The 60's

I rolled the waistband of my skirt up one more time before I reached the double doors of the high school I attended. If the skirt was too short, the principal would make you go home and change. Parents wanted modesty to protect their little girls but we just wanted to fit in. We wanted acceptance more than anything. We listened to music and looked at magazines. Most of us didn't really think about what we were doing all that much.

In retrospect, I realize that we were reacting to what was going on in the colleges, among the intelligentsia, who were experimenting with sex and drugs. They were pushing the limits, questioning the norms. The sexual revolution of the 60's has had far reaching consequences.

We can't go back... but we could bend the direction we're going as a society if women could regain their self-respect. Women that dress modestly say,"I am a person worth getting to know. I respect myself and I wouldn't think of letting anyone cross my boundaries."


Rococo

Death of a Hero

Sitting in the magazine section at the local grocery story, I studied the subject of manhood. It was 1959 and I was eight years old. I came here every week on Saturdays while my mother shopped for our family groceries. I always went straight for the magazines, comic books to be exact. I liked a wide variety of comics, but one of my favorites was Superman. He was an exciting and handsome hero. There was mystery, adventure, romance, and rescue. I could trust Superman to do the right thing... always.

There were other magazines in that section that portrayed a different aspect of manhood. I knew they were forbidden but I sneaked a look out of curiosity. They were for bad men, I figured out. I had seen "bad men" when my father, an attorney, took me with him to the county jail. So I had these two, very definitive categories in my mind for men. There were the heros, like my dad and Superman and there were the other kind of men who were scary, bad, untrustworthy.

My ideal of Superman died in the 70's with the remake of the old movie. Superman for the first time in my knowlege did a bad thing. I was a young adult, expectantly watching my old hero in big, bold, color with all the newest film technology. He had everything going for him...and what did this former hero do? He spent the night with Lois Lane. He was still strong and brave and able to stop bullets, but he could not control his passion. He was not self-sacrificing.

Last night, thirty years later, I found out what happened to my former hero. Sad, but true. Having fathered an illegitimate child and leaving his lover, he missed the first five years of his son's life in order to satisfy his desire to find his lost planet. He returns to find Lois living with another lover. Of course, Superman is still in love with her. So then we have this weird triangle where her new lover is really a very nice guy and even helps save Superman's life and Lois loves them both. Superman's little boy stands around looking bewildered.

I'm bewildered too. Because this sordid mess is a reflection of our culture today. Just who do kids look up to when the adults around them have such messed up lives? Well, I guess there is still Spiderman... I can always hope that he does the right thing. Better to marry than burn. I just thought "superman" knew that. The special effects were great anyway.

Rococo

To Women

Do you ladies out there realize how much we have lost as a result of feminism?

Ironic... We started out wanting reasonable things like equal pay for equal work and voting rights. Women wanted recognition for their work and equality in the workplace.

Now women are raising kids by themselves and working fulltime jobs outside the home to provide for the family. Kids are growing up without fathers around. Women feel they should be able to do anything that men can do, including go to war.

How has this happened?
1. Donald Duck started wearing dresses.
2. Grown men watched Pee Wee Herman until they all became wimps.
3. Something bad happened in the 1960's.

The correct answer is number 3.

More later.
Rococo

Worthy Is The Lamb

"You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth."

Party My Crib...2 a.m.

Ok...so a Welsh Corgi can't quite replace this guy. What's a grandma to do!?!

My grandson is not mine by heredity. He is mine because my adopted daughter is mine - by love, by commitment.

How can I describe the tenderness I feel toward him? Although he looks a lot like my daughter, he is just himself... lovable because God created him to be so... precious, vulnerable.

As I held him in my arms, my heart was warmed, melted by his smile. No... I guess a Corgi just doesn't cut it.

I love you, Grandson.

On Memory, Babies, Writing and Other Stuff

I almost forgot about my dog... I mean my blog. Sorry Gizzardgrit... Dear.... Have I mentioned that my memory isn't as sharp as it used to be? And babies are nice, oh so cuddlely and ( that dastardly four letter word ) - cute! Holding a warm, soft, breathing little bundle is therapeutic. Suddenly I am a grandmother and happy about it! Only problem is, he, my grandson, lives clear across the country.

Maybe I'll get a puppy to hold. I am enchanted with Welsh Corgis...

The other stuff concerns our culture and raising children in it. It used to be more clear cut. Give them lots of love, teach them right from wrong, and send them out into the world, knowing that your teachings will be reinforced by the larger society. They would have to rebel and seek out a fringe group to go to the "dark side". Darkness is overtaking our culture and our children.

Young men used to have to secretly buy and hide pornographic magazines. How easy is it now? Checkout stand at Walmart for soft images. The internet for instant hard core stuff. Easier yet, turn on the TV and watch a few commercials. God help them withstand the temptation! They become so used to the pornographic images flashing all around them that it seems normal. They are confused as to what a woman should be. Modesty? Gone.

Our little girls are more than ever taught by fashion magazines, movies, and TV... to be sex objects for men. This starts very young. Have you looked at little girls' fashions? It's hard to find jeans that reach above the belly button and tops that hang below the waist.

Maybe I'll get a puppy to hold. I am enchanted with Welsh Corgis...

Have I mentioned that my memory's not as sharp as it used to be?

God help us all.

Rococo

Oh, and writing... well...I'll try to do better. If I remember...

Old Photos

Recently, I browsed through some old family photos. Besides the nostalgic moments, I felt as though I had regained a part of some dearly beloved family members. Death brings with it separation, for a time, at least. To love a person is to never stop missing them when they are gone. A good, healthy love will truly last forever.

