40 Days for Life Reminder

Just a reminder Ash Wednesday started 40 Days for Life. Here's the link.
http://40daysforlife.com/getinvolved.cfm

Facebook Etiquette

“a kind mouth multiplies friends, and gracious lips prompt friendly greetings. Let your acquaintances be many, but one in a thousand your confidant…” Sirach 6:5-6

Okay, so here is a story. Names are changed to protect all.  A young teen, named Mac, who is involved in several activities couldn't make it one night.  Mac isn't in charge but is one of the leaders. I don't necessarily want to say what this activity was but it wasn't sports. It was an extracurricular educational activity for boys.
Well, there are about 40 boys in this group and they recently have started communicating on Facebook.
We all know how popular Facebook is getting and it seems to be the way people are communicating these days.
So, he posts on Facebook that he won't be there. No big deal, but one boy , "Joe" seems to take it personal or something know one really knows for sure but he responded to the message. Now understand that he didn't respond just to Mac who couldn't make it but he responded so all could see. His message was, "you lazy bleep (he didn't use bleep) you better have told the leaders you aren't going to be there."  Mac did tell the leaders and did have someone covering for him. His reason for not being able to be there was a series of tests he was taking the next day and his need for study was greater than his need for the activity. Unfortunately, he didn't explain himself. He just said he couldn't make it.
The reply message from "Joe" was sent late at night so no one saw it until the next day. Mac didn't know he had got this reply. It was the mom who saw the reply because she frequently checks her sons Facebook page to keep up on who he is socializing with and what he is saying.  Needless to say she was upset that someone was saying her child was lazy because he was not attending this extracurricular activity and she was upset the message was sent to everyone and this teen was using foul language.  The mother decided she had better clarify in the message why her son was not able to be there because he did not say why. He had just said he wouldn't be there and to do your best with the meeting they were having. Keep in mind there would be several adult leaders attending this meeting and the teen missing wouldn't be that big of a deal.
Well, this story is getting long but Mac's mother called another mom because she was upset and wanted to talk. The other mom, also, had a son in this group and she saw the message and thought the reply had been in bad taste, also.
Mac's mom finally emailed the adult leaders, who had seen the reply and they were okay with him not being there. The mother had decided to take up the issue of language at one of the meetings.
Later that day when Mac had come home he was upset and bothered by the reply. Who wouldn't be?
So, the reason I am telling this story is this. Did Joe's mom see what he had posted? He is under 18, has two parents and still needs guidance. I am not even trying to say one parent is better than the other or that I have any heads up on parenting because I don't.  Parenting is one of the hardest jobs I have ever done in my life.
I heard someone say one time after being asked what he would do different in parenting because his daughter was a prodigal child. He said he would be quiet and not have bragged so much about what a great parent he was. So, that is not my intention here. I am just one mom trying to do my best and making mistakes along the way, also, but picking myself back up with God's help.
My intention in this post is a plea. A plea from one mom to other moms. Please, please check and see what your children are putting on Facebook. This is only one story. I could tell others. I try hard to be vigilant about what my child puts on Facebook and probably other moms could come to me and say to me, "do you know what your son said on Facebook?" That scares me. I pray all the time over this. I cry out to God and the Saints for guidance for me and my family in this internet world we live in. It is so awesome to know God is always there to guide us through the trials in life.
I ask, would we allow our teens free to roam the world physically, going to all kinds of seedy places. No, but it happens on the internet these days and the most popular right now is Facebook. What will it be next?
The thing about Facebook is it gives courage to people. It allows them to say things to people they wouldn't say to their face but what teens and others seem to forget is what goes on the internet stays on the internet. It is there.  I have seen teens posting on Facebook about sex, drugs and personal issues, such as arguing with another person on Facebook for all to see.
When I was pregnant with my son someone told me how important it was for a mom to be with their child when going through the teen years not just when the child is an infant, though that is important too.
I just have to repeat this again and stress it so much.
Please moms and dads check what your kids are doing on the internet, especially right now on Facebook.
This not only bothers me from the perspective of fear of what my son will read but, also it saddens me that these teens are left alone in the Facebook world to say and do whatever they please. Do you know that you can have your child's status posts sent to your cell phone so you can always see what they are posting on their page. This doesn't work I don't think when they post on other peoples pages but it helps.
You should  always know your teens password to Facebook and check it frequently.
Facebook isn't a right.  It is a privilege and a responsibility. A responsibility as God's children to be good stewards of what he gives us and this internet world isn't a bad thing. It's how it is being used. And by the way who is paying for that internet service anyhow that allows them to be on Facebook?  That puts the responsibility in our laps.

