Why are you doing what you do?

The younger two kids came home all hyped up with GREAT news!!! It was the new fundraiser for the school...cookie dough! While I am all about the fundraisers, there is only so much a person can do asking the neighbors and especially within our own budget of giving. They ran in the door off the bus and digging out their packets of info,  they could barely contain themselves telling me about all the prizes they could win, "Mom!!! If we ONLY SELL 15 of them, we get....." To their disappointment, I told them the previous 2 fundraisers and the little prizes they earned last time were all that we could do this time. "But Moooommmm, we could (get this toy) and (that)." I asked what the money was for and neither of them knew. In all their excitement to sell, they didn't even know what for. I am assuming it is for the track which is so badly needed!! 
Needless to say, they were quite angry with me that they wouldn't be able to get their prizes. It had nothing to do with not getting a new track which even at their age, they know they need because they run on it every day and it's in bad shape. They had been so pumped up by the school rally to earn prizes, that was their only focus...the prizes. They were motivated by selfish gain.
Now, I am all about prizes and earning rewards. But... are we being conditioned to see the personal gain rather than the central purpose for which we are striving? Do we have to be bribed to work/serve/give? Why not hype the kids up to the realization of a new track!?! Are we all hyped up for the prizes without even knowing what we are striving for?!? I wonder if we do the same thing at church? We talk so much about what God can do for you, the Peace He offers, the Comfort He gives, the Protection and Refuge for the weary, the Strength in our weaknesses that we don't even show them Who He is. 
Are we so hyped up about our "prizes" that we miss what the prizes resulted from? Our track?! Our God! Do we know it's ultimately about the "track" being built and not our personal gain? Are we just "selling" Jesus to get our prize? Yes, how precious and gracious is He that the Lord blesses as a result of our obedience and surrender to Him (what joy and privilege) but I wonder if we too often focus on the blessings and not the Blessed? 
Is my worship about how it makes me feel or is it about how it makes the Lord feel? 
Do I choose daily to walk with Him and serve Him so I can win the Fruit Basket? 
Am I sacrificially serving for the Kingdom growth? 
Am I so conditioned to "get" that I am not focused on The Giver? 
Whose kingdom am I striving to enrich? Mine or Christ's?  
God really made me stop this morning to think of the root of all my doings and how I am conditioning myself and my kids and others...am I hyped up "selling" the Blessings or The Blessed?
Our children should obey and honor, not because they will get a Treasure Box goodie if they do but because they love God first.
We should worship God with all our heart, mind and soul, not because it feels good or that we are supposed to but because it blesses Him to receiver our worship and praise out of our pure love and devotion to Him.
We should go to church and serve not because we will look good in the sight of man, but because we get to learn and love while planting seeds as the hands and feet of Jesus.
We go to church to be with the Body functioning together to serve God, not play games and publish grand numbers or earn a reputation.
We love God, because He first loved us, not because of the riches He gives to those who love Him.
I give God my heart, not because He can make it bigger, but because it is by His grace I even have life. 
We love others, not because it gives us more friends but because out of our love for God, we can't help but love others.
I want my marriage to be strong not because it makes life easier or makes us happier, but because we are a reflection of The Gospel.
Love love, not gain. 
I want my children to serve out of love, not gain.
I want to serve my husband out of love, not gain.
I want to serve my church and others out love, not gain.
I want to serve my God out of love, and not gain. 
All the blessings in the world, all the prizes that can be won, all the effort we spend working towards these gain, I wonder if we will ever see the track for which we worked so hard for or will we continually be off somewhere playing with all our toys, looking for more? Instead, may we be so focused on The Track that we don't count anything gain except for the "Track" being built.

