How Will We Feel? Contrasting Views

A blogger I follow wrote a wonderful piece entitled “how will we know?” How will we know if we raised our children well? (You can read her complete blog by following the link.)

A little litmus test was provided:

• How do they treat the dog when no one is looking?
• Who do they prefer, the high and mighty or the underdog?
• Are they generous to those in need?
• What do I feel when they leave, relief or sadness?

“Sadness,” she said, “always sadness.” She finished her blog by saying, “well, I guess I could say that I'm relieved he grew up so kind.”

I rejoice with this mother on the outcome of her children. Like the woman of Proverbs 31, may your “children arise and call you blessed, and your husband also, and may he praise you.”

Then I wonder about the others…those other parents who are numbered in the ranks with Eli, the high priest in the book of First Samuel. Eli’s life ended in disgrace as his sacrilegious sons were judged by God and the sacred Ark of the Covenant fell into enemy hands. Eli’s death marked the decline of the influence of the priesthood and the rise of the prophets in Israel.

First Samuel is a book of contrast...great beginnings and tragic endings. As a religious leader, Eli certainly must have begun his life in a close relationship with God. You may remember the barren Hannah and the conversation between her and Eli. Eventually Hannah did conceive and when her son (Samuel) was weaned, she honored her promise to God and presented him to the temple and Eli. There Samuel was dedicated to the Lord’s service so that he could serve the Lord all the days of his life. Yet for all that is right in this story, Samuel’s own sons turned away from God, taking bribes and perverting justice.

We find the transition from theocracy to monarchy within this book. The bible is full of contrasts, as is life…and parenting. As the blogger noted above about feeling sadness at the departure of her child, mine could be expressed as relief…and heartbreak and much, much sadness.

This weekend, Friday evening through Sunday afternoon, I will be attending a ‘retreat’ for the family and friends of the incarcerated. It is called Karios Outside.

Simply yours,

Tamara

P.S. Lea closed her blog with this:

"be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you."  Ephesians 4:32

It is also quite fitting here! 

P.S.S. Love you Lea! Mean it!

Further Updates on Retirement

Last Friday was the final day of working for the Arizona Department of Corrections. After 19 years of service, it was time to retire. Oh yes, I could have continued to work but now that we’ve downsized, sold our home and paid off the outstanding debts there is no necessity to do so.
 
The church we are attending had advertised for a Membership Secretary, so I applied. The job is part time, Monday – Thursday and consists of five hours a day – 10 am – 3 pm. I was offered the job and I am looking forward to working at and for the church beginning on Monday, September 9th.

I somehow believe the stress level will most certainly be different than that of working in a state prison. Oh, not that there won’t be any stress but if there is, it will be different than the pressing and urgent stress associated with prison.

An example of that stress was today’s news of Ariel Castro - the kidnapper, rapist who held three women hostage in Cleveland Ohio for a decade and his death by suicide in an Ohio prison. I couldn't help but think of the staff and officers to whose custody he was entrusted. The internal investigations that most assuredly will occur; answering to the Governor on how this could have happened; and then dealing with the aftermath of headline news and his family’s inquires could in all probability end in a wrongful death lawsuit. He was serving a life sentence plus 1,000 years to eliminate any possibility of parole.

I also feel bad for his family members who have suffered with the crimes this man committed. When you have family incarcerated, you yourself in some measure are doing that time with them. This I know to be true, so very true.

The three female victims of Castro’s crime had no comment regarding his suicide. I admire them for that. They could have been as course as most of the persons on Facebook have been. These women choose to rise above the circumstance of his suicide and remain silent. They have displayed an extreme measure of grace and dignity.

As for the retirement, the first thing I did was to delete the alarm on my cell phone that was set to 5:30 am Monday through Friday. I usually turned the alarm off as I awoke before that time, in anticipation I would suppose. What I am finding is that I am sleeping in until at least 6:30 or sometimes even 7:30 am daily!

I’ve been researching “Once a Month Freezer Recipes” for the crockpot. One site I found had recipes for five days AND includes the shopping list! I’m excited! In case you are interested, you can find the website here: 5 Crockpot Freezer Recipes with Shopping List. I may make adjustment since there are only the two of us, but in theory, it sure sounds good! Oh and this site has four more different sub-sites with five more recipes each for a whopping total of 25! That covers a month of eating at home with a few meals out, if one desires or different non crockpot meals.

We live very close to the Davis-Monthan AFB. There have been numerous protests surrounding this nation’s possible retaliation in Syria over the gassing of the rebel citizens, to include their children. Those pictures as shown on national television were horrific, to say the least. On a personal note, I am against our nation retaliating. Is the taking of more lives, to include more children as victims of war / conflict an acceptable loss? No it is not. It is the function of the United Nations to be the peacekeepers or the force of retaliation and thus to seek other nations assistance in that act.

Under the United Nations Charter, the functions and powers of the Security Council are:

·       to maintain international peace and security in accordance with the principles and purposes of the United Nations;

·       to investigate any dispute or situation which might lead to international friction;

·       to recommend methods of adjusting such disputes or the terms of settlement;

·       to formulate plans for the establishment of a system to regulate armaments;

·       to determine the existence of a threat to the peace or act of aggression and to recommend what action should be taken;

·       to call on Members to apply economic sanctions and other measures not involving the use of force to prevent or stop aggression;

·       to take military action against an aggressor;

·       to recommend the admission of new Members;

·       to exercise the trusteeship functions of the United Nations in "strategic areas";

·       to recommend to the General Assembly the appointment of the Secretary-General and, together with the Assembly, to elect the Judges of the International Court of Justice.

For more information, consult the list of selected articles of the UN Charter related to the Security Council.

For us, we should suspend foreign aid and apply sanctions. We need to suspend our current practice of providing these rebels with arms and financial support to overthrow their government in the hope they will become a more democratic nation. This area of the world has been in turmoil for much longer than this country has been a nation. Who are we to think that a democracy is for every nation and then to try and establish it for them or with our assistance?

We can come to no amicable solution on our own national concerns over the right to own and / or purchase weapons. Let us take care of our own issues at home and ensure our own children and their instructors are safe and secure in the confines of their educational institutions.  Until our nation ensures no child goes to bed hungry, we have no right to interfere in another part of the world.

Mark 3:25 (NIV) clearly says:

²⁵ If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.

We are a nation divided. Few see U.S. Military Action discouraging chemical weapons use in Syria.

President Obama faces an uphill battle in making the case for U.S. military action in Syria. By a 48% to 29% margin, more Americans oppose than support conducting military airstrikes against Syria in response to reports that the Syrian government used chemical weapons. (This published September 3rd by the Pew Research Center (Public Opinion Runs Against Syrian Airstrikes | Pew Research Center for the People and the Press).

OK, OK… I will put my soapbox away (for now). Just don’t be surprised if I end up at a protest rally! (Think of An American Tail and Madeline Kahn as the voice of Gussie Mausheimer saying, “Wets have a Wowie!”)

I believe I mentioned last post of the difficulties I’d been having on Google Chrome and of all the popup advertisements that were interfering with surfing the web or trying to blog. They were ads saying this program is outdated and requires updating or this one or that one… what we found was this was happening due to the recent update to Google Chrome &  Internet Explorer. Husband uninstalled and went back to the older version. Problem solved, at least with Internet Explorer. I have yet to reinstall Goggle Chrome.

So that’s it for this installment, blessings to you until next time.

Simply yours,

Tamara

P.S. Psalm 34:14 (NIV)
Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.