The Blockers

Ah, The Blockers, those pesky little mischievous "gremlins" that pop up from time-to-time and do nasty little things around the house.

Well, we have a house guest for a while, we'll call her "Coagulated Tree Sap" (CTS for short).  Well, CTS was going down to the basement to wash some clothes when she discovered the mess of all messes.  She saw an open paint can, and the contents all over the basement floor.

She called up to my wife, "Uh, I think we have a problem here!"

My wife came down, looked at the mess and started laughing (in order to keep from crying!)  That is when she started her investigation.

Who could have made this mess?

When was the mess made?

What was their motive?

Where was the mess made? (Obvious, she was looking at it.)

 

The mess was relatively fresh, probably within the last 1/2 hour or so.  The paint hadn't started to dry at all, so the clean up wasn't *that* difficult.

In light of that, Hurricane had been at the neighbors playing for a couple of hours.  So he could safely be eliminated as a culprit in this heinous crime.

Godzilla, though he has the ability to create mass destruction, was asleep in his crib at the time.   So, unless he was sleep walking, he could be absolved.

The adults of the house wouldn't have done that, so we were all eliminated from suspicion.

That left only one.

That left the Tornado.  Just like his namesake destruction was sown quickly and effectively.  However, because no one was there to witness the destruction, my wife couldn't "convict" him.

That is where I come in. 

The first words out of my wife's mouth as soon as I entered the house where, "Honey, Tornado painted the basement floor, but no one saw him do it.  Can you talk to him?"

I immediately went up stairs and put on my Good Cop/ Bad Cop face.  First I took the position of the good cop:

"Tornado, what happened down stairs?"

"Paint Spilled."

"Did you spill the paint?"

"No, Daddy"

"Do you know who spilled the paint?"

"Yes, Daddy"

"Um, could you please tell me who did it then?"

"The Blockers" -- ominous music started playing in the background.

"The Blockers?"

"Uh huh."

"Who are the blockers?"

"They're outside."

I looked out the back to where he was pointing.

"I don't see anyone outside, except mommy, and she's cooking on the grill and I know she didn't do it.  So what happened?"

"They hit me on the head."

"Oh, so they hit you on the head and then wen down and spilled the paint?" 

"Uh huh."

"Did you see the spill the paint?"

"Uh huh."

OK, I'd heard enough.

"Tornado, I know that the blockers didn't do this.  I know that you are lying to me and I'll give you one chance to tell me the truth.  If you tell me the truth, you will not be punished, but if you tell me the lie again, I'll be forced to discipline you.  Did you spill the paint?"

"No, Daddy, it was the blockers."

"Wait, hold on, maybe you didn't understand.  You will be punished if you lie to me and you will not be punished at all if you tell me the truth.  Did you spill the paint?"

"No, Daddy."

"OK, you're going to be punished."

He started running, I started after him.  He fell to the floor crying.  I asked again, "Did you spill the paint?"

"Yes, Daddy, I did it, it was me! **Sob**"

"Okay, Buddy, come here, you're not going to be punished, but you need to tell Mommy your sorry for making the mess, and tell her that you did it."

"OK, Mommy, I did it, I'm sorry."

 

Now, why am I telling this story?  First, because it's funny.  Well, at least it's funny when it's told, it doesn't translate as well when it's written.  However, there is a lesson in parenting here that I think is important.

The lesson is consistency.  Be consistent with your kids.  In how you treat them, how you discipline them and how you love them.  If they know that you mean what you say, you will never have to back it up.  I didn't have to punish him for doing the act.  He's a 3 year old boy, they make messes, it's what they do.  However, I couldn't tolerate the lying, that starts a habit that is hard to break, and one that he would pay for dearly later, had he been able to get away with the lie.

I would also like to add that I'm mighty impressed with the story that he came up with, it was quite ingenious.  For a 3 year old to weave that kind of story means that he's thinking and that impresses me, even when it's trying to get out of something.

Anyway, that is the story of the blockers.  I hope you enjoyed it.

More than Meets the Eye

I know, you are thinking that this is going to be a review of the Transformers movie.  Well, it's not, but I will say this about the movie, I was entertained and my 6 year old loved it (He liked Optimus Prime's paint job.)

I keep thinking that we forget that we have been created in the image of God.  We forget that we are the embodiment of potential, whether we, as individuals or the mass, live up to it or not.

There are so many people out there who have all of the potential in the world.  These people can do anything and be anything they want, yet, for some reason, they have never gotten past the starting line.  Actually, they have fall away from the starting line and actually have to work to get back there.

