Wal-Mart Commercial Gets My Goat

Who writes the commercials for Wal-Mart? One this summer really got my goat... it was the summer 2009 Wal-Mart commercial that said "Summer is here. Our kids are ours again." What???? Who did they belong to during the school year? The government? This line of thinking is scary. Are we are a rats hair away from total government control? Are we being conned into thinking that the government knows what is best for our kids? Probably.

While walking through the school supply aisle this August, I heard one lady commenting to another lady "God, I can't wait for school to start and for these kids to go back." The kids were standing right there and I saw their faces sink. It made me feel so sad for those precious children. I wanted to yell at these clearly idiotic women... "What is wrong with you? These kids are gifts. You should treasure every second you have with them." These are the parents whose kids get into trouble and they wonder where they went wrong.

Parents: Children are a gift. Their childhood is fleeting so don't wish away this time with them. The scripture says "The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame. " Proverbs 29:15 Sow into them love, kindness and discipline. Let them experience the consequences of wrong decisions. Your children are not your "best friend". Parents make decisions that are best for the child NOT what will make the child happy. Spend time with your children. Speak into their lives good things. Cheer them on in what they do best. Encourage them not to give up in things they find difficult. Your children are not there to fill your emotional needs. They are not there to hear about your problems. If you find yourself doing this, you need to reexamine your relationship with God. He is there to hear your problems and fill your needs.

Art Appreciation

Here we are in October already with several weeks of schooling out of the way. Our habits of reading the Bible daily, followed by a poem and nature walks on Monday has been working out very well so far. Today I somewhat reluctantly added art appreciation. We were studying a Picasso painting entitled "A Family of Saltimbanques". I'm not a fan of Picasso but I enjoyed studying this painting with the boys. I had them study the picture for about 5 minutes. Then we covered up the painting and then asked them to describe it. Then we looked at it again and I asked them how it made them feel. I was amazed at what they read into the painting. They both said it had a sad feeling. My 10 year old son said that he felt the lady with the hat represented Picasso and his feeling misunderstood in the art world. Wow! He also noted the coloring of the lady with the hat was the same as the boy in blue and the girl in pink and that perhaps they were related. They also said that the group was on the move. They also noted the barren location and that it added to the sad feeling of the piece. Their observations took me by surprise and now I am sorry we didn't start this sooner. I thought they wouldn't really enjoy this part of our day, but it turned out to be the highlight!