“Parenting is the easiest thing in the world to have an opinion about, but the hardest thing in the world to do.” This statement from a popular blog is just about the truest thing I’ve read all week.   We’re all guilty of it at some point- judging other parents on their parenting skills-or lack thereof.  God’s Word tells us very clearly- “judge not, yet we be judged.”  This is true in so many areas of our lives, and parenting is no exception. 

At the very least, we’ve all wanted to give another parent the benefit of our experience and opinions.  At worst, we’ve had fleeting thoughts of how we could “do better” when it comes to someone else’s children.  Our judgments can range from the benign like how to get kids to clean up their toys to more serious moral dilemmas. 

The bottom line is this, God chose us to parent the children we have.  Whether our children come to us naturally, through adoption, or in a foster care situation, they are ours to parent- for a lifetime or for a season.  It’s my opinion that because God has chosen to give me the kids I have, then somehow, someway, I have something they need; I am equipped to be the best mom I can possibly be to the ones in my care.  One day, I will have to answer to God on how well I stewarded the lives of His creations in my care.  Because of that, answering to anyone else about my parenting skills seems really silly.   And…even sillier- and downright presumptuous- is to think that I could parent someone else’s child any better than the one chosen to do it. 

This Week’s Announcements:
Our 4th (or is it 5th?) Annual Camping Day at Red Top Mountain is October 5th!  This event is open to children in 1st-5th grade.  The cost for the day is $20 per child and includes transportation, lunch, fishing, canoe rides, crafts, games, and S'mores by the camp fire!  We will leave the church by 9:15am, spend the day at the Pioneer Camp Site, and return to church by 4:30pm.   Registration is open now, but will close on Monday, September 30th.  Medical release forms and permission slips (available in the PathFinders area) must be turned in NO LATER than Wednesday, October 2nd.  To sign up, visit www.signupgenius.com and search under penny@stonebridgemarietta.org.
 
What God is Teaching Us:
Check out the link below to see last week’s curriculum. 
This link is no longer available

Funny Things Kids Say:
A small group leader asked his 3rd-5th grade boys what exciting things they had done the past week.  After a few minutes of no responses (can you hear the crickets chirping?)- one 3rd grader finally raised his hand.  His answer, “I watched paint dry…in my mind.” 
Not exciting, but very funny!

Judgment Gone Wrong:
As a parent of a 3 year old and an infant, I was sure of very few things; however I could do this- make sure my children were dressed “properly.”  One day while at Target, I witnessed a family- mom and three kids- all entering the store barefooted.  In my mind, I thought, “How redneck is that…they are all going shopping with no shoes.  That mom could at least dress her children before leaving the house.”   Well less than a week later, my baby boy woke from a nap with a bad case of croup.  I rushed to get him and his older brother in the car to drive from Marietta to Roswell to the doctor’s office.  Once in the parking lot, I looked down to put on my shoes (I drive with no shoes a lot in the summer), and guess what…I had none!  I frantically searched under seats and in the trunk for a stray pair of flip flops or anything else with a sole. No luck.  So, yep…I judged someone else, not knowing their circumstances or story, and there I was …going into the doctor’s office with two children (dressed properly), but no shoes for myself.  I saw the judgmental eyes of many moms that day, asked forgiveness more than once, and have prayed many times since that I wouldn’t judge another parent so harshly.