Day Care.....the riches and cares of this world

sermonindex Mar 24, 2005

Shalom brothers and sisters, Let me say up front that I know there are those who love the Lord, love their precious children and simply must work to make ends meet. God bless you and keep you. This is not directed toward you. My wife works in a day care. She keeps 0-6 mos infants. She's been there about 6 mos. These precious babies...there are six of them, all love her dearly. Some of them resist going to their parents when they come to pick them up. They delight when Debbie comes to work at noon. Furthermore, they also attempt to resist attention given to the other 5 by my wife. Some of them have spells of irratibility and cry for an hour or more. Personally, I have no idea how my wife manages. But that's not what this is all about. It's all about those precious babies who are left each day. They are awakened very early, drug out in all kinds of weather and left in the care of people who are for the most part strangers to the family. I can't help but wonder what affect it is having on their personalities and so forth. Fortunately for the ones my wife and her associate keep, they are well treated and loved. But then when they are 6 mos old, they are torn from my wife and given to another class of older children. What trauma they are forced to endure. It is absolutely heartbreaking. They cry and sob, not even understanding why. Beloved, I'm certain that the only reason many of these children are "left behind" is because of greed. Not all of them for sure. But many of them are. The parents can afford bigger houses, finer clothes, newer cars and so forth if both work. Their life is their stuff. Horrifically, we are raising an entire nation of these kind of children. Our grandaughter is one of these day care children. She has been since she was just a few weeks old. Not only is she left at this place during the week, but on weekends, her working parents want to play, and so they often are looking for a baby sitter and again she is deprived of the God intended parental care she so desperately needs.Now I have a question, saints. What are these children going to be like when they grow up? Are we creating a monster that will spin out of control? I shudder to think of it. Beloved, this greives my soul each time I go by there. I know it's more than just my soul, but the Spirit of God in me that is greived over this situation. My wife and I have 5 children. She did not work while they were growing up. Thank God I was able to feed and clothe us all during this time. 3 of the 5 were breast fed. The 3 are as different from the 2 as night and day. The 3 are calm, laid back, easy going, get along well with others, while the 2 are hyper, unsettled, have ravenous appetites and so forth. They are not criminal, thank God. But they are just so different from the other 3. So what am I trying to say? God's way of course is always best. When His provision is short circuited for the sake of man's greed, the results are far less that what God wanted to provide. There is a way that seems right to a man, but it's end is distruction. We are raising a nation of children who are deprived the love of the parents in the most critical stage of their growth, and they are for the most part deprived of the Word of God. Together, this is a tragic and I believe volatile mixture for disaster that lays just ahead. One need only review the book of Judges and see what happened to generations who were deprived of the Word of God. It's happening all over again right before our very eyes. Who will sound the alarm? If those who are of a sound mind do not humble themselves and pray, this nation is going to be the breeding ground for God only knows what. How quickly moral values have erroded in the past few years. Already we are deciding what quality of life lives and what is no longer worth the effort. We decide which unborn babies live and which ones are murdered. God help us, we are in an awful mess that is spiralling ever downward, and at an ever increasing pace. Oh how great the fall just ahead if this nation does not turn from it's wicked ways.....selah!

A

Angyl Mar 24, 2005

Wonderful post!My wife also works at a Daycare. She started working there about eight months ago to help us make ends meet and pay some bills and, frankly, because we would not have been eligible for a loan for a house without her added income. Our two year old daughter also started attending the child care place with her every day. Before this I was home with our daughter until she was 17 months, and my wife took over when she got out of the Navy for awhile until last August.From the first few months our daughter was in daycare you could see the differences in her behavior. Some of them were good (learning verbal skills and the like), some of them were not good at all. And the horror stories my wife would tell me every day about some of the other kids...and their PARENTS! One parent, after hearing my wife gently try to tell her what a monster her child had been all day simply shook her head at her boy and said in a sickeningly sweet, syurpy voice; "It looks like you're going to get some time out tonight..."At any rate, just yesterday my wife put in her two weeks notice at the job. It was, as I said, only a temporary measure so we could get a loan for our first house (and we went pretty much as small and modest as one can while expecting to grow a faimly, believe me!) Our money's going to get tight...REAL tight...but the changes we've seen in our daughter simply make it not worth it. Bills come and go, but our daughter is ours to mold for a very short period of time, then our success or failure as parents will become evident for all the world to see.My wife will be trying to start a Christian home daycare to supplement our income. We see it as the best of all worlds: Playmates for our daughter a steady income, and mom is home with and supervising her baby every single day!And of course she plans to homeschool...And I work in an office full of women...you should see the "are you some sort of alien???" looks I get from them when I suggest that my wife is best off at home with our child. I'm sure if their husbands suggested that to them they'd get their heads ripped off and handed back to them.Sad, sad society that the feminist movement has created for us all to enjoy. They told us as boys to stop being boys and cry like the girls, and told the girls to start acting like men and doing things traditionally male, and parents to stop spanking rather than coddling their kids.Now what do we have? (other than school shootings, a massive increase in crime, prison populations, and National "Coming Out" day?)

