gadgetlady

Yeah, cuz it's courageous to abort a full-term bay. Well, either that or unconscionable.

Absolutely. Spanking didn't work for your mother when you were a child. Maybe if she had done something differently it might have. Maybe it never would have. I can tell you unequivocally that in my family, it works. I can't argue with your mother's results; you can't argue with mine. Everybody's different. There is nothing wrong with your choosing not to spank. It's your decision. There is nothing wrong with my choosing to do so. There is, however, something very wrong with the government telling me I can't.

I disagree. I believe spanking in anger is cruel, spanking without first warning the child that that particular behavior will lead to a spanking is cruel, and spanking with gross force is cruel. But IMO there are ways to spank that don't fall into the "cruel" category by any stretch of the imagination. You are entitled to not spank your kids. But I am equally entitled to spank mine so long as I am not abusing them.

LOL again! As parents, we force our wills on our children in innumerable ways -- not to control them, but to train them and make them better people. As a parent, it is your JOB to train your children to understand right from wrong, and that there are consequences for bad behavior. You have acknowledged, by getting banded, that pain is a motivator for you. Why would it not be a motivator for your kids? I'm not advocating whacking your kids around daily if they don't behave like robots. I'm simply saying that for some parents and some kids, the fear of a painful swat is the only thing that will motivate that particular child to relearn bad behaviors.

LOL! Isn't that what the band is doing for you (I'm assuming you're already banded)? Don't you find that the pain of overeating and PB'ing assists you in retraining your body not to do that which is unhealthy for you?

The purpose is to create a sting, to associate the bad behavior with pain so that the behavior doesn't happen again. If your child touches a hot stove and gets burnt, he won't do it again because he'll remember the pain. If he lies (or any number of other undesirable behaviors), there is no immediate and physically memorable repercussion, so it is up to the parent to create an immediate and memorable incident to curtail the future behavior. In an older child, extra chores or a stern lecture may work; in a younger child, a lecture will generally not do the trick. Removing a privilege may work, but then again it may not. Every child is different. If your child has a habit of running out of the house and into the busy street, you'd better come up with a discipline that's quick, effective, and memorable before he gets killed.

It IS possible to discipline (spank) a child when one is not angry. Hitting in anger isn't discipline; it's out of control and it's not OK. If spanking a child will curtail discipline-worthy behavior, it is, IMO, wrong NOT to do it.

Kudos to you for knowing your limits!

We have corporal punishment in our school. Of course, we homeschool :bounce:

I've been musing about this for some time now and I keep asking people the question but no one ever seems to know the answer. So I thought I'd try here. I understand polygamy laws that are based on one person falsifying a document and saying they're not married elsewhere (e.g. applying for a marriage license in one state when you're married in another state), but I don't understand the laws against polygamy where all participants are willing and informed of the existing marriage(s). It's my understanding that in a polygamous "marriage", the first wife is "legally" married to the husband, while the following "wives" are "sealed" in a religious ceremony which has nothing to do with the state. So on what basis are these "marriages" illegal? Because the way I see it, it's really just one marriage followed by a series of ongoing affairs that produce children. Can someone help me understand the law here? *Disclaimer -- I don't support polygamy (or ongoing affairs -- or even one-time affairs for that matter). I'm just curious about how the law reconciles the issue, because people aren't otherwise prosecuted for having affairs, at least not that I know of.

My understanding is the more hair you have, and most especially if that hair is above a bone, that's where it's more painful. When it's above a bone, the laser ricochets off the bone and back again, causing more pain. That's why my legs (shins mostly) were horribly painful and my knees, feet, and toes were practically unbearable. The face (except for the sideburns area) and underarms hurt a lot less.

Is this correct? I didn't think it did, thus all of the uproar about gay marriage and the proposed Federal Marriage Amendent. So as I read this, the polygamy as currently practiced (as a lifestyle, not talking about the people who secretly marry others that their individual spouses don't know about) is not illegal (barring issues of underage marriage). Is that right?

