Encouragement for Christian Parents

As a Christian mother, my number one priority is to train up my children to know Christ. Nothing else can come close to the priority of wanting my children (and my children’s children, and my children’s children’s children…) to spend eternity with God – and with me! That goal drives every decision that I make in parenting. Iron Man and I spend much time teaching our children what we believe and why we believe it. Biblical teaching takes precedence in our homeschool, and we make every effort to talk of Biblical precepts as we go through our daily lives. Most importantly, we pray for our children.

And yet, we know that no matter what parenting decisions we make, the ultimate responsibility in our children accepting Christ as Savior will rest with… our children. An old pastor of ours used to say, “God doesn’t have any grandchildren,” meaning that no one is saved based upon their parent’s salvation, or lack thereof. Each of us must make that decision for ourselves, no matter what our roots are. The great news here is that anyone can be a child of Christ, even if they were not raised in the faith. The difficult news is that there is no guarantee that our children will accept our Christian faith for themselves.

So with that little thought, are you wondering why the title of this post is “Encouragement for Christian Parents”? Keep reading!

My favorite parenting book is Shepherding a Child’s Heart by Tedd Tripp. On my Parenting Pages, I have written a brief review of the book and hope to be able to write a more comprehensive synopsis at some future point. For now, I just want to share one insight that greatly encouraged me in regards to the discouraging “no guarantee” thought stated above. Tedd Tripp writes that God has already shown great mercy to our children by their very placement in our homes, where they hear His truth, are taught His Word, and see faith lived out. In placing these children in our families, He demonstrates that their salvation must be pretty important to Him too!

We don’t bring our children to Christ by being perfect parents, and thank God for that! If that’s what it took, we’d all fail miserably! We have a responsibility to pray for our children, praying to the One who created them, who can soften even the hardest heart of stone. We have a responsibility to teach our children diligently day in and day out, to live out our faith ourselves, and to model Christ to them. We have a responsibility to be honest with them when we fail – demonstrating repentance and the power of forgiveness. In a home like that, children are blessed indeed! Perfection? That is impossible, but through the imperfections, we can teach our children about our need for a Savior and forgiveness.

Take encouragement that while it’s true there is no guarantee, the very placement of our children in authentically Christian homes is a great blessing to them, and a great start on a path toward knowing Christ.

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”

 

A Homeschool Epiphany

We are six weeks into our seventh year of homeschooling. Back when we started, we had three children: a five year old, a three year old, and a one year old. Today, with baby number seven on the way and children from ages two to eleven years, our homeschooling days and routines look dramatically different than they did when we first began. The other day, however, I realized something amazing and wonderful: It’s not getting any tougher!

Don’t get me wrong. Homeschooling is not easy, per se. It requires commitment, effort, and discipline. When I say that it’s not getting tougher, I mean that although our family and homeschool have grown, and although the scope of their school work has expanded, I’ve found that each year’s new demands and challenges are balanced out by new benefits and blessings. Homeschooling has not become much more difficult, and I’ve never been tempted to view it as an impossible task. Want to see why? Here is our experience thus far:

Homeschooling a 4-6 year old with a few younger ones in the home

The Challenges

• Homeschooling is a new and unfamiliar territory
• The school child is too young to do assignments alone; Mom is needed for one-on-one teaching for every subject
• Mom has little assistance and a lot of work in addition to homeschooling: housekeeping, meals, caring for babies, keeping toddlers from hurting themselves, etc.
• Mom could be pregnant (We’ve had a baby every 1 1/2 – 2 years, all the way up through the present!)

The Blessings:

• School does not require much time at this stage
• Younger siblings are still young enough to take naps – an adequate amount of time to complete most schoolwork
• Most lessons are relatively easy, gentle and fun
• Much of school time is also quality, relationship-building time
• The 4-6 year old can and should begin learning to do a few household chores (folding and putting away own laundry, etc)

Adding in a second child

The Challenges

• Learning to juggle multiple levels
• The older child’s schoolwork now requires longer than a naptime
• There are still babies or toddlers to care for
• Mom could be pregnant – along with accompanying morning sickness and/or fatigue

The Blessings:

• Mom has taught Kindergarten before and knows what to expect
• Mom has a year or two under her belt and has developed confidence in her ability to do this
• Mom sees some fruits of her labor in the older child, and is motivated to stick with it
• While some school subjects still require Mom’s one-on-one attention, the older child can do other schoolwork independently; Mom’s actual tutoring time doesn’t change
• The older child is taking on a few more chores, helping Mom even further
• The second child is learning to do some helpful chores, which gives Mom two good helpers!