M

Matt25 Mar 25, 2005

A book has just come out that has done in an in depth study on this:Home Alone America

M

mloaks Mar 25, 2005

Blaming feminists is a non-starter, fodder for conservative AM talkshows. Witch hunts will not help.Y'all are right, greed drives some of this tragedy. But many govt policies re healthcare, etc., make one income Ozzie-n-Harriett shangri-las impossible.What can God's people do?The world is changing faster than the USA can adapt. Secure careers are wilting. Kids have little hope for the USA we had. We must turn to God's wisdom for a recourse, but with all the aposticy and evil built into our nation, the answers to this malady will be a long, tough time coming. The USA may not survive it...If I did not know that we are in the Lord's hands, and all this world is temporary, I'd dispair as a father of two.

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Angyl Mar 25, 2005

The USA may not survive it...May not?...You're an optimist, aren't you? This country's already dead in most ways... the people just haven't realized it yet.Just as Rome was a glittering jewel on the outside but a rotting, disgusting core inside before it finally burned, so is America today.

sermonindex Mar 28, 2005

...indeed, "may not" is very optimistic. Reading these responses brings tears to my eyes. My, my, how are God must be greived over all He has provided, and like Israel, we have run off whoring after other loves, leaving His Holy Place to the wolves.

sermonindex Mar 28, 2005

But many govt policies re healthcare, etc., make one income Ozzie-n-Harriett shangri-las impossible.mloaks... love ya, man... but you're way off on this. My wife has a Master's Degree... and she is a stay at home mom. Call her June Cleaver if you wish, it is possible. I work, she stays home and raises 4 boys. We homeschool. There is a huge homeschool association in this county, and there are over 500 families involved in it.Get that? Over 500 "Ozzie & Harriett shangri-las" in just this one rural county.Anything is possible when someone decides that they dont need $300,000 houses, brand new SUV's, plasma Tv's... and whatever else the world tells us we need. (mloaks... I'm not saying you're that way. I dont know you. Just speaking generally)We live in a 2400 sq ft home that's paid off (we paid $150,000 for it), drive a 99 Town & Country van (100,000 miles), a 96 Jeep Cherokee (98,000 miles), and a 1981 Ford pick-up (350,000+ miles). Nuthin' fancy... and the van is the only one we still make payments on.We carry no credit card debt.All this on $40,000-$45,000 a year (depending on the economy).It can be done.Krispy

sermonindex Mar 28, 2005

My wife has a Master's Degree... and she is a stay at home mom. Wonderful! My wife also wants to be a stay at home mom. Right now she is putting me through school...but we can't wait to start a family. It will be tough, but we know it can be done.Anything is possible when someone decides that they dont need $300,000 houses, brand new SUV's, plasma Tv's... and whatever else the world tells us we need.So true. I appreciate your testimony. It is so encouraging to know that it can be done!