These people are the addicts, the alcoholics and the abused.  I have several friends who fall into these three categories.  Many times category one and two happen because of category three, which I think is actually the most destructive.

There is a movement in this country that I'm not completely on-board with.  It is the self-esteem movement.  I don't think that someone should be made to think more of themselves than what they are and I don't think people should be given things that they haven't earned.  I'm a practical person, I believe that the only entitlement that a person should be given is an equal opportunity.  I think we have a nation of young people who think they deserve everything just because they exist, and that will be what destroys our great nation.

However, I do believe in self-esteem.  I believe that a person who looks at themselves positively will have a better chance of living up to their potential, instead of being an example of wasted potential.

The biggest casualty an addicts, alcoholics or abused persons life is their self-image.  It doesn't matter how much a person is told that they are valuable, if they don't view themselves as valuable, they will never move past that starting line.

I have two friends that have more potential than anyone I've ever met.  I think the only people that rival their potential is each other.  However, they have both fallen into similar traps.  They are or have been caught in an endless cycle of addiction, lies and death. 

Both have been through rehabs.  Both have stepped away from the source of their addictions.  Both have fallen off the horse and gotten back on.  Neither one of them have a real clue on how to even get back to the starting line of life, because neither of them see themselves as having value.

I wish I could show them a picture of the way I see them.  I see both of these young men doing great things.  I see both of them changing the world in their own ways.  I could definitely see both of these guys as ministers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  I can see that.  They both have the potential to be mighty men.  Men who can change and influence the world around them.  Men who can be good, no great, examples to those around them.

Yet, they still don't see any value in themselves.

Like Optimus Prime, there is more than meets the eye to people.  I wish, with all my heart that these guys could see beyond the ugly that they have created in their lives.  I wish they could see beyond the scar tissue and see the clean underneath.

One day they will see that through Christ they are being transformed by the renewing of their mind.  One day they will see that they too are a new creation through Christ Jesus.  They will understand that their potential that is, at this stage of their lives, unrealized, will soon be actualized.

Until then...

Dive Deep!

Independence Day

Today I heard something dark and disturbing. I was alarmed to hear that a company in the United States didn't give their Employees the day off for July 4th!

Now, on it's face that isn't so shocking. A lot of companies work on July 4th in the USA. However, what was shocking was that this same company gave it's employees May 5th off.

Okay, granted, I like to celebrate Mexico's independence day as much as the next slob, but I would never expect to have the day off of work. I love going to Los Compesino's and eating a tortilla and watching the other locals get drunk on Mexican beer. It makes for a good night of entertainment.

However, I must say, that July 4th is AMERICAN independence day and it should be celebrated with much more fervor by Americans than any other countries independence. If that company wants to give it's employees May 5th off, that is their choice, but they should also give off July 4th for the much more obvious reason that, with out July 4th, we'd all still have British accents and having a spot of tea over a glorious forte-night of tennis on grass, instead of forging our own place in our own country.

I'm proud to be an American. That may be cliche', but it is true, none the less. I'm proud of my country, and I'm proud of the ideals on which this country was founded.

To switch gears a little, I think we, as Americans, should be ashamed of what our country is becoming.

Our ancestors came here to escape tyranny. They came here to be free. Some of them came to escape religious tyranny. Some came to escape a communist country. Some to escape socialism. Some to escape totalitarianism.

Yet, here we are. Slowly and methodically slipping back to those things that our ancestors were trying to escape. We have slovenly movie producers trying to tell us that the medical system in Canada is what we need here (that would be great if you want to kill off 1/3 of our country due to lack of care.) We have taxes levied against us that were never ratified into the constitution (that didn't stop the feds from creating the IRS.)

We have created our own little nanny state. We have created a state of entitlement. We have become a country that values equal results instead of equal opportunity. We teach our kids that no one should lose. We teach them that competition is bad and the result is a bunch of snot-nosed little whiners that think they deserve everything.

If we stay this course, if we don't get back to our founding ideals, we will be left behind. Our country has a very short future if we cannot get back to our founding ideals. If we keep marching down the road of Stalin, we will end up just like him, dead, in an airtight glass casket. We will still look good on the outside, but we will be full of death.

I love my country. I love our founding ideals. I am terrified that we are losing them. If we continue down this path we will soon need another Boston Tea Party in order to bring things back, or we will go the way of the dinosaur, and I'd hate to see what this world becomes without a United States of America.

Dive Deep!