Father God, You are my greatest love and blessing. Help me resist the temptation to see all Your goodness only to strive for Your prizes/blessings. I confess there are times I get hyped up at all Your offering and prizes that I completely miss The Offering of You. It is my heart's desire to worship You, The Blessed, and not Your blessings. God, I want all that I am and all that I do to be about You. I must decrease so You can increase. The gift of Your Son truly is our greatest treasure. How thankful I am for Your sweet Love and Blessings from the immeasurable riches You own, but God, I want You more than I want more stuff. With You, I have my Peace and Strength and Hope. Nothing can compare to the treasure of You. It is You that saved me from the pit. It is Your Love Offering that took on all my sins. Lord God, help me keep my eyes fixed on Your "track" that all my life will be about You as the ultimate end of my striving, not of any selfish gain. For You alone are worthy, all glory and honor is for You. For Your Name's sake, amen.

"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." 

Matthew 6:19-21

"Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth! Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into His presence with singing! Know that the LORD, He is God! It is He who made us, and we are His;we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture. Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise! Give thanks to Him; bless His name! For the LORD is good; His steadfast love endures forever, and His faithfulness to all generations." 

Psalm 100  

"But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." 

Matthew 6:33

     

SURFS UP!!! Are you protected?

"What happened?" "Did something happen with one of the kids?" "What set you off?!?"

These were the questions several of you were sweet and curious enough to ask after a recent Facebook post about "Issues." For those who did not see it, here's the post:

SOOOOO hard to let go of your children, even when you trust God and know God is in control!!! I know I have peers and younger ones on my Facebook, so I will say this to both:

Parent to Parent: PLEASE CHECK YOUR KIDS PHONES AND EMAILS AND FBK MESSAGES!!!! Yes, takes extra time and they may not like it, but it's important for them to know they are still under your accountability and authority and i

t's our responsibility to set boundaries and correct bad choices. Don't put your child's friend in the position to have to go tell a parent! Every Parent should already know!!! Be in their DIGITAL WORLD and ask about what they've seen and heard each day.
Grieves my heart to hear what goes on even in JUNIOR HIGH!!! Makes me struggle with "control" and letting them go. Phil 4:13, trusting He is in control!!!
Blogging about DIGITAL Parental Controls tomorrow!! Then hopefully Thursday, SPIRITUAL Parent Controls. Parents, we need each other!!! Where two or more are gathered...!

Teens: PLEASE REMEMBER THAT DIGITAL FOOTPRINTS ARE PERMANENT!!!! In these days, what you put out there can instantly be shared with all the world!!! Everything done in darkness will come to Light! If you want someone to tell you you're beautiful/handsome and worthy, give yourself to GOD, not immature boys/girls! You're value and image is reflected in Christ! Hold on to it and guard it!! You are wonderfully made and created for a purpose!!!!! You don't deserve anything less than what God has planned for you!!! If someone wants a piece of you, make them go through your Abba Daddy to get to you!!!! Christians, hold each other accountable!! Help each other be pure and strong!!! Where two or more are gathered....Honor your Father!!

And there it is....yep, I was at the end of my rope with EVERYTHING!!! Ever have one of these kid of days...or weeks...inside-out and backwards!

Well, I was! No matter what I did right it only seemed that 2 things would go wrong. One step forward and two steps back, so it seemed. Just a "toss in the towel" week, or two actually.

Without getting into specifics about who and what, I will share my "issue." Bottom line is technology can be very dangerous. I cannot believe these words are about to come out of my mouth (I'm actually old enough to say it-wow), but BACK IN MY DAY, there weren't computers in the home that could access something called the internet and there weren't cell phone that not only will allow you to talk to anyone, anywhere and even via live stream but they can also access anything you could could possibly want in the world...any item, any information. 

Just like anything, there is a choice...it is a choice you have to make cuz these things in of themselves are not evil but we choose to use them for good or evil. I receive inbox messages often from others thanking me for the encouraging words shared on Facebook while so many others spew hatred or junk out there. I choose to use my life and the resources God has given me to bless, not curse. Not bragging but sharing the strength and joy that comes from having a personal relationship with Christ and choosing to live a life, best as this sinner is able, to honor Him. 