sermonindex Mar 28, 2005

So true. I appreciate your testimony. It is so encouraging to know that it can be done!To add some more to my testimony, when I was saved we didnt have kids yet. The first one came soon after. He'll be 11 this fall. Anyway, a large portion of our income was spent on alcohol and cars (a good combination).Then i got saved, and alcohol was not an issue... but I loved cars and pickups. I always had to have the best and newest. It about killed me when my wife said she wanted to stay home... and I fought her on it. But gradually the Lord opened my eyes. She then wanted to homeschool... and again I fought her... and again the Lord worked me over. Now I am a huge proponent of homeschooling, and very involved.But I had to give up my love of cars. I can tell you that now, 10 years later... I have no desire to own the best or newest. I have no problem owning a truck that has 350,000 miles on it. In fact, I have a lot of pride in that truck cuz I keep it running. I will admit this... my two oldest boys and I have been watching these car shows on TV where they re-build these junkers into muscle cars, and it does get to me a little. So, we are going to the junk yard this summer and buying some old rust bucket... probably for $100... and we're going to rebuild it. A father/son project. And I've told the boys it may take 10 years. Money availability will dictate the project.But it's a far cry from where I used to be. The keyword in all of this is: [font=Arial]PRIORITIES[/font]Krispy

A

Angyl Mar 28, 2005

You're absolutely right, Krispy. It CAN be done with the right priorities.My wife and I unfortunately are NOT out of debt yet, (our only blessing is that the debt we carry is NOT credit card), but despite this, we've just bought our first, new home, (for $125K) and SHE is going to be a stay home mom starting next week...on my salary of $28K.We'll have to live like severe misers, but for our daughter, and any future children, IT IS WORTH IT! Edit: That alone is a telling sentence, isn't it? We're going to be living poor, but for our kids, it's worth it?It's not the money and THINGS that're important, it's the time home with family and the education (homeschool) that matters most in bringing up a child. Money is all but irrelevant as long as the basics (food, shelter, clothing), are met. Okay... back to my original post. :-)We are not afraid (a little worried, maybe), but we trust the Lord to provide. We know I'm supposed to (and will eventually) be making more money (not a LOT more but a nice %) and when that time comes all will be roses.If we can do it on that pathetic amount then anyone can. Those who say it is impossible have simply bought too much into the American lie of SUVs, 900 satellite movie channels and instant gratification (read: credit cards).Take my brother and sister-in-law. Living in Texas, he makes good money (50K+) but they want desperately to leave Texas...preferably to move here to Arizona to be closer to me and our mother. He's been out here several times for job interviews but as yet, no one has met his minimum salary requirement...Here's a man, who just declared bankruptcy last year...his debt was all wiped out...And his minimum insistence for salary to maintain himself, a wife and a 2 year old son? $45K. :-o My wife and I can not begin to imagine why someone with no debt and only one child would need...ABSOLUTELY INSISTon that much money when they're so desperate to move from where they are. Likewise, when speaking to my sister-in-law, she can not fathom how my wife and I survive on my income. :-(

sermonindex Mar 28, 2005

I have two words for those who really want to scale back and live on less for the benefit of their children... YARD SALES!1/2 our furniture... yard sales. Almost all of our kids' clothes... yard sales. Toy for toddlers... yard sales. We'll leave the house at 7am with $50 and come home at lunch with barely enough room in the van for the kids to sit! (I believe Jeff Foxworthy calls people like us "rednecks"... I guess that's us!)Flea Markets are also good.Coupons.Heck, most of my clothes are from yard sales.We do spree for new clothes and toys at Christmas for the kids... but we do sneak a few yard sale items under the tree too.I could write a book about how the Lord has provided for us... absolute miracles. He's always provided us with vehicles at just the right time. He provided us w/ a house. No one really knows the miracles involved except my wife and I.And He does this if we are obedient and trust Him.We did spree for a new King-size pillow top mattress for ourselves this Christmas. People... I highly recommend pillow top mattresses!Krispy

A

Angyl Mar 28, 2005

what the heck is a pillow top mattress?

sermonindex Mar 28, 2005

what the heck is a pillow top mattress?On the top of the mattress is an extra layer of "fluffy-ness" ... pillow top. It's nice because you can get a firmer mattress, but still have a softness to it via the top layer.It takes me about 30 seconds to go to sleep now, and it's very hard to get up in the morning. Best mattress we've ever had.Krispy

sermonindex Mar 29, 2005

Thank you all for your testimonies. God has ways of blessing us that we never dream of until we walk in obedience and faith. As our dear brother stated, we could also testify of some very unusual provisions God has made for us over the years. It is my hope, my prayer, and my joy that even one family would read this thread and take the leap of faith for their children and for themselves. Oh Happy Day. God is able, if only we trust it to His care. Amen? Amen and amen.