This Recession

…and how to work!

Liberty

“Yes, we did produce a near perfect Republic, but will they keep it? Or will they in their enjoyment of plenty, lose the memory of their freedom? Material abundance without character is the surest way to destruction. I tremble for my country when I realize that God is just.” ~Thomas Jefferson

All LIBERTY comes with the heavy price tag of RESPONSIBILITY.

Whether concerning your liberty as a citizen or as a parent, if you are not willing to fight for and preserve your liberty then you don’t deserve it.

Just like birthing a baby is the easy part,

it’s the diligent parenting that is the hard part!

1 Way to Stop the Welfare Mentality

I love analogies, I can find them in just about everything…just ask my kids.

It’s hot here is Alabama during the summer,

so if you have yard work or garden work you really want to get it done early in the day if you can.

With our new little ones in the house we are working diligently to develop a Biblical world view in them.

We are always reminding them:

“We are a family, we all work together.“

“We work, then we play.”

“The Lord said, if you don’t work, you don’t eat.”

So… the 3 younger ones and myself went out picking berries.

I told them we had to pick until all the blue ones were off our 2 bushes.

I had one that would like of wander off, get distracted and moan a bit that it was too hot (it was like 8 am!). So I would just gently tell him that there were still berries and that we couldn’t go in until we finished the job. I’d point out a branch to help him see what needed to be picked…and then I’d point out another branch.

I’d remind the children that Dad was out working in the heat

all day every day without complaining

and that all the money he earns buys our food, clothing, home, etc…

He does this because this is what men do, they provide for their families.

And we are suppose to work at home,

even if we do not get paid money, we all have work to do.

And then I saw her…

my little socialist in the making.

She had already taken berries from her sister’s bucket to fill her’s…

then I saw her taking berries from mine.

I had shown her which berries to pick, there were about 10 ripe ones on the low branches. All she had to do was sit and pick those few, but she chose to take from those that had been really working for them.

So I *cheerfully* explained to her…again… we must all work;

even at 3 she can pick a couple handfuls of berries, she must do her part!

Then I explained to all of them…again…

it is not OK to take from people that work.

It is one thing if someone wants to gift you something,

but it is stealing to take food, money, housing, etc…

from people if you are not doing your part.

Most of us are lazy by nature.

It’s easy not to take responsibility, it’s easy to give up when it gets too hot.

We have got to instill an honest work ethic in them from the time they are very little. Start out with tiny, bite size chores, and personal responsibility. They need to know it is normal to clear their plate form the table, pick up their shoes, etc… All of this must be done with a LOT of praise.

What our 3 year can do (with a little encouragement):

Clears her plate after meals.
Wipes the table and chairs after meals (even though we may have to re-do it when she is not looking).
Helps pick berries.
Carries in a light bag when groceries are bought (think toilet paper).
Picks up her toys.
Straightens shoes.
Folds washcloths and dishcloths.
Give her a spray bottle of water and vinegar and she LOVES to clean the front of the cabinets.
Helps along side an older sibling.

I will do everything in my power that these children

will grow up to be hard working and responsible adults.

I pray they will be givers not takers.

We have got to break the chains of the welfare mentality!!!

If you hit hard times that is where your family and church come in. One reason why we have the HUGE welfare state we do is because we’ve lost our sense of personal responsibility, our family structure and church community.

With Freedom Comes Responsibility

I am on jury duty this week.

I don’t understand why people gripe about this all the time and try to always get out of it. I understand it is a major inconvenience and there are times one cannot serve, but every voter should at one time or another.

I’ve been summonsed twice before, first time I had a newborn nursing baby, so I was excused. Second time I was selected as a juror but ended up in the ER that night miscarrying a baby…I was excused.

Today I had to leave my three kiddos here with Emma who is holding the fort down this week even though she is sick.

I am happy to do my part. I am an American and am given MANY rights that most people do not have and with those rights comes responsibilities.

Think about it; if you are charged with something what kind of jurors would you want? Would you want folks that don’t have anything better to do with their day? Wouldn’t you want 12 people that understood what the Constitution was about? People that took their duty as an American citizen seriously? Wouldn’t you want a juror that had some common sense and desired truth and justice?

Sure it’s an inconvenience, sure I’d rather be at home with my kids doing my daily routine, but it is because I live here, in American, here in Alabama that I have so many freedoms and with that freedom comes responsibility, a DUTY to serve.

If I am ever the one needing to be defended I want the sharpest people sitting in the juror seats, and I’d hope they were Christians!

Work Ethic Challenged?

