Weekend Daybook

Outside My Door...

Bright Christmas lights and decor going up in the neighborhood. Deflated Santas, a Minion, and Mickey Mouse globbing on the lawns during the day. Not very attractive. So the glow at night makes up for the glob in the day to some, I suppose. My own pho--I'll be glad when that fad has passed.

Brought a smile...
A little fella and his daddy out for a walk in the neighborhood. Exchanging greetings as I decorate the front porch. Little fellas always bring a smile to my heart. :-)

Thinking...
It is sad that the rights of parents need to be stated in an amendment to our Constitution, but that is the society we live in today. The Parental Rights Amendment has been introduced in the Senate and the House. The first section of the amendment: "The liberty of parents to direct the upbringing, education, and care of their children is a fundamental right." Please consider calling your Congressmen and encourage them to co-sponsor the amendment, if they have not already. The more co-sponsors, the more likely it will get to committee for a hearing. More information at parentalrights.org
   

Thankful...

That the White House has Merry Christmas greetings this year. Glad the slippery slope has slowed a little.

Noticing the sound of...

My Beloved quietly playing Christmas music. I'm surprised that he waited until December. :-)

Around the house...

In the Kitchen... 

Not much has happened there this week while My Beloved is experimenting with intolerance to certain foods. Something doesn't agree with him, but I think he's getting closer to figuring it out.

Looking forward to...
Getting rid of this cough and congestion.

Reading...

I like to choose a book about Jesus the Christ to read and reflect on during December as we celebrate His coming into the world. This year I've chosen Come Let Us Adore Him by Paul David Tripp. It's a daily advent devotional that also includes a central theme suggestion to discuss with children. For example, he suggests that you talk with your children about why people sing, and talk about why the angels sang at the birth of Jesus.



You can enjoy some brief 2-minute Advent/Christmas videos with Tripp on similar topics at his website:  paultripp.com

Pondering...
"The Advent story reminds us that our past, present, and future hope rest not on our willingness, but on the willingness of the One for whom the angels sang, the shepherds worshiped, and the magi searched. Willing Jesus is the only hope for unwilling sinners!" ~ Paul David Tripp, in Come Let us Adore Him

The Parental Rights Amendment

We watched the showing of The Child online last evening, a documentary on the Parental Rights Amendment that would protect children by preserving parental rights through an amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Because an international treaty is legally binding by the U.S. Constitution if ratified, parents would lose assumed parental rights to the U.S. government and the United Nations through the ratification of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child. Parental rights are slowly eroding away as U.S. courts have begun handing down rulings as though the CRC has already been ratified. The only way to stop the erosion is through codifying parental rights within the Constitution.

The Proposed Parental Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution has 3 Sections:

SECTION 1
The liberty of parents to direct the upbringing and education of their children is a fundamental right.

SECTION 2
Neither the United States nor any state shall infringe upon this right without demonstrating that its governmental interest as applied to the person is of the highest order and not otherwise served.

SECTION 3
No treaty may be adopted nor shall any source of international law be employed to supersede, modify, interpret, or apply to the rights guaranteed by this article.

The United Kingdom's High Court ruled in early March that Christians with traditional ethical views of sexuality are not suitable to serve as foster or adoptive parents. These same children's rights are outlined in the CRC and would become legally binding in the U.S.  if ratified. There is currently a U.S. Supreme Court case, Camreta vs. Greene, "which deals with whether or not a minor child has the right to be protected from seizure and interrogation by government officials without a warrant, emergency circumstances, or parental consent." To read more on this case, click here. 

Summary points of the substance of the Convention on the Rights of the Child can be found at ParentalRights.org. Only the president and 67 members of the U.S. Senate is all that is needed for the CRC to be ratified.

Rather scary that 68 people could decide the fate of American families. Find out how we can save your children and grandchildren by going to ParentalRights.org.