Adding in a third child

The Challenges

• Taking time management to a whole new level
• Older children begin to develop their gifts; This is actually a blessing, but it does require more time, attention, and finances (perhaps music lessons, sports, art or drama classes, etc.)
• Older children’s schoolwork becomes greater in scope, and more advanced
• There may still be babies and toddlers to care for
• Mom could be pregnant – and not 29 anymore

The Blessings:

• Enter the concept of multi-level teaching: My Father’s World (our choice), Konos, Tapestry of Grace, etc.
• Enter the concept of rotating children among different “school stations;” Example: at 10:00, one child babysits (in eye & earshot of Mom), one child does “Mom School,” one does “Computer School” and one does “Independent School.” At 10:30, everyone switches to the next school station.
• Older children have become independent learners and are mature enough to do most work on their own. They only require Mom’s one-on-one tutoring for their most difficult subjects (Composition or Math, perhaps). Other subjects require regular assessment, but not a great deal of explaining and teaching.
• Seeing more growth and fruit in older children
• Most people have stopped asking the “socialization” question, because they can see the fruit too. (Either that, or they just think that you’re stubborn and there’s no use in bringing it up ~grin~)
• Confidence and strength in the conviction that the family is doing as the Lord has called

Adding in a fourth child

The Challenges

• Much the same as the “third child” list, only with more children!

The Blessings

• Mom is an old pro at homeschooling
• Mom is an old pro at multi-level teaching
• Older children require even less one-on-one instruction
• Mom has learned a wealth of household management skills and routines that keep the home running smoothly with little stress
• Mom now has four great helpers who have been trained to know where they should be and what they should be doing during the critical school and chore hours of the day

This is as far as we’ve come so far. My oldest child is in 6th grade, so we’ve yet to experience junior high/high school. I am sure that there will be new challenges and demands as we move into those stages, but they don’t frighten me. I am excited to see how the Lord is going to work in our lives and equip us to meet the task. He has called me to homeschool, and has never forsaken me. I have not viewed any of the demands as “burdens.” Yes, it is work, and yes, it is a challenge. But is it enjoyable? Is it a blessing? Is it worth it? Yes, yes, and a thousand times yes! I have complete trust that in the years we’ve yet to experience, He will provide for every challenge that we face, and we will always want to give Him thanks for the years to come.

 

FAQs about our Larger than Average Family

In our “a boy for me and a girl for you, then praise the Lord, we’re finally through” culture (to quote Voddie Baucham), our family kind of sticks out in a crowd! From curious strangers at the grocery store to our closest family members, we get a lot of questions and comments on a regular basis. Many of the questions and comments are comical in nature, and a rare few are downright rude.  But most people are very supportive and encouraging, and we do get some serious questions from those who are genuinely interested in knowing the answers. I thought I would take a crack at some of the questions that we most frequently hear, both the silly and the serious.

Are you nuts? No.

Don’t you know what causes that? Yes.

Was this planned? Since before the Earth was formed? Yes. In our own minds from the beginning of marriage? No. Each individual child around the time of their conception? Yes.

Why?? There are so many answers to this, and I can’t begin to explain the depth of the many reasons why. But here are a few of the answers… We have a tremendous heart for children. We have felt convicted that God desired us to have each and every one of these children. We believe children are a blessing and not a burden. They are a joy and a balm to our hearts. We consider it an honor to raise up a lot of children in our faith to bring glory to God. How’s that for starters?