Having a good work ethic does not come naturally for most of us, and this is even more true for children. There are families where one parent is a bit carefree or even lazy, while then the other parent is a ‘get-r-done’ kind of person. This can often cause problems between husband and wife which can cause strife with the children and before you know it, you have a home filled strained relationships.

Here are a few tips if you are the ‘get-r-done’ parent:

Regardless of what the other parent is doing, or not doing, you can teach them from God’s word what He says about work.

Stress the importance of working as unto the Lord.

Read short stories about a work ethic (the Big Book of Virtue is great for this).

Look for children’s songs about working together.

Use memory verses about work.

Focus on Proverbs about work.

Fashion your Bible/Devotions about these verses.

Do not point out the character flaws of the other parent to the kids. If you are the wife, do NOT nag your husband to do better, let that be between him and the Lord; you honor and respect him. Perhaps note cards with your memory verses on them placed around the house will encourage/convict his spirit?

TRY AS HARD AS YOU CAN to keep a gentle and joyful spirit (it’s hard I know). Frustration and anger feeds more frustration and anger! You will draw them with a gentle and joyful spirit, it’s contagious!
Set some serious consequences for tasks that are not done. Be tough, and don’t waiver because this is more about obedience than anything else.
The longer you wait the harder it will be.
Take it one day at a time.
Pray for them and for your spouse…DAILY, ask God for wisdom.

Occupy Opprotunity!

For our family we have many times of, “Thank you, Lord, for our DAILY bread.”

We are working hard to break the generational bondage of slavery in our family. The slavery spiritual blindness, the slavery of debt and the slavery of trusting the ‘experts’. We know we’ll never be able to accomplish everything we want to, but our hope is that we are paving a way for our kids to think and live freely!

For example, our kids have no idea the restrictions of being in a classroom for most of their childhood. They really cannot grasp the limits that are imposed because they have had so much freedom with education and how their day is structured. Now to apply this same principle of liberty to all other areas of life… we’re getting there!

There are days I get discouraged and even worried, but God is growing me.

I want promises and security. I don’t want to worry about where the next ‘job’ will come from for my husband’s business. I don’t want to wonder how many DVDs I’ll sell this month. But isn’t that kind of foolish? Kind of selfish? Kind of lazy?

For our family, we do not expect anyone to ‘make it happen’ for us; no one signs our checks. Everyday we are reminded of our dependance on God…which is good. Every family is different and their needs are different.

When we have lean times it may be our own fault (lack of planning/bad choices) or sometimes it is because God causes it to rain on the just and the un-just. And part of it is simply because we are breaking free of slavery and it has a price! No matter the reason, we take personal responsibility and move forward, asking God for wisdom and daily bread. Again, we want so much more for our kids than what we were given!

We’re always looking for new ways to generate income or manage what we have even better.

8 of 10 Millionaires Started with NOTHING

We watch our grown daughters (17 and 21), who are committed to being keepers at home, get creative as they embrace an entrepreneurial lifestyle.

Most people will not consider any entrepreneurial endeavors because they do not have to.

People who complain, whine and demand for someone to make it easy for them drive me nuts!

I want to say, “Grow up and occupy a job!”

I understand the frustration of the Occupy Wall Street bunch and the original outrage of the bailouts, but what this movement has turned into is CrAzY!

Government IS out of control, but demanding they bail everyone out is insane.

If you don’t like the way a company is doing business be a capitalist, TAKE CONTROL and don’ t buy their goods/services. Tell them why you are doing this and let your money talk.

Real change starts at the bottom and works it’s way up!

Occupy Your Homes

Take personal responsibility
Live debt free
Generate your own income/business -If you want to lead something, lead your own business!
Take your children back from the government (public school)
Take care of your family members, especially your elderly

Occupy Your Church

Be an active member in your church
Make sure it has Biblical leadership
Find ways to serve the widows and orphans
Make sure your church is not pouring out a ton of money and time into entertaining the youth. The church should be a place of worship, discipleship and service.

Occupy Your Community

Be involved in your local government
Vote
Know your neighbors, help your neighbors
Know the Constitution

If you want to occupy something,

occupy with YOUR LIFE

by doing something

PRODUCTIVE

right where you are!

Opportunities are all around us, sometimes they are brought to our door and sometimes you have to look… and look hard, but they ARE there!

Also posted at The Christian Home.

The Question Behind the Question

The QBQ!!! I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It is a fast read with short chapters that stress the importance of personal accountability. Although the book is focused on personal accountability at work it bleeds into EVERY area of life!