With the privileges we all have with things (fame, money, technology, etc) there comes with it responsibility to use it responsibly and for the Christian-respectfully and honoring Christ. We have the choice to use our things for good or evil, and it is our responsibility to set up whatever boundaries necessary to make sure we do. If we struggle with overeating, we should stay away from buffets. If we struggle with alcohol, we should stay away from environments or people who drink. If we gamble, we should stay away from money-pits. If we struggle with purity, we should have major filters on our "media." Whatever our vice, we need accountability and filters!

This brings me back to my post! DIGITAL Parental Controls! WE...THE PARENTS...MUST put them on EVERYTHING!!! I didn't even realize what was out there and what all my different gadgets could do. The Wii, PS3, Desktop and IPhones/Cells all have access to the internet. Unless you put up blocks or filters, they can look up anything!!!! Stuff you don't want them to see. While there is a ton of awesome uses for the internet, we need to set those guards up so our kids are only able to be in the "safety zone."

I am shocked at the things I see on the Internet with teens pictures! And it's not just the girls!!! Guys are flexing and showing undergarmets too, all talking about their weekend happenings. Are there really that many parties going on out there?!? And the things texted, wow! Conversations these days progress faster than "back in my day." I always wonder what the parent would do if they actually saw or read what their child had just posted or sent. When my kids come home and tell me what they've seen, I immediately say a prayer for the parent to please find out. I too want to know what my kids are up to. It should not be up to another child to report the misuse of media to their friend's parent. I doubt anyone would ever actually do that.

What if every parent were active in their own kids phones/computers? What if there were filters in place that prevented adult content to leak out into our kid's worlds, even for us adults who struggle with our own purity temptations. There is much that NO ONE needs to see. We shared a statistic in our SS Class a few weeks ago that the Pornography Industry profits more than all the Sporting Industries combined!! That's a LOT!! And we wonder why many marriages are being destroyed, sex-trafficking is on the rise and why it's so hard to find a show or movie that is void of sexual content!

So, I am a Mom on Mission to protect the Digital purity of my home, that includes my husband and I, our children, as well as any guests that come into our home. While we cannot protect them at every turn, and I wish I could force filters out to everyone under the age of 18, we have the responsibility and ability to do what we can. Filtering 75% is better than 0%. (Yes there are the legal warnings that you must be 18 or older, but what good is that if the child has the password!?!)

I am in the process of learning myself what our legal and moral consequences/responsibilities are, I hope to put together a little workshop for parents but I wanted to put a feeler out there and see if anyone would even be interested in digging in, getting the information and having accountability with it. If so, please email me.

Meanwhile...for you ITunes people...did you know that Apps and ITunes have ratings?!?! I had no clue! I have officially removed YouTube, ITunes and App Store from all the cells. If we want to see something on there, it can be done at home on the desktop where there is accountability and a history. If someone wants to make a purchase, it must go through Mom or Dad since only we know the password (for every device!!!) and all purchases can be seen on the ITunes desktop. Even if a purchase isn't made, scrolling aimlessly through the App store can be dangerous too, just reading about all the apps with MA ratings and seeing the promo pictures is too much for little eyes.

So, I challenge and encourage you to take charge for the DIGITAL purity in YOUR OWN home!!!! No, your kids will probably not like it cuz like we already established, there is some good and they may simply be having fun, but it only takes a spark to get a fire going! If you or your spouse are the ones who struggle with DIGITAL purity, then change the passwords, put on stricter filters, get accountability and counsel and pray, pray, pray!!!! There is nothing God cannot free you from.

I am eager to learn what I can to clean my home from the inside out!! Remember that it is your responsibility to clean yours!!!! To GOD be the glory in every digit of our world.

*EMAIL me if you'd want to take a class from me which would be basics on what I will have learned and implemented in my own home. SURFS UP!!! 

Michele

happymomfour@comcast.net