I know a woman who grew up in a large family, and she hated it. She swore she would never have children. When I meet someone who grew up in a large family, they always let me know! They never fail to tell me their feelings about it. Occasionally one will express that they hated it, but by and large, most will tell me how much they loved it and how glad they are to have had lots of siblings. Sometimes a teary-eyed older person will tell me that now that their parents have passed on, they are so glad to have those sisters and brothers with whom they shared their childhood. Some will tell me that now some of their siblings have passed on, and how dearly they miss them.

So what makes the difference between those who loved it and those who hated it? I can’t be certain, but I have a theory that it often has something to do with their parents’ feelings about their large brood. When parents believe their children to be a burden and hardship, and are bitter about being stuck with their “lot in life,” I think this bitterness rubs off on the children, who grow up with a mindset that having a large family is a terrible thing to be avoided. But, when parents feel that raising a large family is a privilege, blessing, and honor, I suspect that the children grow up feeling that it’s pretty special to be part of such a family.

I can only speak for my crew, and they think it’s awesome to be part of a large family.

Are you the most patient woman in the world? Absolutely not. Having a lot of children has been a magnifying glass to my impatience, and has driven me to my knees in prayer more times than I can count. I can say with certainty that the Lord has used my “mommy of many” role to refine me in patience and many other ways.

Are you the most organized woman in the world? Ha ha ha!!!! Hold on while I wipe the tea off my face that I just spit out… Ahem. To answer this, no, I am not the most organized person in the world. By sheer necessity, I’ve (once again) been driven to my knees to seek wisdom in how to manage things. I’ve read books, I’ve applied, I’ve adapted, and I’ve carefully planned routines and systems in the home to help me live in an organized way. With the Lord’s help, I’ve learned to be organized enough to manage a house full of children. Which, by the way, is partially why I started this blog!

What about “Me Time?” Hmmm… How do I answer this? Let me preface by stating that I do believe rest is essential, and every mother needs some amount of quiet, calm, peaceful time to regroup. However, I think that “me time,” in the way that most people think of it, is overrated. I’ve searched the scriptures, and there just isn’t anything in there that would justify tremendous amounts of “Me Time.” Rest? Yes. Enjoyment of creation? Yes? But there’s a whole lot more in there about hard work, dying to self, and putting needs of others before yourself.

That said, I must confess that I love the hours in the afternoon when my youngest ones are napping and the house is so very quiet. I love the early morning hours when the sun isn’t quite up, and the house is quiet. I love the time when the little ones are all put to bed, and the house is quiet. I love when I can get an uninterrupted shower. BUT! I also love: the morning time when we are bustling through the house with breakfast and chores… cuddling on the couch reading stories… the hours of homeschooling… the sound of the children playing together… the time of day when the little ones wake up from their naps… chatting with my kids while preparing dinner… playing “Hide and Seek” or “Apples to Apples” with them… making a jumbo, messy, bowl of popcorn and letting them dive in to it on movie night… and just talking to my kids.

What is “Me Time?” Is it simply doing things we love to do? My days are full of those, children included! And I even find time to do things by myself, such as writing blog posts like this or reading books. Is “Me Time” defined as rest? I manage to get that every day as well. Is “Me Time” getting out of the house alone? When I need to buy clothing for myself, I usually do so alone. I sometimes go to my doctor’s appointments alone. Occasionally I even get out to the grocery store alone, although most days I have all six kids in tow. Quite frankly, it makes very little difference to me. With a little training, kids can make it through the grocery store without making you crazy, and they can actually be taught to be helpful!

How do you afford all those kids? You’ve been reading those “Costs to raise a child to age 18″ articles again, haven’t you? Throw those away! It doesn’t have to be that way, truly. It can be that way, if you buy a bigger house with the birth of each child, buy all new clothing for each child, utilize a lot of childcare, and make dining out the “rule” rather than the “exception.” But it does not have to be that way. I happen to think that not every child (or even every two children) “needs” their own room. While I like my kids to dress in nice, up-to-date clothing, I pass a lot of clothes down from child to child, filling in gaps as much as possible with consignment store finds. We’ve had to upgrade to larger vehicles exactly two times, but I think our 12-passenger van will suffice for a long time! I cook from scratch a lot, and have learned to enjoy it. I keep easy meals on hand for days that I’m tired. Not to say that we never dine out, but our culinary experiences have gravitated more toward the “kids eat free on Tuesdays” establishments, and dining out is the exception, not the rule. We’ve learned the difference between “needs” and “wants.” Giving and needs are taken care of first, and wants are considered carefully.

