Standing on the shoulders of giants

The past three months have been incredible. how else to describe the responsibility of caring for not one but two little girls? Nothing short of amazing. I can only say this because of the wonderful dynamic of caring for little people with a woman you love.

Parenting. Does it require more thought or action? I think about future parenting daily, mostly because there isn't a whole lot of mental work in the parenting I do now. that will slowly change, and I will be ready. My responsibilities will grow and grow until one day, I will be a parenting giant.

Perhaps a bold claim, but it comes down to this: someday, my girls will have the choice of being a parent. And until then, I will do everything within my power to position them to be a better parent than I was. It is my hope that they take every good thing we teach them, and improve it.

This broken world has created an environment where so many (would-be) parents do not have a solid footing with which to step into parenthood. Much brokenness is perpetuated down from one generation to the next, leaving grown children with too many questions and a corrupted view of what parenting really is.

I was fortunate enough to have parents who cared deeply about me. They did their best to teach and train their kids as they saw proper. And it is my job to take that good and pass it on to my daughters.

Piecing together the childhood that my parents had, mine was decidedly an improvement. And I will only succeed if my girls grow up with an even better one. Because the foundation they start with will play the biggest role in the impact they have throughout their life. What better legacy to leave than people who care for their fellow man and purposefully choose to make this world a better place?

Someday, my children will have the choice of standing on my shoulders, reaching an even higher potential than I ever will. Just as I am standing on the shoulders of two giants who invested so much time and effort, ingraining within me a blueprint of excellence. This all but assured me a steady platform with which to swan-dive into parenting. I may be jumping off the deep end, but I have been given a platform with which to look graceful and self-confident.

The infuriating side of Christianity

Every so often one will stumble upon an article that grabs a hold of you and doesn't let go, even days or weeks after reading.

Never before have I read an article that so profoundly shows a very dark side of Christianity.

I can immediately relate to almost every church-related instance he mentions. In many ways, this is the church environment I grew up in.

What Christian can't relate to this:

I'd stopped masturbating for weeks at a time, trying to keep any thoughts of women out of my mind entirely, as we were taught over and again by pastors that even thinking about sex was as bad as actually having it. And masturbating? It might be okay, I once heard a pastor opine, if one could do without thinking any sexual thoughts. But we were told: why take the risk?

Instead, I would hold out for as long as I could until, usually in the shower, I'd be unable to stop myself. Before the orgasm had even left my body, I would begin to pray: I'm sorry Jesus. I'm so sorry. This is the last time. Never again.

Yes, that was me as well. Many times over. But that is a minor point, as my parents did an excellent job (sometimes too well) of shielding their children from the hideous, sickening, ugly side of Christianity. It isn't the religion itself, but the people who give themselves over to perverse and deceptive lifestyles, while still maintaining a Christian facade to anyone they can deceive.

I don't know Joel, nor do I tear up with clenched fists easily, but I have utter respect for the man. And I pray that he may one day see past the lies and deception he was dealt, and experience the passionate pursuit of Christ.