If I were president for four years,or even a congresswoman,or a senator.... I would try my best to fix the economy and the cost of living, where one income would do for a family so the mother, if she wished, could stay home and take care of her family.

I don't know how I would go about doing that (at the moment, it is out of my expertise, and evidently out of their's too) but I know that my husband and I would rather pay extra income tax towards giving a mother a reward for marriage and for taking care of the children in their own home, rather than seeing day care centers spring up all over our nation and funded by our government!

As it now stands if a couple has children out of wedlock, they gain more monetarily by remaining single and either living in the same house without marriage or go their separate ways without benefit of a mother and father to their little one. What a sad commentary it is when evil and weakness is rewarded in our country and on the other hand and for the same consideration, marriage and making a home for a little child is penalized!

If every house hold were taxed for this reason what an improvement in morals and child care it would have for the United States! Granted, it takes more than perks to have good morals, but our country has been penalizing morals and marriage and giving perks to immorals for so long a time.

For instance people can draw more money for living together than for being married in some cases. I don't begrudge them the money, except for the fact that the little child doesn't have a good home and also I would like for them to be encouraged to live right and have good spiritual health along with the other needful things in life.

We had rather give our taxes for a mother to be able to be with her children rather than working...than for a grant of thousands of dollars, to study the digestive system of a buzzard or to study the sex life of a rat over in some foreign country and the many other foolish things they give grants to.

And then...there are the cases in families where being satisfied with a smaller loaf of bread would help.

I gave these odd shaped cucumbers to my friend, Janiree...and boy! did she use her talent. Aren't they cute? I am glad that we took a picture of them before they shriveled up.

Changing the subject...and preserving our offspring.

LOVING OUR CHILDREN

Loving our children and discipline...goes together. The Bible in Proverbs tells us that if we do not discipline our children we do not love them. (Paraphrasing)

Affection is so important. If you only do one... affection is the one to do. Don't ever leave out affection. Give all you can.

I knew a couple who had one child and they evidently did not believe in discipline. I watched him grow from a toddler and he was a real brat all along. But they gave him so much love (not the Bible kind of course) and affection. When he grew up, I don't think he would have. willingly, done one thing to disappoint them, because of all the love and attention they gave him, even though he was so spoiled growing up. So if there's only one thing you can give them, let it be affection!

But surely we can give more than one important thing to our children. Don't accept disobedience from your children. If you tell them to do...or not to do something, don't threaten, just tell them one time...not over twice. Then do something about it.

If we wish to obey God's Word, and if we want them to grow up obeying Him, the Bible tells us that discipline will save their souls from destruction. Affection by itself does not really include love. Love is wanting what is best for someone and in the case of a child growing up, sometimes that has to include discipline.(Proverbs 23: 13-14).

Discipline, love and affection are so important and we need to take lots of time and effort to give it to them all their young lives. It will not only make a difference in them, but in the family and also in our nation. Our little ones are just too precious to let them grow wild!!!

Our Little Stray Puppy: So cute! One ear is black and the other lighter...like it has been cut across the nap". (Smile)

This little puppy came to our house three days in a row and she was too small to run off, so my DH had to pick her up and carry her off. The third day he did this, she bit him...and being so young, we almost knew she was not rabied...but we called the health dept and asked them and they told us to keep her up. We did not want a dog! We could not find the owner and decided she was just dumped out.

So I asked the state health dept whose responsibility it was to keep her up and they said it was our responsibility!

So....we got attached after 10 days of feeding and watering the little thing. She also had the mange and we had to get her some medicine from the vet within that 10 days. That cured the mange.

Well here it is 5 months later and we have built a chain link fence for her and she is just a sweet little dog. She got a rash again and we got medicine from the vet again, wondering how she could have gotten the mange when she is fenced in. The medicine didn't help, in fact it seemed to irritate it.

We have an appointment with the vet next Monday and we are beginning to think that it is allergy to grass. Maybe the vet has something for that if he thinks that's what it is. I have heard of it but we never had a pet that was allergic to that.

Does anyone know anything about pets being allergic to grass?

It is that time of year again. Christmas music playing on all the street corners and in all the department stores, long lines of shoppers at the checkout. Christmas parties at work, Christmas programs at school and special Christmas celebrations at many churches. No doubt about it, Christmas is almost here.

The holidays can be stressful, but there are so many good things about this time of year that make it special. We tend to be a little more thoughtful, patient and forgiving of others at this time of year. We are a little more concerned with those who are lonely and the needs of the widows, the orphans and the homeless. We are a little less concerned with work and spend a little more time with family and friends. And most important of all, at this time of year more people are focused on Christ Jesus. Church attendance will peak, carolers will be singing songs of the miraculous birth of Jesus and the story of the Lord's birth will be told again and again. Some refer to this as the "spirit of Christmas".

Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could have this "spirit of Christmas" year round? Wouldn't it be wonderful if everyone was as focused on helping the needy throughout the year as during the Christmas season? Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could enjoy the kind of fellowship with friends and family throughout the year that we do duriing the Christmas season? Wouldn't it be wonderful if we were as focused on Jesus throughout the year as we are during Christmas. Wouldn't it be wonderful if life could be like "Christmas" year round?

Jesus tells us in John 10:10, I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. The blessings of love, patience, compassion, fellowship, generosity and worship of the Lord were never intended to be seasonal, but were intended to be characteristic of the everyday life of the disciple of Christ. 

We are told in Colossians 2:16: "...therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience, Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.  Forgive as the Lord forgave you, And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. 

The love, joy and peace that many experience only during the holidays, is enjoyed throughout the year by those who are in Christ Jesus. - By Wendell Ingram