But what about college? I could do a pretty big blog post dedicated to this question alone, but I’ll try to keep it simple, while being transparent.

1. First and foremost, if it is God’s will for our children to attend college, and we have been faithful in using our money as we feel He directs, we believe He will provide a way for our children to attend, and likely to do so without debt. We can trust in Him.
2. If it is not God’s will for our children to attend college, then He must have another plan for them which will provide for all their financial needs. We can trust in Him.
3. We don’t have to do it the “usual” way. Some other options are:
   *Take first 2 years at community college then transfer to a larger university.
   *Commute to a nearby university. No room & board costs.
   *Online classes may be an option. No room & board costs.
   *Kids may be able to test out of some classes.
   *A trade school might be well suited to a particular field that our children want to pursue.
   *Even if these options won’t work with all of our children (depending on their course of study), some of the options should work for some of the children, lightening the overall load of total college costs.
4. We should have more money freed up at that time to help with college when it’s needed. We are currently paying almost double our mortgage payments. Our goal is to have our mortgage completely paid off  by the time our oldest child has finished high school. Being 100% debt free will free up a lot of money to help with college when it’s needed.
5. By the time younger ones are in college, older ones will be out of college and working, not relying on us to completely support them financially.
6. There are several streams of money, large and small, that will work together help significantly with college costs:
   *We have saved some money in 529 plans
   *Kids can work
   *Scholarships (by giving our children an excellent pre-college education and lots of real-world experience, we hope they will qualify for something here!)
   *Grants may be available for a family of our size.
   *Some bonds and other gifts acquired through the years

For more on this, you might want to read a great book called College Without Compromise.

Whoah – Did you say you pay double your mortgage payments???  How in the world do you do that? Nearly double, but not quite. Anyhow, if you have ever visited us and wondered such things as, “Why don’t they move into a bigger house? Why don’t they add on to the back of their house? Why do they drive their vehicles until they die? Why don’t they just replace those kitchen countertops? Why don’t they finish that basement already?” Well, now you have your answer. One can’t double their mortgage payments when they have the burden of car payments, home equity loans, and other consumer debt. With God’s grace, principles learned by Dave Ramsey, and a fantastic budgeting system (YNAB) we have managed to be debt-free with the exception of the mortgage. We’re working to fix that situation now! For more on this, you can read this blog post detailing how we manage our finances.

But just think! If you didn’t have kids, you could get a bigger house and drive newer cars… It’s a tradeoff, I know.  But I happen to believe that we are getting the better end of the bargain!!!! I’d take children over square footage any day. If your goal is to accumulate as much stuff as possible before you die, then we would appear to be very foolish indeed. But that’s not our goal. As Bubbles so beautifully stated the other day, we want something that we can take to Heaven with us. That would be… children.

Don’t you worry that you won’t be able to do anything with your life after your kids grow up and leave the nest? No, I don’t worry about that at all. I’m capable of being passionate about many things. At this stage in my life, being a mom is “what I do,” and as such, I expect to pour my heart into it. At the same time, I’ve managed to be involved in a number of different ministries, many of which I can do with my children. I’ve no doubt that the Lord will continue to place me in the path of new and exciting opportunities that He plans for me, even after my children are grown.

Do you think everybody should have a lot of kids? No. To be honest, I really don’t spend time thinking about decisions that other people make. It is not my business, and I’m not here to pass judgment on anyone else. My job is to live as the Lord calls me. And in my case, I am called to be a mom of lots of kids, a role which I happen to love!

Are you going to have any more children? That’s a question that I’m not quite ready to answer yet! But I can tell you this. In all the many conversations that I have had on the topic of family size, not a single person has ever told me that they wish they had fewer children. I’m sure there are people out there who feel that way, but I’ve never come across them. However, many, many people, whose child-bearing years have passed, have looked me deeply in the eye and said with regret, “I wish I’d had more.”‘

 

A Different Perspective

Something happened tonight that made me think about how we can’t always understand how God works.

