Freedom

I was talking to my beautiful 16 year old who I am wildly proud of the other night....we were talking about freedom. If the average person were to look from the outside at the way we are bringing up our children they might say...oh my goodness they are so strict....they have too many rules. Rules such as: my kids have never been allowed to do sleepovers with friends.....my kids can't date.....there are many movies and tv shows we do not watch....they are not allowed to leave and roam the neighborhood...we do not just drop them off at the movies or the mall with their friends(Lindsey just started this at 16)...there are many popular books they can't read, no bikini's, no low cut shirts....you get the idea!

I told Lindsey that it was my prayer that they would see that they have GREAT freedom within the bounds we give them. I hope that they will not refer to us as strict. I don't want them to feel stifled. I described it as a beautiful field that they could roam freely inside of...sometimes the other side of the fence looks amazing but it is covered in hidden land mines....so what looks like "freedom" really isn't. Our desire is not to oppress them but to protect them.

Look at God's example of sex....one man one woman for life inside the bounds of marriage. The world says that this is restrictive...there is no freedom to express love and this is too narrow and confining.It isn't realistic! God just doesn't want us to have fun...He is a party pooper!

On the contrary.....look at what He is trying to protect us from(land mines) Aids, teenage pregnancy, STD's, feelings of desperation especially for girls,a feeling that we could never measure up, addiction to pornography, adultery, guilt, shame! What does He want for us.....GREAT FREEDOM within our marriage! Unbelievable sex with our mate! The ability to be free without the fear and oppression of the "land mines." He wants the very best for us!!!!

Lindsey said that she feels like she has freedom. YEAH....She has shown great responsibility therefore she has more freedom...as much as is possible we try to say yes to the things that are within the bounds we have given her(and the rest of the kids) and we also are open to talking through those areas that we disagree about. Sometimes after a conversation we even revise our decision..we certainly are not perfect and we do not want them to feel that it is our way or the highway...how prideful for us to not even listen to our children....as long as they approach us properly...begging, pleading and guilt NEVER work here!

I have probably opened a big can of worms with this post...feel free to comment!