’t care about these people who are fleeing their country to try to escape unknown horrors and create a better life. I understand trying to care for and provide for your family. As a mother I can relate to wanting something better and safer for your children. I want the same things for mine.

            So why does this anger me? That is a good question and one I am going to answer. My children were born in Canada. No big deal right? Wrong. Now according to our Constitution, (which is not just some outdated piece of paper), tells me that as an American Citizen, my children are citizens, what the Constitution does not tell you, however, is all the hoops one has to jump through to get them legal to be here. Seriously? You can release a bunch of criminals with homicide and sexual crime convictions into our communities and give them free flights to various places around the country, but I, as an American citizen, have to pay a bunch of money, $600.00 per form (I have 3 children who need this form), in order to be able to get them social security numbers and what not.

            I have a Constitutional right to have my children living in this country, but what do these people have who cross our borders illegally? We know they are never going to show up to their deportation hearings, so why do we bother with hearings?

            Something is not right here.

            I love my country, I just wonder where its priorities are, because obviously it is no longer about the people of this country, if it were, would we be releasing criminals who are illegally in this country into our communities?

            Keep in mind that I am a US citizen. I was born and raised here and then moved to Canada where I had my children. As a US Citizen, according to our Constitution, my children are automatically considered US citizens, but I can’t claim them on my taxes or get socials for them without paying a ton of money for a piece of paper to agree with our Constitution. Immigrants that come here legally have to pay a bunch of money for Visa’s and to get their green card or citizenship, while we are throwing those who sneak across our borders into our communities.

            It is inhumane to leave them at the border or to send them back? Yet it is perfectly okay to place criminals with homicide and rape convictions into our communities with our children and families?

            I can honestly say that I don’t understand the politicians that run our country. When it comes down to it, their gray area is actually black and white. If you cross the border illegally, you go home. Simple. If you send your children here, you deserve to have them taken away, and guess what, we are sending them back. Simple. I know it sounds heartless, but when it did it become America’s job to take care of the world?

            Do you think Mexico would take care of the US if we needed it? No. Nor would any other country. Should we help other countries if we can? Absolutely, it’s part of what makes our country great, but that does not include trying to take over the country we are helping nor does it mean putting our citizens at risk.

            Granted this is just my opinion as an American citizen, but to me it seems that we make a big deal out of what should be simple. I think somewhere along the way our country has gotten lost and forgotten what the Constitution is about. We have forgotten what our Fore Fathers wanted for our country and sometimes it’s the basics, the bare essentials that we forget about and that we ignore. Don’t even get me started on what pansies we have become and how over sensitive we are and have becomes…perhaps that is another blog.

Until the next scribble....