While exploring in the kitchen, George managed to get himself stuck in the corner of our pantry, a 1.25 square foot area where we keep our brooms and mops. A wall with shelves stood right next to the area he was in, trapping him in the small corner. The bifold door was only partially open, and he was trying to squeeze his way out between the door opening and the shelves. He couldn’t fit, and he was standing in the way so that I couldn’t fully open the door to let him out. In order to make room for him to escape, I tried to push him back further into the corner so that I could open the door. He got so mad at me! He didn’t understand that I had to move him out of the way in order to help him. In his limited knowledge, all he could understand that I was pushing him further in the corner. I had to be very firm in holding him back, so that I could open the door and release him from the pantry.
 
I think it’s that way with God. Sometimes we don’t know what He is doing, because we have limited knowledge. Sometimes the difficult circumstances in our lives are somehow for our own good, and sometimes they happen for reasons that have nothing to do with us. It’s God’s story, not ours. He is the One who has infinite knowledge . We can’t see the bigger picture, but He  knows what He is doing. Maybe someday we’ll find out why certain things have happened, and maybe we won’t know until we get to Heaven. We can choose to trust Him and embrace it, or fight Him and reject it. But either way, His will and His story will be done.

 

Looking on the bright side

This afternoon, as I glanced around my house at the floors that were dreadfully in need of vacuuming, I felt myself becoming discouraged. Looking at the toys on the kitchen floor, in the hallway, and in the dining room, I felt a little worse. Looking at the dust on my baseboards, I felt that frustration of knowing that I messed up, and maybe I’m not a very good wife or mom. Then I started thinking of events today that seemed to confirm that idea:

• At Math Time today, Polly’s “Math-U-See” DVD was missing. (“I am so unorganized. We are always losing things.”)
• Then I lectured all the kids about losing things. (“I am so annoying.”)
• At Polly’s orthodontist appointment today, George decided to liven the place up a bit. (“I have done a terrible job training him”)
• I used a rather harsh tone with Princess when she disobeyed me for the 5th time at what was supposed to be naptime. (“I am so impatient. I should have applied a consequence and not become emotional. I’m not consistent at all.”)  
• A quick glance up at my memo board listed several errands that were still not done. (“I haven’t accomplished a thing all day. I’m lazy.”) 

I sighed. I closed my eyes. I prayed. Then, a thought came to my mind. A verse from the Bible: 2 Corinthians 10:5 “We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.” Those feelings of failure, that discouragement, those thoughts? They were not from God. I had been allowing myself to listen to lies. Instead of giving in to every negative thought that comes my way, I needed to take my thoughts captive.

The items on my list were true: I did need to vacuum my floors. My baseboards did need a good dusting. I didn’t complete a lot of errands on my list. The behavior of my two youngest children did leave something to be desired today, and I did raise my voice. But my conclusions were not true. As I pondered some more, God reminded me of some other events of today that I hadn’t considered before:

1. I finished all my laundry
2. I finished all my ironing
3. I cleaned my kitchen
4. We arrived early for the orthodontist appointment
5. The orthodontist told us that Polly’s overbite is 100% normal now
6. Our children have eaten healthy meals
7. Bubbles started learning the music staff, and will soon be able to take piano lessons from someone other than me
8. Everyone learned a lot about shading in Art
9. We had a great discussion about  the Egyptian Pharaoh Amenhotep IV
10. I noticed a tremendous improvement in Gameboy’s piano and cursive writing skills
11. I was able to teach Polly her math lesson without the use of the DVD
12. Polly understood her math lesson perfectly and did great on her Math assignment
13. My children and I had some great laughs together
14. I noticed how kindly the children treat each other, just like best friends
15. I’ve prepared, practiced, and become satisfied with the little MOPS talk I’m giving tomorrow
16. It really didn’t take long to vacuum, dust, and get the toys in order
17. The Math DVD turned up eventually
18. The search for the Math DVD left all our CDs and DVDs beautifully organized

I am not Supermom. I do fail. But I’m forgiven, I’m blessed, and I’m equipped to do what I need to do. 