I reconnected with my Grandmother on my mom's side during this look at the past. Her life was cut short at age 54 by lung cancer. I was eight years old, shocked, devastated by this loss. I remember that I loved her deeply and that she loved me, valued the person that I was in the process of becoming. As a grandmother, she had time for me.

The photos I discovered are now sitting on my desk, where I can gaze and remember the loved ones God has given me. Though they are gone from this earth, they remain in my heart forever. The picture of my dad as a young boy gives me insight into his character. He stands with his two younger brothers whom I'm sure he teased relentlessly, but loved ferociously, as was his nature. He was a young man in the navy, a newlywed, and a baby. I hope that somehow, in heaven, all that has been lost will be regained.

Grandpa Was a Narcissist

How do I love me? Let me count the ways:

1. I always talk about myself. I love to monologue.
2. I never wonder how you feel.
3. I get angry when you don't do the jobs I want you to do or when you do them the wrong way.
4. I try to find ways in which other people will see me as good and important.
5. It doesn't bother me to leave my children at home on Christmas while my wife and I go away to visit relatives.
6. When fruit is scarce I buy just enough for myself.
7. I never praise my sons, although I may brag about them to others.
8. I get teary when I tell sad stories about me.
9. I see my wife and sons as possessions. I can do what I want with them.
10. I beat my sons when they do stupid things.

How can the son of a narcissist recover?

It's All Good

The good we experience in this world comes from our Father in heaven. If He removed His Spirit from our world, it would fall apart! Jesus Christ holds all things together and has done so from the beginning.

God dwells with us, here on this earth, through His Holy Spirit. When we listen to that Spirit, when we hear His voice through the words of the Bible, we are corrected, encouraged, strengthened, and given faith.

Faith is a gift. The Holy Spirit illumines God's Word and we recieve faith in Christ, who is the Word that became flesh and dwelt among us. Eph. 2:8-9

Rococo
Photo: www.mountainadventures.com

The man said...

"This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman, for she was taken out of man."
For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.
Genesis 2:23-24

Leaving is So Easy

You don't feel the way you did at one time. Things have changed and leaving is easy. No one tells you not to go. You have a right to fulfillment. You are the one that has been injured in this relationship. Why stay? Just get on that train and go on down that track. You need to find happiness.

Come to think of it, why make a commitment in the first place? It's a lot easier to leave if nothing is expected. Marriage just complicates life. Right? That's right, isn't it? I mean, no one gets hurt if nothing is expected. It's just ....easier.

And kids... Well, they're flexible. They adjust to whatever... Yeah, they can make it. That's why only 20% of American kids have attachment disorder now days. I'm sure the percentage would be higher if children couldn't handle things like divorce and being raised by one parent. It doesn't hurt them "big-time" to be left behind... when the train goes on down the track.

Rococo
photo: home.earthlink.net/tllebron/id24.html

In Need of a Miracle

Jesus said that if we don't forgive our brother from our heart, we will not be forgiven. That just doesn't seem to be the way we operate. When someone injures us, we have a whole court system that will help us to get reparations for what we have suffered. I don't see very many examples of true forgiveness in this world of human beings. Dogs seem to be better at it than we are, and that is because their memories aren't very good!

That's just it...memory. A dog quickly forgets his ears being brutally cut off, but humans can't forget the hurt and the anger they feel. So how do we forgive from the heart? I am not sure. I can't always control my feelings. I can control my actions though. I am reminded of a story that Corrie ten Boom told about forgiving her enemy. There was a guard that had beaten her sister in a concentration camp in Germany during WWII. Her sister had died in the camp and Corrie was alone after the war. She was speaking to a group of Christians about God's grace and forgiveness in even the darkest of places. After the talk, the same guard who had ill-treated her sister in the camp, came towards her with hand outstretched, to greet her. Of course, Corrie remembered the brutal beating that her sister had suffered from this person. She prayed, "God I can't forgive. Help me!" and then stretched her hand out. As the guard took her hand, forgiveness somehow flowed through them.

Obviously, her memory of this event remained with her, but her feelings did change. She could still remember the way she felt but she did not hold on to the angry, hurt feelings. Perhaps whenever we are able to forgive, a miracle takes place.

Submit or Die

A ghostly figure stands timidly alone beside the column. Her hands say she is a woman. A shocking sight to the uninitiated.
In reading about the life of Mohammed, it seems to me as though there are similarities between the founder of Islam and the founder of Mormonism. The most obvious likeness is the way they treated women. Joseph Smith was able to manipulate women into becoming" multiple wives" with promises of obtaining heaven through their husbands. Mohammed also had revelations that served his purposes. His youngest wife was but 9 years old. The fruit of Islam has been oppression of women throughout its history. The Mormons have distanced themselves from their prophet, no longer practicing polygamy. Islam becomes violent when its prophet is even mildly criticized, calling for death to any who would oppose them.

Rococo

Evergreen

Stability in relationships is uncommon in our society. People move from person to person as often as from place to place. The definition of family and marriage is changing. Old boundaries are torn down. We have new definitions. I see our society falling apart because people have nothing in which to trust.

The changes I see happening in our culture are not attractive to me, but I do desire change of another sort. A static, even stagnant environment symbolizes hopelessness. This is why I love to take something old and ugly and make it beautiful and new. God does this very thing when he takes our ugly old sin and replaces it with the righteousness of Christ.

I am excited about the changes on our place. It is becoming something new. The ugly old Chinese elms will be gone. Then the beautiful evergreens we planted years ago will be uncovered. Perhaps this makes some people sad because they have memories of good happenings around the old things. For me though, the old things have been thorns in my flesh, like sin that is unconfessed and festering. I want it all cleared out, cleaned up, and redesigned. The evergreens which have been hidden all this time will be allowed to flourish.

Rococo