Mean Moms

[baxley]

   Mean Moms

   Someday when my children are old enough to
   understand the logic that motivates a parent, I will
   tell them, as my Mean Mom told me: I loved you
   enough . . . to ask where you were going, with whom,
   and what time you would be home.

   I loved you enough to be silent and let you
  discover that your new best friend was a creep.

  I loved you enough to stand over you for two hours
   while you cleaned your room, a job that should have taken 15 minutes.
 

   I loved you enough to let you see anger,
  disappointment, and tears in my eyes. Children must
  learn that their parents aren't perfect.

  I loved you enough to let you assume the
  responsibility for your actions even when the
  penalties were so harsh they almost broke my heart.

   But most of all, I loved you enough . . . to say
   NO when I knew you would hate me for it.

   Those were the most difficult battles of all. I'm
   glad I won them, because in the end you won, too.
   And someday when your children are old enough to
   understand the logic that motivates parents, you will tell them.

   Was your Mom mean? I know mine was. We had the
   meanest mother in the whole world! While other kids
   ate candy for breakfast, we had to have cereal, eggs, and toast.
 
When others had a Pepsi and a Twinkie for lunch, we had to eat sandwiches.

  And you can guess our mother fixed us a dinner that was
  different from what other kids had, too.

   Mother insisted on knowing where we were at all
   times. You'd think we were convicts in a prison. She
   had to know who our friends were, and what we were
   doing with them. She insisted that if we said we
   would be gone for an hour, we would be gone for an hour or less.

   We were ashamed to admit it, but she had the nerve
   to break the Child Labor Laws by making us work.  We had to wash the dishes,   make the beds, learn to
   cook, vacuum the floor, do laundry, empty the trash
   and all sorts of cruel jobs. I think she would lie
   awake at night thinking of more things for us to do.

   She always insisted on us telling the truth, the
   whole truth, and nothing but the truth. By the time
   we were teenagers, she could read our minds and had
   eyes in the back of her head. Then, life was really tough!

  Mother wouldn't let our friends just honk the horn
  when they drove up. They had to come up to the door
  so she could meet them. While everyone else could
  date when they were 12 or 13, we had to wait until we were 16 .

   Because of our mother we missed out on lots of
things other kids experienced. None of us have ever
been caught shoplifting, vandalizing other's
  property or ever arrested for any crime. It was all her fault.

  Now that we have left home, we are all educated,
honest adults. We are doing our best to be mean
   parents just like Mom was.

   I think that is what's wrong with the world today.
   It just doesn't have enough mean moms!

[nChrist]

Three Cheers for Mean Moms!!

I give thanks to still have my dear, sweet, and Mean Mom with me. One of the things I give thanks for often is having Godly parents who loved me and brought me up in the things of the LORD. This alone makes a child rich. My dad is already home with the LORD, but my mother is still trying to help me in every way that she can. Her love and care are priceless treasures that remind me of the description of a virtuous woman in Proverbs. She's 87 now, and I treasure her Godly support and advice.

If you are a parent or grandparent, praying for guidance and trying to be a Godly parent is one of the best gifts you can give your children. It's a loving gift that keeps giving for your entire life. For you virtuous women, here is a tribute to you:

Proverbs 31:10 NASB  An excellent wife, who can find? For her worth is far above jewels.
Proverbs 31:11 NASB  The heart of her husband trusts in her, And he will have no lack of gain.
Proverbs 31:12 NASB  She does him good and not evil All the days of her life.
Proverbs 31:13 NASB  She looks for wool and flax And works with her hands in delight.
Proverbs 31:14 NASB  She is like merchant ships; She brings her food from afar.
Proverbs 31:15 NASB  She rises also while it is still night And gives food to her household And portions to her maidens.
Proverbs 31:16 NASB  She considers a field and buys it; From her earnings she plants a vineyard.
Proverbs 31:17 NASB  She girds herself with strength And makes her arms strong.
Proverbs 31:18 NASB  She senses that her gain is good; Her lamp does not go out at night.
Proverbs 31:19 NASB  She stretches out her hands to the distaff, And her hands grasp the spindle.
Proverbs 31:20 NASB  She extends her hand to the poor, And she stretches out her hands to the needy.
Proverbs 31:21 NASB  She is not afraid of the snow for her household, For all her household are clothed with scarlet.
Proverbs 31:22 NASB  She makes coverings for herself; Her clothing is fine linen and purple.
Proverbs 31:23 NASB  Her husband is known in the gates, When he sits among the elders of the land.
Proverbs 31:24 NASB  She makes linen garments and sells them, And supplies belts to the tradesmen.
Proverbs 31:25 NASB  Strength and dignity are her clothing, And she smiles at the future.
Proverbs 31:26 NASB  She opens her mouth in wisdom, And the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
Proverbs 31:27 NASB  She looks well to the ways of her household, And does not eat the bread of idleness.
Proverbs 31:28 NASB  Her children rise up and bless her; Her husband also, and he praises her, saying:
Proverbs 31:29 NASB  "Many daughters have done nobly, But you excel them all."
Proverbs 31:30 NASB  Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised.
Proverbs 31:31 NASB  Give her the product of her hands, And let her works praise her in the gates.

Love In Christ,
Tom

2 Corinthians 5:5-8 NASB  Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge. Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord -- for we walk by faith, not by sight -- we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.