But I still don't understand the law. What law are they breaking by getting married legally in the eyes of the state once, and then having multiple adulterous relationships (which they consider marriages)?

I couldn't even put a dent in what I'm thankful for. An incredible husband and an amazing marriage. Two beautiful, healthy daughters. The ability to homeschool. Living in the USA and specifically in temperate California. Supportive parents, in-laws, extended family, and friends. The freedom to travel. Abundant material blessings. But most of all, the personal relationship with Jesus. Happy Thanksgiving Day, everyone!

Yeah, me too. When I saw the title I was hoping to hear some audio clips or something, but he didn't even mention it. Nevertheless, get through the first few minutes and it'll all start to pull together. It's a great teaching on reconciliation.

Elena, we had a great sermon on Saturday that delved into forgiveness. If you have the time, I strongly suggest listening. Go to ROCKHARBOR and at the top right corner there's an "audio" link. Just click on the "play" button. The title is 11/11: Tear Down this Wall, Mr. Gorbachev by Mike Erre (FYI, he doesn't mention the Berlin Wall or anything along those lines in the sermon -- it's just the title).

I think forgiveness is all about whether you have the ability to give up holding something against someone. If you plan to "call" the person on their actions in the future, in many ways you haven't really forgiven them. However, that's very different from forgetting. You can certainly forgive, in the sense that you're not holding the offense against them, but also not forget, in the sense that you're wary of whether their behavior will change in the future. Practically, as this plays out in my life, God taught me long ago that there are very few offenses of which I am not capable. Because of His grace, mercy, and compassion, I have the ability to give a measure of that grace, mercy, and compassion to others. I am therefore an extremely forgiving person, to the point that I often forget even extreme offenses. This often shocks my family and friends ("Don't you remember what ___ did to you?????"). If the person is not repentant, I won't easily forget (primarily because they still hold the grudge against ME and it interferes with our relationship), but I do still forgive. I feel like their inability to forgive is something they have to deal with every day, and that just leads me to feel more compassion, grace, and mercy. Does that make sense?

What about a father who wants to take the child and the mother refuses and has an abortion? Should she be sterilized?

Hello everyone -- I guess I should introduce myself on this thread! I've been lurking but not posting, but I have also been praying for prayer requests. Dozy, you've especially been in my prayers. Dutchgrl, you're still in OC, right? If so, our family would like to bless yours with a family turkey dinner which you can use for Thanksgiving or at another time. Please PM me.

'Roe v. Wade for Men' suit nixed - U.S. Life - MSNBC.com Your thoughts? Should a father be forced to pay child support if he wanted the mother to have an abortion?

Very much so. An unplanned pregnancy is never an easy thing to go through. I have compassion for all of the people involved - both of these mothers, their babies, and their extended families.

Put homeschooling on that list of things to consider. I highly recommend it :-)

This contact in Tampa proper is from an organization called Rachael's Vineyard. They were one of the first groups to get started in post-abortion counseling. Contact: 813 631 4370, Emma Boe, eboe@ccdosp.org. There is another one in Lake Mary, Florida, which is about an hour and a half away from Tampa: CallForHope.org - Reveille Ministries, Inc. or 866-967-HOPE There are also national organizations that provide phone counseling, workshops, and referrals. One is Silent No More Awareness Campaign. I can't get to the website right now because of computer problems, but she might want to visit MySpace.com - Divine Diva - 33 - Female - TAMPA, FLORIDA - www.myspace.com/tampasilentnomore. There's a Silent No More Awareness Campaign in Tampa on November 8th -- may be a good thing for her to attend? Feel free to ask me for more if none of these works.

There are tons of places that offer healing. If you tell me where you are, I can find one that's local. It's not uncommon for women, years and even decades after the fact, to suffer emotional consequences -- sometimes very extreme. It would be best if you can provide her with a specific place to go to.

Blame is pointless. Healing is what's important. Please, if you can, refer her to some post-abortion counseling centers. I posted a few for Jodie above. Here's another good one: Abortion Recovery Counseling Abortion Recovery Counseling