In truth, it’s not about me at all. I had been spending too much time focusing inwardly. It is God who put me here, in this family, with these children, in the roles where He wants me. It is He who has called me to these tasks, and it is He who will enable me to complete His plans in my life. I’m thankful that He reminded me to take my thoughts captive, that He reminded me of the many ways I am blessed, and that because of Jesus and the cross, He forgives me when I mess up. How good He is!

Looking for similar posts? Check out Things to be Thankful For.

 

Seven Prayers a Day

A friend reminded me tonight about Bring the Rain, a wonderful blog that I haven’t visited for a while. Recently, this mommy blogger posted seven prayers that she prays for her children each day. I’m planning to do this too. If you want to join me, click on the button below to read the blog post which explains it.

As a side note, I have to mention that the first time I ever visited this blog, I was moved to tears by a beautiful post entitled, The Past and the Pitcher. This is a must read. But get the kleenex first.

Thanks to my friend who reminded me about this amazing blog!

 

One of my favorite hymns

Yesterday, we sang “Jesus Paid it All” in church. I’ve been singing this amazing song all day today, and found this version a few moments ago. This is a great song! Enjoy!

 

Things to be thankful for

1 Thessalonians 5:18 (ESV) Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

After my blog post ranting about our day, I was feeling a little guilty for complaining. As I read back over my post, I realized that I have many things to be thankful for, all which were brought to mind by my earlier post.

1. Iron Man rarely has to go away for more than a day at a time. When I think of military families such as my sister-in-law’s family, who have to be separated for much longer lengths of time, I have a renewed appreciation for the fact that Iron Man spends most of his non-working hours right here in our home.
2. After reflecting more upon military families, I am thankful that they are willing to sacrifice so much, even willing to sacrifice their very lives, for the freedom and safety of this great nation.
3. I was tired today, but not exhausted. The Lord provided the strength for me to complete an entire day of school, meals for my family, and a number of errands beside.
4. My $14 library fine means that we have a fantastic library where I can utilize tons of resources at no cost except my “stupid tax” for forgetting to return books and dvds on time.
5. I was blessed by running into a wonderful woman who works at our library. She used to be a midwife, and ten years ago, she assisted in delivering Sweet Pea. Chatting with her lifted my spirits today.
6. Our chaotic trip to Target was less than a five-minute driving distance from our house. We are also within five minutes away from two grocery stores, a Walmart, and many other stores. How good it is to have the convenience of being only minutes away from buying things that we need.
7. While Cutie had a difficult time in Target, all five of the other children behaved impeccably. I barely noticed this at the time because I was so focused on taking care of Cutie and rushing through the store. Looking back, though, it is remarkable how well-mannered they were. If Cutie had been calm, it would have been a perfect shopping trip!
8. Sweet Pea and Gameboy showed true servants’ hearts when they immediately rushed to aid me in loading up bags and siblings in the van.
9. Diaper rash is no fun, but at least it is a minor condition. I am thankful that all my children are healthy.
10. One more thing to be thankful for… brownie mix.

 

Empty Me

Who knew?

I’ve heard the beautiful song “Empty Me” several times on the radio and loved it. Just recently I found out who sings it. For you “American Idol” fans out there, remember Chris Sligh? How awesome it is to find this talented young man singing uplifting songs to the Lord.

Empty Me by Chris Sligh

I’ve had just enough of the spotlight when it burns bright
To see how it gets in the blood.
And I’ve tasted my share of the sweet life and the wild ride
And found a little is not quite enough.
I know how I can stray
And how fast my heart could change.

Empty me of the selfishness inside
Every vain ambition and the poison of my pride
And any foolish thing my heart holds to
Lord empty me of me so I can be filled with you.

I’ve seen just enough of the quick buys of the best lies
To know how prodigals can be drawn away.
I know how I can stray
And how fast my heart could change.

Empty me of the selfishness inside
Every vain ambition and the poison of my pride
And any foolish thing my heart holds to
Lord empty me of me so I can be filled with you.

Cause everything is a lesser thing
Compared to you, compared to you.
Cause everything is a lesser thing
Compared to you. So, I surrender all!