I think this a great book to use at your dinner table or during family time to ignite some great conversation about giving your all, even in the simplest of task. Do you want to equip your children with a great work ethic? This book drives it home! It is an easy to understand, straight to the point book that even children as young as 10-12 could understand but most definitely written for adults that want to make a difference in the world!

QBQ!

The Question Behind the Question: Practicing Personal Accountability at Work and in Life

Life Lessons of Working Along Side Your Children

If you want to know someone, to see what they are made of, roll up your sleeves and work along side them. Nowhere is this more true than with your family, especially your children!

Whether doing daily chores or working for pay outside the home it is your duty to train your children to work diligently!

Some Things to Think About

-When doing chores or anything else at home with your children it is easy to let things slide and not expect their best each time, but when someone else is paying you (and them) to do an excellent job, you can’t let anything slide.

-The first several months the girls and I were cleaning other people’s houses I would point out what they were missing, often they would act as if I was being too picky. I would make them go back and re-do it. One day I received an e-mail from one of our clients pointing out a few things that were not done completely. This particular day I was not feeling well and did not have the energy to inspect their work. I let the girls read the e-mail. The girls were embarrassed and felt bad about the whole thing. In response to the e-mail I took responsibility for the work not being done completely (the buck stops with me) and offered the client a reduced pay for the next cleaning. In the long run it turned out to be a great life lesson because the girls realized that it really does matter that they do the job completely and that Mom is not nit-picking for no reason! Since then they have really improved on their quality of work, which makes it easier for all of us.

- One day while tackling a big job, one of my girls had an especially bad attitude. She made the whole day misery for her sister and me. When we got home her Dad gave her a stern talking to and we docked her pay. From that point on her attitude 100% improved. When you are providing a service for someone else you can not have a bad day. Remember you are training them to be a responsible adult.

Life Lessons Learned from Our Cleaning Jobs

-To Appreciate the Service of Others- Anytime you do service work it makes you appreciate the work of others. After working as a cashier and waitress in my younger years I truly appreciate the worker on the other side of the counter. Cleaning for people will give that same appreciation.

-Learning to Deal with Difficult People- This has been especially good!!! Some people are very hard to work for, whether it is a personality conflict, unreasonable expectations, a gossiper, etc… I am able to take each situation as they come and help my daughters learn how to respond or when to overlook an offense. This takes a lot discernment that usually comes with experience. I am so thankful they are getting this experience under my watchful eye and from our world view.

*People are a Witness to How a Family Can Work Together- a sight rarely seen these days, unlike the old days when it was common for children to work in the family business as they grew up, learning hands on skills and people skills.

There are so many things that are taught in a family, but it all gets kicked up a notch when you have to work together to please a client, this is when your family’s true character comes shining through; the good the bad and the ugly.

Not everyone will be excepting of having young people clean their house even if their parent is present.

Our current culture views 14, 15, 16 years old as irresponsible and not capable of quality work. We have encountered this many times; but with time you and your children can earn their trust and respect, just as we have.

We NEED more families working together. We need to be expecting more from our young people and it all starts in the home, with the parents setting a good example!

Also posted at The Legacy of the Home!

What would happen if we removed government control from the educational system?

Bigger schools, more books (think about who is writing the books) and more teachers are not going to solve the education crisis in America.

Public education is about control and money. How about parents keep their money and their children? What if your tax dollars were spent on an education that fit the child? An education that was customized to equip that child according to their talents?

What could happen?

That child could be equipped for real success.
The relationship between parent and child could be better as they would be forced to spend their lives together, rather than a few hours in the evening.
Families could be stronger as memories and relationships are built, rather than the bonds and influence of peers.
Communities could benefit as young people would be available to help neighbors and have time to invest in others.
The educational process for most could be sped up greatly which world ‘allow’ a child to become an adult and taking responsibility at a much younger age and being a contributing (tax paying) member of society!
The economy would prosper as parents controlled where THEIR educational money was spent, whether it be on books, field trips galore, tutors for special subjects, etc… rather than such a huge chunk of tax dollars being taken and poured into the bureaucracy.
Everyone would prosper on all levels if we removed government control from the educational system.

-Public Schools and the Decline of Christianity in America

If you want your life to be better…

What will you do with the gift of today? Waste it or use it?

You are what you think about…garbage in, garbage out!

There are empty libraries and a LOT people numbed out with Facebook and games complaining about how hard their life is. If you are not getting anywhere…not moving forward, it’s your own fault!

We live in a land whose Founders were mostly self-educated, this country was built on the backs of hardworking, BRAVE, self-reliant people.

The problem in this country is not so much the educational system as it is the lack of INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITY!

How are you and your children spending your time?