Please, please moms and dads do your best to monitor your child's Facebook page and I will do my best, too.

Do you know what your child just posted on Facebook? I'll check mine too.

Blessed Mother, pray for us.

By the way, here's a great video to help express my point. Show it to your kids.

http://www.youtube.com/user/bluefishtv#p/u/101/22mRAx1fYkU

Making a House a Home

How many times have we heard men say they don't care about frills and fluffs and curtains and rugs and knick knacks in the making of a home. If they were to live somewhere on their own they wouldn't care about such stuff. So, if that is the case then why do women, not all probably, but most I would imagine care about those things? Why do men build and buy houses for women to decorate and make into a home. How many times have you heard the saying, "this house needs a woman's touch." Probably not too much anymore but it used to be quite a popular phrase.
My husband is concerned about the stucture of a home. Is everything working? How about the plumbing, the furnace, and the other things that are needed to keep the house working. My husband makes our home a sound and solid house by making sure everything is in working order, and  I am ever so grateful.
 I, on the other hand,  like to make sure everything is in it's proper place and in order. I like to make sure it is kept clean. Oh, don't get me wrong there are times when this house gets pretty messy, but I can't stand it for very long.  I get very caught up in not just the house being clean but also, the arrangement of furniture and yes knick knacks and such things as are the curtains hanging right. Are the beds made and do the bedspreads match the curtains and is everything set just right so nothing is in the way when you walk in the door of a room or hopefully the counters aren't cluttered if I want to set something down? Is the laundry done? The floor swept and vacuumed and so on.
Alot of these things that women find themselves caring for is just making the house a home, decorating, making it comfortable. When we don't care about those things life is hard on everyone. I am talking here to women that are homemakers. If a woman works fulltime outside the home (being a fulltime homemaker is a job too) then life is different. There is much more of a sharing of these chores. On occasion I will work several days in a row at the hospital and after I am done I continually ask myself, "how do women who work fulltime keep up their home? Their husbands have to help," but that is a different subject for another time.

My son and I were watching The Swiss Family Robinson the other day and I got a kick out of this scene. Here is a family marooned on what they think is a deserted island. No one is going to be seeing their home. The wife is alone with three boys and a husband and she wants a home so they build her one. At first it is not very sound. It is unsafe, so she is upset and they then build her a much safer, sturdier home. Watch.



Don't you love it. The men made the home sound and sturdy and she gives it the woman's touch. I find it funny where she notices the curtains that the men put up. She says they don't belong there. When my husband and I were first married and we were moving in, we bought some groceries and our cupboards were totally empty and he put something in one of the cupboards. I don't remember what it was but I said to him, "that doesn't go there." It was funny to both of us because there wasn't anything in any of the cupboards but in my mind I already knew where everything would go. I automatically was making a home.


In a home economics book, The Mode dated 1935, I found the following:
"Each home is individual and must be so treated in order to express the personality of the occupants. As every object in a room is useful, it must be so placed that it will be convenient and comfortable for the user.
To illustrate, lamps should be placed near chairs to be useful in reading and working. Arrange a room so that from the entrance it appears inviting; ... Arrange furniture in a room so that it is perfectly balanced as this gives a restful effect."

It also said this:

"After you arrange or rearrange the furnishing in a room, stand and view it critically from different positions in the room. Judge its appearances by thinking of such questions:

1. Does the room express homelikeness and hospitality?
2. Does the room serve its purpose?
3. Do the furnishings harmonize with the near-by rooms?
4. Is there a feeling of rest? Does the room naturally express the art principles of design?
5. Is the arrangement of the furniture correct, convenient and comfortable?
6. Are the curtains hung correctly?
7. Are the pictures arranged and hung right?
8. Are there just enough accessories or does the room appear cluttered?

Isn't that what we want in our homes a feeling of restfulness and peace. We want our families to be comfortable at home so that they don't want to leave in the morning and are grateful to be home at night. That takes cleaning and arranging and decorating. Things we wives and mothers as homemakers can provide for our families.