Empty me of the selfishness inside
Every vain ambition and the poison of my pride
Empty me of the selfishness inside
Every vain ambition and the poison of my pride
And any foolish thing my heart holds to
Lord empty me of me so I can be
Lord empty me of me so I can be filled with you.
Oh, filled with you.
Empty me.

 

Dave Ramsey on the financial crisis

This isn’t a polital blog, and I’m definitely not a political kind of girl. I don’t even watch the news, and I often joke that Iron Man is my news reporter. However, I would have to live under a rock to not know something about the financial crisis that is all the talk these days. Admittedly, I didn’t understand it all at first, but Iron Man patiently drew me a visual diagram explaining how it all happened and the repercussions, and I get it. (Thanks, Honey!)  I hope to persuade him to do a blog post explaining it to anyone else out there whose head is spinning – or better yet, to make a nice little video, drawing the diagram out like he did for me.

Discouraged by all that is going on, and having concern for how our family will be affected, I decided to read up on what Dave Ramsey had to say about it. For those that haven’t heard of Dave Ramsey, just go to his website and take a look around. Or order his book, Total Money Makeover. Or find a local station where you can listen to him. Seriously. You need to hear/read/see this guy. He is fantastic, and his methods are what helped our family get rid of debt. We now have no debt but our mortgage, and we are working to get that paid off early too, hopefully before our oldest child is college age.

But I digress. I trust that this guy knows his stuff, which led me to find out what he was saying about the financial situation of the US, the implications, and what people like us should be doing to guard our future.  I found Dave’s “rant,” as he called it, here. His words were surprisingly encouraging to Iron Man and me. Given, our country is still in a great big mess, but I came away from reading this feeling that it’s going to be okay. The text is quoted below:

YOU Fix You: What it takes for us all to overcome the crazy economy

By and large, 70% to 90% of you wanted something to be done to calm the economy, but you didn’t want $700 billion in new debt to bail out Wall Street. The stock market has had record declines since then. What’s going on?

You need to remember that you need to take control of your life.

It’s disturbing that people in government totally disregard what their constituents tell them to do. It’s disturbing that the market goes down and the media panics about this. It’s disturbing that greedy banks made horrible, high-interest loans to people who couldn’t afford to repay, and broke people signed up for the loan and cried when they couldn’t afford it – like someone did something to them. It’s disturbing that arrogant people in Washington ignore their constituents and takes huge strides toward socialism.

All of these things are disturbing, but none will cause this great nation to cease to function. None of these things are the seeds to the beginning of the end. You’re okay. We’re going to be fine.

But the most disturbing thing is some people’s reactions.

Don’t react based on fear or panic. Another negative reaction is that you are looking to Washington to fix your problems. Why would you do that? They have never fixed your problems, and you want Obama or McCain to fix things. That’s ridiculous; there has never been a president who can fix your problems. They always say they can and they never can.

At what point did Bill Clinton fix any of your problems? At what point did he cause you to prosper? At what point did George Bush end your career or cause you to prosper? When did Ronald Reagan fix your problems?

When you look to Washington to solve your problems, we’ve got the seeds to destroy this country. It’s time for YOU to change YOUR life.

There was a sweet 43-year-old lady making $15,000 a year who called me asking what Congress was going to do to help her. My answer to her was “Nothing. It’s not their job. It’s your job to read a book or take a class to get better so you can make more. Why have you accepted this as your lot in life? Why are you sitting around waiting on Congress or president to fix your life?”

It’s not Washington’s job to fix what’s going on with you. If you are waiting on Washington to change something, you’ve got a long freakin’ wait! It is YOUR job to take care of you. Don’t sit around and watch TV and panic and think you can’t do anything. I’ve made and lost money, and every bit of that had to do with me being smart and diligent or stupid.

Quit blaming Congress or looking to them to fix you. YOU have to fix you! When you wait on the government to fix your life and wait for money to be taken from others and given to you, that’s a spirit of envy, and it’s wrong. The only system that works is capitalism functioning under moral restraint.

Get some moral restraint, become a capitalist, and go be somebody!