Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from Him. ~ Psalm 127:3 NIV
Children are a gift from the LORD; they are a reward from Him. ~ Psalm 127:3 NLT
“Children are the living messages we send to a time we will not see.” ~ President John F. Kennedy
During election years we hear the statement "For the children." repeated ad nauseam. People love to throw this term around, especially those running for office. In my opinion this is a statement we should talk about frequently but talk about it honestly. Our children and grandchildren are indeed the future. As a mom and now a Grandma (who is anxiously awaiting the birth of my first grandchild) I want to talk about building a future for our children and grandchildren.
I start this blog with the fact that each and every child conceived is a blessing. One thing that we have moved far away from in this country is the Sanctity of ALL life including unborn children. We as a society have bought into the idea that the unborn life is a only valuable or sacred if someone chooses to believe that. We call abortion women's healthcare in total disregard of the baby. I stated a few blogs ago that since 1973 children have grown up to believe that instead of being a blessing, that their lives exist at the mercy of someone else's choice. The medical care of the unborn is not called women's healthcare it is called Pre-Natal care. The cascade from children growing up believing their lives started not as a blessing but as someone's choice has had devastating impacts on our country.
We throw around terms like choice, wanted, unwanted, planned and unplanned about children. It is time to stop allowing our children to believe they are anything other than a blessing. It is also time to have a real conversation about the damage that abortion does to women, emotionally, mentally and physically. Many girls and women are deeply and permanently wounded by having abortions, these women need to not be shamed but they need to be ministered to.
The next area we should be focused on when we state For the Children, is the return of parental authority. We should not only champion this concept we must demand it. Parents have been taught they are inept and not capable. Many movies and televisions portray parents as buffoons. This must stop. Parenting is hard and parents need to be encouraged and exhorted, not torn down. We need to stop mom and dad shaming in this country. Every statistic shows that children raised in a two Parent home have an advantage in life. Statistics on crime, addiction, prison population, and suicide become worse when dads are removed from the home/life of the child. We as a society denigrated dads and discouraged the nuclear family. It is also time for our society to come along side single parents and help when and where we can.
Along with parental authority comes educational choices. I hear teacher unions and politicians talk all the time about how we must spend more money on education while at the same time being against School choice. The public school system is by and large an abject failure, not all public schools of course there are always exceptions, however as a whole government run education is a disaster.
Ask yourself why most if not all charter schools around the nation have waiting lists and have yearly admission lotteries as do private schools that take vouchers? Ask yourself why anyone would be against Parents having the right and authority to decide which type of education is best for their child? Why as a society would we NOT want the tax dollars to follow the child to ensure they receive the best education? Why as a society would we NOT empower parents who know their children best to be able to choose which type of education is best? When we are talking about education being FOR THE CHILDREN why on earth would we NOT ensure that each child is matched to the best learning environment for them?
Every parent knows that each child matures at different rates and learns in different ways, so why would we as a society remove from parents the ability to determine what is in the best interest of their child? Another thing I would like to point out regarding charter schools, homeschools, online schools, and many private schools that make these successful choices for children is that parental participation is REQUIRED. Public schools do not require parental participation and many now discourage it. If we as a society truly are FOR THE CHILDREN it is time to return Parental Authority and demand TRUE school choice.
The next area I want to address is the EPIDEMIC of child sexual abuse and child sex trafficking. This is a heinous and evil reality of our society and it is rampant. We have allowed the grooming of our children by television shows, movies, commercials, music and every other form of media. We have allowed the sexualization of our children to the point that they easily fall prey to sexual predators and many people are not horrified by this. Public schools teach sex to children as young as kindergarten and many school districts DO NOT ALLOW parents to opt their children out of this. Child sex trafficking hit the headlines, then quickly went away with Jeffery Epstein, just as quickly as it did with Anthony Weiner. It has now come back with the arrest of Ghislane Maxwell. It is time as a society that we DEMAND that any and all of those who traffick children for sexual abuse and prey on children and sexually abuse them be held to account and put away where they can never harm another child. IT should not matter WHO the perpetrator is, how famous, how rich, how powerful, and what profession they are in, they should be held to account.
As a society WE must protect the innocence of children, let them be children and enjoy childhood, adulthood comes soon enough. As a society we cannot continue to put our heads in the sand about this absolute evil and we cannot ever allow Pedophilia to become normalized. We must understand there is an agenda that is pushing Pedophila to be normal. The damage it causes to children impacts every area of their lives and is not a TRAUMA easy to recover from.
The final area I want to address in my FOR THE CHILDREN blog is the insanity of defunding the police. This dangerous idea has gained a foothold in various cities/towns. If we defund the police, those who are charged with protecting the public, who do you think will be the first to fall victim to crime? We have already seen during the riots and defunding of police that multiple children have been hurt and murdered by the mob. Every child and it does not matter what neighborhood they are growing up in DESERVE to be safe and protected. Children should not have to stay inside because their neighborhood is a war zone. Children should not be shot playing outside or sitting at home on the couch watching tv/playing a game or while their parents are taking them through the drive through of McDonald's. Children should not have to walk through drug deals to go to the corner store.
America it is time we have real and substantive conversations about our children.
Today
Pray for the parents that you know, including expectant parents.
Pray for the children in your neighborhood and if their are single parent homes reach out and see how you can help.
Pray that we as a society will take seriously child sex trafficking and demand an end to it.
God's Promise for Today
I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants. ~ Isaiah 44:3b
