WHAT YOU TALKIN' 'BOUT, WILLIS?

Parental Compromises

One of the toughest parts of being new parents is knowing when to say when. I am pretty laid back about the baby. I pretty much assume he'll get sick, he'll eat gross things, he'll cause problems and one day wreck my car. Kerry on the other hand is more uptight, wanting to protect him from everything. I'm thinking now about where do we draw the line between letting Jackson run amock in filth and keeping him in a plastic bubble.

Here are some things you can't do as a parent:

Take a sick baby to the doctor. There are sick people there. Particularly nasting kids who don't cover their mouths when they cough.

Go anywhere without the baby. I mean anywhere. I had to carry the lil' dude into the post office the other day to buy stamps and I was scared to death I would ship him firstclass to China.

Enjoy Television. No more movies or adult-oriented cartoons. I actually caught myself covering his eyes during a violent scene in a movie the other day. No more movies that aren't rated G.

Dressing the baby to match your own outfit. He'll just spit up all over it, so unless your wearing something oatmeal-ly don't even worry about it.

I guess I'm coming around. I realize now that kids are walking germ-magnets that bring infection into the home. No more walking him in the cold air without being completely covered up by a blanket. No more letting just anybody say Hello to Jack without smacking their dirty hands away from his. No more letting the house get dirty and dusty, or letting Jackson do the Swiffer Baby thing on the hardwood.

I love being a Daddy to my son. Daddy Day Care this week has been awesome and I couldn't ask for a more wonderful kid. I can imagine being a househusband, Mr. Mom, staying home with the kid(s), it would be awesome. It's hard not knowing exactly what to do, never feeling like you've done enough, or can get everything done you need to, but it's an enjoyable stress with big ol' smiles as a payment for every attention paid to the boy.

Crazy Ideas

As an open-minded, somewhat well-rounded, fully fundamentalist Christian, I like to think I have some crazy ideas.

Here is one:

Christians should be more like gay people. The gay community has an agenda. No, they don't want everyone to be gay, but they do want everyone to know they're gay and to accept them on their own terms. They are pushing hard for what they want. Gay people take pride in their lifestyle choice and they push gays that are "in the closet" to "come out."

Christians need to come out. Christianity is a lifestyle choice that can and should bring a certain amount of suffering or ridicule. There are far too many people who wear the name "Christian" who never speak a word about Jesus to their friends, family, or co-workers, because they don't want to be seen as a Jesus freak. For the same reason people who would never miss a service are not willing to walk across the street and invite their neighbors to church.

Christians have an agenda, a mission really, we are commanded by God to go tell the whole world about Christ and His teaching. We need to quit slinking around with our tails tucked because belief in the God's Word isn't popular. We need to demand that people respect us for our beliefs. If we are hiding our faith we need to be "outed" and maybe as Christians we need to be outing each other to keep the movement going forward.

Of course homosexuality is sinful, as any sexual immorality (1 Corinthians 6:9).

Some other crazy ideas I'd like to get around to are:

Buddhists are some of the best Christians.

Christianity is all about works (no they don't save us), just take a look at Jesus.

Satan maybe using cell towers to broadcast doubt and negativity. Ever wonder why you get those out-of-the-blue thoughts in your head where you question God?

Sandals with socks are cool. Less odor, with comfort and breathability.